Chapter Four

Swimming her hand through the air as she drove, Gen felt the sun warm her face.

She was here. Spring Grove, Kentucky.

Well, she had about fifteen minutes until she entered town, but a grin was already on her face. Gen had decided to leave her issues and problems with Montgomery back at the airport where she had landed. Once she picked up her car, threw the top down, and got in, she found herself singing and basking in the heat of the beautiful sun that was setting over Kentucky Lake. The whole flight to Kentucky, all she did was replay their arguments. Even the one they’d had two nights ago. She really didn’t understand how the hell she hadn’t noticed that not once had he told her he loved her. It hurt her, but she wouldn’t let the tears fall anymore.

Not when she was in her magical place to finish her book.

She knew she had a lot to think about. If Montgomery didn’t accept her career, what in the world would she do? But then, did she even want to be with someone who obviously didn’t want to be with her as she was? Lord, how did this happen? Thankfully, they hadn’t merged their accounts yet. They had been planning on it, but he had been so busy. Like always. But would she stay in DC? Would she move back to New York where she went to college?

Yelling out, she shook her head. “No, you are not doing this now. You will figure it out once you go back home and see if your so-called boyfriend is gonna get his stupid head out of his ass and support you—or better yet, love you.”

But even saying the words out loud, she couldn’t help but have no faith in them. Montgomery hadn’t supported her ever, but now he was vocal about it. They had never discussed their problems; they just decided to get married. “And then everything went to shit,” she muttered to herself, her long, golden-brown hair blowing in the wind. It didn’t matter, though. None of it. She was going to write Travis and Ashley’s story, and she’d send it off to her publisher. Then she’d figure out her life.

When the tears threatened to fall once more, she took a calming breath. She had this. But man, he pissed her off so damn bad. How in the world did he think it was okay to accuse her of leaving to cheat on him? She’d never do that! It just didn’t make sense; it was almost like he wanted her to leave him. To call off everything. Or maybe she was just projecting.

Damn it, he made her so fudging mad.

And confused.

She didn’t want to be confused on this; she wanted to know one way or another. They loved each other, and they were going to spend the rest of their days together. But she didn’t truly feel that. She felt uncertainty. Confusion. And she hated it. Damn it, she was crying again. Wiping her face, she shook her head before turning up the music so loud that she couldn’t think. All she could do was sing along with Sam Hunt about a back road, one she was probably driving on.

Because the road into Spring Grove wasn’t like others. It wasn’t a highway or even a main road. It was almost a dirt road, but nicer since it was paved, though with no lines. If someone came toward her, she would need to pull over, but she hadn’t run into that problem yet. The trees were like she remembered, so bright green and blanketing the road with shade. They clouded the road to the point where she couldn’t see anything but the light at the end of it, which would be the entrance to Spring Grove. She remembered the first time she’d driven this stretch.

She had been scared shitless.

She was newly eighteen, and her phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Her parents were livid that she had run off with him, but she just wanted to feel something. She wanted to have fun. Be rebellious. She wanted to piss everyone off, and boy, had she. A grin pulled at her lips as she shook her head, thinking of how young and stupid they were. Well, he wasn’t, he was three years older, and he was complete trouble.

But man, was he fun.

Theo.

She hadn’t seen or heard from him in over ten years. Not that she had been keeping up with the time, but when he did climb into her thoughts, she couldn’t help but grin. She should hate him, but how could she when he gave her the best two weeks of her life? Even with the cops throwing her in jail and everything else that had happened, she would almost always think of her time with him as a blast. He brought her to Spring Grove, he gave her this magical place, and she would always be thankful for that.

She swallowed hard as she drove down the long road. Her mind wandered where it shouldn’t. She pondered where he was. Was he still in jail? Was he out doing his thing? A chill ran through her when she thought that he could be here with his mom. She knew his mom lived in Spring Grove, since the topic of Montgomery’s father’s whore was almost always brought up when Verna was drinking. It was the scandal of the country club.

Bruce Hudson’s second life with another woman and another son.

Oh, man, it was nasty when it went through the country club when Gen was seventeen. Theo had been brought in to be raised right and not by a whore, but he, of course, resisted and stole from his father’s other family. He was treated like a pariah by basically everyone but Gen. She found him intriguing and wanted nothing more than to be found making out with the bad boy of the country club. Oh, how it pissed off her family. The love affair between them was quick, mind-blowing, and exhilarating, but then he convinced her to leave with him, and well, things went downhill fast.

Even so, they were the best moments of her life.

When the trees opened out in front of her, she saw a sign in the shape of a barrel that read:

Welcome to Spring Grove.

Home of the McElroy Distillery.

Pop: 567

She was here.

A certain kind of giddiness filled her as she drove into the heart of the small town. Smacking her hands to the steering wheel as she sang along to the radio, she had a smile on her face. That was, until she noticed she forgot her engagement ring.

“Shit, he’s gonna kill me,” she muttered as she turned onto the main road of the town. The town square circled a huge fountain made up of barrels on top of barrels, with water coming out of all the ends, and cement statues of little children playing among them. All the necessities of the town surrounded it. The post office, the police department, the court, the fire department, the clinic, everything was right there, making a huge ring around the fountain. As she drove around the square, she ended up on the main street where all the businesses were located. When she looked up on the hill, she saw McElroy Distillery, which was the tourist attraction for the small town. They made the best whiskey in her opinion, which was also the opinion of the rest of the town. It still looked huge and glorious with the sun setting behind it. It was breathtaking. Nothing had changed, Gen decided as she drove, and that made her unbelievably happy. In DC, everything changed, daily, but here, it was like time stood still.

The Blu was on the outskirts of town, at the bottom of the hill the distillery was on. Also at the bottom of the hill was the town church. She would sit outside the B&B on Sunday mornings, watching as everyone came in, before the beautiful hymns would fill the back patio of the Blu. She loved it, and even though the owner, Ms. Neil, would beg Gen to come to church with her, she wouldn’t. It wasn’t her home church, and she didn’t want to be an imposter. Everyone knew everyone in Spring Grove, and the tourists were the outsiders.

But Gen always felt like she was at home.

Rolling through town, she took in all the people walking around and doing what small-town folks did. She couldn’t wait to get some downtime and explore. But first, she had to check in and get some words down. That was crucial. She was already off her schedule with her traveling.

Going out of town, she drove for about ten minutes before she reached the Blu. She inhaled gratefully as she took in the beauty of her magical place. It stood in all its glory, and she was pleased to see it hadn’t changed. It was a Victorian style house with a steeply pitched roof in all kinds of irregular shapes and a beautiful front-facing gable. The house was painted a dark green with blue and yellow accents. She knew for a fact that Verna would say it was gaudy, but Gen loved it. Big baskets of flowers covered the front, and on the porch, she could see her favorite chair.

“Thank God,” she muttered as she parked in the spot that was reserved for her, according to the email she’d received. Closing the top and then turning off the car, she got out hastily before grabbing her bag and heading toward the front of the house. She could hear the noises from the distillery, and then just as she reached the porch, the church bells sounded. A chill ran down her spine as she pushed the door open and headed inside. The inside was like stepping back to the 1920s. The furniture was so regal and irreplaceable. It was stunning, and when a familiar face appeared, coming out the back door of the kitchen, Gen’s grin grew.

“I know you!”

Gen laughed. “You sure do. How are you, Delaney?”

Delaney Abbott, a gorgeous brunette with thick lashes and even thicker lips, grinned back at her. “I’m doing great,” she gushed before hugging her tight. “I knew that was you when I got the reservation in. You used your real name.”

“I did.” Gen pulled back, patting her shoulders. “You’re working here now?”

“Yeah, just in the morning,” she said, waving her off. “With Ms. Neil passing and the new owner getting up to speed, things have been a bit crazy.”

Gen’s stomach dropped. “No. Huh? What? When?” she stammered in shock.

Delaney’s eyes widened. “You didn’t know?” she asked slowly, shaking her head while Gen braced her hand to the desk. Memories flooded Gen’s mind as she watched Delaney take a deep breath. “Yeah, it was quick, a heart attack.”

Tears rushed to her eyes. “I hadn’t known. When?”

“It’s been about four years now, right after the last time you were here.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, I sent you a notice for her funeral. I was bummed you didn’t show.”

“I never got it.”

“Well, that’s too bad. It was a town affair, you know how we do around here.”

Gen nodded as she drew in a breath. She hadn’t been expecting that, but then, it was stupid of her to assume everything would be the same. “So are you running the place now?”

Delaney waved her off once more. “Oh no, girl. I only work here when I’m needed. You know I have like eight jobs.”

Gen laughed. Delaney was insane. The girl didn’t have to work like she did, but ever since Gen had met her, she’d kept so many jobs. Delaney hated being bored and sitting like her mawmaw. So she worked, and she loved it. “You’re crazy.”

“No, me?” she joked, and they shared a laugh.

“How’s your mawmaw?”

“Good, crazy.”

Gen smiled. That was good to hear. “Your sister?”

“Great, doing big things up in New York. You hear she’s gonna be on True Love Seekers?”

Gen scoffed. “No.”

“Yes,” Delaney said, rolling her eyes at the popular reality show for people who were looking for “the one.” “Pathetic.”

“But funny.”

Delaney laughed before grabbing a key and holding it out to Gen. “This is true. So here you go, the Zoe Jayne suite.”

Her brows shot up. “What?”

Delaney just grinned. “Oh yeah, we have a suite just for you.”

“When did that happen?” While she was completely taken aback by the sentiment, it did please her to no end. Made her feel all kinds of special.

“A couple years back. The new owner found the books you had dedicated to Ms. Neil and decided that the room you always requested would be yours. Did you not get the announcement about your room?”

Gen shook her head. “What? No?”

“Your mail sucks.”

“It does,” she decided, taking the key. “But holy crap, that’s so nice,” she gushed, leaning on the desk as she rubbed her thumb along the key. “Who’s the owner? Do I know them?”

Delaney just shrugged, not making eye contact for the first time since Gen had known her. “I think so, but they don’t want me to tell you.”

Her brows pulled together. “Not tell me? Why on earth?”

“Yeah, I don’t know, girl,” she said, rolling her eyes. “S-she’s weird.”

“She?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.” Gen thought that over. “I have no clue.”

“Yeah,” Delaney laughed. “But yeah, why don’t you go get settled? The porch is open for you, and just let me know when you want dinner.”

They hugged once more, and then Gen smiled. “Thanks, Delaney.”

“Of course, and by the way, you owe me a drink.”

Gen laughed, nodding her head. “I feel you owe me.”

“Probably. But we need to go out while you’re here, to catch up too.”

“Do we still have to go outside of town?”

Delaney grinned. “You know it. We’re still drier than a nun’s cooch around these parts.”

Gen exhaled as she kept in her laughter. “Depressing.”

“It is. We make whiskey but can’t even drink it here.”

Both women laughed before Gen waved, heading up to her room with a grin on her face. Man, she loved this town. Her heart ached for Ms. Neil, and she wished she had known. But then she remembered there was a room just for her. That was insane and amazing. She just wished Ms. Neil were here to share it with her.

Once she got to the room, she unlocked the door and pushed it open as her grin grew. The room, which used to be called the Hummingbird and was a soft pink, was now a bright yellow with dark furniture. Yellow was Gen’s favorite color. A painting of the lake was on the wall, along with a big framed print of the cover of her first book. Breathless, she walked in, shutting the door behind her as she took in the room, the classiness of it. It blew her away.

But when she noticed a table that held all her books, she covered her mouth.

“Wow,” she breathed as she took out her phone and took a picture. Without thinking, she sent it to her mom and then to Montgomery. Her mom wrote back automatically.

Mom: Oh, Genny. That is amazing! I’ll need to go stay!

Before she could write her mother back though, Montgomery wrote back.

Montgomery: So they have a room with your books, and because of that, they’re naming it after you?

Rolling her eyes, she tucked her phone into her back pocket.

She wouldn’t let him ruin this.

No.

Because this room, the people here, this place, were the start to a trip she needed more than she ever could have realized.