June's Forever: Love in Little River Book Five Page 2

  “She need any more investors?” June asked as she scooted in.

  Bellamy waited to answer until she had hopped into the driver’s seat. Skyler took the passenger seat next to her. “I’ll ask.”

  “If this works out, I’m very interested.”

  Bellamy donned a pair of sunglasses as she turned around, headed for a gravel road that led away from the old hanger and toward a grouping of buildings June guessed was the town of Little River.

  “I know you’ve gotten some flak online about this, June, but I wanted you to know that I love it.” Bellamy cast her a smile, one that June hadn’t ever seen her without. She could only think of one or two pictures where the press had caught her with a scowl, and June had seen nearly every one. She followed Coy Jones’s career religiously.

  “I like to do things efficiently.” She grinned back. “And it worked out for Coy Jones.”

  “It did. It did indeed.”

  “We had some other work to take care of on the plane. Do you mind if Skylar brings me up to speed on my, hopefully, future fiancé?” June pulled her tablet from her purse and looked over at Skylar.

  “Oh, please, please do.” Bellamy pulled on to the main highway, and June hesitated to look down at her tablet to open the file Skyler had sent over just before they landed. This was her first look at Little River, and she wanted to drink it all in.

  The main street was short. They passed The Diner, a grocery store, and a few odds-and-ends shops. A boutique caught June’s eye and she craned her neck as they passed. She loved the owner’s shabby chic vibe. It fit right in with the small-town feel of the main street but also gave off a modern, trendy feel. The clothes in the window were all more classic and conservative than some of June’s favorites, but it was obvious the owner knew her regular clientele and didn’t try to reach too high. She’d stop in sometime and check it out closer.

  The remodeled bar where Taggart Dubois had played the first shows of his career was at the end of the street, just across from a hotel. Another blink and they were out of town again, heading toward the Arrow C and Double A ranches.

  Skylar’s voice surprised June and she gave her assistant a smile when she realized she’d waited as they passed through town before speaking. “Josh Kenway,” Skylar said, holding up her tablet and a photo of the attractive man June would be meeting later that evening. She tilted the tablet Bellamy’s direction and she took a peek.

  “Good picture,” she said. “Looks like one of the many Brook took for the fine single men of Little River.” She smirked.

  “Brook?” Skylar asked.

  “Local photographer. She suddenly got really busy when you started looking for a husband.” Bellamy winked at June.

  “You know Josh?” June pulled the same picture up on her tablet from the file Skylar had given her. She wasn’t ashamed to admit that his looks were a part of the reason he’d made her final cuts and been one of the five men she’d video-chatted with over the last couple weeks. He had short, dark blond hair and a neat beard. His sharp, blue eyes had caught her attention right off, and she couldn’t ignore the way he’d chosen a light green sweater that had made his eyes glow. True, Lucas hadn’t known the first thing about fashion and June had enjoyed choosing all his clothes for him, but it might be fun to have someone she didn’t have to lecture about wearing his polo shirts with basketball shorts when he lounged around on Sundays after church.

  “It’s a small town,” Bellamy said. “I know Josh. He plays ball with the boys on Tuesday evenings. Coy says some guys were ribbing him a few weeks ago about submitting an application.”

  “I’m glad he did.” June swiped his photo away to glance at the notes she’d taken when she’d spoken with Josh. “We really hit it off. I know a marriage of convenience is a little too nineteenth century for most people, but someone who’s willing to give it a shot and take it seriously? I’m intrigued.”

  “You could end up with a Bellamy Hansen.” Bellamy met June’s eyes in the rearview.

  “Or a Lucy,” Skylar added. Bellamy snorted with laughter first and soon the other two women couldn’t help joining in.

  “Josh doesn’t have any competition. I don’t think we’ll have a Lucy on our hands here.” June had to defend him. He could very possibly be her future husband.

  “True.” Bellamy slowed the SUV as they drove past the Ranch House and June turned to admire the proud, Victorian mansion. They passed a gravel road that led to Taggart Dubois’s Little River home and another just down the road from it. When the homes disappeared behind them, Skylar went back to talking about Josh—his job at a local mine, his family (who lived in Denver now), and his hobbies. Bellamy added her opinions every now and again, and by the time they pulled up in front of a stone and log house at the base of the mountain, they had covered most everything.

  June pushed her door open and stepped out onto the cobbled drive. “This is gorgeous,” she breathed as she gaped at the floor to ceiling windows gleaming in the late afternoon sun. The logs were light golden brown and the stone steps leading up to the front door were a beige color that made the whole home appear as though it had simply sprung up from the land around it. Pine trees guarded the property, looking like they’d spilled off the mountain and down into the yard.

  “It’s a replica of Rock Meadow,” Bellamy explained. “It was an Adams’ family home that was originally built further up the mountain, belonging to Roxy’s twentieth-great-grandparents . . . or something like that. That home was destroyed in a mudslide in the seventies, and when Roxy decided to start building guest houses, she chose to rebuild this one.”

  “I think I actually want to marry this house,” June said, climbing the steps behind Bellamy.

  “You’re our first official ‘guest’ here. Hallie did stay in it for a few weeks until she found a house in town.” Bellamy unlocked the door with a code entered into a keypad and led the way inside. The room was open, and with the floor to ceiling windows on nearly every wall, it seemed like it had been plopped down in the middle of the land around it. Décor in shades of green, grays, and oranges completed the peaceful surroundings. The kitchen melded into the whole scheme with soft gray cabinets and ivory countertops.

  Bellamy took June to the master suite, done in the same subdued, serene colors, and June was officially in love. “So. This isn’t for sale?” she said as Bellamy set down her suitcase inside the master suite.

  “Nope, sorry.” Bellamy shrugged. “I already tried. Roxy’s insistent that the Arrow C not be broken up for land development and selling this would open the door for that, in her mind.”

  “I suppose I’ll have to buy my own ranch then.” June gave a mocking huff, which made Bellamy laugh.

  She pulled out her phone and consulted something before looking back up. “I’ll have Lance back up here with the SUV at six-thirty. That will give you plenty of time to get into town for your date with Josh. There’s a great jetted tub in here.” She pointed to the bathroom, separated from the rest of the master suite by a white, sliding barn door. “Take advantage. Private jet or not, three hours on a plane does something to a girl. Also, chat with Coy about investments some time. I’ve never cared how much money that man makes, but private jet sounds nice, especially when he convinces me to move out to South Carolina and I start missing this place too much.”

  “He can rent mine,” June said, tossing her purse onto the huge, California king bed. “More affordable and I’m a big enough fan that I’ll cut him a sweet deal. No one needs to pay for a full-time jet.”

  “Perfect. See you later. I’m going to confirm a few things with Skylar and then I’ll be out of your hair.” Bellamy waved and left the room, closing the double doors behind her. June pulled her hair out of its ponytail to wrap it into a bun on top of her head, heading for the bathroom and the jetted tub. Then she made a mental note to have Skylar look up land nearby. She was serious about buying her own ranch out here. Less than an hour in Little River and its magic had worked. She was ready to put down roots. And perhaps that had been the key to whatever was going on in this small town. People weren’t just falling in love here. They were falling in love with the town.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Wyatt should have known from the way Addy had her jaw set that it wasn’t a great night for dinner at her diner. Also the fact that every parking spot in her lot was full and everything out front too. But it had been a long day on the job and he didn’t want to cook.

  “Got a spot?” he asked when she met him at the counter.

  She looked around the crowded diner and rolled her eyes. “Usually I could tell you that one was going to open up in about ten minutes, but you’d think The Catch was back in town with the way people are lingering over their dinners tonight.” She tilted her head toward a table in the far corner. There were open booths on either side of it. Wyatt couldn’t help a scowl. “Can I trust you, at least, not to gape at Ms. St. Clair and Josh if I put you in one of those?”

  Wyatt looked back at the tables. He couldn’t see Ms. St. Clair’s face, since she had her back to him, sitting opposite Josh Kenway. All he saw in the sliver of her profile that was visible was white-blond hair pulled back in a high, tight ponytail and high cheekbones.

  “Scout’s honor, Addy. I just want a burger and some fries and extra strawberries in my shake.”

  Addy reached over and squeezed his arm. “Heard about the accident. Sorry, Chief.”

  Wyatt scrubbed a hand across the rough hairs on his jaw. Small town life usually meant dealing with death less than bigger city gigs, but every once in a while, it touched here too. The mountain that shadowed Little River was steep coming down this side and today it had claimed two lives, even though everyone involved had done their best to save them. He thought about the way N
ash had squeezed his eyes shut when he’d walked out of the ER to the waiting room where Wyatt had been questioning the other two passengers in the car. They were all from out of town. It should make it easier for Wyatt to compartmentalize since he hadn’t watched friends bleed all over the highway, but it never did.

  “Thanks, Addy.”

  “Go ahead. Take one. I’ll tell Jerry to get your burger going. Shake will be right out.” She gave his arm another squeeze and shooed him over. He couldn’t help but smile when he caught her glaring at Mrs. Townsand, who was holding up a cell phone and trying to get a picture of the date happening in the corner.

  Ms. St. Clair turned when Wyatt took the seat in the booth she faced. He blinked. He knew that face. He remembered darker hair and usually a pair of glasses perched on her nose, but that was definitely Junie Bailey.

  He stood back up. “Junie Bailey?” June St. Clair. He had never known Lucas’s wife’s maiden name.

  Her eyes widened. “Oh my goodness. No one has called me that in so long.” She squinted at him. “I know you . . .”

  He stuck out a hand. “Wyatt Porter. Lucas and I were roommates in college. I came out and visited a few times.”

  Her lips broke into a grin that almost stopped Wyatt in his tracks. She’d been gorgeous back then. Wyatt had teased Lucas about how he’d married so far up. But now she was just . . . beyond gorgeous, if that was possible. Her makeup expertly highlighted her slender face, narrow nose, and brown eyes with a ring of green around the edge.

  “Wyatt. Yes, I remember you. Lucas told me so many stories about the things you two did back then. It made me want to have been there with you—like I missed out on so much because I met him after you guys graduated.” She rested her elbows on the table and then leaned her chin in her hands. Her expression turned soft as she tilted her head. Remembering, maybe, the same sort of things that flashed through Wyatt’s mind.

  He laughed. “I bet Luc wouldn’t have done half the things I talked him into if he’d known you then.” He glanced over at Josh and caught him glaring. He grimaced. “Uh, sorry I interrupted dinner. Addy even made me promise not to bug you. Have a good night.” He backed up and ran into something solid.

  The next couple seconds happened too quickly for Wyatt to react, even though he’d go over it later and wonder why his honed, law-enforcement reflexes hadn’t kicked in. Maybe because he was still thinking about Junie’s soft smile.

  Whoever had been standing behind him dropped a drink when Wyatt backed into them. Junie gasped and the person behind him cried out—Mrs. Townsand, he recognized. He spun, trying to make sure the older woman kept her balance and slipped in whatever she’d spilled on the floor.

  His legs, tired from the number of times he’d hiked up and down the steep embankment the car had slid off of earlier that day, flew out from under him. He flung his arms out, trying to grasp something, his fingers brushing against Junie’s hand as she shot it out toward him.

  Then his head smacked the table and everything went black.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The room around June was in chaos. She knelt next to Wyatt, though she didn’t know how she’d gotten there. Things had sort of blurred from the moment that Wyatt had slipped.

  The woman who’d been trying to take a selfie with June and Josh in the background was hyperventilating at Wyatt’s feet. “Oh, Chief. Chief!” she cried.

  “Isaiah!” Addy, the diner’s owner, shouted above the din. “Get Mrs. Townsand out of here now.” She had a phone up to her ear.

  “Nine-one-one?” June asked. Addy gave a sharp nod. June gently prodded at Wyatt’s neck, finding his pulse and letting some relief trickle through her.

  “Is he breathing?” Josh asked. She flicked her gaze up to see him kneeling on Wyatt’s other side.

  June curled over Wyatt, dropping her ear close to his lips. More relief filled her. His breathing seemed normal. Wyatt moaned, making June straighten and take his cheeks in her hand.

  “Wyatt?” she asked. “Hey, open your eyes.”

  His eyes fluttered open. “Junie?”

  Her breath caught. Lucas had called her that. And every time Wyatt did it, something inside her fluttered. “Hey. That looked like it hurt.”

  He moaned again. “Yeah.”

  “What happened?” A tall man pushed through the crowd around them. It took a couple of seconds for June to recognize Nash Roberts, Hallie Butler’s fiancé. She’d seen his notes on Hallie’s new role so she could help style the character. “Mrs. Townsand said Wyatt was dead.”

  “Heaven sucks if I’m dead, man.” Wyatt clenched his teeth after speaking and squeezed his eyes shut.

  A corner of Nash’s lip turned up. “Who says you’re going to heaven?” He nudged Josh back as he kneeled next to Wyatt. He glanced up at June. “Ms. St. Clair—”

  “June.”

  He nodded. “June, do you know how long he was out?”

  “Less than a minute, I think,” she said. Nash reached to take Wyatt’s pulse, and June realized she was still holding his head. She jerked her hands back but didn’t move away.

  “That’s good. Wyatt, can you move your fingers and toes for me?” Nash surveyed Wyatt’s body after he gave the instruction.

  Wyatt complied. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going home to call Hallie.”

  “Needed a walk to clear my head.” Nash shared a look with Wyatt that June didn’t understand, but she could almost feel the sadness pouring off the two.

  “Mmm.” Wyatt moved to nod and then grimaced again.

  “I want to take you in and check you out. Did you drive?” Nash took one of Wyatt’s hands and helped him sit up, watching him carefully.

  “Nah. Walked. Nash, I’ve taken harder hits when we play ball. I’m good.”

  “You’re bleeding all over Addy’s floor. You’re coming in.” Nash looked up at Addy. “Ambulance coming?”

  “On its way.”

  June suddenly found a thick dishtowel in her hand and she gently pressed it to the back of Wyatt’s head. He moaned again.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  Wyatt turned to glance at her, his jaw tensing at the movement. “Don’t be sorry.”

  Flashing lights outside announced the arrival of the ambulance. Nash shouted at people to either leave or go back to their tables and a path cleared almost instantly. Within a couple of minutes, Wyatt was loaded, still protesting, onto a gurney.

  June followed them out. “I . . . can I ride along?” she asked.

  Nash’s brows came down as he studied her. “You know Wyatt?”

  She nodded. “He and my husband were roommates in college. I didn’t realize he lived here. We were catching up.”

  Nash nodded as he climbed in behind the gurney. “Husband?” He glanced behind her and June turned to see Josh had followed them out of the diner.

  “Late husband.” She waved Josh over. “I’ll have Skylar call and reschedule. I’m going to go to the hospital with Wyatt to make sure the doctor knows everything he needs to about what happened.”

  Josh nodded slowly. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Sorry.” She knew how this looked, but something drove her to go with Wyatt. She feared it was his connection to Lucas, which definitely undermined her goal to get married again, but she needed to be with Wyatt right now. Josh would just have to understand. So far their date had been fun, talk easy between them, and the flirtatious banter sparking.

  He flashed a grin, his expression easing. “No problem, June.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek before she stepped away. His lips were cold but June brushed it off. They’d been drinking milkshakes when Wyatt fell.

  The ride to the hospital was short and uneventful. June recapped what had happened and then Nash examined Wyatt, asking him questions about his name and how old he was. She had to wait in the waiting room when they took him to a curtained space in the ER, which made her question why she’d come until Nash came out with Wyatt an hour later.

  “Chief Porter needs a ride home.”

  June sent off a quick text to Skylar before she stood and approached. “I have a car. Not here yet but will be in a minute.”

  Nash turned to Wyatt, who looked much more relaxed. “Wyatt, give June your phone. She’s going to set some alarms for you to wake up every few hours. He has a nasty concussion,” he said to June.