Everything She Needed (Cedar Valley Novel Book 2) Read online

  Everything She Needed

  A Cedar Valley Novel

  Christina Butrum

  Contents

  Also by Christina Butrum

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Also by Christina Butrum

  Fairshore Series

  Second Chances

  Unexpected Chances

  Fair Chances

  Cedar Valley Series

  All She Ever Wanted

  Everything She Needed

  Kate’s Duet

  Kate’s Valentine

  Kate’s Forever

  No Place Like Home: Love in Seattle

  Acknowledgments

  With this being my eighth published book, you would think that I would be a pro at writing the acknowledgments…not even close…But here goes my best attempt at thanking those who make this possible for me each and every day.

  My readers - Without you, who else would fall in love with my characters? They need you. Thank you for taking a chance on a new author.

  Betas - You continue to provide valuable feedback with each and every book I send your way. Thank you!

  Amanda Walker - aka Cover Queen - I enjoy working with you! You’re one heck of a cover designer and I love your attention to detail. You provide me with so much, that I’m forever thankful for you and our friendship.

  My editor, Janet at Dragonfly Editing - I can never thank you enough! You’re one of a kind and I’m thankful I have you to edit my errors.

  Fellow authors who have become good friends of mine - It amazes me how lost one can get in this Indie World, but I have nothing to worry about when I have all of you in my corner. Thank you for always being there.

  Nate, Alaina, my parents, and other family who continue to support me in this dream of mine to write full time someday - Thank you! Your support and encouragement means the world to me!

  XOXO - Christina

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Everything She Needed - A Cedar Valley Novel

  Copyright © 2017 by Christina Butrum

  All rights reserved.

  Edited By: Dragonfly Editing

  Cover By: Amanda Walker PA & Design Services

  Created with Vellum

  To my readers who fell in love with Cedar Valley.

  The mountains in the distance guided her home. Leah had been right since day one—there was something about Cedar Valley that encouraged everyone to come back, settle down, and call it home.

  1

  Ava babbled along to a Sesame Street movie in the backseat as they headed west to Cedar Valley. It had taken longer than Rachel had planned to get all of their things loaded into the car. Renting a U-Haul had crossed her mind, but with the help of Adam and his friends, the majority of her stuff had arrived in Cedar Valley last week. All that was left was packed in separate totes and strategically placed in the rear end of her car.

  Leaving the city had been tough, but with her relationship with Adam progressing further than it had within the last year, she had decided it was time for her and Ava to take the venture and accept what may come.

  The sun set just beyond the mountains, giving the sky a shade of rose petal pink with a hint of lavender and honey. There was something about the setting sun and the highway guiding her way to Cedar Valley. It just felt right.

  Cedar Valley had a lot to offer, including the main reason for her move with Ava, Adam Jacobsen—a local volunteer at the Cedar Valley Fire Department. She had met him more than a year ago, the night Leah got engaged.

  Adam was a dominant man who knew what he wanted—which included Rachel. She was more than impressed with the fact they had hit it off that night with an immediate connection. In fact, it had been Adam who had approached her in the crowd. She still teased him, to this day, that it had been her big ol’ belly that had caught his attention, to which he would always reply, “No, that was just an added bonus.”

  She had fallen hard for him because of the love he had for Ava. They hadn’t rushed into things, because she had just gotten out of a relationship—literally hours before they had met that night.

  How she was able to meet such an understanding man was beyond her, but she was more than thankful she had. Adam was everything she had ever sought out in a man. He was kind, patient, and he cared more about others than himself. He was selfless, giving, and made a place in his heart and his life for her and Ava. Not to mention, he was a single father and a great one at that. His love for Tyler went above and beyond her expectations of a father’s love.

  Lost in thought, she hadn’t realized that Ava was no longer babbling along with the characters in the video playing in the backseat. Instead, Ava was sound asleep, her reflection in the rearview mirror was peaceful and relaxed, as her long lashes rested along the top of her rosy red cheeks.

  Rachel was more than blessed, and she would continue to count her blessings as often as she could—starting now with a road to a brighter future for her and her daughter.

  * * *

  Taking lessons from Adam at a young age, Tyler had insisted that he join his school’s football team. He no longer wanted to watch from the bleachers, but instead, be out playing on the field.

  Adam had raised him alone since he was a toddler. He had been young and in love with Tyler’s mother when she had told him they were expecting. Wanting nothing more than a college degree at the time, Adam had decided to give it up in order to help support his son.

  A couple of years after the birth of their son, he had proposed, with the goal to make her his future wife. But all of that changed the night a drunk driver had crossed the center line, swerving into her lane, crashing head on with her car, killing her instantly.

  That night, he and Ty were watching Power Rangers, pretending to fight off the imaginary enemy, not realizing that Tyler would be forever without a mother from that night forward.

  The accident had prompted his willingness to become a firefighter. His other option had been to become a Paramedic, but it was unlikely he would have the time to complete two years of schooling, so had tossed that idea out the window.

  His parents had helped watch Ty over the course of trainings, and within a few months, he had his certification completed and had landed a position at the Cedar Valley Fire Department.

  Now, Ty was going on ten and they were doing fine. Through years of memories and pictures, Adam was
able to tell Tyler about his mother—hoping he did her justice with the stories of their younger years. The fact that her death had happened when Tyler was so young, and their relationship had been in its early stages, he sometimes wondered if he’d ever be able to move forward with his life, and be able to love another woman like he had loved April.

  Meeting Rachel had been his saving grace. She had proved there was indeed love after loss, and he was more than willing to let her in, but they had to take things slowly. She had been pregnant when they met, which hadn’t bothered him as much as the remembered thoughts of April he’d had when he introduced himself the night of Liam’s engagement.

  There had been something about Rachel that had caught his attention that night. He had not cared what her story was the night he introduced himself. He was drawn to her for a reason and that reason hadn’t been brushed off as coincidence or fate, but rather was a sign from April telling him it was time to move on.

  “Dad, look out,” Ty hollered across the yard in time for Adam to see the streak of a football coming right at him. Fast reflexes and a love for football had been on his side; otherwise he would have received a black eye with an unwanted broken nose. “Sorry, Dad.”

  Tossing the ball back to his son and his friends, Adam smiled and waved it off. “It’s all right, son.”

  Letting go of his thoughts in order to focus on the promise he’d made to his son to play ball with him, he jogged toward their imaginary field. “Let’s see what you’ve got,” he taunted as he intercepted and dodged being tackled as he ran the length of their backyard towards the imaginary touchdown line. Slamming the ball against the ground, he raised his arms above his head. “And he scores a touchdown for the old man team and the crowd goes wild.”

  A fit of laughter echoed across the yard as Ava and Rachel rounded the corner of the house. “I figured this is where you’d be.”

  Straightening his shirt on the way over to them, he asked, “Did you see my touchdown? This old man still has it in him.”

  Rachel’s smile, along with the offset blue in her eyes, radiated and chased a bad day away. He didn’t need anything else to be content with having her in his life. And not forgetting about Ava, he swooped down and swept her off her feet, causing a fit of giggles as her toothless grin stared back at him. He shouldn’t think of her grin as toothless because she had a few razor-sharp teeth that had bitten his finger the other night, while helping out with the nightly routine of getting ready for bed. Rachel had insisted that Ava use the rubber toothbrush, but since the night Ava had clamped down on his finger, he insisted she rather not.

  “I think it’s great that you’re out here playing with your son and his friends,” Rachel said, waving to an excited Tyler as he jogged towards her. “But I wouldn’t go as far as saying you’re an old man.”

  “Well, thanks for boosting my ego,” he called out. Watching his son wrap his arms around Rachel in the tightest hug possible was a reassuring breath of fresh air. Rachel was more than welcomed here at home, and in Cedar Valley. Everyone, including Ty, loved her. “Hey, bud, what do you say we start hauling things in from her car?”

  Tyler rose from his knees after giving Ava a high-five. “Sure, Dad, can my friends help?”

  Shrugging, unsure if they’d actually volunteer to help out an old man who had defeated them, Adam said, “Sure. The more help we have, the sooner we can enjoy the rest of our night.”

  Turning towards his friends in the backyard, Tyler waved them over. “Come help us.”

  The young men didn’t hesitate much longer than a second when Tyler mentioned playing video games once they were done. A few of the boys were the sons of a couple of buddies at work. Being the same age as his son, or close to it, he had known them since they were born.

  Hauling boxes and totes from the car into the house, he had a feeling this was the right move. Tyler had welcomed her openly the night he had met her—shortly after a few months of dating, because he hadn’t wanted to introduce Ty to someone who wouldn’t be sticking around long, which had been his biggest fear all along.

  “Heck, I say they’re doing a good enough job, I should take a break,” Adam said, hauling the heaviest tote up the stairs, imagining it was full of womanly things like clothes and shoes. He could only imagine Rachel would need a whole closet to herself with her city fashion—a remarkable one at that. He loved the way she dressed up in sundresses and sandals. She could pull off any look—including jogging pants and one of his hoodies, which he loved to see her wear. There was something about a woman wearing his clothes.

  “Hey, Dad, this one’s the last one,” Tyler said, carrying a small box that rattled noisily up the front porch steps—Adam guessed it was full of Ava’s toys.

  Turning back to Rachel, he pointed his thumb behind him, “See what I mean, they’re machines and can handle anything this old man can’t.”

  The dimples in her cheeks were dominantly the first feature he had noticed about her way back when. It was hard to believe they had been dating for over a year now. Ava had been just over two months old when they had officially started dating—making it clear to Rachel’s ex, Scott, that she was no longer available for his foolish games. Which, looking back, had only pissed him off, but since then, they hadn’t heard from Ava’s dad and they saw no problem with that.

  “What do you say we order pizza?” he asked the group of young adolescent boys who were now searching through his fridge in an attempt to eat him out of the house. Knowing from experience, and growing up with a brother, he knew exactly what being hungry meant—raiding the fridge every half hour for something to eat. “What kind does everyone like?”

  Rachel stepped into the kitchen with Ava on her hip. She laughed at the sight before them. “I’d think they’d eat anything.”

  “You’re probably right,” he said, pulling the phone out of his pocket. “Pepperoni? Anchovies?”

  The boys pulled their attention from the fridge and gave him a strange look. “Anchovies?” was asked in unison, followed by gagging sounds.

  “All right, I’ll get that ordered right away,” he said, giving Rachel a side wink as he turned to leave the kitchen.

  “No, Dad, wait,” Tyler called out, trailing close behind Adam. “Get us pepperoni, please?”

  Dialing the number for the pizza place, he nodded. “All right, I’ll tell them to add anchovies too.”

  Teasing Ty and his friends was usually the highlight of his days. Nothing ever failed to make him laugh harder than the bantering between them.

  “Come on, Dad, no. You can’t be serious.”

  Finally realizing he hadn’t asked Rachel what kind she would like, he turned to her and asked, “Is there a certain kind that you would like?”

  “Pepperoni sounds good to me.”

  She wasn’t difficult to please, he liked that about her. The only thing he found that would be difficult was getting used to having a woman in the house. He and April hadn’t made it that far in their relationship. The only woman he had ever had in the same house was his mother, before he and Ty had decided it was time to move out on their own.

  Ordering the pizza, requesting for delivery instead of carry out, Adam placed his phone on the table in the dining room next to his pager. He had the night off, but he kept it on just in case they needed an extra man.

  “It’ll be here within the next half hour, so go on and I’ll call you back in when it’s here.”

  Shooing the boys back to their football game outside, he closed the door behind them. Ava waddled up to him, stretching her tiny arms around his knee. “Dadda.”

  Looking to Rachel for confirmation, he pointed down at Ava, “What did she just say?”

  “I think you heard her correctly,” Rachel said. “She’s been hearing Ty call you that a lot lately, so it’s her new favorite word.”

  The fact that Ava wasn’t his hadn’t stopped him from treating her as his own. To be honest, if things continued to get serious, he planned to adopt Ava someday
soon.

  2

  Ava calling Adam dad was a new thing, so new that it had taken Rachel hearing it a few times to understand exactly what she was saying. Adam had only heard it for the first time tonight and his facial expression, full of shock and love, had overwhelmed her emotions.

  Ava calling Adam daddy was a sure sign that things were going just the way they wanted them to and they would only continue to get better with each passing day.

  She had never loved a man with a child before Adam, so this whole experience was different for her. But when Adam told her the story of Tyler’s mother, she realized that this would be more challenging for him than it would be for her.

  The thought of Adam loving someone so much, and then losing that person, broke her heart. She couldn’t imagine the pain that would have caused in his life. And then to raise the son the two of them had brought into this world...

  The ringing of the bell, along with Ava’s clapping in excitement, brought her back to the moment. Swooping Ava off her feet, Adam rushed to the door with his wallet.

  There was a reason she loved this man, and this moment proved to be that reason. Clapping her hands, she offered her outstretched arms for Ava to come to her, but the little turkey turned away from her, too preoccupied with what Adam had to offer.