Always a Friend E-Book

Michelle MacQueen

• Herausgeber: Michelle MacQueen
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

She’s a single mom trying to do right by her son…
…he’s a surfer who doesn’t take anything seriously.

How did they become friends? Mariana Morgan has only had two goals in life. Raise her son the best she can and turn her bakery into a success. She never factored in a family who has become like hers or him. Tanner Kelly.
She isn’t sure how it happened, but somehow he’s become her person, her best friend. And she needs a favor. An old classmate is getting married, bringing everyone she once knew back to town, including the man who left her alone with a baby all those years ago.
Showing up without a date isn’t an option, facing her ex alone can’t happen.
So, she turns to a friend. The one who kisses her like she’s the only woman in the world, the one who makes her believe for just one moment this could be real.
But it isn’t. Mariana and Tanner live in different worlds.
Determined to do what’s right by her son, she tries to put it behind her, to make amends with her ex.
But what if people can’t change? What if the man her son needs in his life isn’t his unrepentant father? What if it’s the same man she needs in hers?

Escape into this sweet romance that will give you all the feels. Always a Friend is the third book in the Always in Love series. Enjoy small town beach life with sweet and swoony men, strong-willed women, and family ties that can’t be broken.

Leseprobe

2022 Michelle MacQueen

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is entirely coincidental.

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. Printed in the United States of America

Editing by Caitlin Haines

Proofreading by Regina Dowling

CONTENTS

1. Mariana

2. Tanner

3. Mariana

4. Tanner

5. Mariana

6. Tanner

7. Mariana

8. Tanner

9. Mariana

10. Tanner

11. Mariana

12. Tanner

13. Mariana

14. Tanner

15. Mariana

16. Tanner

17. Mariana

18. Tanner

19. Mariana

20. Tanner

21. Mariana

22. Tanner

23. Mariana

24. Tanner

25. Mariana

26. Mariana

27. Tanner

28. Mariana

29. Tanner

30. Mariana

31. Tanner

Always a Chance

Always a Chance

Always a Chance

About Michelle

For the ones who are always there.

1

MARIANA

I hated surprises. Absolutely hated them. Occasionally, they turned out okay, but most of the time, they threw my entire world out of balance. I was a woman who liked order, plans. It made me a good businesswoman, but it also made me not suited for the life I built.

“What are you doing here?” I couldn’t breathe. The man standing in my doorway was a ghost from the past, someone whose very appearance shocked me to the core. I gripped the door and stared at Kellan Matthews, all six feet, four inches of him. Was he still that tall or had he grown in the eight years since I’d seen him last walk out of this very house?

“Mar.” He said my name on a sigh, as if he had a right to it, as if he had a right to any part of me.

My jaw clenched. “I repeat, what are you doing here, Kellan?” His name rolled off my tongue in that familiar way, like it was ingrained in my muscle memory, like he was ingrained in it.

Once, he had been.

“I came back to town, and I guess I just thought…” He pushed a hand through his thick auburn hair. Hair I’d once loved to dig my fingers into as the golden sunlight glinted off the strands.

Something dark churned in my gut, and I could tell the moment he saw it flashing in my eyes. “That’s just it, Kellan. You didn’t think. You can’t just show up here, not after all this time. What was going through your head?”

“I’m sorry.” Regret flickered across his face, and suddenly I didn’t know what he was sorry for.

Giving me the biggest surprise of my life? Walking away at the worst possible moment? Being here now?

Maybe he was just sorry for himself.

High school now seemed like another lifetime. It had been so simple back then. Kellan and I planned on being together forever, and after dating for three years, I thought we would.

Then, I got pregnant, and everything changed.

The day Kellan left me, I vowed he’d never again have a place in my life. I deserved better than him.

But even after all this time, I found myself leaning toward him, wanting to hear him say my name again with that slight southern accent he had. He’d grown up in Tennessee before moving to our town of Gulf City, Florida, for high school.

A car door slammed, and my eyes shot to the street, where two familiar boys walked toward the house. Breathing turned into a chore. Standing was nearly impossible. I reached out to grip the doorframe.

“You need to go.” It was the only warning Kellan got, but I knew he wouldn’t heed it. That wasn’t like him.

“Hey, Mari,” my brother called. “You’ll never…” Knox’s voice cut off as he finally saw the man standing in front of me. “You.” He rushed toward Kellan, but I jumped forward, blocking his path and imploring him with my gaze.

“Please, Knox. Get Cole inside. Let me deal with this.”

Cole’s eyes flicked from me to the man I never wanted him to know, curiosity in his eight-year-old gaze. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Cole Morgan.” Then, he stuck out his hand.

“Knox,” I pleaded.

Before Kellan did something stupid like introduce himself, Knox had Cole through the door and out of sight. I watched them disappear into the kitchen before turning back to Kellan.

“Mar, he’s—”

“Mine,” I said quickly. “He’s mine. Please just leave. It’s what you’re good at.” With that, I shut the door, cutting off his next words.

Tears stung my eyes as memories I’d long since buried returned to the surface. Years of I love yous and planning for the future.

The day I learned I was pregnant.

The day I learned I was pregnant and alone.

Knox appeared in the entrance to the kitchen, concern etched into the grooves of his face. “You okay?”

I’d never been able to lie to my brother, but I couldn’t get the words out, so I just shook my head.

Knox rushed forward to pull me into a hug. I collapsed against him, sobs escaping my throat. He led me to the couch but didn’t let go as we sat down.

There’d been many years where my brother was only in town on occasion, breezing through on his way to bigger and better things. Then, months ago, he decided to stay for good, and it changed everything for both me and Cole. We went from only having each other to suddenly having a giant family, as Knox fell in love with Finley and her family adopted us.

“Why was he here?” he asked.

I lifted one shoulder. “We didn’t get that far.”

Kellan was once Knox’s friend just as much as mine. He’d been two years ahead of me in school, in my brother’s grade, and there was a time the three of us were inseparable.

Now, I was pretty sure Knox detested him just as much as I did, if not more.

“Mom?”

I looked up to find Cole standing in front of me.

“Hi, baby.” I wiped my face and sat up straighter. “Momma is okay.”

“You’re sad.” His lips tugged down, and he held something toward me. “I brought you a cookie.”

My heart warmed at the thought. Since he was little, Cole and I joked that cookies could solve all the problems in the world. When he was upset, the two of us would pour a giant glass of milk and dunk them.

I took it and pulled him onto the couch so I could hug him. “You’re a good kid.”

“Mom,” he whined.

I let go of him with a watery laugh, my gaze never leaving his face. There were traces of Kellan there, but I’d always thought Cole looked more like my mom than anyone, like he had some part of her inside him.

“Who was the man who made you sad?” Cole asked.

Knox jumped in with an answer. “Just an old friend of mine.” He stood. “Come on, buddy. Let’s get this sand off you so we don’t bring it with us to dinner. Mrs. Kelly would have my hide.”

I watched them head down the hall, my chest loosening. They’d spent the day together at the beach. They spent a lot of days together, and it was beginning to show.

Cole never had a father. Kellan saw to that. But he had men in his life who cared about him, and he tried to emulate them, right down to the way they walked.

I was going to have to tell him about Kellan.

The thought came swift and hard, like a sudden kick to the chest.

Kellan returning to Gulf City hadn’t been in my plans. It didn’t fit into my organized life, the one I’d crafted so carefully.

It was like a tornado ripping through everything I’d tried to forget, breaking the dam wide open.

2

TANNER

I was the family screwup. My parents and siblings would never actually say those words. They were too nice for that. But it didn’t make them any less true.

Yet, out here, with a board under my feet, I could almost forget. Almost.

I dropped down into a wave that was far from perfect, but it was the best I’d get today. Whipping my board around, I aimed for the beach as I steadied myself, willing the dark thoughts to go away.

I wasn’t a failure.

I owned a business, one that was finally on firm footing after a strong winter full of tourists and snowbirds. Sure, the only thing of value I had, other than the shop, was a scraggly dog I took in as a stray. But that had never bothered me. Not out here.

The wave petered out, and I jumped into the warm water of the Gulf, letting it swirl around my legs. I couldn’t bring myself to head out for another wave, so I trudged up the beach. Throwing my board to the sand, I sat beside it, a giant grin on my face.

I never felt better than when my legs burned and saltwater stuck to my skin.

A few months ago, my oldest brother put every bit of his savings into helping me restore the Surf Hut after it was nearly destroyed by a hurricane. He didn’t expect it back, that wasn’t who Shane was, but I hated the idea that he’d done it in vain, that I wasn’t worth his faith.

I was determined to prove I was, and I was so close.

I rested my arms on my bent knees and leaned forward as I watched the other surfers. Today, there were only two more out there. Nate Madison, Gulf City’s resident pro, and Jamie Daniels, an ex-Special Forces guy I’d come to like.

They were my two best customers at the Hut, but they also represented half of this town’s surf scene. That was why most of my sales went to tourists needing beach chairs or plastic junk that would remind them of the little town in Florida they’d visited that one year.

It was still hard to wrap my head around the fact I owned a business, that something tied me to the town I’d lived in for nearly my whole life. I’d always wanted out, always thought I could pick up and go whenever I wanted. I’d dreamed of chasing waves all over the world.

And yet, as I glanced back at the pale blue concrete side of the Surf Hut—which wasn’t really a hut—a smile curved my lips.

I’d gone through life rarely thinking of the consequences of anything I did. I was impulsive and sometimes foolish, never planning, never thinking about the future. But now, I could feel myself changing, growing.

Jamie ran from the water, board tucked under one arm. Scars stretched across his broad and imposing chest, but I knew he wasn’t as intimidating as he tried to appear.

“Hey, man.” He flipped blond hair out of his face. “Why’d you come in?”

“Waves are awful today.” I gestured to the lameness that was the rollers churning toward the beach. Summer seas were always a bit flat.

Jamie’s lips stretched into a smile. “Since when has that stopped you?”

We weren’t good friends, only surf friends. There was a difference. Jamie, Nate, and I had surfing in common and no one else quite got it, but we weren’t involved in other parts of each other’s lives.

I shrugged. “Just not feeling it today.”

“What are you guys doing?” Nate walked up the beach toward us, his shortboard stuck into the sand behind him.

Jamie gestured to me. “Something is wrong with him.”

“Nothing is wrong with me.” I scowled.

“Something looks wrong with you.” Nate shielded his eyes to peer down.

“I’m fine.”

Jamie dropped his board and sat beside me. “I’ve heard that before.”

Nate followed suit, the two of them flanking me.

“Do you ever…” I started before pausing. “Do you ever wonder if we’re supposed to be experiencing more in life?”

Neither of them answered, and I realized how stupid I was for mentioning it. Jamie spent a decade going on secret missions in foreign countries, saving lives and tracking terrorists. And Nate… He’d won some big-time surf competitions and now owned a successful gallery in town with his wife.

Then, there was me. Single in my thirties with a fledgling business, a tiny apartment, and a reputation for taking nothing seriously.

“Tanner.” Jamie gestured to the surrounding beach, the Hut at our back. “This is yours.”

“I don’t own the beach.”

“No, but you’re the reason it recovered the way it did after the hurricane last fall.”

“Check it out.” Nate pointed to the water, where a giant dark shape moved slowly toward shore.

I watched as it stopped. A few tourists in the water screamed and ran toward the beach, fearing a shark. We knew differently.

This was Florida, after all.

“I love this time of year,” Jamie said.

I nodded in agreement. When the gulf warmed, manatees made their way from the rivers into the open ocean. Standing, I edged toward the water, walking in until it was waist high and I was only feet from the animal.

A brown head broke the surface, its eyes finding me and staring. The manatee didn’t move, and neither did I.

All my doubts, my negative thoughts, washed away, and I could think clearly. I didn’t get any closer, didn’t reach out to touch it. That was a no-go for me. Sea animals deserved to be respected, observed, but not touched.

A smile curved my lips, and the manatee continued to stare.

Jamie’s voice calling to me broke the trance. “Tanner, your phone is ringing.”

Reluctantly, I turned and walked back up the beach. Jamie threw my phone at me, but I’d already missed a call from my mom. My eyes caught on the time. “Oh no, I’m late.”

Mom was going to murder me and make it hurt.

“I’ll catch you guys later.”

Picking up my board, I ran to the Hut. Water dripped across the floor as I entered. Hannah, the teenager I’d hired to help on weekends, looked up from where she sat behind the ice cream counter. There wasn’t a single customer in sight.

“Hey, boss.”

I shook out my long hair. “You good to close? I need to get going.”

She nodded. “Sure thing.”

I grabbed a duffel I kept in the storage room, left my board, and slipped into the bathroom to change into dry clothes.

By the time I was in my jeep headed toward the house I grew up in, the feeling of awe, of clarity brought on by the manatee was gone; and once again, all I could think about was how I was going to let my family down.

Parking on the street, I cut the engine and ran up the sidewalk to the front door, opening it without knocking.

The only sounds came from the dining room, so I headed that way, stopping in the doorway when I caught sight of my entire family around the dinner table.

They looked good together, like a family whose pieces fit. My two brothers, Shane and Johnny. Finley, our only sister. Finley’s fiancé and his sister, Mari.

My gaze didn’t see anyone else as it swept toward the gorgeous brunette sitting beside Finley. Mariana Morgan was my best friend, and I wasn’t sure what I’d do without her most of the time.

My mom was the first to acknowledge me. “Nice of you to join us, Tanner.”

I ran a hand through my damp hair that was wild and crusted with salt, just like the rest of me. Where my family looked put together, I looked like I’d just rolled out of bed. If that bed was in the middle of the ocean.

Mariana met my gaze, but the usual mocking laughter was gone, replaced by something sad. I wished I could get her away from everyone and demand to know what had happened to put the sadness in her eyes.

But I couldn’t, not now. So, I pulled out the Tanner everyone expected of me. “I aim to please. What’s for dinner?”

Mom sighed, but I didn’t miss her lips twitching into a smile. “Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Your plate is warming in the oven.”

I walked by everyone to get to the kitchen. Footsteps sounded behind me, and I turned in time to see Cole following me.

“Hey, kid.” I ruffled his hair.

Was it sad to say an eight-year-old was one of my closest friends?

Cole crossed his arms over his chest. “Were you surfing after Knox and I left the beach?”

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Then why did I have to leave?”

As bad a day as it had been for surfing, it was good for a young kid still learning to balance on his board. I leaned down, meeting his gaze. “Because your uncle is a grumpy Gus.”

“I heard that,” Knox yelled from the dining room.

I shot Cole a wink before pulling out my plate and following him to join the family.

Sliding into the open seat between my younger brother, Johnny, and my dad, I took a bite. Sunday night dinners at my parents’ house had always been one of my favorite things; except lately, being here only made me feel even worse about my failures.

“How’s business going?” my dad asked.

I swallowed. “Not bad.” It wasn’t a lie. We were doing well. I just wanted more.

“That’s good.”

My sister caught my eye, holding it for a second too long, as if she could see right through me.

“And Johnny,” Dad said, “what about you?”

The chatter died down as we all waited for an answer. It was a running joke in the family that none of us knew what Johnny did for a living. We only knew he always seemed to have money and free time.

My grandmother had some interesting theories.

Johnny grinned, taking a perverse pleasure in our interest in his life and the mystery surrounding it. “Business is great, Dad. Better than ever.”

“It would help if we knew what business,” I grumbled.

Johnny’s smile widened. “And spoil the mystery? No way.”

Whatever it was he did, he did it well. He wore expensive clothing, drove a BMW, and never seemed to worry about anything. I was proud of him, but I’d never understood why he kept such a huge secret.

In our family, few things were hidden. We’d find out eventually.

3

MARIANA

I was sitting alone out on the Kellys’ screened-in lanai when he found me. I’d recognize his footsteps anywhere, the way he always hesitated before moving closer.

“Hey.” Tanner took a seat across from me on the fake wicker loveseat.

I tried to give him a warm smile, the kind he knew me for, but I felt the moment it wavered and faded.

Yet, I wasn’t the only one. Tanner hadn’t seemed like himself all through dinner. The man I’d become friends with was boisterous and loud. He constantly made fun of his siblings and took his mom’s good-natured jibes in stride.

I’d always envied their family.

So, where was that man now?

“Is everything okay?” I asked, my problems fading to the back of my mind.

He blew out a breath. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Because you look like someone kicked your dog.”

He sat up straighter. “If anyone touches Cane, they’ll get a lot more than dark looks from me.”

Sensing he needed a subject change, I asked, “Where is Cane?”

“I didn’t have time to pick him up on my way here.”

A half-smile formed on my lips. “You lost track of time surfing again, didn’t you?”

That earned me… well, not quite a smile, but something other than sadness. “I can’t help it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course you can help it; you just choose not to.”

He gave me a wry look. “Okay, fine. I’d rather be out on the waves than just about anywhere else.”

I knew the feeling. He felt out there what I felt when I was working in my kitchen. Complete freedom. It was weird to equate baking with surfing, but both of us needed the activities to survive. And we got that about each other.

I reached over with my foot and nudged his leg. “Your mom cursed when you were late.”

“No way.”

I nodded. “The entire room went silent, and we just stared at her.”

A laugh burst out of him. “I’d have paid to see that. You know, I think I’m her only child that still gives her heart attacks.”

“Doubt that. Have you forgotten your sister’s four aborted weddings or the fact your brother might be a drug dealer or a prostitute or something?”

“Johnny’s not…”

I gave him a long look.

“Okay,” he laughed. “He probably is one of those things.”

“Come here.” I patted the seat beside me, knowing he wouldn’t say no.

He switched from his couch to my recliner, wedging himself in between me and one of the armrests before sighing in contentment. Tanner and I had always been comfortable together in a way I’d never found with anyone else.

He was my best friend, the one person other than my son whom I wanted around all the time. We were so completely different from each other, and somehow, it made us work. We were a team.

I rested my head on his shoulder. “Will you tell me what’s wrong now?”

His entire body seemed to sag. “Mar, have you ever wondered if some people aren’t ever meant to be more than people think?”

Lifting my head, I turned to look at him. “Since when has it mattered what other people thought?”

“I’ve spent so long being exactly what they expect. Someone who would rather surf than work, who does the bare minimum to survive. I’m just… tired of it. I’m so tired.”

I’d never heard Tanner sound so dejected, and it hit something deep inside of me, sending a shockwave of pain right through my heart.

“What’s going on at the shop, Tan?” That was the only explanation I could think of. He’d owned the place since last fall. About eight months ago, it was nearly destroyed by a late-season hurricane, but we all worked to save it.

“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep at it.”

I hadn’t expected those words. “But it’s June. Things are always slow in June. They’ll pick up.”

“It’s not that I can’t financially handle it. I prepared for the slow summer during tourist and snowbird season. I’m just… starting to wonder if this is what I want.”

“What do you mean?” Owning a business was all I’d wanted since I was a kid. I didn’t understand how anyone could want to give theirs up.

Tanner leaned his head back. “Not all of us are meant for this life, Mar.”

It was another reminder of how different we were. We shouldn’t have worked as friends, yet somehow, he’d become like a second brother to me over the last year.

The Surf Hut was a local treasure, but most of what he sold were inexpensive beach snacks. Before buying it, Tanner worked most days giving surf lessons at the shop to tourists. It was inconsistent and low-paying work, but I’d never seen him so conflicted.

I wasn’t sure what to say, what to do, how I could make this any better. So, I draped an arm over his chest and gave him what amounted to an awkward side-hug.

“Hey,” I whispered. “Whatever happens, you are more than anyone says. You’re Tanner Kelly, and the Tanner I know will always be okay.” It was true. In high school, I’d known of Tanner but hadn’t really known him. He’d always been so sure of himself, so confident.

Even Kellan revered him back then.

Tanner was the smartest person I knew—hello, valedictorian. I just wish he saw it too. Running a business was hard, but doing it in a town that cleared out for half the year was even more difficult. I knew from experience.

His restlessness would settle. He hadn’t left Gulf City yet, so I didn’t expect him to do it anytime soon.

Tanner rested his chin on top of my head, and he seemed to relax. I wanted to tell him about Kellan, to have him tell me I wasn’t wrong to be scared, but he didn’t know the full story of what happened.

He’d never asked me about Cole’s father, probably because he knew me better than anyone, and it wasn’t a subject I liked. Tanner wasn’t one to pry, letting me have my secrets, just like I knew he didn’t have his own. The man was as open as any I’d known, at least with me.

It was something I envied.

The glass door slid open, and Cole skipped out, followed by all three of Tanner’s siblings. They didn’t comment on the fact that we were sharing a chair. Our closeness wasn’t new to them.

Instead, Johnny let out a low whistle. “Gotta love the June heat.” He fanned his shirt and stared out into the backyard, where a small pond sat between the trees on the far side of the barn that held Mr. Kelly’s workshop.

Finley perched on the end of the recliner I shared with Tanner. “Knox had to head home. He’s leaving early tomorrow to drive into Tampa for a meeting.” She nudged Tanner with her foot. “You don’t look so good.”

He sent her a playful scowl, his expression shifting from the honest one he’d had for me to a pretend goofiness. “I always look good, sis. Don’t lie.”

Finley pursed her lips, scrutinizing him. For a moment, I wondered if she was going to call him on the falseness in his voice, but she just shook her head with a laugh.

His more oblivious brothers didn’t seem to realize anything was amiss.

Johnny threw himself onto the love seat with flair. “So, what are we doing tonight?”

Shane crossed his arms. “I want to go home to my nice warm bed.”

“Wonder why,” Johnny snickered.

Shane and his fiancée had bought the house they rented near the beach, and the two of them vacillated between fighting and being disgustingly in love. I got the feeling their arguments were foreplay for them. Gross.

Shane swatted the back of Johnny’s head. “At least I have someone to go home to.”

Normally, the jibes between the Kelly siblings were good natured, but tonight there was an undercurrent of tension. I knew it wore on the entire family that Johnny refused to be honest with them about his life, his job.

Tanner was keeping his troubles to himself, and Shane wasn’t exactly one for sharing.

Finley met my gaze, and I saw my concern reflected back at me. Something was wrong between these boys, and it might be up to us to fix it.

4

TANNER

I stared out the giant window of my shop, wishing I could just walk out into the waves instead of sitting here with spreadsheets covering the screen of my laptop.

“Hey, boss.” Hannah pulled herself onto the checkout counter.

I quickly moved my computer so she didn’t knock it off. Cane lifted his head from where he was curled up, sniffed, and went back to sleep.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to sit on the counter?”

Hannah shrugged. “How many times do I have to tell you I don’t need to listen to you?”

“I’m your boss.”

“So?”

“This is my shop.”

“And?” She played with the ends of her fiery red hair. “That means you get to be a dictator?”

This girl was going to be the death of me. I shut my computer. Inventory could wait. “Well, since you’re here and only an hour late, I’m going to head out for lunch. There are boxes in the storeroom that need to be unpacked.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

I’d bet the whole shop those boxes would still be sitting there when I got back. I needed to fire this girl, but I kind of liked the way she bucked authority. It reminded me of myself.

Sliding my computer into my case, I patted my leg. “Come on, boy.”

Cane stood with a groan, stretching his entire body with his rump in the air. He was a big dog, but I didn’t know the breed. Some kind of mutt, with soft, brindled fur and an easy personality. A kid, Trevor, found him during a storm last year, and he’d ended up with me.

We walked side by side to my Jeep and climbed in. Cane immediately stuck his head through the window, his tongue hanging out. I rolled my eyes. The dog was a sucker for car rides.

On Wednesdays, Mariana and I had a tradition. One of us always brought the other lunch, and we people watched and laughed. This week, it was my turn. I stopped at Emma’s on the way to pick up three burgers, assuming Cole was with her, and then headed to Momma Loves Sugar.

Cane and I reached the outdoor seating area at the same time as a man I only vaguely recognized. I tried to place him, taking in his tan summer suit, his expensive shoes.

“Tanner Kelly?” He stopped when he saw me. “That really you?”