Page 63 of The One Who Risked it All

I smiled, my heart full. “The beginning of our forever.”

Epilogue

SAMANTHA BROWN

“Mom, hurry up!” Sophia tugged on my hand, her dark curls bouncing as she skipped ahead. At thirteen, she still had a boundless enthusiasm for events like this — cotton candy, games, all her friends from school. The Spring Sparks Auction was the place to be in Minden in May.

I smiled at her. “I’m coming, kiddo. Slow down before you run into someone.” My shift at the library’s booth was done and Sophia was itching to socialize.

Sophia rolled her eyes but slowed her pace. “You always worry too much. It’s just Minden. What could possibly go wrong?”

Plenty, I thought but didn’t say aloud. That was my job. I was the one who had to protect her. She was innocent in the ways of the world. The way one mistake could change the course of your entire life.

We wove through the crowd, passing familiar faces. Some smiled and waved, while others paused for quick pleasantries. Sophia was the social butterfly. Had I been that way once? Perhaps. But that was a long time ago. More than thirteen years, in fact. Finding out you were single and pregnant at nineteen years old would do that to a girl.

The auction stage loomed ahead, and Sophia’s excitement ratcheted up another notch. “Can we stay for the firefighter auction? Please? I want to see who bids on them.”

I hesitated. The firefighter auction was always entertaining – the men were goofballs, honestly. But I got anxious being in the middle of a crowd. Like something would spiral out of control like it had—

I shook away the thought. This wasn’t Panama City and I wasn’t under the influence of anything.

Sophia was looking at me with those pleading eyes that made it impossible to say no.

“Fine,” I relented. “But we’re not staying long. I have a lot to do at home.”

Sophia grinned and pulled me closer to the stage. We found a spot near the back, where the crowd wasn’t as dense, and settled in to watch.

The auctioneer’s booming voice echoed through the square, drawing cheers and laughter from the audience. One by one, the firefighters took the stage, lining up along the back like some cheesy calendar spread.

Instead of looking at them, I was scanning the crowd when I heard the auctioneer announce a new name.

“Evan Mercer! He just moved here from Chicago and we’re lucky to have him joining the MRFD as a new firefighter? Do I have $50?”

My heart stopped.

No. No, it couldn’t be.

I turned toward the stage, and there he was. Evan Mercer, standing tall and confident, his expression warm and easy as he waved at the crowd.

The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet. My mind raced, the years unraveling in an instant. The memories hit me like afreight train—his smile, his laugh, the lights, and the deafening music.

The night that had changed everything.

I swallowed hard, my breath coming in short, shallow bursts. What was he doing here? In Minden, of all places?

“Mom? Are you okay?” Sophia’s voice pulled me back to the present. She was watching me with concern, her brow furrowed.

“I’m fine,” I lied, forcing a tight smile. “Just enjoying the show.”

Sophia turned her attention back to the stage, but my mind was spinning. This couldn’t be happening. Evan Mercer—the man I’d kept a secret from for thirteen years—was here, in my hometown.

The bids climbed higher, the crowd cheering as Evan’s time was auctioned off to the highest bidder. He seemed oblivious to my presence, his attention focused on the stage.

Good. He didn’t know I was here. Not that he probably even remembered me. It wasn’t as if he had ever called the number I’d given him. It had just been one night for him. One that I had lived the consequences of for thirteen years. I wouldn’t trade Sophia for anything. But Evan didn’t even know she existed.

But how long would that last? Minden wasn’t a big town. It was only a matter of time before our paths crossed, and when they did, he would see Sophia.

Sophia, who had his eyes. His smile. His curiosity.

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