“Faith, hurry. It’s freezing out here,” Abby called from her golf cart. All three of Faith’s sisters were bundled up in scarves, gloves, and thick jackets. It was the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving, and the temperature in Keating Hollow was dropping quickly. The day had been in the sixties, but since the sun had gone down, the wind had picked up, and if the temperature stayed above freezing they’d be lucky.
“Keep your pants on. I’m coming,” Faith called as she grabbed an envelope that was just lying in the middle of her lawn. She must’ve dropped it after she’d emptied her mailbox the day before.
They were headed to Yvette’s bookstore where they were planning a holiday-themed bridal shower for Noel, who’d finally set a date with her fiancé, Drew. They’d decided to tie the knot on Christmas Eve at the Townsend family home. Faith held the letter up, squinting at it in the moonlight. Her name and address were inscribed in unfamiliar handwriting, and there was no return address. She bit down on her bottom lip, trying to speculate who it might be from. No one came to mind.
“Hanna’s waiting for us,” Abby said from the driver’s seat of the golf cart. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a braid that poked out from under her knitted cap.
“Relax. She’s not going to start without us, is she?” Faith asked as she climbed into the back seat next to Noel, stuffing the envelope in her pocket. She’d take a look at it later.
“She’s bringing cookies,” Noel said. “And you know she can’t control herself once she digs in.”
Faith snorted. Hanna worked at Incantation Café where she was surrounded by cookies all day, every day. But Noel was right. Hanna refrained from indulging while she was working, but once she clocked out? All bets were off. The wind picked up, and Faith shivered slightly. “Why are we tooling around in the open-air-mobile?”
“Have you forgotten about the golf cart races later?” Abby asked. “Wanda is meeting us with Irish coffees for everyone after we finish planning the shower.”
“Right.” Faith huddled in close to Noel, noting she had changed her hair again. In the last year, she’d gone from bright red, to blond, to strawberry blond. Now it was auburn with bright red streaks. “Nice do. Love the bangs.”
Noel grinned. “Thanks. Drew said he felt a little naughty, like he’d been given permission to fool around with the town’s new hottie. He says that every time I change my hair.”
Faith laughed, but inside she felt a twinge of jealousy. Not because she had a thing for her sister’s fiancé, but because even though she’d finally been on a few dates in the last couple months, there wasn’t anyone in sight who had long-term potential. And there certainly wasn’t anyone she thought was actual boyfriend material, much less someone she might actually consider marrying. “At least you know what to do if things ever get stale in the bedroom.”
Noel gave Faith a secretive smile. “That’s not something I’m too terribly worried about.”
“Stop! No one wants to hear about your bedroom antics,” Yvette called over her shoulder. Of the four Townsend girls, she was the only one with naturally dark hair. It was a beautiful chestnut color, and Faith often wished she’d been blessed with Yvette’s gorgeous locks. Her own hair was light blond and boring, in her opinion. Maybe she’d go to Noel’s colorist and try something new for a change.
Abby snickered. “I bet Faith wouldn’t mind some details. How long has it been, little sister?”
“Since what?” Faith asked absently, still wondering if she had the guts to dye her hair.
“Since you had a hot guy in your bed,” Noel explained as Abby cackled.
Faith rolled her eyes. “Way too long.”
“Hey,” Noel said, nudging her. “Didn’t you go out with Jacob’s friend Brian last week? How’d that go?”
Abby pulled the cart into a spot in front of Yvette’s bookstore, and Faith’s attention locked on the enchanted front window where Santa and his reindeer were flying over a village that was being covered with a light snowfall. Ice skaters were twirling on the rink in the center while a witch and her familiar stood off to the side, wand in hand. A stack of books titled A Witchin’ Christmas was prominently displayed off to the left.
“The window is gorgeous, Vette. Did you and Jacob do that today?” she asked as she turned back around to find all three of her sisters staring at her. “What?”
Yvette tsked. “No one cares about the window at the moment. We want to hear about your date.”
Faith shrugged. “We just had coffee and took a walk down by the river. Nothing special.”
“That’s it?” Yvette asked. “Did you like him? Are you going out again?”
Brian was Yvette’s fiancé’s best friend, and he’d moved to Keating Hollow earlier in the year. Yvette had set Faith up with him and was a little too invested in the outcome. The date had been fine. He was funny and interesting to talk to, but there hadn’t been any spark. At least not on her end. It was too bad, too, because there was no denying Brian was gorgeous and a good guy. Faith frowned. “He said he’d call and maybe we’d get dinner.”
“Let me guess… he hasn’t called yet,” Yvette said. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. “Well, it was just Thanksgiving, and I think he headed down to southern California to see his family. I’m sure he’ll get in touch when he gets back in town.”
“Sure.” Faith hopped out of the golf cart. “Let’s get inside. It’s cold out here.” Holding the door to Keating Hollow Books open, Faith waved her sisters in. She followed Noel, who paused just inside the door, glancing around at the evening customers still milling around the place. The shop was closing in twenty minutes, and there was quite a line at the checkout counter. Yvette’s Black Friday weekend sale seemed to have been a huge hit.
“Your date didn’t exactly sweep you off your feet, did he?” Noel asked, pulling Faith over into the corner.
Faith let out a frustrated sigh. “No, dammit. And the worst part is, I’m not even sure why not. He’s the whole package, and yet… I don’t know. We just didn’t seem to have any chemistry.”
Noel gave her a sympathetic smile and linked an arm through her sister’s. “Maybe you just need to give it more time. Get to know him a little before you write him off. You never know. Once you get your hands on him, that might change. If not, there’s no harm in making a new friend.”
“Friendship. Right,” Faith said with a laugh. “I’m sure that’s exactly what he’s looking for.”
“Faith?” a familiar male voice called.
Her blood pressure spiked as she glanced up and spotted Hunter, her former contractor and the man who’d stood her up five months ago when he’d left town for some sort of emergency. He’d never returned, and she’d never heard from him again. He was slightly thinner than when she’d last seen him, and his brown hair was a tad darker, but his sexy five-o’clock shadow woke the butterflies in her stomach. Now that was chemistry.
“Hunter?” she sputtered. “What are you…?” Her voice trailed off as her gaze landed on the pretty raven-haired woman standing beside him, a stack of children’s books in her hands.
“Sorry,” he said quickly, a tinge of nervousness in his voice. “This is Vivian. She’s an old friend.”
“Right.” Faith forced herself to hold her hand out to the woman. “I’m Faith Townsend. I own A Touch of Magic, the town’s new spa. You should come by, get a massage or a facial. Hunter knows where it’s at.”
“A massage sounds lovely,” she said, shaking Faith’s hand. “I can’t remember the last time I treated myself.”
“Faith is the best therapist around,” Hunter said.
He should know, Faith thought. She’d given him more free massages than she could count during the time he’d worked for her. The man had done some fabulous work; he’d deserved it. She could still feel his hard, well-defined muscles beneath her fingertips. A shiver of desire ran down her spine as she recalled how beautiful he was beneath his clothes. Too bad he’d cut and run right after he kissed her for the first time and then apparently wasted no time finding himself a replacement.
Noel stepped up and introduced herself to Vivian and then smiled at Hunter. “It’s good to see you again.”
They made their pleasantries, and Noel excused herself. As she made her way over to the café where Abby and Yvette were waiting with Hanna, she glanced over her shoulder and widened her eyes at Faith. Whoa, she mouthed. What is he doing here?
Faith gave her sister a tiny shake of her head. She had no idea, but as far as she was concerned, he could just turn around and go back to wherever he’d come from. The effect his presence had on her was way too intense, despite the fact that he was clearly taken. Out of bounds. Off limits. Throwing herself at him would be very bad form.
“I should—” she started.
“I was going to call you tomorrow,” Hunter said, cutting her off as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Tomorrow?” she asked, with a huff of humorless laughter. “Better late than never, I guess.”
He winced. “I deserve that.”
Vivian glanced between the two of them then started to back up. “I think that’s my cue. Hunter, I’ll just go pay for these and wait for you outside.”
“Thanks,” he said without taking his eyes off Faith.
“She’s lovely,” Faith said. “Congratulations.”
He frowned. “What?”
“Vivian. She’s really pretty.” Faith glanced away, wondering what the hell she was doing. Why was she standing there behaving so awkwardly? It wasn’t as if she’d actually dated Hunter. They’d had one hot kiss. That was it. Sure, she’d seen him fully naked, but that had been an accident and what had arguably escalated her desire to get her hands all over him outside of the massage table. But she had no claim on him and absolutely no right to be acting like a jealous ex.
“Vivian is my best friend’s wife,” he said, his tone strange, almost as if it pained him to speak the words.
Her attention snapped back to him. “She’s already married?”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, exhaustion lining his beautiful features. “She was. Craig was in a bad car accident the day I left Keating Hollow and was in the hospital for almost a month before he lost his battle. That’s why I had to leave so suddenly, Faith. I’ve been in Las Vegas helping Viv with the aftermath of Craig’s death ever since.”
Shock rendered Faith speechless. Of all the things she’d imagined he’d say if he ever came back, the death of his best friend wasn’t one of them. She blinked up at him, suddenly ashamed of all the bad thoughts she’d had concerning him over the past few months. He’d been grieving a profound loss, and she’d been mentally cursing him for leaving without a word. In her defense, they had at the very least been friends, and it had hurt that he’d disappeared from her life with no explanation.
Taking a step closer, she reached out and grabbed his hand. As she squeezed, she said, “I’m so sorry, Hunter. I can’t even imagine how hard that would be.” Faith quickly glanced at Hanna, her best friend, and felt her heart lurch. If Faith were to suddenly lose her, she had no idea how she’d handle it. Probably no better than Abby had handled Charlotte’s loss a decade ago.
“Thank you. I still should’ve called. Things were just… I’m sorry.” He visibly swallowed, appearing to choke down emotion. “There was a lot going on.”
“Of course. You don’t need to apologize, and you don’t need to explain further.” She dropped his hand and stepped back. “Are you in town for a while, or are you just passing through?”
Vivian reappeared before he could answer, a canvas bag with the Keating Hollow Books logo clutched in her hand. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Zoey is hungry. We need to get some real food into her soon, or we’ll be entering meltdown mode.”
It was then that Faith noticed a young girl of about six or seven hiding behind Vivian’s legs. She was holding a stuffed dog and reaching for Hunter’s hand. She wrapped her fingers around one of his, and he smiled down at her.
“Ready for dinner, little Z?” he asked.
She nodded and stared at Faith with wide dark eyes.
“Okay. We’re going.” He shifted his attention back to Faith. “Before we go, I was wondering if you needed any more work done at the spa. If you haven’t gotten around to the outdoor area, I could come by in the morning—”
Faith held her hand up, stopping him as she tried to swallow her sudden irritation. For a minute there, she’d been starting to think he’d missed her. That he really had felt bad for leaving her hanging. And while she certainly understood the heartbreaking circumstances, she didn’t like feeling as if she were only important because she might be able to provide a paycheck. “Sorry, Hunter. We don’t have any construction projects in the works right now.”
“I see.” He stared down at her, his eyes clouding with something she couldn’t read.
Was that disappointment? She couldn’t tell, but it was enough that it had her touching his arm gently. “But if you need work, check with my dad. I know he has some stuff around the farm he’s been looking to get done. Rebuilding the barn and some fencing. Nothing high end, but it pays.”
“Right. Thanks, I’ll drop in on him tomorrow.” He nodded to Vivian. “We better get our little one fed before it gets too late.”
“It was nice to meet you, Faith,” Vivian said.
“You too,” Faith called as the three of them walked out the door. His voice echoed in her mind, repeating our little one. Ours. It was as if he’d stepped right into his best friend’s shoes and ended up with an instant family.
Was there something going on between them? It wouldn’t be the first time two people had turned to each other in grief. If they weren’t together, what was Vivian doing in Keating Hollow?
Our. That word still hung there, haunting her. Of course they were together. And if they weren’t, they would be soon. They’d just spent the last five months together, leaning on each other during the worst possible scenario. If they weren’t finding comfort in each other, she’d be shocked.
“Holy hell,” Abby said, appearing right next to Faith. “That looked brutal.”
She side-eyed her sister. “You have no idea.”
“Come on, baby sis. Hanna spiked the apple cider, and it looks like you could use a cup.”
“Make it a double,” Faith said, letting Abby tug her through the store.