Broken River - Ruby Shae Page 0,36

pink with white accents. Pink was Elle’s favorite color, and because he’d built the shed specifically for her to store her baking pans and supplies, he wanted the outside to be special. Especially since he would have to get her input to craft the inside.

He had plenty of ideas on how to build shelves for her pans, but in the end, the space was for her, and he was pretty sure she would have her own ideas about how to store her stuff. He didn’t want her stuck using some shelving system that wasn’t quite right just because he had built it for her, so after he was done painting the building, he was going to hand over the reins and let her design the interior.

He smiled as he jumped in the golf cart and started driving down the hill toward the main house. Elle knew he was building a shed, but when he’d told her his plans, she hadn’t asked for details, and he hadn’t offered any.

The day she’d arrived, she had told him about her storage unit, but she’d said the inside was filled with furniture, and she hadn’t been in any hurry to empty out the place. Maybe that had changed, but she hadn’t brought it up to him, yet, so he was waiting.

In the meantime, before the oven in their cabin had been installed, he had overheard Elle talking to Lacey about all the baking pans she had locked up in a storage unit somewhere. As he listened to details about cookie pans, cake pans, muffin tins, and baking sheets, her excitement had been contagious, and he’d hated the fact that she hadn’t brought all of her baking stuff with her.

He understood her reasons, of course, but even before they had mated, he’d wanted her to have a special place next to the house to store her pans and all the rest of her baking supplies.

He parked the golf cart on the side of the main house, and then walked through the back door and nearly ran into Lacey carrying a large bag of trash headed for the dumpster.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you went to the Farmer’s Market with Elle?”

“Oh, she didn’t tell you?” his sister asked. “The fridge went out sometime last night, and I needed to wait for the emergency repair guy, so she went alone.”

Because Saturday was their busiest day, and both of his brothers had to stay free to help guests with equipment rentals and check-ins.

“Next time, let me know and I’ll hang out down here.”

“But…you hate that stuff,” Lacey said.

“Yeah, but I know how much you and Elle enjoy the Farmer’s Market.”

She stared at him a long time before a smile lit her face, and she nodded.

“She’s good for you. It’s nice to see you happy again, and next time I will definitely let you cover for me.”

“Good,” he said. “Tell the others I went to the Farmer’s Market.”

He smiled at the shocked look on Lacey’s face and walked out to his truck. He understood her surprise—he hated crowds, especially big ones—but he hated the thought of Elle at the market alone even more.

Plus, his sister was right…Elle was good for him. Once they had discussed his past, and he was able to see everything from her point of view, things didn’t seem so bad. He still felt guilty for his past mistakes, but he wanted to be a better man for Elle, and for his siblings, and that meant letting the past go.

Some days it was harder than others, but all the days were easier than they had been a month ago, and hopefully they would only continue to get easier.

He parked his truck in the lot designated for the event, and walked toward the booths, glancing around for his mate. Because everything was so far away from the lake and the surrounding towns, the Farmer’s Market was a large event that drew decent sized crowds, and he was beginning to realize there was no way he would be able to find Elle in the throng.

Where are you? He asked through their link.

I’m at the Farmer’s Market. He could hear the smile in her voice.

Yes, but where? What booth are you at?

I’m at the frozen lemonade stand, but…I’m leaving as soon as I get my drink.

Something was wrong. He could tell by the sudden change in the tone of her thoughts. It was as if her smile had suddenly disappeared. He looked around and saw