Page 1 of Always Be Mine
ChapterOne
“No! Not like that.”
Meredith ripped the brush out of Craig Carlson’s hand and hurled it across the kitchen with more strength than he would have thought possible for a five-year-old.
“You said you wanted braids.” He inhaled deeply and willed himself to remain calm as he retrieved the brush from where it only narrowly escaped smashing into the potted plant his sister had brought over tobrighten the place up.
“Daddy, I said I wantedFrenchbraids.” Meri’s nose crinkled up and her lips pressed into a formidable pout.
Craig ignored the wilted leaves of the plant, added a mental note to the already extensive to-do list in his brain, and crouched in front of his daughter. “Meri.” He did his best to sound stern. “You can’t throw things, kiddo. You know better.”
She dropped her head and rubbed at her eyes. “Sorry, Daddy.”
He couldn’t stay mad at her. Meri was a great kid, almost always. Mornings could be hard on both of them.
“I don’t know how to do French braids, kiddo. But I promise I’ll watch a video later and learn, okay?” He wasn’t entirely sure when he’d squeeze that into his already hectic day, but when it came to Meri, he knew he’d find the time. “Would you settle for a high ponytail today with a ribbon that matches your shirt?” He didn’t bother saying anything about the bright-purple shirt she was wearing for the second day in a row that probably should have been in the wash last week. He’d learned to pick his battles.
He pressed his index finger to the tip of her nose and just as he’d hoped it would, her frown turned into the sweet smile he loved to see.
“Yes to the pony,” she said. “No to the ribbon. None of the other girls wear ribbons anymore, Dad.”
“Duh.” Craig shrugged elaborately and once more resumed brushing out Mari’s hair. “I knew that. I was just testingyou.”
Meri rolled her eyes with way too much sass for such a little girl. “Silly, Daddy.”
As casually as he could, Craig pushed the jar full of ribbons that, less than six months ago, Meri had insisted on wearing in her hair almost every day. He’d ordered dozens of them so she’d have one to match every outfit. He’d hoped he’d have a few more years before the obsessing about trends started. She wasn’t even six years old. Did it really matter what the other girls were doing?
Craig didn’t bother voicing the question aloud; he already knew the answer.
Somehow, Craig finished Meri’s hair without any further incident and sent her off to find her book bag. “We’re running late, so hurry, okay?”
She flashed him a bright smile. “Don’t forget to bring the class snack.” Her voice trailed down the hall as she went in search of her backpack.
“Snack?” Craig spun in a slow circle in the middle of his kitchen, the breakfast dishes still on the table, a half-drunk cup of coffee on the counter. “Classsnack?” He moved to the stack of papers that were pinned to the fridge by magnetic clips and fanned through them until he came to the calendar that listed the snack schedule for Meri’s kindergarten class for the year and— “Dammit.”
“Jar!”
Craig bit back anotheradult word,fished a handful of coins from his pocket, and dumped them in the jar on the windowsill that, for some reason, he’d agreed to when Meredith came up with the idea to keep the adults in her life from saying too manyadult wordsaround her. He would blame his siblings, if there was time.
There wasn’t.
There never was.
Welcome to Trickle Creek!
Smile! We’re happy you’re here.
Lucy Willis stared at the sign that welcomed her to the small mountain town but she couldn’t bring herself to smile the way the sign suggested, which was a little bit ironic considering she’d been looking forward to this trip for the last year and a half.
Of course, in all the times she’d thought about what it would be like to finally visit Trickle Creek, she’d never once imagined she’d be there alone. A strange mixture of anger and sadness washed over her as she glanced at the empty passenger seat next to her.
But as quickly as the feeling came, she banished it.
She refused to be sad about Ross. Not anymore.
Even if it was her boyfriend—correction,ex-boyfriend—who was the reason she was going to the super small town in the middle of the mountains in the first place. He never quit talking about what a special place Trickle Creek was and how much she would love it there. He never got around to taking her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t go on her own.
And shewouldlove it there. Without him.
