by Ellie Hall
He wasn’t joking about getting married. Not because he no longer wanted to be a fireman and it meant new responsibilities—he did and would be as long as he was able. And not because he wanted the money—he was thrifty and had plenty of savings and investments.
No, he wanted to make Sadie his Mrs. To have and to hold. For better or worse. Through everything and always.
Tripp’s finger hovered over the call button on his phone. It was difficult and he had to get over his stubborn nature, but he was the oldest brother. Someone needed to take the first step toward reconciliation—even if he was just ordering a few cords of wood.
Not surprisingly, Rocky didn’t answer. He left a voicemail message, asking for a delivery of wood to Sadie’s address.
He’d also been in town long enough for the usual gossip to reach his ears. He heard murmurings about Sadie’s father then to his surprise, he received a call from Mr. Collins himself.
After Tripp’s shift and a nap, he grabbed a couple of doughnuts from the shop in town then took a familiar route, hoping his unannounced visit wasn’t at a bad time. Although the unexpected message said he was welcome to stop by anytime during the workday except for the lunch hour. The key was still under the mat—it took some doing getting it up since it was ice-encrusted.
Although, an hour later, Tripp had learned that even though Hawk Ridge Hollow looked much the same so much had truly changed. In his three-year absence, Sadie had traveled as she’d always wanted but he understood what brought her back, what caused the weight she carried upon her shoulders, and the reason she so carefully guarded her heart. Her father was ill.
Tripp, of all people, understood the loss and devastation she was experiencing. It was a slow and painful slide, watching someone you care for decline. Though his father’s demise had been fast.
He scrubbed his hand down his face before putting the truck in drive and thought of his dad, helpless, in a coma.
Mr. Collins was still coherent but struggled with things Tripp had previously taken for granted. Things as simple as opening the door. A distant uncle had Parkinson’s and although Tripp knew it wasn’t fatal, it was debilitating and the later stages often required round the clock care and could lead to complications.
Sadie mentioned the resort offered great healthcare, but he’d have to look into options. Feeling slightly melancholy at the reminder of her losing the man she knew as her father and his own loss, he waited in the lobby of the resort, hoping to intercept her.
Instead, a tall woman with a pointy nose and bright red lipstick approached, wearing clicking heels. He hoped she had a change of shoes before heading outdoors—it was slippery and uneven despite the care the grounds crew took to ensure guests’ safety.
She stopped squarely in front of him. “Tripp Hawkins,” she said, extending a slender hand. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I heard you were back in town, heating things up.”
Her eyes drifted over him from head to foot. She was lean, angular, and reminded him slightly of his mother—so preoccupied with being thin she missed out on the delicious side of life, like chocolate and nachos.
“Back in town? Yes. Heating things up?” He shrugged. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“Well, if you ever get chilly, you know where to find me.”
“Who are you?” he asked. His eyebrows bunched together. He was no stranger to women coming onto him but his heart belonged to a girl who knew to change into boots when heading onto the cobbled streets of town. Though, perhaps this woman wasn’t leaving and had merely spotted him.
“I’m Danielle Hogan, assistant to Morgan Bryce in guest programs and packages.”
Tripp recalled Sadie mentioning something about a problem in her department with a website.
“I know all about arranging couples Valentine’s Day packages. They’re meant for people like us.” She fluttered her eyelashes.
Then he recalled the encounter in the hallway after he rescued Sadie from the elevator. Danielle accused her of being lonely and he’d stepped in, saying they were a couple. Someone had connected a single’s dating website with Sadie’s profile to the couple’s package button. He quickly put two and two together and discreetly brushed his hand over his pocket.
“Do you really? I’d tried to purchase one in case I had a special someone on the big day but it brought me to a bad link.”
Danielle snorted a self-satisfied laugh. “You’re not dating Sadie. I knew it. A man like you is too good for a short little imp like her.” She narrowed her eyes.
Anger blazed through Tripp but he kept it in check, eager to get the info he needed.
“Were you just helping her save face?”
“I guess you could call us old friends,” he said, goading Danielle along. He’d grown up with brothers and had been witness to plenty of drama. He had a feeling something was amiss, given Danielle’s apparent dislike for Sadie and what she’d mentioned about getting the position over the assistant and rightfully so. He scoffed. “I can’t help but wonder who’d set up that fake dating profile because—” he spoke slowly, leading her along.
She grinned. “It’s not that hard. I just used her photo from the company website. She’s so flaky she didn’t even realize it.”
“Wow. Did your boss know?”
“Of course. We’ve had it in for her from the beginning. Until now we haven’t had anything strong enough to get her fired. But I bet you could move things along. I want her position.”
Tripp’s jaw tightened and he felt his blood boiling. His father never would’ve tolerated these kinds of people in his employ. “You interrupted me but I was going to say that I can’t help but wonder who’d set up that fake dating profile…because they should be fired.”
Danielle’s face fell. “What do you mean? It was just a joke. Harmless really. Wait, who do you mean should be fired? Sadie, right? She’s always late from her lunch break.” Her expression passed from coy to frightened.
“I meant you and Morgan, your boss. I’ll be talking to HR. You can pack up your things.”
Her arms whipped across her chest and she jutted a hip. “Tripp, you don’t have the authority to fire me. You have to be married to get your share of the company. Everyone knows that. However, I happen to be available. It could be one of those arrangements of convenience…No one would even have to know about this conversation.”
His mouth dropped open. She was relentless and absurd. The reason his father put the stipulation in his will was because he wanted his sons to experience love. She was cold-hearted, a snake. “Oh, everyone will know.”
Then over Danielle’s shoulder, his eyes met Sadie’s as she changed into her high heels and put her boots in a shoulder bag. She stumbled when she saw Danielle leaning in and droning on about how she was single. How they could make it work. How she didn’t mean any harm, but he also knew that it might look like something else was going on entirely. Things were fragile enough between them and he didn’t want to make it worse.
He moved to follow Sadie as she stormed across the lobby but Danielle blocked him. He pulled out his phone, tapped to make a call, and sidestepped her, rushing after the girl he wanted to be his sweetheart.
Chapter 9
Sadie
Sadie’s insides had frosted over like the lake at the foot of the mountain. She’d tried to ignore the doubts fogging her mind about how Tripp wasn’t true. She pushed away the worry that he was just looking for someone to hook up with or rope into marrying him. Of course, Danielle would smell that a mile away and sink her talons in him. But he wasn’t innocent either. He’d said he was going to marry. Maybe he meant the first eligible woman willing to be his bride. Danielle would certainly ditch her boyfriend and volunteer.
She’d had enough difficulty and humiliation for a lifetime. Although, her father had seemed unusually content when she’d gone home for lunch. She held onto threads of gratitude, lifted her head high, and strode through the lobby.
Sadie wasn’t going
to warm to Tripp because of flowers and chocolates. She wasn’t going to roll over and let Danielle take her job.
Her father relied on her and she wouldn’t live with regret if she got distracted by a guy or that she could’ve done more to support him. Her dad had been a single father and worked hard her whole life to provide, put her through college, and even helped her on her travels. Above all, he wanted Sadie to be happy. The least she could do was see to it he was comfortable and taken care of.
“Sadie,” Tripp called. “Sadie.” Unlike Michael the other day when he was trying to be discrete about the website snafu, Tripp didn’t lower his voice so as to not cause a scene.
Nonetheless, she ignored him. However, he finally caught up to her in front of the bank of elevators.
“I thought you took the stairs now.”
She’d been so preoccupied with avoiding him and processing her anger, she’d walked to the elevator on autopilot. “Right.” She strode toward the stairwell.
“Can we talk? It’s not what it looked like. Uh, if it looked like anything.”
“It looked like you two were getting close. I can’t help but wonder if somehow the two of you have it in for me—you want to humiliate me. First, with the fake dating profile. Then by saying you’re dating me. This is probably some kind of ruse. As if breaking it off on Valentine’s Day wasn’t enough.” She walked on.
“Sadie, now you’re just being paranoid. But yes, that’s kind of what happened. I mean no. Just stop for a minute. Hear what I have to say.”
“Since I obviously can’t call security and have you removed from the property, go ahead. Talk. But I might not listen.”
Tripp shifted from foot to foot.
Sadie mounted the stairs. “I have less than five minutes to get to my desk otherwise I’ll hear it from my boss. I think she’d already like to have me fired. The clock is ticking.”
He took them two at a time after her.
“If you’re thinking Danielle was coming onto me, yes. But I let her because she was revealing information about you. Or more accurately how she created the fake dating profile and sabotaged your couples’ package program. She even said Morgan knew.”
Sadie slowed, having reached the fifth floor.
“Really?”
“Yes. Whatever went on in your imagination, I think that’s what Danielle angled for, to be honest. She mentioned us getting together but you know me better than that. I’m your secret admirer, your knight in snowy armor, rescuing you from iced in cars and the cold.”
Sadie’s chin trembled. “Did Danielle tell you what happened this morning?”
Part of her wanted him to gather her up in his arms but she kept her distance.
He shook his head.
“All my documents were wiped from the department file share. Morgan set up a meeting with HR because she accused me of not doing my work.”
“Well, she no longer works here so you have nothing to worry about. I can’t promise you her position but—”
“You can’t prove they created the dating profile and falsified the link.”
“I’m on call today.” Tripp lifted his radio from his pocket and jiggled it. “Everything transmitted through this gets recorded. There’s a hardcopy at the Firehall.”
Hope rose in Sadie but it had sharp edges—she wasn’t going to lose her job. Even though Morgan and Danielle were arguably diabolical she didn’t want them to lose their jobs either.
“My father is probably rolling over in his grave,” Tripp said. “Maybe this place hasn’t changed much in appearance, but it needs some TLC.”
Sadie prickled as she opened the door to her floor. She didn’t want to think about anyone’s father’s demise. Hers was all she had left.
“He’d never allow this kind of backstabbing…” Tripp went on to describe her coworkers using colorful language.
She reached the glass door leading to her office. Tripp gripped her shoulders. Their eyes met. She recalled the night before in the truck. How close they’d come.
“I never want anyone to hurt you.”
“Says the guy who hurt me the worst.” But her voice was small because although that was true, he was making it up to her now. He’d made a mistake but causing her pain wasn’t his intention, avoiding his own was.
One of the greatest virtues she knew was forgiveness. If she said she forgave him, she really had to do it, not just say as much. She closed her eyes, said a little prayer for courage. A kind of calm came over her, smoothing the furrows in her brow and cascading all the way to her toes like a warm wave.
When she parted her lashes, he gazed at her with such intensity a smile grew on her lips. She recognized the love hearts in his sparkly eyes.
The moment was short lived as Morgan strode down the hall with a glare and a glower.
“Now, as we let HR handle your former coworkers, as the future owner of this place, I’d like a tour, an insider’s perspective.”
With a firm hand on the small of her back that sent tingles up her spine, he turned her back toward the stairs. She was glad to avoid the wrath of Morgan, something she knew all too well. Tripp explained the quick call he put into Human Resources as he’d raced after her in the lobby. He couldn’t fire them but HR wasn’t going to ignore his request either. Plus, he had dirt on that pair and the guys at the Firehall were sure to send the recording over.
Back in the lobby, Sadie paused in front of the chocolate fountain. “Tripp, you know this place inside and out.” She was going to dig into that box of chocolate later that night—and a comedy movie that took place in some distant land. The day was already too long and too bizarre for her to deal with. She needed an escape.
“Things change,” Tripp said, pulling her back to the present.
She started walking again, not really sure where to go or what to do. Even though her boss and her assistant hated her, at least during office hours she knew her role. This was uncertain terrain. “It’s not an efficient use of resources to pay me to show you around.”
“You’re worth every cent.”
His strong arm slung around her shoulder and he pulled her close as they ducked down a rarely used hallway. Her arm laced around his waist, once more as if she were on autopilot. He was quite a bit taller and she fit perfectly under his arm, like a wing, protective, and caring. Countless times they’d walked through the lobby, town, and farther afield like this. Then again, the territory they now traversed was like one of her travels in a way.
Tripp paused by an alcove.
“I want to know more about what you do. Start with the couples’ getaway packages.”
She felt herself shifting into work mode. Even though it wasn’t her dream job, the reason she loved traveling so much was the experience new places provided. It brought her joy to know people who’d never traveled to their corner of the world had a memorable time. Taking part in creating memories for those who returned season after season was fulfilling. “I help with all the specials the resort runs years round. Obviously, with Valentine’s Day around the corner—”
“Tomorrow, if I’m not mistaken…”
“Correct.” She’d gone to work at the beginning of the week wishing the day away but now she wasn’t sure what she wanted. Her thoughts became fuzzy as the space closed between them.
“Sadie.” It wasn’t a question but felt like one.
“Tripp,” she said.
His eyes danced over hers then shifted to her lips.
She lifted onto her toes. He gripped her jaw, drawing her nearer.
The scent of woodsmoke and soap flooded her senses.
The press of his chest against hers was all consuming. The connection transported her, took her away from her troubles and to a time when life had been uncomplicated and they’d been free.
She felt the tension leave her body even as her pulse thundered. It was as though the brush of his lips against hers tapped out an ancient code, revitalizing her, igniting her.
He paused and drew a
way but not too far so he could meet her eyes, full contact. Yes.
Tripp bit his lip and then moved to meet hers.
His mouth was soft yet demanding, manly yet affectionate.
She filled with light then as they kissed, with joy, with relief. It felt the same as she’d remembered but better. They’d changed.
His scent tapped into her memory yet there was something new there too: mint, perhaps. She wanted to take a bath in it, rub it over her skin, never forget the smell, this feeling.
The sensation of his lips against hers traveled straight to her heart as his hands twined in her hair, as she gripped his broad shoulders, as the scruff on his jaw brushed against her skin. The kiss deepened and then was over all too soon when a chorus of laughter echoed down the hallway.
They could get away with things like that when they were younger, but now that Tripp moved toward leadership, she knew it was better for guests and employees not to spot them making out. She also didn’t want to jeopardize her job more than it already had been.
For the next few hours, they toured the grounds. But she couldn’t ignore the delightful heat on her lips, the quick pulse in her veins, or the promise that there might be more.
He asked questions about her role, her ideal couples’ package, and what worked well at the resort and what they could improve. She did her best to focus, but she felt young again, free, alive.
By the time she got home, she was practically walking on clouds—or driving, rather, now that she had her car back.
“Dad, I’m home,” she called.
He rarely answered, embarrassed because of his difficulty speaking. They’d made a silent agreement after his diagnosis and decline. No one would know that the once mighty Lance Collins couldn’t do the simplest things: string a set of words together without stuttering, feed himself without making a mess, be the father his daughter needed. She didn’t want to hide, but it seemed as though that’s what he preferred. She honored his desire.