The Meltdown Match (A Romance Novella)

The Meltdown Match

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Author’s Note

About Rachael Anderson

Other Books by Rachael Anderson

© 2015 Rachael Anderson

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, whether by graphic, visual, electronic, film, microfilm, tape recording, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles.

This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real. The opinions and views expressed herein belong solely to the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of HEA Publishing, LLC. Permission for the use of sources, graphics, and photos is also solely the responsibility of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-941363-11-9

Published by HEA Publishing

For my beautiful, talented

and only slightly superstitious niece, Courtney.

I love you, girl.

The air smelled woodsy and fresh, exactly how Courtney remembered. A light breeze tickled her face as she walked. This was exactly why she loved coming home—to smell this smell and feel the wild, untamed feeling that made Heimel, Alaska the perfect place to return to for the summer.

And only for the summer.

An uncomfortable pit settled in Courtney’s stomach, the same way it did every time she thought of leaving again in a few months. Would she ever be able to stay?

Hannah’s arm nudged hers as they headed down Main Street, sipping strawberry smoothies. “Glad to have you back, sis, even if it’s only for the summer.” She sucked the last of her smoothie with a slurp. “Where next? Oregon? South Dakota? What about Canada? You haven’t been out of the country yet.”

“Who knows?” Courtney shrugged. “It all depends on the setting of my next book. Which is why I’m here—to get inspired. And to catch up with my favorite sister, of course.”

“How nice to be an afterthought,” Hannah said dryly.

Courtney laughed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hannah swished her long, ebony hair behind her shoulder and lifted her face to the sun. “If you feel so inspired here, why not move back for good?”

It was a question Courtney had asked herself many times, but as much as she’d love to move back, she couldn’t. It would ruin everything. She sipped the last of her smoothie then tossed the empty cup in a nearby trashcan.

Hannah would laugh and call her superstitious, but each of Courtney’s four published, and two soon-to-be published books were born in Heimel—but not until
after
she’d left and returned.

The feeling of coming home was like magic, permeating her soul and leaving her rejuvenated. In only a matter of months, she could outline a story and pound out a rough draft. It was like gliding through the skies and seeing everything stretch beneath her in a large and beautiful, interconnecting pattern. But eventually, she’d inevitably find herself back on the ground, completely uninspired.

So Courtney had developed a foolproof system to keep her writing going strong: Return to Heimel, outline and write a rough draft, and move to the place where the book was set for research and revisions. Several months later, after she’d handed over the completed manuscript to her agent, she’d return to Heimel and start the process all over again.

Although moving around was exhausting, Courtney had lived in New York, Virginia, Texas, Colorado, Maine, and, most recently, California. She’d met different people, experienced new cultures, and had become a better writer. But every time she came home, Courtney couldn’t help but look around with a feeling of longing, wishing things could be different and she could finally stay put. What she’d once considered an adventurous life was getting old.

With a sigh, Courtney pulled a leaf off a nearby bush and ran her fingers across the smooth, silky surface. “Maybe someday I’ll move back for good. Just not yet.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Hannah stopped to look at a banner that spanned the road in front of them and pointed. “Hey, you’re going to be here for the Solstice Days this year.”

“So?”

She turned to Courtney, and a slow, almost devious, smile spread across her face. “So... that means we can both enter The Meltdown Match.”

Courtney shook her head.ann “No way. That contest screams desperation, and I’m not desperate. Neither are you. Don’t you already have a date lined up for Friday?”

“And Saturday.” Hannah grinned. “But who cares? This isn’t about looking desperate. It’s about doing something spontaneous and having fun.” She grabbed Courtney’s arm, tugging her along, and Courtney’s gaze dropped from the banner to the empty field across the street, where a moose stood grazing—the first moose she’d seen since her return. A sign.

Courtney smiled. Truth be known, she’d always thought of The Meltdown Match as a romantic, even magical, tradition. The so-called legend stated that on the day when the sun shined the longest, two unsuspecting hearts would be brought together in a union created by the universe. And if they later they married under the solstice sun, they were promised a lifetime of happiness.

Or something like that.

Every year during Heimel’s Solstice Days, on the morning of June 21, the first official day of summer and the longest day of the year, hundreds of vases made of ice, each holding a stick with the name of a man or woman between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-nine, were left to melt in the warm summer sun. The first male and female sticks to fall were then matched for a date.

For Courtney, writer of romances with a magical twist, it sounded like a novel-worthy beginning to a wonderful love story. Who wouldn’t want to say they were matched by the greatest source of light? She’d always wanted to enter the contest and win, but one thing held her back. What if her vase didn’t melt first? What became of all the names the sun didn’t recognize as worthy of true love? She didn’t want to find out.

Granted, only a handful of the matches had ever ended in a lasting union, but a part of her couldn’t help believe that the sun didn’t make mistakes—only people did.

Lost in her thoughts, Courtney didn’t realize where they were headed until Hannah opened a door and pulled her inside the musty-smelling city office building. Courtney immediately planted her feet and tried to tug her hand free.

“Are you deaf? I told you, I’m not entering the contest.”

“Are too,” Hannah countered.

“Are not.”

“Too.”

“Not.”

“Well if it isn’t Salt and Pepper arguing in public,” said a deep voice behind Courtney. “Some things never change.”

Courtney grinned as she turned around to meet Mitch Winter’s teasing eyes. Only a few years older and a good friend, he’d made a habit of giving Courtney a hard time over the years.

“We hardly ever argue, especially in public,” said Courtney. “You just have bad timing.”

Mitch chuckled as he engulfed her into one of his signature hugs, making Courtney feel warm, cozy, and more than content to stay there forever. Yet another reason she liked leaving and coming home. Mitch only hugged her like this when she came back.

“Welcome home,” he said.

Courtney breathed in the clean, outdoorsy scent that always seemed to surround him. Not for the first time, she found herself wishing she were Mitch’s type—willowy, classy, and a brunette—not average and blonde, something he loved to point out with the annoying nickname he’d given her of “Salt.”

She reluctantly pulled free and studied his handsome, mischievous face. Green eyes. Dark, curly hair that hung just over his ears. A teasing smile that often taunted her. She slugged him lightly on his arm. “What’s it going to take to get you to stop using those awful nicknames? Dying our hair?”

“Speak for yourself,” Hannah said. “My hair rocks, and I like being called Pepper.”

Mitch tugged on a lock of Courtney’s straight, blonde hair. “Dye it red, and I’ll start calling you cinnamon instead. But I like Salt better, so I hope you’ll leave it alone.”

“Someday I’m going to think of an equally lousy nickname for you, and you’re going to rue the day you ever started calling me Salt.”

“I look forward to it.” Mitch grinned and glanced at Hannah. “You home for the summer too?”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Always the afterthought. And yes, I am home for the summer, maybe even for good. I’m all graduated, or haven’t you heard?”

“Already?” Mitch shook his head. “No way you’re old enough to be a college graduate.”

“You’re just bugged because it makes you feel ancient. What are you now, thirty?”

“Twenty-nine,” Mitch returned.

A large smile spread across Hannah’s face as she shot her sister a meaningful glance. “Hear that, Court? Looks like Mitch can enter The Meltdown Match too.”

He leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “No I can’t, and neither can you, if that’s what you’re here to do. Deadline was yesterday.”

Hannah cocked her head and gave him a sultry smile as she moved closer and adjusted the collar of his navy and grey plaid shirt. “I’m sure Mr. Big-Wig City Engineer can find a way to sneak our names in.”

“Leave me out of this,” Courtney said. “I don’t want my name anywhere near those ice vases.”

“She’s lying,” Hannah said. “Ignore her.”

“If I
could
get you in?” Mitch said. “What’s in it for me?”

“A plate of my mother’s to-die-for-cinnamon rolls,” Hannah said. “Straight from the oven.”

Mitch nodded as if mulling over the offer. “Consider it done.” He pushed away from the wall and pointed a finger at Hannah. “But those rolls had better be hot.”

“They will be.”

He moved to walk away, but Courtney stopped him with a hand on his arm. “If my name ends up on one of those sticks, there’s going to be a lot more than cinnamon in those rolls.”

“Like what?”

“Like, I don’t know,
salt
maybe? You do like it better than cinnamon, right?”

Mitch leaned close, giving her one of his mischievous smiles. “Actually, I like salt better than a lot of things.”

With a wink, he was gone, leaving Courtney’s heart beating like a flock of geese taking flight. He always had been a flirt and she’d always liked it.