Love Remains: Fire Me Up - Hope Falls, #2

Copyright © 2020 by Julie Prestsater

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of a reviewer using brief passages.

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, and real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Editor: CookieLynn Publishing Services

Copyeditor: Holly Malgieri

Cover Design: Perfect Pear Creative Covers

Cover Photo: © Dziekonski Photography

This title was originally published in Melanie Shawn’s Hope Falls Kindle World. Elements of the world, including characters, are used with permission. Check out other Melanie Shawn titles and connect on social media at the following links!

Website: http://melanieshawn.com

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Visit Julie on the Web at www.juliepbooks.com.

Dedication

To Mary & Dan...

Wishing you a long, happy life together as beautiful and loving as your photos.

Chapter One

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AVERY

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Avery took the front steps of the Mountain Meadows Bed & Breakfast two at a time while his friend’s sister practically skipped to the front door.

This is it, Katie said, turning the knob and stepping inside ahead of him. Come on in. You’re going to love it.

He’d spent the last week in Hope Falls, and the quaint town had grown on him. After retiring as a hotshot firefighter, he had some downtime to live before deciding his next move. He had planned on taking a trip to southern California to visit his friend Ryan and his wife, but they were on their way up toward Tahoe to spend some time with his sister. Katie had come to Hope Falls to finish penning a romance novel. While she was here, she got a little more inspiration than she bargained for. She’s now engaged to a local firefighter. Just thinking about the story had him rolling his eyes and smiling at the same time. It was great to see Ryan and Liz so happy. It was equally nice to see Katie so in love. What was even better is that her man Casey seemed to be a standup guy who loved her just the same. Katie was like a kid sister to him, and he was stoked for her.

Maybe Hope Falls would bless him with the same luck in the romance department. Being a hotshot didn’t afford him the time or energy he needed to settle down and start a family. He lived, breathed, and survived the job; having a relationship never fit into his schedule. Most women who he had fallen for had either been annoyed with his career or more in love with the idea of dating a hotshot than the hotshot himself.

He shook his head free of the thoughts as he soaked in the B & B. It was recently restored—modern with an old style feel. Hell, it didn’t really matter. It sure beat living in a cabin or a buggy in the woods. He wouldn’t miss sharing such small quarters with a bunch of smelly men. It by far surpassed any and all of his expectations.

Do you know how many guests are here? he asked Katie.

It’s just you until next week. I think Shelby said they’re expecting more guests next weekend.

Cool. I’m surprised it’s vacant. This is really nice.

There were two families coming in, but they had to cancel last minute. Lucky for you or you’d be sleeping on my couch.

He ran his fingers through his jet black wavy hair, stopping at the back of his head to give it a scratch. I would have moved on. There is no way I’d impose on you, Katie Bear.

Bear? Katie stood with her hands on her hips. How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that? Owen calls me ‘bug,’ you call me ‘bear.’ It’s good to know what you guys really think of me.

A little dramatic, are we? He reached out, hooked his arm around her, and held her in a headlock.

Dude, you’re messing up my hair. She tried wrestling herself free, but Avery continued rubbing soft knuckles against her scalp.

When he finally released her, she was out of breath from giggling. Thanks for finding this place for me. The owners seem pretty cool, he said.

They were amazing to me when I first moved here. Shelby and I were instant friends. She actually stayed here when she came to town, too. The hunky owner fell in love with her. I swear, Avery. This place has a love spell on it. You arrive single and depart with your heart in the palm of someone else’s hand. The love bug is going to hit you by the time you leave if you’re not careful.

Careful? He’d rather be careless if it meant he had a chance to find the right woman. Avery knew Katie sounded like a complete loon, but he kind of liked the idea. He needed all the help he could get in the female department, and if that meant staying in a haunted B & B, then he was all up for testing Katie’s theory. If it had worked for Katie and Shelby, maybe it would work for him.

He’d spent over a decade fighting fires and worrying so much about others that he had very little time to worry about himself. He had really sold himself short over the years. While all of his friends were married and having kids, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt a woman’s touch. It had been months and that was over before it really got started. A real, lasting relationship had not panned out for Avery.

And he regretted it.

He wanted to be happy, just like Ryan and Liz. Like Katie and Casey.

Maybe the B & B had a wishing well or something. He could toss in a quarter and it would spit out the woman of his dreams. He stuffed his hands down the pockets of his jeans. He felt a few coins at the seams and laughed inside. When had he become that guy? All mushy and shit.

Want a tour? Katie asked, dragging him from his thoughts again.

I’m good. Why don’t you go write some more of those Fabio books and stop talking about love hexes? That shit doesn’t happen in real life.

She rolled her eyes before heading toward the door. "Don’t be such a troll, Avery. If it happened for me, it could happen to you. Don’t be afraid. Embrace the possibilities."

He wasn’t afraid. Not one bit. If the right girl came along, he knew he wouldn’t have any problems embracing the...possibilities.

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DINA

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Come on, Dina. Get your shit together. Getting yourself into a wreck isn’t the way to celebrate quitting your job.

Holy shit! I just quit my job, Dina said aloud. She peeled out of the parking lot of the office and didn’t look back. She’d been on the road for over an hour before she looked at the time, the gas tank, and the signs on the highway. Now, where in the hell am I going?

Why she was talking to herself, she hadn’t a clue. It was the first time in years that she didn’t have a plan. Her days, weeks, months, even years were planned out in fifteen minute increments filled with corporate meetings, lunches, and dinners. She rarely had any time to herself, and when she did, she used it to catch up on sleep or call her mother. Since she had such little free time, both her sleep and her beautiful mother were severely neglected.

She thought about driving the few hours to the desert to see her mom, but that lasted all but thirty seconds. She could recite verbatim what her mother would say about Dina quitting her job. She’d question her about her fancy hair and her fancy car and her fancy house and how she’d keep up with her fancy life without her fancy job. Her mom didn’t mean to be so rude when she talked to her like that, but she couldn’t help herself or the disappointment she felt when her only child had left home never to return. Dina had grown up in a pre-fab house in the Mojave Desert. It was a tiny house and an even tinier town that she dreamed of leaving as soon as she was old enough to