Emerald Falls Romance Bundle - Complete Series

“It’s okay, Sadie,” Gabriella Peters murmured to her gray tabby as she carried her into Emerald Falls Veterinary on a mid-August morning. “We just need to get your shots up-to-date.”

Sadie mewled in protest, but Gabby tucked her against her chest as she stepped up to the counter in the empty waiting room. “I don’t have an appointment,” she said to the woman behind the counter as she tried to hide an embarrassed smile. “But I just moved to town and thought I’d take the chance that the doctor would have time to see Sadie.”

The woman checked her computer screen, then turned to Gabby with a smile. “Looks like today is your lucky day. The doctor can see Sadie in about fifteen minutes.”

Smiling with relief, Gabby said, “That’s great. Thank you.”

The woman placed her fingers on the keyboard. “Let me get some information from you.” She gave the woman her contact information, then the woman asked, “What brings you to Emerald Falls?”

Holding a squirming Sadie in her arms, Gabby thought about the passing of her Aunt Mary, whose cottage she’d inherited, then considered her answer. Had it been serendipity that she’d been given the opportunity to move to Emerald Falls—the place where she’d spent many happy summers in her teenage years—right when she needed a change of scenery? She liked to think so, although she already missed Aunt Mary and her sage advice.

She decided to keep her answer simple. “I’m going to be teaching second grade at Emerald Falls Elementary school when school starts in a couple of weeks.”

“Oh,” the woman said with a smile. “My grandson will be in second grade there this year. Maybe he’ll be in your class.”

Happy to feel a connection to the community, however small, Gabby’s face lit up. “Really? What’s his name?”

“Samuel Richards, but he goes by Sam.” The woman paused. “I’m Emily Richards, by the way.”

“So nice to meet you, Emily.” The woman’s name didn’t ring a bell from the summers Gabby had spent there. Then again, it had been ten years since her last full summer there. Plus, she had only been fifteen back then and not exactly paying attention to the adults of Emerald Falls.

“Well,” Emily said with a warm smile, “if you’ll have a seat, the doctor will be with you shortly.”

With a nod, Gabby turned away, then sat in one of the chairs and placed Sadie in her lap. Stroking Sadie’s soft fur, Gabby thought about the move to her aunt’s cottage—the place that held so many good memories. Her aunt had been there for her when her parents had gone through a nasty divorce when Gabby was a pre-teen, and for the four summers afterward, Aunt Mary had cared for Gabby while her parents had worked.

The summer Gabby turned fifteen had been her last summer in Emerald Falls. After that, she’d gotten a job in her hometown and hadn’t been able to come for extended visits and she’d lost touch with her Emerald Falls friends. Not much for social media, Gabby had no idea which of those old friends were still in town and which ones had moved away.

Now, as she struggled to picture the faces of the girls she’d hung out with during her summers in Emerald Falls, another face popped into her mind. A face that made Gabby’s heart do a little flip. She had no trouble remembering that particular face.

Travis Haywood. The boy she’d crushed on from afar. The boy she had been too shy to even speak to. The boy who had gone off to college before she’d been able to gather the courage to let him know she was alive.

Gabby remembered the summer she’d first seen Travis Haywood. She had been fifteen and had just arrived for the summer. He had been eighteen and had just graduated from high school. His family had moved to Emerald Falls late the previous year, and by the time Gabby had shown up, he’d already established himself as the boy all the girls were crazy about. 

With no desire to compete for his attention—not to mention her complete lack of flirting skills—Gabby had developed a king-sized crush on him from a distance. A crush that had not been reciprocated. How could it have been when Travis hadn’t even known Gabby existed?

Why had she been so shy? Why was she still so shy?

Frustrated with her lack of confidence, Gabby consoled herself by remembering the painful lesson she’d recently learned that taking chances didn’t always pay off.

Face heating with fresh humiliation, she tried to push the unfortunate incident out of her mind.

Sadie nipped at Gabby’s finger, yanking her out of her memories, and she realized she was holding her cat a little too tight.

“Sorry, kitty,” she whispered as she loosened her grip.

“You must be Gabriella Peters,” a male voice said.

Gabby lifted her gaze from her cat to meet the deep-blue eyes of the man who stood in front of her. When recognition flooded her a split second later, her eyes widened and her throat closed up.

The man held out his hand. “I’m Dr. Travis Haywood.”

“Perfect,” Amethyst Fox murmured as she threaded the final moonstone onto the bar necklace. Leaning back in her chair, she let her gaze wander her studio—her favorite space in her house. Soft turquoise paint accented one wall, shelves with drawers and pouches containing all of her jewelry-making supplies adorned another, and a sparkly chandelier hung over it all.

Pleased with her work that morning, Amethyst smiled. Though she still had a number of custom orders to complete—orders that had been commissioned online—plus over two dozen standard pieces that she’d promised the boutique in town, she wasn’t about to complain. Knowing she was fortunate to do what she loved for a living, she was glad to be busy.

If only she had a busy love life.

With a wry smile, she shook her head. Before her love life could become busy, she needed to find someone she wanted to date. Like Gabby had.

Picturing her good friend Gabriella Peters, who was now happily dating Travis Haywood, Amethyst’s smile grew. Pleased that she’d played a part—however small—in getting Gabby and Travis together, Amethyst consoled herself with the knowledge that people she cared for were now walking down the path to true love.

You just need to live your life the best that you can. Don’t worry about finding true love. That will work itself out.

The words she’d heard her mother speak more than once echoed in her head, and she wished she could call her mother and talk to her. But her mother had passed away two years earlier.

Softly sighing, Amethyst decided to take a break and water the flowers in her front yard. A few minutes later, as she turned on the hose and began watering the colorful flowers that lined the front of her house, her gaze went to the house next door—the house that had stood vacant for the last few months. Now, however, there was a dark blue BMW parked in the driveway.

Amethyst knew that the former owner—an older woman—had passed away several months before. Since then, she’d briefly met the woman’s son who had inherited the house.

Was he back? Or maybe it was a realtor getting ready to list the place.

Keeping one eye on her flowers, Amethyst waited to see if the owner of the car would make an appearance. Curious to know what was going on, she finished watering the flowers and began pulling the few weeds that had grown since she’d last tended the flower bed. Still, no one came out of the neighboring house.

With a smile of irony that she wanted an excuse to stay outside but for once had nothing left to accomplish, Amethyst stood and brushed off her jeans. At that moment, she heard the creak of a door opening. Turning her gaze to the neighboring house, she watched as a man with dark hair and the beginnings of a beard walked out the front door, locking it behind him. Lifting her hand to shade her eyes, she called, “Hello.”

The man’s head jerked in her direction as if she’d startled him.

Despite the distance, she guessed he was about her age, maybe a little older. Pretty hot too. Was he a realtor? Then again, she didn’t think she had seen him around town.

He slid a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes before he nodded in her direction, then he walked toward the car, climbed in, and drove away.

A little put off by the man’s lack of friendliness, she lifted her eyebrows in disapproval before going back to her studio to continue working.

* * *

Sawyer Cooke couldn’t help it. As he drove, his gaze shot to every car with a driver.

What if they had found him? They would kill him. No question.

Trying not to dwell on the situation he was in, he continued driving. The house his friend Paul was letting him stay in suited him fine, but he needed to get a few supplies. He’d left home in such a hurry that all he had were the items he’d been able to throw into a suitcase, plus his laptop. And though Paul’s house was furnished with his late mother’s belongings, there was no food in the place.

As he drove to the large town nearest Emerald Falls to buy what he needed, he pictured the woman who apparently lived next door to his new home. From where he’d stood on his front porch, her red hair had been unmistakable and her smile had been open and inviting.

That was an invitation he would just have to pass up. Getting to know the neighbors would only lead to trouble.

Sawyer frowned.

It was too bad. She was attractive. But it didn’t matter anyway. She was probably married or had a boyfriend.

His frown deepened.

Plus, the more people he meet in this little town, the more danger he might be putting himself in.

Pushing aside thoughts of the woman who’d greeted him, Sawyer focused on his errand.

The moment Melanie walked into Emerald Chic Boutique with her sister Ashleigh, her gaze was drawn to a woman with beautiful red hair who was hunched over a work table creating a bracelet made out of an array of stones from milky white to chestnut brown.

“Hey, Amethyst,” Ashleigh said, then the woman lifted her head and smiled at them.

“Hey, Ash.” Amethyst stood and came around the table before giving Ashleigh a quick hug. “How are you?”

“I’m doing great. Looks like you’re keeping busy.”

Amethyst smiled. “Oh yeah. I was busy at Christmas and it’s just gotten busier every month since.”

“Putting your work table right out here was a stroke of brilliance. Now that you’re the owner, everyone can see what beautiful work you do.”

“Aw. Thanks, Ash.”

Ashleigh turned to Melanie before facing Amethyst. “Do you remember my sister Melanie?”

Amethyst smiled at Melanie. “Of course. When Ashleigh and I were sophomores in high school you were a senior and much too cool for us.”

Melanie laughed. “Not really. I just thought I was.”

“Are you here for a visit?”

“No,” Ashleigh said. “She and her adorable daughter Avery moved in with me.” Ashleigh placed her hand on Melanie’s arm. “I’m so excited to have them here.”

Touched by her sister’s enthusiasm, Melanie felt tears push against the backs of her eyes. “Thanks, Ash.”

Amethyst smiled. “That’s great! What brings you back to Emerald Falls?”

Melanie wasn’t about to get into the woes of her love life, although an image of her ex-boyfriend and his new wife popped into her head regardless. “It was time for a change.” That was the understatement of the year.

“Nothing like coming back to your roots,” Amethyst said. “And you know Emerald Falls is a great place to make a fresh start.”

Ashleigh gave Amethyst a knowing smile, then turned to Melanie. “Sometime you’ll have to ask Amethyst how she and Sawyer got together.”

Intrigued, Melanie nodded. “I certainly will.”

Ashleigh smiled at Amethyst. “I’ll let you get back to work. We just wanted to pop in and say hi before we had lunch.”

“I’m glad you did,” Amethyst said. “If you need anything, Melanie, just let me know.”

“Thanks. I will.” In all reality, there was no one besides her sister who Melanie trusted to come through for her. She wouldn’t ask anyone for a thing.

Melanie followed Ashleigh out the door of Emerald Chic Boutique and to a nearby diner. The heavenly scent of grilled burgers wafted into Melanie’s nose, and the sound of several voices talking at once filled her ears.

“Is this okay?” Ashleigh asked as she pointed to a booth near a window.

“Sure.”

They sat across from each other, then took a pair of menus out of a silver holder.

“How much time do you have before you have to get back to work?” Ashleigh asked.

Glancing at her phone, Melanie said, “About forty minutes.” On her lunch break from her accounting job, which was located in the large town adjacent to Emerald Falls, Melanie was happy to eat a quiet meal with her sister. As much as Melanie enjoyed spending time with her daughter, it was also nice to have a meal without her.

Moving to Emerald Falls had been difficult for three-year-old Avery. She desperately missed Kyle, the man Melanie had been hoping to marry and who had been like a father to Avery. Until Jessica had shown up and ruined all of her plans.

Nope. She wasn’t going to go there.

“It’s so fun having you here,” Ashleigh said with a smile. “I hardly got to see you before and now I get to see you all the time.”

Melanie laughed. “Until you get sick of us.”

“You know that will never happen.” A wistful expression came over Ashleigh. “You’re the only family I have.”

Touched by her sister’s words, Melanie set her menu down and reached across the table to place her hand on Ashleigh’s arm. “You and me against the world, right?”

The wistful look on Ashleigh’s face was replaced by raised eyebrows and pursed lips. “That’s right.”

Melanie smiled as she picked up her menu. When their parents had died in a car accident when they were in elementary school, they’d moved to Emerald Falls to live with their grandmother. And now that she’d passed away, it really was just the two of them. They’d always been fiercely loyal to one another, so when Melanie couldn’t take seeing Kyle and Jessica for another day, moving in with Ashleigh had been the obvious answer.

“Hey there, Ashleigh,” the server said as she stopped next to their table.

Melanie lifted her gaze to the pretty woman with auburn hair pulled into a ponytail and tried to place her.

“Hey, Katy,” Ashleigh said. “This is my sister Melanie. She just moved back.”

No, Melanie had never met her before.

“Welcome back,” Katy said with a warm smile.

Melanie had only been back for a week, but already she was feeling right at home. The people were friendly—and none of them had ever heard of Kyle and Jessica Judd.

“Thanks,” Melanie said.

“Now,” Katy said, “what can I get you ladies?”

They placed their order and Katy walked away.

“She comes in to the library with her two kids all the time,” Ashleigh said, then she chuckled. “They especially love story time. When they sit still long enough to listen.”

Melanie smiled. “I’ll bet you’re the best librarian Emerald Falls has ever had.”

“I don’t know about that, but I do love it.”

Katy brought their food a short time later—a turkey avocado on toasted sourdough for Melanie and a grilled burger with everything on it for Ashleigh. As they ate, they talked about the people they’d known growing up. 

“Don’t be surprised if Amethyst throws a dinner party in your honor,” Ashleigh said as she picked up a French fry and dipped it in catsup.

Melanie swallowed the bite of sandwich she’d been chewing. “She doesn’t need to do that.”

“She loves to throw parties.” Ashleigh smirked. “Not that you ever came to any of them when we were in high school.”

Melanie tilted her head. “That’s right. I was too cool for you guys.”

They both laughed.

“If you have time,” Ashleigh said, “would you mind picking up a few things at the grocery store on your way home from work this afternoon? I’m not off until seven.”

“Sure thing.” Melanie was happy to help out however she could. Ashleigh had let Melanie and Avery take over both of her guest bedrooms, so if Melanie could do anything to make life easier for her little sister, she would do it.

“I don’t want you to be late picking up Avery from day care though,” Ashleigh added. “So if it won’t work…”

“No. Mrs. Johnson can be strict about punctuality, but it will only take a minute to run into the store.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

Melanie ended up getting off work a little later than she had planned. Being a new employee, it was important that she make a good impression, so when the project she was working on ran into a snag, she stayed long enough to help fix the issue. 

Crossing into the city limits of Emerald Falls, Melanie debated whether to pick up Avery before going to the store. As much as she wanted to see her daughter after the long work day, it would be faster to run in on her own, so she zipped into the nearest parking space and hurried into the store before grabbing a shopping cart.

Keeping an eye on the time, she gathered the few items Ashleigh had requested, then pushed her cart to the check-out. Two registers were open—a regular line, which had three people in it already, and the fifteen items or less line, which had one person nearly done and another customer queued up.

Melanie chose the express line. The man in front of her had his items on the belt, and with her accountant’s mind, she quickly tallied up the total. He had twenty-three items. Holding back a sigh—she only had seven things in her cart—she tried not to think mean thoughts about him, but they filled her mind regardless.

Couldn’t he read? It clearly said fifteen items or less. Maybe he couldn’t count. Typical man. Thinks the world revolves around him and his needs.

His back was to her, but she worked not to notice his athletic build and thick blonde hair. And when he turned slightly so that she could see his profile, she told herself not to notice how attractive he was with his strong jaw, full lips, and perfectly carved cheekbones with just the right amount of stubble.

A minute later the cashier—a pretty girl in her early twenties—smiled at him. “Hey, Gage,” she said. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Gage said. “How are you, Ellie?”

“Keeping busy.”

Melanie hoped they weren’t going to chat for long. She was already running behind and needed to get to Mrs. Johnson’s to pick up Avery.

Mercifully, Ellie finished ringing up his items and the man was on his way without a backwards glance in Melanie’s direction.

“Hello,” Ellie said to Melanie.

“Hi.” The girl’s smile was warm, and as she rang up Melanie’s items, Melanie began to relax. She would be out the door in mere moments. She paid for her purchases and headed to her car, but as she approached, a new dent was clearly visible on her rear bumper.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered as her blood pressure skyrocketed. Then she saw a slip of paper pinned to her windshield by a wiper blade. Marching to the front of her car, she mashed her lips together in frustration. She didn’t have time to deal with this.

Lifting the wiper blade, she retrieved the note and thought, This guy better have insurance.

She read the note.

Sorry about your car. Give me a call and I’ll take care of the damage.

Gage Bennett

There was a phone number scrawled beneath the man’s name, but when Melanie saw the name Gage, her irritation only increased. It was the same man who had been in front of her in line. The man who thought he didn’t need to follow the rules. Not only had he damaged her car, but he hadn’t even had the courtesy to come inside and find her.

You’d better believe you’re going to take care of the damage.

At least he’d left a note, but that did little to assuage Melanie’s annoyance. When she spoke to him she would give him a piece of her mind. But she didn’t have time just then.

“Who does he think he is?” Ashleigh Hopkins glared at the screen of her phone as she sat on her couch, the picture of Chase Matthews taunting her.

“Who are you talking about?” her sister Melanie asked as she walked into the living room. It was Ashleigh’s house, but her sister and four-year-old niece lived there with her.

Embarrassed that her sister had caught her noticing anything about Chase Matthews, Ashleigh felt her face heat. “No one.”

Melanie sprang forward and snatched the phone from Ashleigh’s hand. “You don’t get away with it that easily, Ash. I want to know who’s getting under your skin.” Melanie looked at the screen, her eyebrows shooting up, then her eyes shifted to Ashleigh.

Embarrassed for her sister to find out that she ever thought about Chase, Ashleigh let her emotions rule her voice. “Give that back to me.”

Tilting her head, Melanie asked, “Since when do you follow Chase Matthews on social media?”

Sighing heavily, but only because she couldn’t come up with a good excuse as to why she was looking at pictures of her ex-boyfriend, Ashleigh stood and held out her hand. “That’s none of your business.”

Melanie murmured, “Uh-huh,” but at least she gave the phone back.

Tucking the phone in her back pocket, Ashleigh asked, “Isn’t it time for you to go to work?”

Melanie chuckled. “Not yet.”

Just then, an adorable little girl came bounding in the room, flinging herself at Melanie. “Mommy!”

Melanie swung her up in a hug. “Hi, Avery.” 

Glad her sister was distracted, Ashleigh took the opportunity to go into the kitchen and take another peek at the picture Chase had posted. In it, he was dressed in a tuxedo and had not one, but two gorgeous women with him—one on each arm.

As she stared at the picture, she remembered when she had been the one on his arm. His one and only, he used to say. Well, that certainly wasn’t the case any longer. Sure, it had been six years since she’d last seen him—in person, that is. But it still hurt when she saw him with another girl.

“What are you doing?” Melanie said from right behind her.

Ashleigh let out a yelp as she jerked away from her annoying older sister and spun around to glare at her.

Melanie chuckled. “I thought you were over him.”

“I am over him. Totally over him.” She hoped she’d convinced Melanie, because someone needed to believe it.

“Right.”

“I am. Now, I do have to go to work, so if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course.” Sweeping her hand out to the side, Melanie stepped back.

Frowning, Ashleigh walked past her, grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter, and walked out the front door.

On the way to the Emerald Falls Library where she worked as the librarian, Ashleigh struggled to push aside the image of Chase galavanting with those women. Of course, she didn’t know if he was actually galavanting. For all she knew, once the camera was turned off he’d sent them both on their way, that they meant nothing to him. 

Just like she meant nothing to him.

Shoving down the memory of their last conversation, when he’d shattered her heart and left Emerald Falls, she focused on driving.

She pulled into a parking space, tossed her purse over her shoulder, and climbed out of her car. As she unlocked the single glass door and walked inside the library, the absolute quiet immediately soothed her, and the familiar scent of rows and rows of lovely books sent a blanket of calm wrapping around her. She loved the library—always had. Ten years earlier, when she’d turned sixteen and had gotten her driver’s license, the first place she’d driven on her own was the library. Browsing aisle after aisle of books without worrying about having to call someone for a ride had been an unknown luxury up until that point. Now though, it had become routine.

She went to her desk, which was in the front of the library where patrons could easily find her to get help, and booted up her computer.

The glass door opened and a woman about the same age as Ashleigh walked in. Ashleigh smiled at her. “Hey, Taylor.”

Taylor strode over to Ashleigh’s desk and set down a stack of books with a frown. “Hey.”

“What’s wrong?” Wait. Did she really want to know? Inevitably it had to do with Taylor’s boyfriend, Seth.

“Seth—”

Ashleigh threw her hand up. “Let me stop you there.”

Taylor’s eyebrows shot up and her mouth fell open. “What?”

After seeing the pictures of Chase, she just wasn’t in the mood to hear about someone else’s boyfriend problems—not that there was a chance Chase would ever be her boyfriend again. Even hinting at that thought brought a rush of heat to her face.

“If you don’t want to know what’s wrong,” Taylor said with a frown, “then don’t ask.”

This was Taylor’s boyfriend they were talking about. Not Ashleigh’s ex. She sighed. “I’m sorry. What happened?”

Taylor grabbed a chair, dragged it over to Ashleigh’s desk, and plopped into it. “Well…”

Oh boy. This was going to take a while. Bracing herself, Ashleigh relaxed her shoulders and gave her full attention to Taylor.

“On Saturday Seth was supposed to take me dancing, but at the last minute he said his friend got tickets to the Sacramento Kings game. Well, you know Seth. He can’t pass up an opportunity to watch the NBA. So, he dropped me and our date like a bad habit.”

Ashleigh nodded. So typical. “See? This is exactly why I’m on a man-fast.”

Taylor burst out laughing. “A what?”

Was it really such a ridiculous idea? “A man-fast. You know, staying away from all men.”

“Oh. I can figure out what it means. I just don’t know why you would want to be on one.”

Really? Did she have to explain? “Every man I’ve dated has turned into a flake. We go out once or twice, and then poof, it’s like he was a figment of my imagination.”

Taylor shook her head. “You just haven’t found the right man yet.”

“You’re saying you have?”

“Well, I love Seth and he loves me. It’s just, sometimes, you know, he forgets that he wants to be with me every minute.”

Chuckling, Ashleigh shook her head. 

Taylor smirked. “I’ll get you on a date one way or another.”

Ashleigh rolled her eyes. “There’s a big stack of books that came in over the weekend that needs checking in.

“All right, all right.” Taylor stood. “We’re putting up the Christmas decorations today, aren’t we?”

With the distraction of seeing the picture of Chase, Ashleigh had completely forgotten about that. She adored Christmas and had been looking forward all weekend to decorating the library. She’d made herself wait until the beginning of December. Now, the wait was over. “That’s right.”

“Yay!”

Just what she needed to forget about Chase Matthews.

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