Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) (32 page)

Kerry woke up from her position on
Dan’s shoulder when she heard Laura and Jake enter. Bill stirred on the chair
opposite them. Kerry had explained to him what had happened when he’d come in
for a late dinner, exhausted from all the work he’d been landed with last
minute. He’d been horrified when Kerry had told him Victoria’s latest stunt.
They had decided to wait together for news. Even after Jake had texted, nobody
had wanted to go to bed until they’d seen Laura and Jake arrive home safely.

Kerry gave a cry of relief at the
sight of them both coming through the door, Jake dragging in Laura’s things.
She wept unashamedly, hugging Laura tightly. Bill followed suit, telling her
how happy he was she was back before he headed off for his bed.

“You had me so worried,” Kerry
scolded Laura as Bill left the room. She gave Laura a little shake, her face
pale with the strain of her worry. “Don’t you ever go off like that again. I
nearly died of fright.”

“I’m sorry,” Laura said sincerely. “I
just had to get away. It was all a bit too much for me to stay. I hope you
understand?”

“Of course I do. I’m just relieved
everything has been sorted out,” she paused, looking from one to the other. “It
has, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. Jake explained what happened. I
can hardly believe that woman had such a nerve!” Laura said through gritted
teeth.

“Well, I did tell you what a witch
she is,” Kerry exclaimed. “You must both be starving after driving around so
late. Did you want me to make you something to eat?”

“I think we’ve been through enough
without suffering your food as well, but thanks anyway sis,” Jake laughed then
ducked as Kerry hit him with a pillow from the sofa.

“I’m not that bad!” she exclaimed.
“Besides, I was only offering toast or something.”

Laura smiled softly. “I think I ought
to head for bed. I have to get to the diner early in the morning. I need to be
there when Martha arrives so I can explain the letter I left her and hope
she’ll forgive me for walking out on her so suddenly.”

Jake took her hand and squeezed it in
his. “She’ll understand, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not so sure. What I did was
terribly selfish. How can she just forgive me walking out like that? Especially
after Rosalie.” Tears welled up in Laura’s eyes as she worried that Martha
might not ever want anything to do with her again. More than anything, she
didn’t want to lose her friendship.

Jake wished he could reassure her.
“Just explain what happened. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Laura sniffed and nodded. “Are you
joining me?” she asked shyly. “I would rather sleep in my room tonight, if
that’s okay?”

Jake understood her reluctance to get
into his bed before the sheets had been changed. He would have felt the same.
“I’ll be right there.” She headed up the stairs. Jake turned to Dan. The man
looked rumpled and just as strained as Kerry. For a moment, Jake saw the man
that had been his closest friend, the one who had always cared for him and had
his back. His heart hurt at what they had lost. He wasn’t sure they would ever
get it back, but after tonight, he didn’t want to be ungracious. “You can stay
if you want,” he offered, surprising both Kerry and Dan. “It’s late, so you
might not want to drive back home.” He started up the stairs before turning
back round. “Don’t read anything into it though,” he warned. “It’s only because
it’s late.”

Dan barely got his thanks out before
Jake left them both to join Laura. Kerry smiled softly. Her brother was slowly
coming round. She just knew it.

*****

Walter banged on Victoria’s door. It
took several long minutes before she opened it, trying a robe around her as she
went.

“Well?” she snapped, hauling him
inside and glancing round to ensure they’d been unobserved.

“They both arrived back a few moments
ago. It looks like they’ve resolved things,” Walter reported, his face a mask
of fury.

Victoria hissed angrily. “I knew it!
I knew this would happen.” Her eyes glittered with her rage. She began to pace.

“Now what?” he asked to distract her
before she could work herself into one of her tantrums. “Jake is going to make
sure you clear off this ranch. How are we going to deal with things then?”

She whirled around to glare at him.
“I can do nothing tomorrow morning. I’m going to have to leave here and find
somewhere else in town to stay. As you said, Jake will not tolerate me here
after tonight.” She tapped a well-manicured finger to her lips. “I will text
you in the afternoon when I am settled. I will give you the time and place to
meet me.”

“What for? What have you got planned
now?” Walter asked dubiously. “The last plan hardly reaped results, what makes
you think this one will go any better?”

Victoria pursed her lips in
annoyance. “Trust me, I have something special in mind for Jake. Especially
after the humiliation he put me through. I am going to make him suffer!”

“How?” Walter hated it when she left
him in the dark. He wished she’d treat him like an equal instead of something
several feet beneath her.

 “You’ll just have to wait and see,”
Victoria told him, stubbornly refusing to disclose anything.

“What about Laura?” Walter asked
impatiently. “Is this plan of yours going to give her to me?” He dearly wanted
to pay her back for ignoring him, even after she thought Jake had done the
dirty on her.

“You are obsessed!” Victoria sneered,
her eyes narrowing dangerously. “Just make sure you keep the big picture in
mind. Everything else is inconsequential.”

“I still want her,” Walter exclaimed
stubbornly.

“I’ll try,” Victoria snapped,
exasperated. “But no promises.” She shooed him out of her cabin. “Be there when
I text you,” she insisted, before she shut the door on him.

Walter glared as if his gaze could
pierce through the wood. Victoria was ever the selfish one. After all he’d done
for her, she owed him something. Grumbling under his breath, he resolved that
he would find a way to get Laura, with or without Victoria’s help. Determination
flowing through him, he strode away through the trees, careful to avoid
detection.

*****

“Well, they passed the test,” Lotta
exclaimed pleased. “I really do think it’s time we moved on now.”

Flo shook her head. “We promised we’d
stay to discover who poisoned Charger,” she insisted. “And if you’re honest,
you can still feel something pending. There is still trouble in the air. I can
feel it.”

Lotta frowned. She knew Flo was
right, but this went beyond their duties as fairy godmothers and they could get
into terrible trouble if they stayed. “We aren’t supposed to linger after we’ve
achieved bringing our charges together,” she argued.

“We’ve been over this before,” Flo
said stubbornly. She crossed her plump arms over her ample chest. “If you want
to go, then go. But I’m staying until I’m satisfied that all is well here.”

Lotta raised her eyes to the sky. She
could hardly leave Flo to deal with the situation on her own. Stardust only
knew what she’d do without Lotta to stop her. “Fine, we’ll stay.”

Flo squealed happily, patting Lotta
on the cheek as if she was a child. She flittered off towards Victoria’s cabin,
calling over her shoulder, “We’d best keep an eye on things. Now that the test
is over, nothing is stopping us from spying!”

Lotta smacked her head with the flat
of her hand. She felt a feeling of doom settle over her as she took off after
Flo.

Laura hurried towards the diner, her
heart banging in her chest. She’d awakened later than she would have liked,
knowing Martha always arrived early each day to clean and set up. She’d wanted
to be there before Martha unlocked the door and saw her letter. Unfortunately,
due to last night’s fiasco, she’d been so tired she’d forgotten to set her
alarm before she got into bed. Jake had been no help that morning either. He’d
snuck in the shower while she’d been in there trying to get ready for her day
and thoroughly loved her. Not that she was complaining really. It had been
amazing. Her body heated with the memory, a hot blush staining her cheeks.
However it had set her back considerably.

She chewed at her lower lip as she
worried about what Martha would say when she saw her. She hoped she’d not lost
the friendship that had come to mean so much to her. She threw a quick glance
back over her shoulder with a wave for Jake, who’d dropped her off in town, now
that she had no car. He smiled and blew her a kiss, with such a heated look
that he had her blushing all over again.

At least one thing was going right
for her, she mused. Things were finally falling into place and not just for her
and Jake. She’d been surprised to see Dan at breakfast, but Kerry quietly
whispered to her that Jake had actually told him he could stay. Laura had
raised her eyebrows in surprise. She’d been delighted with the turn of events.
It meant that Jake was getting closer to forgiving Dan, she was sure of it. The
sooner they could get rid of Victoria and the poison she’d dripped into all
their lives, the better. Although quite how they were going to achieve that was
beyond her at present.

Laura arrived at the diner to find
the door already open. Her heart sank.  Martha was already seated at one of the
tables, reading Laura’s letter, her hand to her mouth as tears slid down her
face. Feeling awful, Laura hurried inside. Martha glanced up, giving a cry of
surprise at seeing her. She looked from the letter in her hand to Laura, her
eyes full of questions.

“What’s going on?” she asked, shock
written all over her face. Laura’s heart twisted as she saw the slight tremble
in Martha’s hands.

“I’m so sorry,” Laura told her,
feeling tears pricking at her eyes. “I know you’re probably really angry with
me, but please let me explain.” Martha indicated the seat next to her. Laura
sat down, taking several deep breaths to steady her nerves. Quickly she
recounted what had taken place the day before. As she talked, Martha’s face
turned grim.

“I’m so sorry you ended up being
caught in all of this,” Laura told her sincerely. “I made a stupid mistake last
night. I should never have tried to run away from the situation. You’d think
I’d know better. Can you forgive me for being so selfish and stupid? The last
thing I would ever want to do is cause you problems or heartache.”

Martha patted her hand gently, her
eyes soft with understanding. “I think we all make mistakes when we’re faced
with something so painful. I remember wanting to run away somewhere else when
Alfie’s father died. I put the diner and our house up for sale. It’s only
because it took so long to try and sell both the house and the business that I
realised I didn’t actually want to leave. Who knows, if I could have left
instantly, I probably would have.”

“You are just being very kind, but I
appreciate it,” Laura sniffed, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “I’d
understand if you don’t want me to still work here, after letting you down.”

Martha took a deep breath. “I’m
willing to forget this ever happened if you are?” She handed Laura her money
back. “After all, I would have lost this place already if you hadn’t come to
help me save it. You worked for ages without pay and you didn’t leave me for
Henry Blankton when he offered you loads of money. That counts for a lot in my
book. Anyone can lose their head when their heart gets broken.” She gave Laura
an understanding smile. “Besides where would I find a cook as good as you to
replace you with anyway?” She gave Laura a wink.

“Thank you Martha, so much,” Laura
hugged the woman tightly for a moment. “I really don’t deserve you.”

“What you don’t deserve is that
Victoria messing with you and Jake!” Martha said hotly. “What are you both
going to do about that woman?”

“Well, Jake has told her to leave the
ranch, which I believe she is doing this morning. I haven’t been anywhere near
her to find out. I’m too scared I might strangle her for what she did
yesterday. The only thing is that it doesn’t stop her from staying here in
town. I wish I could say that I didn’t think she’d try to meddle anymore, but
there is no guarantee.” Laura shrugged helplessly.

“Just keep your wits about you around
her, that’s all I’m saying.” Martha heaved herself out of her seat. “I’d best
carry on setting up or we’re going to be late opening up.”

“You’re right.” Laura leapt up from
her own seat. “I’d best get ready for the breakfast rush.” She put her things
in her locker and headed for the kitchen.

The morning passed without incident.
Laura revelled in the cooking and bustle of her job, grateful she hadn’t gone
back to the drudgery of her office job back home. She loved it here in Willow
Creek. It had become her home in the short time she’d been here. She knew so
many of the people now and then of course there was Jake. She loved him more
with every passing day. She could not imagine her life without him. Relief and
gratitude filled her that he hadn’t chosen Victoria after all.

Anger flared through her at the
thought of that woman. Her mind flew over the events of the previous day.
Running them through her head, she still could not shake the feeling that
Victoria had had help. It was too much of a coincidence that Jake had been in
the shower before it all kicked off. That led her back to her suspicions of
Walter.

She needed to find some way of seeing
if he was connected somehow to Victoria. On her own it would be difficult to
gather any evidence of his involvement; she had far too many times in the day
that she couldn’t watch him. She wondered if she could find someone who’d be
willing to watch him when she couldn’t. She bit her lip wondering if she could
convince Bill and Kerry to watch him with her. She just hoped they didn’t
dismiss her idea as Jake had the day before.

She was willing to admit she could be
very wrong, but either way she was determined to find out if she was right or
just imagining things. It could all be a coincidence that Walter had been so
involved in what had happened the previous day, but then again it might not.
She decided to talk to Bill and Kerry after work.

She tried to form some kind of plan
as she cleaned the kitchen with Alfie after the breakfast rush. Some kind of
system needed to be in place to help them discover the truth. Laura wouldn’t
give up. She bit her lip in concentration as she cleaned. Glancing at her
watch, she realised that they would need to begin prep for lunch soon. The
morning had really flown!

Martha’s voice calling her from the
diner drew her attention. Concerned, Laura went to find out what she wanted,
only to see Jake standing by the counter. She smiled, surprised to see him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked
in delight. “I wasn’t expecting you until the end of my shift.”

He smiled, sending a wink at Martha.
“I have a surprise for you. Thankfully, Martha has said I can steal you away
for a few minutes to show you.”

Laura raised her eyebrows. “What’s
the surprise?” she asked eagerly.

“Now if I told you straight away, it wouldn’t
be much of a surprise,” Jake laughed at her. He held out his hand and she ran
round to grasp him tightly.

“Are you sure you can spare me?” she
asked Martha, worried to take time out after having just set things right that
morning.

“Of course. Alfie can take care of
most of the prep work. I can’t make Jake wait until closing time.” She winked
back at Jake. “He’s already threatened me with very bad singing if I didn’t let
him show you your surprise now.”

“Bad singing?” Laura giggled.

“Bill rubs off. What can I say?” Jake
shrugged mischievously, dragging her out of the diner. They walked hand in hand
down the street, Laura wondering what he had up his sleeve. Her heart did a
little tumble in her chest at the feeling of being by his side. Finally she
felt like a real couple, doing the things couples do.

She was so caught up in her thoughts
that it took her a moment to realise they had arrived at their destination. She
looked around, puzzled. Jake had taken her to the parking lot. She glanced
around for his truck.

“Are we going somewhere?” She asked
worried. “Because I shouldn’t be too long. I don’t want to take advantage of
Martha after leaving like I did, without notice. She’s been so good to me about
it as it is.”

“No we’re not going anywhere. I just
wanted to give you this.” Jake handed her a key. She stared at it in surprise.
Tugging on her hand, he walked her over to a sweet little red car parked in the
spot she usually headed for when she came to work. “I thought you’d need your
own car for travelling to and from town as soon as possible. I hope you like
it.”

Laura could hardly breathe. “You
bought me a car?” she said faintly. She could hardly take it in. Her hand
traced over the car in awe.

“You do like it don’t you?” he asked
worriedly, when silence stretched out and she still hadn’t said much. She
glanced up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Like it? I love it. But Jake, it’s
too expensive. I can’t let you buy me a car!” she protested. Nobody in her
entire life had ever cared enough about her to give her something as amazing as
this. Tears spilled down her cheeks, splashing onto her top.

“You deserve it. And I wanted to show
you how very much I want you in my life, permanently.” Jake hugged her tightly,
dropping a kiss onto her head. “Please accept it. I really want to do this for
you.”

She turned in his arms and hugged him
fiercely. “Thank you so much. I can’t believe you’ve done this for me. It’s so
thoughtful and wonderful.”

He took the key from her hand and
opened the car door. “Here, see how it feels.”

Laura grinned, seating herself in the
driver’s seat. It was a beautiful little car. She couldn’t have picked better
herself. “I love it Jake. It’s perfect.”

“There is one more thing,” Jake said
softly, kneeling by her side in the open doorway. He tapped the glove box.
“Look in there.”

“You bought me something else?” she
cried. “Jake you shouldn’t have. Buying me a car is more than enough. You don’t
have to make up for what happened yesterday. It wasn’t your fault!”

“That’s not what this is about,” Jake
assured her. “Open it.”

Puzzled, Laura opened the glove
compartment and gasped. Laying in an open box was the most beautiful diamond
ring she’d ever seen in her life. One beautifully cut stone sat in a gold band,
its flawless perfection took her breath away. Shaking, she closed her eyes. She
had to be seeing things.

Jake gently took her hand in his,
drawing her attention to him.

“Laura, I nearly lost you yesterday.
I know I’ve put you through so much since we met. It hasn’t been an easy ride.
But you are the woman I want so spend the rest of my life with. I have never
loved anyone before you, I only thought I did. I will never love any other
woman now that I’ve found you. Would you do me the incredible honour of
becoming my wife and share the rest of our lives together?”

Laura could barely see past the tears
pouring down her face. She was shaking so badly, she was sure he’d hear her
teeth clattering. She pinched her arm. “I’m not dreaming this am I?” she
whispered, finding it hard to believe this was really happening.

Kissing her gently, he wiped at her
tears with the pads of his thumbs, his gentle warmth penetrating her with
tender care. “No, you are not dreaming this. It’s all very real,” He smiled
warmly into her eyes. “What is your answer sweetheart? And believe me, I won’t
be taking any other answer than yes.” He gave her a cheeky wink.

She laughed, hugging him tightly.
“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” She smothered him with kisses, gently
cradling his precious face in her hands. She gazed deeply into his eyes, both
of them getting lost in each other. Both felt the incredible connection between
them growing stronger, a bond that was real and totally unbreakable. Laura knew
in that moment that what they had was forever. She swallowed hard. Somehow,
she’d been incredibly blessed and she gave thanks for it with her whole heart.

Breaking eye contact, Jake took the
ring from its box, sliding it over her finger and settling into place. It was a
perfect fit. “How did you know my size,” she whispered in awe, staring at the
ring on her hand. Sunshine caught the jewel, setting off a thousand rainbow
sparkles dancing all around them.

“I stole one from your room. I hope
you don’t mind,” he grinned wickedly.

She smiled softly. “How could I
possibly mind when you’ve just made all my dreams come true.”

Then he kissed her, gently running
his hands through her hair. She sighed blissfully, deepening the kiss. Jake
slid his tongue into the warm recess of her mouth, sending her pulse racing. It
felt different this time. The deeper feeling of connection that had grown
between them, made the kiss feel like their souls were touching, their spirits
blending together giving them a feeling of belonging so completely to each
other. Laura had no idea where she ended and where Jake began.