Falling Into Love (Paradise Place Book 5) Read online

  “Yes. I don’t know her age, but I suspect it’s fairly young too, though I’m not positive.”

  “Three hour time difference,” he said. “She mentioned cross country move. Why here?”

  “I’m not sure of the reason and I didn’t ask. That isn’t my business. She hadn’t mentioned knowing anyone here, but she could. She’s in Tacoma right now. As for being able to afford the house—again, not my business as long as her money is green, which it is. She owns some digital media company. Or her husband did. I’m not sure the details, and again, I didn’t ask. But she does work from home for that business.”

  Which explained the big office on the first floor of her build.

  “Not my business either,” he said. “She needs vendors for fences, a swing set, and paint color options. She wants a dog door. Find out where she wants it. My guess is where the dog can get to the deck being built.”

  “This property has the walkout in the basement though that you are finishing. Don’t you think it could go there?” Whitney asked, pulling up the blueprints on the computer.

  He didn’t need to see them. He could keep track of what was being done in all the houses he worked on without looking most of the time.

  “True, but if she has kids and a puppy, I doubt she wants to be running up and down training a puppy, or letting it loose in a house that big.”

  “Because you’ve had a dog before,” Whitney said, laughing. “You’ve never had anything more than a goldfish to care for that you won at the fair as a kid.”

  “And I like it that way,” he said. Independent, no worries, and no stress about taking care of someone or hurting their feelings. He was better off alone in his book.

  “That is what you try to tell us all the time.” She waved her hand. “Anyway, I’ll get her everything she needs and mention both options for the dog door. She might want two.”

  “I’ll let you two work it out and give me the information as soon as you have it. She is on a timeline and I don’t want to miss it. Something tells me she isn’t someone I want to piss off.”

  Whitney shook her head. “You’re nuts. You’re too used to pissing the rest of us off that you forget we don’t all have short triggers like you.”

  “Evan,” he said.

  His cousin and he were the two that got into it the most. “He’s not nearly as bad as you and he’s only that way when it comes to protecting Kaelyn. He’d been good for years until Harris came around.”

  His cousin Kaelyn had a small wedding ceremony to retired pro pitcher Harris Walker before their daughter Scarlet was born in March. The official wedding party would be held later this summer.

  “It’s a brother’s job to protect his sister.”

  “Get over it, Ryan. Nobody could have known what Kevin was going to do.”

  “Dick. Don’t even mention his name to me. That’s worse than having a wrench up my ass,” he said.

  “That’s the whole toolbox,” she said and laughed. He didn’t know how she could laugh about it now when she’d been so heartbroken over what the asshole did. Landing a few punches in the guy’s gut and one to his face hadn’t been nearly as satisfying as he wanted it to be.

  “Whatever. Are we done here? I only came to grab a few things out of the building in the back.” Where they kept a lot of supplies and deliveries that might not go right to the builds. Extra materials and stock items that they got in bulk.

  “We’re done. What brought you in the office if you only needed that?” she asked.

  He walked over and opened up the filing cabinet where she kept snacks. “Food. I haven’t had anything to eat since I stopped for a donut and coffee earlier.”

  “Get out of here,” she said when he grabbed two granola bars and a moon pie. “And you better refill my stash. It’s not just for you but others, though you tend to eat most of it.”

  He pulled money out of his wallet and tossed two twenties down. “There. Go fill the cabinet up. I don’t have time to shop, but I like knowing there is food there.”

  “What would you do without me?” she asked, putting the money in her pocket.

  “Have one less headache,” he said, walking out with a grin. The minute he was out of her view, his grin dropped. He was getting sick of always forcing a smile around her now, but it seemed like he didn’t have much to be happy about in life.

  2

  So Far Away

  The minute the group conference call ended, John Mann stayed on the line to talk with her. “What is it you need to say to me, John?” Shannon asked.

  “I just want to know how everything is going and if you’re sure you really want to move that far away?”

  “I know you mean well. We talked about this. It hurts too much to stay here and I need to get away. You even agreed...for both of our sakes.”

  He sighed. “Has Walt come around anymore?” he asked. “His gripe is with me and he shouldn’t be bothering you.”

  Walt Carpenter was an employee of WildMann, the digital company Tyler and John founded. He’d been a good employee at one point, but an addiction to drugs and alcohol turned him into one of the worst.

  John wanted him fired, Tyler wanted to help. That was Tyler. Always the soft one of the business. The gentle sweet one in their marriage too.

  He was willing to lend a hand and when Walt lost his house, Tyler told him he could stay in the guest house under one condition, that he went into rehab.

  So Walt did what was asked of him and became a freeloader. Or as John had called him many times...the leech.

  Did Walt clean himself up? He did. And he went back to work after six months, stretching it as long as he could to live off of them for nothing. Tyler even paid him half of his salary and medical insurance through his rehab.

  And when Tyler passed away suddenly, Walt started drinking again. He thought he could come stay in the guest house, but John was having none of it and intervened on her behalf. She was thankful for it too.

  “I haven’t heard from him in over a month. The last time I did, he said he was sober again and wanted to know if I could help get his job back. I told him it had nothing to do with me.”

  “Which is right,” John said. “I fired him. Not you.”

  “He sees me as an equal partner in the business and feels I’ve got pull. I don’t know anything about that end of the business, but he didn’t want to listen to me.”

  “Again, he knows who to talk to, but he won’t. You’re softer than me.”

  “Not as soft as Tyler was,” she said quietly. Her eyes got a little misty and she could see John forcing a smile on the screen they were talking through.

  “No one was as soft as him,” John said. “And you still want to go through with the sale?”

  “This was your business, John. I’m just holding you up still owning half of it. I don’t know enough about the technical end. Finance is my thing and I’m happy with that. If you want me to continue in the same capacity, I’ll gladly do it, but we both know you need someone local.”

  “As long as you want to stay, there is a place for you. You know that. You’re like a sister to me, but I understand the need to leave. Sometimes I wish I could too and put it all behind me. Coming in here daily and seeing what we did together and Tyler’s not here to share in it with me. Yeah, it’s hard.”

  She knew that better than anyone. Going into the bedroom she’d shared with Tyler each night took more strength than she thought she had.

  “I’ll be back. I told you I’d fly in if you needed me. Zoe is moving in with me for now. She’ll watch the kids while I work until she figures out her next step.”

  Her younger sister was at a crossroads in her life. She’d spent five years in college getting her bachelor’s, changing her degree twice. She still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. But she’d said she refused to let her sister start out alone and asked to move with her.

  In Shannon’s mind it was ideal. The downstairs of her new house was going to have an apartment in it for
her sister to come and go and she’d watch the kids while Shannon worked. It was as perfect of a solution as the name of where they were going. Paradise Place.

  “I just don’t know why you have to go so far away,” John said.

  “I don’t know. The name just drew me in. I have to go with my gut.”

  “You always were all about fate and signs. I’m going to miss my God kids.”

  “And they are going to miss you and Abby. We’ll talk all the time. I don’t see you guys that much anymore anyway.”

  She’d spent a lot of time with John and Abby right after Tyler died, but then it was time to move on. They were all hurting and staying together so much it felt like enabling their pain. She needed to stand on her own two feet and couldn’t do that with John stepping in as the big brother she never had.

  Besides, it wasn’t healthy in her mind that they were trying to move on as if nothing changed when everything in their world had changed so drastically a year ago.

  “So tell me more about this house? It’s going to be ready for you? You won’t have to do anything?” he asked. “I’ve got someone that is going to go in and set all your equipment up to work remotely. He’s flying out once you are situated.”

  “You don’t need to do that,” she argued but was secretly glad John was taking care of it.

  “Of course I do. There is no way I’m having someone outside the business touching our equipment.”

  She should have realized that too. “You know I appreciate it all. And the house should be done on time. I was talking to the builder before the call. They will have all the rooms painted. I’m letting the kids and Zoe pick out their colors. I’ll have a swing set built before I get there and a fence around the yard. Last minute I decided to put a dog door in. I’ll get the kids a puppy to help with the move.”

  “I think it’s you that wants the puppy,” John said.

  Tyler had always been allergic to dogs. She hoped the kids weren’t because she loved having dogs growing up and missed it.

  “You might be right. A new life calls for changes though.”

  “It does,” John said. “I can’t believe it’s going to be a year next week.”

  “I know,” she said. This time her eyes not only got misty, but a few tears also fell. “He’d be so proud of the changes you’ve made to the business and how it’s grown.”

  “I’ve felt this motivation to do everything he always talked about,” John said.

  “You guys had this dream for so long. I’m just going along for the ride. I’ll keep you in budget, I’ll keep your projections and investments and the shareholders happy. But the work was all between the two of you,” she said

  “It’s been hard by myself,” John said. “The office isn’t the same without him.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she said and if she didn’t get off this call soon she’d be bawling. She’d done so well about not crying as much lately. Normally when no one was around and she felt like the walls were closing in on her, that’s when the tears fell.

  And she wondered if maybe she was making a huge mistake leaving.

  But she’d always had Tyler as someone to lean on. Someone to make decisions with her.

  Not anymore. It was time to pull up her big girl panties and see the world on her own.

  She was tough. She could do it.

  Maddie came running in the door giving her the excuse she needed to end the call soon. “Hey there, little girl, are you lost?”

  “Caroline said your call should be over,” Maddie said and jumped on her lap. “Hi, Uncle John.” Her little girl was waving her arms at the computer screen.

  “How’s my favorite girl doing?”

  “I’m hungry. Caroline is going to get Jeffrey from school. I want a snack so I’m staying here with Mommy.”

  “Sounds like the place to be,” John said. “I’ll let Mommy go and get your snack. Talk to you soon. Hugs and kisses.”

  “Hugs and kisses, Uncle John.”

  She disconnected the call and stood up with her daughter in her arms. “So you want a snack, huh? What do you want? Let’s go see what we can find.”

  “Can I have Oreos and milk?”

  “I think that sounds like a great snack for both of us.”

  She carried Maddie to the kitchen and then set her in the chair by the island while she pulled out the package of cookies and filled a plastic cup with milk, putting the top on it.

  “Can I have more than two?” her daughter asked.

  “Let’s start with two.”

  “Then you only get two too,” Maddie said.

  “I guess you’re right.” She sat down next to Maddie. “What color would you like your new room to be?”

  “Purple.”

  “Is that your favorite color?” Her current room was pink.

  “Yes. I like pink, but purple is better. See, I’m wearing purple today.”

  “You are,” she said, looking at the lilac shirt her daughter had on with her jeans.

  “Jeffrey said he wanted a baseball room.”

  Oh crap. She’d have to look into T-ball when she got there. She better make a mental note of that. “He has to pick out a color first. Then we’ll figure out the decorations.”

  “And I get a swing set, right? You said I could have one.”

  “I talked to the builders today. Once I get some pictures, how about we pick out what you two want together?”

  There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t give these kids right now. They were being so good about the move. Not once had either of them been upset over it. She wished she could be so carefree and laid back like them. This was where they took after their father.

  “I want a fort on top and a big slide, and swings. Can we get a pool too?”

  She laughed and bopped her finger on her daughter’s nose. “You don’t even know how to swim.” Nor did she know the first thing about caring for a pool.

  Could she hire someone? Sure.

  But even with the amount of money she had, she wasn’t careless with it. A pool was a big expense and the upkeep and juggling of staff was more than she could handle right now.

  “Maybe someday,” she said, knowing it was the best she could say. “But how about if we got a puppy instead.”

  “Yay,” Maddie said, clapping her hands. “I want a puppy. Can Jeffrey get one too? Can we each get one?”

  “You know, maybe there is a brother and sister we can find. What do you think of that?”

  “Can I name mine?”

  “We’ll talk it over with your brother when he gets home. Are you going to miss Caroline when we move?”

  The kids had known the older woman who watched them from day one. Caroline was almost like a grandmother to them, even a mother to her at times.

  “Yes, but she said we can talk on the computer like we do with Uncle John.”

  “That’s right.” She would have brought Caroline with her, but the older woman didn’t want to relocate. Thankfully Zoe did.

  “You have fun with Aunt Zoe.”

  “She paints my nails and does my hair,” Maddie said.

  “She always did like to do that,” she agreed.

  “I miss Daddy,” Maddie said. “Do you think he’ll still be able to watch over us if we don’t live here anymore?”

  “He knows where we are going, sweetie. And he’ll follow us everywhere. Don’t you ever worry about that.”

  Shannon talked to Tyler at night still, asked his opinion and a sign on the move. She felt she had his approval or she wouldn’t even have considered this.

  More than that though, she’d never let the kids forget their father. “I get to bring my pictures of him from my room, right?”

  “Absolutely.” Shannon tapped her fingers to her daughter’s chest. “But remember. Daddy is always right here. And that is everywhere you go.”

  “Daddy is in my heart,” Maddie said. “Right where my love is.”

  “Right where your love is,” she said, a tear escaping. Tyler
used to say that too.

  3

  All Tingly Inside

  “Damn, that’s huge,” Zoe said.

  “Language,” Shannon said to her sister who’d just made the comment as they pulled into her new house in Paradise Place. The town of Colonie outside of Albany seemed pretty nice from what she’d viewed on her way through the area.

  Then again, they’d been on the road driving for four days with two kids that wanted out. Even breaking it up as much as she had hadn’t helped. Staying in hotels the past four nights and finding activities wasn’t working either.

  Everyone was just as eager as her to get to their new house and out of this car.

  “Sorry,” Zoe said. “I’ll get better. I just need out of this vehicle. It makes me cross.”

  “Are we here?” Maddie yelled. She’d been yelling that or some version of it multiple times a day for the past several days. She’d asked it before they’d even gotten out of the state of Washington. Maybe Zoe was right and they should have flown here. Shannon just thought it’d be easier to drive her SUV with a few possessions and her laptop that she promised John wouldn’t leave her sight.

  The tractor trailer coming in with their things was also towing Zoe’s car. She figured that was easy enough.

  But she found nothing about this trip had been as easy as it’d been in her mind.

  “Yes, we are,” she was happy to tell her daughter.

  “I want to see my room,” Jeffrey said. “Is it blue like I picked out?”

  “It better be,” she said with a big grin.

  After all of this she was hoping this house was perfect. It was looking it from the outside so far.

  “Holy shit,” Zoe said when a man walked out the front door.

  She wanted to yell at her sister again for her language in front of the kids, but she was too busy staring at the guy walking toward them. He didn’t have a smile on his face, but he wasn’t frowning. She wasn’t sure what that look was, but she wondered if this was Ryan Butler.

  If it was, he wasn’t anything like she expected.