THE CITY LIGHTS were majestic as they started to appear behind the glass window in his office. Tripp Wrylee was a piece of work, a self-absorbed, relentless, and a pain in the ass.

In his five years as the CEO of Braxton & Wrylee Associates, he worked his ass off to make a name for himself and to prove to his father that he belonged in the industry.

Sometimes, he forgot the world outside—he came early and worked late. He took all the clients even if he had to cross the line, just like what he did to his sister, Charleigh. He was one of those people that career meant more than anything to them.

Until a few weeks ago, when he laid an eye on his nephew for the first time—when he saw how happy his sister was—when he heard that name again. He realized how much he missed the feeling of being loved, of being relevant outside the four corners of his office. Just the way how Bryce Chase looked at Charleigh was nostalgic—it was infuriating and adorable at the same time.

A knock on his office veered his attention from his office window. It was his best friend Kayden. “Still not ready to leave?” He didn’t have to ask—he knew him very well.

“I think I’ll stay for an hour or so. I’m working on something.” He closed his laptop on his desk. He forgot his father’s attractive offer for a while. He even asked to give him a few months or a year to think about it, and just as he said to Kayden, he was working on something for a few days now. He couldn’t just let his firm—his life’s work gave up because he had a better offer for a bigger firm. Everyone worked from the bottom, that was one thing he always believed.

“Yeah. I forgot that you’ve been working on something.” Kayden shrugged, hands in his pocket.

“I’ll be visiting Charleigh this weekend. Wanna come with me?” He stood up from his chair, sauntering toward the window.

“You were there two weeks ago. Is there a possible project you wanna tell me about?” Kayden was as tall as Tripp as he stood beside him.

“No. I just wanna see Charleigh and my nephew.” He was jealous of the attention his sister was getting. She was loved by everyone while he was hated by his employees for being an insensitive boss.

“Or there’s something or someone had caught your attention there?”

He met Kayden’s dark eyes. “Seriously? I’m a busy person to be distracted by some girl from Hopes Spring. I can’t mess up my job for a quick fuck.” He almost grimaced. If what he heard was true, then he had to ready himself for the inevitable.

Kayden smirked. “Your sister is happy, and she and Bryce were not just a quick fuck.”

He sighed. “I can’t believe she gave up the job she loved over Bryce. Don’t get me wrong, that man loves my sister, but I never thought that day would come that she would choose—”

“Her happiness over her job? Well, you don’t know your sister very well. She might love her job, but everyone deserves to be loved back, know what I mean?”

“I guess you’re right.” He could still remember how he wanted to wring Dax Easton’s neck for hurting Charleigh. From the very beginning they started dating behind Tripp’s back, he wasn’t delighted about it, not even a bit. His close friend whom he considered as his brother and the person he trusted just broke his baby sister’s heart in the end.

He wasn’t some commitment-phobic ass. He was in a serious relationship once. He also had a fair share of women. Since he and Kayden started the architectural firm, to be with someone was the last thing he would be doing. He had a lot of works to do, a firm to manage and expand, and he still had a lot of things to learn. He wanted to keep it that way.

He made the biggest mistake once, he had no plan on repeating it. In his line of work, distraction could cause a lot of consequences and lost a lot of opportunities, clients, and money. Three years ago, he pledged that he would give his full commitment to this firm until he felt he’d done great things.

“I’m going. Don’t spend too much time on that something.” He heard Kayden’s footsteps, then the door closed behind him.

***

HE SIPPED HIS coffee while listening to the podcast in his car when a call interrupted him—it was Charleigh. The coffee spilled to his lap, causing him to groan when the hot liquid sipped through his pants.

“Fuck.”

He pressed the answer button with a smile on his face. He couldn’t believe he almost ruined his relationship with his sister. He felt he failed to be her big brother. He let her down—he wasn’t able to do the only thing a big brother should be doing—to protect her from getting hurt. Then just a few months ago, things between them had changed—they were like the way they used to when they were just kids. They even became closer.

“Bad timing, sis. Now I look like I just peed in my pants.”

“What happened?” Charleigh’s voice echoed in his car. The smile on her voice was palpable.

“I was sipping coffee when you called. And guess what?”

“You’re driving in the middle of the night? Is there something new, Tripp?”

“Why are you still awake?” He stole a glance at the analog dashboard clock—it was almost one in the morning.

“I changed nappy for Nash. Bryce needs to wake up early. We got a load of cupcakes to bake. Orders from the mayor’s tea party.” Tripp didn’t miss the sarcasm at the end of her words.

“I’m on my way.”

“You’re coming over?” She shrieked.

“Why are you sound so surprised? You don’t miss me?”

“I missed you.” Charleigh must be rolling her eyes now. “I thought you’re coming over at the end of this month. Is there something wrong?”

“Can’t I just come over to play and have fun with my nephew?”

“It doesn’t sound like the Tripp Wrylee I once knew from the firm. Doesn’t a CEO supposed to have tons of things to do than driving over to the small town?”

“Now who is judgmental, Charleigh. Should I turn the car around?” Something was bothering him that he didn’t know who to approach. His sister might be able to give him advice or something. It was probably the secret he’d been hiding from Kayden or the fact that he was torn between the family business and his own. Or there was something more he wasn’t ready to admit—the distraction Kayden was pointing out earlier.

“I’ll be staying at the inn. Don’t worry. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You’re always welcome in the house, silly. How far are you?”

“Just get some sleep, okay?”

“We’ll definitely talk about what’s bothering you, brother. You won’t just come over, driving in the middle of the night just to see Nash. And you won’t dare cook up some lie on your way.”

Tripp gave her a knowing laugh. Everything his sister was saying was true. He couldn’t just drop the bomb, could he? His stomach churned at the realization that he wasn’t himself for these past few weeks.

“Tripp,” Charleigh called his name in a low voice. He could feel the worry in her voice seeping through his heart.

“Sis.” He blew out a breath of frustration. “I guess we have a lot to talk about.”

“See you in the morning then.”

He pressed down the gas as soon as the call ended. He needed to get to the Hopes Spring quickly to get a short sleep before he faced his sister.

The thought of spilling out his guts created a knot in his stomach. He knew most of Charleigh’s secrets because she was an open book, but he needed to tell someone one way or another, and he was choosing his sister. On his account, he was still young and a fool at that time.

A surge of chill seeped his bone as he remembered the pain in her eyes when he told her that he didn’t feel the same way toward her, and how important for him to focus on following his dream.

Shit!

He threw curses as he entered Hopes Spring, passing by the welcome signage. He wasn’t aware he was driving at full speed for almost two hours now. He wanted to see different landscapes when the famous mountain came to view. Even from a distance, the pale moonlight made it possible for him to see the peak.

He lowered down the window, inhaling the scent of this town. Something about the smell of Hopes Spring that was calling him and made him want to come back. Perhaps the fresh air. The beautiful scenery, the old building structures, and landscapes were he rarely saw in the big city. Or perhaps the woman he used to know was the reason why he was there.

Despite the two cups of strong coffee he had on his way, he started to yawn after yawn. Impatient took over him. He wanted to throw himself to the bed and get some sleep. He sped up, tailgating the old beat-up truck, hoping he could pass it.

“Come on. Are all drivers here have something to do in the middle of the night?” He tailed the truck, hoping he would see him. Whoever the driver was probably blind not to see his signal, he thought.

He rounded the curve, only to hit the brake hard and swerved to avoid hitting a flock of sheep. “What the fuck?” His car skidded to the side of the road as he tried harder to avoid going to the weeds. He pushed the pedal, but it was too late, his car crashed to the small post, the airbag hit him.

It took him a few breathless seconds to realize what had just happened. The fucking sheep! He forcefully opened the door, jumped out of the car to the weeds, and ran toward the side of the road.

His palms on his knees, his throat and chest tightened, his heartbeat became rolling thunder. He was still trying to process that he just got into an accident because of the fucking sheep.

No. It was all his fault.

No, it wasn’t his. It was that damn old truck who did not mind his signal. What would his sister think when he told her what happened? He was cursing the hell out before he realized what he was doing.

Then a soft squeeze on his shoulder startled him.