Happy Truth About Love: Island County Spinoff Series (Silver Ridge Series Book 1)

by Karice Bolton

  “Oh, so she’s been talking about me?” Joel teased, his brow arching.

  “Not enough to worry about.” Autumn grinned, glancing at her friends’ bags. “You know, I should help you upstairs. There are a couple of steps on the staircase that—”

  “We’ll be careful,” Tami assured her, picking up her bag from the floor and handing over Dina’s.

  “Yup. We’ve made it this far in life.” Dina winked.

  “I’m a little paranoid after Ronald’s incident.” Autumn’s gaze flicked to Joel’s, and she noticed he was trying to keep a smile off his lips.

  “Are you really surprised Ronald fell through your porch though?” Tami laughed.

  “I’m not.” Joel shook his head, which only made Tami laugh harder.

  “Wasn’t he awful?” Dina piped in. “I don’t know how she ever got matched to him.”

  “She didn’t answer her questionnaire honestly.” Joel’s eyes filled with mischief. “Or at least that’s what she told me.”

  “Seriously?” Dina shook her head. “That explains so much.”

  “Oh, so much,” Tami added, starting to walk out of the kitchen.

  It wasn’t as if Tami actually knew where she was headed, but she’d eventually find her way. Dina followed behind, and Autumn’s chest tightened slightly. She’d definitely missed them since she’d left California, but she shook herself out of it. Silver Ridge offered possibilities that California never could.

  Turning her attention to Joel, Autumn leaned in and whispered, “I don’t think I’ll be able to join the festivities later.”

  “Bring them too.” Joel smiled, his eyes searching hers. “Or you can take them to Tucker Park. The town holds its annual firework show over the lake there.”

  “Really?” Relief spread through Autumn. She’d been looking forward to the North family picnic for days, but with her friends in town, she didn’t feel comfortable barging in on Joel’s family, whom she hadn’t met in their entirety. “That sounds like the perfect plan.”

  Autumn glanced in the direction of her friends. “They surprised me from California.”

  “They’re good friends.” Joel’s gaze stayed on Autumn’s.

  “They like to keep me on the straight and narrow.” She nodded.

  “That can’t be too tough a job.” Joel leaned against the counter and glanced outside at the men who were eating their lunches.

  Autumn followed his gaze and let out a giggle.

  “Temptation all over the place,” she mused, and his eyes darted to hers.

  “Is that tempting?” Joel’s brow arched slightly toward the workers.

  “You mean all the attractive and shirtless men outside my dining room window?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Not in the slightest.”

  “Is there anything that is tempting?” he asked, moving closer.

  “I think you might know the answer to that.” She looked into his eyes and drew a breath. “But it’s like we’re both putting up a reason we don’t or won’t.”

  “Don’t or won’t what?” He cocked his head slightly, waiting to hear what she had to say.

  “So are you going to show us this new town of yours or what?” Dina’s voice came down the hall before she did, and Autumn took a couple of quick steps back from Joel, but her eyes stayed on his.

  “I sure am,” Autumn called out, not wanting to move. She felt the same pull she’d experienced the first time she’d met him, the thrilling sensation that something big was lurking right around the corner if she’d let it happen.

  Or if he’d let it happen.

  Dina and Tami came tromping into the kitchen. They’d both changed into shorts and loose shirts.

  “I thought it was going to be raining.” Tami sighed. “Isn’t that what it’s supposed to do all the time in Washington?”

  “I think it’s a ruse.” Autumn chuckled, still feeling Joel’s gaze on her.

  “I know we totally crashed your holiday, so whatever you’d planned on doing, I know we’d be game,” Dina said, glancing around the kitchen. “Do you have a glass? I’m so thirsty.”

  “Not only do I have glasses, but I made my mom’s lemonade,” Autumn said, walking to the fridge.

  “It’s the best lemonade I’ve ever tasted.” Joel smiled, and Autumn’s heart filled with happiness. “So, we’ll catch up about your raccoon family in a few days.” Turning his attention to Autumn’s friends, he continued, “I’ve got a few things to do before heading back out to the lake house. It was nice to meet you both.”

  Autumn’s heart tugged at the thought of Joel leaving. She’d imagined going to his family’s lake house for the holiday, and even though she was extremely grateful her friends had surprised her, she was flabbergasted that she was actually starting to miss Joel, or at least the thought of him not being across the street. The last few days, he’d been spending time up at his family’s lake house in preparation for a reunion and a surprise of some sort that he wouldn’t talk about which had to do with one of his brothers.

  “See ya around,” Dina said, waving as Joel walked outside.

  The moment Joel left, Autumn swore the house felt emptier. Or maybe she felt emptier. Since her parents died, she’d often kept herself busy with people, places to see, and things to do, but she still felt a huge void, and for some reason, having Joel around kind of filled it up a little.

  “Oh, my gosh,” Dina gushed as Tami took a sip of the lemonade. “He is absolutely gorgeous.”

  “He has a heart to match.” Autumn let out a wistful sigh, and Tami immediately picked up on it.

  “I feel like what’s going on here is a little more than a little neighborly hanky-panky.”

  Autumn’s eyes turned wide. “There is no such thing as neighborly hanky-panky, at least not in Silver Ridge.”

  “Oh, yes, there is.” Tami laughed.

  “Just because you did it, doesn’t mean there’s a term for it.” Autumn chuckled and glanced at Dina, who looked equally as guilty as Tami. “You’ve done it too?”

  “Oh, come on. Who hasn’t had a hot neighbor move in, and then the next thing you know . . .” Dina shrugged with a devilish grin.

  “So I’m the only one in the room who hasn’t slept with a neighbor?” Autumn tilted her head.

  “Boy, you’re really missing out.” Dina chuckled and shook her head.

  “You’re so full of it.” Autumn knew her friends weren’t into one-night stands or random hookups, but she’d let them have their fantasies.

  “Joel told me about the town’s celebrations tonight. We can go tour the town and watch the fireworks from a park named after my family.”

  “Your family has a park named after them?” Dina’s brow arched.

  “I guess so. I haven’t been to it yet, but Joel did show me some of the old mansions the early Tuckers used to own.”

  “I think this one would qualify too.” Dina waved her hand around the room.

  “Just needs a little polishing up,” Tami added.

  “Nothing a little white paint and Lemon Pledge won’t fix up.”

  “Whatever you say.” Tami chuckled.

  “Speaking of.” Autumn straightened up and glanced out the window. Joel had already made his way back home. “There’s this cool secret passageway, and it leads to a basement filled with all kinds of antiques and old papers from the town.”

  “I’d love to see it,” Dina said, perking up. She loved anything to do with antiques.

  “Let’s hit there before we go to town then.” Autumn rinsed out Dina’s glass and put it in the sink before leading them to the closet.

  By the time they got down to the basement, Tami was sneezing nonstop.

  “Dust,” Tami groaned, wiping her nose with the bottom of her shirt. “I’ll have to change again.”

  “You couldn’t sneak up on a—”

  “Hey, now.” Tami cut Dina off and poked her in the ribs. “I was never meant to be a CIA agent.”

  Dina noticed
some of the thick coverings draped over the larger pieces of furniture and beelined over. She picked up one of the corners and bent her head underneath to see burled maple side tables.

  “Whoa. These are gorgeous.” She shook her head. “No. They’re beyond gorgeous.”

  Autumn rushed over to see what Dina was looking at.

  “These are worth a fortune,” Dina continued. “A real fortune, but I wouldn’t sell them.”

  But she doesn’t have a roof to pay for, Autumn thought.

  “They’re pretty incredible,” Autumn agreed.

  “So what was this basement used for besides storage?” Tami asked between sneezes.

  “I’m not really sure. I haven’t completely investigated it yet. I don’t really like being down here by myself.” Autumn wandered over to another draped furniture piece and lifted up the canvas to see an ornate desk. She could immediately picture it in the room she wanted to turn into an office.

  Autumn tugged on the middle drawer and found a stack of papers. The top sheet caught her eye, and she glanced behind her to see Dina and Tami looking through some boxes.

  Autumn lifted the draped fabric all the way off and placed the stack of papers on the desk. Bringing the first sheet closer, her heart started pounding as her eyes skated over most of the verbiage until they landed directly on the center of the page where she saw a list of properties with liens against them from the North brothers.

  Autumn recognized the addresses of the two homes Joel had driven her by that he now owned. Her hands started shaking as she went to the next page and the next page.

  Joel owned these homes because her uncle couldn’t afford to pay for loans he’d taken out with the North brothers. She shook her head and drew a deep breath as she studied the papers in front of her.

  It wasn’t until she got to the last page that she realized that even the B&B had been in their sights, but for some reason, they’d decided against repossessing it.

  But why?

  And why hadn’t Joel told her?

  Autumn studied the documents, and an unsettled feeling surfaced in the bottom of her stomach. The North brothers had turned this home back over to Uncle Fred even though he still owed a significant amount, and by all accounts, couldn’t pay.

  “Hey, you okay?” Dina asked from across the basement.

  “Yeah. Just a little confused.”

  And sick.

  Autumn searched for the dates. This had all happened about five years ago. Her parents were still alive. Why hadn’t he reached out to her father? What had gone wrong between them?

  She set the papers back on the desk and held in the sigh she wanted to let out. Uncle Fred had leveraged properties with the North brothers, and he’d lost them all except for this place.

  Joel had seemed so nice, not like he’d be a man to prey on someone else, but these transactions certainly had to make the Norths a lot of money. There were at least eight addresses listed.

  No wonder he had always treaded around lightly when it came to history between the Tuckers and the Norths. The Tuckers never had a chance, and for all she knew, he was just trying to butter her up to get to the B&B.

  Autumn stuffed the papers back inside the desk and covered it back up with the canvas. All the feelings she’d had for Joel instantly meant something different. All of the kindness he’d shown suddenly felt suspicious, and she certainly didn’t know what to think about things.

  The one thing Autumn noticed was that she never saw the lien release against this B&B in the paperwork. It hadn’t been transferred to the Norths, but from what she saw, without that release, the lien still very much remained.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Even though Joel and his brothers were all in their thirties, it appeared they’d never fully grow up. Joel took a sip of his beer and watched as Austin had Sam in a headlock while circling around the food tables.

  “Do you think Sam has a chance?” his mom asked, coming up behind Joel.

  “Not likely.” Joel laughed and took in a deep breath of fresh mountain air. He loved being at the family’s lake house for the Fourth of July. It was one of the few excuses in the year they had to come together as a family. The gathering wasn’t a one-day event. The celebration started days before, and the finale just happened to be on the Fourth, but he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

  Except with Autumn. He could imagine being just about anywhere with her.

  He’d really looked forward to having her at the property, but thankfully, he hadn’t mentioned her coming to anyone so her absence wouldn’t turn into a big deal.

  “Sam knows not to take the last fritter. That’s not how it works.” Joel chuckled and inhaled another breath of mountain air.

  “What’s got you holding in sighs?” His mom asked, gripping his shoulder.

  “You need a hobby.” Joel turned to face his mother, who was smiling, and she shook her head.

  “Who needs a hobby when I have so many sons?” She beamed. “Besides, my hobby is skiing, and I only do that in the winter. That leaves me all summer to gossip with your grandmother and meddle in your business. Aren’t you the lucky one?”

  “I keep telling myself that.” Joel gave his mom a kiss on the top of her head.

  “Now fess up. What’s going on?”

  Joel ran his hand over his face and shook his head without saying a word.

  “Is it that Tucker woman I’ve been hearing about?” Her blue eyes sparkled with too much knowledge for her own good.

  “You mean my new neighbor?” Joel nodded. “Yeah. It’s her.”

  But he didn’t elaborate. Joel didn’t feel like going over the obvious questions with equally obvious answers.

  Do you like her?

  Yes.

  Are you attracted to her?

  Yes.

  Have you taken her out?

  Yes.

  Then what’s the problem?

  He didn’t know.

  “From what I’ve heard, she’s absolutely ravishing and full of spunk.” His mom winked at Joel. “And I can’t for the life of me fathom why you’re here and she’s somewhere else.”

  “You know why, Mom.” He’d been dancing around it long enough.

  “No. I really don’t.” She filled her bowl with chips and guacamole. “Fred Tucker was a generous man. Sometimes too generous for his own good. If it hadn’t been for you and your brothers coming to his rescue, it would have been someone else, and I guarantee they wouldn’t have been as nice about it.”

  Even though he knew she was right, he doubted many others would see it that way, especially the niece of Fred Tucker.

  He didn’t know exactly what had happened in Fred’s life to put him in such dire straits financially, but he got there and was about to lose everything until he made a deal with the Norths.

  “Autumn—”

  “You know her name?” Joel interrupted with a smirk on his face.

  “Of course I know her name.” Hi mom smiled wryly and continued. “Autumn is a smart woman with big dreams. Now that she’s in the thick of trying to restore that home, I’m sure when you explain to her the background leading up to the events that unfolded, she’ll understand.”

  “And if she doesn’t?” Joel rocked on his heels and looked out at the sparkling lake. Oscar was sunning on the shore while his niece was splashing around with her new boyfriend. He spotted his brother, Kyle, watching every move they made with calculating precision. One false move and that boy would never have a chance.

  “Well, you’ll have to cross that bridge.” She shrugged. “But my guess is you’re avoiding being who you really are based on things that might not matter at all.”

  “Or she might think that we’re a bunch of creeps.” Joel sank his hands into his pockets and let out a sigh.

  “But we’re not.” His mom smiled and pointed in the direction of Austin. “Well, that one might be iffy, but . . .”

  Joel laughed and shook his head. “It’s hard to believe Autumn didn’t e
ven know she had an uncle or any of the history of this town. I wonder what went wrong.”

  His mother got extremely quiet and watched her granddaughter playing in the lake.

  “Life can get extremely complicated from a few mistakes. Some people step up to the plate and others run back to the dugout.”

  “So you know what happened?” Joel asked, extremely interested.

  “Not a clue.”

  He wasn’t sure he believed her, but when his mom decided that was enough, she’d shut up as tight as a clamshell.

  “Do you know where Autumn is tonight?” his mom asked.

  “Tucker Park,” Joel said a little too quickly.

  “Interesting.”

  “And why’s that?”

  “I’m not sure why you’re here when you could be there.”

  “Her friends flew in to surprise her.” He crossed his arms and squared his shoulders. “I didn’t want to interfere.”

  “How noble of you.” The twinkle in his mom’s eyes returned and Joel laughed.

  “I guess I’m just that kind of guy.”

  “Not typically.” She waved at Grandma Martha, who was making her way over with a lawn chair.

  Joel ran over to help her out, but she shooed him away so she could bring it over herself.

  Joel rolled his eyes and grabbed a few chips. “I try to be a nice guy and then I get chased away.”

  “When have the North women ever asked for help?” his mom teased.

  “Sounds like that Autumn Tucker ought to be asking for some help on that project of hers.” Grandma Martha plunked down in the chair she’d stationed right next to the snacks. “Speaking of, when she’s coming out?” Grandma Martha looked all around the lake for her.

  “She’s not.”

  “But you invited her. Abigail said so.”

  Joel groaned and looked up to the bright blue sky. Close families were a blessing and a curse.

  “She had friends come to town unexpectedly, and she decided she’d rather take them into Silver Ridge, but I’d been tossing around the idea of showing up for the fireworks.” Joel smiled, knowing his grandmother would approve all too happily. She was a romantic at heart.