A Surprising Fact About Love: Small Town Romance (Silver Ridge Series Book 4)

by Karice Bolton

  “Our two youngest are in pre-school, and our oldest is in kindergarten,” Mrs. Givens began, “but we’re thinking of removing the two youngest from pre-school so they can have a little less structure and can enjoy just being kids here at home. We didn’t put our oldest in pre-school, and he’s excelled in kindergarten.”

  Mr. Givens nodded. “We see our young ones coming home with a little less oomph than we anticipated, and honestly, I think they learn more at home.”

  “I can understand that,” Ashley agreed. “Some of those pre-schools can be pretty rigid.”

  “And we’re not rigid people,” Mrs. Givens interjected.

  As the interview continued, Ashley realized that if she had to leave the Finns’ home, there would be no better family for her than the Givenses to go to next. They had a strong sense of family and enjoyed adventures. They seemed to value the mundane, which to Ashley was never ordinary but extraordinary. Ashley relished in cooking and chores and gardening, and the Givenses wanted their children to learn all of that in the years to come.

  By the time Ashley logged off, she had prayed that she got the job and was utterly excited about her next adventure. As she looked around the room she’d called home for so many years, she thought about what she’d take with her. She liked the curtains she’d bought, and the bedspread was lovely, but she wanted a new bed set. She’d had this one since her early twenties, and it was time for change all the way around. There was no point in picking one out here, so she’d just donate this one, unless the Finns wanted it, which she doubted, and purchase one wherever she landed.

  Ashley collapsed on the bed, closed her eyes, and even let herself dream about taking a little nap.

  Until the thought of Austin North crept his way into her head.

  And then the email sitting in her inbox began eating at her bit by bit as she wondered what else it said. Why did he want to reach out? Maybe it was only to apologize on behalf of his resort, even though he had nothing to do with it and shouldn’t even think about apologizing. Or maybe he was reaching out because Peter couldn’t help himself.

  Ashley’s phone rang and nearly jolted her out of bed from surprise. She glanced at the phone, and it was a number she didn’t recognize. She debated about answering and sent the call to voicemail.

  Now fully awake, she wandered over to her inbox and hovered the mouse over the message about Austin. She drew a breath and decided to click on it, or she’d drive herself crazy wondering what it said.

  She quickly scanned the message and her pulse quickened when she realized he wanted her information, not for business reasons, but purely personal.

  Ashley stared at Austin’s request that the organizer of the event had forwarded, and her knees weakened from his words, and it was difficult to reconcile that he was talking about her. In fact, she had to read it a couple of times just to make sure she wasn’t missing a punchline or something.

  That was when it had hit her for sure. Peter Finn was behind all this and trying to set her up with Austin North, and now she had to figure out a way to end it before it began.

  She and Austin were from two different worlds, and they weren’t ones that could ever collide.

  Chapter Six

  Austin cracked his knuckles as he waited for a reply.

  Any kind of reply.

  He’d never laid it on the line before, and as he reread his words repeatedly, he wanted to kick himself for sending that email.

  He partly blamed the food coma he’d put himself in at the burger joint, and the other person he entirely blamed was his brother, Joel. All the lovey-dovey stuff with pickle dip and babies got to Austin, and now he’d probably made himself look like an absolute fool.

  There was nothing cool or slick with the message he asked Beth, the speed-date coordinator, to forward to Ashley. In fact, if he were Ashley, he’d run the other way.

  Quickly.

  It reeked of desperation and . . .

  Loneliness.

  Two things that Austin was confident he was not.

  He was not desperate.

  And he was not lonely.

  Most of the time.

  He might not have what his brothers all have, but he wasn’t exactly lonely. He kept busy working at the resort, and if he wasn’t working, he was busy skiing.

  He was busy.

  Lonely people weren’t busy, and he was busy.

  Very busy.

  So busy, in fact, that he needed to quit staring at his inbox and get down to the bar to see how Erika’s date went the night before. She’d told him all about the guy before she’d left, and now he couldn’t wait to hear how it went.

  The best distraction from your own personal dating tragedies was someone else’s, and with Erika’s track record, Austin was sure her story would make him feel a lot better about what he sent out to a woman he’d never met.

  He closed his laptop and wandered out of his office toward the elevators. He waved at Kim, one of their accountants, who was already standing at the bank of elevators.

  “Hey, Mr. North.” She smiled and clutched her coffee cup. She always seemed a little nervous, and he could never figure out why. Last time he checked, he was a nice guy.

  “Hi, Kim.” He smiled. “How’s your day going?”

  “Pretty good. I’m just headed out to an appointment.” She cleared her throat and stared at the elevators. “It shouldn’t be long.”

  Austin rocked back on his feet. “No reason to explain to me, Kim. And it’s Austin. No need to call me Mr. North.” But he knew she wouldn’t listen. He’d already told her ten times before, which made him smile.

  The elevator chimed, and they both stepped in. Austin pushed the button for the lobby and waited quietly as his mind zipped right back to Ashley. He was grateful the moment the doors sprang open so he could find his way to Erika and distract himself.

  Kim waved and headed through the lobby while Austin turned into the bar, immediately spotting Erika. She saw Austin and gave him a big wave and ushered him over.

  It didn’t take him long to find a stool at the bar, order a cup of coffee, and wait for Erika to fill him in, which she did almost immediately.

  “I think I’m doomed.” She laughed and glanced at a couple who wandered in and took a seat near the window overlooking the ski lifts. A server hurried over to the new customers. “This guy had the nerve to . . .” She shook her head and laughed. “You won’t even believe it.”

  “He had the nerve to what? Come on. Don’t leave me hanging.” Austin took a sip of the coffee and hoped the caffeine would give him clarity on his own dating debacle that hadn’t even had a chance to transpire yet.

  Erika’s eyes connected with his, and he saw embarrassment dart through her gaze. She leaned over the bar and tightened her ponytail. “The man had the nerve to stand me up. He stood me up. Can you believe it? Stood. Me. Up.” She smacked the counter.

  “You’re kidding?”

  “I wish I were.” Erika blew one of her strands out of the way and shook her head. “And the kicker was the lame excuse he emailed me before I got home. Who does that? An email and we haven’t even met yet? How about a phone call? It just worries me when a man hides behind emails and text and technology. Period.”

  Austin stiffened. “Really? That’s considered a red flag for you?”

  “I’d say so. Why? You look concerned.” Erika’s right brow arched. “Did you email someone something you wished you hadn’t? Who in the world could you even find to email since I last saw you?”

  “No one.” Austin shook his head. “I was just curious why emails sent a bad vibe.”

  “They don’t if there’s some flirting or banter or some kind of relationship established, but an email out of the blue, kissing a person off, isn’t great.”

  “No.” Austin weaved his hands together. “I assume it wouldn’t be. What about an email to introduce yourself?”

  “How so? Like on a dating site?” She tilted her head slightly in confusion.

>   “No. Not really.”

  “How else would you randomly get someone’s email address?”

  “It’s only hypothetical,” Austin clarified.

  “Of course.” Erika nodded in agreement.

  “But say you met someone through a function and had to go through someone else to even get permission to contact her.”

  “This is sounding way too convoluted. It makes my mind want to explode.”

  “Mine too.” Austin rubbed his temples.

  “So, hypothetically speaking, you—”

  “Not me. Someone else.”

  “So, hypothetically speaking, a person met another person—say, at a party—and didn’t get a chance to talk to her, so that person reached out to the host of a party for contact info?”

  “Kind of like that. Yeah.”

  Erika straightened and tapped her finger on her jaw. “Hmm. I wonder how I’d feel about that.”

  “Would you be shocked?”

  “I don’t know. Was there any contact at all prior?” she asked.

  “Not in the normal sense. No.”

  “Yeah. I don’t know what to say other than . . .” She grinned wryly. “Good luck.”

  “You think I need it?”

  “If you’re the one reaching out, then yes.” She chuckled. “But if it’s only hypothetical, I’m sure it will all be fine.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Well, then I’ll take all the luck I can get.”

  A few seconds of silence sat between them as Erika wiped down the bar where a customer had left a trail of crumbs and a dirty ale glass.

  “I just hope I can find Mr. Right before I’m eighty.”

  “You know what they say?” Austin asked.

  “What’s that?”

  “Eighty is the new forty.” He smiled, and she rolled her eyes. “Besides, you’re like twenty-three? Twenty-four? What’s the rush?”

  “No.” She smiled. “You hired me when I was twenty-four, and for some reason, you and your brothers don’t seem to think I’ve aged and have kept me at that number. I’m almost thirty.”

  Austin sat stunned. “Really? How did that happen?”

  “Time’s a slippery son of a gun.” She drew a breath. “Every time I look at my boy, I can’t believe that the years have just slipped by and he’s so old. He’s in sixth grade now.”

  Austin shook his head, wondering where those years really did go. He supposed he had kept Erika on freeze-frame in order to do the same for himself.

  “All I know is that I’d rather be with nobody than the wrong somebody,” she informed Austin. “I’ve seen enough yuck out there to last a lifetime.”

  “I know what you mean.” Austin nodded in agreement and took his phone out of his pocket. “I have a confession.”

  “Yeah?” Erika was wiping down glasses and placing them on the shelf.

  “I reached out to the woman who organized the speed dating event.”

  “She caught your eye?” Erika turned around, looking stunned.

  “No.” Austin’s brows furrowed. “I reached out to her and asked her to forward an email to Ashley.”

  “Oh.” Erika let out a low whistle. “The bundled-up blonde you threw a guy out for. I’m shocked and kind of impressed.”

  “And now I’m sitting here regretting ever hitting Send. I probably scared Ashley off or creeped her out.”

  “But you didn’t send it to her directly. You’re going through the proper channels. It’s not like you found her on social media and messaged her that way.”

  Austin cleared his throat and took a sip of coffee. “I may have found her on Pinterest and Instagram.”

  Erika laughed. “That’s normal. We all go to social media to do a little stalking. It’s reaching out through those channels that could have been a little freaky.”

  Austin let out a sigh of relief. “I know I’m not over the hill, but it’s nice to have someone a little younger around to make sure I stick to the new dating etiquette in the tech age.”

  She laughed. “Believe me. I’m an antiquated relic, according to my son. You probably only want to use my advice on the thirty and up range.”

  Austin smiled, still clutching his phone. “Here’s what I wrote her. Give me your honest opinion.”

  He found the email in his Sent folder and slid the phone to Erika. “What do you think?”

  Hi Ashley,

  I asked Beth to forward my email to you at her discretion, and I realize precisely how this letter could come off, but I felt I needed to take a risk. The moment I saw you at the speed-dating event, I became intrigued. It made me wish I had been one of those guys sitting at the tables, getting the chance to spend two minutes with you. My instincts could be wrong, and maybe we have absolutely nothing in common, but I’d love the opportunity to find out. If this message makes you want to run the other way, I totally get it. But I thought it might be better to reach out this way than to show up at your doorstep (Not that I know where you live. I don’t. That would be totally inappropriate, and I’ve certainly scared you off by now). The only thing I ask is that if you decide against meeting me for a cup of coffee or dinner, you delete this message. I’d hate to be one of those guys who goes viral for the cringiest way of asking someone out. Please feel free to ask Beth or me any questions you may have.

  Sincerely,

  Austin North

  “Well?” Austin asked after a few seconds of silence. “Turn that fireplace off. I’m boiling in here.”

  Erika chuckled as her boss wiped his brow.

  “It could have been a lot worse.” Erika slid the phone back. “Think of the message like a telegraph of the 1800s. Stop. Maybe this right here is where the dating world is headed. Stop.”

  “Enough with the telegraph jokes. I get it. I get it.” Austin tapped the counter. “I wish I had just shown up at her door. Or better yet, asked her out that night.”

  Erika laughed. “It’s not that bad. But you really put your heart out there. Really laid it on the line. It actually made you seem somewhat . . . human.”

  “Human? God forbid.” Austin laughed. “What was I thinking?’

  “To be honest, you’re pretty laid-back with your family and me, but you scare the crap out of the rest of the staff.”

  Austin was stunned. “You’re kidding.”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. Their vision of you is someone who works nonstop and is always marching around the resort, making more work for them.”

  Austin laughed. “That’s kind of my job. I make sure the place keeps running.”

  “Well, maybe crack a smile while doing it.” Erika poured him another cup of coffee.

  “I don’t believe it. I always thought I was the fun-loving brother.”

  “Not a chance.” Erika wandered off to help a customer who sat at the other end of the bar while Austin started to analyze his entire life.

  He’d always assumed he was the laidback sibling, the carefree spirit who traveled and never settled down. He thought back to the holiday party a couple of months ago, and the staff had all seemed respectful and chatted with him . . . briefly.

  Hmm.

  Maybe there was something to Erika’s observation. Perhaps that explained why Kim in accounting always seemed like a nervous wreck, but he never did or said anything. He wasn’t mean, and he never raised his voice.

  Granted, he might give short answers and respond with a nod more times than not, but he didn’t think he was someone to be afraid of.

  Erika wandered back over and noticed his bewilderment. “I didn’t mean to rock your world.”

  “It will take a few minutes to sink in,” Austin said. “Kim upstairs in accounting?”

  “Deathly afraid of getting yelled at by you.”

  “I’ve never yelled at a soul. I don’t even argue.”

  “You don’t have to.” She cocked her head at Austin, stunned that he’d had no idea. “You just look at them a certain way, and it scares them. It’s those same icy blue eye
s that get the women all charged up.”

  “A blessing and a curse,” Austin teased. “Well, I doubt I’ll hear back from Ashley, and if on the off chance that I do, I’ll probably scare her away too.”

  “Doubtful. It works differently in a courting relationship from the 1880s. Stop.”

  Austin laughed. “Enough with the telegraph. I get it.” He stood up, finished his coffee, and let out a sigh. “I suppose it’s time for the ogre to make his rounds.”

  “Just do it with a grin.” Erika smiled fondly at her boss. “And keep me posted on that email you sent.”

  “We’ll see.” Austin laughed and made his way out the bar, but with each step, he felt more confident with his decision to send that email. So what if he never heard from her again? At least he tried. The first and only time he’d fallen in love with a woman, he didn’t try—he assumed—and he’d never make the same mistake twice.

  Chapter Seven

  “You certainly don’t let any grass grow under your feet,” Peter Finn said, shaking his head.

  “It’s the weirdest thing,” Ashley explained. “Whenever I’ve looked for a new family to work for, it’s always the first family I interview with. It’s like a gift from above, and I don’t have to waste time.”

  “I’m regretting our decision every second of the day,” Sylia said, smiling.

  “But it’s the right time.” Ashley was making dinner for the Finns and trying to be in the moment, but all she could think about was that email from a day ago. She hadn’t responded because she wasn’t sure what to say.

  First, she wanted to wait until she had decided on this new job, and second, she still just didn’t know what to say.

  There was no doubt about it. Ashley was utterly attracted to Austin North’s appearance, but that’s all she had to go on. And he did have a sexy voice, but it wasn’t like they’d had a deep conversation. He could be as dumb as a box of rocks, just living off his parents’ wealth, playing pretend work to keep himself busy and the pool of women rotating.

  But she doubted it. The way he commanded the situation suggested strength. The way his laughter filled the bar suggested a sense of humor. And the way he looked at her, sending all kinds of thrills down her, suggested that she needed to stay far away, which wouldn’t be hard since she was moving in a month’s time.