Sweet Serenade (Riverbend Romance 3) Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Riverbend Romances

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Thank You

  Sneak Peek

  About the Author

  Sweet Serenade © 2015 by Valerie Comer

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 0993956874

  ISBN-13: 978-0993956874

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed or electronic reviews, without written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction set in a redrawn southeastern BC, Canada. Any resemblance to real events or to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Scripture taken from The Voice™. Copyright © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Cover Art © 2015 Hanna Sandvig, www.bookcoverbakery.com.

  First edition, GreenWords Media, 2015

  SWEET

  SERENADE

  A Riverbend Romance Novella 3

  Valerie Comer

  GreenWords Media

  For the latest news on sales and releases for

  Valerie Comer's books,

  please join her email list.

  To Jim:

  Beloved husband with a guitar and a canoe paddle,

  With whom I've snuggled and watched the northern lights more times than I can count.

  Welcome to Riverbend!

  Riverbend, BC, is the quaint Canadian town you wish you were from, where everyone knows everyone, seasons are celebrated, and love is in the air.

  Riverbend and Castlebrook are fictional communities.

  Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons, and Save-On-More Foods are real Canadian businesses.

  In Canada, a stocking cap or beanie is called a tuque (rhymes with fluke). Distance is measured in meters and kilometers, and temperatures are in Celsius. And in British Columbia, yes, beginning drivers are required to have a magnetic L (for learners, first level) or N (for novice, second level) on the back of the vehicle.

  Here are the five seasonal Riverbend Romance Novellas.

  Secretly Yours: A Winter Riverbend Romance Novella (1)

  Chef Lindsey Solberg agrees to cater the church’s Valentine’s Day fundraising banquet as a favor to her teen sister, but she’s shocked to discover the bad boy from her high school days is now Riverbend’s youth pastor. Seriously? How could he have changed that much?

  Nick Harrison has prayed for years for an opportunity to make amends. Now Lindsey’s back in Riverbend and won’t give him the time of day. What’s a guy to do except leave a trail of gifts from a secret admirer?

  Lindsey’s heart takes a beating when she realizes the boy who was never good enough is now a far better man than she deserves.

  Pinky Promise: A Spring Riverbend Romance Novella (2)

  Kelly Bryant’s young daughter wants a daddy and sets her sights on her new best friend’s single father. The man may be charming, sweet, and a believer, but Kelly is embarrassed. She extracts a pinky promise from her six-year-old to stop proposing to men on her behalf.

  Ian Tomlinson isn’t looking for a wife but does need care for his daughter during spring break the week after his move to Riverbend. He hates to ask Kelly — and plant ideas in the girls’ minds — but he’s rather low on options.

  How can two single parents fall in love for real with a pair of mini-matchmakers pushing from both sides — pinky promises or not?

  Sweet Serenade: A Summer Riverbend Romance Novella (3)

  River guide and canoe builder Reed Daniels stands by as his lifelong friends pair off. After all, he’s waited this long for the right woman… what’s a little longer? But when newcomer Carly shows up at the gang’s bonfire, he’s mesmerized. Could she be the answer to his prayers?

  Water-sport enthusiast Carly Thorbergsen is starting over in Riverbend. Hired as a canoeing and hiking guide, she’s ready to focus on work and leave the personal stuff behind. That is until the competition, Reed Daniels, offers her a ride in his cedar-strip canoe. No resisting that!

  But no matter how much they have in common, Carly can’t erase her past, and Reed is bound to discover the truth. When a date finds Carly and Reed running rapids on the outside of the canoe, they come face to face with the real reasons their new relationship might capsize.

  Team Bride: An Autumn Riverbend Romance Novella (4)

  Sarah Jamieson has avoided weddings since a traumatic stint as a flower girl, but reluctantly agrees to stand up for her best friend. Only why does the best man have to be one of those confident, life-of-the-party types? Even worse, why does the bride make her promise to go on one date with the guy? Easy enough to agree, because she’ll make sure he never asks.

  Corbin Morrissey takes his responsibilities for Team Groom very seriously, but coaxing smiles out of the maid-of-honor is harder — and more addictive — than he expected. To his surprise, she agrees to go out. There really isn’t any way a date to the Fall Fair could go amiss. Is there?

  Can Corbin convince Sarah he’s ready to settle down and make her the head of her own Team Bride, or will their past keep getting in the way?

  Merry Kisses: A Christmas Riverbend Romance Novella (5)

  (coming November 2015)

  Fired from her retail position for saying Merry Christmas to a customer, Tori Simmons chafes at the over-commercialization of the season and the difficulties of finding a new job. If only she’d actually said Merry Christmas instead of Merry Kisses to the tall, good-looking man buying enough toys for at least a dozen children. How embarrassing!

  It was fun to fluster the pretty toy store clerk, but Heath Collins, the mall’s volunteer Santa Claus, hadn’t meant to get her fired. When his elf assistant comes down with a bad cold, Heath offers Tori a few days’ work, only to discover she believes Santa is nothing but a liar and a fraud instead of an opportunity to make a difference in children’s lives.

  Can Tori and Heath embrace each other — opinions, traditions, and all — in time to share merry kisses for Christmas?

  Chapter 1

  “Please tell me today was better than the rest of your week.”

  That might require lying. Carly Thorbergsen rolled her shoulders and shook her head at her cousin. “No wonder Neil Maddrey couldn’t find anyone local to fill the position at Base Camp Outfitters. Everyone in Riverbend knew he was an idiot, right?”

  Brittany plucked her phone off the table and swiped it on.

  “Just the fact you’re ignoring me proves I’m right.” Carly sighed. “I’ll survive until I can find something else.” Or move on. That was definitely an option. That’s how she and Dad had survived for years. There was always more to see in Canada’s west.

  “Okay, the man does have a bit of a surly reputation. I’ll grant you that. But the job itself sounded right up your alley. Taking tourists out on Sandon Lake in a canoe. Leading day hikes into the mountains. You won’t spend much time with Neil once your orientation is done.”

  Hopefully. Carly crossed the small living room into the apartment’s galley kitchen. Good, there was still some of the sun tea she’d made yesterday. “Want a glass?”

  “You put honey in that, didn’t you? I’ll grab a diet cola, thanks.”

  Because a zero-calorie diet coupled with a gym membership and a jog
every day was healthy? Brittany couldn’t be more than a size two.

  Carly’s idea of a good time didn’t mesh with her cousin’s. Eat healthy and play outside a lot was Carly’s motto. Let the chips fall where they may. Which meant sometimes consuming actual chips from actual potatoes. Oh, the horror.

  Brittany reached past her for a cola and a container of chicken breasts. “These have been marinating all day. I’ll grill them and we can put them over salad. Sound good?”

  Carly’d been paddling all day in the hot sun, not sitting in an air-conditioned library. She could inhale an eight-ounce steak and a baked potato without blinking. “Sounds good. Mind if I make myself a sandwich while you cook?”

  “Be my guest.”

  Weren’t they past the guest stage? “Hey, I bought some groceries.” Even though she was sleeping on the living room floor until she could get her own place. If she stayed in Riverbend.

  “I know, I know.” Brittany carried a pair of tongs and the chicken to the patio door then stepped out onto the third-floor balcony. “This will be really good. I promise.”

  Carly didn’t doubt it. It sounded great, but not enough. She headed into the kitchen, slathered peanut butter on two slices of sourdough, and followed her cousin out to the tiny balcony. In the distance, the Sandon River flowed southward, curving around the town of Riverbend. Hills crowded the horizon. The locals called them mountains, but they were nothing like the glacier-clad peaks in the Rockies near Jasper. She could make out gaps between the hills where other creeks and rivers joined the Sandon. Farther up the valley lay the lake.

  She closed her eyes. Traffic was muted this far from the busier streets. A hummingbird zoomed to the feeder at the neighbor’s balcony. The chicken breasts sizzled on Brittany’s portable grill. A gentle breeze loaded with the fragrance of mock orange caressed her face. Peace. She could almost taste it.

  “A bunch from the church’s singles group are getting together tonight. Want to go? Meet some people?”

  Carly glanced at her cousin. “Um, maybe? What’s the scene?”

  “Swimming in the river. Bonfire. S’mores. Guitars.”

  With every word, Carly relaxed a bit more. “Oh, that sounds awesome. My kind of night out.” She had to admit it didn’t seem to match Brittany, though. Her cousin would hate to break a nail outdoors.

  Brittany shot her a look. “Yeah, it would be. Not that many unattached guys, but what do you expect in a town this size? Sometimes I think I should’ve gone to college in Calgary or even Castlebrook instead of staying here.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Her cousin shrugged. “Because Joseph was staying. And then we broke up anyway.” Brittany grinned and arched her perfectly-plucked eyebrows. “But I hear he’s back in Riverbend for the summer.”

  “And you want to see him.” Carly drained her glass of iced tea.

  “Of course. But my gang often does this on Friday nights in summer. You’ll like them. Just stay away from Joseph. Oh, and forget Reed Daniels. He’s the hottest looking guy and ice cold in every other way.”

  Check. And check. “What time is the get-together?”

  “You’re seriously into this.”

  “Why not? I like rivers and s’mores. Unless all the guys wear pants pulled up to their armpits and taped-together glasses, it should be fun.”

  “Evan says bring chips and pop.” Brittany scrunched her nose. “No junk food for me, but I’ll take a few cans of diet cola along.”

  Right. Must preserve that size two at all cost.

  ~*~

  Reed Daniels leaned against the open tailgate of his pickup, watching his friends jump into the river. Why was he here again? Right, to scope out the competition. He allowed himself a small grin at the thought. Not the other fellows crowding around the girls, but to see if Brittany brought her cousin.

  Probably a bad idea. If Maddrey’s new hire was anything like her cousin, Reed would stay clear of her. But, wow, he’d caught a glimpse of a gorgeous young woman out in a canoe with Maddrey the other day. Evan, his business partner, had said she was Brittany’s cousin. Coming to Friday’s bonfire, he’d added, as though he knew everything.

  Was it so wrong to want to meet her in person? Probably a bad idea in front of this bunch. They were hungry for blood.

  Reed averted his eyes from the deep pool where several couples were wrapped in each other’s arms. Rumors abounded about who’d slept with whom. It made his gut hurt. These were kids he’d grown up with, gone to youth group with, made purity pacts with. Sometimes he felt like the last man standing.

  Brittany’s white Mazda picked its way down the dusty road, avoiding the biggest rocks and deepest potholes. She had a passenger.

  Reed wiped clammy hands on his navy swim shorts and prayed he wouldn’t make a fool of himself as the Mazda angled in among the other vehicles and the doors opened. Brittany’s cousin exited the vehicle on the far side, red-gold hair pulled back into a ponytail. No orange life vest now, just a soft green tank top and darker green mid-thigh shorts.

  She glanced his way, caught his eye, and smiled. She had the most beautiful, genuine smile he’d ever seen.

  He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his own face. He’d never started a conversation with a pretty girl in his life. There was a first time for everything.

  Brittany glared at Reed and hooked her arm through her cousin’s, pulling her toward the river. Her cousin glanced back.

  Yep, he was going to do this if it killed him. He sauntered closer. “Hi, I’m Reed Daniels. You must be Brittany’s cousin.”

  She pulled away from the tight grasp. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Carly Thorbergsen.”

  Her hand gripped his with more strength than most girls. But then again, what man went around shaking hands with pretty girls? Had she noticed the sweat on his palm against her long fingers? His gaze snapped to her face, to eyes that hovered somewhere between blue and green, framed with long lashes that didn’t seem heavy with mascara, her face more tanned than made-up.

  Brittany leaned close to Carly and whispered something. Carly shrugged as she released his hand. Brittany tossed a plastic grocery bag onto his truck’s tailgate on her way past then pulled her tank top off to reveal a bikini. That was one of the problems with this kind of party. A lot of skin. In Brittany’s case, a guy could count every rib.

  Words. He needed to find some. “So, um, hi. What brings you to Riverbend?” Man, he was tripping all over. This was amazingly unsuave, even for him.

  She smiled at him. Amazing smile. “Brittany told me Base Camp Outfitters was hiring, so I applied online. I got the job, and here I am.”

  His guess had been correct. “I think I saw you with Neil Maddrey out on Sandon Lake in a canoe Wednesday.” At 3:41 p.m. near the north shore. He’d sound like a stalker if he said that out loud.

  Her face lit up.

  Oh, man. She was cute enough without that extra glow.

  “Not sure if Maddrey mentioned it to you or not, but a grizzly was sighted up that way last week.”

  She angled a look at him. “A grizz? Not a black?”

  Ah, she knew her bears. Good girl.

  “It’s true we don’t see many in this area, but I trust the person who reported it to know the difference. A big silver-tip, he said. Distinct hump.”

  “Neil didn’t say anything, but thanks for the warning. I’ll make sure to watch for it.” She nodded as though filing the information. “But that was you? In the cedar-strip canoe? I have such envy. Paddling around in a red floating cooler like Base Camp’s rentals is almost enough to make me quit my job before I’ve barely started.”

  Reed’s spine straightened of its own accord. “You like it? It took me months to build.” He couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice.

  Her mouth formed an o as her eyebrows rose. “You built that gorgeous canoe?”

  “Yeah.” The interest in her eyes made him look down at his sport sandal scuffing the dirt on the path. But it was way ea
sier to talk about bears or canoes than about himself. “Cedar-stripping fills winter hours when I can’t be on the water.”

  “A bit of an addict, are we?”

  He glanced up again at the teasing tone in her voice. “Just a bit.”

  “My dad and I used to talk about building one together.”

  What message was he supposed to get from that? “But something always came up, eh?”

  “Like cancer.”

  “Oh.” Now he felt like a heel. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “He fought for six and a half years. For a while we thought he had it beat. Anyway, he’s gone now.”

  Reed searched her face, hoping she could see the sympathy in his eyes. “It must be tough to lose a parent.” He still saw his nearly every day. Yeah, he’d moved out of the house—all the way to the apartment he’d built above the boat-building shop on their property.

  Her pensive gaze shifted to the river behind him. “Two for two.”

  Carly’s words were so quiet he wasn’t certain he’d heard them. “Your mom?”

  “Died when I was eight.”

  “Oh, man. I’m so sorry.”

  She bit her lip and glanced at him. “Sorry to overload you when we only just met. So, uh, what temperature is the water?”

  Reed turned to watch his friends splashing in the deep eddy. Evan climbed up on a rock and cannonballed in. They’d been swimming here since they were kids. Everyone knew where the water was deep enough for a dive. “Pretty cold,” he said at last, eyeing her at an angle. “It’s glacier-fed. The snow is still melting in the mountains.”