Our Now and Forever(3)

His parents had been quick to point out how another impetuous decision had blown up in their son’s face. One more thing, per Jackson McGraw, Caleb had failed to stick with, as if his wife’s leaving had been his own doing.

Vivien McGraw had patted Caleb’s arm, tittering that this was all for the best and now he could go about finding the right girl, making the sudden abandonment by his wife sound like little more than losing a button off his shirt.

Caleb didn’t want a new girl. He’d found the right girl, and now he had to freaking find her again.

Dammit.

The fact that there was merit in his parents’ reactions only heightened his anger and embarrassment. Yes, Caleb had a history of diving into endeavors like college majors and careers with little forethought. But marrying Snow had not been a rebellious whim, and finding himself divorced at twenty-eight was not the same as changing his major from communications to economics.

This was his life, and if it took every penny in his sizable trust fund, Caleb was going to save his marriage and prove his parents wrong.

Before leaving for the airport the morning of her disappearance, Snow’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, had seemed embarrassed and repeatedly apologized for their daughter’s behavior. They’d answered all his questions about where she might have gone, but in the end, they didn’t know any more than he did. They’d agreed that Nashville was the best place to look. That’s where he and Snow had met, and the only place she’d ever lived other than where she’d grown up in Alabama.

The fact that Caleb didn’t know enough about his new bride to know her geographic history served as one more nick in his already battered ego.

Since that day, Caleb had made six trips to the Tennessee capital and nothing had turned up until today, when he’d stumbled across a flier posted to a music store bulletin board. The event advertised had been held in early October, which meant if the little store on Twelfth Avenue had been more diligent about clearing their board, Caleb might never have found Snow at all.

The slip of paper listed several festival sponsors, including Snow’s Curiosity Shop. The odds were slim, but Caleb had been chasing shadows for so long that any lead had felt worth exploring at that point.

And here she was. The moment his watch clicked to 6:44 p.m., Caleb crossed the street with added determination. This time, he wasn’t leaving without answers. And better ones than, Mistakes were made. What did that even mean?

So they hadn’t known each other long before getting hitched in Vegas. They had plenty of time to get to know each other after the wedding. They had ’til death did they part, for crying out loud. All married couples went through a kind of transition period. Not that he’d been married before, but he’d seen enough to know that two months wasn’t nearly enough time to settle into a lifetime commitment.

Chimes sounded overhead as Caleb once again crossed the threshold of Snow’s shop. He hadn’t taken two steps in when a skeleton wearing nothing but a purple top hat warned him to beware of the enchanting witch. The motion-activated doorman was more accurate than he knew, but Caleb wasn’t about to be warned off now.

Not only was he not leaving this town without answers, he was also not leaving without his wife.





Chapter 2




Snow had never wanted to lock a door as much as she did at 6:44 that Halloween night. The only thing that prevented it, other than the fact the store was technically still open, was the knowledge that Caleb would not give up so easily. She had no illusions that he loved her or had come to take her home, but he wanted answers.

And Caleb was used to getting what he wanted. In fact, there was a good chance that Snow’s removing herself from his life had been the first time anyone had dared take away something that, in his mind, belonged to him. Unfortunately, this was an aspect of her husband’s personality Snow hadn’t uncovered until after they were married.

By the time she’d met Caleb that fateful New Year’s Eve nearly two years ago, Snow had eaten enough cup-of-soup dinners to send her sodium levels soaring, and she hadn’t been anywhere beyond Alabama and Tennessee in her whole life. So when her doting boyfriend of two months offered an all-expenses-paid weekend at the Bellagio, she’d jumped at the chance to have a true adventure.

Snow knew the nuptials had not been premeditated, as no one could fake that kind of shock when they’d both opened their eyes that bright January morning sprawled naked across a heart-shaped bed, sporting matching ten-dollar wedding bands. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t blame him for fogging her brain with incredible sex and an endless supply of smooth Southern charm.