Prologue

 

Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.

— Robert Ingersoll

 

Chapter 1

​

September 2018

 

Nick Sullivan was a creature of habit. Every morning, come rain or shine, he woke up at six o’clock sharp and set about his morning routine with the precision of a Swiss watch. That included a trip to the Gap Creek Coffee House, where a steaming Americano waited for him, same as always. 

This morning, however, Nick had woken fifteen minutes later than usual, and with a taste for something sweet rather than bitter. Far from a superstitious man, he dismissed the strange hiccup in his otherwise clockwork life. Just a simple glitch in his internal clock, he told himself. Nothing worth reading into. But even as he tried to shrug off the anomaly, he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the universe was slightly off.

***

By the time the town of Cumberland Gap appeared on the horizon, the light of dawn was just starting to peek over the mountains, signaling the beginning of another day. After parking his truck at the curb, Nick stepped inside the coffee house, the bell above the door announcing his arrival. Despite the early hour, a five o’clock shadow darkened his jaw, and when he looked up, the corners of his warm brown eyes crinkled with a smile that his lips hadn’t quite formed yet. 

“Morning, Joyce,” he said, his Southern accent smooth as honey.

“There you are,” Joyce said, a hint of concern wrinkling her brow. “Thought you might have forgotten about me today.”

“Nah.” He scraped a hand across his unshaven cheek. “Just running a little late, that’s all.”

“You, late? Now there’s a first.” She reached for the espresso machine. “The usual, I presume?” 

Nick stopped her with the gentle shake of his head. “I was thinking of trying something different today.” He studied the blackboard menu above the counter, his eyes drifting over the list of lattes, cappuccinos, and specialty drinks. “How about a hot chocolate?” he asked, settling on the least exotic item. “And a dollop of whipped cream, if it isn’t too much trouble. I’m feeling adventurous today.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s gotten into you today?”

“What? A man can’t change his routine once in a while?”

Joyce laughed amusedly. “All right, one hot chocolate with whipped cream, coming right up.” She swiveled around to retrieve a cup from the shelf behind her, then filled it with steaming milk, cocoa powder, and topped it off with a dollop of whipped cream. “There we are,” she said, applying the lid and handing him the cup. “That’ll be three dollars.”

Nick plucked a few singles from his wallet and slid them onto the counter.

“You’ll want to let that cool,” she warned. “They don’t call it hot chocolate for nothin’.” 

Nick accepted the advice with a nod, dropped two dollars into the tip jar, then grabbed a napkin and a mixing straw and turned to leave.

“Oh, Nick,” Joyce called, stopping him before he reached the door, “since you’re in an adventurous mood... I don’t suppose I could talk you into doing me a favor, could I? It’s just... Sam’s running late this morning, and I was counting on him to make the deliveries.” 

“That depends. How many you got?

“Just the one. It’s for the new English professor at the university. You know how it is with the new faculty…they either become regulars or we never see them again.” Joyce wiped her hands on her apron. “And Lord knows I need all the regulars I can get right now.”

On any other day, Nick would have politely decline, choosing instead to dive into his work with the same punctuality that marked his mornings. But something about this morning was different. He checked the time. He wasn’t in a hurry, and the university was just down the road. “Okay, Joyce,” he said as he eased back to the counter. “What building is it?”

***

Nick arrived on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University five minutes later, parking his truck in the lot behind the academy. He grabbed the cup from the passenger seat and made his way to Avery Hall, a hundred-year-old red brick building that housed the English department. 

After taking an elevator to the third floor, he located the office for Dr. E. Gentry at the end of the hall and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

He nudged the door open with his boot and stepped inside. Books dominated the small office, the shelves sagging with hardcovers, paperbacks stacked in precarious towers on the floor. Behind a desk, drowning in student essays, sat a woman with dark hair spilling across one shoulder, pen poised over a paper. She peered up at him over her glasses, which had slid halfway down her nose. Eyes like espresso met his, widening slightly at the interruption. "Well, hello there,” she said, sitting up straighter and pushing her frames back into place with one finger.  Can I help you?"

“I hope so. I’m looking for Dr. Gentry. Do you know where I can find him?”

Her gaze flitted over him, amusement curling her lips upward into a half-smile. “I’m Dr. Gentry. What can I do for you?”

For a second, Nick stood frozen in the doorway. He’d pictured some gray-haired professor with reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, not this beautiful woman.

“Sorry, I…um…hot chocolate,” he finally managed, holding out the cup. “Joyce…from the coffeehouse…she said you called it in this morning.”

She looked at him with a mixture of surprise and, if he read her expression right, confusion. “That’s odd. I don’t remember placing any order.”

“Oh, well…” Nick looked down at the steaming cup in his hand, searching for an explanation. “Maybe Joyce got her orders mixed up. I can take it back if you don’t want it.”

“No, no, that’s all right.” She pushed back from the desk and rose to her feet, crossing the room in two strides. Her blouse clung to her, outlining a slim figure, and the muted morning sunlight bouncing off the window caught her hair, setting it aflame with crimson highlights. Nick held his breath, his pulse quickening as she extended her hand to take the drink.

“Who am I to refuse hot chocolate on a cold morning?” Her hand brushed against his, sending a jolt of electricity up his arm.

“Careful with that,” he said, hoping the heat of the cup didn’t startle her as much as her touch had startled him. “It’s hot.” 

“Thanks for the warning,” she said, taking the cup from him. “Now that I think of it, I’ll bet this is Wendy’s doing. She’s my graduate assistant. I was just telling her the other day about how it’s been years since I’ve had a good cup of hot chocolate.” 

“Well, there you have it,” he said, his shoulders relaxing. “Mystery solved.”

She took a sip and closed her eyes in delight. “Mmm, this is good. So, do you work for…?” She snapped her fingers. “Help me out.” 

“Joyce?”

“Joyce. Yes. Thank you.”

“No. Her delivery guy was running late this morning, and I was headed this way, so...” He shrugged a shoulder. “I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.” 

“That was sweet of you.” She smiled as she took another sip. “I’m sorry. Where are my manners? Dr. Eve Gentry.” 

“Nick Sullivan.” His calloused hand enveloped her slender fingers in a brief, firm handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Nick.”

“Likewise.” 

She set the cup down on her desk and reached for her purse. “What do I owe you?” 

He held up a hand. “It’s on the house.” 

“Oh, well then at least let me give you a tip,” she said, pulling a five-dollar bill from her wallet.

“Not necessary. Like I said, it was on my way.” 

“Well, thank you, Nick,” she said, tucking the bill back into her purse. “That’s very kind of you.”

He nodded, lingering at the sight of her. “So, are you new here? To the university, I mean?”

Eve gave a light laugh, gesturing around the cluttered office. “That obvious, huh? Eight weeks and counting, actually. Moved here recently from Dallas. Not quite figured out where everything goes yet.”

Nick took a mental step back, his brain working overtime to reconcile the woman in front of him with his preconceived notions of what an English professor should be, or rather, should look like. 

“Dallas, huh? You’re a long way from home. What brought you all the way out here?”

Her smile was still painted on her face, but her eyes flickered before she answered. “Oh, you know, the same thing that brings anyone to a small town—life. I needed a change of scenery. Got tired of all the steel and concrete.”

The words ricocheted in his mind. A change of scenery. He’d been around long enough to know that was code for “running from something,” or “moving on.” Which was none of his business, but curiosity had a way of throwing stones at the wall of indifference. 

“I hear you. So, how do you like East Tennessee so far?” 

She shrugged, the corner of her mouth quirked up. “The jury’s still out. I’ve only been here a couple of months, and it’s taking a little longer to adjust than I had expected.”

“Give it time. This place grows on you.” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. He was supposed to be the cynical one, the one who saw the flaws in this small town. But here he was, sounding like a tourism brochure.

“Well, let’s hope so.”

He took in her outfit. Black pencil skirt, white blouse, high heels. Smart, classy. Not what he was used to seeing around these parts. “First time in the country, I presume?”

“Hardly. Believe it or not, I grew up in a small town in East Texas called Athens. Ever heard of it?”

Nick shook his head. The only things he knew about Texas were barbecue, the Alamo, and the Dallas Cowboys.

“Don’t feel bad. No one else has either. I moved out when I was eighteen. Thought the big city was where I belonged. So, I spent the next fifteen years bouncing around Austin, San Antonio, and finally Dallas, only to realize that small town life was what I wanted after all.”

Nick did the math in his head. Thirty-three, maybe thirty-four at the most. She didn’t look a day over twenty-seven.

“Must be a big change, coming to a place like this after living in the city.”

“Yeah, but change isn’t always bad. I missed the quiet. The slower pace.” She took him in from head to toe. “What about you…Carhartt jacket, Wranglers, Justin boots. You lived here your entire life, or you just dress the part?” 

Nick let out a chuckle, amused by her impression of him. “Born and raised.”

Before she could respond, the phone on her desk buzzed with a reminder. “Sorry,” she said, glancing at the screen. “I have a class in five minutes, but it was nice meeting you, Nick.”

“Of course,” he said, taking a step back from the desk. “I didn’t mean to hold you up.”

Eve slipped her phone into her bag and gathered her briefcase and hot chocolate. "Before you go, I don't suppose you'd be willing to...?" She nodded at the tower of textbooks on her desk.

"Say no more." Nick hefted the stack and fell into step behind her.

"You're a lifesaver," she said when the elevator doors closed them in together. "First the delivery, now this. My knight in flannel armor."

When they reached the first floor, the hallway was swarming with students. Nick moved ahead, creating a path for Eve through the crowd. At her classroom door, he paused, shifting the books to one arm so he could turn the handle.

“Thank you,” she said as she passed by him into the room. “Set the books right there on the table, if you don’t mind.” 

He complied, then slid out of the way as students began filing in behind them. “Well, I’d better be on my way,” he said, eager to leave. “But good luck with your class.”

“Thanks,” she said, giving him a final smile. “And take care.” 

Nick lingered in the doorway as Eve stepped into her role, commanding the attention of thirty sleepy undergrads. The sight of her behind the lectern, with the morning light casting a soft halo around her, held him captive. What was it about her that had his heart racing? She was just a woman. A pretty one, sure, but pretty women came through town now and then—tourists, new hires at the hospital. But none of them had made him forget the careful distance he maintained from everyone. No, there was more to it than that. Perhaps it was something in those beautiful brown eyes when she’d smiled at him, the way she moved with such natural grace, or the way she laughed at his awkward charm. But whatever it was, she had bypassed all his defenses, leaving him exposed in a way he hadn’t been in ages.