She's the One (Boggy Creek Valley Book 3) Read online

  She’s the One

  Book 3 Boggy Creek Valley Copyright © 2021 by Kelly Elliott

  Cover art by: Tarah Hamilton

  Cover Design by: RBA Designs, www.rbadesigns.com

  Interior Design & Formatting by: Elaine York, www. allusionpublishing.com

  Developmental Editor: Kelli Collins www.kellicollins.com

  Content Editor: Rachel Carter, Yellow Bird Editing

  Proofing Editor: Erin Quinn-Kong, Yellow Bird Editing

  Proofing Editor: Elaine York, www.allusionpublishing.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For more information on Kelly and her books, please visit her website www.kellyelliottauthor.com.

  Prologue

  Chapter One – Bishop

  Chapter Two – Bishop

  Chapter Three – Abby

  Chapter Four – Bishop

  Chapter Five – Abby

  Chapter Six – Bishop

  Chapter Seven – Abby

  Chapter Eight – Bishop

  Chapter Nine – Abby

  Chapter Ten – Bishop

  Chapter Eleven – Abby

  Chapter Twelve – Bishop

  Chapter Thirteen – Abby

  Chapter Fourteen – Bishop

  Chapter Fifteen – Abby

  Chapter Sixteen – Bishop

  Chapter Seventeen – Abby

  Chapter Eighteen – Bishop

  Chapter Nineteen – Abby

  Chapter Twenty – Bishop

  Chapter Twenty-One – Abby

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Bishop

  Chapter Twenty-Three – Abby

  Chapter Twenty-Four – Bishop

  Chapter Twenty-Five – Abby

  Chapter Twenty-Six – Bishop

  Chapter Twenty-Seven – Abby

  Coming Soon

  Other Books by Kelly Elliott

  Bishop

  Two Years Ago

  My heart dropped when I came around the corner and saw Abby’s car parked in the driveway. She must not have felt like going to work at her folks’ flower farm again. Her parents had been understanding, of course, as day after day went by and Abby still wasn’t there. Her emotions had been all over the place, and I had to admit I was holding on by a thin thread. I had done my best to be there for her, but she’d been slowly pushing me away.

  I parked next to the Toyota Camry we had bought a few years ago and sat for a few moments to get my own head in the right place before I walked into the house. I needed to be strong for both of us. There were days when Abby didn’t even get out of bed, but the last few weeks she’d seemed to be doing better. Last night, she had finally let me in some. She’d walked into my office in the house and crawled onto my lap. I dropped everything I’d been working on and held her.

  When she whispered for me to make love to her, I’d hesitated. I hadn’t touched her in over a month. Every time I tried to get close to her, she’d push me away or start to cry. But last night, I caught a glimpse of my wife once again. I made love to her right there in my office, in front of the fire on a bed made of blankets.

  I closed my eyes and let the memory of her words come back to me.

  “I’ll love you forever, Bishop. I need you to know that.”

  I wrapped my arms around her tightly. “I’ll love you more, Abs.”

  I could feel her soft breath on my chest as she laughed. She snuggled in deeper against my chest and soon drifted off. It was the first night in nearly six weeks that she hadn’t cried herself to sleep.

  I opened the door of my truck and slid out—then came to an abrupt halt. Blinking a few times, I stared at Abby as she stood there with her suitcase by her side and a large bag over her shoulder.

  “I thought you were in a meeting?” she asked with a guilty look on her face.

  “It ended early, so I came home before I headed down to the farm. Where are you going, Abs?” I asked, taking a step closer.

  She held up her hand to stop me, and I stilled.

  I could see the pain in her eyes and the hurt on her face, and it nearly killed me. I was going to lose my goddamn mind if she didn’t let me help her soon. Then she gave me a slight smile, and for the briefest of moments, that same fourteen-year-old girl was back in front of me, and my breath caught.

  The first moment I ever saw Abby Boyer, I knew she was the girl I was going to marry. Her folks had moved to Boggy Creek when she was a freshman. For two years, I tried to win her over. I came so close so many times, but she’d always push me away and tell me I was a hopeless flirt who would never be able to love just one girl.

  I proved her wrong. Asked her to marry me our senior year. We got married at nineteen on this very hilltop.

  Now Abby’s smile was gone as fast as it came. A cold chill rushed through me as I stared at her. She was the only girl who had ever captured my heart, and now she stood in front of me—sixteen years after the first time I’d ever laid eyes on her—with a look on her face that scared the living shit out of me.

  Abby broke our eye contact and stared down at the ground. “I’m leaving for a while.”

  I jerked back like she’d hit me. “Leaving? Where? Are you going to your folks’? If you want some alone time, babe, I can go.”

  Her eyes jerked up and met mine again. She shook her head. “No, it’s not like that, Bishop. I can’t…I can’t do this. I can’t be…I can’t be with you anymore.”

  I stood there motionless while I let her words sink into my brain.

  “Wait,” I said with a disbelieving laugh. “You’re…leaving me? Abby, don’t do this! I said I would do anything you wanted. I’m trying, Abs. What do you want from me? I’m trying to figure out how you need me to help you, but you keep pushing me away. If you want, I’ll hire someone to work the tree farm and we can go somewhere. Anywhere you want, baby. I’ll do whatever.”

  She sniffled and shook her head. “I just need a little bit of time, Bishop. I always wanted to live in Boston, see what living in the big city was like. I think that’s where I need to go.”

  “Now? You think you need to do that now? Did you forget we’re fucking married? That we’re trying to have a family?”

  “Stop!” she screamed, causing me to jump. “I can’t give you the things you want, Bishop! I just need some time to figure things out.”

  I scrubbed my hands over my face and dropped my hands at my sides. “What do you mean? Abby, the only thing I want is you.”

  She shook her head. “I need to leave, Bishop. If you want to help me, let me just go to Boston for a little while. That’s what I need from you.”

  I nodded, my heart lodged in my throat. “Okay. Um, do you know where you’re going to stay? You’re going to the Marquee Hotel, right?”

  Her eyes filled with tears as she slightly nodded.

  “Will you let me know when you get there?” I asked. “They’ll put you in the suite.”

  After my grandfather had passed away I had inherited a number of his properties in Boston, including a prominent hotel in downtown Boston. I knew once they found out my wife was checking in, they’d take care of her.

  She drew in a shaky breath. “Yes. I’ll, um…I’ll let you know.”
/>   I stepped forward, bending down to grab the suitcase. “I’ll get this and your bag.”

  Abby let the bag slide down her arm and it hit the ground. Her eyes looked so lost. I was racking my brain trying to decide if it was a good idea to let her go. I thought back to what the therapist had told me yesterday: “Don’t push her, but let her know you’re there for her.”

  Did that mean I should simply let her walk away?

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What do I do?

  As we walked to her car, I asked, “Were you just going to leave without telling me?”

  She wrung her hands together, watching me put her bags in the trunk. “I thought it would be easier that way.”

  Shutting the trunk, I looked at her. “For who?”

  She closed her eyes and started to cry. “All I seem to do is cause you pain.”

  “What?” I whispered, reaching for her and pulling her into my arms. Those first few days after she’d lost the baby a few weeks back, she had let me hold her. For hours, I did nothing but wrap her up in my arms while she cried herself to sleep.

  Her voice sounded weak as she buried her face in my chest. “You know I love you, Bishop.”

  I brought my hand to the back of her chestnut-brown hair and stroked it softly. It suddenly hit me. She had known last night she was going to be leaving. I swallowed hard, then kissed the top of her head. “I know. I love you more than anything, Abby. Always have and always will.”

  Abby lifted her head and stared at me. For one brief moment, she looked at me like she had last night. With nothing but love in her eyes. I leaned down and kissed her.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I deepened the kiss. When she pulled back, those hazel eyes filled with more tears.

  “Do you want me to drive you to Boston?” I asked. “I can rent a car to come back. Or maybe stay one night with you.”

  Abby chewed on her lower lip and looked at her car, then me.

  I gently touched her cheek. “I don’t mind driving you, babe.”

  She opened her mouth and then shut it before drawing in a breath and letting it out. “Honestly, I think some alone time in the car will do me good.”

  I nodded but wasn’t about to try to hide the disappointment that was no doubt on my face. “Okay. Do you know how long you’ll be there?”

  “I’m not sure.” She stepped away from me and walked to the driver’s side of her car.

  “A couple days? A week? Abby, give me something here. I mean, I came home and caught you sneaking away.”

  “I wasn’t sneaking!” she snapped back.

  “Then what do you call it?”

  She shook her head, then pulled open the door of her car and got in. Slamming her hands on the steering wheel, she looked back at me. “I didn’t want any of this to happen.”

  My heart hammered in my chest, and I tried not to lose my temper. Did she honestly think I did?

  Be patient with her. Give her this space, Bishop.

  She saw the hurt in my eyes and sighed. “It makes it harder for me, having you here.”

  “You sound like you’re leaving me forever.”

  Her eyes met mine, and a part of me swore I saw her answer. She was leaving me…forever.

  I pushed those thoughts away. She needed time. That was all, and I would give it to her.

  “I just need to be alone for a bit, to think. I love you—I’ll call you when I get to Boston.” Abby shut the door, started the car, and then rolled down the window.

  I leaned in and kissed her once more. “If you change your mind and want me to meet you in Boston, just let me know. Okay?”

  She dug her teeth into her lower lip and nodded. “Bye, Bishop.”

  As I watched her drive away, I had no idea that my entire world was about to be turned upside down.

  Bishop

  Mid-October, Present Day - Wonderland Tree Farm, Boggy Creek, New Hampshire

  “It’s gonna cost you, Bishop,” came a voice from under the hood of my 1943 Ford pickup.

  Sighing, I ran my fingers through my brown hair, then rubbed at the back of my neck. “How much, Trent?”

  Trent Rogers was the owner of the one and only mechanic shop in Boggy Creek. I could drive forty minutes to get to one of the Ford dealerships, but Trent’s family had been fixing cars in Boggy Creek for the last eighty-plus years. And before that, the Rogers men worked as the town’s blacksmiths. Trent was the only man I trusted to work on my truck.

  He lifted his head and peered at me from around the hood. “Bishop, why in the hell don’t you just buy a new truck? This thing is old and a pain in the ass. The parts are hard to find when something goes out, it costs you an arm and a leg to get the parts whenever we do find them, and you need something reliable. This thing is in mint condition on the outside. I’m sure you could sell it for a good amount.”

  I looked back at the vehicle. I loved that fucking truck; it was my grandfather’s. I had it repainted six years ago and drove it all the time. “I have a new truck, Trent.”

  He looked over my shoulder at the Ford F-250 parked in the driveway. “You never drive it.”

  I gave him a humorless laugh. “I drive it all the damn time, when I need to. This one just has…memories.”

  He looked back and gave me a sympathetic smile. Yes. The truck was my grandfather’s. That was reason number one I would never sell it. But I also lost my virginity in the bed of the truck. Hell, Abby had lost her virginity the same damn night. Both of us were sixteen at the time, and neither one of us knew what in the hell we were doing, but it was a night I would never forget. Reason number two I would never sell the truck.

  “Just find the part it needs, Trent. I’ll pay whatever it is and give you double to fix it.”

  Trent shook his head. “Don’t be going off and acting stupid. You’re not paying me double nothing. This truck is easy to work on. Now bring that in—” he pointed to the F-250 and rolled his eyes—“and it’s another story. Fucking computers everywhere in that damn thing.”

  I laughed and slapped him on the back as he shut the hood and we headed over to his truck.

  “Heard the state bought one of your trees for the capital. That’s real exciting, Bishop. Old man Redmen would be real proud of what you’ve done with the place here.”

  Smiling, I looked around at the tree farm. Mr. Redmen had owned it before I’d bought it years ago. When my grandfather died, I had been eighteen years old. He’d left me almost everything in his will. Oh, he’d set my folks up fine with a nice little nest egg, but me…he left me every piece of property he’d owned. I had taken my grandfather’s place on three different company boards and had rapidly learned all about real estate and development.

  Most of the property my grandfather had owned was around the Boston area. He’d also owned some in New York City, Miami, and Dallas. To say I was set for life at eighteen was a fucking understatement. My old man had been a bit butt-hurt that Granddad had left nearly everything to me, but he got over it quickly enough. He was the sole reason I was able to keep almost all the properties. He helped me run all of them and then some, allowing me to stay on the farm and grow Christmas trees.

  I had worked for Mr. Redmen here on the Wonderland Tree Farm from the time I was fourteen years old. Learned everything I needed to know to grow and run a successful Christmas tree farm. Mr. Redmen had passed away not long ago, after living out his retirement here on the farm and doing some traveling.

  After I received the money from my grandfather, I had sat my folks down and told them I wasn’t going to college and that I had bought Wonderland Tree Farm. Needless to say, they were pissed. My father refused to talk to me for a solid six months. It was my mother and Abby who had finally brought him around.

  I looked over at the two-story red barn I had built not long after buying Wonderland. I would never forget the day I’d brought Abby here, gotten down on my knee, and asked her to marry me. We were both eighteen. I had dreams for the tree farm, and she had dreams for her fami
ly’s flower farm that was right on the outskirts of Boggy Creek. Abby had decided to take online classes to earn a business degree so she could stay and help her folks run and manage the farm. Plus, she’d told me she wanted to stay in town after we’d gotten engaged.

  “You ever hear from her, Bishop?”

  Trent’s question pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked over at him. I smiled. “How in the hell did you know I was thinking about Abby?”

  Trent shrugged. “Because I know that look. Saw it in the mirror for fifteen years until I finally found someone who brought life back into my eyes.”

  Sighing, I shook my head. “Nah. She comes into town to see her folks, but she doesn’t ever come out here or call me. I haven’t seen her since the divorce.”

  The last time I had spoken to Abby on the phone was a few days before we were set to meet in front of the judge. I was, of course, still pissed at her. I had refused to take her calls. Wouldn’t even talk to her the day of the court hearing.

  Those calls had haunted me ever since. If I had taken them or even talked to her that day, would it have made a difference?

  Trent shook his head. “Don’t seem right. You were like two peas in a pod. Everyone thought you were the perfect couple.”

  I let out a bitter laugh. “Including me. Guess she wasn’t as serious when she said till death do us part.”

  Trent looked at me and nodded.

  Clearing my throat, I asked, “So you’ll let me know about the truck and all?”

  “I sure will. We’ll talk soon.” Trent reached his hand out and shook mine. As he headed back to his truck, he called over his shoulder, “Keep an eye out—they say a storm is moving in.”

  Lifting my hand, I waved at Trent and then headed into my two-story log cabin. I stopped and turned back to look out over the acres of Christmas trees. Closing my eyes, I thought back to eleven years ago today, when Abby and I stood not far from this spot and said our vows. God, she was so beautiful. Her brown hair had been swept up in some fancy style, with soft curls hanging down to frame her face. Those hazel eyes had been filled with nothing but happiness.