.

drifted over to the plate of chocolate chip cookies Maddie had set out before the meeting, and Skye began to apply another layer of lip gloss. Tyler, who hadn’t paid any attention to the folder Maddie had given him, took his time sliding it into his empty backpack. When he finally got it positioned just right, his eyes locked on Aiden.

      “I saw your picture in the paper.”

      “Yeah?” Aiden stiffened, but Tyler didn’t seem to notice.

      “Yeah. That rope bridge you’re building over the river...it sounds pretty sweet, man.”

      The confused look on Aiden’s face told Maddie he hadn’t seen the most recent issue of the local newspaper. She retrieved the copy draped over the wire rack in the corner and set it down in front of him.

      “It’s an article highlighting the activities for the fall festival.” Maddie had read it, too. Castle Falls Outfitters would be hosting a new event called River Quest during the weekend-long celebration, and the reporter had interviewed Aiden because he was the one who’d come up with the idea.

      Some of the challenges sounded downright dangerous to Maddie, but she supposed that was part of their appeal. Until now, the most risky event in town had been the Five Alarm Chili Cook-Off.

      Aiden’s gaze dropped to the black-and-white photograph on the front page. It had obviously been taken before the accident. He was leaning against the Castle Falls Outfitters sign, wearing jeans, a T-shirt with the Castle Falls logo on the front, and his signature grin.

      “The headline is clever,” Maddie said, then read it out loud. “River Quest Promises Thrills, Chills and Possible Spills.”

      * * *

      Aiden might have agreed—if a knot the size of a baseball wasn’t clogging his throat.

      He remembered the day the reporter had called and asked if he would be available for an interview.

      “Let me check my calendar,” Aiden had joked. What he’d really needed was time to absorb the fact that the reporter wanted to meet with him instead of Brendan or Liam.

      Aiden’s name was listed on the home page of the Castle Falls Outfitters website, but unlike his brothers, it wasn’t as if he’d accomplished something significant enough to earn his spot there.

      River Quest was supposed to have changed that.

      The interview had taken place a few weeks ago, and Aiden assumed the reporter had scrapped the whole thing after the accident, but here he was. On the front page. And apparently it didn’t matter that some of the details were no longer accurate.

      Aiden had told the reporter that he planned to test the entire course himself before the fall festival, and now he’d be watching from the sidelines as a spectator.

      On top of the world one day. Trapped underneath his pickup truck the next.

      I don’t get it, God...

      “Is there really a cave behind the waterfall on your property?” The girl with the lavender stripes in her hair pressed closer for a better look.

      The fragrance she was wearing made Aiden’s nose sting, but he jerked his chin in a nod. “The cave is the starting point for the competition. Each team has to go through the tunnel and retrieve their flag. The one with the best time gets to skip the next challenge.”

      The kid sitting next to Aiden shrugged. “That doesn’t sound very tough.”

      Aiden found himself staring into the restless, prove-it-to-me eyes of his younger self. “It’s not. Just really, really dark.”

      “No flashlight?”

      “No light at all,” Aiden said. “Just you and a space about two feet wide.”

      The buzz of the kid’s cell phone extinguished the flicker of interest in his eyes. He was on his feet before he’d even finished reading the incoming text and, without a word to Maddie or his friends, bolted for the door.

      The other two exchanged a look, snatched up their backpacks and followed.

      “If you have any questions before our next meeting,” Maddie called after them, “don’t hesitate to email me or stop—”

      The door snapped shut.

      “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I won them over.” A dimple that had been hiding in Maddie’s cheek came out to play. “Are you waiting for someone again? Or did you want to check out a book?”

      Aiden was still distracted by that intriguing dimple, and it took a moment for the words to sink in.

      “I don’t read.”

      “You don’t...” Maddie stopped. Cleared her throat. “Then why—”

      “I came to see you.” Aiden suddenly realized that hadn’t come out quite the way he’d intended it when Maddie’s big green eyes got even bigger. “One of the women who was here on Monday morning...she said you’d helped her find someone named Adelle.”

      “Janette Morrison.” Maddie tipped her head, and a strand of pale blond hair slipped free from the bun at the base of her neck. “You’re interested in tracing your family genealogy, too?”

      His family genealogy?

      “Never mind.” Aiden planted his crutch against the floor and levered himself out of the chair. “It was stupid...”

      And so was he. For eavesdropping on a conversation. For totally misunderstanding said conversation.

      For thinking this was a good idea.

      He made it two steps before Maddie landed in front of him, cutting off his escape.

      “Aiden...wait.”

      Even with a broken wrist and two cracked ribs, Aiden could have brushed Maddie Montgomery aside with no more effort than it would have taken to shoo away a butterfly. But because Sunni insisted her sons use good manners, he produced a grin instead.

      “Look, no worries. I’m sorry for barging in on your study session tonight.” Aiden tried to ease around her and found his path blocked again.

      “Who do you want to find?”

      Aiden opened his mouth to tell Maddie that he didn’t want her help after all, but what came out instead was, “My sister.”

      “I...I didn’t know you had a sister.”

      “I didn’t either, until a few months ago.” Aiden couldn’t prevent the bitterness from seeping into his voice.

      But Maddie didn’t gasp or pelt him with questions. She waited, her silence giving Aiden the freedom to retreat or explain.

      Retreat seemed like the better option. Until now, it hadn’t occurred to Aiden that asking for help would mean opening the door to the past and allowing someone to see the skeletons rattling around in the Kane family closet.

      He and his brothers had moved to Castle Falls when they were kids, but the past cast a long shadow. People still didn’t understand why the Masons had become foster parents and opened their home—and their hearts—to three troubled boys. And when Rich had unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack six months later, some of Sunni’s closest friends had encouraged her to send Aiden and his brothers back to Detroit.

      Sunni had listened to God and adopted them instead, although they hadn’t legally changed their last name to Mason. Aiden hadn’t questioned the reasons behind that decision—or who’d made it—until Brendan had finally gotten around to telling the rest of the family they had a sister out there who might want to find them someday.

      And family meant everything to Aiden.

      He hadn’t been wanted—something Carla Kane had reminded Aiden often enough—but it was tearing him apart inside that their younger sister might have grown up believing the same thing.

      “Our