A Summer of Secrets Read online

  A Summer of Secrets

  KAY Correll

  Rose Quartz Press

  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

  This book is dedicated to Gloria…

  Kay’s Books

  Find more information on all my books at my website.

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  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

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

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  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.

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  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

  * * *

  INDIGO BAY ~ A multi-author sweet romance series

  Sweet Sunrise - Book Three

  Sweet Holiday Memories - A short holiday story

  Sweet Starlight - Book Nine

  * * *

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  Contents

  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

  Also by KAY Correll

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Cece Stuart pulled up in front of their family cabin on Lone Elk Lake and turned off her small sensible—and thankfully paid off—car. The drive to Sweet River Falls had seemed endless as she dodged large SUVs through the Friday night Denver traffic. It hadn’t been much better after leaving the city. It seemed like half the Denver population had decided this weekend was a good one to head to the mountains.

  And it was.

  They were enjoying deliciously mild spring weather. Though she knew that could change in an instant and a late spring snowstorm could still hit the area.

  She slid out of the car and gazed up at the starlit sky above the lake. She sucked in the fresh air and stretched her arms wide. This, this was perfect. She loved this cabin, the lake, the town. She was grateful she and her sisters had worked out a way to keep the cabin in the family instead of selling it after their parents had died.

  The door to the cabin opened and her sister Bree waved to her. “Come on in. I just got back from the lodge. I finished up all the food I could for catering tomorrow’s wedding.”

  Cece grabbed her overnight bag, a duffel, and a large tote bag, and headed into the cabin. She dropped the bags as she entered and reached behind her to tug the door closed and broke into laughter. “Hey, you fixed the door. It doesn’t fight you anymore.”

  “Jason fixed it. I actually tumbled through the door trying to hip check it open this week and landed on my rear. That was it. Jason came over and fixed it the next day.” Bree laughed. “Only took us, what? Seven months or so to get it done?”

  “That Jason of yours is a keeper.”

  “He is.” Bree glanced down at her engagement ring.

  Cece picked up her bags again and Bree eyed the load. “You got a lot of stuff there.”

  “I thought I’d leave some things here at the cabin since I seem to be coming here almost every weekend to help you out. This is the third weekend in a row.”

  “I know. And I appreciate it. The business really took off. I thought I’d just be doing the catering business, but somehow I’ve ended up being a semi-wedding planner, too, for Nora and Jason at the lodge. I really appreciate you helping with the planning side of things. I’m so overwhelmed.”

  “I enjoy it. Beats the heck out of my boring day job.”

  “You’re so organized and the brides love talking to you. I set up two appointments tomorrow morning with brides. One is local, one is over Skype. She wants to have a destination wedding here, and she wants it by the end of the summer. Don’t know how we’ll make that happen. I’m booking up quickly.”

  “When do they think they’ll have the new venue at the lodge finished?”

  “They’re hoping to have it finished by the end of June. They’ve already booked it out for weddings starting in July and a small company retreat in September. But the brides know there is a chance it won’t be completely finished by then.”

  “That’s really going quickly.”

  “They were lucky we had a milder winter. Supposed to be roofing it next week, I think. They have the back kitchen area started and all the ordered ovens, stove, and refrigerator are at the lodge in storage, just waiting to be installed. It will be nice to have a separate area to use for catering besides sharing the lodge’s dining hall kitchen.” Bree grabbed one of her bags. “Let me help.”

  They went to the bedroom that had been their sister Abby’s room. Though Cece didn’t know why they still called it Abby’s room. Abby hadn’t been here in months, and Cece used it every time she came to help out Bree. She felt a little bit like a nomad with the back and forth from Denver to Sweet River Falls each week, but she did enjoy helping her sister.

  They dumped the bags on the bed. “Let me unpack and I’ll come out and you can tell me about the two brides I’m talking with tomorrow and let me know what I can do to help with the wedding.”

  “Sounds good.” Bree turned to leave, then paused. “And really, Cece, thanks. I couldn’t do this without you.”

  “Well, you took a leap of faith to move here and start your business over again. I encouraged you. It’s not like I could let you flounder by yourself.” She smiled at her sister, so glad they’d found their way back to being friends after years of being estranged.

  “Well, you’re the best. Not to mention the most organized person I know. Big help.”

  “Keep talking, you’re great for my ego.” Cece unzipped the duffle and tugged out some jeans and sweaters along with the black slacks and white shirt she wore when she helped cater the weddings. Exhaustion crept over her, but she determinedly unpacked every last thing and we
nt to go join Bree for a rundown on the weekend ahead of them.

  Zach Berry frowned as he clicked off his phone. Another delay. This building at the lodge was going to be the death of him. As much as it pained him to think it, he did miss having a business partner. It was so hard to juggle the business alone.

  Not that he’d ever speak to his old partner again. He didn’t talk to cheaters. If a man couldn’t trust his business partner, there was no use in having one. He slid his phone into his jeans pocket and looked up at the starlit sky through the overhead beams. He was determined to get the venue under roof by the end of this coming week.

  If it killed him.

  Which, at this rate, it might.

  He turned around at the sound of Jason Cassidy walking into the structure. “Looks like it’s coming along great.” Jason looked around the building.

  Yeah, just great.

  But he wasn’t going to bog Jason down with the details.

  It was his own job to get this project completed. And completed on time.

  “It’s coming along fine.” He didn’t consider that a lie, just that it was going to take a bit more finagling to get it done on time, and he was going to have to put in some very long hours. But then, he always put in long hours these days. It kept him busy and kept him from dwelling on…

  Well, he wasn’t going to think about that.

  “Mom booked another family reunion for November. They’re really excited about having this new building to use. I guess it’s the grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary and family from all over the country is coming in for it. They booked up every empty cabin we had.”

  “I think this will be a great addition to Sweet River Lodge. You can have retreats, reunions, meetings. It was a solid business decision.”

  “Thanks. I’m hoping so. I’ve sunk a lot of our resources into it.”

  He knew Jason and his mother had a full schedule planned for the building once he could get it finished. They had the backup of using the lodge’s main room off the dining hall, but it wasn’t ideal for anything except small weddings.

  If only his suppliers would quit their delays.

  And his workers would quit having babies. He grinned at that one, remembering how excited Billy had been when he’d gotten the call his wife had gone into labor. The kid was only twenty-three and one of the most skilled carpenters he’d ever hired. But that pesky baby had decided to come early, and he’d given Billy the week off.

  Hence the reason he was still here late on a Friday tonight, swinging a hammer.

  “Mom wanted you to come to the lodge and get some dinner. You know she thinks you’re starving out here.”

  He looked around the building and up at the stars taunting him through the as yet uncovered roof. Exhaustion overtook him and he set down his hammer. “You know what? I’ll take you up on that offer. I am starving, and anything I’d rustle up at home would never be as good as the food at the lodge.”

  He followed Jason outside and down the pathway beside the lake. This really was going to be a nice looking wedding venue when it got finished. The Sweet River Lodge already did weddings outside during the summer but had no place to hold them if the weather turned ugly. This new venue would really open up their options. He wasn’t surprised that Jason and his mother, Nora, had already booked up most of the weekends into the fall months along with a Christmas wedding.

  But their first wedding was booked for the first of July. Which was going to be his deadline to meet no matter what. He wasn’t about to go disappointing any brides. He was certain that would be bad karma.

  Chapter 2

  The next day Nora helped Cece and Bree with the last-minute preparations for the wedding. At lunchtime, she insisted the sisters sit down and have a bite to eat. No going hungry on her watch.

  As the girls finished, she made up a lunch for Zach. She knew he wouldn’t stop his work and come to the lodge, so she’d gotten into the habit of sending a lunch over for him. She packed it all in a basket and turned to Cece.

  “Cece, would you mind running this lunch over to Zach at the new building?”

  “Have you decided what you’re going to call it?” Bree asked.

  “I’m still trying on names. The Wedding Lodge seems a bit redundant with the whole resort being called Sweet River Lodge. Plus, we want to use it for more than just weddings.”

  “It sort of looks like a chalet with its high roofline and the rafters inside. You could call it The Chalet at the Lodge,” Bree suggested.

  Nora paused. “That’s not a bad suggestion. Better than anything I’ve come up with so far.”

  “I really like the plan you came up with for it,” Bree said.

  “It wasn’t me. It was Jason. He sorted through a bunch of wedding magazines looking at venues and did online searches until he and Zach came up with this design.”

  “Somehow I can’t picture Jason browsing through wedding magazines.” Cece smiled.

  “My son will do anything to get the job done.” Nora picked up the basket with Zach’s lunch. “So you’ll take it over to him?”

  “Sure, no problem.” Cece got up and took the basket. “I’ll be back in a few to help you, Bree.” She disappeared out of the kitchen.

  Bree turned to Nora and grinned. “So, you sent her over with lunch because you wanted her to meet Zach, didn’t you?”

  “I figure there’s no reason the two of them shouldn’t meet. It’s high time that girl found herself a good man, and Zach is about as good as they come.”

  Bree smiled again. “Always the matchmaker, huh?”

  “It worked out well for you and Jason, didn’t it?” Nora raised an eyebrow.

  Bree laughed and reached for the mixing bowl in front of her. “Yes, you’re right. It did.”

  Cece headed over to the new wedding lodge—building-chalet-whatever. The sun sparkled on the lake as she walked along the pathway. A beautiful day for the wedding. Jason had set up an arbor by the lake in front of the dining hall and was busy setting up chairs for this evening’s wedding. Just last weekend she’d gotten twinkle lights for the arbor and simple lanterns to put at the end of each aisle of chairs. Nora had loved the tiny updates she’d made to their outside wedding setup and asked for more suggestions. She loved helping her out.

  She waved to Jason when he looked up and saw her. He lifted a hand in answer and went back to setting up the seats. Good thing the weather was holding out because she’d seen the final guest count. It seemed the wedding had grown since they’d first talked about it, and there was no way all the guests would fit in the big great room of the lodge if bad weather had hit.

  But the bride was lucky today. Nice weather and a pretty sunset as a bonus.

  She entered the large structure at the far end of the property. The outside was rough pine logs and huge rafters vaulted above, ready for the roof. Large openings in the sides were for what she assumed would be massive picture windows overlooking the lake.

  As she walked farther into the building, she spotted a man working alone in the sunshine that filtered down through the open roof. He’d taken off his shirt and the sun shone on his bare shoulders and ripped abs.

  Not that she noticed them.

  Much.

  She stood and let him finish running his circular saw. She didn’t want to startle him and cause an accident. Her father had taught her a lot about safety with power tools as he worked on his numerous projects around the cabin. The man—she assumed he was Zach—switched off the saw.

  She called out to him. “Zach?”

  He spun around as she approached. “Yes?”

  “Hi. Nora sent me over with a picnic lunch for you.”

  He grabbed his shirt hanging on a nail beside him and unfortunately shrugged into it and buttoned a few buttons. So much for the view. “Nora thinks that I’m a starving bachelor.” He gave her a rueful grin. “She feeds me all the time.”

  She didn’t miss the word bachelor. She shook her head. Nora had deliberately c
hosen her to bring over the basket. “If it’s anything like the lunch she made for my sister and me, you’re in for a treat. Hope you got a slice of the apple pie, too. It was delicious.” She held out the basket.

  He wiped his hands on his jeans, took the basket, and peeked inside. “Looks like I did score a piece of her pie. Excellent. I’m pretty sure no one makes a pie better than Nora.”

  “I agree with you on that… and that’s saying something because I think my sister is about the best cook in the world. Have you met her? Bree. She’s doing catering for the lodge.”

  “I have. She’s engaged to Jason, right?”

  “She is. I’ve got to talk her into setting a wedding date. She’s been so busy starting up her business here that she keeps avoiding making a decision on the date.”

  “I guess they’ll get married here in this new building?”

  “I’m sure they will.” Cece grinned. “If you put a roof on it.”

  The corners of his mouth turned up in a wry smile. “I’m working on it.”

  “Or if she doesn’t book it up solid before she puts her own name on the list.” She knew she was rambling, but something about this man caught her off guard.

  He reached out a hand. “I’m Zach, by the way, though I guess you figured that out by now.”