Everly Hartman dragged her suitcase over the gravel driveway, wincing as the wheels scraped against the uneven stones. The late August heat clung to her skin, making her tank top stick to her back. She paused at the bottom of the wraparound porch and wiped her brow, taking in the sight of her childhood home.
It had been too long. Four years, to be exact. She'd skipped summers at the lake, dodged family barbecues, and avoided visits home with a mix of guilt and stubborn pride. But now, with her last semester of graduate school looming and her lease up, it was either stay with her parents for the summer or spend her savings on rent she couldn't afford.
The creak of the screen door snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Ev?"
Her heart thudded. She knew that voice. Deep. Steady. The kind that had once made her sixteen-year-old self trip over her words. Now it just made her skin feel too tight.
"Jake." She turned slowly, forcing a smile.
Jake Reynolds stood on the porch, all six feet of him, looking like he'd stepped out of a lumberjack catalog. The flannel shirt rolled up to his elbows stretched across broad shoulders, and his dark hair had grown out just enough to curl at the ends. His sharp blue eyes locked on her, and for a second, she forgot to breathe.
She'd hoped her brother's best friend wouldn't be here. He'd always been too good-looking for his own good, and if her flushed cheeks were any indication, that hadn't changed.
"Look who finally decided to visit," Jake said, leaning against the porch railing. His lips tugged into a smile that made her stomach flip.
"Don't start." She hoisted her suitcase up the stairs, brushing past him. She refused to look back, but she felt his gaze linger as she pushed open the front door.
The house smelled the same—lemon cleaner and wood polish. Her mom had probably spent the whole morning preparing for her arrival, and guilt gnawed at Everly's chest. She set her suitcase by the stairs just as her mom bustled in from the kitchen.
"There you are!" Her mom wrapped her in a hug that smelled like vanilla and rosemary. "I was beginning to think you'd never make it home this summer."
Everly hugged her back. "Traffic was bad." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth, either.
"Jake helped out this morning," her mom said, smiling toward the door. "He fixed the porch swing, tightened the loose steps—you know how handy he is."
Everly bit the inside of her cheek. Handy, sure. But she doubted her mom noticed the way he looked at Everly like he knew exactly what buttons to push.
"Where's Logan?" she asked, referring to her older brother.
"Fishing," her mom said. "You know him and the lake this time of year. Jake's staying to help him clean up the dock later. He's been a lifesaver around here lately."
Of course he had.
Everly didn't miss the way Jake stepped into the doorway, his arms crossed casually, like he belonged there. And maybe he did. He'd been practically family since they were kids. She used to trail after him and Logan, desperate to be included, but that was years ago.
Now? She was a woman with no interest in reliving her teenage crush.
"Guess I'll go unpack," she said quickly, grabbing her suitcase and dragging it up the stairs before anyone could protest.
She needed space—and time—to get her thoughts in order. Because something about Jake Reynolds told her this summer was about to get a lot more complicated than she'd planned.