Free When I Fall in Love (Christiansen Family) by Susan May Warren

shoulder. “I’m not a builder.”
    “Oh, but you’re a firefighter?”
    Owen shoved a canvas bag into one of his saddlebags. “I guess so.”
    Casper couldn’t quite get his head around this new, dark version of his younger brother that had appeared a week ago for Darek and Ivy’s wedding. Owen, it seemed, hadn’t shaved since the wedding, his beard sparse with reddish highlights. He wore a blue bandanna on his head, his blond hair curling from the back. That, added to his leather jacket, and Casper suspected he might be going for a tough-guy aura.
    He knew the truth. “Bro, I know losing hockey’s been rough on you, but consider Mom and Dad. They’re trying to get this place put back together   —”
    “It’s a lost cause.” Owen turned to him, his eyes cool.
    Nope, Casper didn’t recognize him in the least.
    “Who’s going to want to vacation in this moonscape? Mom and Dad are fooling themselves to think they can rescue this place. Throw it in, Casp. You’re only feeding the lie.”
    Owen turned back, finished strapping the saddlebag. “You should leave too, before this place sucks you in and you can’t break free.”
    “It’s not about breaking free, Owen. I have things I want to do too. But it’s about responsibility and helping Mom and Dad rebuild.”
    “Listen, Mom and Dad understand   —”
    “You think they understand why you came home plastered a couple days ago? And let’s not even speculate where you were the night Ivy and Darek got married because I’m pretty sure we won’t like where it lands us.”
    Owen’s jaw tightened. “That’s my business.”
    “Not when you live in this town. Not when you’re a Christiansen. People are watching, Owen, and guess what, Mom is too. You really hurt her   —”
    “Leave Mom out of it.”
    “No, I won’t. Because they built something here, and you’re walking away from it and humiliating her in the process.”
    Owen rounded on him. “Yeah, well, I want my own destiny. My own identity. I don’t want this.” He gestured past Casper to what remained of Evergreen Resort, the still-charred framing of the garage, the cracked and ashy picnic shelter foundation. “I’m leaving, and I’m sorry if Mom gets hurt in the process, but I have to live my own life.” He turned his back to Casper.
    Casper just barely stopped himself from reaching out, from grabbing Owen back.
    Stay calm.
    He put as much older and wiser brother into his tone as he could muster. “I promised Darek I’d stick around this summer, help him keep Evergreen on the map. I was counting on you tohelp us. It’s not just rebuilding   —it’s helping people remember we’re not licked. It’s about PR, like the annual dragon boat races. We still have a boat in this year’s race, and we need you.”
    Owen let out a laugh, something almost angry. “What, did Darek tell you that?”
    In fact, he had. Casper turned his hat around, let the brim shade his eyes. “He asked me to organize it this year. I was counting on you to paddle. We didn’t even enter last year, with the fire consuming the county, and we have a comeback story waiting for us. Have you totally forgotten our three years as champions? C’mon   —it’ll be the Christiansen brothers, paddling home to victory.”
    He tried to interject memory in his voice, the golden snapshot of him and Darek and Owen crossing the finish line so many years ago, paddles held high.
    Yeah, that day he’d felt invincible.
    Owen stared at him a long time. Then he laughed. “What happened to you, Casper? You were the one most likely to strike it rich. I used to think you were so cool   —a pirate searching for lost treasure. Now you’re just . . . Yeah, I’m not sure what you are. A handyman?”
    A fist closed around Casper’s heart, the memory vanishing.
    Owen threw his leg over his bike, grabbed his helmet. “Tell Darek that his pals on the Jude County Hotshots say hi.” He started the bike, revved it,