Page 22 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

Justin didn't know if Adam was more annoyed with the missing Kevin or with his overly optimistic sister, but he disappeared into the crowd.

"What is with him?" Lizzie asked.

"Forget him," Keira ordered. "Let's sing. This is supposed to be a party."

"Adam's party," Lizzie reminded her.

"He'll be fine," Chelsea put in. "Go sing."

Lizzie, Keira and Gianna left the table, leaving Justin with Chelsea, Brodie and Zach.

"How's your head?" Brodie asked.

"It's fine." He still had a dull ache in his temple, but the beer was helping with that.

"What happened?" Chelsea asked.

"I was driving behind your sister, Lizzie, when she braked very fast to avoid a deer. I swerved to avoid the back of her truck and ended up in a ditch."

"I saw Tom earlier," Brodie put in. "He said your car was totaled."

"Well, it was a rental car, so hopefully insurance will take care of it."

"And now you're staying at the inn?" Chelsea asked.

"Yes. I'm here for my grandparents' vow renewal ceremony this Saturday. They got delayed, so they're not arriving until tomorrow."

"Where are you from?" Zach asked curiously.

"San Francisco."

A gleam entered his eyes. "I used to live there. I had a condo south of Market. What about you?"

"I'm in Russian Hill."

"Great area."

"What brought you to Whisper Lake?" Justin asked.

"I was doing a remodel at the summer camp for a buddy of mine. I ran into Gianna, and that changed everything. We'd actually met at that camp when we were kids. A decade or so later, we end up back at the lake at the same time, and now we're married. We got a second chance, and we took it."

"And you run your business from here?"

"Yes. It's actually not that difficult. I visit job sites when I need to, but the rest of the time I'm here. I have an eight-year-old daughter, and this is a good place for her to grow up. I have to say this lake really changed my life."

"Mine, too," Brodie said. "It gave me a second chance, too. I had to reinvent myself, and I was able to do that here."

"I saw you ski once at Aspen," he interjected. "You were amazing."

"I used to be," Brodie agreed with a matter-of-fact nod of his head. "But that part of my life is over." His gaze moved to Chelsea. "I can't say I'm sorry, because it brought me here. It brought me Chelsea."

She gave him a soft smile. "I feel the same way." Dragging her gaze away from her fiancé, she added to Justin, "I also got a chance to start again."

"That seems to be a theme around here."

"It is," she said. "If you stay more than a few days, you might find yourself changing in a way you never expected."

"I'm happy with the way I am."

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