CHAPTER ONE
WILLOW
PRESENT
Crisp valley air drifts in through my open sunroof, cooling my sun-heated skin as I pull onto Main Street. I close my eyes and fill my lungs with a deep breath of the fresh, familiar air that smells exactly like home.
It’s something you don’t realize you were missing until it hits you in the face.
Sugar Hill Hollow is a small, picturesque town in Maine, situated along the base of Sugar Hill Mountain. Cobblestone streets and brick sidewalks. Every store lining Main Street resembles those you’d find in an old European town and is registered with the historic foundation. It’s truly a beautiful sight.
Coming home early wasn’t my plan, especially showing up unannounced. Today was supposed to be my first day of veterinary school, but here I am, driving down the street in my small hometown, wearing a pair of old jeans and a stained crewneck sweater instead of a white lab coat.
The speed limit is only twenty-five miles per hour, and I keep my car at a safe twenty-four. There’s only one cop on patrol at all times in Sugar Hill Hollow, but they hang out a lot in the center of town in the early mornings. The last thing I need is to start my first day home with a speeding ticket.
Familiar houses lining the street wiz by, turning into shops instead as I approach the center of town. On the right side of the street is the bank and a flower shop. The Pastry Parlor is still where it’s always been along the right side, right after the flower shop and on the corner. On the left side, there’s the local market store and the creamery on the corner. Sandwiched between them is the one shop I’ve known my entire life.
Our maple goods store.
My eyebrows knit closer together when I see the entire building is dark. There’s no signage on the front anymore and it almost looks like the store was never open.
What the heck?
A car horn sounds behind me, and my entire body jumps out of my seat, startled. An unfamiliar car and face fill my rearview mirror. I immediately press on the gas to keep moving. I look back at the store once more, my heart sinking in my chest.
Did they close the store without telling me?
Letting off the brake, I turn right at the only stop light in the small town. A car and a truck pass through the intersection, one going straight, heading past the vet clinic and the market store. I take a right, heading south, past the bowling alley and the ice rink.
A flutter on the passenger seat catches my attention. The corner of a torn white envelope tucked inside my purse flaps against the gust. The red and blue veterinary school emblem peeking out snags my attention. My chest constricts as disappointment washes over me. I reach over and quickly shove the stupid letter deeper into my purse.
I received the letter in April and have kept it a secret since. No one knows about it but me, and if I have it my way, no one ever will.
Ignoring my uncomfortable feelings, I take a left on Hollow Lane and pick up speed to head to our farm that sits just outside of town, tucked in along the river. The familiar iron gates sit open and the maple trees that line the lane sway in the gentle breeze. Three horses stand out in the center of one of two meadows on either side of the lane, grazing on the dew-covered grass.
Lights are on in the barn, but I kill the engine next to Noah’s truck parked by the main farmhouse. A sigh escapes me as I stare up at the house, feeling a tad conflicted. Being home feels right, but I know it’s only because I have no place else to be.
I push open my car door and ease myself out. My sneakers kick up dust from the gravel as I turn around to grab my purse from the passenger seat.
“Willow?”
Standing upright as I close my door, I turn around to catch my brother’s eye. He stands in the front doorway with his eyebrows knitting together. Noah’s hair is disheveled and his clothes are wrinkled, like he slept in them and just crawled out of bed, but I don’t comment on it.
“Hey!” A smile lifts my lips, and I wave as I start to walk towards him.
Noah immediately breaks into a jog, running down the steps to meet me just in front of the house, arms outstretched. He pulls me in for a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around me.
“What the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Portland?”
My breath catches and my arms fall slack at my side as we release one another. My feet move backwards and I clear mythroat. “My internship ended last week and my lease was up, so I figured I’d come home for a bit.”
Noah’s forehead creases and he eyes me skeptically. “You still haven’t heard anything from the veterinary program?”
Pressing my lips in a firm line, I shake my head. “No,” I say, the lie bitter on my tongue as I lift my shoulders and let them fall. The program is flexible, with the option to start in the fall or the spring and everyone was hoping I’d be starting in January. “I’m sure my application just got lost or something. There’s always next year.”
That is, if I even bother to apply again.
Tilting my head back, I gather my hair in my hands and secure it in a high-pony tail with the black hair tie I keep around my wrist. “I was just getting ready to come find you and Finn.”
