Falling for Her Best Friend
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Lisa Carter
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Chapter One
On that chilly afternoon in early April when her best friend stepped off the bus, Mollie Drake’s heart did its usual uptick in response to his rugged handsomeness.
Drake, though, was no longer her legal name. Yet after all these months, it still didn’t feel right to think of herself as Mollie Atkinson.
His eyes lifted to meet hers. For a split second, something unfamiliar swept across his chiseled features. An intensity. His blue eyes lit with a warmth just for her.
Colton Atkinson wasn’t only her best friend. He was also her husband. But a husband in name only.
He reached for the little boy in her arms. Oliver shrank from Colton, his arms in a stranglehold around her neck.
Twenty-one-month-old Olly dug his knees into her side in a mad scramble to get as far away from his father as possible. “Go ’way, man.”
She felt the blow to Colton’s heart as if it had struck her own. This was not the long-awaited, picture-perfect reunion she’d envisioned for father and son.
In the parking lot, she handed Colton the keys to his truck, strapped Oliver into the car seat and climbed into the vehicle. On the horizon, the mountains undulated in blue-green waves.
Colton steered the red pickup across the winding road toward Truelove. “Olly doesn’t know me.”
She recognized the deep disappointment in his voice. They’d understood Oliver wouldn’t remember his father. He wasn’t even a year old when Colton was deployed. But she’d worked hard for Olly not to lose the sense of his father’s identity.
When communication lines allowed, there’d been FaceTime chats with Colton. She’d told Olly about his dad’s favorite foods and colors. She’d shared stories about her and Colton growing up together.
“I talked about you all the time,” she rasped.
She glanced at the child in the back seat. Oliver was Colton’s son, not hers. Although in every way except biological, she felt like his mother.
Olly’s blue eyes—so like Colton’s—scanned her face. “Da-da solder?”
Such a good, dear little boy. Her heart quailed at the prospect of losing him forever. Yet it was only right for Oliver—who’d become dearer to her than her own life—to be with his father.
“Yes, sweetie pie.” She swallowed. “Daddy is a soldier.”
“Not anymore,” Colton grunted.
Her eyes flicked to him. She’d grown used to seeing him in uniform. But having recently separated from the military, today he wore civilian clothing—a beige canvas jacket, a hunter-green checked shirt, jeans and boots.
Colton’s gaze settled upon her like an electric bolt. “Molls, are you okay?”
She blushed at having been caught staring. “I’m fine.” But she wasn’t.
Ever since they were children, there’d been an inexplicable connection between them. An invisible cord binding them to each other.
As the truck ate up the miles to the small mountain town of Truelove, North Carolina, her anxiety mounted. She’d missed him so much while he’d been deployed, but his homecoming threatened to tear her world apart.
Ten months ago when he received his emergency deployment orders, she’d let her heart get in the way of her head. They hadn’t thought through their impetuous decision to marry. They’d only reacted.
But his return meant nothing would ever be the same again. His post-enlistment plans to create a new life with Olly left her with a sense of sinking dread.
Colton shifted his gaze to the rearview mirror. “Daddy is so glad to see you, son.”
Scrunching his face, Oliver pointed his finger at his father. “Go ’way,” he yelled.
Colton flinched.
Straining against the car seat harness, Olly held out his arms for her. “Mowee! Mowee!” he howled.
“Please don’t cry, honey.” Unable to reach him from the front passenger seat, she wished could comfort him. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
His shoulders stiff, Colton kept his eyes fixed on the curving road.
“Oliver does know you. I have pictures of you in every room. He’s just out of his routine.”
Tired and hungry were a deadly combination for a toddler.
She unbuckled her seat belt. Stretching over the seat, she plucked the snack container with the circle-shaped dry cereal out of the backpack. “Hang in there, sweetie pie.”
His little body hiccuped with sobs. His chubby fingers made short work of fishing out the Os. But the snack was a delaying tactic at best.
Twisting around again, she sat down and rebuckled her seat belt. Gradually, the snuffling noises subsided. Clutching the snack container, Olly closed his eyes.
“Let’s pray he sleeps until we make it to Truelove.” She took her phone out of the pocket of her gray jacket. “Aunt EJ wanted to know our ETA. She probably wants to bring a casserole over for dinner tonight.”
Colton tossed her a crooked grin, causing butterflies to swirl in her belly. “Do you think Miss ErmaJean made her chicken casserole?”
Whether she were married, divorced or a spinster, “Miss” was an honorary title of respect bestowed on any Southern lady who was your elder. No matter how old the “Miss” was.
“Could be.” Mollie smirked. “Since it’s your favorite, and Aunt EJ is never so happy as when she’s feeding people.”
Forehead creasing, he returned his gaze to rounding a tight bend in the road. “While I’m in Truelove, maybe I should keep a low profile.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Thanks for letting me spend tonight at your house. Oliver and I will get a fresh start on the road tomorrow morning.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “So soon?” She’d hoped... “Stay home for the weekend.”
“Truelove isn’t my home.” He made a face. “Much as I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, it won’t be Olly’s, either. I’ve got a job prospect near the beach.”
Her heart pinched. She cast her gaze over to the perpetual smoky mist on the ridge of mountains from which the Blue Ridge derived its name. “But what will you do with him when you’re at work? If you were closer, I could—”
“I’m not living in Truelove.” A stubborn look crossed his features. The same one she often saw in his son. “I’ll figure it out.”
During Colton’s extended deployment, she’d made a life for herself and the little boy in Truelove. But Colton had never felt the same about their hometown as she did. Maybe because he’d never had a family to call his own. He’d spent his childhood in and out of foster homes.
She twisted the plain gold band on her finger. Oliver whimpered in his sleep. Leaning over the seat, she put a soothing hand on him.
Yet it was Mollie who needed comfort. How would she ever survive without him?
Colton took a long look at the woman beside him. Same sweet, lovely Mollie. The best friend he’d ever had. The best person he’d ever known.
He shouldn’t have been so abrupt with her. But Truelove brought back hurtful memories.
Avoiding his gaze, she stared out the window at the passing scenery. On one side of the road lay the majestic Appalachian Mountains. On the other, separated only by a slim guardrail, lay a cavernous gorge.
Yet somehow, when everything else in the world changed, the mountains never did. Within the month, the evergreen-studded mountain slopes would explode into breathtaking splashes of pink rhododendron, flame-orange azaleas and white mountain laurel. Despite his claims to the contrary, the land tugged at a not-so-small part of him. The closest he’d ever felt to finding himself home.
An uncomfortable silence stretched taut between them. They’d never had any difficulty talking until now. Laughing together. Sharing hopes and dreams. More often than not, able to finish each other’s sentences.
When they were thirteen, they’d made a pact to never fall in love with each other and risk their all-important friendship. Then he’d ruined everything by asking her to marry him.
He preferred not to examine too closely from where the impulsive marriage proposal had sprung.
At the time, she’d been talking about moving back to Truelove to help her mom, Glenda, who’d recently been diagnosed with cancer. Only eleven months after the death of his late wife, Erin, when he received his orders to ship out to a war zone, all he could think about was making sure he didn’t leave Oliver an orphan in the foster care system.
Yet he’d been shocked when Mollie accepted his marriage proposal without hesitation. Their marriage on the eve of his deployment had been for Olly’s sake. A marriage of convenience.
Desperate to cut the tension, he cleared his throat. “How’s your mom?”
She laced her hands together. “The final round of chemo was rough. Running the hair salon in her absence has been hectic, but between Dad and I, we’ve made it work for everyone.”
He propped one arm on the steering wheel. “You always make it work, Molls.”
“I didn’t make it work by myself.” She sniffed. “Truelove embraced Oliver and me into its folds. It’s one of the best things about life in a small town. They take care of their own.”
Problem was, he’d never been one of their own. Always an outsider. Never fitting in. Never belonging.
Mollie’s blue-gray eyes turned stormy. “While you were away, Olly never suffered for lack of anything. Everyone loves him. I love him.” Her mouth quivered.
His heart wrenched. This situation was unfair to her. But once he’d learned his team was about to rotate home, a panic of a different sort had built inside his chest.
Colton wasn’t sure what to do with the complicated emotions he felt for his best friend, who was now his bride.
What had he been thinking when he’d asked her to marry him? He scrubbed his face with his hand. He hadn’t been thinking. Only reacting from a deep gut-level instinct he’d spent months trying to unravel in his head.
After descending into the valley, the truck emerged onto gentler terrain. Split-rail fencing lined the roadside. Horses grazed in the pastures. Truelove was known for its orchards. The apple trees were beginning to leaf out.
He squared his shoulders. “It’s obvious Oliver is a happy, healthy little boy, thanks to you.” It was killing him to hurt her like this. “But we talked about this on the phone. Leaving is for the best.”
“For Olly? For me?” She laughed, the sound entirely without mirth. “I don’t think so.”
“You’ll thank me in the long run.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “The marriage was a temporary fix. None of this is real. We aren’t real, Mollie. Better to rip off the bandage than to prolong the agony.”
She flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder. “Good to know marriage to me is agonizing.”
“That’s not what—” He took a steadying breath. “It was selfish of me to ask you to take on Oliver’s care with everything your family is going through. I’m trying to put things right.”
She threw out her hands. “This is your idea of putting everything right?”
He stared blindly out the windshield. He was no good at relationships. His brief, rocky marriage to Erin illustrated why he needed to steer clear of romantic entanglements.
Olly startled awake. “Mowee?”
His thumb stuck in his mouth and tears silently trekked down his cheeks. Colton’s heart broke. The last thing he’d ever wanted was to hurt his beloved boy.
Whimpering, Olly held out his arms to her. “Take, Mowee. Take.”
“Don’t cry, sweetie pie.” Once she’d unbuckled her seat belt, she reached over, swiping the tears from the little boy’s face. “I can’t take you right now, but Mollie’s here.”
Not for long, though.
Was it too late for him and Oliver? Despair settled like a heavy mantle over his shoulders. “Olly hates me. Maybe he would be better off without me.”
Mollie’s stomach tanked.
This wasn’t what she wanted. Not for Oliver. Not for any of them.
“Olly doesn’t hate you. He’s a frightened little boy, who needs a chance to get to know his dad again. If you take him now, you’ll only frighten him more. You could permanently damage your relationship.”
Colton stiffened. “He’s my son.” His voice went sharp. “Not yours.”
She met his gaze head-on. “I think I’ve earned the right to tell you what I believe is best for Oliver. Let him learn to trust you—to love you—in his own time.”
Colton’s hands strangled the wheel. Oliver wasn’t the only one frightened. Traces of ten-year-old Colton with an enormous chip on his shoulder and massive insecurities remained in the man next to her.
Yet somehow, even as a child, she’d been able to see past the surly attitude and nearly impenetrable walls to a boy worth knowing.
She took a breath. “Will you consider staying in Truelove for a while?”
His face shadowed. “What difference will it make if I stay?”
“It’s not like you to give up so easily.”
“How long are we talking?” A bleak pain darkened his expression. “A few days? A few months?”
“Until Olly feels comfortable and safe with you.” She jutted her jaw. “Figuring it out as we go is what you and I do best, right?”
“What happened to the girl who liked to weigh the pros and cons?” He cocked his head. “The girl who always looked before she leapt?”
She shrugged. “I met you.”
For a moment, he stared at her. Then he laughed. “When have I ever been able to say no to you?”
Lots of times. But that street ran both ways. “It’s going to be all right, Colton.”
“I’ve made such a mess of things. First with Erin. Now with Oliver and you.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “I have no business trying to be anyone’s dad.”
Unsure what he meant about his late wife, she frowned. “I’ll help you get reacquainted with Olly. I believe in you, Colton.”
“You always have.” He shook his head. “When no one else bothered.”
“There are a lot of people in Truelove who care about you.”
He flicked her a look. “Why do you care so much?”
“Because I—” She clamped her lips shut against the word from which there was no return. “Because that’s what best friends do.”
“I’ll stay.” He straightened. “Only until the end of spring, though. My buddy will hold the job open for me for a few months.” His eyes bored into hers. “But after that, no matter what, I’m leaving Truelove with my son.”
The suffocating heaviness eased in her chest. She’d managed to avoid losing Oliver today. But Colton returning to Truelove unraveled a whole new set of unforeseen problems.
How was she going to tell him everyone in Truelove believed their marriage wasn’t born of convenience, but of love?
The knot in her belly tightened. It wouldn’t take long for her family to grasp the true nature of her sham marriage. Her parents’ marriage was a shining example of love and devotion. They would be so disappointed in her for hiding the truth of her relationship with Colton.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I need to tell you something before we get to Truelove so you won’t be blindsided.”
He stiffened. “You’ve met someone.” There was a strange hollowness in his voice.
“Why would you think—” She turned toward him. “No. That’s not it.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “What is it then?”
“Everyone assumes we fell in love after Erin died, and that we decided to get married before you deployed.”
He darted a glance at her. “Including your parents?”
Biting her lip, she nodded.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “But we called them right after the ceremony to let them know I was deploying and that we’d gotten married.”
“I guess they heard what they wanted to hear in the order they wanted to hear it.” She knotted her hands in her lap. “By the time I drove the U-Haul with Olly from the base to Truelove, the whole town knew we were married. People jumped to the wrong conclusion.”
“Why didn’t you set them straight?”
Heat crept from underneath the collar of her jacket. Why hadn’t she?
Because everyone in town had assumed she and Colton were a foregone conclusion. Because feeling the pressure of her singleness, she was too embarrassed to admit the only reason Colton had married her was for the sake of his child.
“I—I just didn’t,” she stammered. “Mom was sick. Dad was so stressed. They were thrilled at the news.” She took a ragged breath. “I’m sorry for letting everyone believe a lie.”
She’d always made it a policy to tell the truth. When it came to Colton, though, she no longer was sure what was true and what was false. Everything was so mixed up in her heart and in her head.
“You were dealing with a lot.” He lay his hand, palm down, on the seat between them. The long-ago friendship pact had included a strict no-PDA policy. “We’ll set the record straight first thing.”
Her parents would never understand. She didn’t understand what had induced her to marry him. Actually, that wasn’t true. She had her suspicions.
She placed her hand, palm down, onto the truck seat beside his. Side by side. Only their pinkies touching. Something they always did. Adhering to the no-touching clause of their friendship pact. Yet also a reassurance that between them all was well.
He threw her a boyish, lopsided smile and her heartbeat quickened.
The pickup clattered over the bridge into town. With spring runoff underway, the rushing river foamed below the bridge, bending around the small town like a horseshoe. Reaching Main Street, Colton braked sharply. Jolted forward, she caught hold of the dashboard.
Parked catty-corner across the street, a Truelove Fire Department engine blocked further access to downtown. A giant American flag hung from the fire truck’s extended ladder. A row of firefighters in turnout gear came to attention and saluted.
He threw her an incredulous look. “What in the world...?”
Wafting in a slight breeze, a banner hung across Main: Colton Atkinson—Our Hometown Hero.
She gasped. Oh, no. So much for keeping a low profile.
Cheers erupted. It appeared as if the entire citizenry of Truelove had turned out to welcome them. Lining the sidewalks on both sides of the street, dozens of people waved tiny American flags.
On the village green, the high school marching band broke into a rousing rendition of John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Colton looked as dazed as she felt.
Her insides nose-dived. Aunt EJ, what have you done?
Beyond the fire truck, the storefronts lining Main Street were draped in patriotic bunting like the Fourth of July.
Colton scowled. “For the love of red, white and blue, what’s going on, Mollie?”
Why were they doing this for him? Mollie had been his only true friend in town. Hadn’t she?
“Fire twucks!” Oliver pressed his face against the window. “Me wuv fire twucks!”
At the sharp rap on his window, he and Mollie jerked. Mayor Watkins, who doubled as the jolly old elf during Santa on the Square every Christmas, beamed at them.
“Santa!” Olly shrieked.
Mollie chuckled.
Colton glared. “This isn’t funny, Molls.”
Grinning, she glanced over the seat at his son. “Your daddy knows Santa, Oliver.”
Colton rolled his eyes.
She smirked. “Just trying to increase your street cred with your son.”
Mayor Watkins whirled his finger, and Colton pressed a button. The window rolled down.
“On behalf of the good citizens of Truelove, welcome home, Sergeant Atkinson.” The mayor’s snow-white beard glistened in the afternoon sun. “The fire department would like to provide you with an official Truelove escort on the final leg of your journey home.”
Colton flicked a look at Mollie. No help there. Her shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. “Sure, Santa. Whatever you say.”
Watkins waved at his son. “You continue to be a good little boy, and Santa will make sure you get something special for Christmas.” The mayor squeezed Colton’s shoulder. “Although Olly’s already gotten the best present ever—his father home from war.”
A lump formed in Colton’s throat.
Stepping away from the truck, Watkins motioned for the fire chief. “Let’s get this celebration started!”
Lights flashing and horn blaring, the fire engine rumbled down Main Street.
“Yay!” Oliver yelled.
Hero status made Colton uncomfortable. The real heroes were the soldiers who hadn’t made it home. But for his son’s sake, he followed the fire engine at a slow, careful distance. As they passed, people broke into applause.
Colton looked at Mollie. An amused smile tilted the corners of her lips. Olly waved at everyone.
He recognized a few faces from high school. It appeared most of his former classmates had spouses and children of their own. They had real families and real marriages. Unlike him.
“I don’t get it, Mollie.” A cold, hard feeling settled like a stone in the pit of his stomach. “Why are they doing this?”
“Everyone is so proud of you.” She touched his shoulder. “I’m proud of you.” A citrusy scent floated past his nostrils, tantalizing his senses.
His pulse ratcheted up a notch. In those months before he was deployed, Mollie had come on weekends to help him—a suddenly single parent—cope with a newborn. And the girl he’d known most of his life had proven to have a curiously deleterious effect on his resolve to keep their relationship friends only.
At the corner of the square, the fire truck veered right.
“Don’t tell me we’re going to circle the square,” he moaned.
Mollie winked at him. “You’re getting the full VIP Truelove welcome.”
“Such as it is,” he muttered.
But her smile felt like a ray of sunshine. Warming places in his heart he’d believed forever cold. It had been a long ten months since he’d last seen her. He’d missed her so much.
The procession wound its way past the town hall and the police department. Another hard right. They drove past the library. The empty bay of the fire station.
“Kids, Mowee!” Excitement laced Olly’s voice.
“I see them, sweetie.” She leaned forward on the edge of the seat to get a better look. “Oliver adores other kids.”
Waving flags, schoolchildren ringed the playground at the elementary school. The same playground where, once upon the disaster called his childhood, Colton had met a little girl named Mollie Drake.
Her mouth curved, and he knew she was remembering, too. Something almost painfully sweet banged inside his rib cage. Funny, how so often they could read each other’s thoughts.
Colton steered around the next corner. “Did you know about this?”
“I had no idea. Although last week, Aunt EJ asked me a bunch of questions about when your bus was due at the station.”
He groaned. “Where there is one...”
She threw him an apologetic look. “This has the Double Name Club written all over it, doesn’t it?”
The Double Name Club—notoriously known as the Truelove Matchmakers—was infamous for its members poking their powdered noses where they didn’t belong.
GeorgeAnne Allen. IdaLee Moore. ErmaJean Hicks was Mollie’s great-aunt.
The seventysomething ladies took the town motto—Truelove, Where True Love Awaits—a little too seriously. The matchmaking double-name cronies were determined to help everyone in the small Blue Ridge town find their happily-ever-after.
Whether the recipients of their efforts wanted them to or not.
One more right turn and they were on Main Street again across from the Mason Jar Café.
“Not much the matchmakers can do about us. We beat ’em to the punch.” He arched his eyebrow. “Fake or not, we’re already married.”
The sudden eclipse of her smile left him feeling a ridiculous sense of loss. She turned away from him. He told himself to remember the pact. First and foremost, they were best friends. Anything more wasn’t possible. Not if it meant risking their friendship.
Colton had the acute, unassailable conviction that without Mollie, nothing might ever be right for him or Oliver again. Yet the fear—a fear he wouldn’t, couldn’t, give a name to—was so strong. He had to leave. Leave before it was too late.
Too late for what? His pulse thumped. He was beginning to suspect it might already be too late.
