A Moment in the Moonlight Read online

  A Moment in the Moonlight

  KAY CORRELL

  Contents

  Kay’s Books

  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

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Also by KAY CORRELL

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2019 Kay Correll

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any matter without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental

  * * *

  Published by Rose Quartz Press

  091019

  This book is dedicated to Nora. I never met you, but my grandmother called me by your name often.

  Kay’s Books

  Find more information on all my books at my website.

  * * *

  COMFORT CROSSING ~ THE SERIES

  The Shop on Main - Book One

  The Memory Box - Book Two

  The Christmas Cottage - A Holiday Novella (Book 2.5)

  The Letter - Book Three

  The Christmas Scarf - A Holiday Novella (Book 3.5)

  The Magnolia Cafe - Book Four

  The Unexpected Wedding - Book Five

  * * *

  The Wedding in the Grove - (a crossover short story between series - with Josephine and Paul from The Letter.)

  * * *

  LIGHTHOUSE POINT ~ THE SERIES

  Wish Upon a Shell - Book One

  Wedding on the Beach - Book Two

  Love at the Lighthouse - Book Three

  Cottage Near the Point - Book Four

  Return to the Island - Book Five

  Bungalow by the Bay - Book Six

  Click here to learn more about the series.

  * * *

  SWEET RIVER ~ THE SERIES

  A Dream to Believe in - Book One

  A Memory to Cherish - Book Two

  A Song to Remember - Book Three

  A Time to Forgive - Book Four

  A Summer of Secrets - Book Five

  A Moment in the Moonlight - Book Six

  * * *

  INDIGO BAY ~ Save by getting Kay’s complete collection of stories previously published separately in the multi-author Indigo Bay series. The three stories are all interconnected.

  Sweet Days by the Bay

  * * *

  Or buy them separately:

  Sweet Sunrise - Book Three

  Sweet Holiday Memories - A short holiday story

  Sweet Starlight - Book Nine

  * * *

  Want to be the first to know about exclusive promotions, news, giveaways, and new releases? Click here to sign up:

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  Chapter 1

  Nora Cassidy wandered along the narrow trail that threaded beside Sweet River, watching and listening to the musical gurgling and splashing as the water slipped over the tumbled rocks. She loved autumn in Sweet River Falls. The aspens turned delectable shades of orange and yellow, and the rustle of their leaves wove an enchanting melody around her. The air held a crisp, clean, refreshing quality. She sucked in a long, deep breath, filling her lungs with the vibrant air.

  She loved this daily walk from her cabin to the main building at the lodge. Her time to regroup, recharge, and run through her plans for the day. She had a busy schedule, as usual. There was a wedding this weekend at the new chalet they’d finished this summer. The Stuart sisters had that mostly under control, though.

  She smiled when she thought of them as the Stuart sisters. They’d both recently gotten married. Her son, Jason, had married Bree, and Cece had married Zach Berry. They’d had a beautiful double wedding just a few weeks ago. But they’d always be the Stuart sisters in her mind.

  She turned at the point where the trail veered away from the river and headed toward Lone Elk Lake. As she neared the lake, a great blue heron sat on a small outcropping of rocks. A blue heron, her late husband’s favorite bird. She smiled and waved to him.

  “Hi, Ronnie. What you been up to?”

  The majestic bird stared at her.

  “I miss you, you know. Every single day.”

  The heron gave her one more look as if he were checking up on her and telling her to have a good day, then spread his large wings and took off, soaring above the lake.

  Yes, it was going to be a great day. But she thought that every morning. Who could want more from life than all the blessings she’d been given? Running the inn with her son. Her two children happily married. And she had two healthy grandsons. And her best friend, Annie, had married the love of her life. Yes, things were going very well these days. Very well.

  Okay… except for the whole rezoning of Lone Elk Lake. That was going to be a disaster if she didn’t find some way to stop it.

  Things couldn’t get more screwed up if Harrison Stanworth tried. He did not have time to go gallivanting across the country, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He had responsibilities too numerous to count, but his mother would always get his top billing.

  “So, you’ll go to Sweet River Falls and check out what’s going on? I’d be so sad to see the property leave our family’s hands. Generations of the Dobbs family have owned the land. I would miss going there if it’s sold. I’d go check it out myself but my silly doctor has refused to let me fly.” A frown creased his mother’s wrinkled face, though her eyes were sharp and crystal clear. “He treats me like an old woman.”

  “You’re not an old woman and, I can go for you.” He tried to sound enthusiastic, but he’d already started a mental list of all the things he’d have to cancel in the next week.

  “I appreciate you doing this. I do know that your cousin, Walter, wants to sell the property. He sent me the paperwork. It seems like a fair price for the place, doesn’t it?” His mother took a sip of tea from a dainty, floral teacup.

  No, it didn’t. But he wasn’t going to say that to her now. He needed to do some more research.

  “I still can’t imagine some other family owning the land. I just can’t. But you and Walter are the last of the family left. Well, except for me. Without another descendant of Jeremiah Dobbs to inherit it, since neither you nor Walter have children, I know someone else will own it eventually… but I didn’t think it would be so soon.”

  No, he didn’t have children. He’d been too busy with his career to invest time into any relationship when he was younger. Then he’d just gotten comfortable being a bachelor.

  And as far as he was concerned, Walt had done the world a great service in not procreating and passing on his genes. The world didn’t need another Walter Dobbs.

  Okay, that was a nasty thought, but his cousin was nowhere on his list of people he liked. Walt was more on the top of the list of people he distrusted with a strong dislike that almost
bordered on hatred.

  He leaned over and kissed his mother’s cheek. “I’ll wrap things up here and try to get a flight out tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, dear.” She smiled. A weaker smile than usual. Her usual bright, perky self had dimmed a bit. He supposed that was expected at seventy-plus years old. Not that she’d ever admit how many years over seventy. But he’d always assumed his trim, athletic mother would outlive him.

  That is until this last summer when she’d slowed down significantly. She’d given up a seniors’ exercise class that she’d done for years with the same group of women. He couldn’t imagine a room of seventy-something women doing their exercises, but it had made her happy and kept her moving. She’d even been an avid tennis player up until a few years ago.

  But he’d do anything for her. It had just been him and his mother for years now. His father had died over twenty years ago.

  He had to admit he was curious about how the town and their cabin and property would be now. He remembered it as a sleepy little Colorado town. His grandparents’ cabin was right on the edge of Lone Elk Lake. It was an ever-growing cabin where each generation had added on until the rambling additions had taken on a twisted, though charming, quality.

  His cousin Walt lived in the cabin now. Had for years. Not that it mattered. There were no other family members who wanted to live there.

  He pulled himself away from his thoughts. “I’d better go.”

  “I really appreciate you doing this for me. I’m not quite up to the travel yet. This silly virus that hit me this summer, then the pneumonia. I’m not used to feeling so… unhealthy and not fit.” A determined look crossed her face. “But I’ll get over this. Just need a bit more time.”

  “I’m sure you will, Mom.” He was sure. Mostly. He’d seen his mother do anything and everything she put her mind to. No reason to think this time would be any different.

  Chapter 2

  The next day Nora drove down Main Street looking for a place to park near Bookish Cafe. She’d promised Annie that she’d drop by for coffee and a chat. They both were busy running their businesses but tried to make time at least once a week to meet and catch up.

  It was her lucky day. An empty spot right in front of the shop. She slowed down and flicked on her turn signal.

  Before she could pull into the spot, a flashy black sports car whipped into the space, and she had to throw on her brakes to keep from slamming into it. She instinctively hit the horn. The man barely glanced at her as he finished maneuvering into the spot.

  Okay, then.

  Tourists.

  A blessing and a curse.

  She continued down the street, not finding a single spot, then circled around a second time until she found another space and pulled into it. She slid out of the car and hurried down the sidewalk toward Annie’s shop.

  The door swung open as she reached for it, and a tall, dark-haired man stepped through the door, juggling a cup of coffee while texting on his phone and paying no attention to where he was going.

  He ran into her, and she bumped against his hard chest with a thud. His phone and the cup he was carrying went flying, spraying her with drops of coffee.

  “Oof.” The man reached out to steady her with a glare plastered on his clean-shaven, chiseled face. “You should watch where you’re going.” He reached down and snatched up his phone, checking it carefully.

  “I should watch where I’m going? You’re the one walking out messing with your phone and not paying attention.”

  He glanced at his phone again. “I… was working.”

  Like that was an excuse? She brushed at the now-stained jacket and shirt she was wearing. Picked a bad day to wear a white shirt.

  He was probably one of those people who texted and drove too. She waited for him to say he was sorry.

  He just stood there staring at her.

  She moved sideways to get around him to go inside, annoyed and more flustered than she should be at the run-in.

  He reached out and caught her arm. “Sorry ’bout that.”

  She glanced at his face and didn’t really think it said anything about truly being sorry. His bright blue eyes stared at her a moment longer, then he turned and walked over to the black sports car that had cut her off. It chirped as he pushed the button on the remote, and he swung open the door.

  Of course, he was the rude space-grabbing tourist.

  She turned her back on him, leaned down to pick up the cup he’d left sitting on the sidewalk, and slipped into the shop, the piercing look in his eyes still etched into her mind.

  Annie walked up to her. “What happened to you?” She pointed at the stained jacket and shirt.

  “I ran into one of your customers… or to be more exact, he ran into me.” Even if the man thought it was the other way around.

  “That guy who just left? Tall, handsome? Dark hair and the most intriguing blue eyes?”

  Nora scowled. “You’re a married woman. What are you doing noticing those things?”

  “I try and remember new customers, so I’ll recognize them when they come back. Large coffee, black.” Annie shrugged.

  “Well, he’s not going to know how great your coffee is, because it’s spilled all over the sidewalk right now.”

  “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up. Come to my office, then we’ll get some coffee and go up to the loft area to chat.” Annie turned to Lindsey working at the counter. “I’m taking a break, but call me if you need me.”

  “Sure thing.” Lindsey turned to wait on a new customer.

  Nora followed Annie to her office and dabbed ineffectually at the stains. “I’ll just work on them when I get back to the lodge and throw them in the wash.”

  They headed upstairs with their coffee and settled into comfortable chairs overlooking the Sweet River flowing outside the large picture window. She ignored the stains on her clothing and ignored the flashes of the rude tourist’s face that flitted through her mind. Annie was right, though, the man did have intriguing eyes.

  Harrison sat in his rental car, flustered. He wanted another cup of coffee, but he didn’t want to go back inside that cafe and run into the same woman again. Either figuratively or literally.

  He should have been paying attention when he walked out the door. And he should have apologized appropriately. His mother would be aghast at him right now. But that woman… he’d been so startled when he looked at her.

  She looked to be about his age, but who knew with women? She had chestnut brown hair with grey streaked through it and didn’t appear to be the type of woman who worried about that. And her eyes. Those were what captured his attention. They were amber with flecks of deep brown.

  And they’d flashed with annoyance.

  He couldn’t blame her. He’d run into her, acted like a jerk, then escaped to his car.

  And he’d left his spilled paper coffee cup sitting there on the sidewalk. And he never littered. Ever.

  He’d spied her leaning down and picking up his mess.

  Now he was paying the price. He’d only had a lousy airline cup of coffee on his early flight, and now, the coveted coffee he’d been craving all day was poured over the sidewalk.

  He turned on the car and pulled away. Feeling sheepish, he went in search of another cup of coffee. Anywhere but Bookish Cafe where the woman he’d run into was probably ranting about him and his loutish behavior.

  He glanced at the battered file resting on the seat beside him. He’d gone over the printouts and taken notes on the flight. He had so many questions, and he was pretty certain this was not a fair deal. At least not a fair deal for his mother.

  Coffee, then a bit of research on what’s been going on with the town since he left. And he had to find a place to stay, too. He didn’t want Walt to know he was in town. Not just yet.

  Chapter 3

  Later that afternoon, Nora stood behind the reception desk at the lodge checking in a Linda Seabridge from Baltimore. The woman looked to be in her early to mid-for
ties and in good physical shape. Not surprising, the area attracted quite a crowd of people wanting to explore the numerous trails around Sweet River Falls.

  “What brings you to Sweet River Falls?” Nora asked as she handed back the woman’s card.

  “I…” The woman paused and looked confused. “I… um, just heard about the area. Thought I’d come check it out. It’s very lovely here.”

  “We think so. Let me know if you need any recommendations for hiking trails or places to visit while you’re here.”

  “I will.” The woman smiled.

  Nora handed her a key. “I’ve put you in Serenity Cabin. You’ll have a nice view of the lake.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You can park right in front of it. Here’s a map to get to it, but just go to the left when you leave here and you’ll find it.”

  Nora watched as the woman walked out of the reception area. She turned around to the counter behind her and started working on some paperwork. Always paperwork.

  “Ah, hem. Excuse me.”

  She’d been so engrossed in her papers, she’d neglected the front desk. She turned at the sound.