Page 1 of Lake Shore Splendor

One

Fallbroughtallkindsof wonderful things to Luna, Montana. Vibrant yellows on the aspens, creating a landfall of brilliant gold against the rise of the Rocky Mountains. Frigid mornings that made Hazel’s breath magical white puffs against the backdrop of deep-green pines. And the warm aroma of caramel apple pie in Janie’s Café.

It was the last on that list that Hazel enjoyed the moment she pushed through the door and strode into her best friend’s establishment. After a week of not being in town and not seeing Janie, and double that space of time of not seeing Bennett, she had been ready for a good visit and satisfying comfort food.

Janie smiled warmly. “Hey, girl. Glad to see you can still find your way down the mountain.”

Hazel shrugged. “It’s easier now. Much as I hate to admit it, Hunter’s truck does make the trip less of a . . . well, trip.”

Janie snorted. “Ah. The stubbornness of a Wallace. Glad to see itcanbe tamed.”

“Huh.” Hazel accepted the warm mug, wrapping her chilled fingers around the white ceramic and inhaling the bold richness of Janie’s coffee. Actually, it wasn’t Janie’s old brand of coffee. Her friend had switched to Bennett’s favorite brand.

Goodness, but that man was a convincing force.

“Some things are worth bending on,” Hazel muttered, more to herself than to Janie, her thoughts still tangled around Bennett. Some things, yes. They were worth compromising.

But what about theonething that had wedged between her and the man who had wrangled her heart?

“So you’re good with Hunter’s lodge now?”

Jarred back to the conversation, Hazel jerked her gaze from the black depths of her coffee. Janie pressed her lips together, making her expression all anxious. Sitting across from her at the polished blue-stained pinewood bar, Hazel considered carefully. Her mind raced through the seismic shifts that had reshaped her world in the last year. Almost a year before, Bennett Crofton had crashed into her world, and nothing had been the same since. Now? Now her brother had come home to stay, and he was going to build a monster of a cabin and call it a hunting lodge—the Lake Shore Splendor.

Was she good with that?

After a pause, she released a slow breath and nodded. “I don’t know thatgoodis the right word. But I see what Hunter was saying—that he needs to find a life here. And I know Bennett is right—I should be grateful that Hunter is back. And I am. And I’m grateful that Hunter wants to include me, even if I don’t love the idea of a big lodge filled with strangers just on the other side of the ridge.”

“But you’re in?” Her blue eyes dancing, Janie pressed her palms against the counter and leaned in. “You’re going to do the guided hunts?”

Hazel shrugged. Interesting that Janie seemed to know all sorts of details about Hunter’s hopes for the lodge. How much time, exactly, had those two spent together in the past few weeks? And was Janie eager for Hazel to be excited about this? Or was there something else stirring her interest?

Sheesh. Hazel had never been good at understanding other people. Why should she start unwinding the complexities now? Take care of herself. That was what she should focus on. That had forever been her focus before. Should everything change now?

“It’s what I’ve always done.” She summoned a smile as she thought of Hunter’s enthusiasm for her to be a part of his plans. That meant something. No. That didn’t just mean something.

It meant a whole heaping mountain of somethings.

Emotion welled up from the depths of her smothered heart as she thought back to what Bennett had said when he’d urged her to reconcile with her brother.He loves you, Zel . . . Hunter only wanted to take care of you.Hazel had been dumbfounded and deeply moved to discover that Bennett had been right. And Hunter was still trying to take care of her.

This time she understood. She was listening. And she saw Hunter for who he’d been all along—her big brother trying to do best by her, even when she was too angry and nearsighted to understand.

She was loved. The idea of it—the deep stirring of her soul at that revelation—nearly stole her breath. Loved not only by the brother she thought had rejected her and abandoned her, but by a reallygoodman who wanted only good things for her.

So though she didn’t love the idea of the Splendor, Hazel was determined to try, to support Hunter this time around. Because for all their rocky past, she loved that dumb brother of hers. As she thought on him—about the way Hunter had taken her around the footprint of that eight-thousand-square-foot mountain monstrosity, then showed her where the carriage house would be and the new barn and corrals—a grin pulled on the corners of her mouth.

“Ah, she even smiles about the future.” Janie giggled. “Look at you, Zel! You’reexcitedabout this.”

“I am not.” Her full smile—the one she couldn’t tame—told on her.

Take care of herself, and that was all? Yeah right. Everything had changed, and Hazel knew she could never go back to her narrow world. While that felt terrifying, it also felt strangely right. Like she was made for more than the lake and her dogs.

“I’m happy Hunter is home. That he’s got a plan and he’s going to stay.” There, Hazel fixed a serious, inspecting expression as she searched her friend’s face. “What about you?”

Janie tried to play dumb. “What about me? I have my own life and business. Which means I have no part of what is happening up at Elk Lake.”

“You know what I meant.” Hazel tipped her head. “What about you andHunter.”

“Pshh.” Janie waved her hand. “Let’s get something straight here. There’s nome and Hunter. There won’t be ame and Hunter.”

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