Needs A Little TLC (Spinning Hills Romance 2) by Inés Saint Read Free Book Online Page B

at the tavern. And before I forget, here.” Marty handed her a key. “Dan told me to give this to you. It’s for one of the offices Mr. Montgomery is renting. He thought it might suit your purposes and so he copied this key for you. It’s on West Maple, right next to the perfume shop where Dan got whipped. He said you can leave the key in the mailbox when you leave.”
    “Whipped?” Cassie repeated as she took the key, knowing she’d have no choice but to take a quick look at the office before they left.
    “He means where Dan found true love,” Ruby clarified.
    Ruby and Marty sparred about Dan’s current status while Cassie stared at the pink, rhinestone-studded key in her hand. The words Daddy’s Little Princess were written across the top in a curly purple script. The key reminded her of a pillow her father had gotten her years ago. The pillow’s colors and message had been so unlike her—she was hardly a princess—but what had mattered was that it had come from her dad and she’d carried it with her everywhere.
    Cassie shook her head. Mr. Montgomery had always procured fun keys for his businesses, but this one only served to remind her she wasn’t sure what her next step would be. If proving something to her parents led her down a rabbit hole, then she hadn’t grown at all.
     
    Sam went back into the house and looked out the window toward Star Springs Park for a long time after Cassie left. She’d teetered and sunk in her three-inch heels, but she’d made it down the ravine without falling.
    New leaves were beginning to shade the park’s streams, glistening evergreens, bright red benches, and crisp white gazebo. He’d worked on both projects.
    From an early age, Sam had known what he’d loved and what he wanted with a strength and purpose he’d later learned weren’t usual. Family and community were his anchors, appreciating and preserving true craftsmanship his calling.
    So many of his memories were attached to the town. His eyes traveled up the oldest tree in the park, a majestic oak, and his mind’s eye saw ten-year-old Cassie sitting up there, scared and regretful. It was the first time Sam had ever been terrified that something bad could happen, and the panic of the moment had etched the memory into his brain. It had been during an especially hot summer. He could still smell the stagnant water, feel the waves of regret coming from Johnny, and hear the anxiety in Dan’s voice.

    “Holy crap. What’s Cassie doing up there?” Dan demanded.
    “I dared her to climb all the way up,” Johnny explained, shielding his eyes and looking up. “I swear I didn’t think she would.”
    Sam squinted up, his heart pounding fast. Cassie was sitting on a sturdy-looking branch while holding on tight to a smaller branch in front of her. He could barely make her out through all the leaves. Round blue eyes in a pale face were staring down at him. “I’ll go up and get her,” he announced, swinging up to the lowest branch.
    “No. It was my fault. I’ll go.” Johnny came up behind him.
    “No. Both of you stop. Give me a quick second to think.”
    Dan looked around, his eyes wild.
    Johnny cupped his hand and yelled up, “Hold on, Cassie, we’ll find a way to get you down.”
    Sam quickly climbed up another few branches, hoping Dan wouldn’t notice.
    “I’m okay. Don’t come up!” Cassie squealed.
    “Well, if we don’t get you down, someone will call the fire department. Your hair makes it look like the tree is on fire,” Johnny yelled again.
    “No, don’t make her laugh!” Sam called down. He was already one-third of the way up.
    Dan glanced at Sam, noticed how high he was, and quickly ran over to start climbing, too. “Fire. That’s it. Johnny, you run to the fire department and have them bring a ladder, like they do when a cat is stuck. Sam, stop. I’ll go up.”
    Johnny ran toward the fire station, one block down.
    A while later, a downcast Cassie, Sam, Johnny, and Dan sat on a bench