“Kacie! Kacie!” I heard my mom calling. Lifting my head off my pillow, I cracked one eye open and looked over at my mom standing in my bedroom doorway.

“It’s past ten o’clock. You never sleep this late. Are you sick?”

I glanced over at the clock on my nightstand, and sure enough, it read 10:07.

“No, Mom, I’m not sick, just tired. Are the girls still asleep?” I asked.

“No, I got them up and dressed and fed them so you could sleep a little longer. This isn’t like you.”

“I’m okay, Mom. I’ll be out in a minute, okay?” I said in a groggy haze, desperate for her to leave quickly so I could fall back asleep and pick up where Brody and I left off.

“Sure, honey, take your time. I just wanted to check and make sure you weren’t sick.” She smiled and closed the door gently behind her.

I buried my face in my pillow the way it had been when she woke me and pinched my eyes shut tight, determined to get back to sleep fast and have Brody’s hands exploring my body again.

I lay there for about ten minutes then gave up, flopping over onto my back in frustration and staring up at the ceiling. That was the most action I had seen in years and I wasn’t even conscious for it.

I looked over at the clock again … 10:19. Coffee was going to be my best friend today, but I guess that’s what happens when you stay awake until 3:00 in the morning, talking. How could I not want to stay up late and chat with him after seeing him standing there with that charming, boyish grin on his face and his jeans around his ankles? His broad shoulders and chiseled body made it next to impossible not to stare. He was irresistible and he knew it.

I wasn’t sorry though. We had a great night with even better conversation.

We spent hours snacking on Twizzlers and talking about everything … books, movies, our families. I didn’t have much to contribute to that part of the conversation. While my little family was happy, we weren’t going to be on a poster for the typical American family any time soon. I was an only child. My parents divorced when I was 10, and I haven’t seen my dad since, end of story. Brody’s family sounded like the exact opposite of mine. His parents were happily married for over thirty years, he had one sister and he still went home to visit often, when he wasn’t traveling for his sales job. We talked about his job briefly, though he seemed pretty bored with it and changed the subject whenever I brought it up.

It was sweet that family was so important to him. I loved the way his face lit up when he talked about his mom and his sister. He had all the qualities I was looking for and his sexiness factor was off the charts. I started thinking that maybe I should tap into my inner Alexa and go for it for once. Constantly playing it safe only seemed to be prepping me to be the crazy old cat lady with an extensive collection of NASCAR kitchen plates.

I decided right then to throw caution to the wind and make an effort with Brody. I jumped out of bed with a sudden burst of excitement for the day and hurried for the shower, thankful Fred had fixed it last night so there were no repeats of yesterday.

Though if it would lead to Brody in his undies again, it might be worth it.

Twenty minutes later, I threw on my favorite jeans and some makeup—which was in itself a rarity these days—and composed myself before I headed out to the kitchen.

Deep breaths, Kacie, deep breaths.

“Mommy!!!” Lucy threw herself into my arms and wrapped herself around my neck.

“Hey kiddo. Have you been good for Gigi?”

Piper bounced over and I pulled her in close to me too.

“Yes, we helped her make breakfast. I was in charge of pouring.” Lucy beamed at me.

“I was in charge of mixing!” Piper squealed.

I kissed both of them and they went back to making paper flowers at the island.

My mom turned from the stove with a plate of pancakes for me. “Here, I saved you some-” She stopped and looked at me funny.

“What?” I said defensively.

“Nothing, you just don’t usually wear makeup. You look very pretty.” She walked over and set the plate down on the island and kissed my cheek.

I was overcome with a sudden shyness. “Thanks, just thought I’d try something new.”

She nodded with a small smirk, like she knew exactly what I was doing. I was just thankful she didn’t make a big deal out of it and embarrass me more.

“So, where’s everyone else?” I tried to sound nonchalant.

“Fred’s out back cleaning up sticks and other garbage that washed up from the lake. Everyone else left early this morning when we got news that the bridge was open.”

“Everyone else is gone?” I blurted out in a panic. My stomach dropped through the wood floor. No way would he have left and not said anything, right? Last night, we were so comfortable talking to each other—neither of us wanted to go to bed. I thought for sure he’d stay and have breakfast before he left.

“Yep, everyone else is gone. Why?”

“No reason,” I said back, disappointed.

Mom looked at me suspiciously as she walked over to the island.

“There is something for you on the fireplace bench though, from Brody. What’s going on with that?”

My eyes got wide and I nodded toward the girls who appeared to be elbow deep in colorful flower petals and glue, but there was no doubt in my mind that their ears were open and listening. “There’s nothing going on with that. He was a nice guy, that’s all.”

She pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at me. “Okay, if you say so.”

I sat at the island, watching Lucy and Piper cut little hearts and flowers out of construction paper, wondering how long I should sit and wait before I could sprint into the family room and see what Brody left for me. While Mom had her back turned at the stove, I tried to sneak a peek over at the fireplace and saw what appeared to be some kind of a red hoodie folded up with a note on it. I was straining my neck so hard to get a better look I almost fell off the stool.

“Why don’t you just go over and see what it is?” Mom said, amused.

I whipped back around and stared at my mom like a kid who just got caught with her hand in the candy jar.

“I knew you liked him. Mothers know these things. Go on.” She winked and shooed me away with her hand.

I decided not to argue with her. Instead I rolled my eyes and hopped down from the stool, reminding myself that if I didn’t want my mother sending out wedding invitations tomorrow, I needed to act like this was no big deal. As I got closer to the fireplace I saw that it was, in fact, a shirt of some sort. Before I picked it up, I grabbed the note and unfolded it impatiently.

My eyes fixated on the phone number on the bottom of the note, the phone number that I could dial and hear Brody’s voice within ten seconds if I wanted to. Just the thought of hearing his voice again sent a jolt of excitement through my body. I set the note aside and picked up the shirt curiously. It was a red jersey with a hunter green circle in the middle that was surrounding a scene of evergreens and a sunset. Two thick green stripes, one on each sleeve, bordered two thin white stripes. Confusion flooded my brain … why did he leave this for me? It made no sense.

I flipped the jersey around to inspect the back and it hit me like a ton of bricks. At the top of the jersey in white block letters read MURPHY with the number 30 below it. Murphy? That was Brody’s last name. I turned the jersey around again, still having no clue what exactly this was. In the thick green circle on the front, it said MINNESOTA WILD. What the hell was that?