Snowed in for a Second Chance: Wildwood Falls, #6

By Heather Scarlett

Sparks fly when Sarah and Griffin are snowed in together at a cozy Montana cabin.

 

The last place Griffin Walker wants to be is in his hometown of Wildwood Falls, Montana. His career as a travel blogger keeps him constantly on the move, which is just the way he likes it.

 

The last person he wants to see is Sarah Morgan, who has every right to punch him in the face. As his luck would have it, she is the very person he needs to seek out.

 

Forced together, alone, in a secluded mountain cabin, Griffin and Sarah must face their shared past. While their anger with each other started as teenagers, their current attraction feels very mature.

 

When Griffin can no longer run from his emotions, he has no choice but to own up to his mistakes. Sarah has spent the past decade trying to forget about Griffin. No amount of time or distance has erased him from her heart.

 

Ghosts from the past haunt their memories, while they struggle to build something new. Is a snowy weekend in the mountains enough to bring them together?

 

This winter, Griffin and Sarah will be Snowed in for a Second Chance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heather Scarlett
• Release date: Jan 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201478032

Heather Scarlett

Heather Scarlett lives in Southern California, though her heart is in Montana where she lived for six wonderful years. She loves big sky, wide open spaces, and cowboys. Heather writes small town romance that feels like home and is equal parts sweet and emotionally satisfying. Her heroines are strong and sassy and her heroes are rugged and capable. Heather's stories are family focused and relationship driven.

Book preview

CHAPTER 2

I can’t believe you’re in business with your ex-boyfriend. Her friend Rylee shoved fries into her mouth after that pronouncement.

I’m not in business with him, I’m in business with his family.

Same difference. Rylee swirled a fry in the mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise she preferred. You’re still dealing with Griffin.

Sarah sighed she picked at her grilled cheese. I didn’t expect to be dealing with Griffin. I thought I’d be working with Owen. I agreed to this contract with Owen

Griffin is a complication? Joy owned the Christmas shop a few doors down from Sarah’s coffee bar. She hadn’t lived in Wildwood Falls long enough to know Griffin and Sarah’s history. Sarah envied her sometimes that this was all new to her. No baggage.

Yes, he’s a huge complication. The last person I want to be spending time with is Griffin Walker. She took a gulp of cherry soda. After her interaction with Griffin, she had pulled an emergency meeting of her friends at the local diner. An emotional crisis necessitated junk food.

You two must have a….complicated history. Joy delicately suggested.

Griffin dumped her ass and broke her heart. Leave it to Rylee to say the facts straight. No sugar coating to protect Sarah’s ego.

Yeah, that. Sarah waved in the general direction of Rylee as she grabbed fries off her friend’s plate and shoved them into her mouth.

I see. She suspected Joy understood complicated histories. She had her own complicated romantic history with her boyfriend, Luke. They were sworn enemies just one month ago, as Luke had tried to evict Joy from her shop. As Jitters is in the same building, Sarah faced eviction too. It had been a tough time. Joy had just felt secure in her new business when she almost lost it to eviction for a condo development.

Now, safe from eviction, she faced bankruptcy if the partnership with the Walker family didn’t work out. No pressure. Just spend time near an ex boyfriend while trying to save her business. Which would save her from foreclosing on her modest home and defaulting on the college loans that had put her younger brother, Blake, through college.

Absolutely nothing to worry about. Sarah tore her napkin in small pieces as she contemplated her situation. There was really no alternative to this partnership, although she would work closely with her ex.

Being an adult is overrated. She deposited the napkin pieces on her half-eaten plate of food.

"That’s for sure,’ Rylee agreed readily. Rylee was working hard on her own mission to save her family’s homestead and make a success of herself so she could confidently stand on her own two feet.

It’s going to be ok. Joy offered a hopeful smile. One quality she loved about Joy was her eternal optimism, even in the face of near disaster. Sarah hoped some of Joy’s positive attitude would rub off on her.

Thanks, you guys, she offered. I’m so glad I have you both in my corner."

Always, Rylee agreed enthusiastically.

So when are you going to bang him? Rylee caught her off guard.

I’m not banging him she said, using air quotes to emphasize Rylee’s words rather than her own. We have a history, but the last thing I need is to drag that into the present."

Rylee shrugged. I know you both, remember. I went to high school with you and I know how close you were. I can’t imagine that the sparks don’t fly when you’re together.

Sarah thought of earlier when Griffin stood in her office, looking larger than life and sexier than hell. No sparks. He’s just a guy I used to know. She shrugged to underscore her point that she was so unaffected by Griffin’s charm.

Mmm hmm. No sparks between you and Griffin, and I’m a unicorn. She laughed at her own joke between the fries in her mouth.

No comment on what word I’d use to describe you, Sarah added with a laugh. But there are no sparks. None that she’d acknowledge, at least. And if she ignored them, they would cease to exist, right? Wishful thinking.

Sarah was really doing this. She was spending the day with her ex-boyfriend. Well, that sounded a little dramatic. It had been seven years since they dated. Except the hurt felt as fresh as it did back then. It wasn’t like they had an argument and broken up. They just kind of… drifted. Griffin went away to college in Seattle and Sarah didn’t. She should have. Would have if she hadn’t had other responsibilities in Wildwood Falls. Sometimes life wasn’t fair. Regrets or anger didn’t make it any better, so Sarah kept moving forward. Things had worked out pretty well. Not the way she planned, but life was like that. And her brother was finishing college with a specialization in web design. She was the reason he was successful. The fact that she wasn’t was just collateral damage.

Sarah went over the inventory of ingredients again, hoping the mundane activity would take her mind off the fact she would spend the day in an isolated mountain cabin with the last person on earth she wanted to encounter. Everything was in place and she smoothed her hair back a final time before pushing open the back door and checking for Griffin. The sky was a pale blue, but the February air had a bite to it. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was going to snow. The weather forecast assured clear skies, though a storm was due to roll in late tonight. She pulled her parka closer around her and bounced up and down to keep warm.

A large navy blue truck pulled up and Griffin got out. His sheer size and maleness mesmerized Sarah as he strode purposely towards her.

What are you doing outside? It’s freezing.

Sarah bristled at the judgment in his voice. She was a grown woman, after all.

I was waiting for you. She tried not to growl her response. They had a long day ahead of them, and it would be that much tougher if they snipped at each other. Once again, she would be the better person and leave things unsaid.

Well, I’m here. Let’s get a move on. It feels like snow. The weather forecast doesn’t have the storm coming in until tonight, but I don’t want to chance it. The earlier we get started, the earlier we get back to town.

Sarah was all for getting back quickly, so didn’t protest as they loaded the truck with all the supplies needed. Hopping in the passenger side of the truck, memories of high school poured through her. How many times had she hopped in Griffin’s truck after school, or after a football game? They usually took the long way home, stopping along country roads to talk, or to kiss before he dropped her off. There would be no kissing today, Sarah reminded herself. No matter how hot Griffin was in his faded flannel shirt.

Sarah had always been ridiculously attracted to Griffin, even in high school. From the first homeroom of a new school, she had noticed the star football player. What she hadn’t known at first was that he noticed her too. He asked her to homecoming dance and from that night forward; they were inseparable. None of their peers understood the connection. What did the football quarterback see in the trailer park princess? No matter the gossip, they stayed an item throughout high school.

Griffin was her bright spot in a sea of trouble. From wondering how she would make rent for their small trailer to making sure her younger brother focused on his schoolwork, Griffin was there. Until he wasn’t.

The truck jerked suddenly as it hit a patch of ice, and Griffin expertly re-directed it onto the road. Sarah checked her seatbelt. The mountains on either side of the road were covered with snow, a reminder this was the dead of winter. The sky was a pale gray, with low-hanging clouds. The further into the mountains they drove, the thicker the clouds. It really looked like snow. Sarah shivered and pulled her parka tighter around herself. She hoped they would make it back to town before the snow started flying.

Griffin sat stiffly, glancing between the temperature on his dash and the looming clouds. Neither spoke for long moments.

Finally, Griffin broke the silence. We don’t want to linger at the cabin today. We need to get in and do what’s needed and get out again. I’m not liking the look of these clouds.

Sarah nodded her agreement, mentally going over her list of ingredients and recipes so she could be as efficient as possible.

If it snows, will the guests make it? Or will their weekend get cancelled?

Montana weather was unpredictable.

Hard to say. They are due in tomorrow evening. Hopefully, the snow will stop by then.

Silence fell again and Sarah got lost in the passing scenery. Growing up here didn’t lessen the impact of the natural beauty. The mountains rose gracefully on both sides of them, the evergreen trees covered in snow. The sky really was big in Montana and today the grey clouds hung low, almost touching the mountain peaks. Sarah thought back to another time along this same road. Truck windows open, music blaring, and the wind blowing her long hair. The sky that day had been baby blue, with soft, white puffball clouds dancing across the sky.

She and Griffin were different people that day, as different as the clouds today from that day long ago.

She hadn’t had the chance to get outside of town since she started her business. It was nice to spend the day in the mountains. She glanced at Griffin again, his jaw tight as he navigated the windy roads.

What would have happened if they hadn’t broken up? Would they still be together? Would they take long drives to explore like they used to? Or would they have a family and be overwhelmed with those responsibilities? Sarah closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and tried to imagine. She tried to picture an alternate universe in which she and Griffin had stayed together. It was too easy to picture them together. Taking long walks while holding hands. Pushing strollers, then watching children play and laugh. A pang of sadness hit her at the lost opportunity. She was still single all these years later. Griffin was too as far as she knew. Though maybe he wasn’t? The terrible thought occurred to her he may have a girlfriend. That shouldn’t matter at all. But it did.

Opening her eyes a few minutes later, she noticed it was snowing. Light snow fell, coating the windshield. Griffin slowed further as they navigated the roads. Sarah didn’t want to think about their drive back. Thankfully, Griffin’s truck could handle winter weather.

By the time they pulled into the dirt road leading to the cabin, snow was falling heavier. The road already had a solid coat of snow. The snow crunched under the tires as they made their way to the cabin. Griffin steered the truck to the side of the cabin and set the gear into park. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief that they had made it safely. Hopefully, the snow would remain light while she prepared for the weekend cabin guests.

CHAPTER 3