Riverbend Road. RaeAnne Thayne

reality was exactly the opposite.

      She loved her mother, she did. Charlene was sweet and earnest and she loved nothing more than to fuss over her family. Wynona mostly found it exhausting.

      For two years, her mother had turned those energies to caring for her husband after his brain injury. Charlene visited him daily in the nursing home and had been a dedicated and selfless caregiver. Wyn admired her greatly for it. Since John’s death, though, her mother had tried to shift all those caregiving energies to her children—whether they needed it or not.

      She couldn’t deal with Charlene today. She couldn’t.

      “I’m actually on my way out,” she lied.

      Charlene paused. When her mother spoke again, Wyn couldn’t miss the eagerness in her voice. “A date?”

      Gah. She suspected her mother thought that the very day she would turn thirty—in four months, one week and two days—she would become a dried-up old maid.

      “Afraid not. I’ve, um, got some things to do for McKenzie’s wedding,” she improvised quickly. “A bridesmaid thing.”

      Yes. That’s right. She was nearly thirty years old and still lied to her mother.

      “What time will you be home? I’ll bring dinner. I’m making lasagna.”

      She did love her mother’s lasagna, flavored with fresh herbs and home-canned tomatoes and deliciousness. It was fantastic—but not quite worth everything that would come along with it.

      “Thanks a million, Mom. That’s really sweet of you, but I’ll probably just grab something while I’m out.”

      “Okay. If you’re sure.”

      Wyn could clearly hear her mother’s wounded feelings in the words and she swallowed a heavy sigh.

      “Aunt Jenny wants to have us all over for dinner,” she offered as a salve. “I’ll try to coordinate with Marsh and Kat and see when the whole gang can make it. How would that work?”

      “Oh, that would be lovely. We live so close together, it’s a shame we can’t find more time for family dinners. Though, of course, it won’t feel the same without Elliot. Don’t forget Marshall’s birthday next Sunday.”

      “Maybe Jenny can join us for that.”

      “I already asked her. She’ll be there.”

      “Great. I can’t wait. I’ve got to go, Mom. I need to jump in the shower and wash some of this smoke out. Love you.”

      She hung up before her mother could press her. After a quick shower and shampoo, she felt a million times better. She was throwing on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt when her phone rang again. To her relief, it wasn’t her mother’s customized ringtone but the one for her friend McKenzie.

      “Hey, Kenz.”

      “Wynona Jane Bailey!” McKenzie Shaw exclaimed. “If you didn’t want to be a bridesmaid for me, you could have just told me! You didn’t have to risk your life and nearly die to get out of it, a month before the wedding!”

      She made a face as she combed through her hair. “I didn’t risk anything. Good grief. Does everyone in town know?”

      “LG called me five minutes before Cade did.”

      Lindy-Grace worked for McKenzie at her gift shop and they were good friends, so it only made sense she would let her know what happened.

      “You will be at the top of Lindy-Grace’s Christmas list for the rest of your life,” McKenzie went on. “You know that, don’t you?”

      “Lucky me. She gives the best presents.”

      “And the top of ours as well. Ben and I have a very soft spot in our hearts for those boys. We would have been devastated if anything had happened to them. The whole town would have been devastated.”

      “Everything ended well and now we can all move on.”

      She was already tired of all the hullabaloo, especially for a decision that she was beginning to accept might not have been the smartest one she’d ever made.

      “Not everything. I understand Chief Emmett suspended you from the department for a week without pay.”

      Ugh. Small towns! A dog couldn’t pass gas without people talking about it.

      “Does everybody know that too?”

      “Cade called to tell me personally before the rumors started flying.”

      Of course. McKenzie was the mayor of Haven Point and Cade technically reported to her. Apparently he had been very busy on the phone all afternoon, between her mother and her dear friend.

      “I told him that didn’t sound like a good idea to me,” McKenzie said. “I can word my opposition more strongly, if you want.”

      “Heavens no! I don’t need my friends fighting my battle for me.”

      “Your friend happens to be his boss, in a roundabout way.”

      “All the more reason to keep your mouth shut. Please, Kenz.”

      “It doesn’t seem right to me. You saved the lives of two boys and shouldn’t be punished for that.”

      “I’m looking at it as a nice vacation,” she lied. “I’ll finally have the chance to catch up with things around here. Plus, it will give me more time to help Devin with the final plans for your bridal shower.”

      “You two are taking this bridal shower way too seriously. It’s beginning to scare me.”

      “Don’t worry. This is just practice. You and I can do the same for Dev and her sexy rancher when they tie the knot.”

      “Good point,” McKenzie said and Wynona could hear the smile in her voice. In the background she heard someone else talking to her friend and a moment later, McKenzie came back on the line. “I’ve got to go. Somebody is here to make a special floral order.”

      “No problem. I have to go too. Young Pete needs to go out again.”

      “I’m just going to say this again. It’s time you dropped the descriptor. Young Pete has prostate issues, like other dudes of a certain age,” McKenzie muttered.

      She smiled and hung up after exchanging goodbyes, deeply grateful for her friends. Yes, she had been a bridesmaid five times in the last two years—it would be six after Devin’s wedding in a few more months. She was getting a little tired of it, but she would be lost without her friends, who had lifted her through more than they even knew.

      “You might not be young anymore,” she told Pete, “but you’re still worth a dozen puppies.”

      He wagged his tail, still standing by the door, patiently waiting for her to open it.

      “You know what we both need?” she decided on impulse. “A little walk to clear our heads. Somewhere out of cell range, preferably.”

      Pete seemed to be in full agreement, especially when she slipped on her walking shoes and grabbed the little pack she always kept stocked with a flashlight, water bottle and granola bar.

      She decided to head for their favorite walk, along the Mount Solace trail that would take them across the Hell’s Fury River and up into the mountains above town. The bridge that led to the trailhead was just on the other side of Cade’s house so she didn’t bother with Pete’s leash, though she brought it along and stuffed it in the pack.

      The dog stayed by her side as they walked down the street with the sound of the river accompanying them. When they reached the little Craftsman, she saw a slight woman with auburn hair unpacking groceries from the minivan, aided by a little boy of about four and a girl a few years older.

      Pete, ever friendly, wandered over to say hello with his tail wagging a hundred beats a minute. The boy let out a shriek