“I do not sound like that.” She laughed, because she probably did.
He laughed too, switched one bucket to his other hand, and put his arm around her waist. “I love you, Cass. And you love me. And I love the boys. We should be a family.”
Cassie had thought about marrying Jon, sure. But he was right—she did always push it away, or let something else crowd out the thought. She just didn’t have the mental space to deal with it…until now.
“So come with me,” he said, setting their buckets down next to the tree at the end of a row. He took her hand in his and walked faster now.
“Where are we going?”
“To the beach, of course,” he said, smiling. “It’s the most romantic place to get engaged.”
Her heart floundered in her chest, but she kept up with him while he led her to the beachfront. In July, with the sun shining down, the beach was a popular place. Families and couples had staked their claim on patches of sand, and the lake sent gentle waves rolling ashore.
Jon drew in a deep breath. “I love this lake.”
“You’ve told me about fifty times,” she said.
He chuckled. “All right.” He stepped in front of her and dug into his pocket. “And I love you, Cassandra Caldwell. Even though you tried to kick me out of your class. Even though you never let me come over to your house. Even though you tried to walk away from me. I always hoped, and then I knew, that we’d be together.”
He held up a ring that glinted in the bright sunlight and dropped to both knees right there in the sand. “Will you marry me?”
A swell of joy as large as a tsunami rushed through her, and she moved her eyes from the ring to his. “Of course I will.” She bent down and took his face in both of her hands, the way he’d done the first time he kissed her, and matched her mouth to his.
This kiss was just as explosive and just as meaningful as their first secret, forbidden kiss in the cottage.
Because this time, she was kissing the man she loved and her fiancé.
“I love you.” He got to his feet, slipped the ring on her finger, and kissed her again. “I do miss having this delicious secret between us,” he murmured. “Maybe we can keep our engagement quiet for a while. Just something we only know.”
Cassie looked into his sparkling eyes, hoping she and Jon always had a secret just the two of them shared. “Good idea,” she said.
“Great,” he said, kissing her again, the sound of the waves the perfect background music for their new lives together.
* * *
Read on for a sneak peek of TAKING A CHANCE, featuring Phoenix, Jon’s brother, and his reclusive ways in the woods…. Then go read it - available now in Kindle Unlimited.
Oooh, Jon and Cassie made it through their secret relationship to happiness! I’m thrilled about that. If you are too, please leave a review now!
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Sneak Peek! TAKING A CHANCE Chapter One
Phoenix Addler stood in the kitchen of his cabin, the only sound the dishwasher behind him humming away on that week’s dishes. Maybe two week’s worth. He didn’t exactly use a lot of dishes, though he could cook just fine.
He wasn’t walking over to his job in the state forest today, which was only more walking. Hiking, he supposed, as he led groups out along the trails to hidden lakes and picture points. He didn’t mind the tours he did a few times a week. They got him together with other human beings, which admittedly, Phoenix didn’t do a whole lot of on days he didn’t have tours.
It had been a mild winter so far, but the weathermen were predicting snow in the next few days. Then the ground would be frozen, and that fence post that the last storm had dislodged wouldn’t get fixed for a few more weeks.
It wasn’t that Phoenix wanted the fence between the Addler family property, where he lived right in the tippy corner of, and the Forbidden Lake State Forest. Only that he didn’t want anyone coming onto his land, and he liked knowing how far he could go before he “arrived” at work.
That, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources was looking for any ticky-tack reason to swoop in with another infraction against him. Okay, not the whole department. Just their top agent in the region, and Phoenix’s teeth clenched harder at the mere thought of having to deal with the state agency again.
His family owned this land, and they didn’t have to develop it. His father was very careful about how many new cherry trees they planted each year, having taught Phoenix and all his siblings that the care of the earth was the most important.
So each year, they planted fifteen to twenty new trees, and his father babysat them as if they were humans. His father’s love for his orchards stemmed from Phoenix’s grandfather’s careful attention to their crop, citing the trees as family members without names.
Phoenix had gone to college in wildlife management, because he too believed that living things deserved respect.
So he’d reset the fence post today and get the fence back in place. That way, none of the animals that lived in the state forest would cross over onto the Addler Family land.
His phone buzzed as he shrugged into his leather jacket, and he saw a text from Rick, his boss at his second job. You up for chopping today?
Phoenix zipped up his jacket and reached for his gloves before tapping out. Sure. This afternoon?
Come out to farm eight whenever you can, Rick answered, and Phoenix let the conversation die there. He usually didn’t need to say a whole lot to get his point across, and Rick knew his text had gone through.
Phoenix liked the lumberjack work almost more than the hiking and wildlife care at the state park. But lumberjacking wasn’t full-time and didn’t provide benefits. He also needed a car to get there, and he didn’t own one of those either.
He hadn’t consciously tried to reduce his footprint on the earth; it had sort of just happened when he’d moved into this cabin. He paid all his bills online, did all of his shopping online, enjoyed grocery delivery, and he could walk down the lane where all the other family cabins sat in a long, straight row.
Truth be told, his brother Jon usually came to get him for Sunday meals. And if Jon wasn’t using his truck today, Phoenix could borrow it to get out to the tree farm where Rick operated his firewood business.
But he’d deal with all of that after setting the fence post. It had been dry and warm for the past few days, so he left his gloves in the lean-to beside the house and grabbed the shovel. He couldn’t imagine working from an office, or even inside a building. He was grateful for his cabin, which provided shelter from heat and cold, but he’d endured college by the skin of his teeth.
So much sitting. Not enough doing.
Phoenix was definitely a do-er, and he set his phone on the properly set fence post and said, “Call Brother Jon.”
His phone repeated back to him, “Calling Brother Jon,” and the ringing came through the line as Phoenix probed around the hole where the fence post had been.
“Hey, Phoenix,” Jon said. “What’s up?”
“I need a truck to get over to chop today. What are you doing?”
“I’m at the shop.”
“So I’ll call Dad.” Phoenix didn’t want to do that, but Sunshine Shores Orchard and Resort had plenty of work trucks he could take. He just didn’t want to have a conversation about it with his dad. Then he’d get lectured about buying his own car, and moving back to the family lane, and blah blah blah.
Phoenix didn’t need any of his sisters trying to set him up with their friends. He’d tried that, thank you very much. Gotten engaged. All dressed up for his wedding. And then had his heart shattered in front of all his family and friends, as well as half the town—maybe three-quarters of it—while he stood at the altar and waited for his bride that never came.
Yeah, no thanks.
“Sorry,” Jon said, reminding Phoenix that they were still on a call together.
“It’s fine, bro,” Phoenix said. “Talk to you later.” He let Jon end the call while he went back to the hole. It needed to be dug out and reinforced before the post could go back inside. And then he’d probably need more than just the electronic driver he used to get it in deep enough to hold.
So he went back to his lean-to and pulled out the quick concrete, as well as the wire needed to hold the earth out of the way and give the wood something to bite into.
He worked in the silence, something soothing about it that he’d never been able to find anywhere else. He scraped back the leaves and other debris that had blown in there in the few weeks since the post had fallen, then scooped up a shovelful of dirt and tossed it over his shoulder.
“Hey,” a woman cried, causing adrenaline to spike inside Phoenix as he spun around.
The blonde woman standing there wore one of those fashionable beanie things on her head, and the hair spilling over her shoulders was so straight that Phoenix thought it unnatural.
“Allegra,” he said.
“You threw dirt on me,” she said, brushing her leather-gloved hands down her cream-colored coat.
“You’re on my property,” he said.
“I am not,” she snapped back. “I’m clearly still on the state forest side of the line.” Her blue eyes flashed fire at him, and dang if Phoenix didn’t want to get burned by it. He pulled back the reins of his hormones, because he was definitely not interested in Allegra Wright, senior agent for the Department of Natural Resources.
“And I’m on my side.”
“What are you doing?”
“Burying a dead body,” he said with a straight face, staring right at her. What did it look like he was doing?
She exhaled heavily like he was the worst man on the planet—which in her eyes, he was—and said, “I’ve filed another appeal with the Department.”
“Good for you,” he said. While his stomach twisted the tiniest bit, he had no reason to believe this fourth appeal would go through when the other three had failed. “Did you use that private road again to get out here?” He quirked one eyebrow at her, almost hoping she had. But he’d called the rangers on her last time she’d shown up to inform him she’d filed another appeal, and she hadn’t liked that one little bit. But that road wasn’t for her personal or professional use, even if she worked for the state. The rangers had told her the same thing he had, but she’d been colder than usual to him after that.
“Of course not,” she said. “I had to hike in.”
“Shocking.” He turned and went back to his work. “You’re not going to win. My father planted nineteen trees last spring, and that’s well within the guidelines to show improvement on the land.” He couldn’t understand why the land couldn’t just be wild, but Allegra had made it her life’s mission to get the piece of land where his cabin sat.
“Hmm,” she said, and that only made Phoenix’s annoyance increase. He wanted to throw another shovelful of dirt on her, but he twisted slightly so the muck would miss her. Narrowly.
“Hey,” she said again.
“Oh, are you still here?” He looked over his shoulder at her, very aware of her presence and knowing exactly where she stood. “What else do you want from me? A kidney?” She’d been badgering him for so long, he sometimes dreamt about her. Or maybe that was because Allegra Wright was incredibly beautiful, and he hadn’t dated a single person in five years. Hadn’t even been to town in five years.
His cells hummed when she took a step closer. “I was wondering if I could ask you something.”
Phoenix narrowed his eyes at her, his mind sifting through what she could possibly ask him. She didn’t like him; he didn’t like her. They didn’t offer advice to each other, other than “I wouldn’t cross that line if I were you.”
“Another step, and you’ll be on my land,” he said. “I’m not afraid to call the cops.”
“Yeah, I know.” She glared at him.
“Rangers aren’t cops, sweetheart.”
Her eyes practically turned into lasers, and he actually felt a pang of regret hit him. He knew she didn’t like being called sweetheart, and yet he couldn’t help himself. He really liked seeing her get all hot under the collar, and he while he’d been dealing with Allegra for almost two years and had seen her in spring, summer, fall, and winter attire, he wanted to see what color her shirt was today.
If she’d just take off that coat….
Phoenix derailed his thoughts, because they wouldn’t get him anywhere but into a cold shower.
“My brother is coming into town in a couple of weeks,” she said through clenched teeth. “He loves birdwatching, and I told him I knew someone who might be able to tell us the best places to go.” Her anger faded right before his eyes, and she shook her head. “Forget it. Google knows more than you, I’m sure.” She turned and started walking away.
Shock rendered Phoenix silent and still, until he realized she’d just tried to have a real conversation with him. She’d asked him for something that she knew he was good at, liked doing, and had knowledge of.
“Allegra,” he called after her, taking a couple of steps and going right over the property line and into the state forest grounds.
She turned halfway back to him and stared up into the trees.
“Try Big Bear Pond,” he said. “It’s great in the winter, and there’s always wildlife there, especially birds.”
She gave one single nod, and he felt her slipping away from him again. Which was ridiculous, because he didn’t even want her in his life. Right?
He’d chosen the life of woodsman, secluded from everyone on a patch of land surrounded by trees. He’d chosen it for five long years.
“I can get you a guide,” he said. “Then he’ll know what he’s seeing.”
Allegra turned fully toward him and advanced like a tiger on the prowl. “That would be great, Phoenix.” No thank you, but of course, he hadn’t apologized for throwing dirt on her either.
With each inch she came closer to him, Phoenix wondered if it was time for him to choose a different life. One with a certain blonde in it to help keep him warm at night. He licked his lips as she moved to stand right in front of him.
“Anything else?” he practically whispered, his long-dormant hormones refusing to be caged with this woman so close.
“Yeah,” she said, stepping her fingers up the zipper of his jacket. “You’re on the wrong side of the line, Phoenix. I’m going to call the rangers.” And with that, she pulled out her phone, tapped on the screen, and lifted it to her ear.
* * *
Ooh, Allegra and Phoenix do NOT like each other…my favorite type of romance!
TAKING A CHANCE is available now! Read today in Kindle Unlimited.
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About Elana
Elana Johnson is the USA Today bestselling author of dozens of novels, from YA contemporary romance to adult beach romances. Check out her sweet romances in the Hawthorne Harbor Romance series, the Clean Beach Club Billionaire Romance series, the Beaches & Brides Romance series, the Rebels of Forbidden Lake Romance Series, the Stranded in Paradise Romance Series, and the Carter’s Cove Beach Romance Series.
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She also writes under the pen name Liz Isaacson, who is the USA Today bestselling author and Kindle All-Star Author of the Three Rivers Ranch Romance series, the #1 bestselling Horseshoe Home Ranch Romance series, the Brush Creek Brides series, the Steeple Ridge Romance series (Buttars Brothers novels), and the Grape Seed Falls Romance series, the Christmas in Coral Canyon Romance series, the Quinn Valley Ranch Romance series, and the Last Chance Ranch Romance series.
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FLIRTING WITH DANGER
Book One, Rebels of Forbidden Lake Romance series
Flirting With Danger (Rebels 0f Forbidden Lake Book 1) Page 11
