Chapter 2

2

"Sadie!" Imogen Thane called as she waved from her table at Incantation Café. "Over here." The woman with dark blond hair had her curls piled on the top of her head and was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with a Married in the Redwoods logo for her wedding coordinator business on the front.

"Tell me you already ordered my latte," Sadie begged as she plopped down onto one of the chairs across from her friend and blew out a long breath.

"It's on the way." Imogen gave her a sympathetic smile. "Rough day?"

"Very. The brewery was busier than usual. I think a lot of people are in town to see the Halloween decorations. But also, somehow the word got out that King McGrath is here, and a half-dozen girls were camped out there, just waiting to see if he would show up. They took up a large table all day and only ordered iced tea and two orders of fries in a three-hour time period. Do you have any idea how much tea teenagers can drink? Not only did I lose out on tips, but I'm fairly certain the Townsends lost money on that deal."

"Sounds awful." Imogen grimaced. "Neither Clay nor Rhys were bothered by them taking up a table?"

Sadie let out a humorless laugh. "No. It wasn't like people had to wait to sit down, so they just ignored them. Or they did until King actually walked in, and suddenly the girls tried to mob him. Not only did I not get to talk to him, but one of the girls climbed on one of the tables and then broke it and her arm. It was a complete shitshow."

"Her arm!" Imogen pressed her hand to her mouth and then shook her head. "Sorry to say, but she kinda deserved that, didn't she?"

"I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it is hard to feel sorry for her when she was climbing all over the furniture."

"Here you go, ladies," Hanna, the owner of the café, said as she placed two cups on the table along with two pastries. The gorgeous dark-skinned woman had her curls tucked into a high ponytail. She wore jeans, a red blouse, and a black apron that made her look like she'd just stepped out of a baking magazine. "Can I get you anything else?"

Sadie clutched her coffee as she gazed gratefully at Hanna. "You're a goddess."

Hanna chuckled. "I heard there was some excitement at the brewery today. Is everyone okay?"

"Mostly." Sadie took a long sip of her drink before she continued. "There's one tourist who is now sporting a cast on her arm that will likely be there for the next six weeks. I swear, people are crazy around celebrities."

"That's true," Hanna said, nodding. "But who were they stalking? Are Levi and Silas back in town?"

Sadie shrugged. "No idea. But if so, they weren't at the brewery today. The mob was trying to get a glimpse of King McGrath."

"Seriously?" Hanna looked confused. "The guy Austin is working with to produce his comeback album?"

"Yep," Sadie said.

"But he only has like one hit song, right?" Hanna stared out the front window of her café as if she were looking for the man in question. "He can't be that famous, can he? And how do they even know where he is? This isn't LA or New York City."

"Oh, he's famous all right," Imogen explained. "I found a small but rabid community of fangirls online who've been following his every move for the last couple of years. As for how they find him, it appears some of them are very dedicated to scouring the entire internet for any hint of a sighting. All it takes is one Tweet or TikTok, and suddenly their entire message board knows where he is."

"Good goddess. That sounds miserable. I'd never want to be famous." Hanna made a face. "Did King make it out all right?"

"Yeah," Sadie said with a sigh. "He was just there to pick up food, but he couldn't even make it to the counter. He walked in, saw the mob of teenagers, and split. Rhys ended up taking the order over to Austin's studio."

"That's too bad that you didn't get to talk to him," Imogen said, her eyes full of sympathy.

"I really was hoping it would be my chance before we have to meet up tomorrow." After the debacle when King had walked out on Sadie while they were singing at the brewery, she'd confided in Imogen and had confessed their history. Imogen was the one who'd encouraged her to just try to talk it out with King.

And Sadie had tried. Before they'd ever gotten on that stage a week ago, King had been sweet and flirty with her. They'd ended up exchanging numbers even though they hadn't even recognized each other. Because she had his number, she'd called him and texted, but he hadn't answered. Honestly, Sadie didn't even blame him. Not really. She had walked out of his life a decade ago without even saying goodbye. If the situation had been reversed, she'd likely still be angry, too. It probably didn't help that she hadn't even recognized him at first. But to be fair, he hadn't recognized her either. They'd both been skinny teenagers back then, and she'd known King as Kevin, his given name, so she thought she should be forgiven for the slight. Though she wasn't sure what his excuse was. She'd always used the name Sadie.

"That sucks." Imogen reached across the table and squeezed Sadie's hand. "I know you really wanted to smooth things over with him. But you'll see him at the studio tomorrow, right?"

Sadie slumped back in her chair, feeling defeated. "Sure. But talk about awkward. What am I supposed to do? Grovel right there in front of Austin Steele, the record producer?"

Hanna blinked at Sadie and then cleared her throat. "I know it's none of my business, but did something happen between you and King last week? You're not fighting already, are you?"

"Not last week," Sadie said. "A decade ago. We have history. But we were just kids then, and we didn't even recognize each other until we were on stage singing."

Hanna let out a low whistle. "That is complicated. And now you have to work together?"

"Only if King shows up tomorrow," Sadie said, not at all sure he would. Austin had seemed… unsure, but he'd said he'd work on him.

"I'm sure he will," Hanna said as she pointed her chin at something outside.

Sadie turned and spotted King standing outside the café, staring right at her. Their gazes held for a long moment. Sadie stood abruptly and headed for the door, intending to go talk to him. But before she could make it outside, King scowled and then walked briskly away.

"Dammit," Sadie muttered to herself as she hurried outside. "King! Wait, I want to apologize!"

But King didn't look back at her as he quickly rounded a corner with another man who was about a head taller than him.

Defeated, Sadie slowly walked back into the café and took her seat.

"Brutal," Hanna muttered.

Imogen made a sound of agreement.

"What am I going to do?" Sadie asked the two women. "This contract is what is going to save my mom's house. If I can't pay for the repairs, I could end up homeless soon."

"First, Austin won't drop you from your contract because King is being difficult," Imogen said, her voice full of conviction. "Second, you're not going to be homeless. We'll figure out a way to get you the money for repairs even if we have to do a town fundraiser."

Sadie groaned. "I can't take a handout like that. Maybe I can find another bank that will give me a loan. If I can find a way to make my income-to-debt ratio a little more bank friendly, I think maybe they'd do it."

Hanna bit her bottom lip as though studying the problem. "You can always help out here or at the winery for extra money if you need to. Candy and I could definitely use the help, and I know my parents are looking for some help with all the events they are booking now."

"Really?" Sadie asked, feeling a little more hopeful. She didn't relish the thought of working seven days a week, but she'd do it if she had to. "Thanks, Hanna. I appreciate that."

"No problem. Rhys is always talking about what a hard worker you are. If I had my way, we'd have stolen you a long time ago, but I know we can't compete with the tips you must get at the brewery." Hanna was married to Rhys, the assistant manager at the pub, and she came in regularly. She was also best friends with Abby Townsend, so Sadie had known her for years. Hanna was good people, and Sadie really did appreciate her offer.

"Yeah," Sadie said, forcing herself to chuckle. "I could never leave the Townsends. They're like family after all these years. But I'll let you know if the music thing falls through."

Hanna squeezed her shoulder as she nodded and then hurried back to the counter to help her cousin Candy, who was getting swamped by a fresh wave of customers.

Sadie grabbed her coffee cake and her cup. "Are you ready for that hike? I could use a little peace and quiet."

"Absolutely." Imogen gathered her items and the pair of them exited the café and walked over to Sadie's red Toyota Camry that was parked a few stores down in front of A Spoonful of Magic.

"Thanks for coming with me," Sadie said as she backed out of the space. "I love hiking, but going alone always feels a little risky."

"Of course. You know I'm always up for stretching my legs. Besides, it's a good way to get a little girl time in after dealing with bridezillas all day." She winked, letting Sadie know she was just teasing. The truth was that Imogen loved her job. And she didn't just coordinate weddings. She planned all kinds of parties and had become the go-to event coordinator in Keating Hollow in just a few short months.

They smiled at each other. Imogen was pretty new in town, having only moved there after her sister, Harlow Thane, the famous ghost hunter, had relocated to Keating Hollow after her TV show had ended. Imogen and Sadie had become fast friends after Imogen had worked on Sadie's cousin's wedding a few months back.

It didn't take long for them to reach the trailhead that was just a few miles outside of downtown.

"Looks like we're not the only ones interested in seeing the falls this afternoon," Imogen said as she jumped out of the car.

"Huh." Sadie eyed the black SUV that was taking up two spots and then rolled her eyes. "Looks like they could use parking lessons."

The pair of them laughed as they tugged their sweatshirts on, grabbed their water bottles, and then hit the trail. The afternoon sun was already low in the sky, and if they wanted to reach the falls and get back before nightfall, they were going to need to book it. They didn't speak much as they hurried along the trail, and only when they heard the falls did Sadie say, "Oh, good. We're almost there."

She sped up to round a curve in the trail, and as soon as she passed a large redwood, she ran smack into someone. "Oof!"

"What the hell?" the man barked. "Watch where you're?—"

Their eyes met, and the man, King McGrath, suddenly stopped talking.

They both froze.

"Kevin?" Sadie said, automatically using the name he'd given her all those years ago. "What are you doing here?"

He took a step back, putting space between them. "Are you following me?"

"What?" Sadie was taken aback by his accusation.

"First you came after me at the café, and now you're here. What else would you call it?"

Sadie blinked at him. "The café? You were the one who stopped to stare at me. I was just trying to talk to you, but I went right back inside after you ran off. How was that following you?"

"You know I'm not interested in— You know what? Never mind." He gestured to a man behind him that she hadn't noticed. It was the taller man he'd been with when she'd seen him at the café. "Let's go Briggs," King said. "I don't need this. Not today." He moved past her, but then paused and said, "The name is King, not Kevin."

Briggs mouthed sorry as he followed King back down the trail.

Sadie stared at them, open-mouthed.

"Hey," Imogen said gently. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Sadie jerked her head as she turned and look at her friend. "Oh. Sorry. Yeah. It's just… That was weird, right?"

"Definitely." Imogen slipped her arm through Sadie's and said, "Let's just go see the waterfall so we can turn back before it gets dark."

Sadie nodded absently and let her friend lead her down the rest of the trail. But her mind was a million miles away as she tried to reconcile the man who'd just stalked off with the boy she'd met on the beach in Westhaven all those years ago.