Falling in Love on Willow Creek

by Debbie Mason

  They’d learned her grandmother had been right after all. Her bank account had been hacked, but not by her grandson. He’d been going to. He was no choirboy. He’d had her account open on Payton’s laptop but had second thoughts at the last minute. Elijah and Payton had gotten into a fight, and he’d gone to the kitchen to grab a beer. When he’d returned, the laptop had been closed, but Sadie had uncovered proof in her FBI-sanctioned deep dive of Payton’s finances—and the money that she’d stolen from their grandmother.

  Elijah glanced at Sadie. “And no more get-rich-quick schemes. I’ll work three jobs if I have to.”

  “How about one job that pays well and you get to do something you love?” Chase said, reaching inside his jacket to pull out some papers.

  “Like hacking? I’m joking,” he said to Sadie and her grandmother.

  “I’m not. My boss at the North Carolina office has offered you a position as their tech expert, which does involve a legal form of hacking at times.” He handed Elijah the offer.

  “Seriously?” He scanned the paper and looked up. “Whoa, that’s wicked money.”

  “Benefits too.”

  “The one drawback is my brother-in-law is your boss, but I’ll teach you how to handle him,” Nate said.

  “And I get to work with you too, right?” Elijah asked Chase, who’d become his hero.

  Chase rubbed the back of his head, sending Sadie an apologetic glance. “I’m afraid not. I’ve been transferred back to DC.”

  Sadie stared at him, reeling from shock. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t find out until an hour ago. Let’s go somewhere and talk.” He held out his hand. “Congratulations, Elijah. You’re going to do great.”

  Sadie rested her back against the wall outside her brother’s room and crossed her arms. “You could have called me.”

  “I wanted to see you when I told you.” He rubbed her arms. “Come on, honey. We talked about this. You knew it was a possibility.”

  He was right. They had, and she did. But she’d become convinced he wouldn’t leave them, especially when he’d bought them a dog. “When do you leave?”

  “Tonight. I’m sorry, I tried to push it back a couple days, but I’m hitting the ground running tomorrow morning.”

  “You’re excited to get back to DC, aren’t you? I can hear it in your voice.”

  “About the job, yes. Leaving you and Michaela, no. Come with me. I’ll buy your tickets right now.” He pulled out his phone.

  “I can’t leave Granny and Elijah. And Abby’s already had to postpone the unicorn event. I have to help—”

  He gently pressed his finger to her lips. “You don’t have to explain. I’ll come back whenever I can. We’ll make this work. I promise.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Six weeks later

  Sadie stood in the meadow across from the cottage with Abby. It was a glorious summer afternoon with not a cloud in the sky. Butterflies flitted among the flowers, and children’s excited voices filled the air. It was exactly the kind of day they’d been praying for to wrap up the We Believe in Unicorns event.

  “That settles it,” Abby said, looking at the groups of family and friends milling around the pastel-striped tents set up in the meadow. Each of the tents flew a unicorn flag, while flags of Scotland dotted the gravel road that was lined with cars. “We Believe in Unicorns is officially an annual event. Gotta give the people what they want, and they really want to celebrate Scotland’s national animal. Next year, it will be even bigger. We’ll start working on it next week.” She grinned at Sadie. “You better work out your finger muscles so your hand doesn’t cramp up on you when you’re doing all your book signings next year.”

  “All my book signings? I thought we agreed I’d do one book a year and just do a book signing during the Unicorn Hunt.”

  “I didn’t want to stress you out. You were on a tight deadline with this one, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure it would be any good.”

  “Hey.” Sadie laughed, acting offended. She really wasn’t. She’d shared Abby’s worries at the beginning of the project. The turnaround time had been incredibly tight. But it’d been good for Sadie. She’d had fun, and working on the book had helped fill her nights now that Chase was hardly around.

  “I know. I never should have doubted you. You’re incredibly talented, and the book turned out amazing. I really do think you can make a good living from this.”

  “I do too. And the best part is that it doesn’t feel like work at all.”

  “Great.” Abby grinned, patting Sadie’s shoulder. “Then you won’t complain when I tell you I want you to write three books a year, plus do a calendar.”

  “Are you my manager now?”

  “Yes, I am. You might be a photographer extraordinaire with a magical flair, but, sweetie, you suck at self-promotion.”

  Sadie couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, you’re hired.”

  Mallory walked across the meadow toward them, looking beautiful and very pregnant in her sky-blue sundress. “Final tally is in,” she said when she reached them. “Congratulations, ladies, your event was a huge financial success.”

  “Yay!” Abby cheered. “I knew it would be. What did we rake in? Is it enough to wipe out I Believe in Unicorns’ debt?”

  “That and then some. Except Agnes has other plans for the money. Do you know what she wants to do with it, Sadie?” Mallory asked.

  “I do, and I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Sadie turned to Abby. “Granny’s asked Gabe if he can rename Project HOPE ‘Project Brodie,’ and he agreed. She’s donating the money to the program. Nate and Chase are going to match it. Chase offered to clear Granny’s bank loans but she wouldn’t let him. She went with Elijah to the bank, and my brother set up a repayment plan with Mr. Teller. When they eventually get the money that Payton stole from Granny, they’ll make a lump sum payment.” Sadie had been proud of her brother and her grandmother.

  “Oh, wow, that’s amazing on all counts. I bet Nate was touched that your grandmother did that for his friend.”

  “He was. Brodie did a lot of work in the community with young offenders, helping to turn their lives around.”

  Abby got a look in her eyes that both Sadie and Mallory were familiar with, which is probably why they said at almost the same time, “What are you thinking of doing now?”

  “I’m going to do a story about Brodie on my channel, and we can promote the project at the same time. Do you think Nate would let me interview him?” she asked, her eyes going to the man who was holding court with several of the single women in town.

  “If you hide his identity.”

  “Is he going undercover again?” Mallory asked.

  Sadie nodded. “He’s determined to find the person who was responsible for getting the drugs into the hands of the Whiteside Mountain Gang. Chase is worried about him. He—” She broke off to smile at Mallory’s stepson Teddy, who ran toward them with Finn on his heels.

  “Mom, the twins are finding all the rainbow poop, and it’s not fair for the little kids.”

  Along with the golden alicorn—unicorn horn—they’d hidden boxes of jewel-like candy, because, according to Sadie’s grandmother, unicorns pooped rainbows.

  “I swear those two can sniff out candy from a mile away.” Mallory shielded her eyes and smiled. “Look, Daddy’s solved the problem. He’s got your brothers helping the kids ride on Lula Belle the unicorn.”

  “Hey, Teddy, how would you like a clue where the golden alicorn is?”

  Abby shrugged at Mallory’s and Sadie’s “Abby!”

  “I’m not telling him where it is. It’s just a clue. He’ll have to figure it out on his own. Besides, I think we made it too difficult. They should have found the alicorn by now.” Abby pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of her white capris and handed it to Teddy.

  “Thanks.” He grinned, waving the paper as he ran off.

  Suddenly, Abby pulled Mallory in front of her. “Oh no. Hide m
e.”

  Mallory looked at an approaching group of older women. “Thanks for thinking I’m big enough to hide you, but if you think you can escape Elsa and the Sisterhood, think again.”

  “Watch me.” Abby took off for the cottage.

  “What’s going on?” Sadie asked as she watched their friend sprint across the gravel road.

  “Elsa is sure Abby’s pregnant, and she’s been pressuring her and Hunter to set a wedding date. But rumor has it—a rumor that’s been circulating at Spill the Tea, thanks to Babs—that Elsa has already set a date for them.”

  “Do you think Abby’s pregnant?”

  “I think she might be.” Mallory smiled and rubbed her baby bump, slanting Sadie a look.

  “Don’t even.” She laughed. “Michaela’s just turned five months, and Chase and I are living in different states.”

  “Of course, you’re right. How are you doing, really? I mean, you look incredible, and you seem happy.”

  “I’m good. Really good, actually. Don’t get me wrong. I miss Chase like crazy, but we’re making it work.” She moved her head from side to side. “Sort of. It’s easier for me than it is for him. He’s the one making all the sacrifices. The poor guy is exhausted. Last weekend when he was here, I woke up to find him asleep at the kitchen table. He had the keys of his laptop imprinted on his cheek. He tries so hard not to let work interfere with his time with Michaela and me that he stays up half the night to keep on top of things.”

  “That’s not good.”

  “I know. It was the same when we went to visit him a couple of weeks ago.” She smiled, thinking of walking into his gorgeous condo and discovering he had a nursery set up and decorated for Michaela just like her room here. He’d done it all on his own.

  “Would you ever consider moving to DC? Please say no. I know it’s selfish, but we’d miss you. A lot.”

  “I’d miss you guys too.” She looked around at the cottage, the mountains, and the forest, at her friends and family in the meadow. “I’m happy here. Happier than I’ve ever been, and I’d love Michaela to grow up in Highland Falls. But for Chase’s sake, we can’t keep going the way that we are. I planned to talk to him about it this weekend but he got a break in his case and couldn’t get away.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Mallory nodded at a drop-dead gorgeous man in a black suit and white shirt carrying a gigantic stuffed unicorn. Chase stood at the end of her driveaway surrounded by Zia Maria and her friends. “Go.” Mallory smiled, waving Sadie off.

  Zia Maria and her friends dispersed as Sadie wove her way through the parked cars. Chase met her halfway and pulled her into his arms, the unicorn squished between them. They both went in for a kiss and ended up kissing the unicorn instead.

  “I need to get rid of this. Where’s my girl?”

  “She’s with Granny and Colin. They took her for a walk.” She tugged on the unicorn’s horn. “Don’t tell me this is a five-month birthday present.”

  He grinned. “Of course it is. I can’t let it go by without marking the occasion.”

  “You’re going to spoil her. Besides, having you here is the best present of all.” She cupped the side of his beard-stubbled face with her hand, taking in the dark shadows under eyes that were bloodshot. “Chase, you’re exhausted. You should have come next weekend.”

  “And miss your big event? Not on your life. How did the signing go? Did you sell out?”

  “Yes, probably because someone in DC ordered two cases of books.”

  “Who ratted me out?”

  “Babs.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I hope your brother knows what he’s getting himself into.”

  Much to everyone’s surprise, her brother and Brooklyn were dating. Sadie thought it was a little fast, but who was she to judge? “I’m more worried about you, Chase. You can’t keep this up.”

  He looked around. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”

  Her heart gave a nervous thump, which was silly because she knew he loved her as much as she loved him. “I’d say the cottage but Abby is in there hiding out from Elsa.” At his quirked eyebrow, she said, “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  She glanced at the yellow rowboat floating on the creek. With Abby’s help, Sadie had decorated the front of the boat with flowers for a photo shoot. Lately, parents had been asking her to take professional photos of their children so she’d taken advantage of the opportunity today.

  “I have the perfect spot.” She took him by the hand and led him around the back of the cottage.

  He spotted the boat and smiled. “You’re right. It is perfect.” He left the unicorn on the seat of the Adirondack chair and then shrugged out of his jacket, leaving it on the arm. They walked hand in hand to where the boat sat bobbing on the creek. Chase let go of her to tug on the rope that was attached to the willow tree, bringing the rowboat to shore. He helped Sadie in, waiting for her to get settled before joining her. The boat rocked, throwing him off balance.

  “Careful.” She grabbed his hand.

  Chase stretched out beside her and brought her close. “Thanks for saving me.” He kissed her temple and then tipped his head back, the sun’s rays dancing on his handsome face. “I’ve missed this. I don’t get outside much in DC.”

  “You don’t get out at all.” She stroked his face. “I really am worried about you. Did you wrap up the investigation?” She knew from what little he could tell her that it was a big case, a career-making case.

  “I did,” he murmured, sounding like he was seconds from falling asleep.

  “That’s great. I’m sure your boss was thrilled.”

  “He might have been more thrilled if I wasn’t offered his job.”

  “Chase, that’s amazing. It’s exactly what you’ve been working toward.”

  “It was.” He took her hand in his. “I turned them down. I can’t do this anymore.”

  “No, you can’t give up the opportunity because of us. We’ll move—”

  He shook his head. “My career used to be my life but it isn’t anymore. You and Michaela are. I want to make a life with you here. I requested a transfer, and it’s been granted. With a little help from Nate. My boss, his brother-in-law, wasn’t happy that I’d left them as soon as DC came calling. I can’t say I blame him.”

  “Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?”

  He cocked his head. “Are you?”

  “Yes, a thousand times—”

  “Hold that thought.” He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small blue box, opening it to reveal a gorgeous, sparkling diamond ring. “Sadie Gray, the love of my life, will you marry me?”

  “Yes, a thousand times over.” He slid the ring onto her finger. She held it up and the diamond caught the sun’s rays, a rainbow of light dancing around them. “It’s beautiful, just like you. I adore you, Chase Michael Roberts, and so does your daughter.” As they leaned in to kiss, a cheer went up from the bushes across from them.

  Abby popped out with a huge grin on her face and her camera in her hands. “Yay! You’re getting married! Congrats, and thanks for taking the pressure off me. Now go back to what you were about to do. I need to get a shot.” She held the viewfinder to her eye. “Oh my gosh, you would not believe how gorgeous you guys look right now. I’m captioning it ‘Falling in Love on Willow Creek.’ Thanks!” She blew them a kiss and darted off through the trees.

  “That woman is—” Chase began, only to have Abby pop out of the bushes again.

  “Sorry, guys. And I do mean that. But we need your help. Finn just stole the golden alicorn from Teddy, and Teddy’s upset he can’t make his wish.” Abby’s mouth fell open, and they followed her gaze.

  Finn broke through the trees with the golden alicorn in his mouth, making a beeline for the boat. Chase came to his feet and held up his hands. “No, Finn, don’t—”

  Finn leaped through the air and landed in the rowboat, dropping the alicorn at Chase’s feet. The boat rocked violently. Chase l
ost his balance and fell over the side of the boat. He landed in the creek, spraying Sadie with water.

  Dripping wet, she leaned over the side of the rowboat and offered her hand to Chase while struggling to contain her laughter.

  Chase grinned up at her and took her hand. “My lady in shining armor, here to save me again.”

  “It seems only fair. You’ve been my knight in shining armor since the first day we met.”

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  For a bonus story from Debbie Mason, please turn the page to read “A Wedding on Honeysuckle Ridge.”

  It’s autumn in the cozy little town of Highland Falls, and for Sadie Gray, it’s the most romantic time of the year, not to mention her life. After all, she’s engaged to brilliant and gorgeous FBI agent Chase Roberts. But when Sadie and Chase start planning to say their “I do’s” on a reality TV show, Chase’s grandfather goes from disapproving to full-on Wedding Sabotage Mode. Can Chase and Sadie find their way back to each other . . . before their wedding turns into a happily never after?

  Chapter One

  Sadie Gray stood at the front of the Blushing Bridal Boutique filming a segment called Say Yea or Nay to the Dress for her best friend’s YouTube channel, Abby Does Highland Falls. Their mutual best friend Mallory was the MC for the event.

  It wasn’t a role Mallory was comfortable with. She was eight months pregnant, and being the center of attention on camera wasn’t exactly something she enjoyed. But her six-year-old stepson Teddy, who was one of Abby’s biggest fans, had won her over. Looking adorable in a black tux, Teddy stood beside Mallory to the left of the dais in front of a packed house.

  The women filling the rows of white chairs had their paddles at the ready—yea on one side, nay on the other. So far none of the dresses had gotten more than a smattering of yeas. Sadie didn’t think it had anything to do with the dresses. Abby, the bride-to-be, looked like she was going to a funeral instead of shopping for her wedding gown. When Abby had first begun planning her wedding, Sadie had assumed her lack of enthusiasm was because she was pregnant and had morning sickness. But lately, she’d begun to worry something more was going on.