Until Tomorrow (Boot Creek Book 3) Read online

  PRAISE FOR NANCY NAIGLE

  “The camaraderie of a small town is captured in all its glory in this story of rediscovered love, lies and deceit. Trust comes in small doses and is lost just as easily as the clever plot unfolds, especially when unusual characters provide surprises.”

  —RT Book Reviews on Sweet Tea and Secrets

  “Fabulous, fabulous read! Be sure to have a tissue with you as you read this sweet book. [Life After Perfect] is full of emotion and heartfelt struggles of love and life.”

  —Tabitha Jones, A Closet Full of Books

  ALSO BY NANCY NAIGLE

  The Adams Grove Series

  Sweet Tea and Secrets

  Out of Focus

  Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes

  Pecan Pie and Deadly Lies

  Mint Juleps and Justice

  Barbecue and Bad News

  Standalone Books

  Sand Dollar Cove

  InkBLOT, cowritten with Phyllis C. Johnson

  under the pen name of Johnson Naigle

  The Granny Series

  cowritten with Kelsey Browning

  In for a Penny

  Fit to Be Tied

  In High Cotton

  Under the Gun

  Always on My Mind: Pick Your Passion Novella 1

  Come a Little Closer: Pick Your Passion Novella 2

  The Boot Creek Novels

  Life After Perfect

  Every Yesterday

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2017 by Nancy Naigle

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle

  www.apub.com

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  ISBN-13: 9781477848609

  ISBN-10: 1477848606

  Cover design by Lindsey Andrews

  To Andrew:

  For reminding me to trust the journey, because even when it looks all wrong, the reward may be better than ever imagined.

  Thank you for being such a wonderful part of my journey.

  PS—I know what you’re saying right now.

  “I do what I can.” And you always do. I like that in a guy.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  “He was all wrong for me anyway.” Flynn Crane lifted her coffee cup to take a sip, hoping to hide her disappointment, but Angie knew her better than anyone else. She’d see right through her.

  “You didn’t think he was all wrong for you a week ago.” Angie pushed her dark hair behind her ear like she was known to do when she was aggravated.

  How many times over the past two years had she sat at this very table having the same discussion with Angie? Was she ever going to learn? It was exhausting for her. She could only imagine how tired Angie was of this rerun. Probably even more so now that Angie was happily married to Jackson Washburn. Angie hadn’t even been looking for love when she met Jackson.

  “Are you getting ready to tell me you told me so?” Flynn tugged the afghan around her, tucking the sides between the kitchen chair and her bottom to get warm. Darn furnace had gone out the same day she kicked Brandon out. Talk about bad timing. If the problems around here kept mounting at this speed, Crane Creek Bed and Breakfast would need a crane just to lift the list of to-dos.

  “No, but it was more than just me who was raising flags on that guy’s intentions. Megan and Katie had their concerns too.”

  “I know. I should’ve listened.” Flynn sighed. It was true. Was it her biological clock going cuckoo or her hopeless romantic side that kept getting her into trouble? “Is it too much to just want to be happy?”

  “You don’t need a man in your life to be happy.”

  Flynn kept her mouth shut, afraid that if she opened it right now, it might also open a trail of tears and she was absolutely positively not going to cry over Brandon.

  “I’m sorry he wasn’t the one, but I promise you the right guy is out there.” Angie leaned forward, hugging her mug. Probably to keep warm.

  “Do you need another blanket? A sweatshirt?”

  Angie laughed. “No, I’m fine.” She took another sip of her coffee and set it down carefully. “Flynn, this is going to sound harsh, and I promise I don’t mean it that way. Do you know what you want? I mean really want?”

  Flynn lifted her chin. Good question. She’d thought so, but now she wasn’t sure her man trouble wasn’t more out of habit than desire. “I know what I don’t want. He’s gone and good riddance.” It had been her choice, but darn if it didn’t still sting a little. One thing was becoming painfully clear. Finding love in Boot Creek seemed impossible.

  “What do you want, Flynn?”

  Angie had been Flynn’s best friend since the first time she’d come to Boot Creek to stay with her grandparents. Way back when Mom had still been alive. Almost as far back as she could remember. The distance made for huge gaps between school years and summer visits, but the friendship had withstood time and distance.

  Angie pulled her feet into the chair and shifted the blanket over her legs. “What I mean is you’ve made so many changes.” She swept her hand in the air. “This place for one.”

  This place. It had turned out to be a lot more work than she’d expected. The tired old bed and breakfast she’d taken over from her grandparents needed constant attention. It was like a puppy you had to grab and race outside every time it went to sit down, for fear it would pee on the new rug. You couldn’t leave it for a moment or else something might go wrong.

  “I love this place, but it is becoming a money pit.” The fact that she and her best friend were sitting here in the kitchen drinking coffee under blankets because the furnace was on the fritz was one more jab on a bad day.

  “It wouldn’t have been so bad if you hadn’t stopped taking reservations.”

  “I couldn’t rent out rooms while Brandon was fixing things.” Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. And Angie knew it too. “Fine. I could’ve rented at least one or two of the rooms if we’d been strategic about the renovations. But he was fixing things here, there, and everywhere, with no real plan.” That’s what had hit her in the bank account. She’d finally had to change the website to show no vacancy. “Up until then I was fine. This place had been staying full, and repeat customers were telling new ones. I should have taken control of things when Brandon got started and made
a plan.”

  “My point exactly,” Angie said. “You never operate without a plan. What got into you? Are you being true to your dreams or just being whoever it is you think these guys want you to be?”

  She sipped the blend of coffee spiked with Kahlúa, Baileys, and Amaretto. The warmth sent a toasty surge through her. The family recipe could chase a chill better than Grandma’s crocheted afghan, and it worked a miracle on a broken heart too.

  Good thing too, because she needed both today. Didn’t make that bitter pill go down any better though. Angie made a good point. What had she been doing? She’d promised herself last year that she wouldn’t try to change a man again. She’d made good on that, but darned if she hadn’t sacrificed her own needs and wants to make that so. A nervous giggle escaped. Flynn tried to stifle it, because it wasn’t funny. It was embarrassing.

  This was one of those days she wished Mom was still around. Mom and Dad had had the perfect relationship. It’s why she’d always dreamed of one just like it. It wasn’t until Mom died that Dad had gone middle-aged crazy and moved away. Granpa said that it was just too hard for Daddy to deal with her, since she was the spitting image of her mom. The last she’d heard, he was up in Canada somewhere. She wondered what he’d think about her running Crane Creek Bed and Breakfast now.

  Angie placed her hand on Flynn’s arm. “You okay?”

  “Can we quit talking about my love life for half a second?”

  “Sure.” Angie shrugged, or was that a shiver?

  “Are you sure you’re warm enough? I can get you another blanket.”

  “No. I’m fine,” Angie said. “Are you sure Brandon didn’t sabotage the furnace to get a free ticket back?”

  “He wouldn’t do that.” But it did get her to thinking. Had it started acting up before then?

  Angie lifted her brow.

  “Okay, fair enough. Maybe he would, but he was handy to have around.” But she had to cut her losses. He’d turned a two-week job into a six-month one, and it had become clear it was more for extended free room and board than time with her.

  “There are other handymen around, and they won’t cost you near what you paid Brandon.” Angie pulled her feet underneath her. “You need to be the leading lady in your life story, and he practically moved in before the first date.”

  “That was out of convenience. He was working all hours.”

  “I think it was his plan all along. Find a job with freeloader potential.”

  “You give him too much credit. I’m not sure he was smart enough to be that conniving.”

  “Well, there is that, and he was good looking.”

  “Can’t deny that.” It was those steely blue eyes that had almost had her melting to her knees when he first shook her hand. “New rule number one—no one moves in unless there’s an engagement announcement in the paper.”

  “That’s a good one. You deserve a smart guy. Don’t settle.”

  “I didn’t know I was.” She spread her arms wide. “Instead of an A for Adultery, my scarlet letter will be D for Desperate. Not flattering no matter how you dice it.”

  “Flynn, don’t shortchange yourself. You’re beautiful, brilliant, and you can do anything. You are the catch. Brandon, and the last four guys you’ve dated, have all been users. I hate seeing that.”

  “It’s easy to see now. You were right. Again.” She lifted her mug in the air with a polite salute, although admitting she was wrong was never easy. “I know it, so why does part of me miss him? Just a teensy bit. Why is that?”

  “Because you’re mourning the loss of the guy you loved in your mind and heart. We both know that is not who he was.”

  “He said right from the beginning he didn’t want a girlfriend.” She leaned her head into the palms of her hands. “I should’ve listened.”

  “We’ve all made that mistake before, Flynn. Sometimes we hear what we want to hear. Don’t beat yourself up.”

  “It just seemed like we had so much in common. He was fun.”

  “Fun is good, but he was having fun on your dime.”

  Dimes that were quickly running low since Flynn’s severance had run out, and she’d been dipping into savings since she’d put the “No Vacancy” sign up on the website.

  Angie got up and topped off her coffee as she continued, “Look, it just so happened his hobby was what you needed around here at the time. So it wasn’t a total loss, but he had it made. He piddled around like a kept man while you cooked, cleaned, and paid for everything. Too bad I’m married. Sounds like a good gig.”

  Flynn balled up her napkin and tossed it at Angie. “Real funny. He had some good points too. He’s an amazing furniture maker, and I’m going to miss his kisses.”

  “Kisses are easy to get.”

  Even now, the thought of his lips on hers made her insides dance. “I needed a handyman way more than a boyfriend. If I’d been smart, I’d have kept things at that.”

  “Someone else said that. Who was that?” Angie put her mug on the table. “Oh yeah. That was me.”

  “Was that a passive-aggressive I-told-you-so?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Flynn had to laugh at that. Only a best friend could make you laugh at yourself for being an idiot.

  “Well, not all that passive,” Angie admitted, “but it’s the last time I’ll mention it. I promise.” She crossed her heart between giggles. “And I promise when you’re ready, the right one will come along.”

  “Easy for you to say, since you married the last good guy in four counties.” Angie and Jackson’s wedding last year had tossed Flynn’s yearning for a husband and family into overdrive. No question about that.

  “And I wasn’t even looking for a relationship.” Angie clicked her fingers. “See, I was only focusing on myself and taking care of Billy when I met Jackson. I’d finally become comfortable with my own life, struggles and all. Take care of yourself first, Flynn. Maybe the right guy will walk right into your life too.”

  “That will be easy, because I’m pretty much done with the whole dating thing. I feel like all I’ve done is date and make mistakes.” Or was just too darned tired of trying so hard. Either way she needed a break. “I’m not even sure I’d recognize Mr. Right if he walked up and handed me a business card with that title.”

  “Quit trying so hard. Just relax and take that list of things you don’t want, and use it to help you figure out what it is that you do. Let your guard down, but not too far.”

  “I need a GPS to navigate the path to love, because apparently I’m lost. Let your guard down. Not too far. Look, but don’t look. Be open. Don’t change him. Don’t change me. Give, but don’t be taken.” She sighed. “I want a man with a real job. No more of these guys who are freelancing around.”

  “You do know Brandon not being the right one has nothing to do with his job, yes?”

  “Yeah, but it didn’t help either.” She stood and walked over to refill her coffee. Getting a man was easy—they waltzed right into her life, sometimes uninvited. The problem was they all seemed right at first. She could see herself in anyone’s life, but finding the one man that fit into her life correctly seemed impossible. “Or maybe I was meant to be alone.” She stopped mid-pour. “Do you think that’s it? I’m supposed to be alone? I can’t even picture that.”

  Angie shrugged.

  “I should concentrate on the bed and breakfast for a while.” She might be wasting precious time trying to find her perfect match. From here at the kitchen table, she could see into the den. Thoughts of a young girl and boy playing with blocks strewn across the rug taunted her. Being an only child, she’d always wished for brothers and sisters. Probably why she wanted a husband and children of her own so badly. Then again, she didn’t need a husband to make that happen these days either. “That den needs a fresh coat of paint.”

  Angie nodded. “Something bright, but that keeps to the time period of the house.”

  The thought of the walls in a brighter, fresh, springy hue lifted h
er mood. And maybe it was time to think about the things that were important to her and how she’d achieve those things alone. “Exactly. It would cheer things up around here.”

  “And maybe you.”

  “I could definitely use a little of that,” Flynn admitted. “I’m going to have to hire someone to finish the work that Brandon started. I need to get money rolling back in. If I don’t get this straightened out, I’m going to have to go back and get a real job to catch up.” She sat down, plopped her elbows on the table. “This whole place needs some attention. Just like me. And neither of us is getting it.”

  “Stop with the pity party. You always get plenty of attention; it’s just not always the right kind.”

  She straightened and patted the table in a drumroll. “I’m going to treat this B&B like one of those million-dollar banking projects that I managed and get it up and running—on time and on budget.”

  “That’s the Flynn I know!”

  “Besides, I can’t let my grandparents down. They are counting on me to carry on the taking care of the business they’ve built. I’m all the family they’ve got left. How could I ruin their dream of traveling now that I’ve taken the place over? Being able to help them do that is my biggest life accomplishment so far.”

  “I’ve heard you say that before. So make it work. If anyone can do it, you can. You’re an awesome businesswoman.”

  “Business is business. I’m going to focus on the B&B, and I’ll be so busy that there won’t be room for any romantic mistakes.”

  “You might as well build in a plan B for when you meet someone.” Angie’s smirk made her look like one of those exaggerated emojis.

  “I hope your face sticks like that,” Flynn said. “Didn’t you just hear what I said? That’s over. Finished. Complete.”

  “And crazy, because you’re a hopeless romantic. You can’t help yourself.”

  “I have to find a better way to deal with that.” Flynn leaned forward, leveling a stare into her best friend’s eyes, then stabbed a finger into the air. “Here’s my plan B. Promise me. The next time I say I think I’ve found the one, you’ll tell me to repaint the den. Or buy new hardware for the kitchen, or something that will take a week or two, so I can get over that idea before it becomes a problem.”