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Biting back a sigh, Kanon twisted slightly to see the traffic flowing past him on Montgomery Street. Somehow, he no longer had the grit or the drive for the oil field, he realized. Probably because he’d have to leave his heart in Hard Luck. Jeffs hadn’t done anything wrong, nothing any other owner wouldn’t have done, especially in the oil industry. But things had changed. He’d changed.

He warned himself not to make any snap decisions. Quitting before he even started needed more thought. But he’d been dragging his feet since he accepted the job. That told him what he needed to know right there, didn’t it?

Although staying in Hard Luck was as frightening as it was appealing, he suddenly believed it was where he belonged.

“You know what? I hate to do this to you, sir,” he said. “I understand it will have cost you a week or two on the headhunting front, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass on this opportunity.”

“What does that mean?” Jeffs cried.

Kanon thought what he’d said had already been clear, but it wasn’t what Jeffs wanted to hear, so he was going to have to restate it. “It means I won’t be coming back to North Dakota.”

“Are you kidding me?” he exploded. “Are you a fool? You negotiated me up to a quarter-million a year! Few people make that much money!”

Kanon winced as he looked down at the motel and mentally calculated the amount of work it would take to make it as good as he wanted it to be. Maybe he was a fool. Chances were remote, even with tremendous effort, that he’d earn as much off the inn as he could from the oil field.

But quality of life mattered, too. For the first time since he could remember, people mattered. He wanted to connect and trust—forget the past. If he could do that, maybe he’d be able to find happiness at last.

Even if happiness was only a slim possibility, he had to try, didn’t he?

“I realize I’m turning down a great job,” he said. “But I’m going to stay here in Nevada. I’m sorry.”

“You little shit!” Jeffs cried. “You’re obviously not the man I thought you were!”

Jeffs disconnected, leaving Kanon resting his head against the ladder, his cell phone in one hand.

“What are you doing?”

He opened his eyes and looked down to see Kelsey eyeing him curiously. He’d expected to feel terrible—to be immediately buried beneath an avalanche of regret. But as he spotted her below him, her face turned up inquisitively, he felt better than he had since he’d accepted the job in North Dakota. “I’m staying,” he called down.

She shaded her eyes to avoid the direct glare of the sun. “Up there?”

“No,” he said, chuckling. “I’m staying here in Hard Luck. I’m not going back to North Dakota, so we’d better be able to make this motel into something because it’ll need to support us both.”

Her eyes lit up as she squealed. “Do you really mean it?”

He lifted his phone before sliding it back in his pocket. “I just told the owner of Jeffco I’m not coming.”

“Oh, my God! I can’t believe it! We can do it, Kanon. We can do it together!”

“I hope so. Because Jeffs was pissed. I can’t change my mind now,” he said with a laugh.

“You’re making the right decision.”

He smiled back at her. It felt good to be wanted. They were going to have so much fun building this business even if it failed in the end.

“So I guess there’s no hurry to take the decorations down now, is there?” she asked.

“No hurry at all.”

“Great. I just came out to tell you that I’ve made hamburgers for lunch. You hungry?” She waved the question away before he could answer. “Never mind. You’re always hungry. Come eat.”

He imagined all the meals they’d share—whether she cooked or he did—and it felt as nice as all the rest of it. “Coming.”

She whirled around and started back to the office as he climbed down the ladder. “I can’t wait to tell Patience!” she called back to him.

“You’d better not!” he yelled.

She started laughing. “Just kidding.”