Chasing Fireflies: A Moonflower Cove Romance, page 1
CHASING FIREFLIES
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Addison Clarke.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by Lucy Bexley.
Also Available by Addison Clarke
State of Grace: A Moonflower Cove Romance
Someday, Maybe: A Moonflower Cove Romance
Champagne Problems: A Moonflower Cove Romance
Begin Again…Again: A Moonflower Cove Novella
Twice Upon a Christmas Time: A Moonflower Cove Romance
The Christmas Inheritance: A Tis the Season Collection Novella
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you to Erica, Regis, Miranda, and Natalie for listening to my hours of talking about writing this story. Your constant support has meant the world to me.
This book wouldn’t be possible without you.
And to my readers, thank you for welcoming the people of
Moonflower Cove into your life. You’re simply the best.
If you keep reading, I’ll keep writing.
Chasing Fireflies
A Moonflower Cove Romance
Chapter 1
Mason
M ason Mackenzie methodically clicked the ink pen as she tried to focus on the paperwork in front of her. Thanks to the new financial advisor, Mason’s nonprofit service dog training organization had stayed out of the red for the last three months. Their budget boost had been thanks to holiday donations and the publicity they were already getting from the documentary that had recently wrapped up filming at the organization.
Although Mason had been skeptical about the documentary when the idea was first proposed, she had to admit it had turned out better than she’d expected. Jones Garner, the new marketing director for Paws on a Mission, had set the whole thing up. Along with Mason’s Hollywood actress sister, Blake Calloway-Holland, and a small film crew, the entire filming process only took a couple of weeks.
There was a small premiere happening soon, but Mason didn’t know any details. As long as word got out about the work she and her coworkers strived to do every day, that would be enough. And she didn’t dare let the thought of the documentary being featured on a streaming service enter her mind. It was such a pie-in-the-sky dream that Mason didn’t want to get her hopes up. For now, YouTube, TikTok, and other social media that Mason knew little about would be their primary platforms.
In all honesty, everything had been insanely overwhelming for Mason. She’d started Paws on a Mission nearly a decade ago with her friend, Mallory Garner, Jones’s twin sister. While Mason knew more about the business side of things, Mallory knew more about actually training the dogs to become service dogs. Together they worked hard to transform Paws on a Mission into the marginally successful business it was now. People from all over the United States traveled to Moonflower Cove, Maine, in order to be matched with a service dog. Most people even received their dogs for free, thanks to generous donations and sponsorships. There were also others that paid for a dog to be trained in specific areas to meet their needs. Overall, Paws on a Mission had been a success.
Even if it came at the price of Mason’s sanity most days.
The last few years had been more of a whirlwind of ups and downs than Mason ever expected. She’d completed her Master’s program and purchased a house, which were both great. She was closer to her moms than ever and was actually getting along with all her younger siblings. And not to mention the fact her long-lost older sister Blake came back into her life unexpectedly.
But all the good things seemed to be counteracted with not so good things as well. For starters, her best friend had nearly died in a shootout at work with the Moonflower Cove Police Department. Then Blake fell in love with Mason’s friend Alexis, and, yes, that is good news, but it also felt like she lost her sister again, and this time, she took a close friend away with her. All of that piled onto her already full plate of responsibilities that came along with owning her own company.
And don’t even get her started on her love life. Or rather, a general lack thereof.
It wasn’t a secret that Mason was a bit of a Casanova with the women in and around the Cove. She’d had a reputation for years and had finally accepted it as her fate. Mason was the one who slept around, and then it never failed that the person she slept with found their forever partner shortly after. And each time, Mason was left alone to pick up the pieces of her heart that she swore wouldn’t get involved.
It was all too much sometimes.
Although she fancied herself someone who was happy alone, Mason, more often than she cared to admit, wished she had someone to share her life with. She craved more than one-night stands and quick hookups. Mason wanted a lasting connection with someone she could build a life with. Hell, build a family with. She just wasn’t sure that person existed.
“You look deep in thought.” Chase Monroe walked into Mason’s office holding two cups of coffee. She sat one down in front of Mason before taking a seat on a nearby chair. Mason noticed the slight wince as she sat down, which happened almost every time she sat down after her injury. “What’s on your mind?”
“Do you think I’m crazy?”
Chase snorted a laugh. “As your best friend, I feel I should say no. But also, as your best friend, I feel I should say yes. So, which answer are you wanting?”
“I dunno,” Mason grumbled and tossed the pen onto the desk. She picked up the coffee and savored the smell of the dark roast blend from their favorite coffee shop. Chase knew her order by heart, just like Mason knew hers. “I’m tired.”
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“It’s not really a physical tired. It’s more metaphysical.”
“Right,” Chase held out the word longer than necessary and narrowed her eyes. “Makes perfect sense. Anything I can do to help?”
“Go back ten years and tell me how much stress I’m under, so I won’t start this business.”
“Nope. No way.” Chase stood, sitting her coffee down on the desk. She pointed a finger at Mason, and she knew what was coming. Her best friend was nothing, if not predictable. “You know what we’re gonna do? We’re gonna go to Straight to Ale tonight and drink and eat fried foods. And then we’re gonna go home and watch Joe vs. Carole, and cuddle your dogs, and have a great night.”
And that was why Mason loved Chase. She didn’t push her to talk when she wasn’t up for it, and she always knew the cure for her mental health.
“I’m in.”
“Obviously. You’d be stupid not to want to hang out with me.”
“Why are we friends again?” Mason teased.
“Cause you said hello to me.”
“Right, right.”
Mason remembered the day she met Chase as if it was yesterday. Although they’d gone to the same college, they had run in different circles because Chase was a couple of years ahead of Mason. That all changed, though, when they wound up in the library before midterms looking for a quiet place to study. The only available table was the one Chase was at, and Mason had walked over, said hello, and slowly sat in the wooden chair before Chase could tell her not to.
Little studying was done that day as the two quickly struck up a conversation. It was well after dark when they called it a night and headed back to their dorms. Mason often wondered why she hadn’t made a move on Chase, as was her usual style, but maybe the universe knew she needed a best friend more than a hookup.
“So, tonight. Seven o’clock. I’ll be the pretty one at the bar.” Chase winked and picked up her coffee.
“Only until I get there.”
“Whatever, loser. I’ll see you tonight.”
“You off to the bookstore?” Mason asked, although she already knew the answer. Chase had been making it a habit to go to the bookstore every Tuesday for weeks now, and Mason knew it actually had little to do with the new releases and more to do with the cute bookkeeper. She didn’t linger on the way her stomach churned at the thought of Chase flirting with someone that wasn’t her.
Get your shit together, Mason. Seriously.
“Of course. You want to join?”
“So I can finally ask her out for you?” She hoped her voice didn’t sound as cynical to Chase as it did in her head. “You just gotta make a move.”
“That’s what you do. That’s not what I do.”
“It’s what everyone does that wants to be in a relationship.”
“And what would you know about that?” Although the remark was made with a laugh, Chase’s words still cut deep. She tried to shrug them off and laughed as well.
“More than you, apparently.” Mason picked up her coffee cup, thankful to have something to block the emotions she knew were written on her face. She decided a subject change was best. “So, seven o’clock?”
“See you there. Love you.” Chase blew Mason a kiss before she walked out the door and down the hallway. Mason could hear her stopping at the other offices as she left, as if on a farewell tour.
She honestly didn’t know what she’d do without Chase. After Chase was injured, the doctors told them on multiple occasions she might not
“Chase has been shot!” It had been Chase’s mother on the other end of the line. Mason had been asleep in bed and had bolted up.
“What?!”
“I don’t have the details. I just know she’s been shot, and it’s not looking good and I need you here. Chase needs you here.”
Mason didn’t hesitate and arrived at Taylor Memorial Hospital moments later. Chase had been in surgery, and Mason couldn’t see her for hours, but when she did, she fell to her knees by her best friend’s bedside. Tubes and wires of all sizes were running all over Chase’s body, which was mostly covered in bandages. Her face was so swollen that Mason could almost convince herself that it wasn’t Chase, that it wasn’t her best friend hanging onto dear life in the hospital.
But it was. Chase was in the hospital for months after that. She had to have a total knee and hip replacement from where two bullets shattered each of them. Through it all, Mason never left Chase’s side.
It’s what best friends do, she’d tell Chase.
Of course, she hadn’t told Chase about the way she’d run into her asshole ex-fiancé in the hallway after he broke up with her. Shane Davis was a piece of shit, and Mason never liked him. When Chase got engaged to him, she resisted the urge to talk her out of it. Chase seemed happy, so Mason kept her mouth shut.
But everything she’d been worried about was confirmed when Shane walked out on her. Chase had barely been conscious for two hours when Shane arrived, told her he didn’t want to deal with this and left. The kicker that Mason didn’t know until later was that he even took the engagement ring that had been pried off Chase’s finger during surgery. Mason’s blood boiled each time she thought about it.
The only saving grace was that Shane had since moved to who cared where, and Chase seemed to be doing better than ever. For that, Mason was thankful.
Not for the first time, Mason wondered how life could be if she and Chase were more than just friends. They’d joked about it before, but there had always been a clear line that neither of them would cross. Their friendship meant more than anything to them, so neither wanted to jeopardize it if the relationship didn’t work out.
Besides, Chase wouldn’t be interested anyway.
Historically, Chase had only dated men. Recently though, she had told Mason that she might try exploring more of her sexuality now that she had a new outlook on life after her injury. Chase was the embodiment of living as if death was around the corner because, for her, it had been. Mason was thrilled that her friend was discovering more parts of herself that had been closed off.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she could help Chase with that.
Dammit, Mason. She’s your best friend. Get your shit together.
Chapter 2
Chase
M arch was one of those perfect times in Maine, and the current month was no exception. It was as if the entire town came to life in March. With winter mostly behind them, the Cove’s residents once again mingled through the town square and downtown areas. Storefronts were replacing their snowman decor in the windows for bright spring flowers. Maddie Carlson, the owner of Little Miss Happy Plants, must have been at work all winter tending to her greenhouse to make the flowers look so beautiful.
Chase found herself amid people enjoying the first sixty-degree day of the year as she made her way to Between the Covers. The small bookshop was one of Chase’s favorite places in town, and not just because the bookkeeper was pretty damn cute. Although she’d known August Forbes for years, she’d recently wondered if August was single and if she’d like to go on a date.
Of course, Chase’s insecurities about being in her mid-thirties and just now coming to terms with her sexuality kept her from asking August out on a date.
But alas, that didn’t stop her from going to the bookstore every Tuesday for the new releases.
Standing outside the store, Chase pretended to be admiring the new book display in the front window while she checked her appearance in the reflection. Sweatpants and hoodies had been her main attire since her hip and knee replacements. Orthotic tennis shoes had also become her best friend as they helped ease some of the pain from walking. She tried not to linger too long on the events that led her to the new wardrobe, but it was hard sometimes.
Everything about the traffic stop had been so routine. Chase had pulled over an out-of-state sports car going seventy in a forty zone. The ticketing should have been cut and dried: approach the car, explain why she pulled them over, check license and registration, write the ticket, and then go on about her day. It was something she had done every day since she joined the Moonflower Cove Police Department.
Except nothing about it was routine.
As soon as Chase stepped out of her cruiser, the truck door opened. Chase’s hand instinctively went to her holster as she ordered the person to close the door and stay inside the vehicle.
But he didn’t.
Everything after that happened in slow motion and lightning-fast simultaneously. As the man exited the truck, he aimed the gun in his hands at Chase and shot five rounds into her body. One shattered her knee, while two others shattered her hip. The last two grazed her but, thankfully, didn’t cause any significant damage. Chase had fallen to the ground as the man got back in his truck and sped away. She could barely call for backup as she bled out on the side of the road. If it hadn’t been for the passerby who stopped and applied pressure to her wounds, Chase knew she wouldn’t have made it.
Granted, at times, she didn’t know if she wanted to make it. The recovery had been insanely hard; harder than anything Chase had ever faced before. Add on the fact her fiancé had left her in the hospital with barely a goodbye was enough to piss Chase off.
The sad thing was that she couldn’t even say she missed Shane. He had been safe. That was all. He was there and seemed to care about her, and Chase could hear her biological clock ticking. After only dating for a few months, she had said yes to his proposal. It had nothing to do with love and everything to do with the fact she didn’t want to end up alone.
But that happened anyway, just a few weeks later.
Except Chase never really felt alone after Shane left. Mason had been by her side at the hospital every day. She rarely missed a physical therapy appointment and was there the day Chase made her first steps by herself after her surgeries. Her best friend had stepped up during Chase’s darker hours and never let her feel alone. Mason was one of the good ones; Chase knew that much. She’d lucked out in the best friend department for sure.
Taking a deep breath, Chase pushed her thoughts of the past and her best friend to the back of her brain. If she was ever going to have the nerve to ask August out, she needed her brain cleared. Chase entered the shop as the bell above the door signaled her arrival.
“You’re running late today,” August’s coy voice greeted her from behind the counter. Trying to hide the smile on her face, Chase slowly walked over toward her. She had on a Stevie Nicks T-shirt French-tucked into her ripped jeans with her hair up in a messy bun. August could pull off casual; Chase just looked frumpy in her clothes.
“I stopped by Mason’s and dropped off some coffee.”
“Ahh, so she gets coffee, but I don’t?” Was that jealousy in her voice? It was slight, but it was definitely there. August raised an eyebrow at her. “I see where I stand.”
“Next week,” Chase blurted out, “I’ll bring you one next week.”
“Yeah?” The corner of August’s mouth ticked up into a sly smirk. Chase found it hard to breathe under August’s gaze and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’d like that.”
Any possible flirty comeback dissipated from every corner of Chase’s brain. She awkwardly smiled as she turned and mindlessly meandered through the bookstore. Chase tried to pump herself up into asking August out but completely chickened out and left in a hurry with a book she had no interest in reading.
