Always (A Ditched novella) Read online

  Always

  BY

  Amity Hope

  Copyright© 2014

  All rights reserved. This work is protected under the US Copyright Act. It may not be reproduced in any manner without the consent of the publisher. The only exception is to brief quotations that may be used in reviews. Any other use is in direct violation of US copyright laws.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to names, locations or events are coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER one

  CHAPTER two

  CHAPTER three

  CHAPTER four

  CHAPTER five

  CHAPTER six

  CHAPTER seven

  CHAPTER eight

  CHAPTER nine

  CHAPTER ten

  CHAPTER eleven

  CHAPTER one

  A watch. A wallet. A bottle of cologne. A tie.

  No. No. No. And absolutely not.

  I groaned as I leaned against a display case in the department store we were standing in.

  “What about this?” Paige asked. She reached over to an item on the glass case next to me. She pulled back the first silver ball and set it free, setting the Newton’s cradle into motion.

  The ensuing click-clack-click, grated down my spine. And yet…it might be the most promising thing I’d seen all day.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s okay. But it’s just not…it. Nothing so far is. I mean, how hard can this be?”

  Valentine’s Day was edging ever closer. It was my first Valentine’s Day with Max. Max, who knew me better than anyone. Who probably knew me better than I knew myself. Who had always been there for me. Who had been my friend long before I realized he was the love of my life.

  I needed to find the perfect gift. There was just no other option.

  Was it too much to ask fate, the universe—whoever—for a little bit of divine inspiration?

  “You know Max will love whatever you get him,” Paige said.

  I bit my lip as I watched the two silver balls on the ends slow and then come to a stop alongside the three that rested in the center. Paige had known Max since they were kids. They had grown up in Harmony Bay together. When school had started last fall, they’d run into each other on campus. Max, as it turned out, had started to reacquaint himself with several old friends now that he’d moved back. Most of them had become my friends by default. They were a fun group, easy going and welcoming.

  Paige could never take the place of my best friend, Lanna, but she and I had gotten pretty close over the past half year.

  “I know Max isn’t picky,” I agreed. “But that’s kind of the point. I want to buy him something amazing simply because he won’t be expecting it.”

  I pushed away from the display and made my way to a rack of shirts. I pulled off a long sleeved, button-up, plaid shirt. It contained subtle shades of green. It would go great with Max’s eyes.

  The thought of Max’s green eyes caused my mind to wander to his wavy, bronze hair. His large, athletic build. His perfect lips. Thinking of his lips made me wish I was home, snuggled up next to him on the couch, maybe even—

  Paige cleared her throat.

  I snapped myself out of my semi-daydream. The item in my hand was a harsh wake-up call to the day’s reality.

  A shirt…? Again, no. I sighed as I wiggled it back onto the crowded rack.

  I let my gaze scan the rest of the area. Absolutely nothing caught my attention. Of course it would’ve helped exponentially if I had some idea of what I wanted to get him. But I didn’t. I just knew I wanted to get him something memorable. Something he would love. Something that would let him know I had put a lot of thought into it.

  A shirt simply said, boring and unoriginal. As did everything else I’d come across today.

  “This is hopeless,” I lamented.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to look at watches again?” she suggested. “Some of them were really nice.”

  “No,” I said, my voice grumpy. The watches had been nice. But as I had looked around at the other shoppers, I realized that no one seemed to wear watches anymore. Except for maybe my parents and other older people. Everyone else seemed satisfied with checking the time on the cell phones they had stuffed into their pockets and purses.

  We had been shopping for hours. Having Paige with me was a whole lot more fun than shopping alone. Yet the fun had ended hours ago. I turned to her and she gave me her easy smile.

  She bumped her hip into mine, causing her russet tangle of curls to bounce. Her pale blue eyes sparkled, as if she found my predicament amusing. “You’ve still got a few weeks.”

  The problem was, I’d already been looking for months.

  “Do you know what he’s getting you?” she wondered.

  I shook my head. “I don’t need him to get me anything.” It was possible that he wasn’t getting me anything. Possible, but doubtful. Knowing Max like I did, I had a hunch that he’d manage to find the perfect gift. He had a knack for doing that.

  I, on the other hand, did not.

  She sighed. “You do realize he probably feels the same way? That you don’t need to get him anything.”

  She was right. But still. “That gives me even more reason for wanting to find the perfect gift.”

  “Well then,” she said as she tugged me along, “we better get moving.”

  “Moving…where?” I asked as I trudged along behind her. We’d already hit every last feasible store in the mall. This store had been my last hope.

  She shrugged. “Let’s check out downtown. The tourist shops must have something.”

  Harmony Bay was a coastal town, heavily hit by tourists during the summer months. The downtown area was sprinkled with boutiques, cute little shops, and antique stores. I’d been through them all already. Surely, they must’ve gotten in new inventory lately.

  Right?

  A girl could at least hope.

  ~*~*~

  The early February wind whipped my hair around, pulling it free of my ponytail as I made my way back to the beach house. The blue siding stood out in the distance. The ocean was to my left. Across the expanse of sandy beach, in the spaces between the houses I passed, I could see the slate-gray waves of the ocean. Today, they were capped in white, rolling along, folding gracefully in on themselves as they completed their journey to the shore. The sound was comforting, almost hypnotic.

  I hitched my bag a little higher up on my shoulder. To my disappointment, nothing exceptional had leapt out at me though Paige had been a trooper. We’d circled Harmony Bay on foot, entering every little shop that had even the slightest potential of carrying the perfect gift for Max.

  She’d assured me she didn’t mind, even though I happened to know that the girl did not love to shop. She hadn’t even grumbled as I’d swung into my favorite little craft store. I was a little low on materials for my jewelry making. As long as we were walking by, I’d stocked up. At least the shopping excursion hadn’t been a total bust.

  At Paige’s suggestion, we’d stopped at the Harmony Bay Café. She’d insisted that all of those hours of shopping and walking had given us reason to splurge on a slice of French silk pie. So we had before parting ways.

  The beach house was within walking distance of the downtown area. I’d insisted that I could walk home. It would save her a few minutes and I enjoyed the exercise. Not to mention, I thought it wise after eating all that pie.

  As I made my way home, I was yet again hit with the realization that my life had changed so much in such a short amount of time.

  Eight months. That’s how long I’d been in Harmony Bay.

  Forever. That’s how long I planned to stay.

  I couldn’t imagi
ne a more perfect place in the world to live. Or a more perfect person to live it with.

  Last year at this time, I had been living in Minnesota. I had been engaged to my childhood sweetheart, the son of my parents’ best friends. Collin and I had known each other since we were toddlers. We’d dated through most of high school. My freshman year of college, he’d proposed over winter break. Our wedding should’ve taken place last June.

  That didn’t happen because he’d cheated on me. I still cringe when I realize how close I’d come to marrying the wrong person. At the time, I’d been devastated. But life has an amusing way of working out in the end. Now that some time had passed, I’d decided that Collin cheating on me was easily the best thing he ever did for me.

  Because now?

  He was in my past.

  And Max was my present. My future. My everything.

  He had whisked me away the day I’d ditched Collin at the altar. What was supposed to have been a short stay in Harmony Bay—a small, ocean side town nestled into the northern tip of California—had turned into something else entirely.

  Max had grown up here, moving to Chamberlain when we were both sophomores in high school. We’d gotten to be good friends over the years. Last summer, he’d decided to return to his hometown. He hadn’t initially planned on taking me with him. But he had. And now, I had no intention of leaving.

  I finally reached the short driveway. My car was parked next to Max’s white Challenger. Another familiar car was parked along the street.

  The car at the curb belonged to Clarissa, another childhood friend of his. They had a few classes together. It wasn’t uncommon for her and Max and maybe another friend or two to study together. I wasn’t sure what she was doing here now. If Max had study plans on a Saturday afternoon, he’d forgotten to tell me.

  I let myself into the beach house that Max and I shared. It was owned by his grandparents, Villette and Charles Campbell. Max had moved back to Harmony Bay so he could take over the family business someday. Villette Vineyards was started by his great-grandparents. Max would be the third generation to run the family business. They were letting us stay at the beach house while Max worked part-time at the winery while working on his degree.

  “Hi,” I said as I walked into the small kitchen.

  Max’s back was to me and he jumped as he spun around. His large body had been blocking Clarissa and neither of them had noticed that I’d come in.

  “Hi, Holly!” Clarissa said brightly. Her dark brown eyes sparkled. She waved enthusiastically as she spoke, causing her long, espresso-colored hair to sway.

  “I didn’t hear you pull up,” Max said. His tone almost sounded accusing.

  “I walked from downtown,” I said as I set my big, purple bag on the counter. My beads and silver wire jingled from inside. “What are you two up to?”

  Clarissa blinked at me, her smile frozen in place, as if it had been a trick question.

  “Uh,” Max stammered.

  “I was asking about the winery,” Clarissa said.

  “Right,” Max agreed.

  I narrowed my eyes at them. “What about it? It’s closed.”

  For the first time since it’s opening, Villette Vineyards had closed down for some minor renovations and some major updates.

  “Right. Yeah, I know. I was just…” She tilted her head to the side, the way I sometimes do when I’m thinking. “I was asking Max if he thought they would be hiring.”

  “You have a job.” Clarissa worked at the Crystal Bay Café. I’d seen her there dozens of times since last fall.

  “I know. I do have a job,” she agreed. “But I was thinking that maybe…I should get another job. The winery came to mind.”

  “Even though it’s closed?” I pressed.

  Max flicked his gaze between Clarissa and me. “She was wondering about this summer.”

  “That’s months away,” I pointed out.

  She shrugged and treated me to another smile. “I like to be prepared.”

  My gaze snapped back to Max. I returned it to Clarissa in time to see her slip a folded up paper into her pocket.

  “Well then, I should probably go,” she said as she wedged the paper in a little deeper. She noticed me staring at it, most likely with a perplexed look on my face. Was I being paranoid or did she suddenly look nervous?

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Hmm? What’s what?” She was all wide-eyed innocence.

  I pointed to her pocket. “What was that paper?”

  “Some class notes,” she said quickly. “From Max.”

  I looked to Max. “Aren’t you going to need them back?” The way she’d shoved them into her pocket was going to leave them hopelessly rumpled.

  “Nope, I’m good,” he said to me. Then to Clarissa, “I guess we’ll see you later.”

  She nodded as she crossed the kitchen. I stepped aside, letting her pass by in the crowded space.

  “Wait. Why are you getting class notes from Max? I thought you stopped over to ask about a job?” I pointed out before she made it to the door.

  “I did. And then,” she said slowly, “I remembered I needed some notes. See you two later,” she called over her shoulder.

  I assumed she’d let herself out. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “You’re both coming to my birthday party, right?”

  “Yes,” I said as I forced a smile. “We’ll see you then.”

  “Great!” she said as she stepped outside.

  “What was that about?” I asked Max once I was sure she was gone.

  “What was what about?”

  “Clarissa? Why was she here?”

  He frowned at me. “I told you. She was here about the winery.”

  “How are things coming along?” I asked as I began to unpack my bag. Jewelry making had been a hobby of mine for years. Villette had taken a liking to my designs. She had asked if I’d be interested in selling them in the gift shop of the winery. I had accepted the offer and had been surprised by how well they sold. Not only was the money nice, but before, I had always had a large supply of completed product with very little demand. I wore my jewelry and gifted a lot of it to my friends. But I couldn’t give them away quickly enough to keep up with my habit.

  Now, I had a reason to design and create. I didn’t need to worry about what to do with the excess. Because now, they sold so quickly there was no excess.

  “We should be able to reopen mid-February,” Max said. “They just finished painting this week. Next week they’re starting on the flooring.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.” I hadn’t been to Villette Vineyards since the construction started. I hadn’t wanted to get in the way. I pulled out several packages of beads and began inspecting them. Already, a few new designs were floating around in my mind.

  “I can’t wait for it to be done,” Max said as he pulled a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge.

  I found Max’s commitment to the vineyard to be impressive. I had thought that with the remodeling underway, he’d relax a bit. That hadn’t really been the case. He was frequently checking on the progress, both over the phone and in person. Furthermore, he was using this time to work on a more intense distribution plan.

  He leaned against the countertop as I sorted through my purchases.

  “Are you going to hire her?” I asked.

  “Hire who?” he asked with a quizzical look.

  I stared at him for a moment. He couldn’t be serious. “Clarissa. Are you going to hire Clarissa?”

  “Oh, right.” He blinked at me, as if surprised by the question. “I don’t know. We’ll see. I think I’m going to go for a run. I’m going to get changed,” he said as he abruptly changed the subject.

  He left the room. I stood there, feebly staring after him. For the first time in the six years that I’d known Max, I had a feeling he was being dishonest with me.

  I pushed the feeling away because it was ridiculous. Max had always been the most honest person I’d ever met.
It had to be me, just being paranoid.

  Over nothing.

  I tossed my beads back into my bag and carried them into the spare room. I had a table set up in there now so that I was no longer cluttering up the kitchen table.

  A few minutes later, Max had changed into sweats and a hoodie. He poked his head inside. “You don’t want to come with, do you?”

  I smiled and shook my head. “I think I’ll pass.” Height-wise, Max had a good foot on me. He’d been a linebacker on our high school’s football team. My athletic ability was nonexistent. The two of us running together just didn’t work. He always tried to slow down so I could keep up. Before long he’d forget and kick it up to his usual pace. The result was that I always felt like I was chasing after him. While he didn’t seem to mind, I didn’t find it particularly fun.

  Instead, I stuck to my morning yoga routine, supplemented with long walks on the beach and brisk walks through town. Anything more athletic just wasn’t my style.

  He crossed the room to me quickly and pulled me in for a quick kiss. I would’ve liked to have drawn it out a little more. But he looked like he was in a hurry.

  Then again, it seemed he was always in a hurry these days.

  “Since the weather is kind of crummy I won’t be gone too long,” he said.

  “Okay,” I replied but he’d already pulled the door closed behind himself.

  CHAPTER two

  Moving to Harmony Bay last fall had been a last minute decision. Because of that, I had missed the deadline for applying to the local university. Fortunately, I had been able to rearrange my class schedule through Chamberlain University, where I had attended my freshman year. I had been able to take online classes. When I hadn’t been able to get into Harmony Bay’s university for winter semester either, I had been disappointed.

  While I was grateful that I had been able to find online courses for both semesters that would transfer, I missed actually being on a campus. I missed having classes with other people. I had been accepted for the upcoming fall semester. In the meantime, that left me picking away at my online coursework.

  I was majoring in journalism. In high school, I’d helped run our school’s newspaper. I’d known for a long time that a career in journalism was in my future. Or at least, that’s what I’d thought until recently. Since moving to Harmony Bay, I’d been exploring other interests.