Finding Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) Read online

  A Note from Angelina

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Finding Love

  A Mill Creek Crossing Romance

  By Angelina Rose

  http://AngelinaRoseRomance.com

  http://www.twitter.com/RoseRomanceBook

  https://www.facebook.com/AngelinaRoseRomanceAuthor

  Please connect with me on Facebook so we can chat!

  This is a work of fiction.

  None of it is real. All names, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real names, places, or events are purely coincidental, and should not be construed as being real.

  FINDING LOVE

  Copyright © 2013

  Angelina Rose

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner, except as allowable under “fair use,” without the express written permission of the author

  “In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing.”

  Mignon McLaughlin

  The Mill Creek Crossing Series

  Book 1: Lakeside Love

  Book 2: A Time To Love

  Book 3: Finding Love

  A Note from Angelina

  Thank you so much for choosing to read “Finding Love” I feel this story is going to touch your heart in many ways. In each of my novels, I try to really find those deep emotions so many of us feel. We've all been through disappointments, and heartbreak in our lives - you will certainly see that in Amelia’s story.

  I also want to invite you to join my Facebook fan page where we discuss anything you like relating to my books, characters and romance in general. We have a wonderfully supportive group of people there, so I hope you will come over and hang out with us! Simply click the link below and click "Like"!

  https://facebook.com/AngelinaRoseRomanceauthor

  Again, thanks so much for reading "Finding Love" and please find links to my other books at any time by going to: www.amazon.com/author/angelinaroseromance

  Chapter 1

  As the end of summer came and went, Amelia Devin did what she always did - took care of her younger siblings. Now that Ian was leaving home and heading off for college, she didn’t know what she was going to do with her life. At only thirty years old, Amelia had cared for her younger siblings for the last twelve years. Ian, the youngest, was just leaving for college in Alabama while Brian, the oldest boy, was already finished with college and working in Kentucky. Christy, who was twenty seven, was the one that Amelia no longer talked about. What Christy had done to her years ago was enough to break apart any sisterly relationship.

  “Sis, I’m about to leave!” Ian called up the stairs as Amelia was lulled out of her daydream. She ran down the stairs and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. “Amelia! Stop it!” he yelled as he laughed.

  “I’m going to miss you, you little brat,” she said as she hugged him tighter. Amelia had been the only “parent” in the household for the last twelve years, and Ian had really grown up with her since he was only six when their single mother died in a skiing accident.

  “I’ll call you when I get to my dorm,” Ian said as he finally broke free of her grasp. She felt like a sixty year old empty-nester all of the sudden, and the thought of being alone scared her a little bit. “You’re going to be fine,” Ian said, sensing her apprehension.

  “I know. And so are you,” she said straightening his t-shirt. “I’m so proud of you, Ian. I really am. It's been a long road with just you and me, but I am so impressed by the person you've become, little brother.”

  “Don’t go getting all mushy on me,” he said waving his hand at her. “I’ll call you tonight.” With that, Ian took his guitar case, which was his most prized possession, and loaded it into his compact car. He waved at her as he drove out of sight. Amelia, trying to hold back the tears of a sister turned mother, sat down on the top step of her cottage home and allowed a few tears to fall.

  This had been her life in Mill Creek Crossing for more than a decade. While her friends from high school and college had long since moved on, gotten careers and even gotten married, Amelia had been stuck in a holding pattern for most of her life.

  She’d grown up in Mill Creek Crossing with her three younger siblings, and life had been pretty good. Their father had long been out of the picture, and being raised by a strong single mother had been all they ever needed. When Amelia left for college at seventeen, all seemed well. Then, her mother took the three younger kids on a skiing trip, and she never came home. The younger kids had watched in horror as their mother veered off course and hit a tree. Amelia shuddered at the thought of the day she got the phone call that her mother was gone. It was hard to think about even now, and she closed the thought down like a vault as she got up and went back inside the house.

  As she stood in the foyer of her quaint home, she thought about her life. She should feel free and ready to live her life, but instead she felt a little sad, a lot scared and pretty confused. She’d originally gone off to college like most young adults, ready to pursue her dream of becoming an elementary school teacher. Instead, she’d come home just six months later to care for three children and become a mother.

  Sure, she’d made some progress recently by getting her real estate license, but Mill Creek Crossing wasn’t exactly a hotbed of real estate activity. She’d made one commission recently that was paying her bills for a few months, but she needed to get more business in the pipeline soon or take on a second job to make ends meet. Amelia sat down at her breakfast table and stared into the backyard that looked out over the mountains, wondering what she was going to do next. The future was a clean slate, and now she had to figure out what to write on it.

  ***

  Clay Barnes hoisted another box from the back of his SUV and carried it into his new home near the base of the north Georgia mountains. Mill Creek Crossing had been an unlikely place to relocate for a famous TV chef, but he needed a quiet place to start over with his two children, Riley, eight years old, and Sophia, six years old.

  Losing his wife, Molly, to a battle with leukemia had been incredibly hard on him, especially having to do it in public. As he tried to maintain his travel schedule around his wife’s illness, it became more difficult to work. Losing the love of his life was hard enough, but raising two kids alone was proving to be an uphill battle. Molly had been gone for almost eighteen months now, but it wasn’t getting any easier to be alone. His kids had only vague memories of their mother now, and it seemed like their thoughts of her were slipping away with each passing day. He didn’t know whether to remind them of her everyday or let it go so they could adjust to a life without her.

  “Dad? Where does this go?” Riley called out from the garage, holding his father’s barely used golf clubs.

  “Just put it in the dry pantry,” Clay called back to him. Riley tilted his head in confusion, completely unsure of what a dry pantry was. “That closet over there, son,” he said with a smile.

  Clay had decided to move to Mill Creek Crossing after seeing a TV segment on the tiny Georgia town and how quaint and quiet it was. He needed a place to start over, learn to be a full-time Dad, and find a new career. Thankfully, he’d been able to secure a job at a local resort as the head
chef. Millard Dalton, owner of Mountainview Resort, was more than happy to have a celebrity chef as his new employee. The money wasn’t nearly what he was making on television, but the cost of living was a lot lower in Mill Creek Crossing than it was in L.A. anyway.

  “Daddy, where’s my room?” Sophia asked from the front porch of the log home Clay had rented for the next few months. Wanting to make sure the house was right for him before he bought it, Clay had opted to rent instead of buy for now. Once he got used to the town and made sure his kids liked the schools there, he planned to find a permanent residence.

  “Sweetie, I told you. Your room is upstairs on the right,” he said smiling at his red haired daughter. With her big blue eyes and freckled skin, she was the spitting image of her mother.

  “Oh, that’s right. I’m going to put my dollies in there then,” she said grinning as she bounded up the stairs with a handful of her favorite dolls.

  Clay was thankful to have his kids, especially over the last year as he grieved for their mother. It hadn’t been easy, and raising the kids had given him a welcome diversion from his thoughts and feelings. Still, there were nights he crawled into his empty bed, still with a small dip where Molly slept for the ten years of their marriage, and cried himself to sleep. It was the only way he could function during the day without breaking down in front of his kids.

  Molly’s illness had come on suddenly, and it took her away in just nine months. Treatments didn’t work, and his world came crashing down in front of him. He never expected to be rebuilding his entire life at thirty-five years old, and he certainly never expected to raise their children all alone.

  Mill Creek Crossing would offer a new life for his small family, one he hoped would be as fulfilling as his former life had been. One day, maybe he would open himself up to another woman, but he wasn’t so sure there was a woman out there who’d want to take on two small children and a husband with a fledgling new career. Even though his legion of fans had been supportive, Clay never knew if those women liked him for who he was - a single father struggling to build a new life - or for his fame and fortune.

  As he shut the back hatch of his SUV and walked toward the front porch with the last of the boxes he’d brought from L.A., he wondered how this new adventure was going to turn out.

  Chapter 2

  Clay and his kids wandered into Stella’s diner on a busy Saturday afternoon. After finding a booth in the back corner, Clay looked out the window at the somewhat bustling streets of Mill Creek Crossing. People were milling about, enjoying the unusually warm air of early Fall in the north Georgia mountains.

  “Aren’t you Clay Barnes?” a waitress said as she approached the table with a big grin.

  “I am,” he whispered, hoping her boisterous personality didn’t attract too much attention.

  “Sorry, I didn’t meant to say that so loud. I assume you’re in Mill Creek Crossing to get away from it all. I’m Gracie Tillman,” she said reaching out her hand. “And these must be your beautiful children, I assume?” she asked smiling.

  “They are. This is Sophia and this is Riley,” he said pointing at each child.

  “One of each. I have the same. My little girl, Lucia, just turned a year old in this month and my baby, Oliver, is only eight weeks old,” she said smiling.

  “Already back at work?” he asked surprised.

  “Stella needed the help here. She lost a couple of waitresses in the last few months, plus I needed a break from the craziness at home,” Gracie said laughing. “I love my kiddos, but momma needed a place to get away occasionally.”

  “I can understand that…” Clay said softly.

  “Oh, my goodness. What am I thinking? I forgot about your wife…”

  “It’s okay. Really…” Clay started.

  “I know it must be terribly hard to raise these kids on your own,” she said. “Hey, kids, do you like milkshakes?”

  “Yeah!” they both yelled simultaneously.

  “Do you mind if they go up to the bar and make their own? It’s a new thing we have,” Gracie asked as Clay nodded approval. “Kids, just go right over there and ask Miss Susan to show you all of the goodies you can mix in. We have chocolate bars and cherries and crushed up cookies… You’re going to love it!”

  Clay couldn’t help but think that Gracie’s personality was contagious. She reminded him of Molly a lot, but he tried not to think about it. Thoughts of her still brought some sadness along with the happiness. She was the glue that had held their family together with her overzealous excitement about holidays and her knack for making every day special. Now, she was gone, and he’d spent the last eighteen months learning how to live again.

  Once the kids were settled at the bar, Gracie slid into the booth across from Clay and looked at him. He gave her a half hearted smile, unsure of what she was about to say.

  “I don’t mean to pry, but we’re a small town so you’d better get used to it now,” she started as he chuckled at her remark. “How on Earth are you going to raise those babies alone?”

  “I ask myself that question every single day,” he said shaking his head.

  “So what are you doing here in Mill Creek Crossing?” she asked.

  “I needed to get out of the limelight and focus on raising my kids. Being a well-known TV chef had its perks, but it also meant traveling a lot, and I need to be there for my children. I’d seen a TV spot on this place awhile back, and it seemed perfect for the situation.”

  “I think it’ll be great for your family,” Gracie said with a smile. “But, honey, you need some help. You look exhausted.”

  “Well, I don’t have a makeup person anymore. I looked a lot younger on TV,” he said laughing.

  “No, I can see it in your eyes. You’re tired. You need a break… someone to help you raise those babies.”

  “I don’t see how that’s possible,” Clay said cocking his head. “No one is going to help me raise my kids, Gracie.”

  “Are you going to be working?”

  “Yes. I’ll be the new head chef at Mountainview Resort.”

  “And who will keep your kids while you’re working?” she asked. Clay stared at her for a moment before realizing he hadn’t even considered the question yet. He was so involved in the move that he’d forgotten to think about his kids and who would keep them when he was working.

  “Well, they’ll be in school during the day…” he started to say.

  “What about the holidays coming up? And after school? And some weekends?” she asked.

  “Boy, you’re a persistent one, aren’t you?” he asked smiling.

  “Just trying to help you think through things. No offense to the male gender, but you guys aren’t the best at planning life things like this. We women are generally the multi-taskers, the planners of the family.”

  “I can see that,” he said. “So, do you have a suggestion for me?”

  “Of course I do, honey,” she said in that Southern voice that reminded him of Paula Deen. “You need a nanny. Someone who will always be there when you need her and someone who already knows how to take care of children.”

  “And where do I find a woman like that?” he asked.

  “Well, I happen to know the perfect person. Her name is Amelia Devin, and she’s already raised three kids on her own.”

  “Really? Single mother?” he asked.

  “Kind of. Amelia just turned thirty. She’s lived in Mill Creek her whole life, but her single mother died when Amelia was eighteen. She’d gone off to college, and she had to come home to care for three younger siblings. The youngest sibling just left for college, and Amelia is just getting started again in her own life.”

  “Wow. But, I don’t understand something. Why on Earth would she want to take on my kids now? She just finished raising her siblings, and surely she wants a break.”

  “That may be true, but it never hurts to ask. All I know is she’s a wonderful caregiver for kids, and she’s just starting her own business so she might nee
d the extra income,” Gracie said as a bell rang on the front door. “I’d better get back up there. Here’s her address. It’s just off the square. Drop by and see if she’s interested, okay?” Gracie slid the napkin she’d written on to Clay and walked back up front.

  Clay looked down at the address Gracie had written on the napkin and wondered about this Amelia person. Would she have any interest in helping him care for his kids?

  Chapter 3

  Amelia sat at her desk looking out over the mountains as she pored over the real estate classifieds in Mill Creek Crossing and surrounding areas. Her goal was to find owners who wanted to sell their homes, but would be interested in listing with her. Starting her fledgling real estate business had been a lot harder than she anticipated, but she was determined to make a go of it. She’d already had one sale that was paying her bills for a few months, but she knew it was imperative for her to get more business ASAP.