Off to P.E.I.
The nest isn't empty but the parents are flying the coop!
Guys - I’m off to vacation in PEI with the muse! I’ll show you pictures when I get back, but I wanted to pop in to give you Chapter Three of The Locksmith’s Promise.❤️
ARC reviews for The Locksmith’s Promise are slowly coming in, and I'm thrilled with the response so far!
It's an incredible feeling to touch the heart of a reader with your words.
You know, we're all just travelers, loving, healing, and learning to do better.
The Locksmith’s Promise is a complete standalone with no cliffhangers. It is book one of The Promise Duet.
As promised, chapter three:
Sweet Tooth
Maggie
Before Corwin rolled out of bed, I was already dressed and out the door. I loved early mornings when the rest of the world was still half asleep. Stepping off the curb in my serviceable running shoes and certified mom-jeans, I zipped my fleece hoody up to my throat and jogged across the street.
I’d forgotten how quickly summer succumbed to fall up here in Moose Lake. I knew what Moose Lake was like, but being away for more than ten years did funny things to my memory.
It wasn’t until I was hit with the smell of fir trees in the air, the brisk touch of the wind on my face, and the sight of sun-burnished leaves raining to the ground that I truly remembered how sweet and pure and good it was.
And most of it was good.
But the bad was so sharp it cut my heart out of my chest.
You and me, Mags. You and me against the world.
Shaking off the past, I refocused on my goal to hit Jenny’s bakery, Buns and Biscuits, before they ran out of Corwin’s favorite cinnamon buns dripping with cream-cheese icing.
With this being his first week back at school, he’d missed out on his morning cinnamon bun fix.
I was quite proud of myself for being able to go in there and talk to Jenny after everything that happened. There would never come a time we could be friends again, but Moose Lake was a small town.
She needed the support.
And forgiveness was practically a surcharge to living peacefully.
Besides, there was no denying Corwin those cinnamon buns.
Cream-cheese iced cinnamon buns, music, and a love for dogs that bordered on the insane, it amazed me how many little things he shared with the father he’d never met.
I often wondered if I should have tried harder to contact him, if I should have given him a few years and tried again, but I rested easy at night knowing I did the best I could at the time.
And it wasn’t like he couldn’t have tracked me down.
My number was the same, and my parents still lived in Moose Lake. It wouldn’t have been that difficult.
Was I tempting fate by coming home? Maybe.
But in the two months I’d been back, not one of Baxter’s friends had confronted me about Corwin. And there was no sign of Baxter anywhere.
I could almost believe we’d never been if I didn’t pass the bittersweet markers of our shared past every time I left the house.
And, well, there was my sweet Corwin.
In any case, the man I strove to avoid at all costs was gone for good, and Mom needed me at home. With her health deteriorating over the past year, I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
Over the summer, I helped Dad find his equilibrium with their new normal and offered Mom a sounding board until she found her footing.
Finally, my sweet baby deserved to grow up surrounded by the people who loved him best.
Returning home with Corwin was the right decision.
At ten years old, it was time I told him the rest of the story about his father. I’d shared all the good things, and there was a lot of it. Over the past six months, he’d begun asking questions. Where better to answer them than here where Baxter and I grew up?
The place we became best friends and then lovers?
I rolled my lips between my teeth and bit down.
You should have tried harder.
I blew out my breath, slow and easy.
He could have found me if he wanted to.
Much like the first time I returned to Moose Lake with a teaching degree, I immediately landed a job at the local school.
Newly graduated teachers were apt to accept any posting they could get. Once they had a year or two of experience, they moved to the suburbs or the city leaving a constant revolving door of vacancies in small, northern towns.
Which was great for me since I wanted to be here.
I quickly secured a tiny apartment over a storefront less than five minutes walk to the school. Long-term, I wanted a house with a backyard for Corwin and Jeff, but our little apartment would do until I had time to look for something more permanent.
Returning to Moose Lake was a dream I never thought I’d realize. Of course, back then Baxter had figured largely in that fantasy.
I missed him, God, I missed him even after all these years. No one had ever seen me, all of me, the way he did.
He didn’t just accept the parts of me that were dark and moody and pessimistic, he wrapped himself around them.
Where everyone else looked at me and saw the good girl who toed the line, he gave me space to flex my wings.
More and more each day, I saw him in my son. After ten years without him, I had hoped my feelings might have faded.
But they hadn’t.
This train of thought was not the one to ride when I had to face Jenny Davis.
Wrapping my arms around myself to stave off the cold inside, I bustled down the main street.
What if I did look Baxter up?
Was I ready to face a reality where he was married with three kids?
A world where he’d made a family without me?
Or God forbid, a world where he’d turned out to be exactly like his father?
I wiped that thought from my brain. Even thinking he turned out like his dad was disloyal to the boy I’d known and loved.
I dipped my chin and accepted the truth; I loved him still.
Once we settled in just a little more, I’d approach Miller and see if he might help me contact Baxter. God knows the number I had never worked.
I closed my eyes and uttered a brief prayer for Baxter’s well-being, something I did multiple times a day.
You see, Corwin had my whole heart. But Baxter owned it first.
I swung the door open and called out a falsely cheerful greeting. “Hey, Jenny!”
It didn’t come naturally, but there was progress. At least her name didn’t catch in my throat anymore.
She tipped her chin up and smiled faintly. “Maggie.”
Back in the day, she’d been my best girlfriend and my nemesis. After so much time, and everything she’d lost, it no longer mattered.
It was easy to see why Baxter chose her in high school when he could have had me. Soft blue eyes, long black hair, and a model-perfect figure, she was beyond beautiful.
Somehow, I managed to separate this older, quieter Jenny from the girl I left behind. Almost like they were two entirely different people.
Perhaps they were.
Buns and Biscuits boasted barely enough room for one small table and a couple of shelves up front. All the magic lay behind the counter.
Painted in soft pink and sage green with chocolate-accented décor, it was not what I would have imagined her choosing. I was beginning to wonder if anybody really knew anyone.
“That sweet boy of yours after more cinnamon buns?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I can’t keep up with his sweet tooth.”
“Hm.”
Prickles of awareness swept up my arms as I met her knowing eyes.
She smiled softly; her blue eyes soft. “He looks just like him.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes skittering away. Reminding myself I no longer had anything to fear, I simply nodded.
“I can give you his contact information if you want,” she offered.
My eyes flew to hers, flashing an accusation I had no time to mask.
She shook her head. “No. It’s not like that. It never really was. We were just two lonely kids who understood each other’s pain.”
Her mouth twisted. “And then later—”
My stomach revolted. I held up my hand to cut her off. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Face stricken, she nodded.
I looked away, my face flushing with guilt. Her parents messed her up as much as Baxter’s dad tried to destroy him.
Sucking in a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and faced her.
I was still angry, so angry with her for betraying me the way she did. I don’t know what compelled her to do it, but at some point, I had to leave it in the past and move on.
I sighed.
Should I try once more? See if Baxter wanted to meet his son?
Her sad eyes met mine. “From what little I’ve heard from Miller, he’s different now. Calmer. It’s not too late.” She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “The past doesn’t have to dictate the future.”
I grimaced, half my brain snorting in disbelief that I was confiding in her. “He might not want anything to do with me.”
He might even despise me.
Or, unlike me, he may have never thought about me at all.
She tilted her head and smirked. “Do you really believe that?”
I crossed my arms, my thumb caressing the promise I carried on my ribs through the heavy fleece.
“Can I—” I cleared my throat.
Silly me, I thought I’d have control over the narrative.
As if Corwin’s parentage wasn’t stamped all over his freckled face.
I swallowed. “Can I think about it?”
She nodded. “Of course.”
I assessed her with wary eyes.
She huffed out a bitter laugh. “You have nothing to fear from me. I’ve long since stopped thinking I know anything. I’m not going to take that decision away from you.” She gave a nod toward the street. “Miller, though? He might think different.”
I paled as the man himself walked in, his eyes widening slightly as he took me in. Up until now, in spite of the fact Corwin had become fast friends with Miller’s oldest son, Mikey, I’d managed to avoid this meeting.
Which in a town as small as Moose Lake took some work.
Here in Buns and Biscuits, I had neither a hope nor a prayer.
Clad in worn jeans, a navy, thermal Henley, and a plaid lumberjacket that passed for a uniform up here, he was simply a slightly older, slightly thicker version of the boy who pushed me off the swing in the second grade, punched an older boy who pulled my pigtails in the sixth grade, and stole me my first beer.
After a brief pause, he let the door close behind him and opened his massive arms.
My eyes filled. We’d been the best of friends at one time. When I walked away, I walked away from everybody.
I melted into his embrace and wrapped my arms around his broad back.
He chuckled. “It’s good to have you and Cor home. He’s a great kid. Mikey loves him.”
I stilled, but he continued. “You here to stay?”
I nodded as I drew back and met the challenge in his eyes.
It was now or never.
“Seems I have some unfinished business.”
His mouth tipped up at the corner. “Glad to hear you’re going to deal with that. He’d want to know him.”
I searched his eyes. “You think so?”
His brow crinkled as he nodded shortly. The creases around his mouth deepened as he raked his hand through his thick mop of curls. “He’s changed.”
I took a deep breath and held it. “You think you might be able to help me find him?”
His eyes twinkled. “Oh, yeah. I think I might be able to do that.”
I narrowed my gaze.
He laughed and threw a heavy arm around my shoulders. “Now that the cat’s out of the bag, why don’t you take the stick out of your ass and come over and have a beer with us? My wife is dying to meet you.” His eyes sparkled. “Says she needs news from the outside.”
I laughed, remembering how mercilessly we teased Miller about dressing up to go into the city, and shook my head. “She a city-slicker?”
He snorted. “So she says. Every time I offer to take her into the city, she acts like I just asked for a divorce.”
My eyebrows shot up. It wasn’t often an outsider moved in and opted to stay. “She likes it here?”
He nodded. “Loves it.”
I smiled. “Loves you, you mean.”
He grinned widely, white teeth flashing in his beard. “The three kids she gave me seem to suggest it.”
I released a deep sigh and smiled up at him. “I’ll come over.”
“Great!” He lit up. “Give me a call. Better yet, talk to Maxine. She’s the social coordinator.”
I gave a short nod.
It was long past time.
I only hoped Baxter would want to meet Corwin as much as Corwin would want to meet him.
❤️❤️❤️Have I convinced you Baxter and Maggie are worth every tear you're going to cry???❤️❤️❤️
If you love small town, second chance, steamy contemporary romance with all the feels and a side of groveling, order The Locksmith’s Promise.
Time’s running out on these great books - free, no obligation downloads! Meet a new author between the pages of a book.❤️
Next week? Chapter Four - Just for you!
I hope you love it.🥰
Live Messy, Love Madly,
Devin xo