Page 70 of Luke

Setting his phone down, he got dressed and threw the few clothes he'd unpacked into his duffel bag. He was still debating whether or not he wanted to put it in the car when a third text came in. This one was from Gabe. I have a potential buyer for the resort. Interested?

His chest tightened. He was interested, wasn't he?

Dammit. He'd never had so much trouble making a decision before. He grabbed his backpack and duffel and walked out to the car and threw them inside. Then he started down the path to the lodge. He'd get breakfast, talk to Lizzie, then decide what he wanted to do.

He was almost to the lodge when he ran into Brad, who was just coming down the steps.

"Hey Luke," Brad said with a happy smile.

"I thought you were at the hospital. Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks. You cannot believe how beautiful my daughter is. And Shari was as tough as nails. I have never seen a woman in so much pain, but she just killed it and brought our child into the world. I don't know how she did it."

"I'm glad they're both good."

"It was rough for a while, with the baby coming so early. They want to keep her an extra day or so to get her weight up and make sure everything is working properly, but Doc says not to worry."

"Then you shouldn't worry."

"Easy to say," Brad said with a sigh. "But I suddenly feel overwhelmed. How good of a father will I be? It occurs to me I know next to nothing about babies. And we weren't prepared to bring a baby home. We don't even have the crib up. I have to find some people to cover my tours. John already has a full schedule. There's suddenly a lot to do really fast." He paused. "Sorry I'm rambling. My brain is like scrambled eggs this morning."

"Understandable."

"So did Liz really climb down the mountain on a rope to rescue Kaitlyn yesterday or has that story been embellished?"

"She did exactly that. She was amazing."

"I had no idea she had that in her. Thank God you were there to rescue them both."

"Liz did the hard part."

"So any chance I could talk you into taking over my hiking adventures for the next week?" he asked hopefully.

He hesitated. "Sorry. I have to go back to LA. We're going into editing the next film, and studio time just opened up."

Brad nodded. "It was worth a shot. Do you know what you're going to do yet with this place? Are you putting it up for sale?"

He saw more worry in Brad's eyes. He held a lot of people's happiness in his hands, and it wasn't a feeling he was familiar with. He was used to only having to be concerned with himself. "I don't know yet."

"Okay. Well, I hope I see you around. If not, it's been great getting to know you."

"Likewise."

Brad headed to his car while Luke started up the steps to the lodge, but as he neared the front door, his pace slowed. Lizzie was going to ask him the same question Brad had just asked—or maybe she wouldn't. She thought she already knew what he would do. She was bracing herself for him to leave. He'd convinced himself that's why she hadn't been able to say she loved him. She didn't want to put her heart on the line and watch him stomp on it. He needed to convince her he wouldn't do that, but first he had to convince himself. He had to know what he wanted, and he had to be sure.

He looked around, seeing Tom giving a riding lesson to a young boy, a group of teens laughing as they headed to the pool, and a car pulling into the parking lot filled with kids that reminded him so much of his last trip here. This resort was more than just land and buildings. It was memories and love, not just for his parents who had first fallen for each other here, but maybe for him and Lizzie.

"Damn you, Dad," he muttered. "Why did you have to make things so difficult?"

He pulled out his phone, looked at Gabe's text, and then punched in a reply.

I've made a decision.

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