True love rekindled

Samantha reconnects with her first love, Noah, during a meaningful Memorial Day ceremony reunion

- Kimberly Kirkland Absher

Samantha Parker pulled into the community park, the scent of barbecue already filling the air. Her small town always did Memorial Day right—with a parade, flags on every corner, and a community picnic that made everyone feel like one big happy family.

She'd been back home for six months and had already expanded her late aunt’s flower shop. She and a couple of members of her staff got busy unloading buckets of red, white and blue arrangements for the town’s annual ceremony.

“Samantha?”

The deep, familiar voice made her pause, her fingers tightening around a vase of blue hydrangeas. She turned slowly, her heart doing a strange little flip.

Noah Bennett stood a few feet away, his hazel eyes full of recognition. The last time she'd seen him was...well, too long ago.

“Noah,” she said. “I didn’t realize you were back in town.”

He smiled, a little sheepishly. “Hmm. I could say the same about you.”

She nodded, glancing away. They'd dated in high school, broken up before college, and then life had taken them in different directions.

She'd heard bits and pieces over the years—he’d served in the military, then moved around for work.

“So, what brings you back here?” she asked.

“My dad.” A shadow passed over his face. “After Mom passed last year, he needed some help. I moved back a couple of months ago.”