flooring before he opened the door wide for her to join him on the porch.
He took a deep breath, smelling pine and damp earth. Peace. Quiet. Here, he had complete solitude, except for the dog and a few larks trilling from the tops of the pine trees surrounding his house.
The days were long. The nights…longer. But despite everything that had happened, at least he had this, and life was good. At last.
The sudden jolt from the past—seeing Stephanie’s studious little cousin a week ago—had startled him, bringing back too many unwanted memories, and the irony of seeing Erin with three beautiful, healthy children had reopened old wounds. He hadn’t even trusted himself to speak.
After graduating from medical school, he’d worked tirelessly to establish a successful practice. Tried so hard to make his marriage work. Imagined a home bustling with children and a wife who loved him. Who would have guessed quiet little Erin would end up with the richer life?
Or that she would have changed so much. He remembered her as a petite little thing with glasses and her brown hair pulled back into a severe ponytail. Now, her hair was very short, accenting her big brown eyes and delicate features—like a young Audrey Hepburn in blue jeans. She couldn’t be more different from Stephanie’s blond, hard-edged sophistication.
With luck Erin was just passing through town. He didn’t need a constant reminder of how he’d failed.
Reaching down to stroke the dog’s soft coat, he stepped off the porch and started toward his favorite trail at a jog, Maisie at his side.
Already the leaves were turning, the dark pines a perfect foil for the splashes of crimson and orange of the maples, the bright yellow of the aspens. The bowed grass was slick with first frost; the damp earth and fallen pine needles released their heady perfume as he ran.
The crisp, early September air burned in his lungs as he continued up the track, dodging rough-edged boulders and fallen trees.
At the top of the rugged, rocky slope above his property he stopped briefly to let the old dog catch her breath.
It was his favorite place, this craggy peak. An hour or so to the east lay the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. To the north, Canada. There was almost a holy atmosphere here, with a view of thousands of acres of pine forest and lakes in every direction. The vast reaches of northern Wisconsin made him feel small. Inconsequential. Made his past seem like nothing more than a minor flaw in the cosmos. Here, he—
From behind him came a loud whoop and a holler, and the sound of what had to be a hundred kids racing up the trail. Branches cracked. Pebbles skittered down the rocky precipice behind him.
The interlopers—two vaguely familiar, bedraggled and dirt-smudged boys—skidded to a stop when they caught sight of Connor and the dog. Maisie, never much of a guard dog to begin with, promptly flopped over on her back and thumped her tail, her tongue lolling in a blatant appeal for attention.
The kids glanced uncertainly at each other, then took a step back.
“Who are you?” Connor asked sharply. A keen awareness of the dangers in this rough terrain, coupled with the surprise at seeing two children—alone—gave his voice an edge that sent the boys back another step. He softened his tone. “Are your parents with you?”
The two exchanged glances again—probably sensing the danger of telling that to a stranger—and the taller one leveled a defiant glare at Connor.
“Boys, you can’t—”
But they both spun and raced down the trail, the sound of them skidding and crashing through the brush gradually fading away until the silence was almost too great.
Obviously disappointed, Maisie lumbered to her feet and gave Connor a reproachful look.
“I didn’t mean to scare them, girl.” He stared pensively in the direction they’d gone, remembering the family he’d almost had. That younger boy was probably about the same age as his own would have been….
After Stephanie’s death he’d immersed himself in his career. He’d worked out every day until he was aching and exhausted. Ran until his lungs burned, then he’d traveled for months. Nothing helped. His grief and guilt had haunted him for over a year after he lost her.
It was clear he wasn’t cut out for parenthood. He’d failed his wife, his unborn son, and even now his dog was better with kids than he was.
Cursing under his breath—knowing that the nightmares would be back tonight—he whistled sharply to Maisie and headed farther up the trail at a faster pace.
CHAPTER THREE
AT THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS coming up the front steps, Erin froze.
The dead-end lane leading to her house meant no one ever simply drove by. It was dark and quiet out here—even now, at eight o’clock in the evening. What had possessed her to choose such an isolated location?
Lily and Tyler, playing with their newest LEGO set in a corner of the dining area, looked up at Erin, then exchanged worried glances when the caller knocked on the door.
She gave them a reassuring smile and, moving to the entryway, pulled back the lacy curtain from the window in the door and flipped on the porch light.
Connor?
A stranger might have been preferable to finding him standing there, his expression cold and distant. What on earth was he doing here?
Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door and released the safety chain. “Yes?”
His eyes widened. “Erin?”
The awkward moment lengthened as they stared at each other.
“This is the guy.” Drew came to stand next to her, his chin lifted at a belligerent angle. “The one we saw in town that first day, and then yesterday, in the woods. I told you!”
Erin rested a hand on Drew’s tense shoulder. “Kids, I’d like you to meet Dr. Connor Reynolds.” She introduced each of the children, then frowned at Connor. “The boys said you seemed angry at them and that you looked ‘really mean.’”
“I sure didn’t intend to frighten them.” Connor gave a low laugh. “And I’m not sure how ‘mean’ I could have seemed, with Maisie begging them to pet her.” He snapped his fingers, and a huge yellow lab appeared in the doorway at his side, her eyes warm and friendly and her tail wagging. “They were a long ways from here, in a fairly rugged area. I only asked them if their parents were close by, and they took off running.” He lowered his voice. “You may have heard about the wolves around here. I’ve seen fresh tracks several times since last weekend, and I was worried about the boys being alone.”
Frowning, Erin studied Drew. “You were supposed to stay within sight of the house.”
“We didn’t go far,” Drew retorted, a dark flush rising in his cheeks.
His gaze dropped, and she knew he was hedging. “You didn’t follow the rules, then. We’ll talk about this later.”
Drew glared at Connor. “Yeah, right—like we did anything wrong. Big deal.”
“Why
