Discovering Love on Cranberry Lane (Island County Book 11)

by Karice Bolton

  “Go on,” Winter tried again.

  I knew she already knew the answer, and so did I, but I didn’t want to say it out loud. Out of all my friends, I’d been the only one to share at the time what I’d written down. They’d all chickened out.

  “When I was sixteen, all kinds of things were going on in my life, and I didn’t know any better, and I seriously didn’t give this any thought.” I scowled, feeling a gnawing sensation in my belly. I didn’t want to believe that something I’d scribbled with my teenage friends could have impacted my entire dating life for the last fourteen years.

  “Fine. I’ll read mine,” Winter announced, grabbing her reading glasses from her purse and sliding them on. “Can you believe I’m at the stage where I need reading glasses?”

  Arie chuckled and grabbed her own pair out of her bag. “Why, yes, I can. It’s what happens when you’re heading in the direction we’re going.”

  I smoothed my blonde hair and let out a sigh of relief.

  “But there is a perk.” Winter grinned. “I can’t see my wrinkles.”

  We laughed, and she cleared her throat, looking down at the aged pages from a decade and a half ago.

  “I hereby swear I will never marry a man with tattoos, who drives a motorcycle, who loves to ski, who cooks, has brown hair, lives on a beach, has lots of money, or has kids.” She sucked in a breath. “I vow to never marry a man like my father.”

  Silence fell over our table, and Samantha reached for Winter’s hand.

  “I do believe I’ve managed to avoid all of those pitfalls.” Winter looked at me and smiled.

  “Yes. God forbid you were to marry a man who cooks.” I smiled back, trying to make light of a rather serious declaration.

  “Or has lots of money and lives on a beach,” Arie added and pretended to shiver. “The horrors.”

  Winter chuckled.

  “But the father thing I get,” Samantha said sympathetically.

  “Me too.” I nodded, my eyes connecting with Winter’s. Just because my dad was great, didn’t make all dads equal.

  “Daddy issues are the worst.” Arie shook her head solemnly.

  “I don’t have daddy issues.” Winter laughed. “Do I?”

  I chuckled, putting my head on the table briefly. “We’re doomed.”

  Even when I was growing up, I was able to figure out that Winter’s home life was rocky. It wasn’t that she didn’t live in a spectacular home with her parents or have incredible cars parked in their driveway that carried expensive purchases from magnificent shopping sprees.

  The problem was that her parents fought like cats and dogs, but that was only when her father wasn’t busy staying with one of his many mistresses.

  And the reason Winter hated a house on a beach was that she and her mother had walked into their beach vacation home with Winter’s father in bed, ass up, with another woman. Winter also saw, for the first time, that her father had a tattoo on his butt cheek that had forever scarred her.

  No teenage girl should ever have to see her dad’s bare butt, especially up in the air where it doesn’t belong with someone who shouldn’t be clutching it, digging her bright red nails into his pale flesh.

  The image was bored into my memory almost as harshly as Winter’s because I was the first friend she’d told all about it, sobbing into the phone.

  Winter had stayed at my house for weeks after that. To say she was traumatized was putting it mildly, but even fourteen years later, I never knew what that tattoo was. It never seemed like the right time to ask, and now probably wasn’t the moment either, but I couldn’t resist.

  “What was the tattoo of?” I shut my mouth the moment the words flew out, wishing I hadn’t asked. The second I saw a glint of humor in her gaze, I knew it was okay.

  Winter shook her head, but she started laughing. “An anchor with red roses wrapped around it and a pair of skis propped next to the roses. Underneath, it read, Anchors Don’t Weigh Me Down.”

  I hid a snicker.

  “Wait—roses?” Samantha asked, giggling.

  “Roses? I’m stuck on the anchor and skis.” Arie laughed.

  “I tried to look away, but the image is burned into my memory.” She shuddered, laughing.

  “I think the whole combo is priceless.” I laughed and let out a happy sigh. “Well, I always wondered why you didn’t like skiing or men who skied.”

  She smiled and pursed her lips. “Well, now you know.”

  “Was your dad in the navy?” Arie asked.

  “Nope. Nothing really makes sense about the tattoo.” Winter scowled and shook her head. “And my mom still won’t tell me its meaning.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t know,” I offered. “I mean, I’m not sure anyone could possibly figure that one out.”

  “In college, he was ski patrol, but it still doesn’t explain the anchor and roses.” She rolled her eyes. “But he does like boats.”

  “At least we can laugh about it now,” I offered, and Winter agreed.

  “Crazy how things, when you’re young, can stay with a person.” Arie pursed her lips together, and I glanced at Samantha.

  “So, what are you two saying? That Winter should go find a guy who cooks and has a house on the beach with a boat docked out front?” I asked, and Arie laughed.

  “And has tattoos?” Arie chuckled.

  “Just to clear things up, I have slept with men with tattoos. I just knew I’d never marry one.” Winter grinned and looked over at the bartender.

  I held up my hands and laughed. “Believe me, we had no doubt there. Seriously, though. Why dig this up? What’s the point?”

  “The point is that whether Winter knows it or not, she’s limiting herself. She’s cutting herself off from love, all because of a horrible incident back in high school.” Samantha cocked her head slightly. “And I think it’s about time we start letting ourselves go in the direction where love might actually be hidden.”

  “You mean hidden in plain sight?” Arie asked, and I scowled.

  “Don’t tell me you’re falling for it too?” I asked. “You didn’t even write anything down.”

  Arie laughed and took a sip of her drink. “Because I’m the smart one.”

  “Essentially, Winter has subconsciously vowed to date slackers for the rest of her life so she doesn’t wind up with someone successful because in her mind, she equates success with men who cheat, lie, and abandon people they should care about. But as we all know, that’s not true. Successful men aren’t all like that. There are plenty of slackers who do the same thing.” Samantha caught her breath. “I’m saying it’s high time Winter raises the bar. Maybe even date a lawyer, an entrepreneur, or actually anyone with a steady job, really.”

  “Well, that’s just crazy talk.” I chuckled.

  “It kind of is.” Winter smiled and glanced at the bartender. “Do you realize I’ve never been in a relationship where I didn’t have to support the other person?’

  “Why, yes.” I nodded. “I think it’s something we’ve all noticed and mentioned over the years.”

  “So, what about you?’ Winter asked, and I froze.

  I didn’t actually have to look at the paper to know what I wrote or whom I wrote it about, but I certainly wasn’t going to reveal that bit of info or I’d fall entirely into their plan.

  I took a deep breath and read the words aloud, “I hereby swear I will never marry a man named McKenzie.” I sucked in a breath. “I vow to never marry a bad boy or a rebel.”

  Arie’s eyes widened. “You wrote yours about the McKenzie boys? The brothers?”

  “One brother,” Samantha corrected.

  She obviously remembered too.

  Darn it.

  “I only knew one.” I folded my paper back up and prepared my best lying expression. “I don’t even remember his first name.”

  Another lie. The thought of Morgan McKenzie still turned my insides into a wild roller coaster ride of forbidden teenage lust.

  “Okay, so let’
s see.” Arie sucked on her bottom lip and nodded slowly. “I think Winter and Samantha might be onto something because you have an awful problem of dating only preppy boys, and I mean boys when I say it. I don’t think you’ve ever dated a real man.”

  “I do tend to date very clean-cut men with—”

  “An appreciation for matching sweaters and socks, loafers, and a ton of letters and numbers after their name,” Winter interrupted me with no sign of slowing. “I mean, think about your ex-fiancé.”

  “Do I have to?” I teased.

  “He looked like he stepped out of an eighties frat house complete with plaid sweaters and too much cologne doused on him.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t pick him now, which was why I wasn’t heartbroken when he left Fireweed to pursue his career.”

  “As a school teacher,” Winter added. “On the fast track to an administration role. Wasn’t that what he’d announced to us all at the last dinner we’d had at your house?”

  I’d put that night out of my head almost as soon as it had happened. My ex had already grown distant and had absolutely zero thought about anyone but himself. He didn’t care that I’d loved Fireweed or that I had dreams too. It was always him, all the time, which was why when he announced that he’d accepted another position off the island, I didn’t follow. I’d had enough. It was actually relief that filled me right up, not sadness. So, when he held a dinner party to announce to his group of friends, with a few of mine thrown in, that he was leaving for a promotion, everyone turned to see my reaction. And it was pure shock. Because he hadn’t told me yet. I learned with everyone else, and yet, I couldn’t wait to help him pack.

  Winter started up again. “Anyway, I think you absolutely need to quit dating such goody-two-shoes types. You just always ignore the guy with an edge or someone who has—”

  “Tattoos?” I giggled. “Should we just switch dating types? You go for the clean-cut, goody-two-shoes, and I’ll go for the bad boy rebel.”

  “You said it. I didn’t.” She chuckled. “No, I just think you should go for someone who isn’t so straitlaced. Maybe you’d have more fun than you realize. Maybe date a guy who wouldn’t mind jumping out of a plane with you or hang gliding off some mountain.”

  I let out a thoughtful sigh as I thought back to why I had written that pledge.

  My mom’s sister had just been dumped by her boyfriend of ten years, whom she’d had three children with. My aunt and her children had to live with us off and on over the years because she could barely make ends meet. She’d given him everything emotionally, and he’d left her broken to go play in a band that never took off, but it gave him plenty of reasons to sleep around and stay out drinking.

  Seeing the devastation that man caused my aunt and cousins left a scar, and it happened to be at the same time I’d run into McKenzie, a last-name-only kind of guy. He was seventeen and somehow managed to have more tats than I’d ever seen, probably using his fake id at the time to talk his way into the tattoo studio for an appointment. He lived only a few houses down the street, and his band always practiced in his garage. One day, the garage door was wide open, and he blew me a kiss. From that moment on, I avoided him like the plague.

  Why?

  Because he blew every girl a kiss.

  And I didn’t want to wind up like my aunt.

  I glanced at Winter, who was observing me, and I nodded slowly. “I think you guys are onto something here.”

  “And haven’t you ever wondered who kept leaving you that white rose week after week your entire junior year?” Arie asked me.

  I laughed nervously, wishing my friend had a better case of amnesia, but I’d always wondered who left those roses for me.

  Every Monday morning, one would be on our doorstep. At first, I thought my brothers were messing with me, and then I fantasized that it was a secret message from Morgan McKenzie. I shook that last thought out of my head.

  Ridiculous.

  Arie’s eyes were wide with anticipation as she looked at Samantha. “What about you? Who did you write off?”

  “I’m probably the most doomed here.” Samantha folded up her piece of paper, and Winter almost ripped it out of her hands, but Samantha was too quick.

  “You’re seriously not going to tell us?” I asked, completely shocked that my friend would play such a dirty trick.

  “I got cold feet.” She frowned. “I fully intended on revealing my vows.”

  “That’s not fair.” Winter shook her head. “In fact, it reminds me of something a sixteen-year-old would do.”

  “Actually, wasn’t this pact idea Samantha’s in the first place?” I asked.

  “It was.” Arie nodded.

  “All I’m saying is we’re about to turn thirty.” Winter drew a breath. “And I think it’s high time we find our Mr. Wrong and give it a shot, and I say we have until our thirtieth to do it. We need to commit to this challenge or else.”

  “That gives me a week.” I slammed my hands on the seat of the booth. “That’s totally not fair, and who said I even wanted to agree to this?”

  Winter smiled an all-knowing look. “You don’t want Samantha and me to be the only two trying out this theory when all three of us committed to the original pact.” Her right brow arched. “You’ve got to do this challenge with us.”

  “We were teenagers,” I protested.

  “I bet you’ll find the love of your life in the next thirty days,” Winter shot back. “How about that?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not buying into this, and I don’t want to play. I’ll think about what you’re saying, and maybe I’ll dabble with a bad boy, but by my birthday? No.”

  “We’ll see.” Winter was readying for battle.

  Samantha giggled.

  “You are so not off the hook.” I shot Samantha a warning gaze.

  “Okay, I will fully admit that this is completely rotten of me, but how about I share my pact after you guys experiment?” She tapped her finger nervously and clutched her purse. “I got cold feet hearing you two argue, and it will all make sense once I read what I wrote, but I just…can’t. What we need to do is vow to experiment with the men who are wrong with us before we turn thirty.”

  “Nice try.” I shook my head. “But you’re reading it. I turn thirty next week, and I don’t even have time to fit in a date with a bad boy.”

  “Where’s your sense of adventure?” Winter asked me. “You constantly babble about wanting to jump out of an airplane, but you don’t want the adventure of love? Not on my watch. We’re all in this challenge together.” She pointed at Samantha. “And you better read it.”

  “Ditto that sentiment.” Arie stared in disbelief. “You can’t pull me along for the ride this far and not tell me what your vows were.”

  “Yeah,” Winter agreed, brows furrowed. “This isn’t how we planned it.”

  “Fine. But I won’t answer any questions. Not now, anyway. Deal?”

  Winter and I traded glances, and I shrugged. “Fine.”

  But I wondered why in the world we’d have any questions. These were pretty blanket statements coming from a sixteen-year-old’s perspective.

  She dug the paper out of her purse and unfolded it. She drew a slow breath and stared at the page.

  “I hereby swear that I will never date my best friend’s brother.” Her breath caught. “I vow to never sleep with him again.”

  “Again?” Arie nearly choked on her drink as she slammed the glass down on the table while Winter’s eyes remained wide and locked on mine.

  We all had brothers.

  Click here to view Mr. Mistake on Amazon!

  BOOKS BY KARICE BOLTON

  MR. MISTAKE SERIES

  MR. MISTAKE

  MR. ACCIDENT

  MR. WRONG

  MR. RIGHT

  ISLAND COUNTY SERIES

  FINDING LOVE IN FORGOTTEN COVE

  LOVE REDONE IN HIDDEN HARBOR

  TANGLED LOVE ON PELICAN POINT

  FOREVER LOVE ON FIREWEED
ISLAND

  TEMPTING LOVE ON HOLLY LANE

  CHANCE AT LOVE ON MYSTIC BAY

  IRRESISTIBLE LOVE AT SILVER FALLS

  LUCKY IN LOVE ON HOUND ISLAND

  MISTLETOE MISCHIEF

  ACCIDENTAL LOVE ON MEADOW COVE LANE

  DISCOVERING LOVE ON CRANBERRY LANE

  BEYOND LOVE SERIES

  BEYOND CONTROL

  BEYOND DOUBT

  BEYOND REASON

  BEYOND INTENT

  BEYOND CHANCE

  BEYOND PROMISE

  BEYOND the MISTLETOE

  SILVER RIDGE SERIES

  A HAPPY TRUTH ABOUT LOVE

  A LITTLE SECRET ABOUT LOVE

  A FUNNY THING ABOUT LOVE

  A SURPRISING FACT ABOUT LOVE

  LUKE FLETCHER SERIES

  HIDDEN SINS

  BURIED SINS

  REDEMPTION

  MIA

  V MAFIA SERIES

  BLAKE

  DEVIN

  JAXSON

  THE WITCH AVENUE SERIES

  LONELY SOULS

  ALTERED SOULS

  RELEASED SOULS

  SHATTERED SOULS

  THE WATCHERS TRILOGY

  AWAKENING

  LEGIONS

  CATACLYSM

  TAKEN NOVELLA (A Watchers Prequel)

  AFTERWORLD SERIES

  RecruitZ

  AlibiZ

  UprisingZ

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