Irresistible Love at Silver Falls (Island County Series Book 7)

by Karice Bolton

  Going over Abigail’s words, I continued down the road. She was going on sixteen, and it certainly wouldn’t be fair to her to have me pop into her world when her life was perfectly fine as it was. She was a well-centered kid with a great head on her shoulders. I didn’t need to wreck her world by dating her father.

  I remembered how hard it was at that age. How every emotion was amplified and magnified as if the end of the world was right around the corner, and I certainly didn’t want to be ending poor Abigail’s world.

  She had too good of a future in front of her.

  Leaving Kyle was not only the right decision.

  It was the only decision.

  His family had come first—as it should—for the first fifteen years of her life, it didn’t need to suddenly implode because his daughter didn’t like his girlfriend.

  I’d been thinking so hard on the matter that by the time, I drove off the Fireweed ferry and onto the ferry to Hound Island, I realized I had to have been speeding to have made either of them.

  I never sped. I was always cautious. I needed to get my head back on straight.

  I turned off the car and sat back in the seat.

  I could handle this.

  As the ferry floated toward Hound Island, I closed my eyes and felt the gentle sway of the ocean and my mind immediately went back to Kyle—the way he made me laugh, made me feel, made love.

  Ugh. Damn him with those skilled hands.

  This was going to be one of the hardest things I’d done in my life.

  I’d spent so long pretending my heart wasn’t broken that I wasn’t even sure the pieces were worth mending any longer.

  For the first time in my life, I no longer worried about heartbreak ahead because I knew without a doubt, I’d never let it happen again.

  When the ferry horn blared, I awoke with a start and looked around the empty car. I’d somehow managed to fall asleep during the short ride over. I sat my seat up, buckled in, turned on the ignition, and followed the ferry worker’s instructions as I drove off the ferry.

  I couldn’t wait until I tumbled into bed and started this weekend over again. The first thing I needed to do was let Aunt Hildie know not to jump on the North property. The one next to Jake was a much better fit.

  I pulled in front of my little apartment and made my way up the stairs and inside. I didn’t even bother stripping off my clothes before I sank under my covers. Maybe this was all a really bad dream and by morning it would all be a distant memory.

  Tugging on the sheet, my hand slipped and I slapped myself in the face. I let out one last sigh of defeat and buried deeper under the covers until I finally fell asleep.

  This just wasn’t the best twenty-four hours of my life.

  That was all.

  Tomorrow would be better.

  Because it certainly couldn’t get any worse.

  I’d woken up several times since the sun started splintering through the blinds into my bedroom, but I refused to get out of bed. The owls all around me were keeping me company, and that was exactly what I needed—the comforts of home.

  I turned over on my side, closed my eyes, and told myself to fall asleep again.

  The trick had worked over the last few hours, but it had apparently lost its effectiveness. I opened my eyes and stared at the owl wallpaper again, but this time I blinked back the tears I’d been trying to sleep away.

  My phone buzzed and there were several messages from Kyle.

  I forgot I’d promised him I’d let him know I got home safely, but I was so rattled that obviously didn’t happen. I grabbed my phone and began to text back.

  Sorry. I totally spaced. I’m home. I caught the last ferry and came home and crashed. I loved meeting your family. Thanks again for such a wonderful Saturday.

  Pounding rattled my apartment and I shot out of my bed. Someone was at my front door. I glanced at my phone. It looked like Kyle was texting back. I dashed to the door and looked out the peephole. My shoulders instantly relaxed. It was Chance.

  I opened the door right when Kyle wrote back.

  Sorry. I sent the troops. I got worried.

  My stomach tensed. It was nice to have someone care.

  “What the hell?” Chance asked, barging into the apartment.

  Maddie was rubbing her belly and waddled inside after him.

  “Kyle was a nervous wreck. Why didn’t you text him when you got home?” Chance’s eyes connected with mine. “What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”

  Maddie collapsed on the couch and kicked her feet out in front of her. “You don’t look so good, Brooke. What happened?” She turned her attention to Chance. “Did Kyle mention anything?”

  He shook his head. “Only that he had the best time yesterday.”

  I let out a long, steady breath. I wasn’t going to cry. Not in front of my cousin. Not in front of my cousin’s very pregnant fiancée.

  “So, everything went amazingly well yesterday,” Chance stated.

  I nodded and sat down on the couch while Chance paced.

  “Then what’s the problem?” Chance turned to stare at me. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those ‘it’s too good, I need to end it now people’.”

  “Not in the slightest or I would have ended it weeks ago.”

  “You’re saying you’ve ended things with Kyle?” Chance’s eyes widened.

  “Not yet, but I’m going to.”

  “Why in God’s name would you do that?” Chance shook his head. “Kyle said it was amazing. Abigail loved you and so did Clara. Although, he said it wouldn’t matter even if they didn’t.”

  “And that’s the problem right there.” I straightened up and grabbed an owl pillow to hug. “I don’t want to get in the way of Abigail and her father. That relationship is far too important.”

  “But Kyle says she loved hanging out with you.”

  “She might have told him that, but I heard differently when I went upstairs to her room. She was on the phone.” I sighed. “To say she’s not happy with me is an understatement.”

  “But Kyle is sure she likes you.”

  “She called me a moron to one of her friends. Says it won’t last long.”

  “Ooh…” Chance whistled.

  “I don’t want to get into some ugly match of she said, she said. That’s not me. Abigail should always win that.”

  Chance nodded.

  “My guess is that she didn’t want to upset her dad and just told him it was great to appease him. She’s smart.” I glanced at Maddie. “Anyway, it’s better to do it now than later when even more emotion gets involved.”

  “Are you going to tell him why?” Chance asked, his voice lowered.

  We all knew this was going to destroy Kyle as much as it was wrecking me inside.

  I shook my head. “I can’t. I don’t want to start a mini feud between Abigail and her dad. It’s just not right to do that to her. She’s at a really sensitive age.”

  “Wow, Brooke.” Chance raked his fingers through his hair. “This was unexpected.”

  “Tell me about it. Everything seemed so perfect.” I frowned. “Too perfect. I just don’t know what I’m going to say to Kyle.”

  “I’d think long and hard about that,” Chance warned and my phone buzzed.

  I glanced down at my phone and my heart tore.

  I forgot to tell you that the house you liked on Fireweed that is full of poltergeists and would be a completely unwise investment is actually bank owned. They’ve tried to sell it off and on for years, but no takers. Maybe we could shake those ghosts out of town. If you know what I’m saying.

  I laughed but felt the tears burn.

  “This is going to be the toughest decision I’ll ever make.” I shook my head.

  Maddie put her hand on mine. “Then maybe don’t rush into it.”

  “But isn’t it best if she ends it now?” Chance asked. “Rather than lead him on? This is going to kill him.”

  His words hurt as much as if I’d said them
myself.

  I sucked in a sharp breath that made my lungs ache with sorrow, and I texted back a quick response.

  Chance and Maddie are here. I’ll text later. That’s interesting about the haunted mansion.

  I looked up at Chance. “I’ve got to tell your mom not to make an offer on the North property.”

  “Probably sooner rather than later on that one.”

  I nodded.

  “Are you sure you didn’t hear incorrectly?” Chance asked, tilting his head.

  “Yeah. She was pretty descriptive and very passionate that she’d guessed wrong on me.”

  Chance scrunched his face in disappointment. “Boy, Brooke. I’m really sorry.”

  “Me too.” The ache in my chest only burned stronger. “But promise me one thing, Chance.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Please don’t reach out to him on my behalf or start scheming. I don’t want to cause any riff.”

  “No, I totally understand. I really do.”

  “Do you want to come over to our home?” Maddie asked. “I’m not sure I want you to be alone.”

  “I’m totally fine. I think I’ll head over to the farm. It’ll keep me busy. I just have to hop in the shower.”

  Maddie began squirming toward the edge of the couch, and I quickly stood as Chance rushed over to help her up.

  “Sorry. These couches have seen better days, but I don’t want to insult Lila and Jerry.”

  Maddie chuckled. “Always worried about everyone else’s feelings.”

  I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  Maddie gave me a quick hug as she turned her belly to the side and Chance laughed. “I just don’t know how much bigger your belly is supposed to get.” He scratched his head. “Is it even safe?”

  “Beats me,” Maddie laughed, and my heart tugged a little seeing their love for one another.

  Clara was right. Love was meant to be easy.

  I walked them to my door, and Chance hung on it before opening it. “Just make sure you’re careful what you say.”

  “I know.”

  He gave me one last hug, and I watched them make their way down the stairs.

  The moment I shut the door, my heart ached even worse than before, and I slid down the door, letting the tears finally do their job.

  This would be the worst of it. The first few days, possibly weeks, would hurt the most, and then slowly, the numbness would reappear, and I’d be able to get back to what’s important to me.

  I took in a deep breath and made my way to the bathroom where I showered and got ready for my day at the farm.

  By the time I arrived, I’d already had a few more crying sessions but felt much better.

  Not better as in less sad, but better as in more determined to stick to my plan. If Chance had talked me out of it, maybe I would’ve backed down a little on my resolve, but he understood what I was saying.

  Kyle had done all the right things over the years to be the best dad he could, and I wasn’t going to blow that for him.

  “Hey, sweetie,” Aunt Hildie said as I turned the corner toward the herb garden.

  “How was your Saturday with Miss Abigail and her mom?”

  The moment my eyes connected with my aunt’s, she dropped her bucket and rushed over.

  “What’s the matter? What happened?” Aunt Hildie brought me in for a deep hug, and I told her everything there was to tell.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kyle sensed something was off. There was no doubt about it, but I was taking Chance’s advice and ending it slow and gentle. I needed to blame this on myself fully. By Wednesday, I’d already turned him down for his many offers to get together.

  Abigail was still at his house for spring break, and I certainly didn’t want to ruin their family time, so I blamed Aunt Hildie needing me at the farm.

  It was Friday morning, and I was dreading what Kyle might text next. Last night, he texted that he couldn’t wait to take me hiking this weekend, but I wrote him back that wouldn’t work so he tried to plan a hike for the next weekend, which I politely declined as well.

  I then got a series of texts with simple questions that I felt warranted simple answers.

  But by this morning, I began to doubt my sanity. I started to wonder if Kyle was even the one sending the messages, but it wouldn’t make sense why it wouldn’t be him.

  I sipped a cup of coffee and sat on the couch. I didn’t have to be to the farm until noon today, which still felt too early. I opened a mystery that I’d been reading and found myself staring at the page watching the words blur together.

  “I knew this was going to be tough,” I mumbled to myself and stood. “I can get through this.”

  I sluggishly walked over to the kitchen and topped off my cup of coffee.

  Relationships come and go. It wasn’t the first time and certainly wouldn’t be the last. I leaned against the counter and took another sip of the coffee, hoping it would pack the same punch as a latte, but it didn’t.

  My phone buzzed on the dresser in my bedroom, and I debated whether I wanted to go offer another flimsy excuse or just hop in the shower and deal with the waiting message later.

  I chose the shower and wandered to the bathroom. I grabbed a towel, turned on the hot water, and picked out an outfit for today. It was going to be a busy afternoon with two wedding consultations scheduled. Today was a late day because tomorrow was going to be an early morning with an early afternoon fortieth wedding anniversary party.

  My heart squeezed as I got under the water, letting the warmth wash away the sadness. If you’d asked me a few months ago if I’d thought about marriage, the answer would have been a hard no.

  Actually, my response would have been never in a million years.

  And then Kyle came back in my life and I started to wonder.

  I started to imagine.

  I let out a heavy sigh, hoping it would untwist the knotted feeling inside, but it did no such thing, so I quickly finished lathering up and rinsing off. I might as well go over to the farm early so I stopped moping around my apartment.

  I wasn’t a sulker. I didn’t generally pine away and hide out, but the idea seemed like a good one, which told me I had to get back out there and start the process of healing. I needed to be fully patched up before I ended things with Kyle so I could be the strong one.

  I tugged on a pair of khakis and buttoned up my blue cotton shirt. It was about as exciting of an outfit as I felt. After pulling my hair into a quick knot, I walked over to my phone and glanced at the message.

  You okay?

  I let out a sigh and another message came across.

  If something’s wrong, you’d tell me right?

  My heart squeezed into an achy mess as I stared at the screen. I didn’t think I could be the strong one after all. Maybe it was better to just end it suddenly.

  Just as I was about to call him, my doorbell rang and I glanced down at the phone as if that would give me an answer as to who was on the other side of the door.

  I drew a deep breath and made my way into the living room. I peeked through my peephole and my pulse spiked.

  It was Abigail.

  I closed my eyes and counted to three.

  Everything was going to be fine.

  I opened my door and Abigail stood holding a stack of letters.

  My chest tightened into even more of an ache.

  Her blue eyes connected with mine and she smiled, handing me the letters.

  “I think you need these,” she said.

  “They’re your father’s.”

  “He won’t miss them for a few days.” She smiled, and I ducked my head to see Clara sitting in the driver’s seat of their Chevy Tahoe. Clara waved, and I waved back, feeling the emptiness worsen.

  “My mom asked me how our chat went,” Abigail began, and the pit in my stomach burned. “And I told her we didn’t have one, which confused her. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, except things had changed from the time you first g
ot to my dad’s house until the time you left.” She looked behind her and then over my shoulder.

  She shifted her weight.

  “Did you want to come in?” I asked.

  “Nah. What I have to say won’t take long.” She grimaced. “Anyway, I finally figured out what happened. Your responses to the emails I sent last night confirmed it.”

  “Confirmed what?” I studied her. She was even smarter than I gave her credit for, and I already thought she was brilliant.

  “You’re going to break up with my father because you think I don’t like you.”

  Her words flung back me to high school, and I realized exactly why as I let out a silent sigh.

  “Abigail, sometimes in life complications are clear signs that are best not to ignore. Your dad loves you to the moon and back, and I’ll never do anything to get in the way of your relationship. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Your opinion matters to me, and I know you might not be all that honest to your dad about how you truly feel about me. And that’s okay. I get it.”

  “So you did overhear my conversation.” A smirk rested on her face, and I nodded.

  I wasn’t sure if her expression was because her feelings were out in the open, if she didn’t have to worry about me anymore, or if there was some other thought churning in the teenager’s mind.

  “I did and I’ll never mention it to your father. It’s just best I end it now.”

  Abigail shook her head. “I wasn’t talking about you.”

  “What?” I froze in place, still holding the letters.

  “I wasn’t talking about you.” She smiled and her eyes lit up, relief flooding through her.

  But I was still in shock.

  “There’s a guy I like at school, and it doesn’t seem to matter what I do to get his attention, he picks every other girl to date except me.”

  “I’m not the moron?”

  Abigail laughed and shook her head. “No, his latest girlfriend is the moron. A complete moron.” She leaned against the door. “But they all put out.”

  My eyes widened at her honesty.