209 Wedding Lane Read online

  209 Wedding Lane

  Lucy Darling

  Copyright © 2021 by Lucy Darling

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  "And if you call me at 4 am, too sad to even say hello, I will listen to your silence until you fall asleep." — Unknown

  Contents

  Summary

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Summary

  Chapter 1

  Also by Lucy Darling

  About the Author

  Summary

  I was a child groom. It’s not how it sounds. I was a willing groom to a sweet girl who said she was dying. Her final wish was to get married, and I was all too happy to grant it. So right there in that hospital, two kids got hitched. It was the best day of my young life. . . Until I couldn’t find her. Until she was gone.

  It broke my heart. She took the pieces with her.

  I got older, but I never forgot about the little girl with the innocent smile and face of an angel. I had no idea when I took her hand that day she would guide me down a path to greatness.

  Then I found her. She was alive and in Cherry Falls. I knew I had to have her, to keep her safe, and make her mine.

  I just have to convince my wife to do me the honor of becoming my bride once again.

  I got married when I was a kid, when I didn’t know what love really meant. But now I do, and I’m never going to let it go.

  Prologue

  Lennon

  I stare at the sign, trying to figure out where the heck I made a wrong turn. I should have kept myself parked in the waiting room chair like my mother told me to, but she was gone for over an hour, and I wanted to see my brother. Plus, it gives me the creeps to be alone here for too long.

  I tilt my head when I read the word chapel. There’s an arrow pointing to the right. Why would there be a chapel inside of a hospital? Another arrow points in the other direction to the cafeteria.

  I’m starving, but I don’t have any money on me. If I go to the cafeteria, I’ll only be tortured by the smell of food. I guess the chapel it is.

  I’m still in my hockey uniform. I left all of my crap in my locker at the rink. We hadn't had a chance to change before being rushed from the middle of the game because my brother once again lost his temper.

  It took all of us to pull him and the goalie from the other team off each other.

  I swear he’s getting into a fight in every single game these days. This time I think he needs stitches. I’m not sure if he broke anything but I know he gave as good as he got. He was holding his arm tightly to himself, but not one tear had leaked from his eyes. He’s tough as nails.

  With nothing better to do and already likely in trouble, I head right toward the chapel. My stomach tightens as I draw closer. I notice a girl standing in the middle of the hallway, dressed in all white.

  She’s got her hand resting on a thin metal pole that has tubes running into her arm. She turns her head to look at me. The brightest blue eyes I’ve ever seen in my life meet mine. They stop me in my tracks. But there is no missing the dark circles under her eyes. She’s sick. That thought almost knocks the wind out of me.

  “Hi.” A big smile pulls at her lips. “I’m Willow.” Not missing a beat, she introduces herself, holding her hand out. I take it.

  “Len.” Her hand is cold but so much life shines in her eyes. “You’re dying.” My dumbass teenage brain blurts out. I swear if I could I would shove my foot in my mouth.

  “So they say.” She gives a little shrug of her shoulder. Suddenly, I have the urge to cry. No fear shows on her delicate face. Before she turned and looked my way I would have thought her to be an angel, but angels don’t die. Do they?

  “I’m sorry.” I not only feel bad about what I said, but I feel a heaviness settle in my chest.

  “How sorry?” She tilts her head back to look up at me. A dimple forms in her cheek. It’s small and almost unnoticeable. Yet, it makes her look even more adorable. In her hand she holds a wrinkled paper tightly. “Sorry enough to marry me?”

  “What?” I take a step back, looking around. She can’t be more than nine or ten years old. Her eyes, though, look so much older and wiser. An old soul. That’s the only way to describe them. Sadness creeps in, knowing that her illness probably made her grow up way too soon.

  “I want to get married before I die.” Her words are a sucker punch to my gut. They hit me harder than any hit I’ve ever taken on the ice.

  “Why are you dying?” I take the paper from her hand that she’s holding out to me. I read it. It’s a fucking bucket list. I’ve heard of them before. I know people have them for the things they want to experience in life before they die, but the thought of this precious creature having one almost brings me to my knees.

  “Leukemia.”

  I remember learning about leukemia in biology.

  “Are you scared?” She shakes her head no. “So you just die?” I can barely get the words past my lips, my throat feeling so tight. The urge to cry pushes down on me. But I hold the tears back, wanting to be strong for her. Not wanting her to think I’m another person who feels sorry for her.

  “I want to get married.” She nods towards the chapel. “Will you marry me?”

  “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

  She drops her eyes from mine, and after everything she’s told me, this is the first time I see sadness on her face. I can’t handle the look of disappointment for another second.

  “Okay, I’ll marry you.” I find myself wanting her to smile again. She does, giving me that dimple again. She holds her hand out to me, and I take it. I open the door to the chapel with my other hand, knowing that what I’m doing is nuts, but do it anyway.

  I had no idea when I took her hand that she would guide me down a path to greatness. I might not be able to save her life, but maybe one day I could save others.

  1

  Lennon

  I flip through to the next page, my eyes trailing down the list of names and pictures.

  “What are you doing?” A hand comes down on my stack of papers, stopping me from turning the page again.

  I pull my gaze from the papers up to see Emily standing next to me. She has her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun. Our work now is more casual, but she still wears a suit every day.

  “I’m retired. I can do whatever I like,” I remind her. She scoffs a laugh.

  “Retired. Right.” She rolls her eyes. “It sure doesn’t seem that way.”

  “I am.” It had come as a shock to everyone when I retired in my early thirties. I’d gone public with Colossal, Inc. in my mid-twenties. I’d been doing well but not well enough to fund my next project. I had needed more cash in the door for the robotics I’d been developing.

  Going public had given me the additional capital I needed to move forward. Once I’d gotten it, Colossal Inc. exploded into the medical field. So much so I was above my pay grade. I’d gone as far as I thought I could with it, so I sold all my shares. At the time I held the majority.

  I was not only set for life, but so were the generations to come. That is if I ever ha
ve kids. It doesn't look like that’s going to be happening.

  For now I need to find something else to fill my time. Something I can sink my hands into once again. What that is I have no idea. Right now all we really do is run benefits raising money for children in need. I still want to help in some way.

  “You have to let this go at some point. Find some girl and settle down. I know that’s what you want.” My hand slams down on the desk, making Emily jump back. I’m normally laid back and easy-going. My brother is the one with the temper. But all of my patience goes out the window when it came to this. I wasn’t letting it go. I couldn’t. I made that promise a long time ago. It was her or no one.

  “Sorry.” She again rolls her eyes at me. She’s the only person that can get away with that shit. I know she only wants the best for me. She is like an older sister to me at his point. She’s been at my side from the beginning.

  “I worry about you. You look more worn out now than you did when you still worked for Colossal pulling eighty-hour weeks.” She is right. Work kept me busy. When I hit the bed each night I was out. I have too much free space in my head now. Skiing only occupies so much of my day. All I can think about is her. The girl that stole my heart all those years ago. I gave her a vow, and I won't break it.

  “Then help me find her.” She lets out a long sigh.

  “We’ve been doing this for years. Not to mention your ass would be in trouble if anyone finds out you’ve been buying your way in to get medical records from hospitals.”

  No one is going to find out. I started searching for her when I was in college. I didn't have the means or the knowhow to do it before that. We had parted ways in the hospital so I could go check on my brother. When I came back, I couldn't find her anywhere.

  “I don’t read them. I check the name and age. Nothing more.” Emily snags one of the binders that’s sitting in one of the chairs in front of my desk. She might not want to help me, but she will anyway. She always does.

  “What if she died and that’s why you can’t find her?” My head jerks up. “I’m just saying.” Her words are like a punch to my throat. I’d thought that too at one point but pushed it to the back of my mind because I wasn’t ready to deal with that ending.

  “I’ve been through the obituaries.” I go back to flipping through the pages, not wanting to talk about Willow dying. She was a fighter. I’d seen it in her eyes.

  None of the private detectives I hired have come up with shit either. I’m searching for a needle in a haystack. Still, that isn't going to stop me. I’ll never stop looking for her. I flip the page again and freeze.

  “Lennon? Are you okay?” Emily jumps up from her chair.

  “I found her.”

  “What!” She runs around the desk. I stare down at the picture. She’s older in this one. “She's beautiful.” She isn't just beautiful. She is breathtaking, but that was only a part of her.

  She has a wildfire inside of her. “Now what?” I finally have her full name. I grab my phone, calling my private investigator. After all of these years I’ve finally gotten a break.

  I rattle off the information that I have. I hear him typing away on his computer. Willow Snow Crimson. With a middle name like that it should make it easier to track her down.

  “Well, fuck me,” Rick says through the phone.

  “What?” I shout, fear creeping up my spine. My heart pounds so loudly I think Emily can hear it. I take a deep breath to try to prepare myself for whatever it is that he’s about to tell me.

  “She’s right under your nose. She lives in Kissme Bay. Looks like she moved there eight months ago.” Kissme Bay. That’s only a short drive away. “She lives over the Kissme Sweet Shop, where she works as well.”

  I’ve been there a few times since I moved out here to Wild Ridge Mountains. Fate is trying to bring her back to me. I’m not one that usually believes in that sort of shit. Well, not until now, anyway.

  “I'm going to email you what I have right now. I’m going to dig some more. I’ll have a full report for you by tomorrow.”

  “Keep me updated.”

  “Will do,” he says before ending the call. My email dings, and I click it. I decide to start with one of the social media links. A flood of pictures pop up. She’s smiling in all of them, her dimple on full display. She still looks like my angel.

  “I don’t see any boyfriend, so that’s good.” Emily breaks me from my thoughts. I clench my jaw, thinking about her with another man. I’m a bastard because I know that wouldn't stop me regardless. She sealed our fate all those years ago when she asked me to marry her. I’d done it. There wasn’t anything she could have asked me back then that I wouldn’t have done for her.

  I’d kept my promise and vow to her all of these years—and now the only thing I won’t do is ever let her go.

  Willow is mine. She always has been.

  2

  Willow

  “Hot new story?” I ask my best friend Glory. She is always on the hunt for the next big story around here. There aren't many to be found, but she loves it nonetheless. I envy her passion for it, wanting something like that in my life. Nothing really sticks out in my mind that I want to do. I enjoy working at the bakery.

  I get to talk to all kinds of people. Lily is always putting me out front of the Sweet Shop. She says I bring everyone in with my charm and because I’m so pretty. I’m not sure I agree. I never thought of myself as charming. But it's sweet she sees me that way.

  “Nope.” She lets out a long sigh. “There is a benefit raising money for children in need.” She snags my full attention at that.

  “Like medical?” I ask as I steal the pad from her to look at her notes.

  “Yeah, and other things.” I stare down at the name Lennon Carver. I trace my finger on the name, but nothing comes to me.

  “He’s somewhat new around here. His name isn't new, that's for sure. From what I dug up, he sold his shares of Colossal, Inc. and has retired out to Wild Ridge Mountains. Who retires at the age of thirty-two?” I’m guessing someone who has the means to do so.

  “Colossal? Why does that sound familiar?” I wrack my brain again.

  “They’re one of the biggest medical supply companies. Plus, they invented some robots that can perform surgery on babies’ tiny little hearts.”

  “Wow.” That is so freaking awesome. I bet he’s saved so many babies.

  “Yeah, the man is somewhat of a unicorn. He donates more money a year than I can wrap my mind around. And he’s single.” Glory wiggles her eyebrows at me. She’s nuts. This Lennon sounds like he’s a very driven man to have accomplished so many things before the age of thirty.

  Glory flips the iPad back around, finding a picture of him to show me. My heart does a weird flutter.

  His blue eyes feel familiar. When the light hits them, I think they might be gray too. It’s such a stunning combination. My mind drifts back to the boy I’d gotten to marry me all those years ago. He has the same blue eyes. I’ve even fought with myself if they had been more gray or blue. I shake the thought away. Over the years I swore that I would randomly spot him in places, but it was never him. Instead it was always my mind playing tricks on me. Or maybe it was my heart longing for him. I’m not sure which.

  “He’s handsome,” I finally say. The man is built.

  “Yep, and he’s putting on an event to raise awareness and money. I’m getting the word out.”

  “Are you going?” I’d love to be a part of something like that. I remember what it was like to live in a hospital. To see so many kids including myself fight for their lives. The toll it takes on your family. Not only emotionally but financially also.

  “Probably. Not much else to do around here. You want to come with me?”

  “Maybe.” I bite my bottom lip, thinking it over. I’d been given a second chance at life and I told myself I wouldn't take that for granted. If I want to go, I should. “Wait. I mean yes! I want to come. In fact, is it okay if I make something? Are they taking
donations? I’m sure Lily would let me use the Sweet Shop to make some stuff.”

  “I’m sure Lennon would be good with that. He wants to get everyone involved.” I really want to meet this man.

  “I thought you were working on some hot mysterious writer guy.” I push her iPad back to her as Caroline walks up to the table to take our order.

  “Just a Coke for me.” Caroline scribbles it down. “Oh, with cherries. Can you add cherries?”

  “Sure can, sweetheart.” She winks at me.

  “She’s not done,” Glory laughs. I have a problem with ordering too much food. My eyes are way bigger than my stomach.

  “You got any good desserts today?” I ask. Caroline starts to answer me, but I cut her off. “Wait, don’t tell me. How many do you have?”

  “Seven.” Don’t do it, I tell myself. I don’t listen.

  “We’ll have one of each!” I rush to say before I can stop myself. “Doesn't that sound fun? We can try them all and judge which one we like the best.”

  “I’m down,” she agrees. I’m always down to try something new. It’s why I moved out here. I wanted to be near the ocean and out of the big city. I also needed a little space from my parents. I love them both to pieces, but they are always hovering over me. Sometimes I think they still see me as the little girl who was clinging to life and not the survivor I am.

  “I’ll be back with some more water for you, Glory.” Caroline closes her pad.