Wanting Happily Ever After Read online

  Wanting Happily Ever After

  Elena Aitken

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Fighting Happily Ever After

  Also by Elena Aitken

  About the Author

  Join Me!

  Chapter One

  It was hot. The kind of hot that made sitting on metal bleachers, shoulder to shoulder with dozens of other parents, a special kind of torture, especially when what you should be doing was sitting in the shade by the river with your feet in the water and a cold drink in your hand. But that wasn’t an option for Sarah Lewis, not with her six-year-old daughter, Rory, running down the length of the soccer field, her teammates and friends next to her, long braids streaming behind her as she moved as fast as she could toward the goal.

  For the life of her, Sarah could not imagine how any of them had so much energy on such a hot July afternoon, but none of the kids looked nearly as wilted as the parents. And if they could do it…she stood and cheered as loud as she could as Rory kicked the ball toward the net. There was no way the ball would go in. It was headed straight to the center of the goal…and the opposing team’s goalie, who looked to be at least twice the size of the rest of the team. She’d easily be able to stop it. Sarah clutched her hands together and mentally prepared herself for Rory’s disappointment.

  The ball moved, almost in slow motion. The goalie made her move. She opened her arms and jumped…right over the ball. Before anyone even realized what had happened, the ball was in the net and the referee blew the whistle, making it official.

  Sarah exchanged glances with two of the other parents, Myrna and Jocelyn, on either side of her. The other mothers shook their heads in disbelief for a moment before leaping up and cheering. The team had just won! The Glacier Falls Grizzlies were going to play in the championship game!

  Both the kids on the field and the parents and spectators in the stands erupted in cheers and screaming. Sarah watched as the realization of what had just happened hit her daughter. Rory’s six-year-old face transformed. She dropped her hands momentarily to her knees. Her head dangled for a moment before she looked up, lifted her arms in the air, and let out a whoop of joy.

  “She did it. She really did it.” She shook her head and laughed at herself. After all, it was just a summer league child’s soccer game, but she couldn’t contain her excitement. It was a big deal to Rory, which meant it was a big deal to her.

  “She did awesome!” Jocelyn wrapped her in a quick hug. “The girls played so well this season.”

  Sarah nodded and her gaze traveled across the field to where the team had met in a quick huddle to cheer their opposition and go shake hands. Her eyes landed on the coach, towering above his little players, a ball cap on his head to shield him from the sun, a matching red jersey, with “Coach” emblazoned on the back, right under “Birchwood,” the name of the team’s corporate sponsor—and the head coach’s restaurant. Brody Morris held his ever-present clipboard in hand, and used it as a prop to wave in the air as the girls ran through their three cheers and went to shake hands with the other team. A fluttering sensation landed in her stomach when he turned toward her and raised his free hand in a small wave. A sensation that was happening more and more frequently lately. After all, he was very good-looking. Especially when he was playing the role of super coach.

  “He’s the best coach we’ve ever had,” Myrna said, distracting her from staring at Brody.

  “He really stepped up,” someone else said.

  “We’re pretty lucky that you’re dating Brody Morris, Sarah.”

  Her stomach fell, the flutterings squashed as Sarah whipped around to see who’d spoken. Audrey Hill smiled sweetly at Sarah, but there was nothing sweet intended by the comment, and they both knew it.

  “We’re not dating.” Sarah hated that she even had to say something, particularly to Audrey. But if she didn’t say anything, the rumors would start. And knowing Audrey, in less than twenty-four hours, the entire town would have heard that Sarah and Brody were not only a hot couple, but that they were expecting twins and moving in together, or something equally ludicrous. It didn’t even matter if it wasn’t based in truth; Audrey had a special gift of starting trouble. Trouble that, for whatever reason, she liked to aim in Sarah’s direction.

  It didn’t help that Audrey’s little girl, Clara, was Rory’s favorite playmate.

  “Well, you sure spend a lot of time together,” Audrey continued, her voice carefully measured. “So if that’s not dating, I don’t know what is.”

  Sarah came up with a hundred different comebacks, but ultimately, shook her head and decided not to say anything. Audrey Hill wasn’t worth it. Instead, she turned away, and looked straight at Byron Smith, single dad of Annie, one of Rory’s teammates. He smiled kindly, as if to offer support, but Sarah couldn’t help but think there was more behind his smile.

  Byron had asked her out on more than one occasion and every time, Sarah had come up with an excuse. It wasn’t that Byron wasn’t a nice man. He really was. But…it was always something. At first, it was because she just wasn’t ready to date. And then, after a while…there was Brody. She hadn’t lied to Audrey; they really weren’t dating. They were friends. Best friends. And even if she did get that ridiculous fluttering feeling in her gut when he was around, it didn’t matter because Brody would never be more than a friend. She valued him in her life too much for that. No way was she going to screw things up by dating. Even if she was open to that—which she wasn’t.

  She snuck a glance over to where Brody was gathering up the equipment on the sidelines and her stomach fluttered again.

  No.

  She wasn’t going there. And definitely not with Brody.

  Sarah knew she was her own worst enemy when it came to overthinking the situation, but she couldn’t help it.

  Thankfully, Rory saved her from any further thinking on the subject and chose that moment to holler up at her. “Mom! Did you see that, Mom?”

  “I sure did, kiddo!” Without another look at anyone, Sarah gathered up her bag and made her way down the bleachers toward her daughter. She picked her up and squeezed her. “You were awesome. The game-winning goal! Wow.”

  “Wow indeed.” Sarah’s father, Ed Walker, appeared and Rory clambered into his arms. “Good job, Rory. I’m so proud of you.”

  “I didn’t know you were here, Dad.”

  With a kiss on her head, Ed put his granddaughter down and she ran off to sit with her team in the shade of a tree to eat orange slices and celebrate their win. “I got here right after the second half started,” he said. “Sorry I was late. I lost track of time in the garage.”

  Her dad had always been a putterer, with more projects than Sarah could keep straight. He still worked as Glacier Falls’ fire chief, but more and more, Sarah could see that what he really wanted to focus on were his countless projects. And his granddaughter. Ed was a grade-A grandfather. He never missed an important date, but more importantly, he never missed anything Rory thought was important.

  “Do you think she noticed I was late?” Ed looked with concern to the little girl, who didn’t look as if she had a care in the world.

  “You were here for the most important part and that’s all that matters.” She gave her dad a quick hug. “Thanks for coming. It means the world, Dad.”

  “You know I wouldn’t miss it.”

  She did know. Still, it was worth saying, and she didn’t like to miss an opportunity to tell her father how much she appreciated him.

  After Sarah’s mom died when she was barely a toddler, it had just been the two of them. And then, after the accident that had left Sarah a widow five years earlier, when Rory was only a baby, Sarah had leaned heavily on her father.

  “Wasn’t that a great game?” Brody, clipboard still in hand, appeared next to her. Sarah couldn’t help but notice how he always made a point to greet her before any of the other parents. It was a detail that didn’t seem to be lost on anyone, her father included. Next to her, Ed tensed ever so slightly. “What did you think of that, Mr. Walker? Pretty great game, wasn’t it?”

  “It was pretty close there until the end.” Ed crossed his arms over his chest, but his lips twitched up into a flicker of smile before it disappeared again. “It’s a good thing that granddaughter of mine is so quick.”

  She didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t seem to matter what Brody did or said; her father didn’t seem to like him very much. She couldn’t figure it out because Brody had been a great friend to her over the last few months. He’d been nothing but helpful and kind and…she forced herself to stop the line of thinking she was on as the fluttering in her stomach made a reappearance.

  “That is a good thing, Mr. Walker,” Brody answered diplomatically. “She’s a very talented little girl.” He turned to smile at Sarah. It was a simple action, but it warmed her. “I should go make my rounds,” he said to her. “But I’ll give you a call later. I have an ice cream cake in th
e freezer at the restaurant that needs to be tested, and I thought Rory might want to help out.”

  Sarah laughed. “Oh, I think she’d love to help you out with that.”

  “Sounds good.” Brody put his hand on her arm and squeezed.

  Did he hold it just a moment longer than was necessary? If Sarah had any experience with men at all, she might know. But beyond her late husband, she’d never even dated. She smiled as he took his leave and went to talk to the other parents, who were all waiting to congratulate their star coach.

  She watched as he was swallowed up by them with cheers and pats on the back before turning back to her father. Ed’s mouth was still turned down in a frown. She stopped herself before reminding her dad, just like everyone else, that she wasn’t dating Brody. Because even though he hadn’t said as much, Sarah was pretty sure that was her father’s issue. Just as he’d remained single, it seemed that he thought his daughter should do the same. But he didn’t have to worry—she had no intention of coupling up again. Like father, like daughter.

  Suddenly exhausted and overwhelmed by the heat, she shook her head and ignored her dad and whatever it was that he clearly wanted to say. “I’m melting,” she said instead. “Let’s go celebrate Rory’s goal with some iced tea.”

  Brody Morris tried to stay focused on the parents who were showering him with completely undeserved praise. After all, it was youth summer league soccer, not the World Cup. First place prize was a medal. The same as every other place. But to the parents of Glacier Falls, his adopted hometown, he might as well have been training their daughters for the Olympics.

  “What do you think their odds of winning are, Coach?”

  “That team from Cedar Springs is pretty tough.”

  “I heard they have a ringer.”

  “A ringer? Does anyone check the birth certificates of these kids?”

  Brody handled each of the questions, with a smile and a chuckle. “Win or lose, you should all be so proud of your girls out there. They’re playing their hearts out and having so much fun,” he said good-naturedly. “They’re all great kids. We should celebrate that.”

  “And their championship,” Audrey Hill said confidently. “I mean, it’s obvious that they’re going to win. We should plan a party as a wrap-up.”

  Brody shook his head, but did his best not to look disagreeable. He’d met women like Audrey Hill before, and he knew well enough to stay on their good side. The last thing he wanted or needed was to be involved in any kind of drama, or to have Audrey Hill on his bad side, which would be worse. He tried to sneak a glance at Sarah, but she was turned away from him, kneeling on the grass, helping Rory unlace her cleats. Sarah had mentioned once or twice that Audrey had mastered the art of passive-aggressive bitchiness. Something about mean girl syndrome or something like that. Whatever it was, Brody believed her and did his best to keep Audrey at arm’s length.

  “A wind-up party sounds like a great idea.” He smiled. “Let me know the details.”

  “Oh, I thought maybe Sarah could organize it.” Her voice dripped with a false sweetness. “After all, she didn’t bring team snacks as much as everyone else. It’s really the least she could do.”

  Brody noticed a few of the other parents roll their eyes and shake their heads in disbelief, but not one of them said anything. He knew, just as well as they all knew, that Sarah did her best to attend all of the games and practices. But there were a few times when she wasn’t able to make it due to work because she was a single mom who essentially supported and raised her little girl by herself. Obviously that little detail wasn’t about to be recognized by this group.

  He usually bit his tongue, in an effort to remain a neutral party as much as possible, but this was too much. “You know Sarah does her best to be here whenever she can. She has a lot on her plate.”

  Audrey took a step back and raised her eyebrow. “Sounds like someone is getting a little defensive.” She clucked her tongue. “I didn’t mean to stir up anything.”

  That’s exactly what she’d meant. Still, Brody kept a smile on his face. “Oh, of course, Audrey. All I’m saying is that Sarah—”

  “Makes sure that her father brings the team snacks when she can’t be here. And has never missed once.”

  Brody turned to see Sarah, speaking about herself in the third person, walk up to the group. He tried, but failed, to stifle a smile.

  “And I’m pretty sure you know, Audrey, that my father brings Rory’s snacks on all the days that I get caught up at work. After all, the snacks are assigned by child and not by parent. Isn’t that right?”

  Audrey stammered and struggled over her words, but finally swallowed hard and nodded curtly. “I was just—”

  “Oh, I know what you were doing,” Sarah continued, a sweet smile on her face. Only her crossed arms over her chest gave away her true feelings about the woman.

  Brody couldn’t help but be impressed by her self-restraint.

  “And yes, if you’re unable to host the wind-up party, by all means, I’d be more than happy to take it off your plate.”

  “Oh, that’s not…I wasn’t saying that—”

  “No, no,” Sarah continued. “I don’t mind at all. I know how busy you are with…” She tilted her head and innocently asked, “What is it that keeps you so busy?”

  Brody couldn’t help it; a chuckle slipped out of his mouth. He tried to cover it with a cough, but he couldn’t be sure it worked. Not that anyone paid him any attention. All eyes were on Audrey.

  “Well.” The other woman pulled herself up and pushed her shoulders back. “I don’t think—”

  “Don’t worry about a thing.” Sarah waved her hand casually. “I’ll take care of all the details.” She beamed at the other parents, who were all watching the little drama unfold. “I’ll sort out some details on my end and send out an email. Have a great day, everyone.” And just like that, she spun on her heel and, with her head held high, walked away.

  Like all of the others, Brody watched her go with sheer amazement on his face. He couldn’t help but notice the way Byron Smith was watching Sarah particularly closely. Brody forced himself not to let it bother him. Of course there’d be men interested in her. After all, she was an amazing woman. Strong, hardworking, and gorgeous—even though she clearly had no idea how good-looking she was. He’d been spending more and more time with Sarah since moving to Glacier Falls, and he was really enjoying getting to know her.

  He’d been attracted to her instantly, but it didn’t take long to learn that she was a dedicated single mom whose entire life was devoted to her little girl. It hadn’t put Brody off, though; it had only made him more cautious. Maybe too cautious, because he’d clearly been friend-zoned. Hell, from what he could tell, every man had been friend-zoned. Sarah didn’t seem the least bit interested in dating. But at least he had her as his closest friend. And that was something. But as much as Brody did know about Sarah, she still had a few surprises up her sleeve. And dealing with mean moms was an impressive skill, to say the least.

  He made small talk for a few more minutes, gave high fives to all the kids and took his own leave shortly after.

  It was hot, and he would have loved to spend the rest of the day sitting in the shade somewhere, preferably with his feet in the water, underneath the cool branches of a pine tree in the forest, but it was not to be. He had a restaurant to run, and despite his wildest dreams, Birchwood wasn’t yet running itself.

  The moment he stepped inside the restaurant, he knew something was wrong. If it was hot outside, it was an absolute sauna inside the walls. He went immediately to the thermostat on the wall, and groaned. He tapped at it, the extent of his knowledge of how to make it work again.

  “Shit.”

  The last thing he needed was one more thing that wasn’t working. Not when his list was already growing beyond the scope of things he would be able to handle—or afford. But air conditioning was going to have to go on the list. When he moved to Glacier Falls from his small town in rural Saskatchewan, he never would have expected it to get so hot in the middle of the summer. After all, wasn’t it supposed to be cool in the middle of the mountains? Apparently not so much. Not that he minded. At least, he wouldn’t have minded the heat if the air conditioning wasn’t broken.