Fearless

by Abby Brooks

  “Straight to business.” I didn’t have the patience for another conversation about their ‘perfect for me’ daughter.

  “We’ve known each other too long to skip the small talk.” Gwen folded her hands in her lap, her eyes analyzing my every movement. “How are the kids? Are they settling down, yet?”

  “No, not yet,” I said, forcing optimism into my tone. “I’ve got a girl from Wildrose High watching them today and I hope they don’t traumatize her.”

  Gwen fluffed the ends of her bleach blonde hair. “You can’t keep that up, you know. Filtering through nannies and babysitters. Eventually, the kids will—”

  “The kids are fine.”

  They weren’t.

  They were loud and rude, and no one could get them to behave like they might one day grow into decent human beings, but I had even less patience for this conversation than the one about Lisa. My kids were my business. They’d been through a lot and one day, they’d settle down again.

  “Lisa’s coming into town next week.” Gwen sat up even straighter. “You should spend some time together. See what happens.”

  I swallowed a groan. There was nothing wrong with Lisa. As far as I knew she was warm and kind and driven…and as her parents’ accountant, I knew she came from money and stability.

  But that would still be a hell-fucking-no from me.

  I’d rather be lonely the rest of my life than risk falling in love with someone else and losing her the way I lost Nat. It was bad enough the kids were gonna grow up and leave me someday. That was the natural order of things, but my heart wouldn’t stop dreading it. Having one person ripped from my life was enough and three more were scheduled to vacate the premises in a decade or so. Who in his right mind would sign up to let someone else in, knowing the heartbreak waiting for him when she was gone? Not this guy.

  Instead of trying to explain any of that to the Tarringtons, I shrugged like it wasn’t the worst idea I’d heard in a year. “Yeah, maybe.”

  Isaac and Gwen grinned victoriously at each other and I moved the conversation back to business, hoping nothing more would come of the Lisa situation.

  Chapter Two

  Amelia

  The last time I came to Wildrose Landing, my best friend’s life had just fallen apart. Oh, how things had changed. Evie McAllister went from living on my couch, to meeting the love of her life and living happily-ever-after in a quaint New England town.

  And me?

  Lately, I’d felt untethered. The optimism I’d worked so hard to cultivate floated just out of reach and the more I stretched to recapture it, the further it drifted. An old limiting belief started keeping me awake at night, one I’d conquered years before: When something good comes along, it’ll just be taken from me.

  The thought circled my head when I least expected it, with memories of how much fun it was to have Evie staying with me juxtaposing my now very solitary apartment. I hated it, not only because of the uncomfortable feelings, but also because it felt like going backwards.

  Negative thoughts hadn’t plagued me in years. I’d very purposefully become an eternal optimist, impervious to worry as long as I remembered to trust my higher self.

  But still, the nagging anxiety plagued me.

  Something wasn’t right, and I needed a change.

  After weeks of meditation, prayer, and conversations with Evie, we decided I should move to Wildrose before her wedding and open up a shop—Good Vibrations. I’d sell crystals, sage smudge kits, new age books, affirmation calendars…you name it, I’d sell it. I even wanted to start a clothing line using colors and quotes guaranteed to raise the spiritual vibration of the wearer. Amelia Brown was going into the business of selling enlightenment and I flippin’ flappin’ loved the idea.

  Evie had invited me to live in her spare house while I got myself situated in town—that’s right.

  Her!

  Spare!

  Freaking!

  House!

  When I said life really turned around for her, I meant it. Her higher self had been on point to lead her to Wildrose Landing, and I needed mine to be too. Though obviously, I had no reason to doubt it was. Higher selves had this way of knowing what you needed and I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn mine and Evie’s were working together on this little project. The two of us settling here had been destined from the start.

  I cranked up the music and grinned as I turned onto Main Street, then whispered a prayer to my spirit guides. “If it’s not too much to ask, I could use a little of whatever juju you threw Evie’s way. Please. I’m sure you’ve already got that covered, but I’m just puttin’ it out there.”

  This was right. The quaint shops and clean sidewalks. The people waving to each other as they passed. A few even waved to me as I rolled down the road. How cute was that? Something good would happen here.

  It had to.

  I couldn’t slip backwards into the black hole of depression that had claimed me after—

  “Okay,” I said to my spirit guides. “It’s not that I’m doubting you because you’re the ones in the know and all that, but could you please give me a sign that I’m on the right path? Just a little nudge is all I need. After that, I promise I’ll relax.”

  I paused for a response, which was silly. The signs were never as cut and dry as “Hey Amelia! You’re on the right path!” I’d just need to keep my eyes, heart, and mind open, and the sign would present itself.

  On a whim, I parked in front of Sweet Stuff, a candy store owned by Evie’s soon to be sister-in-law. I climbed out of my vintage convertible VW Beetle, and lifted my arms, stretching the kinks out of my body as my bracelets clinked down my wrist. A breeze rustled the boho skirt around my ankles and my blonde hair across my back and shoulders. I inhaled the fresh ocean air and tilted my face toward the sun, then straightened my tank top—one I’d designed myself—and headed inside.

  Izzy Prescott looked up as the bells over the door jangled. Her brown curls were pulled back off her face and bright red lipstick highlighted her strong bone structure. She would have looked amazing in the fashion popular in the fifties. “Well hey there! Evie said you’d be coming in today, but I didn’t think I’d see you until tonight’s party.”

  “I didn’t want to show up empty-handed.” I surveyed the walls of candy bins, the inviting displays of chocolate and foreign sweets, the pastel neon signs and emojis on the wall. “I forgot how much I love this place.”

  “Once you see what I just got in, you’re gonna love it even more.” Izzy came around the corner like a proud momma and linked her arm with mine, walking me to a display table of exotic soda in decorative glass bottles. “Some are from Britain, others from France, Italy, Japan. They come in crazy flavors.” She reached into the stack and pulled out a slim bottle with delicate designs etched in the glass. “Something tells me you’d like this one. It’s elderflower and rose and I was skeptical as hell, but it’s tasty.”

  I took the soda and studied the label. Elderflower and rose? It could be amazing…or…not so much. Either way, I had to know. I’d try anything once. Hell, maybe even twice or three times. If something kept showing up in my life, there was a reason and I’d go with the flow until I figured out why.

  “Sounds intriguing.”

  “That’s what I thought you’d say.” Izzy grinned. “If you’re shopping for Evie and Alex though, don’t forget to grab a bag of jellybeans.”

  “Perfect.” I pulled a giant bag out of the stack and filled it to the brim with jellybeans, then selected a wide range of soda flavors and lined them along the counter. Izzy rang everything up, then put it all in small cardboard box as the bells over the door twinkled with the arrival of another customer.

  A tornado of children blasted into the store, shrieking excitement as a deep voice boomed, “Garrett! Connor! Charlie! Stop running, you knuckleheads!”

  Hefting the overflowing box into my arms, I turned just in time for two little blond boys to trip each other and stumble into my path.
I side-stepped, the jellybeans and soda bottles wobbling wildly, only to stagger into a little girl spinning in circles. I lost control of the box and the entire thing crashed to the floor at the feet of their father.

  The bottles shattered, spraying soda up our legs as jellybeans scattered across the floor. For a brief second, time froze. The kids stopped moving and screaming as they stared at the mess. My gaze crept up a pair of soda-covered khakis, past trim hips and a white button down, to broad shoulders, then finally to the brightest pair of blue eyes I had ever seen. Dark curls accentuated stubble-covered cheeks and full lips. Shock, embarrassment, and the tiniest of smiles tangoed across his face as our eyes met and all the breath left my lungs.

  This was it. The sign I’d asked for. Sure, on the outside it looked like a disaster, what with both of us coated in sugar syrup and all. But the moment had this air of importance and the gravity of life-changing experience written all over it.

  It was in the way his gaze skated across my face, gentle and questioning, yet oddly familiar. It was in the tired circles under his eyes and the hopeful smile quirking his lips.

  This was my sign…and he was flippin’ hot.

  The stranger cocked his head as time thawed and the kids started screaming accusations at each other.

  “Well hello there…” I lifted a hand to wiggle my fingers.

  With the broken glass safely inside the box, no one was in danger of being hurt, but the mess was already big enough without three children trampling through it in an attempt to dodge blame. I reclaimed my attention from the man in front of me and turned to the kids, holding out my hands as if I was taming raptors.

  “Hey now,” I said in my gentlest voice. “Let’s be nice to each other. You only get one family.” My heart cracked at the thought, but I glued that right up with a heavy dose of staying in the moment—the sticky, sweet smelling moment.

  All three children stopped moving, stopped yelling, and their father’s jaw dropped.

  “This is why we don’t run in public.” I gestured at the streaks of jellybean speckled soda decorating the store, smiling at each child in turn. “We need to fix this mess, now don’t we?”

  The boys nodded while the little girl bit her lip. “I’m real sorry I tripped you.”

  “Don’t you worry your little head about it, just promise me you’ll fill it with good thoughts so you’ll attract good things.”

  Izzy arrived with a mop and a trashcan and the rest of us gathered the jellybeans off the floor. The candy coating painted our fingers in bright colors and by the smell of it, I really would like the elderflower and rose soda. Every time I looked up, I found a pair of dazzling blue eyes staring me down. I checked for a wedding ring and found nothing but beautifully masculine and definitely naked fingers, so I offered a smile, but that only made him frown and look away.

  Huh.

  Hello, mixed signals.

  As we cleaned, the kids started to argue. “You shouldn’t have been running, Connor,” shouted the tallest boy.

  “You ran first.”

  “That’s because I’m older.”

  The little girl put her hands on her hips and blew a curl out of her eyes. “You always say that, Garrett. It doesn’t mean anything. I’m older,” she said in a mocking voice, then rolled her eyes.

  “I say it ‘cause it’s true and it does mean something. Tell her, Dad.”

  Voices escalated. Tempers rose. The smokin’ hot man with strong hands and dazzling eyes added a pulsing jaw muscle to the list of things I couldn’t stop staring at. Why’d he have to give in to the angry energy? The kids were just being kids and were probably mirroring the way he handled situations.

  Eager to diffuse the situation, I straightened, stepping over the mess to crouch in front of the trio. “Maybe we’re all a little bit at fault here.”

  The little girl wrinkled her nose. “Why do you smell like dirt?”

  “Charlotte Anne Cooper!” Her father stood, looking mortified, and started the beginnings of another apology.

  I didn’t need him to make amends for his daughter. Kids hadn’t learned to install a filter and I loved it. The honesty was refreshing.

  “It’s probably my essential oil.” I held out my diffuser necklace for the girl to smell. “It’s vetiver and it’s my favorite. Surrounding myself with things I like makes it easy to stay happy.”

  All three children leaned in to get a whiff.

  “It does smell a little bit like dirt, but it also smells like a good memory and it always calms me down when I’m feeling stressed.” I gave the necklace a sniff as the kids nodded.

  “Yeah,” said the tallest—Garrett, I thought. “I can see that.”

  “Me too.” The middle child beamed at his older brother.

  Charlie blew another curl out of her eyes. “It still smells like dirt to me.”

  Their father appeared beside me and apologized profusely, but I didn’t hear a word of what he was saying over my spirit guides and higher self yammering at me. This guy, whoever he was, needed help. His beautiful eyes looked so tired. The slump of his shoulders spoke of exhaustion and fatigue, while the sadness in his voice as he asked his kids to apologize to Izzy and me made me want to hug him—and the fact that he was dead sexy didn’t help.

  But the cincher? The dealmaker? It was this sense of strength oozing under it all. That this man, though beaten down and struggling with something, had energy…vitality…

  Whatever it was, it meant something.

  “It’s okay.” I put a hand on his arm and tried not to react to the surge of YES PLEASE OMG HE’S SO TASTY zooming through my body. He offered to replace my things, but Izzy wouldn’t hear of either of us spending more money. As I walked to the car, my arms once again filled with candy and soda, my head was filled with a single thought repeating over and over. “Who was that?”

  Ready for more?

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  Acknowledgments

  Mr. Wonderful—you make every day the kind of day that proves I’m living my happily ever after. Thank you for your love, your guidance, and your friendship.

  Thank you to my children for putting up with me wearing pjs for too many days in a row.

  Thank you to Joyce, Linda, Nickiann, Stormi, Kieran, Elaine, and Suzanne. I hope you see your fingerprints in this final version!

  And thank you to YOU, wonderful reader, for sticking with this story to the very end. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Wildrose Landing—because there are more books to come! If you did enjoy your time with Alex and Evie in Fearless, would you please consider leaving a review on your favorite site? It helps other readers connect with the book and you’ll have my undying gratitude!

  Recipes

  Drunken Sailor

  This copper-cupped cocktail will bring out your inner pirate with a mix of rum, gin and ginger ale!

  1 1/2 oz. rum

  1/4 oz. gin

  1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

  Ginger ale

  Glass: copper mug

  Garnish: skewered slice of orange, candied ginger, lime and cherry

  In a crushed ice-packed copper mug, combine all ingredients, except ginger ale. Add extra crushed ice to the top, if necessary, top with ginger ale and garnish.

  Orange Chicken

  This recipe is low FODMAP and is great for people with IBS.

  INGREDIENTS

  •6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (about 1.5 lbs); chopped into bite size pieces

  •1 tsp salt

  •Pepper to taste

  •2 large eggs

  •1 cup cornstarch or potato starch

  •Canola or other preferred oil for frying

  •Chives or scallion tips, optional for garnish

  For Orange Sauce: (makes about 1.5 cups sauce)

  •1 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil—Infused oils with onion and garlic are safe to eat on the low-FODMAP diet, as the FODMAPs will not absorb into the oil. This is not true for water based products and these
spices!

  •1 tbsp ginger powder

  •1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on desired spice level)

  •½ cup soy sauce

  •½ cup vinegar (white vinegar, apple cider or rice vinegar)

  •2 tbsp cornstarch or potato starch

  •1/4 cup water

  •6 tbsp light corn syrup

  •4 tbsp brown sugar (if you like a very sweet sauce, increase to 6 tbsp)

  •2 tbsp orange zest (about 1 medium orange)

  •1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from the same orange)

  •1/2 tsp sesame oil

  Directions

  For Fried Chicken Pieces:

  •In a medium bowl, mix eggs, salt, and pepper

  •In a second medium bowl, add 1 cup cornstarch (or potato starch)

  •Heat canola or olive oil (for frying) in a wok or deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

  •Working in small batches, dip chicken pieces in the egg mixture, then the cornstarch mixture and fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with remaining chicken. Do a few pieces at a time for maximum crispness

  •Discard oil and clean wok

  For the Orange Sauce

  •Place your wok back over high heat and add 1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil and ginger and stir fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds

  •Add red pepper flakes then stir fry for a few seconds

  •Add soy sauce and stir again

  •Add vinegar and continue to stir to combine ingredients well

  •Place 1/4 cup water and 2 tbsp cornstarch in a cup and stir to combine well (creates a ‘slurry’)

  •Add the cornstarch/water slurry to the pan and stir

  •Heat until the sauce has thickened on medium low heat

  •Add corn syrup and brown sugar

  •Add orange zest and orange juice