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Kanon wasn’t sure he’d been wise to return to Hard Luck. Sure, he’d inherited part of an inn, but unless he was able to turn the business around, there wouldn’t be much money in it. He’d guessed that from the start, hadn’t returned for the money aspect. It was more that he’d been curious to find out why Suzanne had included him in her will and to see exactly what the motel was like these days—what his stepsister was like, too. Despite all the bad memories he had of this place, he’d been thinking of his hometown more and more often and looking for an excuse to return to it. Inheriting part of the inn had given him that excuse. But the two women he’d been associating with so far made him a little nervous. His sister was far sweeter than he’d expected. Instead of being bitter about the will, she’d been accepting and grateful to have him around.

Then there was Patience. He’d felt something for her last night, something he didn’t want to feel. Desire was one thing. There’d been plenty of that. But he genuinely liked her. A lot. Not only was she oblivious to her own beauty, she was earnest and unpretentious and kind.

He didn’t want to get into a position where he felt he couldn’t leave. He hadn’t fully committed to this place. And getting emotionally attached to Patience, in particular, would be asking for trouble. He’d never liked her father, didn’t care for the rigid way that man viewed the world or how unwilling he was to even consider the possibility that he could be wrong about what he was constantly trying to shove down everyone else’s throats.

Kanon also didn’t like the stranglehold Reverend Lee had on his daughter, didn’t want to have any reason to feel he had to come to her rescue, especially because she’d probably stick with her father even if he managed to open the gate that would enable her to run free.

Who was he to say how she should live her life, anyway? Just because he’d be miserable living under someone else’s thumb—especially someone like Reverend Lee—didn’t mean she’d be better off somewhere else.

He’d avoid Patience in the future, he told himself. Now that he’d given her the computer she’d left in his room, he could.

With a sigh, he went to reclaim his gloves. He had to finish the lot so he could get to the other things he hoped to accomplish today.

But every once in a while, he found his thoughts drifting back to the woman he’d held in his arms last night.

Chapter Thirteen

Patience hadn’t used a professional camera. She’d shot everything on her phone. But the pictures at the bakery had turned out even better than she’d hoped. She’d always had a talent for photography. Had her life gone differently, maybe she would’ve moved to a more populated area and opened her own studio, she thought, as she sat at her desk scrolling through the files on her phone.

Her father walked in while she was trying to decide which ones to email Kanon for the ads. Carl had been gone when she got back—something she’d been grateful for. Right now, it didn’t seem as if she could get enough time alone.

“What have you been up to?” she asked as he wove through the furniture crowding the small space.

He didn’t answer. He sat at his desk, which faced hers, and drilled her with a disapproving gaze.

“What?” she said, suddenly self-conscious.

“Where’d you go last night?” he asked.

Patience caught her breath. She’d thought she’d gotten away with staying out. “I went out to handle a few things for the festival,” she replied and forced herself to stop talking. Less was more. She didn’t want to lie, especially because she had no idea how much he knew.

Resting his elbows on the desk, he steepled his fingers as he leaned forward. “At a motel? The motel where Kanon Kincaid just happens to be staying?”

Patience’s stomach knotted. She felt like the teenager she’d been when she had to tell her father she was pregnant. Disappointing him to such a degree had made her feel dirty, worthless. But she didn’t do anything wrong last night—not to mention the fact that she was now in her thirties. Her heart should not be pounding the way it was! “He was helping me with some Facebook ads,” she explained.

“In his room?” he said.

The edge to his voice caused Patience to stiffen. “We didn’t want to get in Kelsey’s way,” she explained. “You know how small the office is.”

“So that’s why your car was there all night?”

Taking a deep breath, Patience rose to her feet. “The storm came up, and I waited to leave until I knew I wouldn’t get stuck in the snow. Do you have a problem with that, Dad?”

She usually didn’t speak to him so defiantly. From what people told her, she’d turned out more like her mother, was a peacemaker at heart. But she’d given her father too much power and needed to take some back. Even Kanon could see that—what he’d said to her this morning proved it.

When Carl rose to his feet, she knew he’d unleash his temper if he wanted to. He never backed down from a fight, not when he felt he was in the right—and he always felt he was in the right. “It doesn’t look good, Patience, doesn’t set the proper example for others,” he said. “I’m a pastor, for heaven’s sake! It’s definitely going to raise eyebrows around town to see your car parked at a motel all night.”

“You’re making a big deal out of nothing,” she argued.

“Nothing?” he repeated. “It’s nothing for people to think you’re having sex with some guy in a motel room after seeing you at church on Sunday? I expect you to set an example, not…not embarrass me,” he said, flinging out an arm.

Patience gaped at him. “You’re so worried about what others think. What about me?”

“What about you?” he said. “Do you believe it means nothing to break God’s laws?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Then why put yourself in a compromising situation in the first place?”