Raven Falls

by Jill Sanders

  Raven Falls

  A Cannon Falls Mystery

  Jill Sanders

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2021 Jill Sanders

  Printed in the United States of America

  All rights reserved.

  * * *

  DIGITAL ISBN: 978-1-945100-24-6

  PRINT ISBN: 9798672036182

  Print ISBN: 9781666262544

  * * *

  Copyeditor: Erica Ellis – inkdeepediting.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Contents

  Summary

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Find your fire

  Chapter 2

  Where there is smoke there is fire

  Chapter 3

  Every revolution begins with a spark

  Chapter 4

  There were never butterflies, just fire

  Chapter 5

  Fire in the heart sends smoke into the head.

  Chapter 6

  He who blows on the fire will get sparks in his eyes ~ German proverb

  Chapter 7

  Fire takes no holiday

  Chapter 8

  The word “enough” does not exist for water, fire, and women. ~ Ukrainian Proverb

  Chapter 9

  Better a small fire that warms you than a big one that burns you. ~ French Proverb

  Chapter 10

  When there is a war between fire and water, fire loses. ~ Spanish Proverb

  Chapter 11

  Fire is never a gentle master

  Chapter 12

  It may be a fire today — tomorrow it will be ashes. ~ Arabian proverb

  Chapter 13

  Water from far away is no good for a fire close by. ~ Chinese Proverb

  Chapter 14

  Seek what sets your soul on fire

  Chapter 15

  Figure out what lights your fire then chase the match.

  Chapter 16

  It’s no time to play chess when the house is on fire. ~ Italian Proverb

  Chapter 17

  When fire is applied to a stone it cracks ~ Irish proverb

  Chapter 18

  It is useful to first see the spark before the fire ~ Japanese proverb

  Chapter 19

  Life, like a fire, begins in smoke and ends in ashes. ~ Arabian Proverb

  Chapter 20

  Foul water will quench fire ~ English proverb

  Chapter 21

  If you can’t handle her fire, let someone else enjoy the flames.

  Chapter 22

  When a heart is on fire, sparks always fly out of the mouth. ~ Traditional Proverb

  Chapter 23

  “Fire that’s closest kept burns most of all.” ~ William Shakespeare

  Chapter 24

  Foul water will quench fire ~ English proverb

  Chapter 25

  Everything inside is on fire, when I am with you.

  Chapter 26

  A burnt child dreads the fire ~ English proverb

  Chapter 27

  If you have a tail of straw, then keep away from the fire. ~ Argentine Proverbs

  Chapter 28

  Fire has no brother ~ Nigerian proverb

  Chapter 29

  Sometimes you have to throw yourself into the fire to escape from the smoke. ~ Greek Proverbs

  Epilogue

  Also by Jill Sanders

  About the Author

  Summary

  Ten years ago, everything was taken away from Raven. When the fire swept through her small hometown, it killed everyone that she cared about. Not only did she lose her mother and father, but she also lost the one chance she had at true love. Coming home meant dealing with her demons, and the worst one was the sexy fire marshal who was hell-bent on getting answers about that night long ago. Answers that only she can give.

  * * *

  Cade was one of the few to stick around Cannon Falls after ninety percent of the town went up in smoke. The fire hadn’t just taken most of the buildings in town. Over thirty of the one thousand residents had perished as well, including his younger brother, Reggie. Cade didn’t know why his brother’s school sweetheart was back in town, but he knew one thing for sure. He was having a hell of a time separating his desires from his determination to finally get some answers.

  Some say the world will end in fire,

  Some say in ice.

  From what I’ve tasted of desire

  I hold with those who favor fire.

  But if it had to perish twice,

  I think I know enough of hate.

  To say that for destruction ice

  Is also great.

  And would suffice.

  – BY ROBERT FROST

  Prologue

  Raven ran as fast as she could. When she turned and looked back, the flames were right on her heels, as if they were following her. She opened her mouth to scream but choked on the smoke that had surrounded her. She scanned the darkness for any way out and intuitively knew that there wasn’t a safe place anywhere around. All she could see was smoke and fire. She was surrounded. This was it. There was no hope.

  She lost track of everything as she turned in circles. She didn’t even know which way was which anymore. Her mind screamed at her to run. Every instinct in her body yelled at her to get away. But where? There was no safety, no shelter from what was about to happen.

  Her throat stung, and her lungs burned. Her eyes were so filled with smoke that they watered, blurring her vision even further as tears rolled down her face.

  There was no way she was going to survive this. No way anyone could survive this inferno.

  She sunk down into the dry dirt, curled into a tight ball, and waited for death to come. Welcomed it, since the weight of what she’d done was too great to bear.

  Chapter One

  Find your fire

  Raven Brooks had been born on a Tuesday, just any other ordinary day in a busy world. But the date of that incredibly special day would come to be an incredible burden to not only the girl but everyone around her.

  Seventeen years later, on that same day, she’d lost everything, including the first boy she’d fallen in love with, her childhood home, all her favorite possessions, and most importantly, her parents.

  She’d been broken on that fateful early-summer day, broken beyond repair. Her only saving grace had been a distant grandmother, who had welcomed her in with open arms, helped her get counseling, and sheltered her from all those vengeful souls that surrounded her like flames. People who laid the blame on her for all the destruction and the loss of their own loved ones.

  Her father, Patrick Ryan Brooks, and his brother, Colin Finn Brooks, had been best friends for as long as Raven could remember. She’d grown up under the watchful yet scrutinizing eyes of her uncle Colin, his wife, her aunt Roslyn, and her father’s business manager, Liam Montford.

  She knew every single one of the people who had helped keep Cannon Falls Ski Resort a successful venture, keeping Raven in designer clothes and a massive five-thousand-square-foot mansion for her entire young life.

  The business had provided income for her family and her uncle’s as well. Colin had married Roslyn, who was reportedly from one of California’s wealthiest families, and they’d had two children. Their oldest was their son Cal. Their daughter Liza was just a few weeks older than Raven.

  The only difference between the brothers was that her father owned the resort, while
her uncle had only worked there. Raven’s father had, at the tender age of twenty-three, purchased the property from an old couple, using his inheritance from their father as the investment.

  Patrick, along with his new bride, twenty-one-year-old Rosemary, had spent the next ten years and every cent of their money building and molding the massive venture. Cannon Falls Ski Resort was tucked in the high hills near Mt. Shasta in Northern California. The closest town, Cannon Falls, had, at its peak, more than one thousand permanent residents.

  Raven’s parents had given up everything in order to turn the business into a highly successful ski resort.

  Raven had spent most of her childhood days basking in what she would now describe as extreme wealth. She’d been immensely naive, decidedly spoiled, and exceedingly selfish.

  All that had changed on her seventeenth birthday.

  So, where had things gone wrong?

  Reggie Stone.

  Reggie had ruined everything.

  Okay, so maybe her naivety and a broken heart had had something to do with it as well.

  Still, if Raven hadn’t fallen for the boy, one of the most popular in his senior class, she never would have lost so much. The town of Cannon Falls would have been spared its fiery fate.

  She’d read once that death by fire was one of the most painful ways to go. But since the author of the statement had still been alive, she’d doubted its validity.

  Still, all her nightmares for the past ten years, and the thousands of hours spent in counseling, confirmed her fears. The thirty people she’d killed haunted her every moment.

  Why then was she now standing in the parking lot of Cannon Falls Ski Resort? After having just celebrated her twenty-seventh birthday, alone, something had called to her to return.

  Looking up at the massive wood-shingled buildings gave her chills. Nothing had changed. Not really.

  The three five-story buildings sat in a U shape. The courtyard, in the winter, had housed a massive skating rink when her father had run the resort. Now, there was early summer grass that needed a trim and some fertilizer.

  Actually, the more she looked, the more work she could see the place needed. The bushes and flowers that had once been neatly trimmed and maintained now grew completely out of control and stuck up in odd shapes taller than a person.

  Even the dark green shutters that sat on either side of the large windows needed a fresh coat of paint. The parking lot had massive potholes that she’d had to avoid when finding a parking spot.

  Her eyes scanned up to the main building, tucked behind the other two. This was the building that filled most of her memories. There, she’d spent countless hours doing homework in her father’s office on the main floor, tucked behind the reception desk. Or sitting in the massive dining room, eating meals alone, since her parents were too busy working. She’d spent countless hours alone during her childhood.

  She’d had a few close friends over the years, particularly Carrie Edwards and Darby Nabers, in addition to her cousin Liza, who had been there for Raven all her life until they’d hit junior high. Then even Liza had abandoned her for a more popular crowd.

  That had changed again when she’d caught the eye of Reggie Stone the month before her sixteenth birthday.

  To be honest, she hadn’t really liked Reggie at first. He’d been rude to her most of their childhood. Then, when he’d become the star of football, basketball, and baseball in junior high, he’d quickly grown to most-popular-boy stardom, and she hadn’t been able to stop dreaming about him.

  But as the only naturally ginger-haired kid in her class—Liza and Cal had inherited their mother’s blond locks—she’d been the most-teased girl in school.

  It was true that most people in her classes were friendly with her. After all, she was easily the wealthiest girl in school. But not a single one of them had taken the time to be actual friends with her.

  And oh, how they had all turned on her, even her own remaining family members. Yet another reason she’d spent so much time in therapy.

  She’d been standing next to her used Lexus in the parking lot, staring up at the buildings for a while now and surmised that she was drawing attention. She walked over to the trunk of her car, pulled out her overnight bags, and carted them through the courtyard, noticing the cracked sidewalks and overgrown grass and weeds as she went.

  The moment that she stepped inside, memories hit her like a brick over the head, almost causing her to double over.

  “Breathe,” she heard in her head, the voice of Becca Morgan, LPC. “In for three, out for three.”

  Raven did what she’d done for the past ten years and took several deep breaths until the panic attack subsided.

  When she felt under control again, she glanced towards the indoor fountain and, for a split second, an image flashed in her memory of a young woman with long auburn hair pulled back into a long braid sitting peacefully on the stone edge of the water. Her long flowing floral dress pooled around her crossed ankles. She was a vision of patience and love.

  Raven broke free of the memory, blinked, and turned towards the front desk. She couldn’t afford a walk down memory lane. Not yet. She had to secure her position before allowing herself to lose it.

  “May I help you?” a young woman with a very thick Middle-Eastern accent asked her with a friendly smile.

  “Yes.” Raven straightened her shoulders and tried for a friendly smile. “I’d like to see Colin Brooks.”

  The woman instantly looked worried and a little somber.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Brooks isn’t available at the moment.” She glanced down at Raven’s bags. “Are you wanting to check in?” she asked.

  “I’m Raven Brooks,” she said plainly.

  The woman continued to look at her, waiting for the punch line, Raven imagined.

  “Mr. Brooks is my uncle,” she clarified. “I’m the owner of…” She motioned around the lobby of the resort with her hand.

  The woman shook her head and blinked a few times. “I… I’m sorry.” She shrugged slightly, and Raven began to wonder what the cause of their miscommunication was.

  “I’d like to speak with my uncle about a place to stay,” she added.

  “Was he expecting you?” the woman asked, clicking on the computer in front of her.

  “No.” She bit her tongue to stop herself from giving this stranger any further explanation.

  “If you’ll have a seat”—she motioned to the leather sofas in the middle of the waiting area— “I’ll see if he’s available.”

  “Thank you,” she said, dragging her luggage, three bags that held every stitch of clothing she owned, along with her other worldly possessions.

  When she sat down, she held in a little squeal as she sank deep into the old furniture. Her gaze ran over the worn sofa and outdated coffee table.

  Her eyes stung at the state of everything. What had happened to the once-glamorous resort? If her father were alive, she imagined that there wouldn’t be so much as a scratch on any of the furniture. Yet here she sat in a worn-out sofa, in the outdated resort, which was quickly and quietly dying and taking her and the rest of her family down with it.

  Her eyes scanned over every detail of the lobby. She itched to explore other areas of the massive resort but knew that she’d have time to evaluate every detail in the coming days. After she’d had time to recover from the long drive.

  Just here in the lobby, she mentally noted the dated wallpaper, the unpolished floors, the drapes that should have been thrown out ten years ago. As she continued to wait, she realized that the old broken furniture was probably the best part of the waiting area.

  Her temper grew the longer she waited. What had her uncle been doing with all the money coming into the resort? Some of it had been coming to her, she knew. Each month she’d received a deposit into her account, as per the arrangement between her and her uncle’s lawyer. The funds had helped pay for her schooling as well as the hours and hours of counseling she’d needed over the year
s.

  It was a little over half an hour before her aunt Roslyn walked towards her. Her aunt’s low heels were the only sound she’d heard in all that time waiting, with the exception of the running water of the fountain.

  Not once had the phone rang or any other customers or guests come into the facility. As each minute had ticked by, her heart had died a little more and her nerves had grown worse.

  The moment she spotted Roslyn, she pasted on a smile and stood up. She stopped herself from rushing across and hugging the woman. The memory of the last time she’d seen her aunt played over in her mind, causing her spine to straighten and her smile to strain.

  She was seventeen, standing alone over her parents’ fresh graves, when Roslyn stopped next to her. She hoped for a few words of encouragement. What she got was far from it.

  “You know, they’re in there because of you,” Roslyn said as she stood rail straight next to her.

  Raven glanced through tear-filled eyes at her aunt. Over the years, Roslyn had always been distant—kind, but distant.

  “I didn’t do this,” she said softly.

  Roslyn leaned closer to her and lowered her voice. “Didn’t you?” Her eyes narrowed slightly, then she straightened suddenly. “I don’t want you anywhere near my children. It’s very obvious you’re a bad influence. I’ve talked to Colin’s mother. She’s willing to take you in.”

  “Take me in?”

  “She’ll be here in a few hours.” Roslyn started to turn away. “For the time being, your uncle and I will run the resort per your parents’ wishes.” She walked away without another word.