Chapter 1
Her whole life, Juliette Carter had believed that almost anything was possible.
Dreams changed.
People changed.
Plans changed.
Life had a funny way of surprising you.
But if someone had asked her five years ago what the most impossible thing in the world was...
She would’ve answered without hesitation.
Easton Carter becoming a dad.
Her older brother had spent most of his twenties insisting kids weren’t for him.
He’d barely managed to keep a houseplant alive.
Now...
He had an eighteen-month-old daughter who somehow had him wrapped so tightly around her tiny finger that the entire Carter family had accepted he was a lost cause.
Juliette smiled to herself as Lucy Carter sat cross-legged on the colorful rug in the children’s corner of the Heartline Public Library.
Well...
More like attempted to sit cross-legged.
She kept wobbling over before giggling and clapping for herself.
“You ready?” Juliette asked softly.
Lucy beamed.
“’Kay.”
Juliette laughed.
“Okay.”
She opened the picture book on her lap.
“‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?’”
Lucy leaned forward, her tiny fingers immediately reaching for the pages.
“Bear,” she whispered proudly.
“That’s right.”
Juliette smiled.
“It’s a brown bear.”
Lucy pointed excitedly.
“Bird!”
“Very good.”
For the next twenty minutes, Juliette read every book Lucy picked from the basket beside them.
Half the time Lucy listened.
The other half she was more interested in turning pages too early or pointing at random animals and proudly announcing completely incorrect names.
“Cow.”
Juliette blinked.
“Luce...”
She looked down at the picture.
“That’s a penguin.”
Lucy considered it for exactly one second.
“Cow.”
Juliette laughed.
“You know what? Sure.”
A few parents nearby smiled at the exchange.
Juliette had always loved this.
The quiet.
The smell of books.
Watching children discover stories for the first time.
It reminded her why she was finishing graduate school to become a reading specialist.
Why she volunteered every Thursday afternoon for the library’s toddler reading hour.
Because somewhere in these shelves...
A little kid might find their favorite story.
Just like she had.
Lucy suddenly squealed.
“Mama!”
Juliette looked up.
Standing near the entrance, bundled in a cream sweater despite the Tennessee spring breeze, was Joslynn Hayes—well...
Joslynn Carter now.
Even after nearly two years of marriage, Juliette still caught herself thinking of her by her maiden name.
She smiled.
“Lucy.”
Juliette gently helped the little girl to her feet.
“Your mama’s here.”
Lucy gasped dramatically before wobbling into an enthusiastic toddler sprint.
“Mama!”
Joslynn barely had time to kneel before Lucy crashed into her arms.
“Oh, there’s my girl.”
She kissed the top of Lucy’s curls.
“Were you good for Aunt Jules?”
Lucy nodded enthusiastically.
“Books!”
“I heard.”
Joslynn looked over Lucy’s head and smiled warmly at Juliette.
“Thanks for watching her. Easton got called into a meeting and I had to finish at the clinic.”
Juliette stood, slipping the books back into the basket.
“It wasn’t exactly a hardship.”
She reached over to tickle Lucy’s belly.
“We had a very educational conversation about why penguins aren’t cows.”
Joslynn laughed.
“Oh, she’s definitely Easton’s daughter.”
“As if your husband wouldn’t argue with me that a penguin was a cow just because he didn’t want to admit he was wrong.”
Joslynn’s grin widened.
“I’ll let you tell him that.”
“I absolutely will.”
They laughed together as Lucy reached for another book.
Juliette bent to pick it up.
“You want one more before you go home?”
Lucy nodded so hard her curls bounced.
“One more.”
Juliette smiled.
She could never say no to one more story.
Not when little blue-green eyes looked at her like that.
Not when moments like these reminded her that happiness didn’t always arrive in grand gestures.
Sometimes...
It was simply found between the pages of a well-loved book.
