A Reunion, a Wedding, a Family
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Amy Ruttan
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16
PROLOGUE
CANDICE WARNER HAD to put some distance between herself and her brother’s antics. She loved Logan, but he was currently running around a campfire buck naked in the moonlight and she didn’t need to see that. Especially not on her birthday.
Not that she couldn’t understand or empathize with his desire to let loose tonight. In a week he and his best friend, Jimmy, would be leaving Jasper for basic training with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Jimmy. The boy she’d had a crush on forever.
Candice sighed. She was still processing the fact that Logan and Jimmy were leaving and she had no idea when she’d see them again.
You’re leaving soon, too. You’re going to university.
Even that was hard to process. It scared her. The idea of leaving Jasper was overwhelming. She’d spent her whole life here.
She wandered away from the campsite and sat down on a log by the river, far enough away to get some peace and quiet, so she could think. The only problem was, she couldn’t think clearly. Her mind was going a mile a minute—everything was so uncertain.
“What’re you doing here all alone?”
Candice glanced up to see Jimmy walking toward her. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, like it always did. He had the reputation of being the love-’em-and-leave-’em type—always a new girl on his arm—which should have stopped her, but she couldn’t help herself. There had always been something there—a spark, a connection—and she could talk to him in a way she couldn’t with anyone else. She saw Jimmy for who he really was and she considered him one of her best friends.
For so long it had always been the three of them: her, Logan and Jimmy.
Now, with everyone leaving, nothing would ever be the same.
“Can I join you?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts and making her realize she hadn’t answered his initial question.
“Sure.”
“Want a beer?” he asked, handing her a can.
She cocked an eyebrow. “I just turned nineteen an hour ago.”
“Right, so you’re legal now. And I thought you might need it after seeing your brother naked.”
She laughed and took the can, but didn’t open it. “Thanks.”
Jimmy took a seat next to her and glanced up at the sky. “Wow. So many stars. I’m going to miss this.”
“I’ll bet.” Candice sighed, hoping her voice wasn’t shaking. She wanted to tell Jimmy how she felt, but couldn’t find the words. And that was the problem—she had never been able to find the words. “So you and Logan are really leaving?”
Jimmy nodded. “There’s nothing to keep us here.”
“What do you mean there’s nothing keeping you here?” she asked.
“Exactly that? What’s the alternative? Work in my parents’ motel and have no life, killing myself for ungrateful tourists? No thanks.”
“Your parents worked hard to build the motel into a success.”
He snorted. “Right. Which is why I was left alone most of my life.”
“There’s really nothing that makes you want to stay here?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Come on, Candy. What’s here?”
“I am,” she whispered, her body trembling as she found the courage to look him straight in the eye. “I’m here.”
He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight. “Not for long. You’re going off to school to become a doctor, some hotshot surgeon. You won’t come back after that. You’re too special to waste your life here.”
Her cheeks heated. “What do you mean?”
Jimmy reached out and touched her face. She closed her eyes, her body humming with anticipation.
“I think you know what I mean, Candy,” he said softly. And then he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, stealing her first kiss.
She always wanted it to be him. Only ever him.
And in that moment, she didn’t care that her brother had told her time and time again that Jimmy was off-limits.
This is what she had always wanted and she wasn’t going to miss her chance. She didn’t want him to leave without knowing how she felt.
“I love you, Jimmy,” she murmured against his lips.
“I love you, too, Candy. I always have.”
Her knees went weak at his admission and she felt like she was going to cry. They kissed again. More fervently this time. They were both leaving but they had this last week together and she was going to make it count.
“Come on,” she said, standing and reaching out a hand to him.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“To my tent.”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Maybe it’s the beer talking...”
“I haven’t had a drop. Have you?”
“No.” He showed her his can, which was unopened, just like hers. “I haven’t had mine, either. I haven’t had a drop all night.”
“Then why did you bring me one?” she asked.
“To give me an excuse to come talk to you.” He stood and cupped her face, kissing her again. “Because I couldn’t leave without telling you how I feel.”
“Come on,” she said again, pulling on his hand and leading him to her tent.
“Are you sure, Candy?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
She’d never been so sure of anything in her life.
