Happy release week to Mason and Sara, MCs of Tiny House, Big Reveal, Book 2 in my new Tiny Houses, Second Chances series–with many more to come!
This series is my first foray into the Kindle Unlimited program, now known as Kindle+. This means subscribers can read both books for FREE with their subscription. For those who prefer to purchase, the e-book is available only on Amazon, but you’ll find the paperback on all your favorite online bookstores.
For today’s Sunday Snippet, here’s kayak guide Mason’s first glimpse at the ex-wife who shredded his heart ten years ago. Content warning for adult language.
***
This can’t be happening. I blink hard to clear my vision, but no—it’s really her, looking rumpled and tired and so beautiful I forget how to breathe.
Fate is fuckin’ cruel. On the very day I’m ready to release all those memories, all those regrets, Sara appears on my doorstep to stomp on my mangled heart.
I wobble on rubbery knees, and Zax grabs my arm to steady me.
Tony hurries to join him, bracing my other side. “That’s Sara?” he asks, keeping his voice low.
Not low enough, though.
“Who’s Sara?” Becca asks, shooting a sharp look at my ex. She catches Tony’s nod. “Oooh.”
These two are the only ones in Pinevale who know I was married: Tony because he’s my therapist, sort of, and Becca because I indulged in a night of drunken self-pity at her bar. But only Tony knew Sara’s name. Until now.
Keeping my pain under wraps has served me well. Since taking over Pinevale’s kayak rental business five years ago, I’ve gradually spent less time mourning my failed marriage. But I’ve never made peace with losing her, and I doubt I ever will.
Something deep inside me snaps. Enough cradling my secret pain like a dying torch. Tonight, surrounded by friends who feel like family, I will finally lay this burden down.
I meet their concerned gazes. “Sara is my ex-wife.”
While they gawk and whisper, I force my cement-booted feet forward. I can do this. I can speak like a man who’s not devastated by the sight of her.
“What are you doing here?”
Before she can answer, Lucca darts between us. “Mase, I’m so sorry, man. I had no idea she was your ex.”
Ice courses through my veins. “Are you two…?”
Lucca’s a great guy, but the thought of Sara in his arms makes me want to puke.
Eyes wide, he backs up and bonks into her. “No way. We’re just friends from before you moved to Pinevale. I knew she was divorced, but I didn’t know it was you, I swear.”
Poor guy looks like he’s gonna bust a gut apologizing.
Stabbing her fingers into her honey-gold hair, Sara heaves a huge sigh. “He didn’t know, Mason. And if I knew you were here, I never would’ve come. But Lexi—” She tilts her head toward the skinny woman behind her. “She needs a place to stay, just for a while, and Lucca offered to help.”
Holy shit, that pale, sullen figure is Sara’s spitfire little sister?
Grinding my teeth hard enough to throw sparks, I try to breathe through it like Tony taught me. My rational side knows it’s not fair to be mad if Sara and Lucca are telling the truth. And though a bloodcurdling scream would be so satisfying, that would only prove how right she was for leaving me.
I’m better than that now. I can act like a calm, reasonable adult around my ex.
Side-stepping Sara, I approach her sister, who looks like she tumbled down a mountainside. “Hi Lexi. How long’s it been?” I’m proud of how light and breezy my tone sounds.
“Ages, I guess.” She doesn’t meet my eye. What the hell happened to the sparky little hellion who used to visit us in Hood River? She never could listen worth a damn, but she had spirit and a wicked sense of humor. Now she slumps before me, her delicate face marred with purple-green bruises.
Sara slings her arm around her sister’s shoulders, bracing her as if a strong wind might blow her away. “Lucca volunteered the storage space above his parents’ restaurant,” she says. “He’s going to turn it into an apartment for Lexi.”
Ambling over to join us, Zax rubs his bearded chin. “You plumbed for a bathroom up there?”
Typical Zax, salivating over a building project. Soon he, Lucca, and Lilah are divvying up chore assignments.
Well, shit. I can’t in good conscience object to helping a friend in distress. For a while, Lexi was the kid sister I never had. By the looks of her, she recently found herself at the wrong end of some asshole’s fists.
But helping her means staying connected to the woman I’m trying to forget.
What would a grounded, grown-ass man do if he was well and truly over his ex? Because that’s my goal here, to finally reach a place of peace. And if I’m honest with myself—not my strong point—I want this chance to prove I’m no longer the immature, unserious guy she left behind.
Not exactly redemption. Too late for that. But maybe I can regain her respect?
I cross my arms over my hollow, aching chest and face Sara. “What happens after Lexi moves in?”
“I’ll go back to Canada.” Her gaze drops to her shoes. “I’m getting married in December.”
You know those superhero movies where a shockwave knocks the villain off his feet? That’s me, bowled over by the fat diamond twinkling on Sara’s left hand.
She’s engaged.
Of course she is. Strong, smart, funny, and down-to-earth, Sara must’ve had a hundred men fall for her since we parted.
The past ten years have barely touched her. Her wavy hair still refuses to be contained, little wispy curls escaping her ponytail to dance on the breeze. Her clear brown eyes still spark fireflies in my chest. And now she’s sparking her magic for another guy.
He damn well better deserve her.
Tony looks up from the ribs he’s tending on the grill and gives me a wise guru nod. Your heart knows the right path, Grasshopper.
And it does. Even if her reappearance is tearing me inside-out, if Sara needs my help, I’ve gotta step up.
Because I still love her, and I always will.
So if a supportive friend is what she needs, that’s what I’ll be.
I throw my shoulders back, paste on a phony-ass smile, and join the ad hoc building crew. “Tell me how I can help.”
***
Check out Mason & Sara’s 2nd chance love story!Thanks for reading! Wishing you a restful Sunday.
