Burt and Woody asked if we would stick around ourselves and finish out the show, but that if I was too shaken up they would understand. They had one hour of live airtime to kill, and it was either us or having all of Vermont listen to Cormack prattle on about the latest couture pieces she’s added to her collection.

  I knew there was no way I was going to miss out on getting my mother’s B&B back, so I agreed to it. Besides that, both Jimmy Canelli and Luke Lazzari showed up and congratulated me on taking down another perpetrator—then each claimed I had gotten my tenacity to face a killer from their side of the family. But soon enough, all of the paternity secrets will be answered.

  And that’s exactly why I find myself back on that stage, nestled between Noah and Everett, while Cormack holds two bright blue envelopes in her hands.

  “Now, Liza.” Cormack fans herself with the envelopes while the camera rolls. “Welcome to Getting Candid with Cormack. Why don’t you tell all the fine people of Vermont how much you love your husband and hope and pray this wee one is his?”

  I make a face at her. “Of course, I love my husband.” Someone lets out a catcall from the audience—Carlotta is my guess. Followed by an audible retch—Evie, I’m sure. “But I care about both of these men. I love them both. There was no cheating involved here. I was simply breaking things off with Noah and starting things up with Everett. The baby, well, she sort of just happened. And now here we are—anxious to know the truth, but also we’re okay with the truth being whatever it may be. We’re not coming to blows over this. We’re not tipping over the coffee table. We’re going to handle this like mature adults.”

  “That’s all fine and dandy, but we’re saving the best for last.” She looks to her left at a trio of darkened figures backstage. “Let’s bring out Jimmy Canelli, Luke Lazzari, and Honey Hollow’s own, Mayor Harry Nash!”

  Noah groans, “I seemed to have blocked this part of the day out of my mind.”

  “No need to dwell on things that are guaranteed to go sideways,” I mutter.

  “Don’t worry, Lemon.” Everett gives my hand a squeeze. “This won’t change anything.”

  That’s where Everett is wrong. It will change everything—for him.

  And speaking of him, we decided to shelf last night’s discussion about the mystery woman until today’s catastrophe was over. And I didn’t dare bring up the fact that mystery woman all but saved my life out there just now. Everything was happening so quickly. The next thing I knew, Fern was being read her rights then hauled away, and no sooner was that over than we landed on this couch. I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath.

  And now this.

  Jimmy, Luke, and Harry all step out in single file, each in a neatly pressed dark suit, the same matching serious expressions on each of their faces as well.

  They nod my way in unison before stepping to the left of the sofa and looking out at Cormack as if awaiting a sentencing by the blonde judge.

  Cormack flicks a blue envelope in the air. “All right, Papa Bear. Come out, come out, whoever you are.”

  “Wait!” Carlotta screeches as she bursts onto the set and squeezes herself between Noah and me. “Go on, Corn Cobb. Trust me. If this goes south, you’re going to thank your lucky stars I’m sitting right here to put a stop to things before they get lethal.”

  “And stop my ratings from soaring?” Cormack belts out a hearty guffaw. “Not on your life.” She slides her finger along the seam of the envelope and plucks out the card in haste.

  My heart drums hard because my husband’s future lies in that woman’s hot little hands.

  Cormack glances my way, and for a second our eyes lock.

  “And the winner of the baby derby is—Jimmy Canelli!” She stomps her feet and punches her fists into the air.

  Jimmy jumps and hollers, and as quickly as his celebrating begins it comes to an abrupt end as Mayor Nash pulls him in by the lapel.

  “Nobody steals my baby!” he riots and Carlotta jumps up.

  “Don’t do it, Harry!” she shouts while trying to pluck Mayor Nash off the startled mobster. “You gotta make a run for it. He’s gonna kill you now!”

  “Slug him, Harry!” Cormack rails from the edge of her seat. “Think of my ratings!”

  Luke pulls Jimmy from under the both of them and hauls off and decks him. Jimmy staggers back and Luke decks him one more time, landing him flat on the coffee table and the small pine oval collapses under his weight.

  Luke plucks him back to his feet, and both Mayor Nash and he take turns beating poor Jimmy to a pulp. Noah and Everett mobilize, as do the designated in-house bouncers, and soon the stage is cleared of flying fists, broken furniture, and men who are relatively upset that they’re not my father.

  A niggling of pride hits me, but I choose to squelch it. Because we just so happen to have one more paternity hurdle to cross.

  Noah and Everett land back by my side, no worse for wear, but they’re slightly out of breath, their chests are pulsating wildly, and a part of me wonders if it’s because of what lies ahead.

  Cormack waves the final blue envelope in her hand. “And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for.” She nods to the audience and Mom stands with Lyla Nell as the camera zooms in on her angelic face. “That little precious baby is about to get herself a daddy. Who will it be?” She pulls the envelope apart as if she were unwrapping a gift on Christmas morning. “And the winner is—” She glances to the card for a second. “Essex!”

  It’s as if time slows to a crawl as I look his way. Everett’s face breaks out into a genuine grin as he pulls me into a firm embrace and he kisses me square on the lips with all the zest and vigor this occasion calls for.

  The crowd gives a round of applause and pulls me from my spell as I turn to Noah.

  “Congratulations, man.” Noah pulls both Everett and me into a hug before we all stand to our feet and the two of them indulge in one of those man hugs that looks cordial yet genuine.

  “There you have it, Vermont!” Cormack shouts with glee into the camera. “The detective might have been looking for a clue, but it was the judge who handed down the final verdict. We’ll be back after these messages where I’ll regale you with song.”

  “And cut!” Woody shouts, and the room breaks out into a thousand conversations at once.

  Mom scuttles this way with the baby, and soon Lyla Nell is in Everett’s arms. He holds her high and kisses her cheeks, and I will never forget the way that man glows under the supervision of her love.

  Evie hops over and hugs Noah as she brings him over to Everett and Lyla Nell.

  “Shoo!” Cormack shuffles everyone off the set and Noah, Everett, Evie, and my mother head backstage, but those cards in Cormack’s hands catch my eye.

  “Cormack, can you please give me those cards?” I widen my eyes her way and nod. “You know, for reasons which we discussed not too long ago.”

  I’m about to snatch them from her when she pulls them back.

  “Wait a minute.” She shuffles through them, rotating them back to front before handing one my way and it says Harry Nash in bold black letters.

  Knew it.

  A sense of relief floods me, and my heart soars because I’ve actually grown used to the idea of Harry being my father. He could never replace Joseph Lemon, the saint who raised me, but well, I guess, Harry feels special in his own right.

  Cormack went along with my scheme to protect Everett after all.

  “Can I have the other card, too? I’d like to save it for the baby.”

  “No.” She pulls it close to her chest, and I suck in a quick breath.

  “Cormack!” I hiss. “You didn’t!”

  “Of course, I didn’t.” She starts to take off in a hurry, and in one quick motion I pull her in and yank that card right out of her hand.

  She snatches it back and quickly tears it to shreds before me.

  “Cormack Featherby!” I shout as I quickly collect the pieces and make a run for it. I stop shy of where Everett is celebrating with his mother, his sister, my sisters, Keelie, Bear, Wiley, my mother, Evie and all her friends, and I see just enough letters in my hands to spell another name entirely.

  I head over and take a deep breath as tears swell in my eyes.

  “Everett? Noah? Can I speak to the two of you in private?”

  “Sure.” Everett lands another kiss to Lyla Nell’s cheek and Noah nods, looking as if he’s putting on his best game face.

  We head over to the refreshment table that’s almost depleted of all my chocolate chip cookies, and I press my lips tightly as I look to the two of them.

  “I’m sorry.” I shake my head at Everett as I hold out the pieces of that card in my hands. “Cormack—she wasn’t telling the truth.”

  Everett’s expression quickly sobers and Noah’s chest fills with a breath.

  Everett closes his eyes and bows his forehead to Lyla Nell’s a moment before landing a kiss to the tip of her nose and placing her gently into the arms of her true biological father.

  Tears stream down Noah’s face as he holds Lyla Nell close and blesses her with a kiss to the top of her head.

  “I have a daughter.” He nods my way. “We have a daughter.” He looks to Everett. “We all do.” He pulls Everett over and the three of us look to Lyla Nell as she studies Noah and Everett with wonder. Her lips begin to twitch, and she breaks out into a full-blown smile—and on both her right cheek and her left appear a set of deep-welled dimples just like her daddy’s.

  “Look at that!” I cry as my hand covers my mouth.

  Here Lyla Nell was practically hiding her identity herself, keeping her secret close to the vest like a poker hand.

  Lyla Nell smiles and giggles as Noah, Everett, and I share a warm laugh at the joyful sight.

  Everett gives Noah a thump on the back. “Congratulations. Welcome to the club. You’re officially a dad.” He shrugs. “You would have been one anyway.”

  Lyla Nell doesn’t stop smiling and neither do we.

  Everett

  “You’re still mine,” I whisper just above Lyla Nell’s little ear as she lies over my chest on the couch back at the house. Lemon is snuggled up next to me with Pancake and Waffles in her arms while Noah looks over Evie’s history paper.

  “It’s great, Evie,” he says. “You’re a natural at this. You’re going to kill it in college. It’s just one paper after the other once you get there.”

  “Don’t make it sound so fun,” Evie grunts.

  “I’d rework that last paragraph,” he says. “Give it a little bit more of a punch.”

  “Just the way Mayor Nash punched Jimmy Canelli?” she asks.

  “Just like that,” he muses.

  “Speaking of Harry…” Carlotta looks deflated. “Who knows when we’ll see him again. Now that Jimmy Canelli has a hit out on him, he’s gone into hiding.”

  The sound of a crash coming from the direction of Carlotta’s bedroom goes off, followed by the sound of footfalls headed down the hall.

  Noah reaches for his gun just as Mayor Nash bursts into the living room.

  “You’ve got a creature in your room, Carlotta,” he bellows.

  Carlotta jumps out of her seat. “You leave Fanny alone!”

  “Who’s Fanny?” Lemon shouts in a panic.

  Evie clucks her tongue. “Carlotta’s pet ferret, Mom. Where have you been? The best part? I can actually see this one.”

  Carlotta and Evie take off calling for Fanny while Mayor Nash heads to the kitchen before emerging with a plate full of cookies.

  “Sustenance.” He offers Lemon a forlorn look before heading back to where he came from.

  I shake my head in his wake. “What are the mathematical probabilities of having two people in the house both with hits out on them from Jimmy Canelli?”

  “Impossible.” Lemon’s shoulders ride up near her ears.

  “Spill it, Lemon.”

  “Lottie?” Noah’s voice hikes. “Do you know something we don’t?”

  I shoot him a look. “As if it would be the first time.” I pat her knee. “What’s going on?”

  “I got Jimmy Canelli to agree that if he was my father he’d put an end to that hit he has on you.”

  “Lemon?” I dip my chin as I look into her beautiful eyes. “Thank you.” A moment bounces by as my heart fills with love for this woman all over again. “I’m sorry you put yourself in that position, though.”

  “It begs the question…” Noah comes over and sits on the edge of the coffee table. “Is Jimmy Canelli your father?”

  I shake my head and glance in the direction of Carlotta’s bedroom.

  “I’ll have to find a way to tell Harry that he’s still my father—and that he can’t let on about it. Perhaps ever.”

  Lyla Nell giggles in her sleep, and despite the insanity still swirling around us, she puts a smile on our faces, too.

  An hour drifts by and Carlotta pops back into the room with an empty plate in her hand.

  “I’ve been given strict orders to make a samich.” Carlotta scoots into the kitchen. “Don’t let me interrupt your quiet time with your new baby girl, Sexy.”

  I shoot a quick look to Noah and Lemon.

  “We’re going to need to straighten everyone out soon or this could get confusing.” I lean up and nod for Noah to take my place and he does as he takes the baby. “I think I’ll help Carlotta with that sandwich. You want one, Lemon?”

  “Yes,” she says it with zest like only the hungry can. “That sounds amazing, thank you.”

  Noah glances my way. “I’ll take two. I’ve worked up an appetite today. God knows I didn’t eat a thing yesterday.”

  “You’re lucky I’m nice,” I say as I head into the kitchen and Carlotta looks up with a mouthful of lunchmeat.

  “Whmauxy?” she says as she shovels another fistful of honey ham into her mouth.

  “Did you take care of it?” The words growl from me because I’m not feeling so nice anymore.

  Her eyes grow wide as she gives an aggressive nod.

  “Good,” I say breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I appreciate that. And one day soon, when your mouth isn’t occupied with a late night snack, I think we need to talk about it. With Lemon.”

  “Ughnaymougee.” She nods my way.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  I head back to the living room and find Noah with his arm wrapped around Lemon, looking down at Lyla Nell while Lemon nurses her. They look like a family and they are.

  “Everett.” Lemon looks back. “There is one more thing I need to tell you both.”

  I come around and take a seat across from them at the coffee table.

  “What is it, Lemon? I’ll get the food ready as soon as Carlotta finishes up.”

  “It’s not about the food.” She blows out a breath. “That mystery woman showed up again today. She was in the alley. She kept Fern from whacking me right out of this life and into the next. She saved my life and then she took off.”

  My eyes flit to the kitchen.

  Carlotta didn’t handle anything. Surprise, surprise.

  I’ll have to do it myself. And I think I know exactly how to do it.

  Lemon went the extra mile to protect me.

  And I plan on doing the same for her.

  Noah

  She’s mine.

  I drop a kiss to Lyla Nell’s head as she sleeps in my arms in the dimly lit nursery. I’m guessing it’s somewhere north of three-thirty in the morning. I stopped looking at my phone about an hour ago. Lyla Nell has been touch-and-go all night, drifting to sleep and drifting right out of it. But I don’t mind one bit.

  I look down at the sleeping angel in my arms, my daughter. Her dark hair is already lightening up, and if I’m not mistaken, it looks red at the tips. Her tiny nose, those perfect little toes, Lottie and I made this angel together, born from our love. She’s a perfect reminder of who we were, who we very much still are.

  Lyla Nell’s body jerks as she smacks her lips and those dimples of hers go off, warming my heart in the process. A silent laugh rumbles through me as she does her best to pry her eyes open, but she can’t seem to do it. And I’m not sorry about it either.

  “Sleep, baby girl, sleep,” I whisper as I rest my lips over her hair.

  My daughter.

  I can hardly believe it.

  And yet when Cormack announced Everett was the father, I couldn’t find it in myself to believe that either. It was instant shock. Grief as wide and deep as the sea. A shot to the heart I wasn’t expecting. And I wasn’t. I’ve known with everything in me that Lyla Nell was mine as soon as Lottie broke the news she was expecting. And then toward the end, I waffled. I began to second-guess myself. I thought maybe I had been cocky, but instead, I was cock sure.

  There are just some things in life you know on the deepest level to be true, and this was one of them for me.

  I wish I knew that Lottie would rotate back to me one day. What I wouldn’t do for a sign, something, a flicker of light, a whisper in the night, anything, anything at all.

  The door creaks open, ushering in a flicker of light. A whisper erupts as I look back to see Lottie with her finger pressed to her lips.

  “Is she okay?” she whispers as she slips onto the bed next to me, and I take in Lottie’s vanilla scent.

  “She’s perfect.” I sniff back the flood of emotions ready to erupt from me.

  I asked the universe for a sign, and I got Lottie Lemon herself. It doesn’t get any better than that.

  It may not be tomorrow, or even another fifty years from now, but some day, some way, Lottie will be mine, too.

  Lottie wraps an arm around me and smiles as if she was assuring me of this very thing.

  And I do believe she is.

  “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

  She nods. “Lyla Nell and I are lucky to have you.”

  I soak those words in as Lottie falls asleep right along with the baby.

  I watch over them both, and I always will.

  Lottie

  “He is risen!” my mother calls out as she carries an arm full of pastel Easter baskets our way.