Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Not much has changed in the tiny town in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Or so I thought. Moose Village is playing host to a mystery woman. And she happens to be working for my aunt’s bakery. The lovely Cadie Waterford is the talk of the town gossip, as much for her luscious banana bread as her willingness to talk about her past.
I’m not normally one to engage in gossip…but the more time I spend with Cadie, the more intrigued I become. Whatever her secrets may be, I’m sure I can handle them—but when words like FBI, CIA, and even murder come into play, does Cadie need more protection than I thought?
Or does Moose Village need protection from Cadie?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Cadie
December
“Cadie, what in the world are you doing?”
Glancing up from the suitcase I was packing as fast as I could, I saw my best friend, Lauryn Andrews, leaning against the doorjamb of my room.
“I need to leave.”
Her brows rose in confusion. “Leave? For where?”
I pulled a drawer from my dresser and grabbed a handful of clothes. “I don’t know where; I just need to get out of Boston.”
“Cadie, you’re starting to scare me. What’s wrong?”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I paused and looked directly at her. When I saw the fear on her face, I knew she saw the same thing in my eyes. I walked over, took her hands in mine, and drew a deep breath.
“Lauryn, I need you to listen to me.”
She nodded.
“Something has happened, and I need to leave town, but I can’t tell you where I’m going, or I’m afraid your life would be…it would be…I just need to leave, and no one can know where I am.”
A tear slipped free and rolled down her cheeks. “Does this have something to do with him?”
“Yes.”
Closing her eyes, she slowly shook her head before focusing back on me. “I told you he was trouble. Why didn’t you believe me?”
“It’s too late for I told you so’s, Lauryn. If anyone asks where I am, tell them you came home from work, and I was gone. No note, nothing. I’m going to leave my cell phone here in my room.”
“If you’re in trouble, why can’t you go to the police? Or let me talk to Richard.”
“Lauryn!” I shouted, then let out a breath. “Your boss cannot help me, and they probably have half the police department in their pocket. I need you to turn around, walk away, and pretend like you never saw me here. Do you understand?”
“I came home to grab my lunch I forgot.”
“Good, go get it and go back to work.”
She wiped the tears away, nodded, and turned from me. When she faced me again, I grabbed her arm, pulled her to me, and hugged her.
“Why does this feel like a forever goodbye?” she whispered, hugging me tightly.
I pushed her gently away and shook my head.
“I love you, Lauryn. Please don’t worry, okay?”
“I can’t make that promise.”
“You should go.”
“I love you too, Cadie.”
Once she turned and left my room, I forced myself not to cry and quickly returned to shoving everything I could into my bag. I needed to get out of Boston…the faster, the better.
Kian
Present Day - March
Beep. Beep. Beep.
With a groan, I reached over and fumbled for my phone to turn off the annoying-ass alarm that was blaring. Was it my imagination, or was it louder than normal?
After turning off the alarm, I set it back on the side table and ran my hand down my face. It felt like I had only fallen asleep a few minutes ago, and now I was back up. Same shit, different day, as my brother says.
I sat up and swung my legs over the bed. Before I even put my feet on the floor, my phone notifications were going off with incoming emails. With a sigh, I stood, went to my dresser, and pulled out some workout clothes. I needed a quick run before I started this day.
The sound of my feet hitting the pavement was music to my ears. Even with it being winter, and freezing out, I loved running. I didn’t get to work out nearly enough, so anytime I could sneak in a run or a trip to the gym was a blessing. It was the only thing that could clear my mind and lower my anxiety.
“Good morning, Mr. Carter.”
I smiled at the doorman of my building, Charles Ludwig. “Morning, Charles. How are you today?”
As he held the door open, he grinned. “My day has been magical. Just found out my daughter is having a baby girl.”
I reached my hand out to shake his. “Congratulations, Charles. I thought she wasn’t going to find out the sex of the baby.”
Charles laughed. “She wasn’t, but they had to do a sonogram yesterday, and they asked again, and she and her husband broke down. I’m glad they decided to tell everyone and not do one of those reveal parties. I’ve seen some really outrageous videos of those.”
With a chuckle, I replied, “My sister had a gender reveal party, and everything that could go wrong did. She swore never again. When is the baby due?”
Another wide smile broke out across his face. “Two weeks.”
“I’m sure you and the wife are over the moon.”
He nodded. “Yes, we both are. I’ve been saving up my vacation so that we can spend as much time as we can with her and Brian, that’s her husband.”
I nodded. “How much time do you have?”
With a slight frown, he replied, “I have three weeks saved up, but they’ll only allow me to take a week off.”