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PROLOGUE

On a beautiful day in June, in front of literally half the toearing a wedding dress thata bouquet of perfect pink roses, Faith Elizabeth Holland was left at the altar

We sure didn’t see that one co

There we all were, sitting in Trinity Lutheran, s three deep in the back of the church The bridesmaids were dressed in pink, and Faith’s niece, just thirteen years old, looked as pretty as could be The best man wore his dress blues, and Faith’s brother was an usher It was beautiful!

The wedding day of these two kids—Faith and Jereh school—was set to be one of the happiest days our town had seen in years After all, the Hollands were a founding family here, salt of the earth types They had er Lakes wine country, acres and acres of vineyard and forest, all the way down to Keuka—the Crooked Lake, as we call it The Lyons, well, they were from California, but we liked them, anyway They were more the money type Nice folks Their land abutted the Hollands’, so the kids were next-door neighbors Hoas that? And Jereone pro in the NFL No, really, he was that good But instead, he moved back as soon as he becaht here in town, settle doith that sweet Faith and raise a family

The kids met so romantically, in a h school, had an epileptic seizure Jeremy, who’d just transferred in, elbowed his way to her side, picked her up in his brawny football-hero arms, which, come to think of it, you’re not supposed to do, but his intentions were noble, and what a picture it h the halls He brought her to the nurse’s office, where he reet her It was, the story went, love at first sight

They went to the proether, Faith with her dark red hair curled around her shoulders, her skin creaht blue of her dress Jeremy was so handsood physique, his black hair and dark eyeshim look like a Romanian count

He went to Boston College and played football there; Faith went to school at Virginia Tech to study landscape design, and the distance alone, as well as their agewell, no one expected theether We could all see Jereiven his faood looks Faith was cute in that girl-next-door way, but you kno those things go The girl gets left behind, the boy moves on We’d have understood

But no, rong His parents would complain about the enormous cell phone bills, the vast number of texts Jere—See how devoted our son is? How constant? How in love with his girlfriend?

When hoh town hand in hand, always sht pick a flower from the lushboxes in front of the bakery and tuck it behind her ear They were often seen on the town beach, his head in her lap, or out on the lake in his parents’ Chris-Craft boat, Jere behind Faith as she steered, his muscular arms around her, and didn’t they look like a tourisood for her for nabbing someone like Jereirl Mel Stoakes pulled out of that areck Laura Boothby liked to brag about how much Jeremy spent on Faith’s flowers for the anniversary of their first date, for her birthday, for Valentine’s Day and soht it was a little much, out here in the country of Mennonite farms and Yankee reserve, but the Lyon fao

Soirlfriends at O’Rourke’s, and one or two of thelectful, immature boyfriends who cheated or lied, who broke up via text or a status change on Facebook And if Faith said soht say, “You have no idea e’re talking about, Faith! You have Jeremy,” almost as if it was an accusation Thea dreamy smile to her face, a softness to her eyes Faith would occasionally tell people she’d alanted a ood as her father, and it sure as heck see, Jeremy was a wonderful doctor, and every wo or another the first few months after he set up his practice He took time to listen, always had a smile, remembered what you said last time

Three months after he finished his residency, on a beautiful Septeold and the lake shiot down on one knee and presented Faith with a three-carat dia We heard all about it, oh, sure, and the planning began Faith’s two sisters would be bridesmaids, that pretty Colleen O’Rourke the maid of honor Jeremy’s best hanistan, and wouldn’t that be nice, to see a decorated war hero standing up there next to his old football buddy? It would be so ro about it

So iht there on the altar of Trinity Lutheran, and Jeremy Lyon came out of the closet

CHAPTER ONE

Three and a half years later

FAITH HOLLAND PUT DOWN her binoculars, picked up her clipboard and checked off a box on her list Lives alone Clint had said he did, and the background check showed only his nareement, but a person couldn’t be too careful She took a pull of Red Bull and tapped her fingers against the steering wheel of her roommate’s car

Once upon a tiiven her romantic history, a little footas sier and heartbreak Say, for exay, which had happened not just with Jeremy, but with Rafael Santos and Fred Beeker, as well To his credit, Rafe hadn’t known Faith thought they were dating; he’d thought they were just hanging out Later that , Faith had rather aardly hit on Fred, who lived down the street froently explain that he liked boys, too (Incidentally, she’d fixed hiether ever since, so at least there was a happily ever after for someone)

Gay wasn’t the only proble, right until their second date, when his phone rang “Gotta take this, it’s my dealer,” he’d said blithely When Faith had asked for clarification—he couldn’tdealer, could he?—he’d replied sure, what did she think he meant? He’d seemed confused when Faith left in a huff

ROLOGUE

On a beautiful day in June, in front of literally half the toearing a wedding dress thata bouquet of perfect pink roses, Faith Elizabeth Holland was left at the altar

We sure didn’t see that one co

There we all were, sitting in Trinity Lutheran, s three deep in the back of the church The bridesmaids were dressed in pink, and Faith’s niece, just thirteen years old, looked as pretty as could be The best man wore his dress blues, and Faith’s brother was an usher It was beautiful!

The wedding day of these two kids—Faith and Jereh school—was set to be one of the happiest days our town had seen in years After all, the Hollands were a founding family here, salt of the earth types They had er Lakes wine country, acres and acres of vineyard and forest, all the way down to Keuka—the Crooked Lake, as we call it The Lyons, well, they were from California, but we liked them, anyway They were more the money type Nice folks Their land abutted the Hollands’, so the kids were next-door neighbors Hoas that? And Jereone pro in the NFL No, really, he was that good But instead, he moved back as soon as he becaht here in town, settle doith that sweet Faith and raise a family

The kids met so romantically, in a h school, had an epileptic seizure Jeremy, who’d just transferred in, elbowed his way to her side, picked her up in his brawny football-hero arms, which, come to think of it, you’re not supposed to do, but his intentions were noble, and what a picture it h the halls He brought her to the nurse’s office, where he reet her It was, the story went, love at first sight

They went to the proether, Faith with her dark red hair curled around her shoulders, her skin creaht blue of her dress Jeremy was so handsood physique, his black hair and dark eyeshim look like a Romanian count

He went to Boston College and played football there; Faith went to school at Virginia Tech to study landscape design, and the distance alone, as well as their agewell, no one expected theether We could all see Jereiven his faood looks Faith was cute in that girl-next-door way, but you kno those things go The girl gets left behind, the boy moves on We’d have understood

But no, rong His parents would complain about the enormous cell phone bills, the vast number of texts Jere—See how devoted our son is? How constant? How in love with his girlfriend?

When hoh town hand in hand, always sht pick a flower from the lushboxes in front of the bakery and tuck it behind her ear They were often seen on the town beach, his head in her lap, or out on the lake in his parents’ Chris-Craft boat, Jere behind Faith as she steered, his muscular arms around her, and didn’t they look like a tourisood for her for nabbing someone like Jereirl Mel Stoakes pulled out of that areck Laura Boothby liked to brag about how much Jeremy spent on Faith’s flowers for the anniversary of their first date, for her birthday, for Valentine’s Day and soht it was a little much, out here in the country of Mennonite farms and Yankee reserve, but the Lyon fao