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  Before I could say anything, his police radio came alive.

  “Chief, you’re needed back at the station.”

  “Thanks Connie, ETA five minutes.” He took the last bite of his sandwich. “Sorry, gotta run. A police chief’s duties are never done. Tell your Gran I’ll swing by tomorrow for those cookies. It was real nice seeing you again, Ashlyn. I’m glad you’re home.”

  Long after Kevin returned to the station, I sat on the deck reminiscing. As a teenager, I had pined away for him, daydreaming that one day he would show up on my doorstep confessing his true feelings about how he couldn’t live without me.

  Chuckling to myself and thinking. Boy I was a hopeless romantic back then, I headed back to the house.

  I’d loved the fantasy that Kevin and I would get married, have a few children, and grow old together, but that fantasy bubble popped when Kevin took off for the police academy, and I fell in love with my not-so-good-choice of a husband…

  * * *

  Later that evening after Gran came home, I opened the door to find an out-of-breath Kasey, arriving five minutes before she was even supposed to be off work.

  “I couldn’t wait. I left as soon as I could.” Kasey stood gasping for air.

  I shook my head and pulled her toward the stairs. “Gran, we’re going up to my room. I need Kasey’s help with something and want to show off my new clothes.”

  As soon as we were behind closed doors, I nodded towards the bed. “Another package.”

  She picked up the letters. “This is the breakthrough? We still don’t know who it is. I can’t remember who was in that class over ten years ago!”

  “I have a list, but I need your help.”

  The excitement was gone from her voice as she sat next to me on the small sofa I kept in my room. “Where is it? Let’s get this over with.”

  I handed her the notebook. “I already crossed off two names. What about Brian?”

  “He’s married, he’s the town’s handyman, and owns the hardware store. I don’t think it’s him.”

  I crossed off Brian’s name. “This is going to be easier than I thought. Hopefully we can narrow it down to one name.”

  “Doubt it,” she said before turning to look at me. “Kevin’s the police chief, never married. He’s possible.”

  My heart thrummed.

  “Well, two isn’t bad. I’m sure we can figure out which one it is between those two. Is Julian married?”

  She looked over the list again. “Oh. Julian was killed a year ago by a drunk driver.”

  “Oh man. I didn’t know.”

  We sat there for a while in silence. Julian was a sweet guy, and would do anything for someone else. Why was it that the good ones were always taken before their time?

  Finally, Kasey spoke. “We’ve narrowed it down to Drew and Kevin. Now what?”

  The rest of the evening we tried to cross one of them off the list, but it was impossible. She thought it was Drew, but I yearned for it to be Kevin. As Kasey was leaving she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to me. “With each letter he sends he drops more clues. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I think he’s going to finally reveal himself.”

  After she left, I strolled toward my bedroom and noticed Gran’s light on. “Gran, you still awake?”

  “Yes child, come in.”

  I opened the door to find her setting aside one of her romance novels. “Kevin stopped by today, about the cookies you made for the Valentine’s Dance, but I couldn’t find them.”

  “Oh, that’s because they were in my car to drop off. I forgot to do that on my way home. Could you drop them off at the police station tomorrow?”

  She picked her book back up, not giving me any eye contact. I stood there for a short moment, and then replied. “Sure Gran. Get your rest.”

  * * *

  That night while lying in bed, I tried to brush off what Kasey had said, but I had the same feeling. I wanted to know who my mystery man was—if he was Kevin, or not—and at the same time I was nervous. In high school I had a major crush on him but never showed it because I didn’t want to be hurt. Kevin was the star quarterback for our high school football team. What were the chances he would date someone who wasn’t on the cheerleading squad?

  Drew and I were friends in high school but I couldn’t see us as a couple. But who knows, maybe he has changed. It’s been years since I’ve seen him.

  I must have finally fallen asleep sometime in the early morning hours because I woke to Gran knocking on my door. “You up? A package arrived and it’s marked urgent.”

  Sitting up, my voice was barely working. “Come in, Gran.”

  She did and handed me the package. “You must have had a rough night. I heard you up a number of times.”

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Why don’t you open your package and get dressed? I’ll make you something to eat.” She started for the door.

  “Thanks, Gran.” By the time she had left I was awake enough to know that the package on my bed was from him. It was a square box with a red and white ribbon, and a note attached.

  Do you know who I am yet?

  Are you willing to live for the moment?

  Tonight, 8 P.M. at Carleon’s Restaurant.

  They’ll have a table reserved for you,

  and I’ll meet you there.

  Tonight we’ll have dinner, and go dancing.

  Happy Valentine’s Day beautiful!

  Walking into the kitchen to join Gran for brunch, I had a few doubts about dinner with a mystery man. All my life I dreamed of the happy-ever-after like all the other girls, but that didn’t happen for me. I ended up marrying an abusive jerk who ran off with his assistant. Maybe I wasn’t meant to have a happy-ever-after. Maybe some of us were meant to be grouchy old ladies.

  “Child, I know what you’re thinking and I only have one thing to say about it. Go!”

  I was so shocked by Gran’s statement, all I could do was stutter. “What?”

  “Don’t play me. I have more years on you and I know what’s been going on.”

  I stood there staring at Gran with my mouth hanging open. “What? How?”

  “Your Gran isn’t as out of touch as you think. She knows what’s going on and who has been sending you all these packages.” She handed me a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich.

  I looked from my sandwich to Gran. “How can you just make sandwiches and not tell me who it is?”

  She shook her head, took a bite of her sandwich, and ignored the question.

  “Gran?”

  She took a drink of her sweet tea. “It’s not my place to tell. I’m flabbergasted you haven’t figured it out yet. Tonight you’ll go and meet your mystery man.”

  I sat there nibbling on my sandwich trying to process everything. “How did you know?”

  “That’s easy, child. He told me. He wanted to let you know how he feels before it was too late again. All the years you were away he has had a candle burning for you. I wish you could have seen his love for you all those years ago, but I won’t let the two of you make another mistake.”

  She took another sip of tea. “Now, go get dressed so you can run those cookies downtown.”

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later I was parked outside of the police station, and still confused about what to do. Gran thought I should go, but could I put the past behind me and move on? I just didn’t know. I glanced up at the station.

  Boy, this place doesn’t look as intimidating as it did when I got caught partying on the football field my senior year. I opened the door to the reception area and noted nothing had changed; even the receptionist was the same.

  Before I could ask if Kevin was in, Drew nearly knocked me over coming out of one of the rooms. “Oh Miss, I’m sorry…Ashlyn, is that you? It’s been years!”

  “Hi Drew, yeah, it’s me. Good to see you. How have you been?”

  “Been fine, just counting the days until you came back home. You look amazing.” Drew smiled
with a flirtatious wink.

  Heat filled my cheeks. “Thanks Drew. You look great yourself.”

  He adjusted his jacket before finally meeting my eyes again. “I know its short notice but you wouldn’t want to go to the Valentine’s Dance with me would you?”

  Before I could answer Kevin stepped out of his office. Leaning against the door frame, he stood watching. At that moment I was more confused than ever about who my secret Valentine might be, or who I wanted him to be, but I knew I was going to find that out later that night. “Sorry Drew. I’m meeting someone for dinner.”

  “Okay, maybe another time.” Before leaving he drew me in for a hug, “It was great seeing you, but I need to get going.”

  Kevin still leaned against the door frame. His warm voice drifted over me. “Just when I was hoping you would ask me to the Valentine’s Dance, I find out you’re meeting someone for dinner.”

  I wanted to pull my hair out. The two men I thought could be my mystery man were both acting like they didn’t have plans for tonight. Was I wrong? Or were they sending mixed messages on purpose? “Isn’t it the man who’s supposed to do the asking, especially with southern boys?”

  A sly grin crossed his face. “Darling, I do reckon you’re right there. What are you doing down here anyways? Got caught speeding?”

  “I don’t speed. But that’s beside the point. Gran asked me to drop off those cookies.”

  His gaze narrowed and he glanced at my empty hands. “She always bakes way more than needed, and I doubt you ate them all, or that they would fit in your purse.”

  Despite myself, I snickered. “They’re in the car, silly. I couldn’t carry them all in. I was hoping you could help me.”

  “I have a better idea. They need to go over to the fire station, so why don’t we drive them over? You can drive, that way I can check out your driving and make sure you’re not a maniac driver.”

  “Just because you have a badge and gun doesn’t mean you are big and bad. I seem to remember someone totaling his brand new truck a week after he got it.” I teased as we headed out.

  “Hey, not fair. That was over ten years ago. Plus it wasn’t my fault. I was trying to miss the driver that ran the red light.”

  * * *

  Later that evening, Gran came in while I was pulling up my hair. “I see you’re going. Would you like some help? Since you have it curled already I could pull it up into a sweeping twist, with ringlets falling down.”

  I let my hair fall back down onto my shoulders. “Thanks, Gran. That would be nice.”

  Yes, I’m going.

  After spending part of my afternoon joking around with Kevin, I secretly hoped it would be him who would meet me tonight. I still cared for him, daydreamed about him, and like Gran said, had to take the jump to find out.

  An hour later I was dressed to kill, sitting at the table at Carleon’s with shaking hands and butterflies in my stomach. A little nagging voice in my head kept saying this was some kind of prank and that I should leave before my heart was broken.

  Just as I was about to leave, a deep voice behind me said. “May I join you?”

  I turned toward the voice to find a six-foot-two, tanned and sexy god standing before me. Shocked, I blinked to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. “Kevin?”

  He nodded. “May I join you, so everyone can quit staring?”

  “Oh yes! Please sit.” I couldn’t believe it.

  He sat across from me. “Were you expecting someone else?”

  “No. In my heart and soul I wanted it to be you.”

  He smiled and reached for my hand.

  I squeezed his right back.

  I knew at that very moment, that my secret Valentine had always had a special place in my heart. I just had to come back home to find it.

  Marissa Dobson

  Born and raised in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Marissa Dobson now resides about an hour from Washington, D.C. She’s a lady who likes to keep busy, and is always busy doing something. With two different college degrees, she believes you’re never done learning.

  Being the first daughter to an avid reader, this gave her the advantage of learning to read at a young age. Since learning to read she has always had her nose in a book. It wasn't until she was a teenager that she started writing down the stories she came up with.

  Marissa is blessed with a wonderful supportive husband, Thomas. He’s her other half and allows her to stay home and pursue her writing. He puts up with all her quirks and listens to her brainstorm in the middle of the night.

  Her writing buddy Pup Cameron, a cocker spaniel, is always around to listen to her bounce ideas off him. He might not be able to answer, but he’s helpful in his own way.

  She loves to hear from readers so send her an email at [email protected] or visit her online at https://www.marissadobson.com.

  Other Books by Marissa Dobson

  Alaskan Tigers:

  Tiger Time

  The Tiger’s Heart

  Tigress for Two

  Night with a Tiger

  Trusting a Tiger

  Alaskan Tigers Box Set Volume One

  Jinx’s Mate

  Two for Protection

  Bearing Secrets

  Tiger Tracks

  Healing the Clan

  Alaskan Tigers Box Set Volume Two

  Her Black Tiger

  Tiger Trouble

  Forever Creek Shifters:

  Forever’s Fight

  Crimson Hollow:

  Romancing the Fox

  Loving the Bears

  A Lion’s Chance

  Swift Move

  Purrable Lion

  Bearly Alive

  Saved by a Lion

  Stormkin:

  Storm Queen

  Reaper:

  A Touch of Death

  Beyond Monogamy:

  Theirs to Treasure

  SEALed for You:

  Ace in the Hole

  Explosive Passion

  Operation Family

  Marine for You:

  Lucky Chance

  Back from Hell

  A Marine’s Second Chance *Crossover to the SEALed for You series

  Tanner Cycles:

  Until Sydney

  Phantom Security:

  Different Sides

  Cedar Grove Medical:

  Hope’s Toy Chest

  Destiny’s Wish

  Leena’s Dream

  Fate Series:

  Snowy Fate

  Sarah’s Fate

  Mason’s Fate

  As Fate Would Have It

  Half Moon Harbor Resort:

  Learning to Live

  Learning What Love Is

  Her Cowboy’s Heart

  Half Moon Harbor Resort Volume One

  Clearwater:

  Winterbloom

  Unexpected Forever

  Losing to Win

  Christmas Countdown

  The Surrogate

  Clearwater Romance Volume One

  Small Town Doctor

  Stand Alone:

  SEALed Rescue

  SEALed in Texas

  Through Smoke

  Starting Over

  Secret Valentine

  Restoring Love