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  Forever Saved

  Forever Bluegrass #14

  Kathleen Brooks

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  An original work of Kathleen Brooks. Forever Saved copyright @ 2020 by Kathleen Brooks

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  Kathleen Brooks® and Forever Bluegrass Series® are registered Trademarks of Laurens Publishing, LLC.

  Bluegrass Series

  Bluegrass State of Mind

  Risky Shot

  Dead Heat

  * * *

  Bluegrass Brothers

  Bluegrass Undercover

  Rising Storm

  Secret Santa: A Bluegrass Series Novella

  Acquiring Trouble

  Relentless Pursuit

  Secrets Collide

  Final Vow

  * * *

  Bluegrass Singles

  All Hung Up

  Bluegrass Dawn

  The Perfect Gift

  The Keeneston Roses

  * * *

  Forever Bluegrass Series

  Forever Entangled

  Forever Hidden

  Forever Betrayed

  Forever Driven

  Forever Secret

  Forever Surprised

  Forever Concealed

  Forever Devoted

  Forever Hunted

  Forever Guarded

  Forever Notorious

  Forever Ventured

  Forever Freed

  Forever Saved

  Forever Bold (coming Jan/Feb 2021)

  * * *

  Shadows Landing Series

  Saving Shadows

  Sunken Shadows

  Lasting Shadows

  Fierce Shadows

  Broken Shadows (coming October 2020)

  Framed Shadows (coming Apr/May 2021)

  * * *

  Women of Power Series

  Chosen for Power

  Built for Power

  Fashioned for Power

  Destined for Power

  * * *

  Web of Lies Series

  Whispered Lies

  Rogue Lies

  Shattered Lies

  * * *

  Moonshine Hollow Series

  Moonshine & Murder

  Moonshine & Malice

  Moonshine & Mayhem

  Moonshine & Mischief

  Contents

  Family Trees for Keeneston

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  Also by Kathleen Brooks

  About the Author

  Family Trees for Keeneston

  Davies Family Tree

  * * *

  Keeneston Friends Family Trees

  * * *

  Extended Family Tree for Keeneston and Shadows Landing

  Prologue

  Three months ago . . .

  * * *

  “But we’re meant to be together.”

  Stella knew this was going to be hard, but it had to be done. She’d wasted seven months on Rick Hudson and that was six months and three weeks too long.

  “I’m sorry, but I have to focus on expanding my business. I can’t devote the time or attention our relationship needs. It’s not fair to you so we just have to step back. Permanently.”

  Stella had met Rick at a Lexington bar on a night out with her friends. She’d been swept up in his sexy charm and suavely complimentary nature. He wasn’t the type of guy Stella usually found attractive and that had appealed to her. He wasn’t into the outdoors like she was. Instead, he much preferred weightlifting in a gym. His hands were dirt free while hers was always covered in it. He was all about climbing the corporate ladder while she ran her own small business.

  While the differences between them seemed like novel perks at first, they soon became the reason their relationship was doomed to fail. First, Stella owned her own business, consisting of a floral shop and a recently purchased farm so she could open her own nursery and garden center. Dirty hands, muddy boots, and the love of the outdoors was her way of life. For her to have to beg to go on a hike or suffer through yet another “date night” at the gym was simply not her thing.

  Further, while it had been endearing at first, the compliments Rick always gave her began to feel like a sales job. Then Stella began to notice he couldn’t stand not being the center of attention. Yes, he drove a fancy car. Yes, he had a solid income. Yes, he knew everyone in Lexington with a big name, especially those in the sports world. No, she did not want to hear about it every hour of every day.

  “But you were to be my date to the Lexington Baller Charity Event tomorrow. I even picked out your dress and it complements my tux perfectly. How is it going to look for me to show up alone?”

  Stella took a calming breath. He just didn’t see what he did all the time: turn everything into a “how will this help me” situation. He wasn’t upset they were breaking up. He was upset because he wouldn’t have a matching date on his arm tomorrow.

  “What about that pretty brunette from the gym? The dress would fit her.”

  “Which one? There’s the one who always wears her hair in a ponytail, the one who has those really expensive tennis shoes, or the one who wears that sports bra. You know the one.”

  Stella had been sarcastic, but the way Rick’s brown eyes lit up, she was pretty sure the society rag’s pictures would have Rick and Brunette Number 3 featured in them.

  “I think they’re all beautiful and any one of them would look great in the dress. Best of luck to you, Rick.” Stella held out the box of things he’d left at her place and shoved it forward so he’d have to take them.

  “You’ll live to regret this, Stella Winters. Women like you end up with filthy farmers who only scrape by with a small living. You could have had all of this.” Rick waved behind him to the obnoxiously largest house in their subdivision.

  That was another reason Stella’s creep-radar had gone off. Rick had bought the most ostentatious house in the whole development, right down the street from her, after one month of dating so they could “be closer and spend more time together.” It had seemed sweet at the time, but now it just gave her the shivers—the way he pointed out that he owned the largest house around . . . to everyone, the way he refused to park his hundred thousand dollar sports car in the garage because he wanted to show it off. And now she was stuck just down the street from him.

  That settled it. She needed to move.

  A minivan pulled up to the curb and Stella let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her brother and niece arriving. Rick groaned when he saw them because her brother, Ka
rl, didn’t swallow the BS Rick tried to feed him. Neither did April, who was very perceptive for a three year old.

  “We’re not done talking about this,” Rick rushed to say before he spun around and stormed off.

  “Are you leaving, Mr. Wick?” April asked in her sweet three year old’s voice. It was clear that Karl’s wife, Eden, was away this week by the very lopsided pigtails her niece was sporting.

  “For now.” Rick tried not to sneer but he couldn’t hide the fact he thought children were beneath him.

  April’s bright blue eyes went big and her sunny yellow blonde hair bounced as she cocked her head to the side and looked up at him. “Forever is good.”

  Stella bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling while Karl cleared his throat and nudged April into the house. Stella didn’t wait for Rick to think of a snappy comeback for a three year old. She just shut the door and locked it.

  “What was that all about?” Karl asked as April skipped down the small hallway leading into the open kitchen and living room.

  “I just broke up with Rick.”

  “Thank goodness. I couldn’t stand him.”

  Stella smacked her brother’s arm. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner? It could have saved me a lot of time.”

  “He bought that gaudy, overpriced house down the road from you. It should have been obvious then that his cornbread wasn’t cooked in the middle.”

  Stella wanted to roll her eyes at him, but she was beginning to realize how stupid women could be when a man with a pretty face paid them a lot of attention. She vowed right then and there not to fall for another pretty face without fully cooked cornbread behind it.

  “Aunt Stell and Wick are over,” April sang as she skipped around some more.

  “You never did like him, did you?” Stella asked her niece.

  “No. He’s mean. Can I go play with Jimmy?” April asked.

  “Sure. Jimmy is out back.”

  Karl shook his head as his daughter flung open the back door and yelled, “Jimmy!”

  The black and white mixed-breed dog raced from where he had been chasing a squirrel. Jimmy was a big dog, but a lean one. He weighed seventy pounds and was the height of a German Shepherd. He had the coloring and speed of a border collie and the short coat of a Labrador retriever. His body was black, but the bottom parts of his legs and the tip of his tail were white and he sported a white shirtfront in a tuxedo chest. His head was also black except for the lightning bolt of white down his forehead. Stella had stopped traffic during rush hour on the busy Harrodsburg Road in Lexington to rescue the dog four years ago.

  Now he and April were inseparable. Jimmy slid to a stop and sat in front of April, who immediately flung her little arms around his neck. “Come on, Jimmy. I want to play dress up.”

  Jimmy dutifully followed after as April ran down the hallway toward the guest room that also served as April’s room. Once a week, April stayed with Stella so Karl and Eden could have a date night.

  When April and Jimmy were off getting dressed up, Stella grabbed a beer for her brother and one for herself. “I want to sell my house.”

  “What? You just bought it two years ago.”

  “I know, but it creeps me out that Rick is right down the street. How can I relax? Plus, with him purchasing that house, it’ll really help my comps. I should come out ahead on the sale.” Stella took a sip of her beer. “And I’m ready for a move. I bought that farm in Keeneston and the farmhouse on it is awfully cute. What do I need this house for?”

  Karl cringed behind his beer. “Farm rubble more like it. It needs serious work to be livable.”

  “I know. That’s why I thought I’d quietly start looking for a buyer for this house while I get to work on the farmhouse. Then I can close and move out and never have to discuss it with Rick.”

  “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Karl asked after a moment of silence.

  “No, I just don’t want the headache. Everything’s always about him and I don’t want to hear it. Do you think Eden can find a buyer without publicly listing the house?”

  “Of course she can.” Karl sat down his beer and pulled out his phone. In less than a minute, Eden had gotten back to him. “She’s finishing up a showing just down the road and will come straight here. I won’t bother telling you what she thinks of this.”

  Stella rolled her eyes at her brother. “Of course you’ll tell me. Otherwise you wouldn’t have said it.”

  “Fine. She thinks it’s a great idea and she agrees with April. Rick is mean.”

  “Well then, we’d better toast. Out with the mean and in with the nice.”

  They clinked their bottles together in celebration of moving forward. Stella brought her beer to her lips, and as she drank, she envisioned her rundown farmhouse transforming into a beautiful, comfortable home. April and Jimmy would have forty acres to run on. There was even a pond to fish in. Now she just needed to get her inventory in, build an office in the old barn, and refurbish the house. No problem. How hard could it be?

  1

  “What do you think, Doc? Can I still play?” Zack Sanders asked. The big man was on the Lexington Thoroughbreds professional football team. Jace’s cousin Sienna Ashton Parker was the team’s sports psychologist and her father, Will Ashton, was the team owner. Their Keeneston friend Trey Everett was a former player-turned-head coach. So when they’d needed a team doctor, Jace had put in his résumé immediately.

  Jace maneuvered the lineman’s thumb and popped it back into place. “It was just dislocated. I want you to wear the brace when you play and I’ll show you how to reset it if it comes out when I’m not here.”

  Jace finished up with Zack, and Deon’s physical didn’t take long. Before long he was listening to Jaylen Cox, the star running back, trying to decide if he should have sex or not during spring conditioning.

  “Jaylen, are you cheating on me?” Sienna asked as she came into the room with Will and Trey.

  Jaylen’s dark umber skin filled with warmth as Sienna teased him. “Of course not, Doc. You’re my go-to sex doctor. I was just talking it out.”

  “I’m just teasing you. In fact, this is a good question. What do you guys think?” Sienna asked.

  “You never have sex before a game,” Will said with certainty.

  “I always had sex before a game. It focused me,” Trey said as he looked at Will as if he was crazy.

  Jaylen groaned. “See why we’re still talking about this? It’s a very divisive topic. Kind of like cilantro. You’re either all in or all out . . . in more ways than one.”

  Jace shook his head as he packed up his bag. “I’ll send over the reports on the players’ physicals before lunch. I have to get back to the clinic. Call if you need anything.”

  * * *

  Jace Davies smiled every time he entered his family practice in downtown Keeneston. The office was tucked away between the insurance agency and an antique shop and it was perfect. His practice was in a historic house with three floors. He used the first floor as exam rooms. The second floor housed his office and a small kitchen he and his staff used as a break room, along with two other rooms dedicated to medical storage and home to many filing cabinets. The third floor was his own residence. He’d been renting a house on his cousin Wyatt’s farm, but with more new firefighters in town, it seemed the nice thing to do to let a couple of them rent it now that he had his own place.

  Jace had lived through the long hours of residency, passed his boards, and all that hard work and sleepless nights were paying off. He had his own patients at last, both in Keeneston and the players on the Thoroughbreds.

  Keeneston wasn’t a big town so he was the only doctor with a practice in town. Ava Miller, the other doctor who lived in town, worked in Lexington. Her mother, Dr. Emma, was retired but she’d offered to fill in for Jace if he needed help, which was a big plus.

  Jace entered the front lobby and smiled at his staff. He employed two people. Sarah operated the front desk just as efficiently as she�
�d done with the National Guard. She’d retired from that career and discovered that being retired at forty wasn’t for her. Jace had instantly hired her. She made insurance companies quiver with the lectures she gave when they dared to deny a test Jace ordered for one of his patients. Then there was Molly, the sweet nurse whom he hired two months ago. She was still young, only twenty-five, but her bedside manner made her a favorite.

  “Good morning, ladies. What does today’s schedule look like?” Jace asked as he slipped on the white lab coat with his name embroidered on the pocket.

  “It’s a busy morning with spring football practice about to start. All the boys need their sports physicals,” Sarah told him as she pulled a pencil from her bun and used it to count off the number of physicals. “As if you didn’t get enough physicals this morning. You started four hours ago, didn’t you?”

  “I did, but I got them all done.” Jace set his laptop on her desk along with some of his papers. “Can you get these all ready to send over to the team by lunch?”

  “Of course I can. It’s an insult you even asked.” Sarah opened the laptop and immediately went to work.