Love in Smoke

By Holly Hall

After her former life goes up in flames, Raven Sutter needs a new start. After all, there's nothing left for her in Nashville but the shadow of her musician ex-husband's reputation and her traitorous friends who have declared their alliance with him. So Raven packs up and sets out for a rural town in northern Tennessee, where no one knows her name and no one knows her past.

The small town of Heronwood, however, refuses to let anyone enter unnoticed. When Raven catches the attention of Dane Cross, the center of nearly every rumor and small-town suspicion, she finds herself unwittingly enraptured by the one man she, and apparently the whole town, knows it's better to stay away from. It's only a matter of time before she learns that a charming facade can conceal the most twisted of pasts.

There's much more to Dane Cross than meets the eye, and Raven soon discovers that playing with Dane is not just a game of love and heartbreak. It's life and death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Holly Hall
• Release date: Jun 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463835180

Holly Hall

Holly Hall drinks coffee on the daily, would love to travel for a living, thinks animals are often better than humans, can count on one hand the number of things she loves more than reading and Texas A&M football (okay, that might be an exaggeration), and couldn’t handpick a better family than her enormous one. She is the author of four standalone, contemporary romances: Forever Grace, All the Pieces That You Left, Love in Smoke, and Smoke and Lyrics. She resides with her husband and German shepherd in Houston, Texas.

Book preview

LOVE

IN

SMOKE

By Holly Hall

Copyright 2017 by Holly Hall

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The use of any real company and/or product names is for literary effect only. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Cover design by Prosisely Designs: http://prosiselydesigns.weebly.com/

To love, lovers, and old flames.

Whether you burn brightly, steadily, or for only a little while,

you sure know how to make one hell of an impression.

PROLOGUE

At first it just looks like the orange glow of someone’s outdoor light on the horizon, through my windshield. My preoccupied mind dismisses the sight instantly.

Then I make the final turn onto the farm road, and a ball of unease crashes in the pit of my stomach. I recognize the distinct hue that’s only intensifying the closer I get. If it were daytime, I’d see a column of smoke rising into the sky. That color, the one that seems to undulate and come alive, is like something out of my worst nightmares.

But I don’t have to rely on nightmares to experience the raw fear seeing that bloom of orange against the night sky makes me feel. I’ve lived it already—nearly a year ago, when my world went up in smoke.

It’s reality. It’s chaos, danger, and destruction. And once again, I’m rushing toward it.

I jam my foot down on the gas, trees whipping past my windows at speeds that are beyond illegal for this narrow road, but that’s the least of my concerns. All that’s registering in my mind is how sick I feel that this might be happening again.

But maybe he isn’t home. Maybe he had farther to drive than I thought and he hasn’t yet arrived. In that case, everything else can be replaced.

The partially-concealed driveway comes up way too fast, and I stomp on the brake pedal while turning, tires squealing on asphalt, then spitting gravel when they hit the driveway.

Please be a brush fire. Please be a brush fire. Please be a brush fire.

I burst into the clearing, and my heart leaps into my throat, choking me. It’s the house. Angry flames can be seen through the upper-story windows, and thick smoke unfurls into the sky. The déjà vu is dizzying, only this time, the song of sirens is noticeably absent. I’ve beaten the fire trucks here, if they’re coming at all. At least there’s a good chance nobody’s inside. I grab my cellphone out of my purse as I drive around the edge of the house, but the sight of the truck in the driveway stills my hand.

In less than a second, my fear is magnified and worry grips tighter, clutching my gut and making it hard to breathe.

It’s his truck. He’s here.

I skid to a stop and throw my car in park, leaping out without switching off the ignition. The cab of the truck is empty.

My vision narrows, and I scan the expanse of front lawn as well as what side-yard I can see from where I stand. But he isn’t here. He isn’t waiting out front in an ambulance, safe and sound.

I can hardly focus on calling emergency responders as something instinctual takes over. Swallowing the bile that rises in my throat, I run toward the house. Toward the flames. I don’t even think twice about it. I just hop up the uneven front steps and cross the porch to the front door, yanking it open. Without hearing or seeing him, I know he’s inside. And I have to get to him.

ONE

Three Months Earlier

Listen, Raven. . . God, I don’t know how to say this. You know James and I love you, right? We would have done anything for you and Jenson.

Yeah, I know, I say after a moment, shifting uncomfortably. I’ve never been great with other people’s emotions—I envision them floating through the air like germs—and right now, emotion I’ve never before witnessed from Caroline thickens her voice.

So you understand how hard this is for me to say. I think it would be best if we maybe put some space between us for a while. You know, until things cool off. . .

I wasn’t sure it was possible after everything else I’ve been through in the past year, but my heart somehow finds some extra room to plummet further in my chest. I’ve always been good at keeping my feelings on lockdown, but that was before my best friend of five years said things like that.

"Space? Between us?"

Caroline sighs, but even that sounds forced. Yes. I know it’s kind of an awkward situation between all of us, so James and I both think it would be for the best.

You’re dropping me as a friend? Just like that? Now, shock resonates in my voice. My cool exterior is slipping, and I remind myself to get it together.

I’m really sorry, Rae. It’s just that . . . we knew Jenson first. We would never consciously choose between you two, so we had to use that factor to decide.

Tears I haven’t shed since my divorce sting my eyes. The strangest part is, I’m not even sure it’s sadness that’s provoking this reaction. Anger feels most prevalent.

You’ve been my friend for the past five years, Caro. I would never put you guys in the position to choose.

A brief silence. I know, but Jenson needs James right now. And we just can’t do both.

You can’t do what, be my friend? I am in total disbelief, unsure of how half a decade of friendship can dissolve in a matter of minutes.

I’m sorry, Raven, is all she says. She sounds a little regretful, maybe sad, but that doesn’t change what this is. No amount of remorse from her can ease the fact that even though my marriage has just reached its brutal ending, my best friend is divorcing me, too.

Okay, Caroline. I shove down the urge to tell her to kiss my ass, knowing I’ll regret saying something so childish later. I wish you the best. Bye. I hang up before she can respond.

I’ve never wanted to throw my phone at the nearest hard surface more—a television-worthy tantrum. Instead, I walk over to the kitchen and set it firmly on the cheap laminate countertop. Then I look around at the barren house I’ve just moved into, in the middle of a town I know nothing about. The cardboard boxes stacked in the middle of the living room and the dust bunnies in the corner are my only welcoming party.

Before the saga of packing and moving and unloading, one of the first orders of business in my new, not-so-improved life was reacquiring my maiden name. With a moniker like Raven King, I realized pretty quickly how hard it was to shake the image that came with it. Anyone who follows Jenson King’s career knows who I am, or at least who I was portrayed to be. They saw me on his arm at award shows, as a figure in the corner of his artfully-posed photos on Instagram, as an afterthought mentioned in the articles of country music magazines. I was the specter behind the songs; the ghost in the lyrics. Some women loved that. Some hated it. But all of them remembered it. So, once our divorce was finalized, I flew back to the name Sutter and embraced it like an old friend.

After all that, kicking off some semblance of normal life should be a piece of cake. Instead, it’s a little daunting. I realize this as I’m standing barefoot and misplaced in the middle of a kitchen—my kitchen—glaring at the empty cabinets. My stomach growls demandingly, and I shuffle over to the box I think houses my shoes. I was in too much of a hurry to label them. One thing about me is that when I’m done, I’m done. When I do things, or end things, I commit one hundred percent. Or at least, that’s what I put off on the outside. It's easier that way, for everyone involved.

Once I pull the cardboard flaps open, I root through my meager belongings, searching for any trace of footwear. I come up with a worn chambray shirt and freeze in place, the fabric clutched in my hand. How did that get in there? A second later it’s across the room, lying in a heap where I threw it the way I wanted to throw the phone. That will be my burn pile.

I finally locate a pair of Toms and pull them onto my feet. Then I lock up and climb into my car, bound for town. The warmth of the sun penetrates my windows, and something like freedom slips beneath my skin. There’s an odd feeling of exhilaration that accompanies moving to a place where you know no one, leaving the house makeup-free because who’s going to judge and why should I even care?

It’s only a few short miles into downtown, bordered by Virginia pines and green pasture, but it’s enough to remind me why I left Nashville. A year like the one I’ve had can kind of anesthetize you for other life experiences. I was unshaken and unimpressed by most things in Nashville, and I felt the need to be really and truly stunned by something. I don’t know if I’ll find that in Heronwood, but I’m desperate enough to try.

For much of the past five years—the span of my and Jenson’s entire relationship—the most interesting thing about me was that I was dating, and later married to, a musician. I’ve since vowed to change that, if not for any other reason than to preserve my remaining dignity. I’m too much of a chicken to take off and discover myself in the middle of the wilderness, so here I am. I bought a house on first sight in a sleepy town with a mostly vacant main street and a poor excuse for a grocery store. Super adventurous.

Within thirty seconds of entering Kirkwood’s General Store, I know I’ll have to do my grocery shopping elsewhere. There is an endless supply of canned goods and boxes of starch, but I can’t locate anything that’s actually grown from the earth. I’m about to make my exit when the gentleman behind the counter intercepts me.

Find what you were looking for?

I shift uneasily, flexing my noticeably-empty fingers. I suspect people in towns like these are easily offended, and I don’t want to ruffle feathers on my first day. Call me a stereotyper, but at least I’m sensitive to people’s feelings.

I need some fruit. Apples. Know where I can find some?

When the older man smiles, he uses his whole face. It’s the kind of smile that’s hard not to return with one of your own.

We’ve got dried apples on the snack aisle. And applesauce. He appears proud to have volunteered this information.

Great. I’ll just . . . grab some applesauce. I’ve turned to the rear of the store when I suddenly remember I’m supposed to be charging head-on into a new chapter of my life, not letting myself get bullied into buying applesauce by an old man.

I spin around and walk back toward him. You know, I might try using this homemade recipe I found on Pinterest. Where would you recommend I find some?

Pinterest? I have no earthly idea, he says, scratching the three hairs remaining on his head.

I bite back a smile. He is kind of adorable. Apples. For applesauce.

Well, I’ll be damned. Usually folks just buy it around here. How do you go about making it on this Pinterest?

I tap my fingers against my legs in agitation. I can see right out the front window, and having my freedom within eyesight, so close yet so far away, is just making me anxious.

I don’t have the recipe with me, unfortunately. But hey, I’ll make a copy and bring it by! Fresh produce? I ask again with forced kindness.

You’re welcome to come by, I’m here from seven to four every day. Now, whereabouts do you live? I don’t want to send you on a wild goose chase to the opposite side of town for nothin’.

I fight the urge to slap my forehead with my palm. West. I live west of town. Few miles down the highway.

Well, I’m afraid there’s not a whole lot on the west side. Sorry ‘bout that. There’s a big superstore out east, in Clarksville.

East! Thanks! Have a great day, Mr. . . .

Kirkwood. But you can call me Raymond.

Great, thank you, Mr. Kirkwood. Raymond. I go to push through the door when he’s calling for me again.

What did you say your name was? he hollers, and I’m positive every other customer in the store can hear our entire conversation. I measure out my exhale. Why did I think laying low in a town this small would be easy? Sure there are less people to talk and speculate, but less people means that everybody treats everybody like family and marries their best friend’s cousin, and everyone somehow ends up related and familiar. It’s only my first full day and I’ve given someone the impression that I’m interested in making applesauce, along with the general vicinity of where I live. Good going, Raven.

Rae, I say with a smile, then I speed-walk to my car.

Clarksville is another fifteen miles away, a larger town that boasts a Starbucks and my future place of employment, though I don’t start for another few days. I thought I’d need time to settle in, but I don’t foresee my schedule being as full as I anticipated. After squeezing my car into a slot between two humongous trucks that look like they have no business parking in regular spaces, I finally make it inside. To my relief, it’s a real grocery store that has buggies and more food choices than just powdered donuts and boxes of potatoes au-gratin.

As with every major life change, there’s an adjustment period—it hasn’t been ten minutes into my grocery trip for one, and I’m already detesting this one because meandering down the aisles has reminded me how tedious starting over truly is. I have none of the bare necessities required for living. But staying in Nashville wasn’t an option. People outside of Nash view it as this big, bustling city of dreams where people go and fight to make a name for themselves. In reality, it’s a place filled with Jenson, and Jenson’s friends, and Jenson’s admirers, and there’s no room for Raven in a place that’s so Jenson.

You would think I was chased out of town by the haste with which I left, but really, I ran. As soon as everything was finalized, I got the hell out of there. Away from my ex and his demons, away from the burnt shell of our former home, away from my traitorous friends. It would’ve been more difficult to leave had I had some family there, maybe a distant relative, but I moved there for Jenson. Most of my family is in southern Indiana, and there’s no way in hell I’m going back there.

The cashier clears her throat and I hastily start piling things onto the belt. Thankfully, she’s a teenager with too much eyeliner on who doesn’t seem to care about anything but the cellphone she keeps tucked under the cash drawer. No Mr. Kirkwoods here. I make it out in record time, and nobody stops to chat, or to ask me about Pinterest, or where I live. Maybe this town would’ve been the better option, but the general accessibility of Clarksville turned me off. There’s something about that little place in the woods that called to me.

I unload my groceries and am so worn out from kicking off my new life that I open a box of white-cheddar Cheez-Its and go to town. I still have a surprising amount of unpacking to do for what little I brought with me. I hardly even have any furniture aside from the flimsy bedroom set I purchased for my temporary apartment back in Nashville. Everything else was either lost in the fire or had too many memories attached to it to bring along. It’ll be next on the agenda, but the agenda will have to wait until tomorrow.

After emptying and flattening the last cardboard box, I toss it in the corner with the others and sit back with a sigh. This is weary work, and the memories just seem to pour out of each box to poke and prod me, an insistent reminder of what I’ve lost. What I’ve left behind. I open a bottle of wine and make it through half a glass, or half a jar in my case, alarmingly fast. I’m not sure yet if I should be concerned about that.

I look around at the new niche I’m making for myself and decide I don’t miss him at all. After I finish the glass and pour another, I fish his shirt out of the junk pile I’ve made. It no longer looks so menacing. In fact, it’s almost . . . homey. I pull it on over my tank top and smell the collar inconspicuously, then check over my shoulder to make sure nobody noticed. But the house is just how it’s always been and will always be: empty. I am more alone than I have ever been.

TWO

When the sun rises, so does the creeping feeling of self-hatred. I hate that I used alcohol as the bubble wrap between me and my feelings. Then I wonder, momentarily, if I am becoming him. If this is how he started out. But I pick at the hem of my shirt to distract myself from that thought. When I must rely on hard liquor to survive even the menial events of day-to-day life, then I’ll worry.

It's only when I go into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth that I’m reminded by my reflection that I’m wearing his shirt. It’s rumpled from sleep, the material so worn it’s paper-thin in places. I tear it off, unconcerned with the sound of buttons hitting the floor, and toss it into the tiny trashcan that was left by the previous tenants. No telling what’s been in it, but it seems like a good place for my alcoholic ex-husband’s shirt. What I can’t get rid of so easily is the tan-line left where my wedding ring used to be. It’s subtle, but it might as well be a flashing neon sign to me and others that I’m recently unwed. Unattached. Damaged goods.

As it so often does, the notion slides into my mind that Jenson and I could have made it work. If I had been stronger, had tried harder, we could be together right now, still married. Happily? I’m not so sure. But I banish those thoughts and replace the padlock on the box of emotions they came out of. Regret is a terrible thing, the first card in a precarious card castle of poisonous thoughts. I can’t invite that back into my life.

This is my new beginning, I remind myself.

Once I change and eat a bowl of cereal, I’m headed back out to do some exploring, with no plan in mind. After all, you never know what you’ll stumble across when you’ve got nowhere to be and nobody to see.

This region is mainly just a mish-mash of farmland and forest, striped by backroads that seem to lead nowhere unless you know exactly where it is you’re going. I don’t, so it’s no surprise when I take a few turns and realize I have no idea how to get back to where I started. I pull up the GPS app on my phone before I end up more lost, but the signal is nonexistent. Fantastic. When I pull into a driveway to turn around, a sign with Shanalynn’s Designs painted across it has me easing on the brake. I scan the surrounding area, all grass and barbed-wire fencing and old, weather-worn buildings. Where does she get her customers from? The sky? And designs could mean anything. The gate is open, though, and as of now I have nothing better to do than figure out what exactly Shanalynn designs.

The gravel crunches loudly enough to announce my arrival, yet there’s not a soul in sight. Do they just trust anyone and everyone out here? I pull up in front of an old farmhouse that reminds me a little of the one I’m renting, though this one has a fresh coat of paint and brand-new shutters by the looks of it. I was considering knocking on the front door, but when I get out of my car, I hear music blaring from somewhere behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I notice the doors to one of the buildings are thrown open. I approach cautiously—after all, nearly everyone owns a gun these days—and peek inside, giving my eyes time to adjust to the dim interior. The building is packed full of furniture, both broken and restored, some stacked haphazardly and some arranged in a way that I think was meant to show them off. And in the middle of all the hodge-podge is the woman who I assume is Shanalynn.

She’s on her knees on the dusty floor, bent over and peering at the underside of a wooden bench that honestly looks like a piece of crap, showing no sign of surfacing anytime soon. Meanwhile, some god-awful, auto-tuned monstrosity is blaring from unknown speakers. I knock on one of the doors, not wanting to startle her, but she doesn’t seem to hear me.

Are you Shanalynn? I try asking, leaning up on my tiptoes to better my chances of being seen. Nope, nada. She’s just wiggling one of the pieces on the bench, and her focus has yet to leave the hunk of junk.

My eyes sweep the perimeter of the barn and finally land on a speaker no larger than a brick with a phone hooked up to it. Bingo. I sidle over to it and press the power button.

What the hell? Shanalynn says from the ground, her head swiveling. Her mouth forms an apologetic O when she sees me standing there, and she straightens and brushes off her overalls. Yes . . . overalls. A knot of dark curls spills over top of the red bandana she’s sporting as a headband.

I’m sorry. I knocked, but you were just so . . . focused.

She laughs and shakes her head, revealing two dimples in a kind face. It’s all good, I was just in my zone. She bustles over and offers her hand, and I shake it. Yep, it’s another one of those. By tomorrow, everyone in town will know my name. I kind of owe her, though; I did interrupt her jam session.

You must by Shanalynn. I’m Raven.

Her face tightens into a grimace, and she drops the rag she’s holding over by the speaker. Eeesh, no, just Lynn. Everyone from high school will tell you otherwise, but I prefer Lynn.

Changing your sign would be a start, I offer. Then, remembering how blunt I can come off sometimes, I hold up my palms. I didn’t mean it like that. You don’t have to change your sign, it was my fault for making assumptions.

Lynn laughs again. It’s fine, and it probably wouldn’t help anyway. It’s impossible to shake off your grade-school image when you’re still living in your tiny hometown at age twenty-eight. Anyway, TMI, sorry. I have diarrhea of the mouth sometimes. Most times. Jesus, see what I mean? What can I help you with?

I make a circuit of the room, examining her pieces, and I can’t help but notice how perfectly opposite we are. Jenson could never get enough out of me, and yet, this girl has told me nearly her whole life story, on accident, in under a minute.

"I’m looking for a few things to furnish my home. I emphasize few." I don’t need to clutter up my life again. You couldn’t walk through our old house without running into piles of well-thumbed magazines, sheet music, and abandoned guitar picks. Maybe that’s why it disintegrated so fast.

Well, as you can see, I have plenty of shit. I mean things. Did you have a certain style in mind? Classic? Farmhouse chic? Modern industrial? Are you one of those Joanna Gaines types?

I chew on my lip, buying time. I hadn’t thought of that yet. When I was half of a married couple, our furnishings made our home look like a thrift shop. Jenson liked furniture that told stories, as he had said to me many times. Well, our scarred end tables and couches could tell plenty of stories, but I’m not sure all of them were worth hearing. I thought he was going to cry when I went out and bought a new couch for our anniversary. But nope, he just did what he always does and wrote a song about it. He was one of those: a brooder.

It’s alarming how quickly I’ve stepped back into the no-man’s-land of memories, and Lynn is looking at me questioningly. Classic, but not stuffy. And I like rustic, but with a modern touch. Those things are contradictory and make absolutely no sense, but Lynn’s nodding like she understands.

I know just what you need. Come this way.

I follow her, surprised by her lack of hesitation, but it’s too early to tell if she actually gets me. She leads me to another section of the barn and flips on a light. We’re surrounded by scraps of lumber and a few assembled pieces made up of raw, blond wood.

I still have to stain them, but that’s what I have finished so far. Lynn gestures toward the opposite end.

Do you have someone who builds these for you? I ask, running a finger over the smooth wood of a bulky chest.

I make them. I only just started designing my own furniture, but I eventually want to do custom work. If you need something now, those won’t take long to finish, but most of what’s in the other room is ready to go.

Even unfinished, I can tell the new pieces will go well with what I have in mind. Modern, clean lines, with a homey feel.

I’m in no hurry, but I like these. I’ll also need a dining table and chairs, something small to fit in my house. It’s tiny.

Most places are, in this neck of the woods. Do you live around here? I can deliver for free if you live within twenty miles.

Right up the road. I go to point in the direction of my place before I remember my current predicament. I actually ended up here because I’m lost and I don’t have the faintest idea how to get back to the highway.

"Oh, you just continue up the road and make a right at the T. Takes you straight there."

Of course it does, I mumble under my breath. Lynn pats her pockets, then waves me over into the other room, where she stops at a desk and slides a scrap of paper and a pen over to me.

Just write down your phone number and address, and I’ll let you know when they’re finished. I could probably have them done by tomorrow.

No rush. I write down my information, pleased to have accomplished my mission so easily.

Lynn accepts the paper, taking a closer look. Hey, that’s the old Miller place. They just recently left.

Tell them they forgot their trashcan.

What brings you to Heronwood? she asks, despite my dry humor. I almost say divorce, but then I remember how I vowed to keep my slate clean. Tell one person you were married to chart-topping Jenson King and everyone will be lining up wanting to buy off his memorabilia. Or his secrets. I don’t have the former and I won’t give up the latter. It’s not who I am.

Change of scenery.

I hear ya. Though why you picked here is a mystery.

I just shrug and angle myself toward the door, making my impending exit known. Well, thank you so much for the furniture. And the directions. Do I pay you when you drop it off?

Sure. I trust you, she answers, giving me a parting wave.

I almost scoff. Trust. The one thing I never seem to have enough of was the one that led to my demise.

THREE

The only word I can think of to describe the expression on Lynn’s face when she climbs my front steps and takes a quick look around is awe. It confuses the hell out of me.

Wow, this place has a ton of potential. Did you buy it, or are you just renting?

If potential is what she sees when she looks at my sagging porch—almost half of the spindles on the railing either missing or barely hanging on, the slightly off-kilter front door, and overgrown flower pots—who am I to convince her otherwise?

I bought it, but I’m questioning that decision now. Not sure how long I’m going to stay.

A man steps out of the truck, and she waves him over before turning back to me and whispering conspiratorially. Ahh, it’s not so bad if you can deal with the scowls in church. They’re skittish about newcomers. But, if you don’t think H-Wood is the place for you, the best advice I can give you is to get out now while you still can. This town sucks you in like quicksand. Only the quicksand is people. And the people are either old or mean. Or both. The man steps onto the porch and takes off his ball cap when he shakes my hand. My husband, Adam, she explains with a proud smile.

Nice to meet you, Adam.

He’s the muscle behind this operation, and I don’t even have to pay him.

Lucky you, I say.

With Adam’s help, we get everything unloaded in record time, and the little gray house finally begins to resemble a home. A sparingly-furnished home, but it’s a start. I’m exceptionally proud of it. Lynn finished