AllFreeNovel
Share Us
PROLOGUE
DAVIS
Ihop out of my Jeep. Race up the dark driveway. Fling the front door open with a flourish.
Not sure the wide grin on my face will fit through this doorframe, though.
Shit—I’m so excited.
“Allie!” I shout, craning my neck down the hallway.
I’ve got the paperwork clenched in one hand. A bottle of Alana’s favorite wine in the other.
Kicking off my shoes on the doormat, I poke my head into the living room. “Babe, I’m home.”
This day went on forever. It was hell getting through my shift at the police station with this big news weighing on my chest. Pretending like it was just any other Thursday. All while knowing that today, I took the first step. The first step toward realizing a dream Alana and I have dreamed together for so long.
I’ve been keeping this information to myself all day, not telling a soul. And by now, I’m about ready to burst.
“Allie—where are you, Princess?”
My brothers are gonna make such a big deal about this. I can already imagine Cash, Jasper, Harry and our cousin, Mason, throwing me a damn parade—marching band and carnival floats and everything—once they find out. I’ve been talking their ears off about this for years. Now, I’m finally putting my plan into motion.
And Nicky? I fully expect my bossy little sister to have a detailed plan of action all mapped out within the next twenty-four hours.
Grammy will be shouting about it to any and everyone who steps foot inside her bakery. And maybe, just maybe, my divorced parents will stop hating each other for long enough to be proud of me.
But I can’t tell anyone. Not before I tell her. My wife has to be the first to know.
Because we laid awake together on countless nights, talking about this, planning for this. We’ve dreamed about it for the past six years.
True—it started out as just a joke, a fleeting comment whispered in the dark, a tiny idea that could never really go anywhere. At least, that’s the wayIsaw it.
But as always, Alana saw more in me than I saw in myself. And god knows, that woman could get me on board with just about anything.
Now, here we are. Finally.
I glance down at the papers clenched in my hand.Mayoral Candidate Declaration Form, the first sheet reads. My grin grows wider.
“Alana, babe.”
My chest is thumping hard. My fingers are buzzing with excitement. I take the stairs two at a time, expecting to find Alana sitting, legs criss-crossed on the ratty rug at the foot of our bed, chunky headphones on, with her glue and her scissors and one of those colorful scrapbooks where she catalogues all of our memories and our goals.
Or asleep in our bed, looking adorable in one of my Honey Hill Sheriff’s Department T-shirts with her golden bangs curtaining her eyes and her glasses crooked on her button nose and yet another bargain bin self-help book splayed across her chest.
I chuckle to myself.She’d better enjoy her power nap while she can. She’s gonna need her energy. Because we’re not getting any sleep tonight.
We’re gonna sit together and read through these papers word by word. And then, I’m gonna make love to her until the sun comes up.
Look—I’m not naive. I know that this won’t be an easy fight. I’ll have an uphill battle trying to convince the voters to put their trust in me. I’m pretty young to be running for this position and I don’t have that much experience. Mayor Thompson won’t hand me his job on a platter and it’s no secret that the man likes to play dirty. But win or lose, I’m ready to do this. As long as I have Alana by my side.
But when I burst into our bedroom, the bed is empty and the sheets are perfectly made, with the quilt Grammy gave us folded at the foot of the mattress.
Confused, I barrel into the adjoining bathroom. No sign of her there, either.
A bad feeling begins as an ominous tingle in my toes. It starts a slow-climb up my legs.
My gaze hooks on the closet door that’s slightly ajar. That’s when I notice the empty hangers scattered on the floor. That’s when I notice that her suitcase—the small pink one with the floral pattern across the front—is gone.
