And Then Series, Book 1: And Then, Love Found Me
Автор
Ambrosia Starling
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She arrives in a quiet town carrying heartbreak, hoping a fresh start will steady her world. What she doesn’t expect is a sweet, curious little girl who clings to her like sunshine… or the guarded man who tries to hide his loneliness behind silence and routine. As days unfold, she finds friendship, comfort, and a gentle sense of home she thought she lost forever. He discovers warmth he never believed he deserved. Their pull is instant, their fears run deep, and their hope grows slowly. Can two people with pasts that still ache dare to believe in something new?
Chapter 1: A New House, A New Start
COURTNEY
“Ava baby,” I called out, “finish up, we need to go in a few minutes.”
Somewhere a small voice echoed. “Okay, Coco.” The stomping of tiny feet followed.
I quietly walked through the house one last time, fingers dancing along the walls as I was assaulted with a lifetime of memories.
This house was built by my grandparents in the early 1940s, a simple one-story brick and wood structure that became a home to four generations of the Hayes family. It was a place where everyone gathered for holidays, celebrated birthdays as if it were an Olympic sport, and enjoyed Sunday dinners filled with good food, better wine, and contagious laughter.
The legacy of the Hayes family was soaked into the very foundation of this home. My grandparents, my parents, my brother and his family, and I all made this home a beautiful place to live.
Now, this wasn’t home—just an empty house waiting for someone, some other family to come in and breathe new life into it.
The once-pristine white walls now looked dirty, the hardwood floors that stood against children running and dogs chasing were scuffed and used, and the refrigerator that my father dented because he was going to prove that his socks were the “slipperiest” was now a standing testament to good days gone by.
Someone was going to come in and erase everything, and I couldn’t be here to see it. It would be another funeral—just one more family member laid to rest.
After the horrible car accident that had taken my parents, my brother, and sister-in-law, I knew that I couldn’t handle another loss, even if it was just brick and mortar. So, after settling the will and selling off what I could, I made the decision to leave, to close the book on this chapter of my life and begin again.
My precious four-year-old niece popped up beside me. “I’s ready, Coco.”
I smiled down at her. Her frizzy, dirty blonde hair curled around her little face that was streaked with dirt and grape jelly.
She was doing better than I expected after the loss, but I knew that children would process trauma differently, and although it had been less than a year, there were moments that would sneak up on both of us that set us back before we could right ourselves again.
That was the goal for this move. As much as I love—loved—my family, it was harder on Ava to be surrounded by the memories and to deal with the subsequent triggers. It was better to start over, make new memories, and find a place that allowed us both to heal.
I took one last look around before I knelt on the floor and looked into her shining honey hazel eyes. “Are you ready, beloved? We are going to start our new adventure.”
“I’s ready, Coco!” she declared, throwing her arms around me with a squeal.
Hefting her up, I carried her out of the house toward the large white truck that used to belong to my father and opened the back door. “All right, then,” I said, buckling her up in her car seat. “Let’s go!”
***
It took days to finally get to our new home, but since there was no hurry, Ava and I enjoyed exploring the cities and towns along the way. At each stop, I let her pick something to buy so that our new place would feel more like a home that we created together.
A large metal sign that had a roaring rooster with words that read “Rise and Shine, Mother-Clucker”—she couldn’t read yet, but I thought it was golden. A hideous pink flowerpot that looked like it had eyes painted all over it—according to Ava, we had to have it so we could see who was coming to visit. If nothing else, it would probably scare them away.
A surprisingly gorgeous teal fur rug that would be perfect for our living room and to snuggle on while we drank hot chocolate. And her favorite, Mr. Rockstar Ninja Sprinkles, a stuffed cat with a blue star stamped on its forehead that hopefully would stay in her room along with the hundreds of other stuffies that just had to come with us.
We got an early start to the day, leaving what I hoped would be the last hotel before we got to our new home, stopping to fill up the gas tank and grab a mid-morning snack, and then driving along winding roads with breathtaking scenery on both sides.
We took the long way around because I was directionally impaired even with the help of electronic maps, and we missed coming through the Once Again town as we headed for Mount Happily After. However, it was nice to know that we were close to a mid-sized city in case we needed supplies and things that the sleepy little town might not have available.
I had the address to our new home pulled up on my phone, and as we were rerouted several times, there was that familiar mechanical voice that chimed, “Your destination is on the right.” I sent up a silent prayer that I hoped my decision to buy the “cute, fairy-like cottage” was going to be the right choice.
I drove the large truck and moving trailer down a dirt road riddled with potholes and washed-out sides that caused me to have a death grip on the steering wheel.
Thankfully, Ava was having the time of her life bouncing around like a ball in the back seat and had no idea how worried I was.
The property wasn’t on top of a mountain—thank God—but it wasn’t on flat land either, so making sure the truck and trailer didn’t slide downhill due to a lack of road maintenance was something I would have to address, especially before winter and the snow fell.
“Almost there, Ava baby,” I sang loudly over her laughter as the road evened out and the wooded area opened up in front of us. “Just a little bit—”
The words died in my throat.
Oh, sweet Lord, no!
The place was a disaster. I swallowed back my tears, forcing the lump in my throat to go down.
It was the right place. From what little I could see of the house, it was the same one, but the pictures had to have been decades older, because this…this was a falling-down ruin.
Wrestling with my emotions, I was proud of myself for backing up the truck and trailer and parking it in the only available space under some shade trees.
“Ava, baby, stay here while Coco takes care of the trailer, okay?”
“Os’kay.” She looked nervous as she glanced out the window. “Can I unbuckle?”
I opened the truck door, wincing at the thought of stepping into the tall grass wearing shorts and flip-flops.
Were snakes common in this area? For all I could see, a freaking bear could be hibernating in the thick grass.
“Yes, sweet pea, you can, but stay in the truck.” I watched her little fingers fly to the buckle of her car seat, her head bobbing up and down. “I’m going to close the door so bugs don’t come in, but I’ll be at the back of the truck unhitching the trailer, then I’ll be right back.”
She was already standing in front of the back door window, her face smooshed against it. “Os’kay, Coco.”
Taking a deep breath, I carefully dropped down onto the ground and shut the door. The grass was coming up to my waist, and I felt like I had to wade through it, keeping my hand on the truck just to help me stay standing.
Finally reaching the back of the truck, I set about lowering the kickstand and releasing the trailer from the truck. There was no question that we would have to make our way back down the hill into the town to find a place to stay for the night and possibly longer if I couldn’t get ahold of the realtor today to sort this mess out.
Heading back up to the driver’s-side door, I stopped in front of Ava’s door and opened it. “We are on an adventure, right?”
At her nod, I grabbed our overnight bag and pulled out a pair of stretchy yoga pants. “Can you look on the floor and hand me my tennis shoes, please?” She hopped off the bench seat and started rummaging through the bags on the floorboard. “We can’t go on an adventure unless we are dressed the right way, so we gotta change.”
She handed me the shoes just as I finished wriggling into the stretchy pants. “I’s change too?”
Looking back over my shoulder, I knew that wasn’t going to work. She would disappear in the overgrown weeds. Plus, I had no idea what kind of animals were lurking in the grass, so I wouldn’t risk her getting hurt.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said as I pulled my shoes on. “I’ll carry you so you don’t get dirty, but you are in charge of the phone, okay?”
Her whole face lit up. “I’s can do that!”
“Of course you can,” I said, scooping her up into my arms and passing her the phone. “You’re a big girl.”
She squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck as I bent down and untangled a large branch from the grass. “Now, we really are on an adventure. I’ve got my trusty sidekick and a sword, and we are off to look for treasure!”
“Yay!” she screamed as she wrapped her legs around me just as I swung the stick in long, sweeping motions across the grass, hoping to scare away any animals.
I listened as she listed all the many kinds of treasure we could find: shiny rocks, pretty flowers, a bunny. The list was endless, and not once did she mention gold bars or sparkly jewels, but when I did, she shrugged and said that those were boring, and if we found those, I could have them.
Worked for me. I needed all the help I could get.
