I hope you enjoyed the first book in the Blossom Ridge series. Are you ready for Brea and Niko’s story? Stay tuned for Finding Peace!
Please enjoy the following excerpt from Finding Peace:
Brea
I glance nervously at the clock on the wall for the tenth time in as many minutes. If I don’t leave work at precisely four and make the four-ten light rail, I’ll miss my connecting bus and arrive home late. My father will lose his mind.
I still have plenty of time. No reason to panic. It’s only three-fifteen.
I fidget in my seat. I still can’t believe I’m sitting here interviewing for a job. I mean, I didn’t even apply for the job. I have a job. I’m at it now. I work at Stella’s. It’s a quaint café. I’ve only been here a month.
We’re in the back room. Me. Stella. And her friend Leah. Leah and her husband manage a resort outside of Seattle called Blossom Ridge. They approached me for the first time three days ago, offering me a job there as head of housekeeping. I’m uncertain and nervous about the prospect.
“We don’t mean to pressure you,” Stella says in the gentlest voice. “I know it’s a huge step, but it seems like you could really use a life change. If I’m wrong, please tell me to back off.” Her brow is furrowed with concern.
I lick my lips. “Is it that I’m not doing a good job here at the café?” I murmur. This has been my biggest concern from the moment Stella came to me with this job proposition. That was the day I first met Leah.
Stella shakes her head. “Quite the opposite. You’re an amazing employee. I will hate to lose you, but I want to do what’s best for you. You’re twenty-four years old and living at home with your parents. The burden they put on you seems overwhelming.”
She’s not wrong. Living in my childhood home is stifling. It’s weighing on me so heavily I feel like I’m going to break into tiny pieces any day now. It’s gotten worse since I started working at the café because those hours each week allow me to breathe like I’ve never breathed before. When I get home, my depressing life seems doubly depressing.
This job at Stella’s is my first job ever. I had to beg my father to let me get a job, and the only reason he consented in the end was because my family needs the money. I turn over every paycheck to my father. It’s worth it just to get out of the house.
Leah reaches over and gives my hand a squeeze. She has her hair in long thick braids, and one of them falls over her shoulder. When I first met her three days ago, she had her hair in the same style. She was wearing hot pink leggings, white tennis shoes, and a long white top that day. I think she’s about thirty, but her style makes her seem younger.
Today is no different. She has on the same white tennis shoes, but she’s wearing black leggings and a purple tunic. It’s hard to believe she and her husband are the managers of a resort.
I’ve met her husband, Craig, too. He was with her the other day and today he’s hanging out in the café while we talk in the back room. I’m kind of glad. He’s big and intimidating. He’s given me no reason to be nervous, but I have so little experience with men in general that they make me nervous just by existing.
Leah’s expression is one of concern, her eyes narrowed, her smile faint. “We’re offering you a new life, Brea. I think you’d love living at Blossom Ridge.”
“Why?” I fight back the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes as Stella hands me a tissue. I clear my throat and try again. “Why would you help me?”
Leah gives her hand another squeeze and smiles. “You’re a kind, sweet, precious, gentle soul. You deserve a break.”
And the tears fall. Ugh. I swipe at them with the tissue. My lip is trembling as I meet Leah’s gaze. I’ve thought hard about this. It would be the biggest decision of my life. “I’m pretty sure my father would disown me,” I whisper.
Leah nods slowly. “I obviously don’t know your whole story, but it sounds like your father is overbearing to the point of abusive, Brea. He’s controlling your life.”
“Yes.” He is. I know it. Before this week I’ve never once considered there might be a way out for me. I’ve tossed and turned every night trying to decide if I should take this offer.
I’m not kidding. I might have to cut off all ties with my family. At least for a while. Maybe some of my siblings will later escape our weird existence and eventually and find me. Maybe not.
Part of me hates leaving my brothers and sisters to fend for themselves, but I also have to think about myself and my well-being.
“Do you have any more questions about Blossom Ridge?” Leah asks. “It’s hard to explain exactly what kind of resort it is, but I don’t want you to be blindsided.”
She told me it’s a place where adults can allow themselves to be comfortable in their skin and relax in an environment where they get to pretend they’re younger. I was never younger. It sounds like heaven. “I think I understand,” I tell her.
Stella smiles at me. “You would know one person. Amy is the chef there now. She’ll do everything she can to help you get settled.”
I only knew Amy—short for Amelia—for a few weeks before she left Stella’s to take the job at Blossom Ridge. I also know she and Stella talked about me and think it would be a good fit for me.
I’m twenty-four years old and I have almost no education and no prospects in this life. My father is a control freak who has ensured that none of his children have enough life experiences to make it in the real world. This is my chance. I may never get an opportunity like this again.
I take a deep breath and meet Leah’s gaze. “I’ll do it.”