You could be killed, Liam.
Never mind that Alaska could be far less forgiving than many battlefields. But his mom blamed Tessa.
“Is your mom . . ?”
“Still the top realtor in town,” said Liam, avoiding the real question.
“Still theonlyrealtor in town?”
“There’s some other part-timer, but otherwise she’s pretty much it.” He almost told Tessa he sold his house a month ago. But it didn’t really matter. She had to guess there was a reason he was staying at the lodge. If one of her sisters hadn’t told her yet, they would eventually. “Dad’s good, too. Had a scare a couple of years ago. Minor heart attack. But he’s back in the hardware store full time again.”
“I wondered which one you would choose,” said Tessa.
“Much to my dad’s disapproval, I was always better with motors than people.”
“I don’t know if that’s true.”
Unable to delay the inevitable any longer, Liam put the truck in park outside his parents’ home. He hoped his mom was still out. She wouldn’t be thrilled to learn Tessa was back in town. If she wasn’t expecting to see her and Tessa appeared in her house, it could get very uncomfortable for everyone.
Liam’s parents had upgraded to a larger log home on a hill while he was serving his second tour in Iraq. “New house,” he said, because talking about the deployments he was happy to leave behind was not at the top of his list today.
“I see that. Nice view.”
From the front deck, a small part of the bay peeked through a cluster of trees on one side and a hill on the other. “Great view of the sunset from here, too.” Of course, this town had several spots that offered amazing sunset views. That one summer, Liam and Tessa had tried to find them all.
“You made it. I’ll forgive that you’re three minutes late.” April’s voice held an edge of sarcasm, reminding him of his failure yesterday. It appeared she wasn’t going to let him forget it anytime soon. Raven wedged her way around April’s legs to explore inside. His mom was a sucker for Raven and kept special treats just for her. The husky would be devastated to find her treat supplier out.
“April, you remember Tessa Whitmore?”
April’s gaze bounced between Liam and Tessa a few times. “You’re on that show!Order Up: Las Vegas!”
“I am.” Tessa wasn’t normally so coy around anyone, especially someone showering her with positive attention. But right now, she seemed shy with her hands shoved in her front pockets. “Good to see you, April.”
“Did you win?” April’s eyes and smile grew to twice their size as her hands flew to her cheeks. “Oh wait, don’t tell me! The last eight are competing tonight. I don’t want any spoilers.”
“Where’s the crib?” Liam asked, pretending impatience. But really, he had no idea that his sister was a super fan of the show. It made sense she never mentioned that detail to him considering his history with one of the contestants. But April sure wasn’t holding back now.
“Guest room downstairs, down at the end of the hall.” April pointed, but she wasn’t even looking at him. Her eyes were glued to Tessa. “You’re my favorite on the show. And not just because I know you. You’re sofierce. It’s so empowering. I love how you don’t put up with any crap from anyone.”
“Thanks,” Tessa said as she followed Liam downstairs.
“I bet they make you sign a contract or something to prevent spoilers, don’t they?” April was much too excited about this. Liam hoped she’d switch gears when he pulled the crib pieces out of the cardboard box. Maybe she’d get all excited about the baby, but no luck.
“Yeah. There’s a pretty big penalty if you talk about the show before the last episode airs.” Tessa knelt on the floor to sort wood pieces by the letter indicated on their stickers.
“How big?”
“You’ll have to excuse my nosy sister. She has pregnancy brain.”
“That’snotwhat pregnancy brain is.”
“Two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” Tessa said, her tone nonchalant. She seemed more interested in arranging the crib pieces than the stiff fine that could bankrupt a person. Though Liam suspected she was hiding behind that contractual detail, it made sense why she’d been so tight-lipped about the show. Nothing kept secret in this town, no matter how good the intention.
“Holy guacamole, that’s a lot.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure,” said Tessa.
April perched on a wooden toy chest, but her rounded belly prevented her from leaning over at all. Instead, she braced her hands on the back edge of the chest and leaned back. “I hope once it’s over you’ll tell me all about some of the people on there. Like Victoria. She has to be a nightmare to be around!”
