Chapter 2
Sadie
W hen she was first forced to move to Moonflower Cove a little over two years ago, Sadie Baxter did not know how quickly it would feel like home. She loved spending her days on the Baxter Tree Farm, reading among the pine trees or practicing on the makeshift softball field. It was her safe place and a vast difference from Moonflower Cove High School.
Even after being a student there for over two years, Sadie still didn’t fit in. Not with her classmates, and definitely not with her softball teammates. It was hard enough for Sadie to transfer schools in the middle of her sophomore year. But when she started her new school, everyone seemed to hate her. And no one more so than her teammates.
They hated Sadie was a good softball player with a natural talent for the sport. They called her names and made fun of her and constantly whispered behind her back that the only reason she was the pitcher was because her stepmom was the coach. Sadie knew that wasn’t true. Well, yes, her stepmom, Charlie, was the head coach. But she didn’t get the spot based on that. In fact, Charlie had her softball friends and fellow coaching staff help her with the decision. Charlie had even told Sadie she didn’t want to give her the starting position because she was worried about how it would look. However, at the end of the day, giving the spot to Sadie would be best for the team.
Sadie knew that without her on the mound, the team would not have made it to the semi-finals the last two years. The talk around theschool was that they had the chance to go to state this year, but Sadie was determined not to let that go to her head. She couldn’t risk losing focus during her last season of high school softball, even if she already had a scholarship in the bag.
The decision to accept the scholarship hadn’t been easy. Sadie still wasn’t sure she was making the right call accepting the position at the University of Tennessee. It was so far away from her mom, and Sadie could almost cry at the mere thought of not being able to see her mom for weeks on end. And Charlie. Their little family meant the world to Sadie, and she had thought about giving up playing college softball in lieu of attending the local University of Maine branch so she could live at home on more than one occasion
Home.
Pulling her blue 2022 Mustang into the driveway, Sadie took in the sight of the farmhouse. It didn’t feel like it belonged in Maine, with its wrap-around porch, rocking chairs, and porch swing. The house could fit in a southern small town with ease. But it was home; more of a home than Sadie ever had before.
When she and her mom, Delaney, lived in Florida, they had a gorgeous beach house in the Keys. It had a large pool and ocean views, and Sadie occasionally missed it—or at least missed the idea of it. That was a different time in her life, a time when her mom was single, and Sadie’s friend Penny lived nearby.
Penny.
It had been over a year since Sadie had texted Penny. Their schedules were beyond busy with their final year of high school, but Sadie knew it was for the best. They had moved on and grown apart, and sometimes that was what happened with friends.
The mid-February sun had melted the rest of the leftover snow, giving the front yard a muddy brown look with patches of green grass sprinkled about. Charlie had been wanting to plant new grass seed for weeks, but Delaney kept telling her she needed to practice patience and wait. It was as hard for Charlie as it was for Sadie. She was eager to get back outside without having to clean the mud off her shoes every time.
Opening the front door, Sadie kicked off her boots before hanging her jacket and backpack on one of the three hooks. Both Delaney and Charlie’s jackets were already hung up, which meant her moms were already home. Sadie walked through the house to the kitchen, where she found them lip-locked by the oven. Instead of interrupting them, Sadie watched them. Not in a creepy way, but in a loving way.
She loved seeing her mom so happy with Charlie. After her mom’s divorce from her dad, Sadie wasn’t sure she’d ever see her mom happy again. But moving back home to the Cove and reconnecting with Charlie Monroe was exactly what Delaney needed. Sadie still remembered their sweet vows at their small wedding a few weeks ago. They were so in love, and it warmed Sadie’s heart.
Of course, she also remembered the way Ellie Mackenzie looked in the black suit she had worn to the wedding. She had her hair pulled back in a braid that hung loosely over her shoulder as she sat with her sisters and parents in the church. Since Sadie was the only bridesmaid for Delaney, she could see everyone in attendance. But her gaze always ended back on Ellie. If Ellie noticed, she didn’t act like it. Aside from the one smile she offered Sadie, she was too focused on the wedding to pay attention to Sadie.
And Sadie was done over-analyzing why that bothered her.
Ellie was a well-known kid at school. She was in theater and everyone knew her family. There were people with her everywhere she went, even if Ellie looked less than excited to be around some of them. And everyone in town knew her parents. Vera and Isla Mackenzie were Moonflower Cove royalty. If anyone could live and prosper off their family name in the Cove, it was the Mackenzies.
Not that Ellie was that kind of person.
She wasn’t.
Or, well, Sadie assumed she wasn’t. They didn’t know each other well enough for Sadie to make that kind of assumption. They had hung out a few times at one event or another, but never one-on-one. It was usually a foursome with Ellie’s sister Mason and her girlfriend Chase, who was also Charlie’s cousin. The four would often go to the movies or bowling together, but even then, she didn’t get to know Ellie much better. Usually, some of Mason and Chase’s friends inevitably joined in. It was clear that Ellie was everyone’s little sister and Sadie was, well, just Sadie.
Clearing her throat, Sadie crossed her arms and smiled as her parents stopped kissing and looked her way.
“Sadie, hi.” Delaney scurried over to her and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Obviously,” Sadie laughed as she turned her attention to Charlie. “Is this why you weren’t at the pep rally?”
“I, well,” Charlie nervously laughed, “I might have left work early.”
“You could have signed your favorite daughter out to go home with you so she wouldn’t have had to sit and watch the hockey team get praised, again.”
“Show some school spirit.” Delaney sat down at the kitchen table as Charlie came up behind her, placing her hand on her shoulder. It was both gross and sweet how they were always touching each other in the smallest of ways.
“I’ll show some school spirit when they care about the softball team as much as the hockey team.”
“They’ll care about it this year,” Charlie said with a wink. “This is going to be our year.”
Sadie plopped onto the bench seat across from them. “I hope so. I might actually go to that pep rally.”
“You’d be the star of that pep rally.” Charlie winked. “Are you ready for practice to start next week?”
“As if you haven’t had me in the batting cages all winter.”
“You say that like you’re a trapped animal. You love it.”
And Sadie did. They all knew it. It was why Charlie had kept the batting cage in their backyard covered with a tarp and heated during the past two winters. By the time spring rolled around and practice started Sadie was the most prepared on the team. While her teammates took the winter off, Sadie didn’t know what a break was. And it showed in her skills.
“Yeah, yeah.” Sadie waved them off as she stood. “I’m going to go change.”
“Dinner’s at six,” Delaney called as Sadie took the stairs off the kitchen up to her room. She enjoyed having the second floor to herself; it added to her privacy. Not that she was doing anything that required added privacy.
Shutting the door to her room, Sadie flopped onto the bed and took her phone out of her hoodie pocket. Opening Instagram, Sadie was immediately greeted with a post by Ellie. The first picture was of her and Brayden, who was dressed in his hockey uniform. They were standing in the Mackenzie living room; Sadie recognized it from Mason’s birthday party. Ellie looked stunning, as usual. Her long straight brown hair was elegantly flowing off her shoulders as her head was cocked ever so perfectly toward Brayden. The resemblance between them was uncanny, as it was with all the Mackenzie kids. Sadie wished, not for the first time, that she had a sibling.
Or at least a best friend who cares enough to text me back.
Sadie flipped to the second photo Ellie had posted. It was a selfie of her and Dylan at the pep rally. The last picture was of Vera, Isla, Brayden, Ellie, and their youngest sister, Everleigh, huddled around for a selfie. They were a picture-perfect family. There was no denying that.
Grabbing a jacket from her closet, Sadie opened the window in her bedroom and carefully stepped out onto the roof. Thankfully, the roof right in front of the window wasn’t sloped as much as the rest of the house, allowing her a place to sit. Sadie often found herself out there when she needed to think or clear her mind or be alone. She wasn’t sure which reason brought her out there currently, but it didn’t matter.
The view from her spot was calming, which was what she needed. It overlooked the Christmas tree farm, the red barn, and the makeshift softball field. In the distance, Sadie could see the horses grazing in the pasture, and just beyond that was a row of tall trees. Sadie knew that on the other side of the trees was the ocean, but even from the roof, she couldn’t see it. But she could smell it. The mix of pine trees and ocean air always worked together to clear Sadie’s mind.
Pulling her knees up toward her chest, Sadie wrapped her arms around her legs. Her mind wandered back to that picture of Ellie. The way she looked in the sweater and jeans; the way she had that perfectly crooked Mackenzie smile.
Ugh.
If only the roof and fresh air could clear those thoughts from her mind.
There was no way on God’s green earth that Eleanor Mackenzie would ever look Sadie’s way—not the way Sadie wanted her to. In fact, no one had ever shown any interest in Sadie since she’d moved to the Cove. She was truly an outcast, doomed to be single and friendless forever.
Normally, Sadie wouldn’t care—or at least try not to care. However, her senior prom was only a few weeks away, and Sadie desperately wanted to go with someone. A friend or a date—she wasn’t picky. But with neither on the horizon, Sadie sighed and opened up Instagram again.
This time, Trevor Mariano’s newest post popped up. It was of him at the pep rally earlier that day. He was on the hockey team with Brayden, and Sadie had seen him around school. Trevor was cute, sure. Sadie wasn’t blind and could see that. He had that good boy smile and wavy hair that any girl would love to run their hands through. And as far as Sadie knew, he was single.
Not that it mattered. Trevor Mariano would never be interested in her. She liked his post and closed the app.
Ugh.
Time was running out to buy tickets to the prom. Sadie would have to decide sooner rather than later if she wanted to suck it up and go alone or miss out on another experience because she was afraid to go alone. Neither option appealed to her. Setting her phone down beside her, Sadie took in a deep breath, hoping to ground herself.
But her phone dinging pulled her from any refocusing she was trying to do.
Picking up her phone, she saw it was an Instagram message from Trevor.
What the fuck?
Sadie quickly opened it.
Hey. Saw you liked my post. ;)
Her heart was pounding in her chest. Trevor Mariano had messaged her. Did she message him back? Should she wait? Why would he text her? Sadie had more questions than answers.
Before she could chicken out, Sadie typed back, what can I say? It was a good picture.
Trevor read it almost instantly, but no message ever came back. Dejected, Sadie stuffed her phone into her pocket.
“Flirting sucks.”