Destined Hearts

By Zaria Sky

The last thing Lou expects, when she moves to the small-town home of the grandfather she never knew, is a series of break-ins. Lou just wants to get a fresh start on life, write her mystery novels, and figure out why her mother and grandfather stopped speaking to each other before she was born. But there's another mystery afoot, one that her museum-archivist grandfather may have secretly solved before he died, and someone else is after the answers, too.

Bryce is tired of life as a cop in a town where an exciting day means finding a missing cat and her kittens. He's applied for a transfer somewhere — anywhere — else. But when he's called in to investigate a break-in for a new resident, he discovers he might not be so ready to leave after all, at least not until he's sure she's safe.

With Bryce's help, Lou desperately searches for answers in her grandfather's journals, trying to figure out what her grandfather has that someone would want to steal, and where it is so she can get there first.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Shorts
• Release date: Jul 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094424620

Book preview

1

Lou

Her breath escaped her lips in an exhausted sigh as she glanced around the study. One of the walls was covered by a floor-to-ceiling bookcase that caught the light of the afternoon sun streaming through the window. On the opposite wall, there was a fax machine, a photocopier, and a serving tray neatly tucked away. Her grandfather was definitely an organized man.

Lou Fraser walked toward the large oak desk that was in the middle of the room, the window that looked out onto a rose bed, the perfect backdrop and an amazing source of natural light.

The book collection may come in handy, she mumbled, casting her eyes to the bookcase once more. But I don’t think I will need a fax machine, and I prefer my printer, so I can redo this wall.

She ran her hand across the desk, and dust stuck to her fingers immediately. The office hadn’t been used in a while, so it was expected that it would have accumulated dirt. And she was more than capable of cleaning it and the whole house.

Don’t I love challenges?

Maybe I should start with the desk. A good office is a necessity, right?

She grimaced and walked over to the window. It opened easily, the movable pane gliding upward before locking into place.

Fresh air hits different in a small town.

Releasing a satisfied sigh, Lou went out into the hallway and returned with two empty boxes, a utility bucket filled with water and disinfectant, a duster, and cleaning rags. Carefully, she removed the contents from the desk and placed them in one of the boxes.

She could go through them later when she had time. Maybe the museum will find them useful, she murmured absentmindedly. For now, she needed to make the study into her workspace.

As if I will get any work done.

Focusing on the desk, she dusted it clean before giving it a nice wet wipe. When it was shiny enough, she moved to the chair. It was a wooden chair, and she made a note to replace it with something ergonomic. Realizing her feet needed a break, she sat down on the now-clean chair and turned her attention to the desk drawers. She reached for the second box and then decided to start with the lowest of the three drawers since she was already hunched over.

The drawer slid open easily, and she paused, her lips parting slightly as her eyes landed on a framed picture of her mother and her grandparents. Christine Fraser couldn’t have been more than eight. Lou picked up the picture and sat upright, examining it closely even as her lips curled into a smile. Her mother was smiling; they all were. She remembered how hard it had been in the last year of Christine’s life, how few and far between her smiles were.

Lou closed her eyes as her heart ached for her mother, her final moments flooding her mind. Her mother had begged her to live a life she was proud of, to make sure she was always happy. Christine would have disapproved of her moving to Willow Creek, but Lou needed a fresh start… a new challenge. And what was a better fix than returning to her roots? Not to follow in her mother’s footsteps but to understand all that she was sheltered from.

It was rather untimely that her desire to start fresh coincided with her grandfather’s death. And that he willed everything to her. But in a way, it was also perfect timing. Nothing in her life was going according to plan, and she wasn’t happy. A change was what she needed.

She closed her eyes tighter, pushed the feelings away, and focused on the present. Lou smiled when she looked at the picture again and then placed it in the box.

You are supposed to be cleaning, she whispered to herself. You can stare at the picture later.

And there were many more. There were multiple photo albums packed away in the drawer, each with pictures of her mother she never would have seen if it weren’t for the circumstances that led her to Willow Creek.

The middle drawer had more photo albums. Did her grandfather look at old pictures while he worked, or was this his way of keeping them safe? She would have expected them to be stored somewhere else, anywhere else, but he kept them close. Lou smiled when that thought crossed her mind. As much as there was a rift between him and Christine, he must have wanted to be close to her.

Reaching for the drawer at the top, Lou pulled on the knob. But it didn’t open. She looked closer and saw a tiny lock below the knob. She didn’t have a key.

It must be close, she muttered, looking around the room. I didn’t pack it, did I?

She got up and went to the first box she had packed. She bent over it and started rummaging. Maybe the key had been on the desk.

SNAP!

Lou froze. The sound came from outside. Her head whipped around to the window, her hands paused in their search, and she listened.

Silence.

Had she imagined it?

She stayed still for a few beats to make sure. But there were no other sounds. Moving slowly from over the box, she crept over to the window and peered cautiously outside.

But there was no one there.

Am I being paranoid?

She was in a new place. And her mind had a way of finding mysteries where there were none. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched, that someone was outside.

There was no indication that Willow Creek had a high crime rate; she had done her research before giving in and making the move a week before. But she had to be careful. Her personal security was her responsibility.

BRRRNG!

Startled again, Lou smirked when she realized it was her phone and fished it from her pants pocket. She answered quickly when she saw the caller ID.

Hey, Juliet, she said, holding the phone before her face for the video call.

Hey, Lou, Juliet said. Sorry I didn’t call back last night. I got distracted.

By that handsome boyfriend, I am sure, Lou teased, sticking her tongue out at her friend.

Juliet laughed. Guilty, she said. But I won't let it happen again.

That is a huge promise, Lou said, rolling her eyes. If I had a great boyfriend like Darren, I wouldn’t make that promise, she joked.

Juliet chuckled before her eyes glistened and her lips curled into a grin. I am sure you will find a hottie soon. You are quite a catch. You know that, right?

Am I? Lou asked with feigned surprise.

Definitely, Juliet assured her. Just give the guy a chance. You won't know what you can have if you don’t exchange numbers and go on dates.

So no burying my face in work? Lou laughed.

Exactly. How about you go out with the first guy who asks you out? No backing out or backing down.

Lou’s brows furrowed. She shrugged and used her free hand to close the window and latched it, staring outside for a few seconds just to make sure.

Lou? Juliet said, jarring her attention back to the conversation.

Fine, Lou said. I will go out with the first guy who asks if that gets you off my back.

Perfect, Juliet said excitedly, grinning as if she had won a prize at a fair, and Lou rolled her eyes.

Juliet had been trying to get Lou to go on dates ever since she’d broken up with her last boyfriend. Juliet had never really liked him. None of Lou’s friends had liked him. And in hindsight, Lou hadn’t liked him, either. At the time, she just didn’t want to be alone. Her mother had just passed away, and she’d wanted to have someone else in her corner. It turned out Chad wasn’t supposed to be that person, and she had broken up with him as soon as she realized.

How are you settling in now? Juliet asked. It has already been a week.

Lou sighed and switched the camera so that she could show Juliet the study. I am hard at work, she said. The cleaning takes forever. I didn’t realize how much work came with such a big house.

I told you to hire a cleaning service, Juliet said, her voice etched with concern.

It’s okay, Lou assured her. It’s kind of therapeutic. I feel better than I did a week ago, but there is still a lot for me to do. He has more things than I expected.

That’s not a bad thing, Juliet said. You can keep what you love and sell the rest. I can't believe you are now a homeowner, she squealed. As soon as I get time off, I am coming for a visit.

And I would love that, Lou said. She suddenly felt restless. Needing a break, she headed for the door and then turned down the hallway to the kitchen. She made her way to the counter and sat down, her eyes drifting to the window that looked out into the backyard, something she knew was a telltale sign of her wanting to escape her life a little, and she sighed.

It’s just new, Juliet said.

Lou smiled, but she didn’t say anything. It wasn’t necessary because Juliet understood her more than she understood herself sometimes. She still couldn’t believe her fortune. Why would Henry Fraser leave his whole estate to her when they had never met?

I wish I could help you get settled in, Juliet said softly, her lips curved downward.

I know, Lou said. Maybe we can find you a job down here and we can be roommates again.

Maybe my first visit will make me want to stay, Juliet said with a chuckle.

"And leave