CHAPTER ONE

Chandra Valentine gripped the handle of her rolling carry-on luggage as she watched the tiny regional plane taxi toward her gate at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. She honestly wished she hadn’t seen it. Then she could pretend it was a larger plane. A stable plane. The kind she’d become accustomed to flying in over her past thirty-nine years of life. Not one of those little puddle jumpers she’d always taken great pains to avoid.

She loosened her grip when she realized her nails were stabbing her palms. She opened her hand, studying the row of angry semicircles that trailed across her skin. Chandra took a deep breath, her eyes drifting closed momentarily. When she opened them, she was greeted by a penetrating dark gaze.

The incredibly handsome man tipped his chin in greeting as he rubbed his full beard. Typically, she’d considered a full-grown beard a turnoff. Who knew exactly what might be lurking in that thing? But for this brother, she’d make an exception.

He was dressed in an unbuttoned, green and black plaid shirt over a black Henley shirt, distressed jeans and brown Timberland boots. His lop-sided smile made her belly flip in ways it hadn’t in longer than she cared to admit.

Chandra gave him a quick nod and an awkward wave before sauntering away.

The man was fine. In ways she could wax poetically about for days. But this wasn’t a girls’ trip to Vegas. She was about to board a tuna can with wings so she could meet her dad in some small mountain town in Tennessee.

If she didn’t feel a sense of urgency to get to the little town of Magnolia Lake, where her dad had summoned her and her five younger siblings, she would’ve flown to the closest major airport then driven the remainder of the way through the mountains. But she was worried about her dad.

Abbott Raymond Valentine had turned sixty-nine on his last birthday—which she’d missed because she was at a company retreat in Utah. Her father had been in sort of a funk since his mother had died a few years ago. It didn’t feel quite like mourning, but something deeper. She hadn’t been able to figure out what it was, and her dad wouldn’t open up about what he was feeling. He’d been grumpy and evasive whenever she tried to broach the topic, which ruined the mood of their weekly calls. So she’d stopped asking, hoping he’d eventually be ready to confide in her.

But two weeks ago, her father had called a big family meeting via teleconference to inform them he needed to see all of them in person. Despite their pleading and threatening, her father wouldn’t offer the slightest hint of what this was about. Chandra was terrified about what might prompt her father to gather them together like this for the first time since her grandmother's funeral.

It’d taken three days and an online calendar for the six siblings to figure out when their schedules would permit all of them to take time off their jobs and get together for at least a week, preferably two—as her father had requested. But here she was on her way to some tiny town in the Smoky Mountains where she only hoped they had internet, cell phone service and indoor plumbing because hiking in the woods was the limit of her outdoorsyness.

Chandra settled into a seat as far away as she could get from the handsome man with the gorgeous dark eyes who was making her rethink her stance on beards. Because as much as she’d like to get to know him up close and personal, she didn’t have time for extracurricular activities on this trip.

She was a problem solver. Had been since she was eight years old and returned from school to discover the Dear Abbott letter her mother had left on the kitchen counter.

Her father had been gutted. She, Nolan, Sebastian and Alonzo had been devastated. Just like that, she’d become the adult in the house as her father struggled to deal with her mother’s abandonment. In some ways, she’d felt like the only adult in the room with her family ever since.

Chandra rubbed her arms against the chill in the airport, still devastated by the painful memory.

Mr. Handsome stared at her from across the wide expanse.

Chandra pulled the book on teambuilding she’d been reading from her purse and opened it. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by the man. She needed to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with her father, solve whatever problem needed to be solved then return to San Diego.

Julian Brandon returned to his airplane gate clutching a grease-stained bag with a piping hot panini sandwich and fries in one hand and pulling his rolling luggage behind him with the other.

His flight had already boarded.

The woman taking tickets at the door narrowed her gaze and gestured for him to hurry.

“I thought the plane didn’t board for another five minutes.” He produced his phone so she could scan his boarding pass.

“Everyone was here, so the captain wants to leave as soon as possible. Enjoy your flight.”

Julian shoved his phone into his back pocket and made his way through the tunnel. Then he made his way to his seat. At six foot two, being folded into a cramped seat on one of these smaller planes was never a picnic. So while he preferred a window seat, he’d booked an aisle seat so he could stretch his legs. But it appeared he was in luck. The window seat beside him was empty. So he’d have the entire row to himself.

He put his bag in the overhead bin and settled into his seat, prepared to watch an episode or two of a sci-fi show while giving himself a reprieve from thinking about his reluctant return to the little town where he was raised. The town he’d be moving back to for the next four years—and not a day more. Not because he wanted to but because it was part of an obligation he’d made as a fourteen-year-old kid when a local philanthropist offered to sponsor his full ride to college and then med school.

They sealed the door of the plane and the captain announced they would be leaving soon, so everyone should take their seats. Julian breathed a sigh of relief; grateful he’d gotten lucky. He slid over to the window seat.

“Excuse me, but you’re sitting in my spot.”

Julian looked up and locked eyes with the stunning woman he’d been checking out in the airport terminal. Her black T-shirt said Wake Up, Kick Ass, Repeat in bold white letters. Slim black pants hugged her curves. Her dark brown hair was pushed back with a pricey pair of sunglasses. Her dark brown skin looked flawless and her pursed lips where punctuated with a deep purple lipstick.

Julian sat there, blinking, as if he’d never seen a beautiful woman before.

He was usually much more suave than this. But something about this woman threw him off his game. He was at a loss for words.

“Ma’am, you’ll need to take your seat.” The flight attendant’s bright smile did little to mask her irritation.

“I will.” The woman propped a hand on her hip. “As soon as this gentleman gets out of my seat.”

“Sorry. Thought I had the row to myself.” Julian unbuckled his seat belt and stepped into the aisle, so the woman could get to her seat.

The flight attendant gave him the evil eye, then moved to help an older couple searching for space in the overhead bins.

“Sorry,” Julian said to the woman who was buckling her seat belt as she stared out on to the tarmac. “When they shut the door and no one was here, I assumed—”

“That you’d hit the air travel lottery and had the row to yourself?” Her lips twitched with a hint of a smile. She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear. “Given the situation, I would’ve made the same assumption. But I was here…just in the restroom.” She dropped her gaze, and he wondered if beneath her rich, dark brown skin her cheeks were flushed. “When I’m traveling alone, I don’t like leaving my things on the seat unattended.”

“Understandable.” He nodded. After an awkward bit of silence, he extended his hand. “I’m JB, by the way. And I’m not usually a seat stealer.”

Her smile broadened. She shook his hand. “Chandra.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Chandra.” He realized he was smiling like a goober and still holding her hand when she gently tugged it free.