“How soon can we get started on this?” Parker asked.

“I don’t see any reason to wait, unless money is an issue.”

Erin jumped in. “Money isn’t an issue. I’m paying for it.”

Parker shook her head. “That doesn’t seem fair, Erin.”

“You never promised me a security system.”

“No, I promised you a quiet home with lots of privacy, and I’ve failed on epic levels with that.” Not that she had much of a choice, but still.

“I insist.”

Parker wasn’t going to argue in front of Matt, so she dropped it.

Matt walked around the backside of the guesthouse. “What about security lighting? The kind that pops on when there’s motion outside.”

Erin’s eyes lit up. “I like that.”

“I have two up at the house,” Parker said. “I have to warn you, they go off all the time. Between the wind blowing the trees and coyotes playing tag at night, motion lights might be more nerve-racking than they are a comfort.”

“We can dial them in a little,” Matt offered.

“I really like that idea.”

Matt’s smile grew. “I can run over to Home Depot and pick up a couple right now. They aren’t hard to install.”

Erin turned and started back inside the guesthouse. “I’ll get my wallet.”

“You can come with me,” Matt offered.

Erin didn’t turn white as a sheet with the suggestion, but she did get a little pasty.

“Don’t you have a dentist appointment or something?” Parker asked.

“Oh, yeah . . . that’s right. I almost forgot.” Disaster averted. “Can I just give you some money? Or you can tell me what to buy and I’ll pick up the lights myself.”

Matt waved her off. “I’ll buy them and tell you what they cost after.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Erin smiled at him, and Parker thought he was going to spark a fire from his eyes with how they beamed. “Thank you, Matt. It means a lot to me.”

“I’m a fan of brownies or white-chocolate macadamia-nut cookies. In case you’re thinking about how to repay me.”

That had her laugh. A rare thing when in the presence of a man.

Parker liked it.

“Noted.”

“I’ll get going, then. When is dinner?” he asked Parker.

“Sixish.”

Matt looked at Erin. “Will you be joining us?”

“Uhm, yeah. I was going to . . . ah, yeah. I’ll be here.”

“Great.” He backed up grinning. “See ya later, then.”

He damn near tripped over himself before he made it to his truck.

Once he was out of hearing range, Parker said, “You twist that man up in knots.”

“I can tell.”

Parker patted Erin on the back. “You better get to that appointment of yours. Don’t forget to brush your teeth before you come back.”

They both laughed.

It ended up being the four of them. Mallory was out on a date with Jase, and Austin was out with friends.

They were on weather watch once again. Parker had gone around filling bathtubs and sinks to wash hands since they’d be unhooking the hose before they went to bed. But for now, they were drinking beer and wine and listening to Colin and Matt tell stories of their less graceful moments in high school. They were sitting around the formal living room, a coffee table separated Matt and Erin while Parker and Colin sat close to each other on the couch.

“Matt was always the player.”

“Dude, don’t call me out like that.” Matt tried to look offended and failed.

“It’s true. You never took the same girl to high school formals twice.”

“I was picky,” Matt told Erin.

“Mom stopped paying for pictures, said it was a waste of money since she couldn’t keep the picture hung on a wall for more than two months.”

“I have a hard time seeing that. You haven’t dated anyone that I know of since Colin and I met.”

Matt placed a hand to his chest. “I saw the error in my ways.”

“You mean you got caught cheating?” Erin asked.

“In my defense, I thought college was all about nonexclusive dating.”

“Only if you’re both on board with that,” Parker said.

“I thought it was nonexclusive until otherwise stated. But Misty didn’t see it that way.”

Erin laughed. “Her name was Misty?”

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t name her.”

Colin chimed in. “Misty was a tomboy. Didn’t match the name at all. There was all kinds of ugly when she found out you were dating that other girl . . . What was her name?”

Matt placed a hand to his cheek. “I don’t remember. I do recall how she slapped me when she found out and how grateful I was she hadn’t thrown a punch.”

Erin’s smile fell. “She hit you?”

He nodded several times. “She was hurt. I get it.”

Parker felt Colin’s knee tap hers. It dawned on her that the conversation sparked something inside of Erin. “What did you do when she slapped you?”

“I backed away so she couldn’t do it twice. I apologized, told her I didn’t mean to hurt her.” He looked at Erin and paused. “I’m a nice guy, honestly. I stopped dating two different women at the same time after her. I figured it was better for my overall health.”

“What about you, Erin? Did you ever play the field?” Colin asked.

“No! I wouldn’t know how.”

“Me either,” Parker said. “I had friends in college that used dating apps and found lunch dates, coffee dates, and happy hour with three different guys on the same day. It’s almost expected these days.”

“Did you ever use a dating app?” Colin asked her.

“When would I have had time to do that? I’ve been taking care of teenagers.”

“Do you feel like you’ve missed out?” Matt asked Parker.

“On dating apps? No.”

“On life?” he clarified.

“I had a life before my parents died.”

“What about after?” Matt asked.

“Some times were harder than others.”

Colin brushed his fingers over her shoulder.

“Do you think you’ll ever want kids of your own?” Erin asked.

“No. I don’t think so.” She’d been asked that question ever since Mallory had graduated from high school; her reply was always the same. “Kudos to adoptive parents who take in teenagers. Austin wasn’t even driving yet, and Mallory was a hormonal seventeen-year-old when our parents died. I went from awesome older sister to dictator overnight. Austin was a nightmare. Getting him straightened out took years off my life. It nearly broke me. Now that I see light at the end of the tunnel, the last thing I want to do is jump back into that fire.” She huffed. “Pun intended.”

Parker looked over at Erin, noticed her forced smile directed at Colin.

It was then she realized the impact of her words on him.

“It’s easy to see how you’d feel that way,” Matt finally said.