Fern Valley (Firefly Hollow Book 7) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Also by T. L. Haddix

  Cast of Characters

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Also by T. L. Haddix

  If You Liked Fern Valley

  Streetlight Graphics Publishing

  A division of Streetlight Graphics

  Fern Valley

  Copyright © 2015 by Tabatha L. Haddix. All rights reserved.

  First Edition: February 2015

  Visit www.tlhaddix.com for updates, news, bonuses and freebies.

  www.facebook.com/tlhaddix

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Streetlight Graphics Publishing, a division of Streetlight Graphics.

  Also by T. L. Haddix

  The Firefly Hollow Series:

  Firefly Hollow

  Butterfly Lane

  Dragonfly Creek

  Cattail Ridge

  Cricket Cove

  Stormking Road

  Fern Valley

  The Shadows Collection:

  Secrets in the Shadows

  Under the Moon’s Shadow

  Shadows from the Grave

  Hidden in the Shadows

  In the Heart’s Shadow

  Deception in the Shadows

  Seduction in the Shadows

  Granny Theft Auto (A Leroy/Shadows short story)

  Domestic Disturbance (A Leroy/Shadows flash fiction)

  Writing as Mallory Love:

  Sunset Motel, Book One

  Sunset Motel, Book Two

  You can connect with T.L. on Facebook and her website:

  www.tlhaddix.com

  www.facebook.com/tlhaddix

  If you’d like to receive email notifications about future releases, please subscribe to T.L.’s newsletter at the address below.

  www.tlhaddix.com/newsletter

  .

  Cast of Characters

  Rachel Mia Campbell - The middle child. Single, divorced mother, forty-seven. History professor on sabbatical.

  Leighton “Lee” Harrison - Rachel’s sexy new neighbor, thirty-five, Kentucky state trooper, and a former co-worker of Sawyer’s.

  Owen and Sarah Campbell - the folks who started it all. Parents to (in order): John (wife Zanny), Emma (husband Archer), Ben (wife Ainsley), Rachel (divorced, mother of Easton), and Amelia (husband Logan, brother to Archer.)

  Owen and Sarah are also grandparents to: Noah, Eli, Molly (John), Sydney, Graydon, Carter (Emma), Lily (Ben), Easton (Rachel), three boys and Sadie (Amelia.)

  Sawyer Evans - Rachel and Lee’s best friend. Retired state trooper turned private investigator.

  Easton Michael Boyd - Rachel’s ninteen-year-old son via her ex-husband, Ken “Bear” Boyd.

  Chapter One

  He was staring at her again. Ever since her new neighbor had moved in a few weeks earlier, he’d been a bit too curious for Rachel Campbell’s peace of mind. Not nosy enough for her to say anything about it but enough that his surveillance annoyed her. He was a little splinter under her nail, an itch she couldn’t get to right between her shoulder blades. And if he didn’t stop staring soon, she was going to have to say something.

  Oh, he was covert about it. At least, she was sure he thought he was being covert. After all, he was a state trooper. Arrogance was practically part of the uniform from her experience. But it hadn’t taken her even a week to notice the pattern. Every time she came out on the front porch to work and he was home, he ended up outside, too.

  So far, they hadn’t spoken. They’d waved. Exchanged polite nods. But that was it.

  If he’d not been a cop, Rachel would have put together a welcome package and introduced herself as soon as he’d had a chance to unpack enough to sit down and breathe. His attractiveness aside, that would have been the neighborly thing to do. But he was a law-enforcement officer, a LEO, so she didn’t. Rachel was only moderately ashamed of her bias.

  One of her best friends, Sawyer Evans, had retired from the state police last year. A cousin’s husband wore the uniform still, and another cousin was a sheriff’s deputy. So she knew there were good LEOs out there. Shoot, her own son Easton, who was nineteen and getting ready to start his second year of college, had every intention of joining the KSP as soon as he graduated.

  But her ex-husband had been a state trooper, and Ken “Bear” Boyd’s influence on her had been the strongest as far as leaving an impression. It had not, suffice it to say, been a good impression.

  Deciding to torment her voyeur a bit, she stretched her legs out slowly, flexing her ankles so that the muscles in her calves bunched and loosened. She might be forty-seven years old, but Rachel knew she still had damned fine legs. And since she had lived in her house comfortably now for close to twenty years, she felt like if she wanted to come out on the porch wearing cut-off jeans that barely covered the curve of her butt and a camisole-style tank top, she should be able to.

  After all, her other neighbors either worked or were well into retirement-age territory. She wouldn’t be exposing herself to anyone. At least she never had been before. Not until the new guy showed up. Besides, she wasn’t really wearing indecent clothing. Not by modern standards. Her parents wouldn’t be appalled to see her out in public in what she had on.

  She’d thought about asking Sawyer about him. Eventually she probably would. And when Easton came home from the summer vacation he was having with his dad, if she knew her son, he’d be over there in a heartbeat plaguing the guy with questions.

  Thinking about her only child made her smile. Easton reminded Rachel of an eager young pup. He was still clumsy with his curiosity. But he was also maturing so fast, turning from teenager into a full-grown man practically in front of her eyes, it almost hurt to look at him sometimes. The discipline of the hard schedule he’d set for himself during his first year of college had seen to growing that maturity. She couldn’t be more proud of him, and to this day, she still had difficulty believing he was hers, that she’d helped create such a good kid.

  None of that had anythi
ng to do with her new neighbor, however. Her neighbor who, she saw from the corner of her eye, was even now crossing the street.

  Shit, she thought. The leg stretching had done it. That spark of devilry hidden in her personality that reared its head from time to time usually got her in trouble when it did appear. Today, it seemed, was one of those times.

  “Hi,” he said, stopping at the gate in the picket fence around the front yard.

  Reluctantly and with a not-quite-silent sigh, Rachel took her reading glasses off, lifted her head, and looked at him. “Hi,” she said after a minute.

  He was a gorgeous hunk of a man, she had to admit, even if he was young enough to be her son. Black hair, sparkling blue eyes, an easy smile, and a body that… Yeah, those were her hands itching, that devil urging her to go play with the new boy-toy across the street. She ignored the itch.

  “You’re Sawyer’s friend Rachel, aren’t you? Sydney’s aunt?”

  That he knew who she was took her aback somewhat, but she tried to hide it. “I am.”

  He grinned self-consciously. “I’m Lee Harrison. Obviously, I used to work with Sawyer.” He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder at the police cruiser sitting in the driveway. “He told me I should come introduce myself. Actually got quite a kick out of who my new neighbor was when I saw him today.”

  “He would,” she said though she tried to take some of the sting out of the words with a smile. “Come on up.”

  He waved a hand. “I won’t bother you. I only wanted to introduce myself.”

  “Are you settling in well enough?” she asked, wanting to be polite but only just. “I know the house needed a lot of work. Mrs. Pullman wasn’t able to take care of it very well the last few years.”

  “I’m pleased with my progress. I got the carpet out, refinished the hardwood. That made a tremendous difference,” he said. “That, a coat of paint or three, and some elbow grease have gone a long way. It’s starting to feel like home.”

  She knew he’d worked on it for a couple of weeks before he’d moved in. “It’s a good house. It’s nice to see someone in it who can do what it needs.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at the house. “I’ll enjoy fixing it up. That’s kind of a hobby. This is my third house.”

  Rachel laughed. “Third house? How old are you?”

  Lee scowled at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “Thirty-five. Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who discriminates against a guy because of his age.” His wink tempered his words.

  “You do not look thirty-five.”

  “Yeah, well, I’d talk. Are you really Sawyer’s age?” He grimaced, his cheeks turning red even as she snorted with appalled amusement. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I’m always putting the wrong foot forward. I’ll go now that I’ve humiliated myself. Nice meeting you.”

  With a quick salute, he turned and headed back toward his house.

  Rachel, her mouth open with shock, waited for him to stop and come back. He didn’t. She scrambled to her feet and padded barefoot down the walk to the gate.

  “That’s it? You’re leaving?”

  He stopped on the other side of the street and turned to face her, his hands spread wide. “That was damaging enough, don’t you believe?”

  She didn’t quite know what to think. “Um. I’m not insulted if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

  “No?” He scratched his jaw. “Okay. Then I’d better not push it or you might be before I stop. See you around.”

  This time he didn’t stop. He went into the garage, and a few seconds later, the door started going down.

  Rachel was absolutely stumped. For someone who had watched her so avidly, that interaction had not gone the way she’d expected it to. Hands on her hips as she tried to puzzle the odd behavior out, she went back to the porch.

  “Maybe he’s lying, and now that he’s seen you up close and personal, he’s running the other way,” she muttered. That had to be it. There was a teeny part of her that was disappointed, she had to admit. But maybe now he’d only come outside when he needed to do something instead of every time she was out.

  “At least you won’t feel so self-conscious about the shorts and tank tops.”

  Rachel knew she didn’t look her age. Part of that, a big part, was her Campbell genes. Her body simply didn’t age the way so-called “normal” people’s bodies did. Sure, things weren’t as perky here or as firm there as they’d been when she was ten or fifteen years younger. But she could still pass for someone who was Lee’s age, she knew.

  Since she wasn’t looking for a man, she didn’t know why his reaction even mattered. As long as she was happy with her appearance, which she was, then what she looked like was no one else’s business as far as she was concerned. The disappointment that her too-hot-for-words neighbor had apparently not found her as attractive on closer inspection as she’d found him shouldn’t even be on her mind. By the time she gathered her papers and went inside, she’d convinced herself it wasn’t.

  Chapter Two

  “Oh, God, you klutz.” Lee groaned as he closed down his garage, cursing his clumsy, awkward words as he went in the house and headed to the kitchen for something to drink. “You completely screwed that up. She thinks you’re addled, and for good reason. You should expect men with straightjackets and butterfly nets any moment now.”

  For two weeks, he’d been trying to gather the nerve to cross the street and say hello. When he’d met with Sawyer this morning and found out exactly who his sexy neighbor was, he’d known his time for dithering was up.

  The first day he’d seen Rachel, he’d been so distracted by her appearance he’d almost dropped a concrete block on his foot. It wasn’t just the long legs, the soft arms, the shining curtain of dark-chocolate hair that swung around her shoulders, though those assets didn’t hurt. No, what did it for Lee was her glasses. Wire-framed reading glasses that she had a tendency to take off. The earpiece she nibbled on and traced her full bottom lip with. Glasses she folded and tucked into the strap of her tank top, anchoring them near the gloriously full curves outlined by said top.

  She was, as he’d told Sawyer, a sexy bookworm. And Lee had always had a thing for bookworms.

  So he’d finally gathered up the courage to introduce himself this afternoon. And she’d been even better up close.

  Her voice… he could write poems about her voice. They’d be bad poems, yes, but he could come up with a few sonnets if pressed to do so. Soft, husky, and nonetheless compellingly direct. And her eyes had stunned him almost as much as hearing her speak. Lee was used to seeing blue eyes as he had a pair of them himself. But Rachel’s eyes were dark, a sapphire blue that seemed to glow despite their deep hue. Ringed by a thick fringe of dark lashes that he could almost swear weren’t enhanced by cosmetics, they’d mesmerized him. Yes, that was the only excuse he could come up with to explain his clumsy words.

  “Well, you definitely made an impression, Leighton,” he chided himself as he pulled the ingredients for a sandwich out of the fridge. “One chance and you blew it.”

  His phone buzzed on the counter, alerting him to an incoming text message. When he looked at the sender’s name, he groaned. His sister Maggie had been dogging him for weeks now to ask his ex-fiancée out for dinner.

  “U coming to eat 2morrow at M/D?” she asked him now.

  The shorthand would make their father, an English teacher, cringe. Lee was affected similarly, even as he acknowledged his own tendency to shorten words. “Dunno. Who all will be there?” He didn’t trust her little matchmaking heart as far as he could throw her.

  The fact that it took her a couple of minutes to text him back made him highly suspicious. “Just us.”

  “Too ambiguous, sis.” He texted his other sister, Darla, who was not as fond of the idea of a reconciliation as Maggie
. “Be honest—is Gretchen going to be there tomorrow?”

  His phone rang a minute later.

  “She is, but you didn’t hear that from me,” Darla told him quickly. “Understand?”

  “Yeah. Damn it.” Lee sighed. He loved his family, but goodnight, they drove him nuts from time to time. “I’m not playing this game. Any idea how to get them to back off?”

  “Find someone else?” she suggested. “Honestly, bub, I think you have the patience of a saint for putting up with it as long as you have. I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, me, too. I wish they’d get it through their heads that we broke up for a reason. That reason hasn’t gone away.”

  “I know.”

  Lee didn’t want children. He never had. For as long as he remembered, the idea had been appalling. It wasn’t that he didn’t like kids; he did. He doted on his nieces and nephews. But the responsibility for someone else’s life to the degree parents had was not something he was interested in.

  Conversely, Gretchen had wanted kids. Desperately. She’d lied to him about that, and that lie had destroyed their relationship.

  “I’m not coming to dinner. I’ll call Mom and tell her. I’m not playing this game,” he reiterated somewhat despondently.

  “Good for you. I hope it does some good. Let me know if you need help. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try.”

  “Thanks.”

  He didn’t make the call immediately once he hung up, though. Instead, he thought back to the disaster that had erupted three years earlier when the truth had come to light.

  He and Gretchen had been at a party celebrating their engagement. It was a mad crush of people—his family, hers, friends, acquaintances, anyone her parents could think of to invite—and he’d needed to get some air. Stepping out onto a private deck at her folks’ house, he’d faded into the shadows and closed his eyes.