It Had To Be You (The Rose Prairie #3)

Prologue

Smith

“Anyone else have any other ideas?” Mr. Shannon poses the question for what has to be the tenth time this meeting.

Monday meetings are full of discussions about future articles and he’s shot down every idea thrown out.

Looking around the conference room, everyone’s already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

The Daily Click is a fast-growing online newspaper and Mr. Shannon is hell-bent on finding a human interest story that’s never been done before.

My pen taps against my notebook, the soft thud mingling with the other anxious ticks made by the journalists around me. Chairs swivel and someone coughs lightly, no one daring to make eye contact with our boss. Not that we’re scared of him, we’re just out of ideas.

“I think I have something.” A small hand raises in the air, the young intern wide-eyed.

She cautiously stands as all eyes shift to her seat in the corner next to the coffee maker.

“Um, well.” She stammers clearing her throat, her hands clasping nervously in front of her.

“This last Christmas my friends and I went to this small town— like really small. We’d heard that they have this event on Christmas Eve, so we decided to check it out.

It’s normally only a Christmas thing, but I guess the girl they hired throws all these seasonal events drawing huge crowds.

My friends have even been talking about going to their Fall Festival. ”

The silence in the room hangs heavy, all eyes shifting to Mr. Shannon. The older man scrapes his hand along his chin, his lips puckered in thought. “How’d you hear about it?”

“That’s the thing. We can’t remember.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I guess they’ve been doing it for like forever and hotels in the area have started selling out every time they put on another event.”

“What’s the name of this place?”

She looks down at her feet in thought. “Rose something.” Her eyes flutter shut, her face scrunching as she tries to remember.

“Prairie!” She announces loudly. “It’s called Rose Prairie.

It’s about a three-hour drive from here.

Their fall festival starts this Friday.” She pulls out her phone, her thumbs quickly typing until she finds what she’s looking for.

With a satisfied smile, she holds her phone up to show the online flyer.

It’s simple. Fall leaves and pumpkins decorate the edges with large black letters. “Join us for our first annual Fall Festival. Come see what Rose Prairie is all about!”

Something about that name sounds familiar. Although I have no idea where this place is, awareness prickles at the back of my neck like a forgotten memory, no matter how hard you think of it, it never comes back.

“I’m intrigued.” Mr. Shannon murmurs, his large fists settling on the polished conference table.

“Matt.” All eyes shift to me, my pen stopping its motion.

“I want you to go to this Rose Prairie. Get in touch with the person who puts on all of these events. Learn about the town, its culture, and how these events help the town. I want you there for their festival. I expect to have the article on my desk the next day.”

A strand of my black hair bounces on my forehead as I nod. “Yes, sir.”

Looks like I’m heading to Rose Prairie. Wherever the hell that is.