A Dream to Believe In

by Kay Correll

  Nora didn’t look like she was believing a word Annie said.

  “It’s the only way for him to be happy. To find some peace.” Annie took out a tissue and dried the rest of her tears. “I’ve had my pity party, had my cry. It’s all for the best. Now, it’s time to get on with my life.”

  If only her heart could believe her words.

  “We all make choices in life. Nick’s always seems to be his career over people he loves.” Nora scowled.

  “He doesn’t love me.”

  Nora looked right at her and rolled her eyes. “Of course he does. Anyone looking at him can see that. He’s probably the only one on the planet that doesn’t realize it. Well, maybe Nick and you are the only ones.”

  Chapter 24

  The sun warmed Beth’s face as she and Sophie walked down Main Street late in the afternoon. She was so ready for spring weather. They’d hopefully had their last snow, though you could never rule out one last storm in May. For now, she was enjoying the sixty-five-degree weather and only wearing a sweater.

  “Wonder what’s going on there.” Sophie pointed to the larger bricked area that led to the river walk. “That’s quite a crowd.”

  They hurried up the street and stood near the back of the crowd. James Weaver stood on the small platform by the fountain. “I just want to formally announce that I’m running for Mayor in our special election. I’m sorry Manny’s health took a bad turn and he had to step down, but I assure you I’m ready to take over and keep everything running smoothly. I turned in the official paperwork today.”

  Beth clasped her purse tightly and watched as Dobbs wound his way through the crowd.

  Clapping broke out in the crowd, then Mr. Dobbs stepped up beside James. “Well, it looks like you’re going to have the job.” He clapped James on the back. “Since you’re the only one running.”

  The crowd laughed.

  “But I’m sure you’ll do a fine job for us.”

  “Excuse me.” Beth pushed through the crowd.

  “Hey, little lady. Did you come to congratulate Mr. Weaver?”

  Beth bristled at Dobbs’s words and his tone, even more sure of herself now. “No… actually…” She stepped up beside the men and opened her purse. “I’ve filled out the paperwork to run for mayor, too. I’m on my way right now to turn it in to city hall.”

  “What?” Dobbs’s face grew redder and redder. “But you’re not qualified.”

  “I guess we’ll let the voters decide that, won’t we?” Beth turned to the crowd. “I’ll be sure to let you know my platform and ideas for the town. Feel free to stop me and ask questions any time you see me.” She turned to James. “May the best person win.”

  She held out her hand and wasn’t sure that James was going to shake. He finally stuck out his hand and shook hers quickly, drawing it back immediately as if he couldn’t bear to be seen with her. She gave him her best dazzling smile, then waved to the crowd. She climbed off the platform and walked over to where Sophie stood at the edge of the courtyard.

  “Are you crazy?” Sophie shook her head.

  “Probably.”

  Sophie grinned. “Well, yes you are crazy, but I’m with you one hundred percent. I’ll be your campaign manager. I’ll do anything to help you. We have to stop them.”

  Annie kept as busy as possible so she didn’t have time to think about Nick, not that it was really working. She thought about him all the time. Every fiber of her being missed him. His smile. His laugh. The way he teased her. She missed having him beside her as she finished up things with the loft.

  She looked around the loft, now filled with furnishings. It did look inviting, and she was pleased how it all had turned out. Except that Nick wasn’t up here with her…

  She shoved the thoughts aside and scooted a chair next to the long pine workstation along the far wall.

  Annie looked up, surprised to see James Weaver at the top of the stairs to the loft. “Mr. Weaver, hi.”

  “Hello, Annie.”

  “Can I help you?”

  “I’ve come to do the final inspection on the loft.”

  Annie frowned. Mr. Weaver wasn’t the normal inspector. “I thought Henry did the inspections.”

  “He’s out of town. I’m also certified as an inspector, so I fill in when he’s not available.” Mr. Weaver crossed into the center of the loft, looking around. He held a clipboard in his hands and made notes as he carefully inspected each area.

  “I’m sure you’ll find everything in order. I followed the approved plans exactly.”

  “Hm.” He wandered over to the table along the wall. He took out a tape measure and measured between the many outlets along the wall. He measured between the outlets under the windows and jotted down a note.

  He took more measurements and asked to see the circuit board. Annie felt an uneasiness surround her the longer the man wandered around the loft.

  He scribbled some more on his clipboard and handed her a paper. “These things don’t meet code. You can correct them and reapply for another inspection.”

  She looked at the paper in amazement. “I don’t understand. I turned in the plans. These are things that were never corrected on my original set of plans. They were never mentioned.”

  “Can’t speak to that. I’m just going by what I see and the codes.” He turned to walk away but paused. “Shame it looks like you won’t be able to open up by this weekend’s May Festival. With Henry out of town, I’m really booked with inspections. Should be able to get to you sometime next week for a reinspection.” With that, he headed down the stairs, and Annie sank onto a chair, letting the paper fall to the ground.

  Chapter 25

  Nick walked down the sterile hall of the hospital on his way to the research wing. The familiarity of walking the halls, wearing a white coat, the bustle of activity on the floor—all this should feel right to him. Only it didn’t feel right, not at all. He turned the corner, headed to the elevator, and punched the up button.

  Instead of being excited to be going to work, excited about being in on some cutting-edge research, he was just numb. He thought the excitement of meeting new colleagues and reviewing the research to get caught up to speed would keep him buried in work, unable to think about Annie. So far his plan hadn’t worked. She was on his mind every single minute of every day.

  And the nights.

  The nights were the worst.

  Alone in his temporary, furnished-in-commercial-plainness apartment.

  The elevator opened, and an older couple stood in the doorway. They held hands, and the man was looking at the woman like she was the center of his universe. They looked up at him and smiled.

  “Good morning.” The man nodded at Nick.

  “Morning.”

  “It is a good morning. We’re headed home. They gave me my walking papers. But first, my husband is going to take me for a nice piece of peach pie.”

  “Whatever you want, dear. Just glad to be taking you home with me.” The man kissed her on her forehead, and she broke into a brilliant, just-for-her-husband smile.

  The couple walked out of the elevator, and Nick stood and watched them as they continued down the hallway, perfectly in sync, holding hands. The man leaned closer and said something to his wife, and her delighted laugh rang out down the hallway.

  And suddenly he knew what he wanted. What he needed. He wanted what those two had and so much more.

  And none of it involved research in Houston, far away from Sweet River Falls.

  Nick pulled into town and searched for a parking spot on Main Street. No luck. The town was bustling with people here for the May Festival. Bright banners were strung across Main Street. It was still early, but doors to the shops were wide open, and people milled down the sidewalk.

  He pulled down a side street and found a spot in a gravel parking lot. He jumped out of the car, eager to be here for Annie’s grand opening of the loft. He hurried up the side street and ran into Jason at the corner.

  “Nick
. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “Me either. I’ve been pretty much the fool. But I’m over that now.” He grinned at Jason. “I came to see Annie’s grand opening.”

  “Well, that isn’t happening.”

  “What do you mean?” He frowned.

  “Oh, it seems that we’ve managed to rile a few people in town. Mainly James Weaver and Old Man Dobbs. Weaver did the final inspection and didn’t pass the loft. Said he didn’t have time to reinspect it until after the weekend.”

  “Why would he be inspecting it? Isn’t Henry still the inspector?”

  “He is, but it seems he took the week off. Gone off fishing somewhere. And evidently James inspects when Henry is gone.”

  “So what does James have to gain by not passing it?”

  “A favor to Dobbs? Payback for winning the town over to put in the river walk? Or maybe because my sister decided to run against Weaver in the mayoral election?”

  “She did? Good for her.” Nick looked down the street. “Annie must be so disappointed.”

  “She is. And my mom is madder than a wet hen. Last I saw, she was off to find Dobbs and give him an earful.”

  “You say Henry is off fishing?”

  “Yep. So I’m afraid Annie will have to postpone the grand opening until after she can get all the code things sorted out. She fixed the bogus things on Weaver’s list, but he insists he can’t reinspect until next week sometime.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Nick spun around and headed back to his car. There was no way he was going to let Annie’s big day be spoiled. He knew she liked to solve her own problems, but he wasn’t going to let some cranky, vindictive old man ruin Annie’s plans.

  Annie and Nora stood in Bookish Cafe. Annie watched as people walked down the street. Many came in for coffee and to browse the books, but as the shop filled up, more people peeked in and wandered off down the street. She sure could have used the extra space today.

  “I’m sorry, Annie.” Nora squeezed her hand. “Dobbs is a mean-spirited old man.”

  “Well, he got his revenge, didn’t he? He’s still so angry about the river walk.”

  “And angry that Beth is running against Weaver for mayor. I think she’s crazy for running, but what can I say? She wants to try and stop Dobbs from being able to sell his property on Lone Elk Lake. If Weaver wins, it’s a certainty that we’ll have a stiff fight to keep it from happening.”

  “Dobbs is a troublemaker, that’s for sure.” As disappointed as she was, Annie shrugged. “Well, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to make the best of it.”

  She heard a commotion outside the door to the shop and headed over to see what was going on. She froze in place as she saw him.

  “Nick.” She whispered his name.

  “Hey, Annie.” He stood with a big grin on his face, a fistful of balloons, and a big chalkboard easel with the words Grand Opening scrawled across the sign.

  “What are you doing here? And there isn’t a grand opening. The loft didn’t pass.”

  Henry walked up to them. “Sure it did.” He thrust a paper at her. “I was just up there checking. Everything is fine.”

  “How? I mean, I thought you were out of town.” How did he get up there without her seeing him? She must have missed him in the crowd of people.

  “I was. Fishing. But Nick here used to be a fishing buddy of mine. He knew where to find me. Convinced me to come back to town and check out the loft. Fishing was lousy today anyway.” Henry winked. “Besides, Nick is a pretty persuasive guy.”

  Annie stood there, dazed, as Nora walked up beside her. “You okay—” Nora looked up and spotted Nick. “What’s he doing here?”

  “Came for Annie’s grand opening now that Henry has passed everything.” Nick carefully set up the sign by the door and attached the balloons. “Oh, and I’ve ordered dozens of cupcakes that will be delivered from Mountain Grove within the next hour that you can give away to your patrons.”

  Dobbs came hurrying up the street. “Hey, you can’t put up that sign. She can’t open. Weaver didn’t pass the loft.”

  Henry stepped up to Dobbs. “But I did. Those were ridiculous violations anyway. Not really true ones. But she did everything on Weaver’s list, so she’s all set now.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “Of course I can. I’m the inspector. No law says I can’t inspect on a beautiful Saturday like this one.”

  “But…” Dobbs sputtered.

  “It’s a done deal,” Henry assured him.

  Dobbs turned and stalked away, muttering under his breath.

  Annie turned to Nick. “But what are you doing here?” She couldn’t quite keep up with all that was happening.

  “I’m here to tell you that I’m a fool. That I’ve made a terrible mistake.” He reached out and took her hand in his. “I’m here to ask you to forgive me.”

  “I—” Her heart pounded as she tried to keep the world from spinning out of control.

  “I’m here to stay if you’ll have me. And by stay, I mean forever. I want to marry you, Annie.”

  The breath whooshed out of her lungs, and she heard Nora gasp behind her.

  Nick dropped to one knee on the sidewalk. “Annie, will you marry me? I love you. Always have, always will.”

  Nora poked her in the back. “Answer the man.”

  “I…” She broke into a huge smile and every cell of her being felt like it could explode with happiness. “I love you too. And, yes, I’ll marry you.”

  Nick jumped to his feet and let out a whoop. He scooped her up and whirled her around. When he finally set her back on the sidewalk, he leaned down and kissed her. The kiss that she’d waited for and longed for.

  The crowd around them started clapping, and Annie felt a warm blush creep over her cheeks.

  “We should probably go turn on those lights upstairs and open up the loft.” Nora stood grinning by the door, then answered herself. “Yes, I think I will go do that. Annie’s a little busy right now.”

  “I’ll help you. Then I think I’ll get one of those best-in-Sweet-River-Falls cups of coffee. Nora, you care to join me?” Henry held open the door.

  “Sure.” Henry and Nora went inside, leaving Annie standing facing Nick while people streamed past them and into Bookish Cafe.

  Annie looked up at Nick. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

  “Not a chance.” He kissed her again, then pulled back. “Though next time I’m being a fool, you might want to clue me in.”

  She smiled up at him. “I will.”

  “I guess getting married tomorrow would be too soon?” Nick raised an eyebrow.

  “Now, that is foolish, Nick.” Annie nodded gravely. “I think it will take me at least a week to pull it off.”

  “Whoop!” Nick scooped her up and swung her around again. “A week? I don’t doubt you will. I love you, Annie. We’re going to be so happy.”

  She touched his cheek, tears threatening the corners of her eyes. “I’m already happier than anyone else in the whole world.”

  “Me too, my love. Me too.” And he kissed her again.

  Chapter 26

  Almost true to her word, Annie quickly planned the wedding. It did take her two weeks to pull it off, though, with a lot of help from Nora.

  Nora stood beside her friend at the gazebo by the lake at Sweet River Lodge. Annie wore a simple white dress and held a bouquet of light blue hydrangeas. She’d never looked lovelier. Annie’s eyes glistened with tears as she stood beside Nick and recited her vows.

  Nick wore an adorably smitten look on his face, which is what Nora needed to see. She hoped that now that Annie and Nick had found each other again, their lives would be blessed with love and happiness.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The minister smiled at the couple.

  Nick leaned down, brushed away a tear from Annie’s face, and kissed her gently. “I love you.”

  Nora could just hear Nick’s whispered words to his
bride.

  “I love you, too.” Annie beamed as she touched Nick’s face in a gesture so very gentle and intimate.

  Nick took Annie’s hand in his, and they turned and stepped off the gazebo and down the aisle strewn with flower petals. Their friends stood and clapped and cheered.

  Nora fought back her own tears. She wanted nothing more than to see her friend happy. She couldn’t help but remember her own wedding so many years ago on the shore of this very same lake. How life has a way of throwing curves and laughing at a person’s well laid out plans. A familiar ache filled her heart as she thought of her husband, taken from her at way too young an age. She glanced up at the fluffy cloud covered sky and murmured, “I miss you. Always.”

  A great blue heron swooped past along the edge of Lone Elk Lake. She smiled. Her husband’s favorite bird. One always seemed to make an appearance when she needed it.

  She stepped off the gazebo and headed after her friend, content in the knowledge that Annie had discovered true love and happiness, even if it had taken her decades to find it.

  Love was funny like that. You just never knew when it would find you.

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Annie’s story. Interested in reading more stories set in the town of Sweet River Falls? See Book Two, A Memory to Cherish, and all the books in the series at: https://kaycorrell.com/series-info/sweet-river-series/

  Thank you and happy reading!

  Also by KAY CORRELL

  Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it.

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