He winced, and his expression grew downright haggard. She placed her hand on his arm. “Lucca, you surely knew the team traveled to away games.”

“Yes, of course.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “I knew it, but I never thought about it. The actual transportation part. Easier not to think about it, I guess. Why do you do the driving?”

“Well, because we have only three licensed bus drivers. It’s my bus, my team. I get paid extra for driving and, frankly, it’s income I need. Daniel doesn’t charge me for his time anymore, but I do pay the expenses he incurs in connection with looking for Holly. The driving job helps.”

“Basketball season happens in the winter,” Lucca said, frustration sharpening his tone. “This is winter in the mountains. Snow happens. Sleet happens.”

“And I am very careful. The schools are very careful. This isn’t our first winter, Lucca. We pay close attention to road conditions and we reschedule games if the forecast looks dicey.”

Lucca bounced the basketball, then took it toward the hoop. Hope stood watching, debating what to say to him. Was there anything she could say that would ease his mind? “Lucca, I’ve never had an incident with the bus. I’ve never had a car accident. I’ve never even been cited for a moving violation of any sort.”

He took half a dozen shots. She stood waiting, since it was obvious he was working something out. When he finally turned to her, he asked, “Will it break any rules if I ride along with the team?”

“Lucca, this isn’t something you need to put yourself through. Why don’t you—”

“Will it break any rules?” he interrupted.

“No.”

“Then I’ll ride with you. I’ll meet you at the bus in the morning. Now, why don’t you head on home? I’m going to stay and shoot for a little while longer. Sleep well, Hope.”

The man obviously wanted to be alone. Understanding the need to sometimes wrestle with one’s demons in private, Hope nodded and left him to it.

She slept well that night and awoke at four-fifteen to the sound of her alarm, feeling better than she had in days. She showered, dressed, and checked the latest weather report while eating a quick breakfast. The slight chance of snow they’d called for the day before had disappeared from the forecast.

“Good,” she murmured, closing her laptop. This trip needed to be as smooth and as uneventful as possible for everyone’s sake.

She’d made arrangements with a teenager to watch Roxy, so she made sure to leave the front door lock disengaged as she departed. As she glanced next door, her stomach sank in disappointment. It was a quarter to five, and Lucca’s house remained dark. Under other circumstances she might have called or knocked to see if he’d overslept, but not today. Recovery came in fits and starts. This particular hill would be a high one for Lucca to climb.

With such thoughts on her mind, Hope was surprised to arrive at the school parking lot to discover Lucca already waiting. “You’re here.”

“I said I would be,” he said, his voice tight with anxiety. “How do you feel this morning? Did you sleep well?”

“I did. I feel great, and I’m so glad to see you.”

He tugged her around to the back of the bus away from the glow of the street lamp and gave her a thorough and slightly desperate kiss. “I’m so afraid that I’m going to embarrass myself. Promise me that if I start to wig out, you’ll kick me out on the side of the road. Call Zach and he’ll come get me.”

He sounded so uncertain. Was he ready for this? “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“Actually, I do.” He lowered his mouth to hers once more and kissed her until the sound of an approaching car had them both pulling away. “I’m hanging on to my man card by a thread as it is.”

“Hardly,” Hope said, giving her best sniff of disdain. “Darlin’, after caveman sex, your man card is made out of platinum.”

Calmed, he laughed as they went to meet their team.

For the first leg of the journey, Lucca sat quietly at the back of the bus. All the way at the back. Twice when the kids got loud, he snapped at them to be quiet. When Hope started the climb up Sinner’s Prayer Pass, a glance into her rearview mirror showed her that Lucca had a death grip on the grab bar in front of him. His obvious stress affected her, and she was never so glad to reach the flats on the other side of the pass as she was this time. She wondered what her chances would be to convince him to catch a ride home with one of the parents making the trip to Serenity Valley.

They arrived at their destination without incident, and once the students exited the bus, Lucca moved up to the seat behind her. He looked like he’d run a marathon, she thought.

“Welcome to Serenity Valley,” she said.

“I made it.” He flashed her a relieved grin and added, “Is it too early to start drinking?”

“Yes. So, are you okay?”

“I think I am. It helped that this school bus is such a … school bus. I’d forgotten what a lousy ride they are, but it sure helped keep me in the present rather than losing myself in the past. You did a great job behind the wheel, Hope.”

“Thank you. Now, let’s hope I can do okay with the coach’s clipboard.”

She did a fine job, with the Grizzlies coming in third place in the tourney, a totally respectable showing. Wade had an excellent outing in the consolation game, and while Lucca treated the victorious team to dinner at a pizza joint, Hope managed to catch a nap on the bus so that she was fresh for the drive home.

The sleet started a quarter mile from the summit of Sinner’s Prayer Pass.

The ping of ice pellets sounded like bullets against the bus’s exterior, and as Hope’s alarm mounted, her grip on the steering wheel tightened. Though she focused her attention on the road, she nevertheless sensed when Lucca moved forward to sit behind her. Tension carved furrows in his brow. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Hope needed to keep calm for Lucca, for the kids, and for the sake of her own nerves, too. “It’s been warm this week. We’ll be home before the ice starts sticking to the road.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Talk to me, Coach Romano. I can use the distraction.” So, too, can you, I imagine.

“All right. What would you like me to talk about?”

She said the first thing that popped into her mind. “Thanksgiving. When I asked your mother what I could bring, she asked me to bring sweet potatoes. So, what sort of sweet potatoes does your family like? Do you go for more simple ones or do you like the whole southern sweet potato pie thing?”

Bless his heart, the man took her cue and offered her his unspoken support. He talked sweet potatoes to her all the way down from Sinner’s Prayer Pass, and then broadened to other Romano Thanksgiving fare for the rest of the way into town. By the time Hope pulled into the Eternity Springs Community School parking lot, her hands were shaking with stress and her mouth watered from hunger. “I’ll be dreaming about turkey until Thursday,” she told him as she shifted into park and cut the engine.

Lucca didn’t answer. He was the first off the bus, and he disappeared into the darkness beyond the glow of the streetlight. Exhaustion overwhelmed Hope as she climbed out of the bus and watched to make sure that all her players had rides home. “Where’s Coach Romano?” she heard Wade Mitchell ask one of his teammates.

“Guess the pizza didn’t agree with him,” another player answered. “He’s over by the Dumpster puking up his guts.”

Oh dear, Hope thought. She saw the last of the boys off, then called, “Lucca? Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He walked out of the shadows, saying, “I’m fine. I’m great. Excellent job, Hope. I don’t want to ever ride on a school bus again.”

She laughed softly, then said, “I’m beat. Walk me home, Romano?”

“I’ll carry you home if you’d like, Montgomery. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For getting us home safely. For letting me on the bus in the first place.”

“You’re welcome.” This had been a victory for him. “So have you put that particular monster to bed, do you think?”

“Partially. I have come to one decision, though. Right after Thanksgiving, I’m going to get professional help.”

“You’re going to see a counselor?”

“Not that sort of professional help. I have something else in mind. Tell me, Ms. Montgomery: How do you feel about NASCAR?”

After consulting with Gabi, Savannah, and Celeste, Hope made the decision to go with Celeste’s southern recipe for sweet potato pie. She figured that any recipe filled with butter, sugar, and nuts had to be a hit. Besides, Gabi had assured her that Maggie always had plenty of fresh vegetables to balance out the fat.

So on Thursday morning with her sweet potatoes still warm from the oven, she knocked on the door of Aspenglow Place. Maggie answered wearing an apron with a turkey on the front and a dish towel thrown over her shoulder. “Hope, welcome. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving. I came early to help. Tell me what I can do.”

“Bless you. Come on inside. I’m so glad to have the company. I haven’t been this nervous about a Thanksgiving dinner since the first time I cooked for my in-laws.”

They walked past the dining room, where a large table was beautifully set. “Your table is gorgeous, Maggie.”

“Thanks. This is the first year I’ve had a room and furniture big enough to seat everybody. No kids’ table arguments this year.” She gave a nervous laugh and added, “Not that I can count on an argumentless day.”

Hope gave her friend a comforting smile. “It’s going to be fine. Everyone will behave.”

“I know,” Maggie replied, leading the way into the kitchen. “I’m just afraid dinner will be awkward and tense. I met Richard’s children yesterday. They’re just delightful. They seemed so happy that he is seeing me. So different from my brood. Of course, he’s the hero rather than the villain in their family drama—his wife was unfaithful and his kids knew it.”