One of the Good Ones (Strawberry Inn Book #1)

Chapter 1

ANGELA

I set down the black fountain pen and leaned back into the high back leather chair. Just like that, it was all over. After ten years of marriage and two years of separation, that part of my life was done and over with. It was hard to believe that the boy I had a crush on in middle school and the one that finally asked me to Homecoming in our freshman year of high school was now a thing of the past, but it was for the better. When I filed for separation I went out and bought the biggest cheesecake I could find and had a mini-celebration with my mom and best friend here in Sacramento, but I didn't have that same excitement now that it was finally over.

I'm sure that dread had more to do with everything I had to give up to finally be free than the actual divorce from my now ex-husband. That part still stung a bit, but what hurt the most was having to give up the thing that meant the most to me. Leon knew me so well that he knew exactly where to hit the hardest.

Cottonwood Bed and Breakfast was my pride and joy. When our couple friends with building their families, Leon and I were building our future. The six-bedroom historical home was a complete mess when we purchased it twelve years ago. We were just babies then, but I had sold him on my dream to own a bed and breakfast and he was so supportive. I grew up watching remodeling shows with my mom and even at fifteen years young I knew I wanted to buy an old home to fix up and turn into a B&B. Rather than having a large wedding, we eloped and used the money our parents had offered us for a wedding to purchase the location.

Over a decade later Cottonwood B&B was a regular in all of the travel magazines and had even been featured on HGTV once. We were booked months in advance and were talking about purchasing another home closer to Lake Tahoe to get into that tourist market as well. All of the puzzle pieces had fallen into place. That was until Leon's puzzle piece fell into our house manager.

I had no room in my life for a cheater, but I was naive in thinking he would walk away from the B&B. It was my idea, to begin with, but he wanted it. We fought for two years over who would get control of Cottonwood. The last time we were in front of a judge he told us to figure it out through mediation or he would order us to sell the property altogether and neither of us would get to keep it. That was around the same time that Leon and his new fiance (yes, the house manager) found out they were expecting a bundle of joy. I thought he would give up the property for the sake of the money and being able to get remarried, but it almost made him double down on his efforts.

I couldn't take it any longer. I needed to move on with my life and get out of my brother's garage apartment. The only way I could go that is if I let Cottonwood go. My lawyer managed to bargain a deal with Leon's attorney for a price that was above the market value that he would have to pay me. The only thing that could ease the pain slightly was knowing that I was walking away with a decent amount of money. I planned to open up a new bed and breakfast, this time it would be on my own. I had everything to lose, but so much to gain.

Rather than stop for celebratory cheesecake, I drove straight to my brother's house to drink away my sorrows from the day. Chaz was older than me by two years, a carpenter by trade. He did a lot of work at the B&B himself and was sad to see it go. When I pulled up to the house, I was happy to see that his girlfriend's car wasn't there. I didn't have a problem with Kayla, but I knew she was not a fan of me living in the apartment over the garage. With the divorce finalized and the settlement paid, it was only a matter of time before she was bringing up me moving out once again.

"Knock, knock," I said as I entered the side door. I rarely ever actually knocked, but Chaz didn't lock the door except at night or if he was gone.

"In the living room!" He hollered from the other end of the house. I made my way through the kitchen and the dining room to find my brother with his feet propped up on the coffee table with the television on. "Are you a free woman?"

I sunk down beside him and nodded my head, "Yep, the paperwork should be on the judge's desk by now. Feels kind of weird."

"You're not regretting this, are you Ang? I know losing Cottonwood sucks, but you can build that magic again."

"Not regretting a damn thing. It just breaks my heart still. I thought Leon and I were the real deal. We were supposed to defy the odds and grow old together. Now he's off finishing our dream life with somebody else. Did I tell you I saw her when I went to go clean out my office?"

"No, I didn't know that."

"I wanted her to look horrible. I had been wishing all day sickness on her, how horrible does that make me?"

"Not horrible at all. She broke up your marriage."

"Leon broke up our marriage," I corrected him.

"And she was complicit in it. She knew exactly what she was doing and didn't even wait for your side of the bed to get cold before she moved in. Literally and figuratively."

I groaned, "I don't need the reminder, thanks."

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad, Sis. Even though she wasn't the one that broke her commitment, she still make a conscious choice to get involved with a married man and then move in with him once you moved out. It isn't like you wished actual harm on her and the baby, just a little discomfort."

"That was supposed to be my baby. That was the dream. We were going to get the B&B up and running and then start a family."

Chaz puts his arm around my shoulder and nudges me closer so I can rest my head on him, "I know, Ang. I'm sorry. I'm not even going to say any of that happy shit like this was for the best and you'll find happiness again. It is okay to be sad right now. It is okay to hate them both. You'll get through this now that you can close that chapter."

"Thanks, Chaz. I honestly don't know how I could have gotten through these last two years without you."

"You're a strong cookie, Ang. You would have figured it out. I'm glad I could be there for you though."

"And I promise that I'll get out of your place ASAP. I know Kayla is ready for me to go."

"Don't worry about Kayla. She wants that apartment for her own workspace, but I told her that you came first and she just needs to deal with it. I don't want you rushing into anything. That space is yours for as long as you need it."

Chaz was the best brother anybody could ask for. It didn't stop us from fighting like cats and dogs, but after the dust settled I knew that he would always have my back no matter what. I needed to move on though. Since I would no longer be earning an income from the bed and breakfast, I had to focus on finding a job and getting back on my feet. In the long run, I was going to open up a new location, but I also knew that I didn't want to compete with Cottonwood.

That night I scoured through the Internet looking at listings for homes and properties for purchase. The settlement I would be getting from Leon would be a hefty amount, but with the prices in our area, I was sure I wouldn't be able to afford to purchase anything plus have the money for a remodel. Hours passed as I went down the real estate rabbit hole until I saw a listing that just spoke to me.

It wasn't a traditional bed and breakfast or even a home that could be converted into one. It was an inn that was built in the 1950s but had been closed and left vacant for about five years now. According to the ad, the inn had fifteen rooms, which was bigger than I had intended to purchase, but it was in the middle of a small town named Strawberry. After Googling the town of Strawberry, it was hard not to fall in love. The name of the town told the exact story of its origin, it was nestled in the middle of a vast amount of strawberry fields. According to my reading, most of the fields were run by local farmers, not large commercial farms.

The berries brought in the tourists, which made me wonder why the inn had been closed and abandoned for so long, but after a little more research it was clear that the two large hotel chains that moved in were probably to blame. I pulled out a notebook and started jotting ideas and notes down. If I was going to jump into this new venture, I needed to be smart about it. If I failed it meant I would lose everything. If I could bring back the charm of the Strawberry Inn, not only would I be helping this small town, but I'd be saving myself in the process.