Summer on Honeysuckle Ridge (Highland Falls Book 1)

by Debbie Mason

  “As much as I’d love to hang out with you guys every day, I took your advice to heart, Abby.” Mallory’s face lit up with a smile, and she looked happier and more beautiful than ever. “When all this is over, I’m going to spend a month in Europe. I’ve always dreamed of going to France and Italy. Harry and I were supposed to go on our honeymoon, but we learned his cancer had come back the day before we were to leave, and then he was never well enough to travel. If Marsha wins, the trip will put a huge dent in my nest egg, but I’ve already got a job lined up and a place to stay. One of Harry’s old friends has offered me free room and board in exchange for taking care of his wife.”

  Abby and Sadie shared a glance, obviously coming to the same conclusion: The last thing Mallory needed was to take care of someone else. She was burned out from her years of taking care of Harry and, more recently, Blair’s mother. But neither of them wanted to put a damper on her excitement so instead they asked her about her travel plans. Abby had been to Italy and France many times and shared some of her favorite places and experiences with Mallory. She was telling her about attending the Formula 1 race at Monte Carlo and getting to drive with one of her favorite race car drivers, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, when Mallory made a face.

  “Why are you making a face? Sebastian Vettel is awesome. He—”

  “I wasn’t making a face about him. I was making it at him.” Mallory lifted her chin.

  Abby followed the direction of Mallory’s chin lift. Gabriel Buchanan was directing traffic into the farmer’s field across the road. Officially chief of police now, he wore his uniform of navy pants and shirt with a shiny badge and a big gun.

  “Okay, so I get that you haven’t forgiven him for arresting you on suspicion of kidnapping Blair—” Abby began.

  “I don’t care about Blair. I understand why we were under suspicion—well, not entirely, but it was him questioning me about Harry’s death. He implied I was a gold digger who had married Harry for his money.”

  “Yeah, because that’s what Blair’s friends said. He apologized, right?”

  “I guess,” she admitted grudgingly.

  “And you have to admit he’s the hottest single guy in Highlands Falls…Scratch that, in the entire state,” Abby said as he rested his arms on the roof of a car, smiling and chatting with the group of women inside. “And there’s definitely a spark of interest every time he looks at you.” At that moment, Gabriel glanced their way, and Abby knew the second he spotted Mallory in the backseat. “Just like that.”

  Mallory slouched down when he headed their way. “Don’t you dare say anything, Abby.”

  “I promise. I…” Abby trailed off when the carload of women moved forward, and she had a clear view of the entrance to the field and a man wearing Mackenzie plaid who was even more gorgeous than Gabriel Buchanan.

  Hunter was leaning against a fence post talking to an equally gorgeous woman who wore her long, dark hair scraped back from her face in a ponytail. Abby’s heart dropped to her feet. Hunter was deep in conversation with Sloane, and it looked serious. Seeing them together was a blow to her ego. They were the perfect couple—equals in every way.

  Knock it off, she told herself. Hunter had never given her any reason to be jealous. He’d told her he was no longer in love with Sloane, and she knew from experience he didn’t lie. Like she’d told Sloane, he was one of the good guys. This was a positive development. Sloane and Hunter needed to talk. They needed closure. They needed…Her inner pep talk died in her throat when Hunter straightened and gathered Sloane in his arms.

  Abby must’ve gasped because Sadie glanced at her and Mallory sat up in the backseat. “What’s wrong?” Sadie asked. She turned her head. “Oh, I…I’m sure it’s not what it looks like, Abs. This is probably the first time they’ve talked since the day Hunter came home and told Sloane about Danny.”

  But was it? Abby wondered. Hunter had been busy all week helping prepare for the games. Chandler’s excuse for not spending time with her had been he was busy with the company. Only she’d later learned that he’d been busy with Juliette.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  His brother walked over to where Hunter waited to take his turn at the caber toss. The caber was a seventeen-foot hundred-pound pole trimmed at the end to fit in a man’s hand. It was Hunter’s first time taking part in the event in four years. “I hear you smoked everyone on your first toss. The Douglases aren’t thrilled to see you back.” His brother grinned, flipping off Ronan Douglas.

  Then Shane turned back to him, and Hunter knew exactly what his brother wanted to know. He figured it would only be a matter of time before word reached his family that Hunter had spoken to Sloane. “So…Sloane?” His brother raised an eyebrow.

  “We talked. And what’s with the face? I thought you’d be happy we did.”

  “I am. The question is, is Abby happy you were hugging your ex-fiancée?”

  “Why wouldn’t she be?”

  “Okay, let me rephrase that. Is your girlfriend happy you were seen making out with your ex-fiancée?”

  “Come on, Shane. We weren’t making out. Abby knows I’m not in love with Sloane. She knows that I’m…” No, Abby didn’t know he was in love with her because he hadn’t told her.

  And now that his brother mentioned it, she hadn’t been her sweet, bubbly self when he caught up with her, Mallory, and Sadie at the bagpipe competition earlier. He’d put it down to his aunt and her cronies giving Abby the cold shoulder at the event. He’d had a word with Elsa, but it hadn’t seemed to help matters.

  Then again, Abby hadn’t been herself for the past week. Lately she seemed worried about where she stood with him…Okay, so his brother was right. This wasn’t good. Not that he’d tell Shane.

  “Do you remember telephone tag when we were kids?” his brother asked.

  “No. I didn’t play telephone tag.”

  “Well, let me enlighten you. By the time the gossip reaches Abby’s ears, you and Sloane will have been making out in the back forty like a couple of horny teenagers.”

  He cursed under his breath.

  “You’re better at telephone tag than you think. That’s exactly what they’ll be saying you were doing next.”

  “Mackenzie, you’re up.” He heard Shane betting on him against one of the Douglases as he walked onto the field. He could’ve told him to save his money. Hunter’s concentration was broken. He lifted the log easily, took a short run, and then tossed the caber. He knew he overshot the mark before the pole landed and his brother groaned.

  “You should’ve thought about what you just told me before betting on me,” Hunter told his brother, then hailed Owen. “Have you seen Abby?”

  Owen grinned. “She’s at the hammer toss.”

  “As in she’s watching the hammer toss, right?” Hunter said.

  “Nope, she’s all signed up. Seems to me she’s competing with Sloane. Any idea why that would be?”

  “Told you,” his brother said.

  “Not helping, Shane,” Hunter said as he made his way through the crowd.

  “Incoming! Heads up!” someone yelled just as a hammer went sailing through the air. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way, and the hammer landed without incident in front of his aunt’s tent.

  “Sorry! I’m so sorry.” Abby ran to pick up the hammer, her cheeks as red as her hair. “It slipped out of my hands.”

  “Abby,” he called to her. “Abby, hold on a sec.” He jogged after her. He put out a hand to stop her when she kept walking. “Hey, what’s going on? Didn’t you hear me?”

  She wouldn’t look at him and walked to where it appeared Sloane was taking her final throw. “I don’t want to miss my turn,” Abby said and went to move past him.

  “Honey, I, ah, think that was your turn.” He took the hammer from her. “It’s not easy to do. It takes practice, you know.”

  She wasn’t listening to him. She was biting her bottom lip as she watched Sloane take her throw.

  “A hundred
feet. We have a winner. Sloane,” the judge began, to much applause. He announced the names of second and third places. Abby sighed halfheartedly and clapped.

  Sloane walked over with her medal and smiled at Abby. “They should’ve given you a second chance. That would’ve been a great throw if it hadn’t slipped out of your hands.”

  “They probably were afraid I’d take out Elsa next time. Are you doing the five-mile run?” Abby asked.

  “Yeah, I was just heading over there now. Are you doing it?”

  “For sure. I love to run.”

  “Since when?” Hunter laughed and realized how badly he’d stepped in it even before Abby turned to give him a look.

  Sloane grimaced. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you over there.” She walked away, giving him a look that said You screwed up big-time, buddy. And even though he knew he had, it felt good receiving the familiar look from Sloane.

  He realized he was smiling and knew exactly what that smile might look like to Abby. “It’s not what you think.” He handed her back the hammer.

  “You have no idea what I’m thinking. If you did, you wouldn’t have given me the hammer.”

  He laughed, moved into her, and brushed her hair from her cheek. “You have nothing to be jealous of, honey. I…” He glanced around and decided it wasn’t the time to tell her he loved her. “Shane told me what people are saying. It’s not true. Sloane and I talked. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

  “You did more than talk, Hunter,” she said, then walked over to return the hammer. She chatted with the judge, smiling when he teased her about her throw.

  His brother joined him. “So how did it go?”

  “I think I’m lucky I didn’t get a hammer in the head. She says she’s doing the run up the mountain. I don’t know what she thinks she’ll prove. There’s no way Abby can compete with her. Sloane’s in better shape than—” He broke off at the look on his brother’s face.

  “Hey, Abby. Nice throw. I don’t know why they didn’t count it. You would’ve won.” His brother looked from Hunter to Abby. “I’ll just go and eat some haggis now.”

  “Hunter! Hurry up, man.” His cousin waved at him. “You’re tied for first place in the caber toss with Ronan Douglas.”

  “You better go,” Abby said. “Who knows, you and Sloane might end up king and queen of the games.”

  “I’ll be right there,” he yelled at his cousin, who kept shouting his name. “Come on, don’t be like that.”

  Abby crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “Like what?”

  “Jealous of Sloane. You don’t have any reason to be.” He drew her into his arms and kissed her. “Please do me a favor and don’t run in the race. I don’t want you to hurt yourself. You haven’t been sleeping well.”

  “I hate that you think I’m weak. I’m not, you know.”

  He blew out a breath. They weren’t going to get anywhere, and there was no way he’d win this argument with her. “All right, just don’t hurt yourself competing with Sloane. I have plans for tonight.”

  “What kind?”

  “The best kind. We’re going to sleep under the stars. There’s a meteor shower tonight.” He didn’t ruin the moment by telling her there was also the chance of rain.

  She smiled. It wasn’t the wide smile he was used to and loved, but he’d take it. “Don’t hurt yourself either,” she said with a teasing grin that had the tension releasing from his shoulders.

  * * *

  Four hours later, the tension in Hunter’s shoulders was back and magnified times ten. He couldn’t find Abby. He’d been competing in several events and hadn’t noticed how much time had passed until he looked up to see Sloane cheering on the sidelines of the tug-of-war between the Mackenzies and the MacRaes.

  After he shook hands and took some good-natured ribbing about losing, he walked over to Sloane. “Hey, when did the race wrap up?”

  “I think the last of the runners came in around an hour ago. Why? What’s wrong?”

  He dragged a hand through his hair. “I haven’t seen Abby. Did you see her?”

  “No, but I’m sure she’s okay. She’s probably talking to someone. She’s very friendly.” Sloane smiled and patted his arm. “I like her. She’s good for you. Danny would’ve liked her too. He never thought we should get married, you know.”

  “I didn’t know. He never said anything to me.”

  “He thought we just went along with what everyone expected because it was easy. That we were afraid of losing what we had, so we settled,” Sloane said as they walked toward the mountain.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “I think he was right.”

  “Maybe he was. He was a smart guy.”

  “Not smart enough to listen to Granny MacLeod’s prophecy.”

  “What do you mean? I didn’t tell him. Neither did you.”

  “Yeah, I did.” She raised a shoulder at his incredulous look. “He was my brother, my twin—that trumped fiancé.”

  His knees buckled, and she reached for him. “Hunter, what’s wrong?”

  “Abby. Granny MacLeod. The prophecy. She told Abby she was going to die in the woods in a month. Today. It’s a month today.”

  “Okay, don’t panic. Just breathe,” she said as they reached the foot of the mountain. “Have you called her?”

  “Yeah, it goes straight to voice mail.”

  “Try again,” she said as she flagged down one of the volunteers and asked to see the list of runners. Abby’s name was on the list without a check mark beside it. “Did you see her come down the mountain?” Sloane asked, giving the man Abby’s description.

  He shook his head and then looked from Sloane to Hunter, who was on his phone. “Is there a problem?”

  Hunter followed the muffled ring tone to a black-and-red knapsack. His heart was in his throat as he unzipped it; he prayed he was wrong even when he knew he wasn’t. “It’s Abby’s phone. She wouldn’t leave it.”

  “Yeah, we have a problem,” Sloane told the volunteer. “Abby Everhart’s missing.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Hunter stood alone in the mountain’s shadow. A tornado of emotions had threatened to rip him apart when he first realized another of Granny MacLeod’s prophecies had come true and Abby was gone. Now there was nothing left inside him.

  He heard people calling her name as the search got underway. A command post had been set up where hours ago she’d taken part in the hammer toss. He should’ve told her he loved her when he’d had a chance. He should’ve begged and borrowed until he had enough money to send her away before the month was up. He should’ve moved heaven and earth to get her out of Highland Falls and back to LA. And now he’d never see her smile, or hear her laugh, or hold her in his arms, or tell her she’d become his sun and moon and stars.

  He heard their whispers, the sound of their approach. His family and friends were coming for him. He wouldn’t go. He’d held his dying brother in these woods; he’d held his dead best friend on the side of a road in Afghanistan after an IED blew up his Humvee. He couldn’t face finding Abby’s body, looking into her lifeless green eyes, knowing it was his fault she’d died.

  A heavy hand fell on his left shoulder. “Hunter, they want you to lead the search,” his brother said.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Another hand came to rest on his right shoulder, and Owen said, “You need to find her, lad. One way or another, you need to bring her home.”

  He opened his mouth to say no but then he remembered what Abby had said to him that night in the woods when they were looking for Blair. She’d talked about the comfort he’d given to his brother and best friend and their families by being with them at the end. She’d expect that of him. And no matter that it would kill him, he could do nothing less for her.

  Each word felt like a razor blade scraping his throat as they came out of his mouth. “All right.”

  “You won’t be alone this time. Come what may, we’ll be by your side,
” Owen promised.

  * * *

  Abby had run from a black bear. It was a mistake. She’d known it from the second the thought went from her brain to her feet and she’d started to run. She’d heard her father’s voice in her head. Don’t run from a bear. Their natural instinct is to give chase. They’re faster than you think.

  It had been his constant refrain every time they went for a walk in the woods. But he hadn’t walked in the woods with her for fifteen years. And as she’d tripped over the undergrowth and branches slapped at her arms and face and the sound of the bear’s heavy grunts came closer, she’d admitted a truth she’d kept buried for all that time—she missed her dad.

  As though the admission unlocked a treasure trove of memories that she hadn’t thought about in years, the answer had come to her at the same time as her breath had seared her throat and she’d gotten a cramp in her side. She needed to go down. She’d veered to the left, grabbing on to a tree branch when her feet slipped on a bed of pine needles. Behind her the bear had crashed through the trees. So close she could’ve sworn the air had warmed the back of her neck.

  Run!

  She ran, slipping and sliding down toward the forest floor. She’d managed to stay upright. She didn’t look back. She didn’t have to. She could tell by the sounds of tree branches breaking that, bottom heavy, the bear had slammed into rock and trees as he rolled down the mountain.

  She’d reached a small stream, and swerved to her right. She’d kept running, weaving and bobbing. Fear and adrenaline had kept her going. On and on she’d run until her legs gave out and sweat blurred her vision. She’d practically crawled toward a rock bathed in sunlight and collapsed. Panting, she’d pulled her shirt from the waistband of her skirt and wiped her hot, sweat-drenched face.

  A faint smile had tugged on her lips. She’d done it. She’d saved herself. At least from the bear. Because now, she was well and truly lost. She’d broken her dad’s cardinal rule: stay put. She didn’t have a choice now. She had to find a way back to the farmer’s field.