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Penny looked as though she was struggling to decide, but she pulled the door open. “Come in.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I get you something?” Penny asked, crossing her arms after she closed the door.

Lee could tell she was trying hard to mind her manners. “No, I’m fine, thank you. I know you’re in a hurry, so I’ll cut to the chase. I need to talk to Indie.”

“So call her.”

“She won’t answer my calls.”

“Then I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Lee followed Penny into her cozy living room. A framed photo of the smiling cousins was on the end table, and Lee couldn’t take his eyes off Indie. The thought of never seeing her again made his stomach ache. “I screwed up.”

Penny sat down and folded her legs under her. “Yeah, you did. You hurt her.”

“I hate myself for that. I honestly do. That was never my intent.”

“Why don’t you tell me about your intentions, Lee?”

“I wish I could.” He paced, feeling the need to work off some pent-up frustration. Between his problems with his brother, and Donato and Indie, he was ready to explode. “It’s complicated. I just got a divorce and—”

“And you’re not sure you’re ready for a serious relationship?” Penny sized him up with all the subtlety of a meddling mother.

“Something like that,” he muttered.

“Then leave her alone.”

“Excuse me?” he asked, turning to face her.

Her steely expression told him she had no intention of recanting her statement.

“Who are you to tell me—”

“I’m someone who cares about her,” she said, crossing her arms. “And at the moment, you can think of me as the gatekeeper. Based on what you’ve told me, there’s no way you’re getting close enough to hurt her again.”

Lee pulled up the ottoman and sat in front of Penny so they were face to face. “I don’t blame you for wanting to protect your cousin. I get it, I do, but I don’t want to hurt her. I just want to make things right between us. Please, give me the chance to do that. Tell me how I can reach her.”

“When you say you want to make things right, does that mean you want to apologize, ease your guilty conscience so you can get on with your life?”

He dropped his head. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”

“Why should I?”

“You’re right.” He lifted his head to see her watching him as though she was trying to read his mind. “Indie showed up in my life with no warning, and my feelings for her have kind of knocked me on my ass.” When her lips tilted into a smile, he asked, “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Depends. Is it the truth?”

“Absolutely.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “The question remains, what are you going to do about it? It’s not enough to apologize for being a jerk. Indie needs more. She deserves more.”

“That’s the part I’m struggling with right now. I know she deserves better, but I’m havin’ a hell of a time letting her go.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” Penny said, frowning.

“I don’t know how much Indie has told you about me. Let’s just say my past isn’t pretty.”

“So?” Penny honestly looked as though she wasn’t the least bit interested in his past.

“Don’t you think that’s relevant?”

She looked confused. “Why would it be? We’re talking about today, tomorrow, not years ago. If Indie believes you’re not the same man who did whatever you did, that’s good enough for me.”

Lee was humbled by a stranger’s faith in him. “You don’t believe history can repeat itself?” That was what scared him the most—that he might wake up one day and morph into the man he despised.

“I think people can change. You obviously have.”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

He smiled. “For believing that. For reminding me.” Gripping his knees, he prepared to stand. “You’re not going to tell me where she is, are you?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m going to ask you to make me a promise.”

“Okay,” he said warily. He had the feeling Penny was a shrewd negotiator. “What is it?”

“I want you to promise me that you’ll give her some time and space to figure out what’s best for her. She’s been miserable being estranged from her family, like a part of her has been missing.”

“I can understand that,” Lee said, thinking about the years he and his brother had spent apart.

“They want her back in their lives, and I think she feels the same way.”

“So that’s where she is now, with her family?” After what Cassidy had told him, he wasn’t surprised.

“Yes, her sister asked her to come home. Actually, she asked us both to come.”

Lee’s eyes drifted to the suitcase in the front hall. In hours, Penny would be where he wished he was… with Indie. “Is her sister okay? She hasn’t taken a turn for the worse, has she?”

“No, she’s fine.” Penny stood. “She asked us to come and testify against her dead-beat ex.”

“You too?” Lee asked, feeling breathless. “That son of a bitch hurt you too?”

“He didn’t…” She looked down, breaking eye contact. “He didn’t hurt me the way he hurt Indie, but it was enough that I’ll never forget what he did.”

“I’m sorry,” Lee said, touching her forearm. “He deserves to be behind bars. It’s a brave thing you’re doing.”

She shook her head, and a lock of hair fell over her cheek. “Indie’s the brave one, the strong one. I’ve always looked up to her. When we were kids, I wanted to be just like her.” She gripped Lee’s hand as though she was about to impart important news and she wanted to be certain she had his attention. “Before she left, she told me that I have the life she’s always wanted. A nice little house, a man who loves me, and a baby on the way.”

Lee looked at her hand, noting the sparkling engagement ring. “Congratulations.”

“What I’m trying to tell you is…” She let out a frustrated sigh. “All Indie has ever wanted was someone to love her, someone she could count on to trust her no matter what. She wants a home and family. Do you think you’ll ever be able to give her that?”

Lee couldn’t respond. He wanted to, but the words got stuck in his throat.

“I’m not talking about a week from now or even a year from now. I know these things take time, but I’m asking you if you could ever see it happening for you two?”

Lee was so stunned by her candor, he still couldn’t speak.

“I guess I have my answer then. That favor I was going to ask you…”

“Yeah?” He was almost afraid to ask.

“Leave her alone, Lee. Let her find happiness with someone else, someone who wants the same things she does.” Penny walked to the front door and held it open for him. “Good-bye.”

He paused at the threshold. “Could you at least give her a message for me?”

“Depends what it is.”

“Tell her I have a lot of regrets, but the biggest one will always be letting her walk out of my life before I had a chance to tell her that she changed me… forever.”

Indie was trembling and gasping for breath when they finally excused her from the witness stand. She’d finally faced her rapist and told the world, or at the least the dozens of people filling the courtroom, what he’d done to her. He couldn’t hurt her anymore. The balance of power had shifted, and she believed her words would help sentence him to decades behind bars. He may not be going down for what he did to her, but he was going down. That was the only thing that mattered.

“I’m so proud of you.”

Indie turned at the sound of her mother’s voice. The veil of sadness and powerlessness that had plagued Indie for years was gone, and she wanted to celebrate with the people she loved. Unfortunately, the person she most wanted to share her news with was off-limits.

“Thank you,” Indie said, stepping into her mother’s embrace. “I just hope it helped. He deserves to go away for a long time for what he did to Amy.”

“And to you.” Her mother drew back to look her in the eye. “He deserves to be put away for what he did to you. It makes me sick. We should have stood by you. We should have—”

Indie squeezed her hard. “Ssh, it’s okay, Mama. It’s over now. He can’t hurt us anymore.”

“You’re so strong.” Tears streamed down Giselle’s cheeks. “So brave. I couldn’t have done what you just did.”

“We do what we have to do.” Indie linked arms with her mother and led her to a bench in front of the courthouse. “I couldn’t let him get away with what he did to Amy. He deserves to pay, and hopefully he will now that the court has heard what kind of monster he is.”

“I meant what I said. He should pay for what he did to you too, honey.”

“The D.A. talked to me about that,” Indie said as she watched a couple cross the street, hand in hand. “She said I could still press charges if I decide I want to pursue it.”

“Do you think you will?”

“I don’t know yet. For now it’s enough to know that he’ll be rotting in jail for what he did to my sister. The D.A. said I still have some time to decide, but she thinks she could win my case.”

“The decision is yours. Just know we’ll support you no matter what you decide to do.” Giselle squeezed her daughter’s hand and wiped the tears off her cheeks. “Do you have to get back to Nashville right away? I was hoping we could spend a little time together, maybe take Cam to the zoo or an amusement park? I know he’d love that. He lights up whenever he sees his Auntie Indie.”

Indie smiled. “The feeling is definitely mutual. That kid captured my heart on day one. I do have to get back to Nashville, but…” She wasn’t sure she was ready to tell her mother she planned to resign from her job. Her family would assume she was coming home to stay if they knew, and she wasn’t ready to commit to that either. She didn’t know where she belonged, but she wanted to figure it out.

“But what?” Giselle asked, squeezing her hand.

“I should be able to get back for a visit real soon.” Indie smiled.

Giselle squeezed her shoulders. “I’m so glad to hear that. Your daddy will be too. I can’t tell you how happy he’s been since you came home. I swear, he’s like a different man. He walks around whistling all the time, like all is finally right in his world again.”

“Excuse me,” Penny said, casting a shadow over them. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but could I have a word with Indie, Aunt Giselle?”

“Of course.” Giselle patted Indie’s knee. “You make sure you stop by the house before you head home, girl. I’ve got an apple cobbler with your name on it.”

“What about me?” Penny pouted. “I’m eating for two now, remember?”

Giselle laughed and rubbed Penny’s flat tummy. “How could I forget you? There’s a blueberry pie for you, your favorite.”

“Can’t wait to sink my teeth into that,” Penny said, winking at her aunt. Penny and Giselle hugged before Penny claimed the seat beside her cousin. She waited until her aunt was out of earshot before she said, “You were amazing on that witness stand, Indie. The way you stared him down like that? I wanted to stand up and applaud.”

Indie smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t. That judge looked pretty scary.”

Penny nervously twirled her engagement ring. “I take it you haven’t told your parents you’re taking time off work?”

Indie said, “I’ve decided not to go back to work.”

“Are you serious?” Penny asked, her eyes widening. “Why? I thought you loved your job.”

“Things change.” She shrugged. “I just don’t think it’s the right place for me anymore.”

“Does this have anything to do with Lee?”

“Can you blame me? He and Lee are identical twins, for God’s sake. How do you expect me to get over the man if I’m staring at his mirror image all day at work?”

“You said yourself Lee and Drake are nothing alike,” Penny reminded her.

“Still, they’re family. I just need a clean break.”

“Because you’re in love with him.” It wasn’t a question.

“It doesn’t matter. The important thing is I’m moving on.” She reached for Penny’s hand. “Being here today, doing my part to help put him away, helped with that. Thanks for talking me into doing this, cuz.”

Penny’s eyes shifted to their joined hands. “I don’t think you should move on until you talk to Lee. I love you and want you to be happy.”

“I will be happy, just not with Lee.” It still pained Indie to say that. “If being with Lee taught me one thing, it’s that I’m ready for a real relationship. I want to fall in love, get married, have a baby, the whole deal.” She nudged Penny’s shoulder. “I wanna be just like you when I grow up.”

Penny laughed. “No one deserves it more.” She sighed. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell you this, but Lee came to see me before I left. He was trying to reach you. He said you weren’t answering his calls.”

“There was no need to. I got his message. He said he was sorry, I forgive him. End of story.”

“I think there’s more he needs to say.”

Indie held her breath, praying her cousin would say something that would change her life, like maybe Lee had fallen in love with her too. “Such as?”

“He had a message for you.”

Indie waited, but Penny didn’t continue. “Don’t keep me in suspense. What did he say?”

“He said you changed him.”

“That’s it?” Indie asked, trying to make sense of his cryptic comment. It wasn’t the declaration she’d been hoping for, but she was glad she wasn’t the only one walking away a different person.

“The way he said it…” Penny glanced at Indie. “It was like he wanted to say more but couldn’t.”

“The story of Lee’s life,” Indie muttered. “I don’t want to be with a man who doesn’t know how he feels about me. I want someone who’s head over heels in love with me and wants to write it across the sky.”

“I hear you, but some guys take a little longer to come around.”

“Yeah, and some guys never do,” Indie said, lowering her head to hide her tears.

***

Lee was surprised to see his brother walk into Jimmy’s right before the lunch rush. They’d barely spoken since Lee quit his job three weeks earlier.

“Nice to see you,” Lee said, offering Drake his hand. “It’s been a while.”

“How are things going here?” Drake asked. “Seems kind of quiet.”

“Stick around.” Lee wiped the bar down with a damp rag and set a bowl of pretzels down in front of Drake. “It’ll be busy before long.”