Hannah noted the grass stains on her youngest son’s knees, considered making him change, then decided not to worry about it. He’d only roll around in the grass at Patti’s and get even dirtier.

  Retrieving the pasta salad she’d made, she told Kenny to get the gift—a portrait she’d done of the two boys—set her VCR to record NFL Countdown, and headed out.

  The drive took less than ten minutes. Soon Hannah was jockeying for a parking spot amidst all the vehicles that clogged the drive. She recognized Donny’s truck, Pug and Violet’s Cadillac, Patti’s car. There was even a white sedan parked behind the van. The sight of it almost made Hannah turn around. Patti had invited Deborah Wheeler to the party.

  “Mom?” Kenny said when she didn’t get out right away. “You coming?”

  Hannah took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. I miss you, Gabe had said. She missed him, too. He’d never know how much…. “Of course.”

  “Are you sure Patti won’t care that we’re bringing Lazarus?” Kenny asked as they walked to the door.

  “I checked with her,” Hannah said. “She told me he could come if we keep him in the backyard.”

  “I’ll stay with him,” Brent said. “He won’t want to be out there all alone.”

  Hannah opened her mouth to say that the dog would probably be okay for a little while, but Patti must have been watching for her because the door opened almost immediately.

  “Hi, Hannah,” she said, but didn’t hug her, as usual.

  Hannah shifted the bowl in her arms to camouflage the fact that she didn’t make any move to embrace Patti, either. “Hi.”

  “Everyone’s watching the pregame show.”

  “Sounds great,” Hannah said, refusing to let Patti or anyone else make her feel any more out of place than she already did.

  Patti hugged the boys and took the salad, and Brent ran off to show Lazarus off before the dog had to be relegated to the backyard. Kenny hung back. “You okay, Mom?” he asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Don’t let anyone make you feel bad,” he said softly. “I know Coach Holbrook really likes you.”

  Hannah nodded because it was too late to say anything more. Violet had come out of the kitchen.

  “Hello, Hannah,” she said. “How nice of you to come.”

  Polite. Distant. They were treating her like a traitor.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Hannah said. “Here’s Pug’s gift. I hope he likes it.”

  “I’m sure he will.”

  “I’ll tell you what I’d like,” Pug called out.

  Hannah hadn’t realized he was within hearing distance, and braced herself for the worst. Sometimes Pug said the rudest things, all the while acting as though he had the right. At least he was generally undiscriminating with his gruff remarks. “What’s that?” she said.

  “I’d like my favorite daughter-in-law to get her head out of the clouds and be satisfied with a good man who loves her.”

  “Gabe is a good man,” she said stubbornly.

  “But that boy’s in New York, where he’s going to stay. It said in the paper that ESPN is offering him a two-year contract.”

  “I hope he signs it,” she said. “It’ll be good for him.”

  “I don’t care what’s good for him. I’m worried about what’s good for you,” Pug said.

  “I don’t want her anymore, anyway,” Russ snapped.

  Pug made a noise of disgust. “Then you’re an idiot.”

  Trying not to smile, Hannah sauntered into the living room, where she could hear Gabe’s voice on the television.

  Deborah Wheeler watched her cross the room and sit down before bothering to say hello. Hannah eyed her for a moment, giving her a taste of her own medicine, then nodded in acknowledgement.

  Donny completely ignored her, but not because he felt any animosity. He was just consumed by his own pain. He looked tired and depressed.

  “Gabe seems a little nervous today,” Deborah said.

  Hannah knew she was trying to stir things up. “He’ll be fine,” she said with a little shrug.

  They sat there for a few minutes in silence. Russ kept looking from the television to her, with his lip curled in disgust. And Pug kept shaking his head as if it was a damn shame everyone couldn’t just do what he said.

  Finally, Hannah got up to see if Patti needed any help. But she only made it halfway to the kitchen before Kenny called her back.

  “Mom! Come quick.”

  “What is it?” When she stuck her head into the living room, no one answered. They were all transfixed by the television.

  Hannah shifted her focus to the screen and, for the first time since arriving at Patti’s, really listened to what Gabe was saying.

  “So you’re not going to be a regular part of the show?” Steve Young asked him.

  Gabe shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Steve.”

  “That’s too bad. I was hoping we’d see a lot more of you.”

  “I like it here, but there are a few things at home I’d rather not miss.”

  “Like…” Steve gave him a you-can-trust-me smile.

  Gabe seemed hesitant to answer at first, but when the camera panned to his face, he slowly grinned. “I’ve met someone I’m hoping to marry.”

  It was easy to tell that Steve Young was surprised by Gabe’s answer. But Steve wasn’t an idiot. He knew this would be of great interest to America in general, and football enthusiasts in particular, so he kept at it. “Can you tell us who the lucky lady is?”

  Time seemed to stand still. Hannah noticed the open mouths of Donny, Pug, and Violet, could see Russ’s eyes nearly bulging out of his head. She could even hear her own heartbeat, thumping loudly in her ears.

  Gabe glanced at the camera, his dark eyelashes making the perfect frame for his blue eyes. To Hannah, it felt like he was looking right at her. “Her name is Hannah Price.”

  “Oh, God,” Hannah whispered.

  “Where’d you meet her?” Steve asked.

  “She’s from my hometown.”

  “Well, I hope you’ll be happy.”

  Gabe’s grin turned into a hopeful boyish smile. “I will if she says yes,” he said, and the program cut to a commercial.

  No one moved for several seconds until, finally, Deborah Wheeler turned to gape at Hannah. “You did it,” she murmured. “I can’t believe it…. You did it.”

  Hannah could hardly breathe. Gabe was coming home. He was coming home to her. And he wanted to get married. He’d just said so. In front of millions of people including Russ and all of Russ’s family. On national TV!

  It was a lot to take in, especially with everyone staring at her in stunned surprise.

  “Mom?” Kenny said, his voice breaking with excitement. “Are you going to do it? Are you going to marry him?”

  Could it last? Could he truly forgive her for the accident? “I told him I didn’t plan on getting married again,” she said, more to herself than anyone.

  “So? You can always change your mind,” Pug said.

  “He hasn’t asked me to, yet. At least not officially,” she said.

  Kenny crossed the room and put his arm around her. “He just told all of America that he wants to marry you. That’s pretty official.” He leaned down so that they were eye to eye. “You want to marry him, don’t you?”

  He can’t help but resent you eventually. Patti had said that. Was it true?

  “I don’t know.”

  “Don’t miss your chance, Hannah,” Pug said, and Russ shot him a furious glance.

  This was her chance, Hannah realized. She had the opportunity to live with the man she loved, sleep with him, hopefully share the rest of her life with him. And she was going to take it. Risk it all. “I know,” she said.

  Brent grabbed her hand. “Does that mean you’re going to say yes?”

  When she nodded, he let out a whoop. “Lazarus is mine!”

  Hannah might have laughed at his response, but she was still reeling. “Hannah Holbrook,” she said, practicing. She knew that no one, besides her, Kenny and Brent—and possibly Pug—appreciated the sound of it. But she didn’t care. Suddenly she felt as light as air. Maybe she’d even have another baby….

  * * *

  HE WAS ABOUT TO propose marriage. To Hannah Price. He was planning to stay in Dundee, probably for the rest of his life. And he wanted to coach.

  Somehow it had all crystallized for him while sitting at dinner in New York, with Barbie cooing over him, Harvey pressing him to sign a multimillion-dollar contract, and Phil constantly stroking his ego. Hosting NFL Sunday Countdown was undeniably a great opportunity—but for someone else. He’d offered to be a stand-in when one of the regulars was out, and that would be enough.

  The answer had been so simple, he’d almost missed it, Gabe realized as he drove home from the airport, his window down and the cool night air rushing into his truck. He belonged in Dundee, with Hannah, Kenny, Brent, Lazarus, and his own family. He had some ground to make up with his father. Reenie needed him right now, as well.

  But he still couldn’t believe it. A few months ago, he never would’ve imagined he’d be getting married so soon. He’d been too busy deluding himself that he’d walk again, that he’d return to football.

  He’d hung on to that hope so tightly because he’d feared there’d be nothing to replace it if he let go. But there was. Hannah, even the Spartans, were just as vital to him as anything that had come before.

  Holding the steering wheel with his left hand, he reached for the small velvet box sitting in the seat next to him. He’d bought Hannah’s ring at Tiffany’s before flying home. He’d wanted to get her something special, something beyond anything she’d ever seen before—and he felt certain he’d found it. He just hoped he could convince her that marrying him wouldn’t be a bad thing for her boys. She loved him; he knew that. But she’d be worried about them, so much that she’d put their interests before her own wants and needs.

  For probably the hundredth time, he ran through what he planned to say to her the moment she offered him any resistance. He’d be good to Kenny and Brent. They needed a better role model than they had. He could teach them a lot, about football, school, woodworking, overcoming adversity. He had the money to buy them things she couldn’t. And his best argument of all—how could it hurt a child to have an extra adult around to love him and care for him?

  It couldn’t. That would have to be her reply. Then he’d tempt her with the ring. He didn’t know a whole lot about diamonds, but this one was certainly pretty. The salesgirl at Tiffany’s had nearly fainted when he bought it. That’s the most beautiful ring we’ve got….

  Which is what made it perfect for Hannah. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, especially on the inside, where it really mattered.

  The “Welcome to Dundee, Home of the Bad to the Bone Rodeo” sign came up on his right, and he felt a smile tempt his lips. To him, that sign might as well have said, “Welcome home, Gabe.”

  * * *

  HANNAH SAT ON HER PORCH in Gabe’s chair, staring out over her moonlit yard. The boys were asleep. As she pulled a blanket tighter around her shoulders to ward off the chill, she could hear the cicadas, smell the dew gathering on the grass. She liked this time of night. It was late, calm and peaceful. But she couldn’t relax. Gabe had called from the airport in New York an eternity ago to say he was on his way home. He told her he’d stop by, but he’d been in a big rush to catch his plane and hadn’t said anything more than that. She’d wanted to ask if he meant what he’d said on TV, if he was really planning to marry her—because she was having a difficult time believing what she’d heard.

  From the reaction she’d already witnessed, so was almost everyone else. Russ had immediately gotten up and stormed out of Patti’s house. In the ensuing silence, Deborah had burst into tears and slipped away. Although Patti and Violet had glanced worriedly at each other when Russ left, they’d largely refused to acknowledge that anything unusual had taken place. Pug was the only one in Russ’s family who seemed pleased. He’d grinned and clapped her on the back. “See if you can get me a couple of 49ers tickets, will ya?” he’d said, and she’d hugged him.

  Kenny and Brent didn’t seem to care if anyone else was excited. They were ecstatic. Kenny had grinned from ear to ear. Brent had started running through the house with Lazarus, yelling frenziedly that they belonged to a family now.

  A family…Hannah smiled as she gave up her grip on the blanket to pull her hair back. Father, mother, two kids and a dog. All living together. Just when she’d given up on the whole concept.

  Headlights appeared at the end of the street, making Hannah’s pulse speed up. It was Gabe.

  As he pulled into her driveway, she walked over to the driver’s window. “Hi,” she said.

  He let the engine idle, looking nervous for the first time since she’d known him. “Hi.”

  She dragged the blanket up around her shoulders again. “I watched the show today.”

  “What’d you think?”

  “That you’re crazy.”

  He seemed taken aback. “Why?”

  “What about the accident?”

  “What about it?” he responded.

  “It cost you so much, Gabe. I cost you so much. Do you really think you’ll be able to forgive me for that?”

  “Hannah…” His eyes grew intense. “The accident cost me a lot,” he admitted. “But I don’t see any reason to let it cost me any more than it already has, do you?”

  Hope swelled inside Hannah. “So you were serious when you said you wanted to marry me?”

  A lazy grin spread across his face. Seeing it, her heart nearly pounded right out of her chest. He was serious. She knew right then the dream was real. “What do the boys think of the idea?”

  “They like it,” she said.

  At this, some of the tension seemed to drain from his body. He turned off the truck and opened his door, and she stepped closer to him. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Now I don’t have to worry about all the things I’ve been planning to say.”

  “What kinds of things?”

  “Things that I hoped would convince you I’d be a good stepdad.”

  “You were worried I wouldn’t think so?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Knowing how much you love those boys? Yes.”

  She chuckled softly.

  “So?” he said.

  She gave him a grin of her own. “So, what?”

  “What do you say?”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but he held up a hand. “Wait, I think I’ll have a better chance if you see the ring. The salesgirl convinced me there wasn’t a woman on earth who could say no to this.”

  What the salesgirl had probably meant was that there wasn’t a woman on earth who could say no to him, but Hannah didn’t clarify. She was too busy staring at the ring he’d thrust in front of her. He’d bought the biggest emerald-cut diamond she’d ever seen, set in white gold.

  “Wow,” she breathed.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked eagerly.

  She was having trouble finding words. This ring had to have cost more than her house. It was hard to believe that yesterday she’d hesitated about buying a forty-dollar sweater and today she owned the biggest diamond in Dundee; that yesterday she’d thought she’d never remarry and today she was ready to set the date.

  “I know you have money, Gabe, but…can we really afford to spend so much on a ring?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “You don’t have anything to worry about, Hannah. I can afford whatever I want to buy you. And this isn’t just a ring—it’s a promise.”

  “Of what?” she murmured, still staring down at it.

  He took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. The weight of the diamond felt foreign to her hand, but good. “That I’ll never hold the accident against you. That I’ll love you forever,” he said. Then he tilted up her face and kissed her gently on the mouth.

  * * *

  If you enjoyed this story, don’t miss Brenda Novak’s newest novel in her Silver Springs series,

  UNFORGETTABLE YOU,

  Available now from MIRA Books. Keep reading for a sneak peek!

  CHAPTER 1

  Jada Brooks was pushing her brother in his wheelchair at the farmer’s market on the second weekend in June, a Saturday morning that inspired the cliché “picture perfect,” with nothing but blue skies and the usual mild, Southern California weather, when she caught a glimpse of something that made her stop dead in her tracks.

  “What’s wrong?” Atticus twisted around in his seat to look up at her. It’d been thirteen years since he’d been shot, so he was accustomed to the paralysis in his lower body and could propel himself with his arms—he was adept at doing almost everything, including driving now that his truck was properly equipped—but it was more relaxing and easier to stick together in a crowd if she took over. Visiting the market while Maya, Jada’s twelve-year-old daughter, helped her grandmother at the cookie store, was something they’d become accustomed to doing every now and then since Jada had divorced her husband and moved back to town three months ago.

  “I just…” Jada shook her head to clear it of the image that stubbornly remained. Surely, she was wrong about who she thought she’d seen. Maddox Richardson had left town right after she’d gotten pregnant, and there was nothing to draw him back. It wasn’t as if he had family in the area, like she did. The only reason he’d moved to Silver Springs in the first place was because he’d been sent by the courts to attend New Horizons Boys Ranch, a boarding school for troubled teens. And when he left, it was because he’d been enrolled at a different school somewhere else, somewhere she was never even told. After that terrible night, Maddox had essentially been banished at the request and expense of her parents, which hadn’t been an easy thing to accomplish given all the red tape his mother had had to go through in order to accommodate them.

  Whether forcing Maddox to go somewhere else was fair to him was another subject entirely. Jada tried not to think about that. She tried not to think about Maddox at all.

  Too bad she wasn’t more successful at it. So many little things brought him to mind, especially now that she was living where she’d gotten to know him. Someone who slightly resembled him or laughed like him or had the same cerulean blue eyes. Even a particular song or smell could bring him back to her. His life had intersected with hers in a way she would never forget—both for good and bad.