Mentally picturing the tall, flamboyant woman, Hope grinned. “Is she still traveling quite a bit?”

“Constantly. As a result we don’t have the opportunity to see each other as often as we’d like. I’m trying to convince her to visit Eternity Springs sometime soon. She asked me to tell you hello and to blame her for my tardiness, but we’re both to blame. It was downright rude of me to ask for a ride to the baby shower and then not be ready on time. Please forgive me.”

“Don’t be silly, Celeste. We have plenty of time.” Besides, no matter how happy Hope was for the expectant parents, baby showers were always a little tough for her. She thought that being with Celeste might make the day easier. “Your front desk worker gave me a cup of spectacular coffee, and I used the time to my benefit, looking over some of the paperwork Principal Geary gave me this morning. It’s hard to believe that school starts in just three weeks.”

Hope picked up her purse and slipped the strap over her shoulder. “Can I help you carry anything?”

“Thank you. I have a few gifts in the kitchen.”

Celeste led Hope down the hallway toward the kitchen. Upon entering the cheery room, Hope stopped and laughed. The kitchen table was covered in gaily wrapped and ribboned packages and bags, all in nursery themes in shades of a beautiful baby blue. “A few bags?”

“It’s the latent grandmother in me, I fear. I just love buying for little ones.”

Hope’s smile softened to bittersweet as she recalled stacks of pink onesies and a closet full of ruffles. “I do, too.”

They loaded the gifts into Hope’s crossover SUV, chatting about the presents they’d chosen. This would be Hope’s first visit to Jack and Cat Davenport’s mountain estate, Eagle’s Way, and she looked forward to seeing it. She’d heard it was fabulous.

They picked up two more passengers for the drive, Maggie Romano and her daughter, Gabi. An attractive widow in her early fifties, Maggie was the newest full-time resident of Eternity Springs, having relocated at the beginning of the summer to be nearer to two of her adult children. Gabi was the town’s deputy sheriff, though with her long legs and high cheekbones and her mother’s beautiful blue eyes, she could have been a model if she’d wanted. Hope was in the early stages of friendship with the Romano women. She liked them both very much, but considering her history, she was cautious about letting anyone get too close. Experience had taught her that people invariably got too nosy, or they failed to be a friend when she needed one the most.

Celeste Blessing had been the lone exception. Being around Celeste was like slipping into Angel’s Rest’s inviting hot springs pools—sans the sulfur smell—on a cold winter’s night. She simply made Hope feel better. She’d planted the seed about moving to Eternity Springs during those beach house days, then nurtured the notion with phone calls. Once Hope expressed real interest in making the change, Celeste had championed her with the principal and school board. One job offer later, Hope packed her bags for a fresh start in a place that called to her, instead of in a place she’d run to, like the last move she’d made.

The four women made small talk as their trip commenced. Gabi relayed a story about the sheriff’s office dispatcher’s unfortunate experience with online dating, and with the laughter the story elicited, the melancholy that had lingered within Hope after the unfortunate lesson planner incident began to dissolve. She turned onto the road that climbed out of the valley, and her spirits rose along with it.

They were halfway up the ridge when Maggie observed, “I’ve not been up this road before. What a spectacular view!”

“Isn’t it lovely?” In the front passenger seat, Celeste twisted around to speak with Maggie directly. “This is one of my favorite Gold Wing rides. There’s a scenic overview before the turnoff to Jack and Cat’s place where you can look down on Eternity Springs. It just makes me feel good to be there. And when I travel on up to the highest point of the road, I sometimes feel like I can reach into the sky and touch heaven.”

“Maybe I’ll have to get a motorcycle,” Maggie mused. “We could form a gang, Celeste.”

Gabi let out a groan and buried her head in her hands as Celeste laughed out loud.

It was a beautiful summer afternoon. Temperatures hovered in the mid-seventies. Snow-capped peaks climbed into a sapphire sky dotted with puffy white clouds. The road wound around a mountainside to reveal an alpine meadow carpeted with wildflowers. “Oh, how gorgeous,” Hope observed. “What are those purple-blue flowers called?”

“Gentians. They’re one of my favorites,” Celeste said. “Up near Heartache Falls they … oh dear.”

Hope braked to a stop as they came upon a small herd of bighorn sheep congregated on the road in front of them. Celeste clucked her tongue. “These animals are becoming my nemesis. This is the third time they’ve delayed me this month. Sarah Murphy will have my guts for garters if we’re late to the shower.”

“We have plenty of time,” Hope assured her.

“Yes, but Sarah is not her usual cheery self these days. I need a distraction. What’s the latest on your project, Maggie?”

Gabi rolled her big blue eyes and groaned a second time. Her mother sniffed with disdain, then beamed at Celeste. “Actually, I have exciting news. Jim Sutton has accepted my offer for his great-grandmother’s Victorian on Aspen Street. With a little renovation, it will make a perfect B&B.”

“That is exciting news,” Celeste said.

“Congratulations.” Hope’s brows knit as she tried to place the house. “On Aspen, you say? Which house is it?”

“The yellow one between Fifth and Sixth.”

Hope realized Maggie must be referring to the dilapidated three-story whose faded, flecking paint sometimes floated on the air like dandruff. She pictured an overgrown yard, broken shutters, rotted gingerbread trim, and plywood-covered windows.

“It needs a little work,” Maggie added, as if reading Hope’s mind.

“And Murphy Mountain is a little hill,” Gabi drawled.

“Now, honey …”

Gabi slipped on a pair of designer sunglasses. “Zach is quaking in his hiking boots. I heard him tell Savannah to be quick and hide his tool belt.”

“I promised I wouldn’t ask your brother to help,” her mother protested. “He’s the sheriff, for heaven’s sake. He doesn’t have time to be my handyman.”

“I’m the sheriff’s deputy,” Gabi whined. “Why am I instructed to report for cleaning duty first thing Saturday morning?”

“Zach gets newlywed dispensation. Besides, he and Savannah won’t be home from their trip to South Carolina to visit her nephew until late Friday night. I won’t try to drag him out of bed early Saturday morning.”

“He’s so your favorite.”

“Right now, yes.”

The exchange surprised Hope. In her experience, mothers denied the existence of a favored child even if the charge was true. Taking her attention off the bleating roadblock that was finally beginning to move, she glanced into the rearview mirror to observe the Romano women.

Gabi caught her look and flashed a grin. “It’s okay, Hope. Zach is due a turn at being favorite.”

She wanted to ask why, but she wasn’t that nosy. Celeste obviously didn’t share her concerns. “Hope moved to Eternity Springs in January, so she wasn’t here for all the excitement last August. She probably doesn’t know your family history. Tell her about Zach, Maggie. She loves happy endings as much as I do.”

“It is a happy ending, isn’t it?” Maggie sighed with pleasure, then explained. “I’ll share the short version, Hope. Our family is dealing with a rather unique situation. I got pregnant with Zach when I was fifteen and I gave him up for adoption. Gabi and her brothers tracked him down and we were reunited last year, so I have a lot of pent-up love to shower upon him.”

Oh. A lost child, found. Hope’s throat grew tight.

“Mom has always been a big proponent of sibling equality when it comes to parental favoritism, so my sibs and I understand it’s Zach’s turn,” Gabi added. “That doesn’t mean the rest of us won’t complain about it. Especially under current circumstances. I can’t be your handyman, either, Mom. It’s too big a job. You need a contractor—shoot, you need a miracle worker—if you’re going to turn that broken-down behemoth into a bed and breakfast.”

“I know, Gabriella. I actually have something different in mind. Someone different. I know a man who is good with his hands who desperately needs a project. He’s a hard worker who needs a miracle.”

“A miracle? Who do you know who needs … oh. Lucca.”

“He’s one of your twins, isn’t he?” Celeste asked Maggie. “The one who coaches for Colorado?”

“No. That’s Anthony. Lucca took the Landry University Bobcats to the Sweet Sixteen last March. Then he … well …”

“He wigged out,” Gabi said, a bite of temper in her voice. “He quit his job and took off, didn’t tell the family where he’d gone. He invested his NBA contract money wisely, so he has the means to do that sort of thing, but running off without any word like he did … he acted like a total jerk and it hurt us. I’m warning you, Mom. It’s going to take some time for me to forgive him. And what makes you think he’ll come here anyway? According to Max and Anthony and Zach, he’s perfectly happy lounging in his Mexican beach chair and getting drunk on tequila and tugging the ties on bikinis. He has absolutely no intentions of ever coming back.”

Maggie squared her shoulders. “He’s my son. I have not begun to utilize all the weapons in my arsenal. He will come.”

Hope followed college sports, so she’d made the connection between her new friends and the well-known collegiate basketball coaches. She’d been aware that Lucca Romano had publicly crashed and burned and alienated the power brokers in his professional field, and soon after meeting Maggie and Gabi, she’d yielded to temptation and Googled him for more detail on the incident.