Hope Burns

Book 3: A Hope Novel

by Jaci Burton

Genres: Women's Fiction; Romance; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

Molly Burnett dreads returning to her hometown of Hope for her sister's wedding, especially knowing she'll have to endure a weekend with the one man she never wants to see again. It's only a couple of days, so Molly will try to forget her painful past with high school sweetheart Carter Richards. Because despite the bitter memories, she still can't forget what they once meant to each other.



But when Molly is forced to extend her stay, Carter sees this as his second chance to do things right, to start over again with the only woman he's ever loved. This time, he isn't going to let Molly run. Together they're going to confront the past and put it behind them, and hope for a future as bright as the flame that still burns hot between them.



Contains mature themes.

Release date: September 30, 2014

Publisher: Berkley

Print pages: 304

Sample

“A STALWART IN THE ROMANCE GENRE.”

—USA Today

Wild Rider Series

Play-by-Play Novels

Hope Novels

 

Chapter 1

THIS WEDDING WAS going to be a disaster.

Molly Burnett didn’t know what had possessed her to agree to come back to Hope for her sister Emma’s wedding. Love for her sister, of course. But she knew what was at stake. She never came home, hadn’t been home since she’d left when she was eighteen.

That had been twelve years ago. She’d moved around from town to town, state to state, never setting down roots. Permanence just wasn’t Molly’s thing. And she sure as hell had never once come back to her hometown.

Until now. Even as she drove past the city limits sign her throat had started to close up, her breathing becoming labored. If she hyperventilated, crashed the car, and died a week before Emma’s wedding, her sister would never forgive her.

Then again, with all the sputtering and coughing her ancient Ford Taurus was doing, it might just do itself in before she had a chance to crash it into anything.

“Come on, George,” she said, smooth-talking the car. “Hang in there.” She didn’t have a new—or a newer used—car in her budget. Old George, currently fifteen and she hoped heading toward sixteen, was just going to have to suck it up and keep working.

At the next stoplight, George shuddered and belched rather loudly, making the two little kids sitting in the backseat of the car next to her point and laugh. She gave them a smile, then gently pressed the gas. Obviously having cleared his throat, George lumbered on and Molly sighed in grateful relief. Gripping the steering wheel and forcing deep, calming breaths, Molly drove past the First Baptist Church, her favorite donut shop, the florist, and Edith’s Hair Salon. So many places still stood, all of them so familiar.

And yet a lot had changed in twelve years. So much progress, so many new businesses had cropped up. New restaurants, the hospital was bigger than she remembered, and they’d widened the highway. When she’d lived here, there’d been only one shop to stop at for gas and sodas along the main road. Now there was one at every corner.

She purposely turned off the main road, determined to avoid the high school. Too many memories she wasn’t ready to face yet. She headed toward the main strip of town. There was a new bakery, and on impulse, Molly decided to stop and buy some goodies for the family.

She headed inside, the smell of sugar and baked goods making her smile. This place definitely reminded her of home, though it hadn’t been Cups and Cakes last time she was home. Red and Helen Osajeck had owned the Hope Bakery for as long as she could remember. Her mom had told her they’d retired several years ago and sold the bakery.

She wondered who owned this place?

She browsed the display case, her stomach rumbling.

“Can I help you?”

She stood, and smiled at the familiar face from back in high school. With light brown hair and brown eyes, she was still as pretty now as she had been in school.

“Megan? Megan Lee?”

Megan frowned as if trying to place Molly’s face, then grinned. “Molly Burnett? I can’t believe it’s you. Are you back in town for Emma’s wedding?”

“I am.”

“Then welcome home. I’m so glad to see you after all these years.”

“Thanks.” She looked around. “And you work here?”

“Actually, I own the shop. I bought it two years ago after the Osajecks’ retired. I worked for them all through high school, and during breaks from college. I wanted to own my own bakery, and the opportunity fell into my lap when they decided to sell. And of course, you don’t want to hear all those details.”

Molly grinned. “No, really, that’s fantastic. Congratulations. Also, it smells wonderful in here. I’m going to have a hard time figuring out what to buy.”

“Thank you. Have you gotten settled in yet?”

“No. I’m just driving into town, and thought I’d stop and buy some goodies on my way.”

“You’ve come to the right place, then. May I make some suggestions?”

“Definitely.”

Megan took out a box, and between the two of them, they filled it with éclairs and cream puffs.

She left the store, having survived her first reunion with an old friend from Hope. She made her way outside, stopping short as she spotted a very fine male ass bent over, inspecting her car.

“Can I help you?”

He straightened, and Molly almost dropped the box of baked goods.

The last person in Hope she wanted to see today—or ever—stared back at her.

Carter Richards, her first and only love, and the main reason she’d left Hope all those years ago.

“Hey, Molly.”

“What are you doing here, Carter?”

“My auto shop is just a few doors down. I was outside and I saw you get out of the car.”

Recovering, she walked over to the driver’s side, placed the box on the hood, then opened the door. “And you thought this would be a good place for a reunion? Really, Carter?”

She hoped he wouldn’t notice her hands shaking as she slid the box onto the passenger seat and climbed in, shutting the door.

He leaned his forearms inside the car. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I think we said all we needed to say to each other twelve years ago.”

She turned the key and winced at George’s attempts to fire on all cylinders. She tried again, and this time, the car fired up. Sort of. It mostly wheezed.

Dammit. Come on, George. I just need you to start this one time.

“Let me help you with that.”

She shot him a look. “I don’t need help. I can do this.”

She tried again. No go.

“Molly.”

Carter’s voice was soft, laced with tenderness and concern. She wanted him to disappear. She wanted to pretend he didn’t exist, just like she’d tried to erase him from her memories. She wanted to be anywhere but here right now.

“Slide out and let me give it a try.”

With a resigned sigh, she opened the door and got out. Carter slid in and fiddled with the ignition.

“George is a little touchy.”

He turned to face her. “George?”

Crossing her arms, she nodded. “Yes. George.”

His lips curved, and her stomach tumbled. God, he was even more good-looking now than he’d been in high school. He had dark hair, and those mesmerizing green eyes. He wore a polo shirt that stretched tight over his well-muscled biceps. Why couldn’t he have turned out bald and fat and hideously ugly? Not that it would have made a difference anyway, because he still would have been Carter.

When George’s engine finally turned over, tears pricked Molly’s eyes.

Carter got out and held the door for her. “There you go.”

“Thanks.”

He shut the door, then leaned in again. “Molly . . .”

She looked up at him. “Please don’t.”

He nodded and backed up a step so she could pull out of the parking spot, which she did with a little too much fervor. As she drove away, she stared at him way too long in her rearview mirror.

Forcing her attention on the road ahead, she gripped the steering wheel and willed the pain in her heart to go away.

It was in the past. Carter was in the past, and that’s where he was going to stay.

*   *   *

CARTER WATCHED MOLLY drive away, that old junker she drove belching out smoke and exhaust like it was on its last legs.

He shook his head and leaned against the wall of the bake shop, needing a minute to clear his head before he went back to work.

He’d been thinking about Molly for a while now, knowing she was coming back to Hope. She had to, because she was in Luke and Emma’s wedding. He hadn’t expected to see her today, though, when he’d stepped outside to take a break from all the damn paperwork that was his least favorite part of being owner of several body repair shops.

He’d always liked watching the cars go by on his breaks.

When he’d seen an unfamiliar one—an old beat-up Taurus choking out a black trail of exhaust, then wheezing as it came to a stop in front of the bakery—he couldn’t help but wonder who’d drive a piece of shit like that. Surely the owner had to realize the poor junker should be shot and put out of its misery.

His heart slammed against his ribs as a gorgeous brunette stepped out of the car. She had on jeans, a white T-shirt, and sandals as she hurried into the bakery like she didn’t want to be recognized. She even kept her sunglasses on, but there was no mistaking who it was. Not to him, anyway.

He could never forget the curve of her face, the fullness of her lips, or her long legs. It might have been twelve years, and she might have changed from girl to woman, but Molly Burnett was someone Carter would never forget. His pulse had been racing, and he knew damn well he should turn around and go back to his office. But for some reason his body hadn’t been paying the slightest attention to what his mind told it, and he pushed off the wall and started down the street toward the bakery.

He debated going inside, then thought better of it and decided to figure out what the hell it was she was driving. So he’d walked over and studied the car.

A ’99 Taurus. Christ. He wondered where Molly was living, and how the hell that car had made the trip. It had dents all over, patchy rust spots, the muffler was nearly shot, and the tires badly needed replacement—like a year ago.

In retrospect, he should have let Molly be, should have kept his distance from her. But when he’d seen her, he’d closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, transported back to the last time he’d heard her voice. It had been in hurt and anger. The last words they’d said to each other hadn’t been kind ones.

And maybe he wanted to change all that.

But it hadn’t gone at all like he’d expected. She was still hurt, still angry with him, even after all these years.

Carter dragged his fingers through his hair and made his way down the street toward the garage, then back to his office. He shut the door and stared at his laptop, but all he could see was Molly’s long dark hair pulled up in a high ponytail, and her full lips painted some shimmering pink color. She was tan, and her body had changed over the years. She was curvier now, had more of a woman’s figure.

But she was still the drop-dead gorgeous woman he’d fallen in love with all those years ago.

He’d thought he was over her, that what he’d once felt for her in high school was long gone. But they’d had a deeper connection than just being first loves.

And seeing her again had hurt a lot more than he’d thought it would.

Chapter 2

IT HAD TAKEN several miles to stop shaking and get her nerves under control again, but Molly was fine now.

Just. Fine.

Carter wasn’t even in her thoughts anymore.

Much.

She finally came to a stop at her grandmother’s old house, the house Emma now owned and shared with her fiancé, Luke McCormack.

She pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine, staring at the one-story brick and frame house.

A lot of sweet memories were built into this home. She and Emma playing in the front yard while Grandpa mowed the grass. Her grandmother letting her help bake a pie. Molly had learned some of her not awesome but adequate baking skills from her. No one was as good a cook as her grandmother.

She missed her grandparents, but was glad Emma had decided to live here, instead of letting the house go to strangers.

At least one of the Burnett sisters was comfortable calling Hope home. Molly would never feel at home in Hope again. Too many bad memories.

She got out of the car and headed to the door, smiling at the sound of the old familiar doorbell.

She heard barking, and Emma’s voice.

The front door opened and two rather large dogs came running out, one an exuberant pit bull. She knew Annie was still young, but she was huge and nearly knocked her over. Daisy, the lab, was just as excited to see her, though she was a little more reserved.

“Hi, kids.” Molly bent down and was rewarded with wagging tails and licks to her face.

“Oh, you’re here.” Emma came out, looking gorgeous as always, her brown hair in a ponytail. She still wore her scrubs from work as owner of the veterinary clinic in town.

Molly stood as Emma pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s been too long, Molls.”

Molly closed her eyes, loving the feel of her big sister’s strong arms holding her. “It has. I’ve really missed you.”

Emma pulled back, the dogs winding around both their legs. “Come on, girls, give us some space.”

Molly laughed. “They’re both so adorable.”

“Aren’t they?” Emma picked at the top of her scrubs. “And I’m so sorry. I probably smell like medicine and animals. I had a late emergency at the clinic, so I just got home about ten minutes ago. I was afraid you were going to get here before me. Oh, and Luke’s at Taco Bueno, your favorite, picking up dinner.”

Molly grinned, her stomach rumbling at the thought. “You remembered.”

“Of course.” Emma slung an arm around Molly’s shoulders. “Let’s go inside.”

The dogs followed. Emma shut the door. “I’m going to dash and take a quick shower. Why don’t you bring your bags inside?”

“I can stay at Mom and Dad’s, you know. I’m sure you and Luke want to be alone.”

Emma was headed toward the hall. “Luke and I have a lifetime of being alone. You’ll only be here a short while, so I want to see you as much as I can. Besides, you’re my maid of honor, and we have so much to catch up on with the wedding plans.”

“This is true.”

“Plus, Luke and I have a long vacation in Hawaii coming up after the wedding. So we’ll have blissful alone time.”

“Yeah, how did you manage to swing that, being the sole owner of the vet clinic?”

“One of the docs I know who works at a clinic in Tulsa is going to cover for me. He’s a great guy who’s been out of school two years and works with a large group. He’s looking to buy his own practice, so he wants the solo experience.”

“That’ll work out well for both of you.”

“I know, right? I’ll be back in no time. Make yourself at home. There’s iced tea in the fridge.”

Emma disappeared, and Molly exhaled. She loved her sister, loved seeing her. Usually it was Emma who came to visit her, at least once a year, and they talked on the phone quite a bit, although definitely a lot more recently as they planned the wedding together. Molly felt like a horrible sister for not coming home sooner to help with the ceremony and the other celebrations surrounding it, especially being the maid of honor. She’d told Emma she wouldn’t mind if she wanted one of her friends to handle that responsibility, but Emma had insisted, and fortunately Molly was good at organizing, even long-distance.

But she did have to come home for the wedding. That part she couldn’t handle from afar.

So now here she was—back in Hope, after all these years. Despite her best efforts to stay away forever, she knew someday she’d have to return, so she’d just have to suck it up and deal with it.

Deal with him. And all the bitter, painful memories.

Shoving unwanted thoughts of the past aside, she grabbed her bags—plus the box of baked goods—and brought them inside. She put the box on the counter and laid the bags near the door to the hall, then went into the kitchen, found the cupboard where the glasses were located, and pulled the iced tea from the fridge, pouring herself a glass to drink while she waited for Emma. In the meantime, she wandered and took a look around the house.

It had been a long time since she’d been here, but all the details of the place were etched into her memories. The yellow wallpaper in the kitchen had been replaced by bright new paint, and the old linoleum with new tile. The countertop was new as well, as were the cabinets. But the wood floors in the living room were the same. They’d been refinished and restained, and they looked good. The dark wood pillars holding up the archway leading into the hall were still standing as well.

Emma had brightened and renewed their grandparents’ home, but still managed to retain the old charm. Leave it to her sister to manage to retain the memories while bringing the home into the twenty-first century.

The front door opened, and Emma’s fiancé, Luke, stepped in. He gave her a wide smile. “Molls. You made it.”

“I did.” She’d met Luke last year when Emma brought him to Little Rock. Molly had instantly fallen in love with his quiet strength and infinite charm. Emma and Luke were perfectly suited to each other, and it was clear how much he loved her sister. “I hear you were sent on a taco mission.”

Luke passed her, giving her a peck on the cheek as he made his way into the kitchen. “I was. Taco Bueno has become one of our favorite places to eat, especially on nights when we both have to work late.”

Molly inhaled the scent of flavored meat and beans. “I can’t tell you how many of those tacos and bean burritos I ate when I was in high school.”

That, at least, was one memory that wasn’t painful.

“Not as many as I did,” Emma said, coming out to greet Luke with a swift kiss. Her hair was still wet and she’d changed into yoga pants and a tank top.

“Did you go to a tanning salon?” Molly asked.

Emma wrinkled her nose. “No. But I’m trying out a spray tan. What do you think? Too orange?”

“No. Actually, it looks really good on you. I hate you for that.”

Emma grabbed plates and Luke poured tea for both of them, then they pulled up seats at the kitchen table. “I don’t know why. You’re tan. Have you been swimming or something?”

“There’s a pool at my condo. It’s my leftover-from-summer tan.”

“Oh. Perfect. You have that sun-kissed look. Not surprising since you live down south now. The weather must be great in Austin.”

“It’s good there. I like it.”

Emma grabbed a taco. “For now, right?”

Molly shot her an enigmatic smile. “For now. I have a great job doing accounting and marketing for a music company. You should visit. It’s an amazing city.”

“We should. When the dust settles post–wedding and honeymoon, we’ll take a road trip. If you’re still there.” Emma winked.

“Great.” It was a known fact that Molly never spent more than six months to a year in one spot. Then, wanderlust or an uncomfortable itch to move on set in—she tried to never put a label on it—and she’d find yet another job in another city.

It made her parents crazy, and it worried Emma. But for Molly, it had become the norm. She liked moving around. It gave her a chance to see different parts of the country. What was so wrong about that?

She bit into the burrito and rolled her eyes heavenward. After she swallowed, she looked at Emma and Luke. “I missed these—so much.”

“I imagine you get some great burritos in Austin,” Emma said.

“Oh, definitely. And I know these are from a fast-food chain and all, but Taco Bueno has memories associated with it.”

Emma grinned. “Stopping for a taco after school.”

“And on Friday nights,” Molly said with a grin. “It just reminds me of home.”

“You wouldn’t miss them if you’d come home once in a while.”

She answered with a shrug. “I’m here now. And they were worth the wait.”

They ate and she listened to Emma and Luke discuss their days. She and Emma talked at least once a week, so she was familiar with their jobs. Luke was busy as a local cop in Hope, and Emma had her hands full running the vet clinic. They were both successful, and ridiculously in love with each other. Luke scraped taco sauce off the corner of Emma’s mouth, and Emma listened intently to Luke’s story about a rear-end collision he’d worked today, offering sympathy as he told them about one of the occupants’ injuries.

The way Emma looked at Luke was the same way Molly used to look at—

No point in going there. That had been a long time ago. She never even thought about him anymore.

“So tell me what’s on the agenda for this wedding shindig,” Molly said after they cleaned up the remnants of their fast-food fest. Luke had taken the dogs outside, leaving Emma and Molly to catch up in the living room.

“You and I are going to head to the bridal salon for a final fitting tomorrow. We should be fine, and we’ll bring the dresses home. Ours will go to Mom’s, of course, because we’ll be getting ready there the day of the wedding. Oh, and we’re meeting Jane and Chelsea at the bridal shop.”

“Okay.”

“Luke’s brother Reid flies in from Boston tomorrow as well, but Luke’s taking care of picking him up. The rehearsal dinner is Friday, then the wedding at the country club on Saturday. We’re going to do a brunch Sunday with the families, then Luke and I head out on Monday for Hawaii.”

Molly grinned. “My guess is that you and Luke are way more excited about Hawaii than anything else.”

Emma laughed. “You would guess right. Though I am looking forward to being married. Finally. It’s taken a lot of planning, but it’s going to happen.”

Molly grasped her hand. “I’m so happy for the two of you, Em. Luke’s a great guy.”

“He is. And thanks. I want the same thing for you, Moll.”

“Oh, well. You know, I’m not even close to being ready to settle down.”

“And why is that? With all the traveling you’ve done, haven’t you found one place that suits you yet? Or a guy who makes you want to put down roots?”

“Uh, no.” There’d never be a guy who’d make her want to stay in one place. Never. She’d planted her flag in a guy’s heart once, and love had devastated her. She never wanted to go there again. “I like my freedom too much.”

“And speaking of guys . . . you are aware Carter is in the wedding, right?”

Just the mention of his name made her pulse kick up several beats. “Of course. You told me.”

“I know you two broke up in high school, but you’ve never talked about it.”

Molly shrugged. “Nothing to talk about, really.”

Other than the utter destruction of her heart.

“He is Luke’s best friend. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

No, she wasn’t okay with it. She was hoping he’d be out of town and unable to make the wedding. Too much to hope for, of course. And running into him at the bakery had been an awful start to her trip. One she wasn’t going to mention to her sister. “Of course, Em. I’m fine with it. High school was a long time ago, you know. I’m so over Carter.”

She’d never be over Carter, or what had happened between them. But this was Emma and Luke’s wedding, and she was going to be an adult about it. Nothing was going to spoil Emma and Luke’s big day.

Her heart was just going to have to suck it up and take it. Then, after the wedding, she’d hightail it out of Hope and never look back.

Just like she’d done twelve years ago, when she’d left town to escape the heartbreak.

Only this time, she wouldn’t be heartbroken, because she’d never allow that to happen again.

Chapter 3

AFTER RUNNING INTO Molly yesterday, Carter had buried himself in the dreaded paperwork. It was only because he’d interviewed a guy for the vacant body repair position that he’d happened to be in Hope during the day and then decided to just spend the rest of the workweek here because of the wedding stuff going on. And because he’d happened to be here, he’d also happened to see Molly, something he’d hoped to avoid until the wedding.

Of course if he’d just stayed at the shop, he could have prevented her unhappiness, and his damn bad mood. So he had no one to blame but himself.

And the interviewing wasn’t going well, either. He was beginning to think he was never going to find a decent body guy. Good thing he had some of the other guys to fill in, and if worse came to worst, he could do some of the bodywork himself, though that wasn’t his preference. Every now and then he enjoyed getting his hands dirty, but overseeing the shops was enough of a full-time job these days.

When he’d first started out, he’d worked for Mo Bennett, who owned the shop he was at today. Carter always had a feel for cars, had started learning about them with his dad when he was a kid. His dad had worked for Mo, and Carter had come in with him on weekends, sitting by and watching until he was old enough to get under the hood and tinker on them himself. Mo had hired him at sixteen, and by the time he turned twenty-two and Mo was ready to retire, Carter had gotten a loan and bought the place. Over the years Carter expanded the garage and brought in auto body guys, then branched out and bought another shop several years later.

Now there were four Richards Auto Service garages, one in Hope and three more in surrounding areas, including nearby in Tulsa. He’d worked his ass off to become a success, put himself in debt up to his eyeballs, but he was in the black finally. He might not get to work on the cars, which he loved, as much as he used to, but he’d made enough to buy a house and he lived comfortably enough that he could sleep at night without worrying about money.

These days if anything kept him up at night it was his personal life—or lack of personal life. The absence of a special woman. Not that finding the right woman had ever been front burner for him before. He’d dated plenty, and women had come into and gone out of his life without a lot of fuss.

Maybe it was seeing Molly again that reminded him of the plans they’d made twelve years ago. Plans that had never come to be. Plans he’d put on hold while he concentrated on work, on building his business.

He shoved aside the paperwork and stood, stretched his back, and decided to go take a look out in the shop. Sitting at his desk gave him too much time to think, mainly about things he shouldn’t be thinking about.

Diving headfirst into an engine or body repair would clear his head, and that’s just what he needed on a day like today.

*   *   *

MOLLY PARKED GEORGE in the driveway of her parents’ house, needing a few minutes to catch her breath before she went inside to face the hordes.

Catching up with Emma had been fun, but she had to admit she’d been distracted, her thoughts straying to her meeting with Carter yesterday.

Of all the people she hadn’t wanted to run into, she’d walked outside the bakery to find him leaning over her car.

He’d looked good. No, he’d looked hot, with jeans that fit his oh-so-fine ass perfectly, a polo shirt that defined his muscled biceps. He was lean and fit, and he wore his dark hair shorter than he had in high school, but those green eyes of his still mesmerized her.

And he’d been . . . nice. How dare he be nice to her, after what he’d done?

It felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs, and even now—a day later—she still found it hard to breathe when she thought about him. As she’d driven over here, she was afraid she was going to run into him, which was ridiculous. Hope was a small town, but it wasn’t that small.

She needed to get a grip or her mother, who was observant of all things, was going to notice.