Keeneston, 37 years, 99 marriages, and 246 babies later . . .

Miss Lily sat on the front porch swing at her bed-and-breakfast and gave a disgruntled sigh. She looked down at the notebook in her hand, her fortieth, and stuck her tongue out at it. Darn that Morgan Hamilton for coming back to town and messing everything up. How can the town’s reverend have a pair of daughters that differed so much? Pam was an angel; Morgan was not. Written at the top of the page was the name Miles Davies. It was about time Marcy and Jake’s oldest son found love.

Flipping back through the notebook, Lily’s smile returned as she stared at her accomplishments. Little Will had grown into a strapping young man who played in the NFL for years before coming back to Keeneston to take over his parents’ horse farm. He’d even bred and raced a Kentucky Derby winner. He also fell in line and got married to McKenna Mason, or Kenna as she was commonly known. She was a bright lawyer from New York City . . . bless her Yankee heart.

After that, Kenna’s best friend, Danielle, or Dani as she insisted on being called, followed her from New York. It just went to show that she too had good sense. Lily smiled as she looked at the earlier pages in her notebook. She ignored the fact that Kenna and Dani were on the run from dangerously powerful men. They had found their way home to Keeneston, and Dani had found love with a sheik. Mo was the prince of the island country of Rahmi and had come to Keeneston to raise racehorses.

And bless that sweet girl, Kenna had already given birth to a bouncing baby girl, Sienna. Some day, God willing, she’d find the perfect match for her like she had for her father. Lily turned the page and looked at Paige Davies’s name. She was Jake and Marcy’s only girl. Five boys and beautiful, talented Paige rounded out the Davies family. Paige had helped Kenna and Dani and, in turn, found love with FBI Agent Cole Parker. She had just given birth over Christmas to a handsome baby boy, Ryan. Hmm, that gave Lily an idea for Sienna.

Turning another page in her notebook, she came to Cade Davies and DEA Agent Annie Blake. Annie had come to Keeneston as an undercover agent and with Cade’s help stopped a drug ring targeting teenagers. Annie had since left the DEA to work at the Keeneston sheriff’s office. She, too, had taken the long road home, but home was here now in Keeneston with Cade and their baby girl, Sophie.

Lily flipped to the next section and traced her fingers over the names of Marshall Davies and Katelyn Jacks. Katelyn’s grandparents, the Wyatts, had raised her in Keeneston, but she had gone off and had seen the world as a model. She had just recently come back to start a career as a veterinarian. Marshall had found peace as the new sheriff after coming back from Special Forces with his brothers, Miles and Cade. They had been a tricky match, and Lily and her sisters had to resort to giving Katelyn a glass too many . . . okay, three or four glasses too many . . . of their special drink. But it had worked out in the end, and they were now happily together.

In between the Davies pages, she smiled at she passed the deputy sheriffs’ pages—Noodle and Dr. Emma, Dinky and Chrystal. That led her to her current page. Miles Davies and Julie Bryant. Julie was from the next town over, was four years younger than Miles’s thirty-six years, and was as sweet as could be. She would have been perfect for Miles until the bad girl of Keeneston showed back up. Morgan Hamilton was darker than Miles, and Miles hid a lot of darkness from his time in Special Forces. That’s why he needed someone sweet like Julie. But no, Morgan drew him in with her violet eyes and a take-no-crap attitude.

The screen door opened and Daisy and Violet came out carrying glasses of iced tea and a plate of brownies. “How’s it coming?” Violet asked.

Lily blew out a breath and pushed back her now-white hair. “Not good. I just know that bad seed, Morgan Hamilton, has her claws in our Miles. This is my one-hundredth match, and she’s going to ruin it just like she did my rose bushes when she was a teenager.”

Daisy handed her a glass of tea and took a seat. “Lil, for one night let’s just not worry about it. This has stressed you out so much, your muffins this morning were dry. Dry!”

Lily sneered at her sister and thought about sticking her tongue out, but Violet stopped her. “Tonight is Marshall and Katelyn’s wedding. Let’s just go and have a good time.”

“But if John beats me to this mystery, I don’t know what I’ll do.” Lily slammed her hand onto the swing’s cushion.

“Ever since Rhonda passed away, you two have been at it. For years now, we’ve watched you two play this gossip game. I think y’all are hot to trot for each other,” Violet said, taking a giant step away from the daggers Lily was shooting her.

“You think I like John Wolfe?” Lily cried out.

“I think so, too,” Daisy said softly before leaning back in her chair. Lily jumped to her feet and began to pace the verandah.

“You two are crazy. If anyone in this town understands why that is impossible, it should be you two.”

“Lil,” Violet started, “it’s been decades and decades since Frank. I’ve longed to move on—to find love again. But I know it’s not a probability for me. Look at us. We’re not twenty-five anymore.”

“Shoot, we’re not even fifty-five anymore,” Daisy said under her breath.

“And you have a shot at it. John has known you your whole life. He was the one who rescued you that night. He knows all about your secret pain. If he loves you, then why not give him a chance? You have always spoken so highly of him,” Violet took a deep breath, “and I think you love him, too.”

Lily gasped and Daisy raised the brownie plate to hide her face. “How dare you say that?”

Violet put her hands on her still curvaceous hips. “Because you do. Mark my word; this isn’t over yet. You will have to face your feelings someday, Lily Rae.”

“We’ll just see about that,” Lily stormed into the house. “I have a wedding to get ready for.