Chapter 7
Hudson slipped his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans before exiting the bank’s walk-up ATM. The bright Saturday afternoon
sun was high in the sky, and birds sang in the trees lining Main Street. The light breeze brought with it the scent of coffee.
He stepped to the edge of the sidewalk, allowing a group of giggling teenage girls to pass before he came to Bloom’s Coffee.
His gaze flitted over to Fairytale Bridal, where he found that the Open sign had been switched to Closed. He shook his head,
contemplating the generous gift card Dakota had left taped to the storm door of the colonial last night. The gesture had confused
him. What was she up to?
Why would she give him a gift card if they weren’t even friends? She wasn’t anything to him anymore but an acquaintance, and even that would be a generous title. Her expression when she’d seen him yesterday made it clear he was more of an annoy ance. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from offering to help her with the tire. After all, he hoped another man would do the same for his aunt or sister.
The appetizing smell of coffee reached him, and he considered using the gift card to grab a cup. Instead, his eyes moved to
a lemon-yellow logo adorning the front window of Heather’s Books ’N’ Treats. He picked up his pace, recalling his aunt’s excited
phone call the day the shop had opened. The residents of the little town were buzzing about finally having a bookstore, and
since it was paired with a bakery, the prospect was even more thrilling.
Hudson moved his hand over the stubble on his neck and tried to remember the last time he’d read a book for pleasure. It had
to have been at least six months, and that was too long. Since he was between jobs, he had no excuses now.
He recalled recently seeing an ad for a new book by one of his favorite suspense writers. Surely he could find the book in
this store. Maybe a good book would help take his mind off his argument with his sister. She hadn’t called him since their
tiff in his aunt’s driveway, and as much as he tried to put his irritation out of his mind, it still lingered there.
He yanked open the door, and a bell trilled as the delicious aromas of chocolate, cake, and icing wafted over him. Chipper
conversations buzzed around the space. A young woman wearing glasses and a lemon-yellow t-shirt featuring the store’s logo
stood by a cash register, beaming as she rang up a stack of books for an old man with a receding gray hairline.
Pop music filtered through the shop’s surround sound, and an autographed framed photo of the world-famous pop band Kirwan sat proudly on the bakery counter at the back of the store, serving as a reminder that Heather, the owner, had married the band’s lead singer. At least a dozen customers waited in line to purchase one of the sweet treats from the glass case featuring cakes, scones, cupcakes, pies, muffins, and cream puffs.
“Excuse me,” Hudson muttered, weaving through the sea of patrons until he found the suspense section. Signs were strategically
placed above the stacks, recommending books paired with the bakery’s bookish desserts—such as Plot Twist Cinnamon Rolls with
Emil Zimmerman’s The Man in the Window and Elise Harvey’s Where Did She Go? with Suspenseful Shortbread.
Hudson grinned. Brilliant marketing.
He folded his arms over his chest and scanned the shelves in search of his favorite author—Sebastian Harris.
The titles of three of his novels filled his vision, and he chose the two that didn’t sound familiar— Hide and The Obsession . He flipped one over and started reading the blurb.
“I know, I know,” a woman said nearby. “I promise I won’t be late. I’m aware it’s a big night. I’m just stopping in here,
and then I’ll go home and change.”
The voice sounded familiar, but Hudson continued reading the blurb.
“Okay. I’m in the suspense section. What was the author’s name again? Sebastian Harris?” she continued. “You’ve mentioned
his books at least a million times.” She chuckled. “Yes, I’ll add it to the list of things I should do. If I find the book, I’ll pick it up for you, and I’ll read it when I have time, which will be never.”
That sounds like... Oh no.
Hudson looked up just as Dakota moved in his direction. Her eyes were focused on the books in front of her as she held a cell
phone to her ear. The muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed. She seemed so consumed with her book search and her phone
call that she hadn’t even noticed him standing less than three feet from her.
In an effort to ignore his ex, he returned his attention to the blurb on the back of the book. His eyes read the same sentence over and over, but his brain refused to comprehend it.
“Sebastian Harris...,” Dakota murmured softly. “Here he is.” She tilted her head. “I see two books, and they’re both copies
of The Dark House . I don’t see The Obsess —” She took two steps to the right, and her high heel smashed down on the toe of Hudson’s sneaker.
Pain radiated up to his ankle, and he bit the inside of his cheek to stop a yelp from escaping his lips.
Dakota spun and gasped. “I’m so sor—” She froze, and pink tinged her cheeks. Then she squared her shoulders, and her eyes
narrowed. “Excuse me.”
“No, excuse me ,” he quipped.
She stared at him at him while addressing the person on the other end of the line. “Give me one sec, Kay.” Then she turned
to Hudson. “Guess I didn’t see you there.”
“Obviously.” He shot her a sardonic grin. “Unless, of course, you were aiming that stiletto for my toes.”
“No, I wasn’t, so that was pure luck.” She turned back to the shelf and her phone conversation. “I don’t see The Obsession .”
Hudson sighed, and before his brain engaged, he held the book out to her. “Dakota.”
She faced him again, her expression hesitant.
“Take mine.”
She peered down at the book and then back at him. “No, thanks.”
“Just take it.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine.”
“Take the book, Dakota. I insist.”
She pushed it back toward him. “No, I insist you keep it.”
“I can ask the store to order me another copy. It’s yours.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “No, I’m good.”
“Stop being ridiculous and take the book.”
Dakota grabbed it, and he slipped the copy of Hide back onto the shelf before retreating to the next aisle. He located another author he enjoyed, chose a few books, and headed
to the cashier.
As he turned the corner, he almost ran right into Dakota, who was holding the copies of Hide and The Obsession in one hand and her phone in the other. She met his gaze, and her body went rigid.
He made a sweeping gesture toward the cashier. “After you.”
She shook her head. “After you .”
“I insist.”
She lifted her chin. “ I insist.”
“Nope.” He took two steps to his left and made another sweeping motion toward the cashier. “After you.”
The skin between her eyes pinched, and he could almost feel her irritation coming off her in waves. He was getting under her
skin.
Good!
He worked to stop his lips from tipping up in a grin.
“Fine,” Dakota muttered. She pursed her lips and took her place in line behind a woman holding a plastic shopping basket full
of paperbacks, each featuring a ridiculously muscular man in desperate need of a shirt.
“Sorry about that,” Dakota murmured into the phone. “I’ll explain it to you tonight. So what did Gigi say to Brice’s mom?”
She listened for a moment and then laughed.
Hudson tried to pass the time by reading the blurbs on the backs of the three suspense novels he had picked. When it was her
turn, Dakota walked up to the cash register, quickly paid for the books, and thanked the cashier before fleeing the store
without looking back at him.
Buh-bye.
He had almost thanked her for the suspicious coffee shop gift card, but he’d been having too much fun irritating her.
Hudson set the books on the counter and paid for them before stepping back outside and into the warm afternoon sun.
Hopefully that would be his last awkward run-in with Dakota for the week. Or maybe even the next three weeks.
At least, he could hope.
***
“Let’s try skating from one end of the rink to the other.” Dakota clapped her hands from the middle of the rink at the Flowering
Grove Rollerama. “Who’s ready?” she asked the kids’ class.
“Me! Me! Me!” Gigi waved both arms in the air, and Dakota grinned. Kayleigh’s six-year-old daughter was a near-expert skater
who loved to participate in their classes, usually acting as a mentor to the other children. Tonight she was dressed in an
’80s-inspired rainbow-themed t-shirt and pink jeans, with matching fluorescent pink ribbons on her curly blond pigtails.
Dakota had stayed past midnight on Friday to help decorate the rink, which was now adorned with streamers, inflatable boom
boxes and cassette tapes, musical notes, neon balloons, giant Rubik’s Cubes, and banners illustrated like walls of graffiti.
Anissa Wallace, Gavin and Jeannie’s daughter, was also wearing fluorescent clothes. She raised her hand and said, “I’m ready
too.”
The other half dozen children agreed.
Kayleigh glided on her skates while directing her class of teenagers on the other side of the rink.
“Now, let’s start skating toward the other class,” Dakota said. “Take your time. We’ll build up speed when we feel more confident.”
A peppy Duran Duran song played overhead, serenading them.
Gigi took Anissa’s hand, and together they led the group forward.
“Great job, Jack!” Dakota told the shy little boy at the back of the group when he wobbled past her. “You’re getting this.”
Dakota’s class reached the other side of the rink, then turned and skated back to the center. They continued going back and forth, all to the soundtrack of nostalgic ’80s songs.
When they finished thirty minutes later, Dakota clapped. “Y’all did a fantastic job,” she said. “That’s it for tonight. Keep
practicing.”
“Dakota?”
She turned at the sound of her name, and Jack’s mother, Rose, sidled up to her. “Hey! Jack is doing great.”
Rose looked embarrassed as she wrung her hands. “It’s because you’re a great teacher. But it was a slow week at the diner,
and I was wondering if I could pay you next week.”
Dakota’s heart clutched for Rose. She was aware of her situation—working hard to raise her son on her own. She understood
what it was like to struggle, especially lately. “That’s no problem at all.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it, Dakota.”
Jack appeared next to his mother and pulled on her sleeve. “Can we get a drink, Mom?”
“Of course.” Rose smiled down at her son and then at Dakota. “We’ll see you next week.”
Dakota was grateful Kayleigh and Brice gave free concessions coupons to all the skating students so Rose could get Jack something
to drink.
Kayleigh skated over and smiled at Rose and Jack before taking Dakota’s arm. “Are you ready for the adult class?”
“Can I help teach?” Gigi asked.
Kayleigh leaned down and touched Gigi’s nose. “Why don’t you help Daddy in the DJ booth instead?”
“Okay!” Gigi set off to find her father.
Dakota and Kayleigh moved back to the center of the rink, where a group of a dozen new skaters ranging in age from nineteen
to sixty stood waiting for them.
For the next forty-five minutes, Dakota and Kayleigh taught the basics. By the time the class ended, the rink was buzzing with patrons, most of them dressed in ’80s clothes. A line had formed by the snack bar, and others stood by the half wall, waiting for the general skating time to begin. Kayleigh headed toward the DJ booth while Dakota glided off the rink floor.
“Good evening, folks.” Brice’s voice rang out over the speakers as the lights dimmed and disco balls reflected around the
rink. “Who’s ready for an ’80s all-skate?” A Bon Jovi song began, and cheers broke out around the rink.
Dakota grinned as people poured out onto the floor and began skating counterclockwise.
Kayleigh appeared next to her balancing a tray with two pieces of pizza and two sodas. “Want a slice?”
“Sure. Is Gigi staying in the booth with Brice?”
Kayleigh nodded toward the DJ booth. “Yup, so we can talk.”
Dakota followed Kayleigh to a booth, where she sat across from her best friend and took a bite of pizza. “You know, hands
down, this is the best pizza in Flowering Grove,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over Bon Jovi. “I don’t care what
anyone says.”
“Thanks for the loyalty, bestie. And I’m always grateful to hear that the food is good.” Kayleigh lifted her cup and took
a drink of soda.
“Our classes went well tonight. We had a good turnout too.” She leaned forward and shared what Rose had said about paying
for the classes. “If you need me to cover her, I will.”
Kayleigh waved her off. “I don’t expect you to pay for Jack’s lessons. We can give her time.” She gave Dakota a look. “Besides,
you have your own financial concerns now.”
“That’s true, but I don’t want Jack to miss out.”
Kayleigh reached across the table and touched Dakota’s arm. “You have such a generous heart.” Then she pointed toward the rink. “We didn’t really have a chance to get caught up last night since we were busy with lessons and then decorating. Have you heard from Parker?”
Dakota nodded. “He texted me last night.”
“Really?” Kayleigh rested her elbow on the table and her chin on her palm. “What’d he say?”
Dakota summarized their brief conversation.
Her best friend seemed to study her. “Do you want to see him again?”
Dakota shrugged. “We talked about making plans next week.”
“You should see him,” Kayleigh said. “It would be good for you.”
Dakota nodded. Kayleigh was probably right. Parker was sweet, thoughtful, handsome, and genuinely interested in her. Maybe
he was the guy who would warm her heart if she only gave him a chance.
“Has Layla come in for a fitting yet?”
Dakota swallowed a bite of pizza and wiped her hands on a napkin. “She came in yesterday.” She proceeded to gush about her
plan for altering the gown to look like Layla’s mother’s. Though she still had gowns to save after the flood, her true joy
was in alterations. “There’s a lot of work to do on her gown, and I can’t wait to get started.” She hesitated and looked down
at her plate.
“Hey.” Kayleigh leaned forward. “What’s up?”
She frowned. “Hud paid for the gown.”
“You saw him at the shop?”
“Yup.” She moved her straw around in her drink. “And he changed a flat tire for me yesterday.” She held up her pointer finger.
“Oh, and that’s not all. Then I saw him at the bookstore today. He actually handed me one of the books you recommended, then
hassled me about getting in line ahead of him to pay.”
“What?” Kayleigh’s blue eyes glittered. “Tell me everything.”
Dakota explained how Hudson was staying in the Airbnb next door and how he had discovered her and the flat tire, then went
on to describe everything else that had happened between them during the week.
“Interesting.” Kayleigh lifted her cup. “It stinks that he’s staying next door to you. You’ll run into him constantly. So
awkward.”
Dakota rolled her eyes. “You got that right. But the good news is that if he’s in a rental house, he’ll only be here temporarily.”
She sighed. “I just wish he’d leave already.”
“Well, I hate to tell you...” Kayleigh leaned forward, her voice low. “But he’s here.”
Dakota’s stomach dropped. “Where?”
“At the snack bar.”
Dakota spun around. Sure enough, Kayleigh was right.
“Don’t stare,” Kayleigh said.
Dakota peered toward the snack bar, where Hudson, Gavin, Jeannie, and Anissa stood. “Oh no,” she muttered.
“Just ignore him,” Kayleigh said.
“Right, right.” But that was easier said than done. She swallowed against her suddenly dry throat.
Kayleigh glanced around the rink without a care in the world. “The theme night turned out great, and I’m thrilled that our
patrons are wearing their ’80s garb.” She grinned in the direction of a group of women. “Check out that redhead over there.
Her MTV shirt and multicolored pants are fabulous.”
Dakota nodded, trying to focus on what Kayleigh was saying—but she couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at the snack bar, where
Hudson still stood with Gavin and his family. She was stunned to find Hudson’s bright-blue eyes focused on her.
***
Hudson looked over at Dakota despite Gavin’s discussion of his week at work. She and Kayleigh wore stonewashed jeans, pink
leg warmers, and similar orange fluorescent shirts decorated with pink peace signs. Their wrists were covered with colorful
jelly bracelets, their hairstyles were teased up high, and they both wore copious amounts of blue eyeshadow. They definitely
looked the part of 1980s roller girls.
“Hud, are you going to skate tonight?” Gavin asked.
Hudson turned toward his friend. “I doubt it.”
“But you were a great skater back in the day. I remember you winning all of the relay contests. You were the fastest guy out
there.”
Hudson shrugged. “That was a long time ago.”
“It’s like riding a bike,” Jeannie insisted. “It’ll come back to you as soon as you get out on the floor.”
Gavin looped his arm around his wife’s slight shoulders. “That’s right.”
When Prince’s “When Doves Cry” started playing over the speakers, Jeannie gasped. “I love this song.” She looked around at
her family. “Who wants to skate?”
Anissa took her mother’s hand and pulled. “We do! Right, Mommy?”
“Of course.” Jeannie gave her husband a look. “You’re coming too, Gavin.”
“And you too, Hud,” Gavin said.
Hudson shook his head. “But I don’t have skates.”
“They’ll give them to you.” Anissa pointed to the rental counter.
Hudson smiled at the cute little girl. It had been a while since he’d been around kids.
“Yes,” Gavin agreed. “Now stop being such a stick in the mud and come out with us. Let’s have some fun.”
“Yeah,” Anissa insisted.
Hudson couldn’t disappoint Anissa. “Okay,” he finally agreed. “I’ll see you out there.” He weaved through a sea of people
toward the rental booth and paid for a pair in his size. Then he sat down on a bench and pulled them on.
Once his skates were secured, Hudson stood and scanned the area. The rink was now packed with people skating to the beat of
a lively Madonna song. Gavin, Jeannie, and Anissa sailed around the floor, obviously enjoying themselves.
Hudson took his time as he glided toward the rink, dodging people loitering near the snack bar and chatting beside booths.
He reached the entrance to the rink, stopped, and leaned on the wall.
Dakota whizzed past him. She had always made skating look effortless, and she still had the gift. She gracefully turned to
skate backward, her long legs keeping time with the music. She spun again, and her dark hair fanned around her face. Even
her over-the-top ’80s outfit complemented her tall and athletic frame.
Kayleigh joined her, and they fell into a routine of skating back and forth, sharing high fives before spinning and skating
backward.
Hudson waited until Dakota and Kayleigh were on the other side of the rink before he stepped out into the flow of the crowd.
He hit his stride and continued around the rink, keeping pace with the music.
When he wound up behind an older couple, he slowed, hoping for an opening to pass. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused
him to turn just as Dakota glided up beside him. She glanced over at him and then took off, expertly weaving past the slower
folks. Her moves were just as crisp as when they were teenagers.
Unable to stop himself, he followed.
She sailed past a group of teenagers as a group of older men appeared around her, boxing her in. She moved to the right, and
Hudson caught up to her, their gazes locking for a moment.
Then an older man in front of them started to teeter, his arms flailing. When Dakota stumbled, both she and Hudson pivoted—but
instead of getting out of the way, they crashed into each other.