Although I was tired, coffee was only moments away. I was relieved I had somewhere I had to be. It was hard to focus on my designs right now. I needed the distraction of customers and people keeping me busy all day long.

  At five o’clock, I was the first one here, although I expected Hazel to arrive any minute now. She and Phyllis owned and run this place together. They’d been best friends since college and were now both widows. Hazel usually handled the morning shifts, and Phyllis took over in the afternoons. I was their main employee, and a few high school kids rotated after-school shifts and picked up the extra slack in the summer when it was insanely busy.

  I loved this time of day here. I could putter around in the back and enjoy the quiet start to the day. I turned on the ovens and slid some premade muffins and savory rolls in to heat. I made my way out front, checking supplies for the coffee maker and espresso machine, and set out the day-old baked goods that we sold for a reduced price.

  Once everything was ready and I had the computerized tablet register powered up, I walked to the door to flip the sign to open. After I unlocked the door, I turned on the decorative lights around the windows.

  “Good morning!” Hazel’s voice reached me as she came in through the back.

  I glanced over, giving her a little wave. “Good morning.” I began my usual loop around the front of the café, taking the chairs off the tables and setting them on the floor.

  A few moments later, I rounded the counter and rested my hips against it, smiling over at Hazel. “You made me coffee.”

  “It’s my job,” she said with a wink.

  “Not technically.”

  This was our morning routine. Hazel insisted on making the first coffee every day. She handed a mug over as she began making her own in the espresso machine. She knew exactly what I liked—a triple shot Americano with just a little bit of milk foamed on top of it.

  I took a swallow, closing my eyes as the caffeine jolt hit my system.

  When I opened them, she asked, “How are you?”

  I shrugged. “Okay.” That was kind of a lie.

  She tapped the button on the espresso machine to start her cup of straight-up espresso and rested her hips against the counter, mirroring my pose as she eyed me. “I heard.”

  I groaned. She let out a little sigh, a slightly worried smile curving her lips. Her blue eyes crinkled at the corners, and she lifted a hand to smooth it over her hair, which was pulled into a tidy bun.

  “How in the world did you hear?”

  “I heard yesterday afternoon. Rhys went to talk to their family attorney. I stopped by Fireweed Winery because our knitting group met last night, and we needed some wine and beer. Blake mentioned it. He said Rhys is totally stressed out.”

  Blake was one of Rhys’s younger brothers. “I broke up with Rhys.” I took a swallow of coffee, hoping the heat of it would soothe the tight, achy feeling in my throat.

  “Aah. Well, Blake didn’t mention that, but I’m sure that only adds to Rhys’s stress.”

  “Well, he should be stressed out about this blast from the past and the fact that apparently, he has a child out there who he hasn’t even been paying child support for,” I pointed out.

  Hazel angled her head to the side. “Do you really think he would’ve done that if he’d known?”

  Just then, the espresso machine beeped, indicating her coffee was ready. She turned away to finish getting it ready and prep the machine for whoever came in next.

  When she looked back at me, I shrugged. “I don’t know. I know that when I first told Deacon that Rhys and I were seeing each other, he wasn’t thrilled. He pointed out that Rhys never got serious with anyone, which was true. I saw the child support paperwork. She’s willing to do a paternity test.” Hazel’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, so you didn’t know that detail?” My tone was sharp.

  “No, I did not. Okay, say it is his child. If she never told him, how is he supposed to know?”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I simply shrugged. “I don’t know. This whole mess aside, I just don’t know if now is the time for me to stay in this. I think Rhys needs to sort it out. If he has a child…” I lifted a hand, letting it fall before my palm slapped on the counter. “He’s like an instant father. He should probably focus on that.”

  “Have you talked to him?” she asked softly.

  “A little. I told him we should take a break.” I didn’t want to admit that I hadn’t really given him a chance to explain. I had trust issues, and I didn’t need to try. I already had to overlook a lot when it came to Rhys.

  Chapter Four

  Rhys

  “Dude, you’ve got some shit to deal with,” my brother said as he shook his head.

  I let out a groan as I rested my hands on the counter behind me. “Tell me something I don’t know,” I offered dryly.

  Blake turned to face me, sliding his hips onto a stool across from me. We were in a back room at Fireweed Winery. This was where it all started for my family. Our great-uncle and aunt had started a winery and brewery. It had been small at first. Our great-aunt had enjoyed making wine for fun and decided to make a business of it because people kept telling her she was really good at it. She made wine and mead from the plentiful berries that grew wild in Southeast Alaska.

  What started as a fun side business had exploded for them. It was a combination of good business sense, really good timing, and a delicious local product. The business quickly became highly profitable for them, and they expanded from making wine to brewing beer. Once they had more capital, they began investing it, mostly in Alaska, buying up land, other businesses, and more. They owned holdings in Southcentral Alaska, oil holdings along the North Slope, and several commercial fishery businesses. Time and again, their timing had been smart but also lucky. The business had expanded into an international investment company with holdings all over the world.

  For a while, we had our headquarters in Seattle. We were that big. But a series of events had pushed me to make the decision to move our headquarters back here. We still had a small presence in Seattle, solely for when anyone from the company was passing through and needed a landing place. I was still dealing with the tangled mess that our corrupt grandfather had created. That alone had been enough for me to shut things down. He was currently in the middle of the sentencing process for felony embezzlement.

  After the business grew, more family had started working for the company. Our great-uncle and aunt had passed away, and our grandparents were the only remaining family members from that generation still alive. I adored my grandmother, but my grandfather could burn in hell as far as I was concerned. Jail would have to suffice.

  I was relieved to be back home, because between that and a tragedy that had blown up long-held secrets in our family, I needed to be back in Fireweed Harbor, back where I felt like we could somehow heal and move beyond some of the mess that had come to light.

  And now this.

  I looked over at my brother. We shared the same eyes, but he had darker hair and a more easygoing personality than I did. It suited him to be the one who ran the winery.

  Blake leaned over, snagging one of the product samples of a new honey wild blackberry mead. “Have one,” he said as he handed it over to me.

  I took it from him. “Thank you.”

  I glanced around the room at the stainless-steel counters and small bottling area. It was all for product samples. Several refrigerated cases lined one wall. Blake kept some of the product here for when he had tasting events twice a week.

  Aside from hosting events and managing the store in this main flagship location, a warehouse attached to the back of it was where we produced the retail product. We tried to keep it exclusive so it wasn’t too massive of an operation, but we were busy. We also had a restaurant attached to this, which was managed by the longtime chef who’d worked there.

  “So what did Quinn say?” Blake asked.

  Quinn Blackthorn was one of our family attorneys. Her grandfather had worked for our grandparents and her father for our parents. Her father was still working but had scaled back considerably. Quinn’s offices were right inside our main office in the building beside the winery. We kept her busy, to say the least.

  “She referred me to the attorney in their firm who handles family matters. I have a meeting with him tomorrow. Her quick take was if the woman is offering to do a paternity test, I should be prepared for the fallout.” I paused and took a breath. “I spent a few weekends with Cathy, the woman filing for child support.” I hadn’t wanted to discuss that detail yet but knew I was only avoiding the reality of my situation.

  “Oh fuck,” Blake muttered. “Are you serious?”

  I lifted a hand and let it fall. “Dude, there’s no crime in having no-strings-attached weekends. I always used condoms.”

  My brother rolled his eyes. “I’m glad to know, but I don’t need that many details about your sex life,” he pointed out.

  I let out a short laugh, finally unscrewing the cap on the mead and taking a swallow. The subtle sweet berry flavor slid across my tongue. Lowering the bottle, I offered, “This is good.”

  Blake took a swallow from his bottle before grinning over at me. “Isn’t it, though? We’re always refining things. We haven’t done one with blackberries in a while. It’s a limited run, so we can charge a higher price.”

  “Smart plan,” I replied before taking another swallow.

  “What the hell are you going to do?” he asked a beat later.

  “Take a paternity test, prove the kid’s not mine, and move on with my life. Honestly, I’m not that worried about it. Well, I’m a little worried. Haven broke up with me.”

  “Over this?”

  “Yeah. They served her by accident, instead of me. Quinn pointed out I could contest being properly served, but that’s only a delaying tactic, so I don’t see the point. Anyway, Haven saw the papers and everything. She said she wants to take a break and that I should figure this out.”

  “Oh fuck. I know you really love her,” Blake offered.

  My heart kicked against my ribs. It felt like my heart was actually angry with me. “I do love her. I feel like I should’ve seen this coming somehow.”

  “You said she’s got trust issues, right?” he prompted.

  “Yeah, her ex totally fucked her over. He stole her money and took off. He’s the one who set up the backend of her website and everything for her business. She was close to broke when she got back to Fireweed Harbor.”

  Blake’s brows hitched up, a look of disgust crossing his face. “Well, fuck,” he said slowly.

  “Yeah, and now it looks like I had a kid who I blew off and didn’t bother to tell her about.”

  My brother studied me for a moment, taking a drag from his mead before lowering the bottle and spinning it between his hands. “You know, when you two started dating last summer, I was a little worried. Not about you, but getting serious was never your thing. I thought you might find yourself in a bind and piss Deacon off. Not that you have to answer to Deacon, but he is your best friend.”

  “I know. It’s not how it worked out. Now, Haven’s the one who dumped me. Do you think Deacon will get pissed off at his sister?” I asked dryly.

  My brother chuckled. “Probably not. Go have that meeting with whoever Quinn referred you to and let the dust settle. This is kind of a big thing for someone to find out.”

  “I know, but it’s not true,” I countered.

  “Are you sure?”

  Chapter Five

  Rhys

  Are you sure?

  Blake’s question played on a loop in my brain later that night. I wanted to be sure, but the part of those legal papers that was accurate was I had spent a few weekends with Cathy.

  “There’s no fucking way,” I whispered into the darkness.

  I shifted on my pillows, tucking an elbow behind my head and trying to get comfortable. Sleep had eluded me for the last few nights. My mind spun back to those weekends with Cathy. I’d always used a condom because that was what I always did. She also said she was on birth control. Of course, there was a chance, no matter how slim. The part I kept questioning was why she didn’t reach out sooner.

  We had parted on friendly terms. The weekends we’d spent together had been casual and fun. She had no expectations, and neither did I. A niggling worry was I hadn’t told her about my family and always kept the details vague. At that time, I wasn’t the CEO of my family’s company. I’d been in college, for crying out loud. So while I knew there was a possibility she could’ve gotten pregnant, I didn’t believe it.

  Are you sure?

  Chapter Six

  Haven

  I held my hand out, reaching for the glass of wine Tessa had just poured me. She cocked her head to the side. “You’ve done the impossible.”

  I took a swallow of wine before asking, “What did I do?”

  “I ran into McKenna, and she said Rhys is heartbroken.” McKenna was Rhys’s younger sister and friends with Tessa. I was friendly with McKenna, but we weren’t as close. “If I was seeing someone and they got served with child support paperwork, well, that’s kind of big news.”

  I looked over at my friend. I’d known Tessa Hensen since kindergarten. We’d easily slipped back into our friendship after I moved home and made a habit of getting together every week or so. Another friend from elementary school, Rosie Linden, was meeting us here as well.

  The downside to a small town was navigating these tightropes. I knew the gossip about Rhys and me would spread like a brushfire in dry grass. It was all the more juicy because of the fact he was being sued for child support. The Cannon family was the subject of plenty of gossip in Fireweed Harbor. Aside from the fact they owned a billion-dollar corporation that put our tiny town on the map, their history contained tragedy with their father dying when the children were young, the eldest son dying in college, and rumors about abuse by their grandfather who’d stepped in to help after their father passed away. It was a lot to chew on as far as gossip went.

  “How are you with all this?” Tessa asked.

  I shrugged lightly. “Not great. I just think Rhys needs to sort things out. Whether he and I work things out afterward, I don’t know.”

  Rosie approached our table. Tessa smiled up at her. “Hey.” She patted the empty chair beside her. “For you.”

  Sitting down, Rosie smiled at us. “Sorry I’m late. Things were crazy at the hospital.”

  Rosie was a nurse at the ER department at Fireweed Harbor Hospital. Tessa lifted the bottle in the center of the table, promptly filling the empty glass in front of Rosie.

  Taking a swallow, Rosie sighed as she set down the glass. “Thank God I’m walking home tonight.”

  “We can walk together,” I offered since Rosie lived just a few houses down from me.

  The server arrived to take our order. I loved our habit of getting together for dinner every few weeks. It was nice to be back home. We usually met somewhere downtown since the area was within walking distance for all of us.

  After we ordered, Tessa leaned back in her chair. “No matter what, it’s a messy situation.”

  “The situation with Rhys?” Rosie prompted. At my nod, she scrunched her nose. “It’s a serious mess.”

  I let out a sigh. “I know.”

  Tessa shook her head. “Rumors are flying. Apparently, Rhys was involved with the woman who filed for child support for a short while. Did he tell you that?”

  “Where did you hear that?” I asked. “And no, he didn’t tell me. We haven’t really talked. I got served the paperwork by accident, probably because my house is right next door and identical to his. I dropped it off at his place and told him I needed a break. That’s it. I do need a break. Rhys is out of my league anyway. I have enough trust issues, to begin with. Anyway, what did you hear?” I tried to ignore the sick feeling building inside me. I didn’t need to start obsessing over Rhys’s past.

  Rosie jumped in. “He actually came into the hospital lab for the paternity swab. I don’t even know where that rumor started about the woman. He’s from the Cannon family. Somebody’s got the scoop somewhere. Whether it’s accurate isn’t the point. Even more complicated, rumor had it the woman was also involved with Jake.”

  Tessa grimaced, and I gasped. Jake was the eldest Cannon brother who’d died of alcohol poisoning in college.

  Tessa glanced at me, her brows hitching up. “What do you want?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “For you and Rhys. Forget about this quagmire for a minute. What do you want?”

  “I don’t know. We’ve only made it eight months. In the large scheme of things, that’s not too long. We weren’t talking about marriage or anything. Maybe I really liked him…” I paused and took a gulp of wine to soothe the achy tightness in my throat and chest. I hadn’t said it out loud, not to him or anyone. I almost couldn’t let myself think the words. I had fallen in love with Rhys like the most foolish idiot in the universe.

  “What I want, not specifically with him, but in general, is to have a relationship with someone who doesn’t have secrets in their past and who isn’t going to completely screw me over.”

  Rosie nodded emphatically. “Isn’t that what we all want?”

  “Can we talk about something other than me and that hot mess?”

  “Sure thing,” Tessa said. “Can we make a deal, though?”

  “Sure, I think. What for?”

  “We let you know about any rumors or gossip.”

  “Better for you to be prepared than taken off guard,” Rosie added.

  “Deal. Now catch me up to speed on your love lives,” I teased.

  Tessa burst out laughing. “I don’t have one.”

  Rosie grinned. “Me neither. Should we start a ‘we don’t need a man’ club?”

  At one point during dinner, when the topic had been firmly diverted away from my failed relationship with Rhys, I got up to go to the restroom before we got the check. While I was in there, a woman came in. She was stunning with gorgeous, glossy blond hair. My hair was never glossy, ever. It was too prone to frizz. She had big blue eyes and a willowy figure. I’d never seen her before.