Page 94 of The Hermit on the Hill

"And this." Sam shot a glare at May before he turned back to me. "Is where I was going to tell you that no matter whether or not you decide to take me back, you will always have my heart." He grinned. "I might have hoped you'd think of me every time you wore it and eventually forgive me."

I closed the lid, not daring to take out the necklace in the middle of a forest where I might drop it and lose it. "I hate that you lied to me, Sam. You really hurt me."

He closed his eyes and opened them slowly. "I'll never stop being sorry about that, but I knew you wouldn't leave me any other way and I couldn't risk you and our son being hurt by the judgment of this town. I've made a lot of enemies here."

"If I had to hide out in your big house with my books and never go into town again, I'd be perfectly happy."

He laughed. "You probably would be, but I'd never forgive myself if you had to live that way because of me." He gripped my hips and pulled me close. "If I promise never to lie to you again, can you forgive me?"

"Is that what you're promising?"

"I will never lie to you again, unless it's regarding a gift or a surprise party. I promise to always be honest with you."

I kissed him. "I forgive you."

He hugged me. "Come on, I can't wait for you to see what's next."

As long as he was by my side, I'd never stop being excited to see what was next.

In the next hole was another plastic bag and inside this one was a manila folder and a bunch of paperwork. I flipped through it, hardly believing what I was seeing. "What is this?"

"It's me giving you my house. For tax reasons, the house is in trust for our son and you are the executor of the trust. If you ever decide to move, you can as long as the money from the sale of the house is used to buy another home, and you put the excess money back into the trust. It was the best way I could think to give it to you."

I stared at him, totally confused. "But why?"

"Don't question it," Cody said. I'd somehow forgotten Sam and I weren't alone. "Just take it and remind him every day that if he steps out of line, you'll kick him out."

To my shock, Sam laughed. "That is exactly why." He paused. "Well, at first I wanted you to have the house, because I was planning to move to Wyoming. Now that I'm staying, it just makes sense for you to have it. I'll move into a place in town and, if you're ever ready for us to live together again, I can move back in. If I'm an idiot and piss you off, you'll feel totally safe to kick me out, because the house will be yours."

I didn't want to live without him for another moment, but he didn't need to know that yet and definitely not in front of my brothers and my sister. "Thank you, Sam. I'll think of it as a gift for our son, rather than for me."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Ready to see Nana's treasure?"

"So ready."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Sam

My hands shook as I pushed the shovel into the dirt. It had been a hell of a day. One that had turned out far better than I'd hoped. It seemed fitting that whatever was in this box would be a huge letdown.

I'd already seen the footlocker when I dug it up the first time, but I hadn't looked inside. Jenna had to be the first to see what it contained.

The trunk was incredibly heavy and big enough that it had to hold more than just some jewelry and cash from Nana's clients.

"Wow," Jenna said in a reverent tone when I pulled the footlocker out of the hole and placed it on the ground next to her. "This is so much more than I expected."

"Me, too." I knelt beside her in front of the trunk. "Go ahead and open it."

She flicked open the latch and lifted the lid. "This is definitely my kind of treasure."

More than half the trunk was filled with books, journals from the look of them. They'd all been sealed into separate plastic bags to keep them safe, but it would be a miracle if they weren't damaged. Jenna pulled out the first and removed it from its bag.

She opened the cover. "The charms of Edwina Weston." She looked at me. "Do you know who she is?"

"Edwina was Nana's mother. Nana married into the Oakley family."

Nana had told me and Brit about the family tree, naming all our ancestors, because it was important to remember them. If I'd known what we'd find, I'd have invited Brit.

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