Crazy in Love (Green Valley Falls #2)

CHAPTER ONE

Faith Sullivan couldn’t stop herself. Checking her horoscope was a habit, and funeral or not, she had to know what her day had in store. She sat at the kitchen table of her childhood home, opened to the lifestyle page of the newspaper, and read.

Ready or not, expect change today. You, dear Libra, will take it in stride, but those close to you might have trouble coping. Your kindness and empathy could be challenged. Conflict may arise, but you are well-equipped to handle it .

“More change?” Faith muttered to herself. “Impossible.”

In the previous eight months, her world had flipped upside down. January winds brought her mother’s stage four ovarian cancer diagnosis. February through June was a ravaging whirl of surgeries, chemo appointments, and their brutal aftermath. The sunny summer weather ushered in heartache, and finally acceptance, of what was inevitable. And the last week of July dealt the final, life-altering blow—the death of the happiest, most lovingly optimistic person she knew.

Faith’s half sister, Joy, strode into the room, and Faith discreetly slid the front page over the lifestyle one. But not before Joy registered what she’d been reading.

“Please don’t tell me you still read those stupid horoscopes,” Joy said, smoothing her freshly ironed black skirt. “Just because Mom believed in all that mumbo jumbo doesn’t mean you should.”

“It’s just for fun,” Faith said defensively, subconsciously sliding a hand over her never-ironed, fashionably wrinkled dress.

Of course Joy didn’t need guidance in her life. She had the perfect husband and kids. Perfect house. Perfect hair. And the haughty, pretentious attitude to go with it all. Besides sharing a mother, they had little in common.

Grace, Faith’s other half sister, entered the room, followed by two perfectly polished children. One boy and one girl, both well-mannered and clean-cut, just like their mother. Maybe leaving Green Valley Falls was the ticket to getting your life together.

Her sisters and their families had come to town yesterday. They were gathered at her father’s house to ride to the funeral together as a family. Two limos were scheduled to pick them up any minute.

“Anyone know if Mom made arrangements for the bookstore?” Grace asked.

“As the oldest, I’m sure I’ll get stuck with it,” Joy said with a huff. “And how am I supposed to deal with it from four hundred miles away?”

“I’ve been helping out since Mom got sick,” Faith said. “I can keep it going.”

“No offense, Faith,” Joy said. “But you don’t know the first thing about running a business.”

She had a point, but the words still stung. Faith already knew her mother’s plans but wasn’t about to delve into that now. Joy would find out soon enough.

As if sensing Faith’s vulnerability, Grace jumped in to try to out-snoot her sister. “Are you seeing anyone, Faith?” she asked. “You’re not still doing that online dating thing, are you?” The not-so-subtle condemnation dripped from her words, sending a clear message—only losers used the internet to find men.

“Been a little busy,” Faith said. Caring for her mother had consumed all of her spare time. Not that her sisters would understand. They lived hours away and couldn’t be bothered with the daily grind of cancer and its consequences. They’d showed up just in time to say goodbye. Barely.

That had been a week ago. They’d gone home and come back for the funeral.

Faith’s dad and youngest sister, Hope, filed into the small kitchen.

“Here, Dad,” Faith said, standing to offer her seat. “Sit down.”

His wife’s death had broken his heart metaphorically, but all the sugar and ultra-processed foods he ate had broken it literally. His heart disease worsened by the day, and Faith had to constantly remind him to take his meds and his walks. Neither of which he was inclined to do without prodding.

Two sleek limousines pulled to the curb. Joy, Grace, and their families crammed into one, leaving Faith, Hope, and their dad the other. It made no sense, but that was the way things had been for years.

Grace and Joy left town almost twenty years ago. Between the ten and twelve-year age gaps and the miles between them, Faith and her older siblings had never been particularly close.

Faith and Hope also had a ten-year age gap—Faith was twenty-six, and Hope had just turned sixteen,—but they shared a dad, lived in the same town, and were much closer.

“You okay, honey?” Faith asked Hope, sliding an arm around her shoulders.

Hope nodded, but a tear slid down her face. Faith hugged her tightly. The prolonged sickness had given them time to come to terms with losing their mother, but it couldn’t take the bite out of actually living through it.

In a small town like Green Valley Falls, everyone knew everyone, so when someone died, it was an ordeal. No church could accommodate all the mourners, so they’d crammed into the high school gymnasium. Apropos, since her mother had taught here for thirty years.

Faith sat in the front with her family, but her five best friends were lined up behind her in the very next row. It was a fitting metaphor—they had her back.

It was on this very gym floor that she’d bonded with them—her team. Hundreds of basketball practices and games had welded together an unbreakable friendship.

During the generic, what-happens-after-death part of the service, Faith’s mind wandered. Joy and Grace didn’t know it yet, but their mom had planned for her death. There wasn’t much to bequeath, but she’d written each of them a letter to be read after she passed. Faith had received hers two days ago and was still reeling from its contents. For some unfathomable reason, her mother left the bookstore exclusively to Faith. With explicit instructions demanding she keep it and run it.

Page Turners was her mother’s fifth baby. She’d poured her heart and soul into making it a book lovers’ haven. Faith didn’t want the store any more than Joy did, but in the last couple of days had made peace with her mom’s wishes and would give it her best shot.

After the memorial and reception, where hundreds had paid their respects, eaten, and left, Faith and her friends sat together at a round table.

Out of the corner of her eye, Faith caught sight of old Mr. Gowan handing Grace and Joy sealed pink envelopes—their mother’s final words for each of them. She looked away as they ripped them open and began to read.

“It was a beautiful service,” Tess said.

“Thanks for coming,” Faith said. “Especially Holly and Maddie. I know it was tough to get away.”

Holly had moved to New York City and recently married. Maddie was an actress and lived in California.

“We said we’d always be here for the big stuff,” Holly said. “Your mom died. It doesn’t get much bigger than that. Cole sends his best but couldn’t get out of work.”

“I have to fly out later tonight,” Maddie said. “We’re in the middle of shooting, but I wouldn’t have missed it either.”

“Everyone’s really going to miss her,” Juliet said.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.” Faith thought she’d cried herself dry, but another tear escaped.

“Any reason your evil stepsisters are staring a hole in the back of your head?” Holly asked.

“Half sisters,” Faith corrected. “But, yeah. I already told Alex, Tess, and Juliet, but my mom gave me Page Turners. She left each of us letters, and they just read theirs. I’m assuming that tidbit was revealed.”

“They don’t look too happy,” Tess said.

“Well, can’t say I’m all that thrilled either,” Faith said. “Owning a bookstore is not on my vision board.”

“Will you keep doing hair?” Holly asked.

“I don’t know,” Faith said. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

Tess shot her a warning glance. “Incoming.”

“Faith,” Joy said, hand on her hip. “Did you know about this when we talked this morning?”

Faith nodded. “It didn’t seem like the time to get into it.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Grace said. “If you sell it, we should all get a cut. Split it four ways. Hope’s share can go into a trust or something.”

“Four?” Faith’s brows narrowed. “You don’t think her husband of twenty-seven years deserves anything?” He wasn’t technically their dad, but he’d helped raise them and had earned a modicum of respect.

“Oh, well, yeah, sure,” Grace said in a futile attempt to cover her insensitivity.

“Mom left strict instructions,” Faith said. “I can’t sell it for at least ten years. And I have to run it.”

“What?” Joy gasped. “You’ll drive it into the ground.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Faith mumbled.

“She must have been on pain meds or something. Obviously not in her right mind,” Grace added. “How do we fight this?”

According to her horoscope, Faith’s kindness and empathy would be challenged. That was an understatement.

She stood, which, at five-ten, put her inches above her sisters. “We just buried our mother, and this is what you’re worried about?”

Indignant looks melted from Joy and Grace’s faces, and they took a step back.

“You show up once or twice the whole time she’s sick and presume to know what she wanted? You think you have any right to second-guess her wishes? Well.” Faith advanced. “You do not. Not now anyway.”

She had never seen her older sisters at a loss for words, and some perverse sense of accomplishment ran through her as they wordlessly turned on their heels and left.

“Holy crap, Faith,” Tess said. “That was awesome.”

“Can you believe them?” Faith said, sitting again.

“Don’t listen to your sisters,” Alex said. “You can do anything you put your mind to. And Tess, Juliet, and I will help you with the business-y stuff until you figure it out.”

“Alex is right,” Holly said. “Screw them.”

Faith’s friends would always stand up for her. That’s what best friends did. But she also had to concede that her sisters made a good point. She hadn’t the faintest clue about business.

Tess’s phone buzzed, and she got up and walked away to take the call. When she returned moments later, all the color had left her face, and Faith knew immediately it was more bad news.

“What’s wrong?” Faith asked, rising to go to her.

“My brother’s been shot,” Tess said. “I gotta go.”