Stealing His Heart

Raine DiMarco has royally screwed up her life.

Now, trying to grow into the person she ought to be, Raine returns to McCormick’s Creek and finds people still judging her. She leaps into town life anyway—she can’t back away from a challenge, whether it’s proving herself to former BFFs or a mountain biking dare from a handsome newcomer.

Adrenaline-junkie Brandt Walker gave up a cushy job in the family business to live his own life in the scenic Oregon mountains. A mountain bike rally is just the thing to help the town…and keep his new bike shop in business.

Brandt thinks he’s got a much-needed tourism grant locked in until event-planner Raine challenges him for it. Can their budding relationship survive one of them winning while the other loses?

"Jen Peters writes sweet and satisfying romances with a dose of persevering through troubles and just the right chemistry between characters."

Raine stared after the grimy customer. She’d seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t place him. He had a strong face, although not a pretty one—stiff jaw, bumpy nose—maybe he’d broken it sometime—and a firm mouth. And tired eyes.

And then he’d opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and left. Weird.

“Ahem.”

She turned back to her next customer. “I’m sorry, my mind was wandering.” Then she looked closer. “Diana?” Of course, it was one more high school “friend.” If she had to face anyone else today, she’d scream, which wouldn’t be good on her first day at work.

Diana shrugged. “So you came back, huh? Thought you were so much better, and now look at you. Check-out girl at Sam’s.”

Raine remembered Diana as a sarcastic snob, always wanting into a group but never quite making it. She’d been smart, though, and had gotten a bunch of scholarships. So why was she still in McCormick’s Creek?

Raine put on her perky face and refrained from clamping her lips. “And how are you today? Did you find everything you need?”

Diana didn’t say anything else, just popped her gum and looked down her nose as she paid.

Raine sighed and turned to the next person—Amy, who had hung out with Chelsea’s group with her.

“Raine!” Amy said. “You’re back!”

She smiled and nodded. “I am, and happy to be here.”

“Are you married? Kids? What brought you home?”

“No to both. I just needed a change in my life.”

“The old gang’s still around—we ought to get together sometime.” Amy waved and left.

Raine looked after her, wondering. They’d had fun, but it was high school fun. Had anyone else moved on, or had their social life just moved up to adult-style partying?

The next customer cleared her throat and Raine turned back. “I’m sorry, I—”

It was Robin. Robin, whom she hadn’t spoken to since the beginning of their senior year in high school. Robin, who’d had a terrible time while Raine was getting in with the popular girls. Robin, who… No, she wouldn’t go there. Water under the bridge, and years ago. Surely her friend had gotten over it by now.

“Hey, Robin, how are you?” she asked brightly.

Robin just looked at her and blinked, her brown eyes wide but not showing anything.
“Fine,” she finally said.

“Did you find everything today?”

Robin nodded.

“I hear you’re starting an animal shelter.”

She nodded again.

Okay, then. Evidently forgiveness wasn’t on the menu. Raine scanned her few items, accepted payment, and watched Robin leave.

The elderly Beaumont twins were next in line. Miss Lily leaned forward. “You really did hurt her, you know,” she said in a loud whisper.

“But it was so long ago!” Raine blurted.

Miss Rose snorted. “Not for her, it wasn’t.”

Raine flushed. Back in high school, she had ignored her conscience and done one underhanded thing. She’d never dreamed that someone else would take it far beyond putting jokes in Robin’s presentation and into true bullying. But Raine hadn’t joined in on what followed at all, and she’d thought that Robin would realize that.

Miss Lily, again in a stage whisper, said, “She’s only just now moving past it, mostly because she fell in love with a man who believes in her. Cliff’s the first one she’s really trusted with anything since, you know.”

Raine had never dreamed that she’d hurt her friend so badly. Robin was such a gentle soul, and now she had to deal with Raine’s presence to remind her.

Raine’s heart ached with regret—regret she should have felt years ago and had been too clueless to realize. She’d been clueless, or just plain stupid and selfish, about a lot of things back then.

She blinked back tears as she scanned the Beaumont sisters’ canned vegetables. Her long string of bad decisions probably began with this one with Robin, but it was appalling to realize just how badly she had hurt her friend.

“I’ll make it up to her somehow,” she promised the elderly ladies. She didn’t know how, but she would.

The rest of the customers didn’t bring such emotional repercussions, but by the time the rush cleared, Raine felt like she’d been poked, prodded, and examined within an inch of her life. And judged, over and over and over. She’d put on a fierce smile and walled off her emotions, but it left her completely drained.

With a sigh, she wiped the counter and conveyor belt and went to do some straightening. Candy bars and potato chips near her register, snack bars in the next end cap.

She needed to apologize to Robin. Go to her house? Meet her somewhere? Her mind envisioned a sincere apology and a tearful hug of acceptance.

She re-arranged magazines and realized she would more likely get a door slammed in her face before she could get an apology out. But she had to try.

Cereal boxes and lunch treats were next. The more time passed, the farther she got from her register, but nobody had even come in the store. It wasn’t all that late in the evening, and she’d thought it would be busier, being the only grocery store in town.

Sam’s IGA wasn’t going to last long at this rate. Or at least not succeed well. It would last, simply because it was a long drive down to the valley for the big box stores. But if they could find a way to keep customers up here…

She mused as she worked, releasing thoughts of Robin and letting her mind center on business problems. She didn’t know much about profit margins and how deeply sale items could be discounted, but wouldn’t there be ways to get people to buy more? And what about something fun to bring people in?

No, she was just a cashier, not an event planner. It wasn’t her job. She needed to focus on herself, changing her own life and fixing past mistakes, not giving unsolicited recommendations to other people.

But as she straightened shelves, she took some steak sauce bottles over to the meat counter, and put some stew seasoning packets near the potatoes. If marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars could be put together in the summer, why not other things?

She rang up three other customers through the evening, one of whom had both steaks and steak sauce in her basket. It had worked!

“Lorraine DiMarco! I didn’t think you’d dare show your face in this town again!”

Raine whirled around—it was Ree Swanson, the third of their 3Rs from school, and obviously still Robin’s best friend.

Any emotional strength she’d had was long gone, and her defenses rose quickly. “Look, Ree, that’s between me and her. Besides, it was all a long time ago.”

Ree pinned her with a fiery look. “No one gets over bullying like that easily. And Robin’s such a gentle soul that it was even worse. If you couldn’t see that six years ago, you ought to at least be ashamed of yourself now.”

All of Raine’s emotions flooded back in. Ashamed, yes. And regretful, remorseful, repentant…a thesaurus wouldn’t have all the words she needed. Her shoulders sagged as she thought about Robin. “Actually, I am. I’ve made a whole lot of bad decisions, and I’m really sorry.”

Ree frowned but didn’t say anything.

“I’m trying to change some things—”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“—but I don’t know how to go back and fix things.”

Ree pulled her mass of black curls off her shoulders and crossed her own arms. “You can’t.”

Raine shook her head. “I need to at least try.”

Ree’s face was stony. “You know that old story about how to take back a lie? The one where the liar has to put a feather on everyone’s doorstep and then try to gather them the next day, after they’d been blown all over and were irretrievable? The answer is that you can’t.”

“But—”

“Just go back to Portland or Seattle or wherever, and let the rest of us get on with our lives. You’re not wanted here.” She stormed off, waiting impatiently for the automatic doors to open.

Raine slumped against the counter and closed her eyes. Going back wasn’t an option. But could she really stay in McCormick’s Creek?