“You’re Cliff and Alma’s grandson.” KJ smiled as he shook Austin’s hand. “My dad talked about you a lot.”
“Don’t believe everything he said.” Austin teased.
“Yeah,” Kade nodded. “He liked to exaggerate.”
Kade and Austin chuckled, since they both knew that out of the four friends Patrick and Ethan had practically been choir boys and Austin and Kade had a wild streak.
“I’m going to take the kids back to the B&B and freshen up.” Sara picked up Charlotte who was lifting her hands up toward her. “Can I get the address to the pond?”
“I’ll drive.” As soon as the words left Austin’s mouth, he realized it sounded like a statement and not an offer.
Instead of being offended by him crossing a line he had no business crossing, Sara scrunched her face up in a way Austin found equal parts sexy and cute. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He might be confused about a lot of things right now, but whether or not he wanted to take her and the kids to Foster Pond for the annual BBQ was not one of them.
“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly, tilting her head with an expression he easily read as her thinking he had no idea what he was getting himself into.
They said their goodbyes and headed back toward the B&B together. Charlotte wiggled to get out of her mom’s arms and before they crossed the street, she placed her chubby little hand in his. The small gesture had his heart swelling and floating like a helium-filled balloon.
Maybe Sara was right…he had no idea what he was getting himself into.
CHAPTER 8
Sara exhaled as she took in her surroundings. Foster Pond was a hidden gem that the locals had somehow been able to keep a secret. She was honored that they’d given her a special pass and included her and the kids in the annual gathering. There was a pond, of course, with a small island in the middle accessible by a charming bridge and surrounded by acres and acres of rolling green grass. In the very center of the island sat a large gazebo that was adorned with twinkle lights.
The kids were in a bouncy castle that was inflated close enough that she could keep an eye on them and be there in seconds if an emergency arose, but far enough away that the adults could speak without having to raise their voices to be heard. She was seated around a fire pit with Ali, Jess, and another friend of theirs Brynn sipping a glass of wine. The foursome had spent thirty minutes talking about what a small world it was that Sara had shared Jess’s engagement video and that Ali and Jess even knew who she was, they’d FaceTimed Shelby, who instantly recognized both Ali and Jess from the engagement video. Sara had forgotten that Ali appeared at the end of it.
Then Sara blew her sister’s mind for a second time when she dropped the bombshell that Fairytale Love had been filmed in Whisper Lake. Both Ali and Jess said they’d been dealing with some personal things when the show was happening. Austin had told Sara that Ali’s brother suddenly passed away a couple of years ago, leaving her the guardian of his twin sons KJ and Ricky. And when they’d arrived at the BBQ, Charlotte had asked about a scar that Jess had on her chest, leaving Sara to want to crawl under the nearest rock and hide, but Jess hadn’t seemed to mind. She told Charlotte that she’d been sick, but two years ago, she got a new heart and now she was all better. Sara figured those were the reasons Ali and Jess hadn’t been too invested in a reality show being in town. But, Brynn filled Shelby in on some behind-the-scenes gossip she had about the show Fairytale Love, including that it was returning and would be aired on a streaming network.
All of Shelby’s life Sara’d been the disciplinarian, the buzzkill, the “mom.” The role was partly attributed to her Type A personality but mainly it was because someone had to be. And that was always how her rebellious sister had looked at her and treated her. But tonight as Sara was hanging up the phone, she saw the look she’d always wanted to see in Shelby’s eyes. She saw the very specific hero-worship that a little sister had for a big sister that was cool. It was an experience she’d never thought would happen. She’d been certain that ship had sailed since it was something she’d only witnessed in kids or preteens.
She’d shown up tonight with the hottest guy in town. Been included in a small-town ritual. Gotten to have adult conversations and hang out with amazing women that she hoped she’d remain friends with after this week. Her sister had actually thought she was cool and her kids were having the time of their lives.
Tonight was the kind of night that she’d seen in movies and television, and read about in books but never thought existed in real life. It was perfect.
Maybe this town really was magic.
A flutter erupted low in her belly and on instinct she turned her head and saw that Austin was staring directly at her. The drive over had been filled with the kids asking a billion questions, and once they arrived Ali had intercepted her and Austin had been hanging out with the guys. But for the past hour, they’d kept catching each other’s gaze.
Every single time they locked eyes, Sara experienced a flash of connection, a wave of intimacy, a bond of familiarity. It was unnerving and invigorating simultaneously. The two of them hadn’t had a moment alone, yet she felt like they knew one another. Not on a logical level, but deeper, on a soul level. And it wasn’t the wine talking. She’d been nursing the glass for the past hour and hadn’t even drank half of it.
“So how do you know Austin?” Jess asked, snapping her right out of her bliss bubble.
“Oh.” She blinked in surprise and spun her head back to Jess, feeling like a teenager getting caught sneaking in after curfew and finding a parent sitting in a chair in the front room. Not that she’d ever been the sneaker, she’d always been the parent in that scenario. “I um…I don’t.”
“You don’t?” Jess’s left brow arched. “Didn’t you two come together?”
“No…yes…I mean…” She’d spent the past hour talking to these women with no issues whatsoever. Why in the name of all that is holy was she stumbling over her words now? “Yes. We came together. No. I don’t know him, not really. We just met this morning.”
Wow. Hearing that out loud sounded strange even to her. How was it possible that last night at this time, she’d been snuggled between her two munchkins in a hotel room in St. Louis, Missouri, having no idea that Austin Stone even existed. It seemed truly inconceivable. And unlike Vizzini in The Princess Bride she knew exactly what that word meant.
“Really? This morning?” The surprise on Jess’s face seemed to back up the whole inconceivable theory Sara had.
“Yep.”
“Wow.” Ali shook her head. “You guys seem…”
“Like you know each other.” Jess finished Ali’s thought and emphasized the word.
“That’s what it was like for me and Axel the first time we met.” Brynn smiled from ear to ear.
From what Sara had seen, all three women were madly, head over heels in love with the men they were with. And Sara couldn’t blame them. After they left the rental shop Austin mentioned that Kade was a recently retired MMA fighter. Sara’s first thought had been, well his body sure hasn’t retired. Jess’s fiancé Ethan was a U.S. Marshall and looked every bit the part. He was tall, gorgeous and had an air of command that Sara could see women falling all over themselves for. And Brynn’s betrothed, Axel, was a master woodworker that was so good looking and sexy he could easily be the star of his own HGTV show. It would be number one in the 25-50 female demo.
All three of the men were very easy on the eyes, and would be described by Shelby as “panty-droppers” but to Sara, none of them held a candle to Austin. They were all tied for a distant second in the Hot and Sexy category.
Jess leaned forward toward Sara. “Has Austin seen you naked?”
“What?” Sara let out a nervous laugh just thinking about that. “No.”
“Have you touched his—” Jess cleared her throat and glanced down to her lap. “—junk?”
Sara’s head reared back slightly as she vehemently denied the question. “No!”<
br />
A large smile spread across Jess’s face as she looked back at Brynn. “Then it’s nothing like the first time you and Axel met.”
All three women started cracking up laughing and Sara had a feeling she was missing out on a great story.
Brynn waved her hands in front of her when she stopped chuckling. “It’s not what you think. I was taking a bath and then I dropped my keys.”
“Sure,” Jess nodded obviously giving her a bad time. “The old dropped-my-keys-in-the-bath excuse. We’ve heard that one before.”
“Stop!” Brynn and Ali laughed harder as Brynn pointed an accusatory finger at Jess. “You know what I meant. Stop trying to make this sound worse than it is.”
Jess lifted her hands. “Hey, you’re the one taking baths and dropping keys with a guy you just met.”
“I was not!” Brynn playfully tossed a wadded up napkin at Jess. “I was in the bath when he came to the door and I put a robe on but Lucy, my pug, wanted to play tug of war with my belt. And then later, when I was fully dressed, I dropped a key I was handing him and I reached for it and ended up cupping his…” she put her hand out demonstrating the action even as her fair cheeks turned almost as red as her hair.
Sara’s head fell back as she laughed, a real laugh that she felt spread through her like a cool breeze on a hot day. It felt so good to be this relaxed and enjoying herself. It made her realize the stark contrast of her “real” life compared to this. She hoped that once she moved close to Shelby and Matt, she’d have more nights like this.
“Uh oh. Incoming.” Jess said beneath her breath as she stared blankly just over Sara’s shoulder.
“Be nice.” Ali said without moving her lips as she held a smile firmly in place.
Sara glanced behind her and saw a severely put-together woman heading straight toward them. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a slick ponytail, not a strand out of place. Her makeup was minimal, but flawless and she wore a black tank top paired with white linen drawstring pants…that didn’t have a smudge or stain on them…at a BBQ. In a large grass area. A long silver, single chain necklace hung to her mid-belly and she had a matching Apple Watch on her left wrist.
She looked like she’d walked out of a catalog and also like she didn’t quite fit in with the crowd. It wasn’t like any of the women that Sara had met tonight were carbon copies of each other. This wasn’t a Stepford Wife situation. Far from it.
Jess had black hair that was styled in curls on the top of her head with a red bandana tied around it. Vibrant tattoos on her thighs, arms and back jumped off her olive skin. Her high waisted, dark blue jean shorts and a white button up shirt covered in tiny cherries that was tied at her waist was straight out of a pin-up photo shoot. Bright red lipstick and a perfect cat-eye finished off her model worthy look.
Ali, in contrast, reminded Sara of a quintessential California surfer girl. She wore cutoff jean shorts and a white tank top and flip-flop sandals. Her long blonde hair flowed effortlessly around her shoulders and she had not a stich of makeup on.
Then there was Brynn. Her red locks were just past shoulder length and she wore a flowered sundress with strappy sandals. The petite redhead with bright blue eyes looked like a Disney princess. Literally, she looked like Ariel from The Little Mermaid come to life.
None of the women resembled one another, but they all looked like they belonged together. The woman approaching them seemed to be operating on an entirely different realm. But Sara couldn’t quite put her finger on why.
As soon as she got within earshot, Jess greeted her. “Hello Prissy!”
“Hey, Chrissy.” Brynn sounded genuinely cheerful.
“Hi, Chrissy!” Ali over-punctuated the name. “I’d like you to meet Sara Kellan.”
Chrissy didn’t acknowledge Jess’s greeting, but she smiled at Ali and Brynn before she held her hand out to Sara. “Hello, I’m Christine Caldwell, nice to meet you.”
Sara smiled. It wasn’t that Christine was rude, far from it. It was just that Sara didn’t feel the same warmth that she felt exuding from the rest of the town. Maybe that was what set her apart.
“Hi, Christine.” Sara stood and used the name that she’d introduced herself as. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Christine pointed at the jumpy house where Charlotte and Trevor were jumping with several other children. “Are those your children?”
Oh dear lord.
Those were four words every parent dreaded coming from a woman that looked and carried herself like Christine.
Sara’s back straightened and her shoulders tensed as the guard that she hadn’t even realized she’d ever had, much less dropped since arriving in Whisper Lake, slipped right back into place.
How long had it been there?
Years?
Decades?
“Yes.”
“They’ve been playing with my two youngest, Cassidy and Kimber.”
This woman had children and she didn’t have a wrinkle or a stain. Forget how long she’d known Austin, that was inconceivable.
“And I had to come tell you that I have never—”
Oh boy.
“–witnessed children that young be so kind and show so much empathy.”
Oh thank God.
“Oh, thank you.” Sara felt both relieved and elated. Her children were by no means angels. Whatever the interaction was, could’ve gone a much different direction and she didn’t take for granted for a second that Christine was seeking her out for a positive reason.
Christine lowered her voice as she discreetly explained, “Sally Tripp is potty training and she had an accident when she was trying to climb out of the bouncy house and started crying. Your son not only demanded that everyone stop bouncing so she could get out. He then unzipped the flap and held her hand as her mom got her down but not before offering her a handkerchief that he had in his back pocket so she could wipe the tears from her face.”
Around her there was a chorus of “awws” and “how sweets” from Brynn, Jess, and Ali.
Trevor assisting the little girl didn’t surprise Sara in the least. Trevor always tried to help. Honestly, he was probably just happy that Sally didn’t scream at him like Charlotte had a tendency to do. As far as the handkerchief, that was Austin’s doing. When they’d been headed out of the B&B Trevor had asked what was in Austin’s back pocket and he pulled out a white handkerchief. He’d told her son that a man should never be without one. Trevor had asked why and Austin said it was because you never knew when someone might need one.
So, of course, Trevor asked Sara if she had a handkerchief. She’d started to tell him that they could go buy some the next day, she’d needed to go to Walmart to pick up some things she’d forgotten, but before she got the chance to explain that, Austin handed his to him. Trevor shook his head and didn’t accept it stating that Austin might need one. But Austin quickly put her son’s mind at ease and stopped by his truck before they piled into her SUV and grabbed a navy blue handkerchief as he explained that he always had backups.
Sara had thought the exchange was sweet at the time, now her son had actually used it to give to a little girl that was crying.
“And then, when Sally came back wearing a different outfit, your daughter noticed she was sad and asked if she was okay. Sally told her she was embarrassed because she had on different clothes so your daughter turned her own shirt and shorts inside out and told her that now they both did.”
There was another round of “awws” and “how sweets.” Sara’s eyes automatically shot to Charlotte. Sure enough, her shirt and shorts were inside out.
The good news was, her baby girl had been kind and made someone feel better. The bad news was, she’d stripped down in front of God and everyone. She tried not to think about the bad news and focus on the good.
Sara’s motto was: Fake It Till You Make It (which was the motto she’d voted on for the blog but Shelby had overruled her). It might look like she was confident and had her shit together, but most da
ys she went to bed and played over everything she should’ve done differently. Every wrong choice, harsh word, or mistake she made would play on repeat. She was just doing the best she could and hoping she wasn’t doing any permanent damage. It’s not as if she’d had stellar role models or any role models at all.
But days like this, hearing her children helped someone like that, they gave her hope that she was doing something right.
The women all praised her kids and she was just starting to get uncomfortable with all the attention on her when Jess groaned. “Oh no. She’s got Austin in her web.”
Sara was happy the subject changed, but she didn’t like the thought of it being about a woman catching him in a web. A foreign emotion sank in Sara’s stomach and it took her a moment to realize that it was jealousy.
She was jealous about a man that she’d known twelve hours being caught in a web.
That was a problem she’d deal with after she turned to see the black widow…or um…the woman.
A smile tugged on her lips when she saw that the “spider” strongly resembled Mrs. Claus.
“She’s got him cornered. He might be their next target.” Christine said as if they were talking about something nefarious.
Sara looked back at the women at a loss of what was going on.
“I mean, do you think he’s ready to date again?” Christine sounded concerned. “I mean that had to be quite a blow.”
Normally, Sara didn’t butt into other people’s business, but she found herself asking. “Why, what happened?”
Jess sighed and lowered her voice as she leaned in. “He was overseas and got shot. Apparently, when he came home he found his fiancée pregnant with his best friend’s baby. At least that’s the story I heard. And I was able to Facebook verify some of it.”
“Oh…wow…” Sara wasn’t sure what to say. She hated thinking of him being blindsided like that, but selfishly, thinking of him with a wife and a baby wasn’t something that she wanted to think about.
“And now Mrs. Dobrinski—” Ali began.
Whisper of Temptation (Whisper Lake Book 4) Page 7