Page 1 of Fern’s Date with Destiny (Heart Falls Vignette and Novella Collection #4)

August, two years earlier…

L ife, Fern knew, didn’t always go as planned. But it went in the right direction a lot more often if you helped it along then trusted in destiny.

Basically, that was her go-to plan. Figure out what she wanted, calculate the best route to get there, eliminate the potential problems. That was the part of her agenda that her family and friends knew about.

The final key component, though, was to open her hands and let fate do its thing.

She was delighted to come downstairs at the home she still shared with her parents to discover Grandma Sonora with her mother, the two women enjoying cups of tea at the kitchen table.

“Hey, Granny. You look bright and cheery.” Fern dropped a kiss on her mother Sophie’s cheek en route to hugging her grandma.

“Lots to be thankful about,” Grandma Sonora informed her, hugging her back with great enthusiasm.

Fern headed for the fridge and the teapot as soon as she was free. “Tell me more, only let me get ready at the same time?”

“Of course.” Sonora looked her over as Fern popped bread in the toaster and made her own cup of tea. “You’re not wearing your prosthesis today?”

At the table, Sophie snickered into her cup then wiped her face clear of amusement. “Sorry. It’s not funny.”

“It’s totally funny, Mom. Now.” Fern sighed and explained further, facing her grandma.

“You know my part-time job with the painting company? I was carrying an open paint can, and my attachment jammed. I tried to let go, but the hook didn’t open.

But since I’d already successfully passed Jimmy three pails, he wasn’t expecting an interruption and tugged. Forcefully.”

Grandma Sonora looked suitably horrified even as amusement twisted her lips. “This is not going to end well.”

“Nope. My prosthesis detached suddenly. Paint flew everywhere. On me and my arm, on him, on the floor, the walls.” Fern caught the toast as it popped up. “I have to get it cleaned and repaired.”

“Well, you do just fine without it,” Sophie pointed out.

“I do, but it’s convenient to have.” Fern eyed her grandma. “Now tell me more about why you’re all lit up with happiness.”

“Be careful what you ask for,” her mother warned.

“Hush,” Grandma Sonora muttered. “Just because the thought of your mother being in love makes you want to slap your hands over your ears, not everyone has the same sensitivities.”

Sophie met Fern’s gaze, amusement bubbling out of her. “Tell me, my sweet daughter, do you want to listen to your grandma babble on about her sex life?”

“I said love life,” Sonora protested.

Oh boy. Fern stared at the ceiling, desperately trying to find a proper response that didn’t involve breaking into a cackle.

“See? I told you,” Sophie said with a laugh.

“She didn’t say a word,” Grandma Sonora complained.

“She did the look . The one Malachi does when all of us are tormenting him and he’s trying not to end up in the doghouse after being surrounded by a gaggle of women.”

Oops. Fern concentrated on spreading peanut butter to the very edge of her toast. “Thank you for pointing out that tell. I will make sure I avoid it in the future. Grandma Sonora, I am delighted that you are in love. I aspire to be as happy and wholeheartedly head-over-heels as you in my future years. Mother, you and Dad are also very much in love, and very… demonstrative …about it. In case you’re not aware, sometimes your public conversations lean toward TMI.

I can’t imagine where you learned it from. ”

Fern pointedly glanced back and forth between the two older women until they both squirmed slightly, then laughed.

“Fine.”

“We’ll be good.”

Fern straightened and held her toast in the air. “To love.”

“To love,” they both echoed back.

The older women in her life—and there were a lot of them—always made Fern smile for one reason or another. Her three sisters were just as rock solid as Mom and Grandma, and Fern cherished the moments she got to spend with them.

Her phone rang, and she answered it quickly, hoping she wasn’t about to disappoint one of those important people.

“Hey, Rose. Please don’t ask me to come in early, because I can’t. I’m going for a trail ride with Tansy and Cody. She’s finally cashing in her win from the last bachelor auction.”

“That’s why I’m calling. Message for you from Tansy. She’s sick as a dog.”

“Oh no! What’s up?” Fern stared out the window, avoiding eye contact with her mom because Sophie was a mind reader at times. One of her babies sick?

She’d be over at the apartment, mothering Tansy within minutes.

“Just a bad summer cold, so she plans to stay in bed today. But—” Rose added before Fern’s disappointment could rise, “the trail ride is still on. I called Red Boot ranch and let them know you’re still coming out, so go ahead and keep that date.”

“Is she sure? We could switch it to another day.”

“No. Tansy insists you go,” Rose assured her. “Have fun. Tell her all about it when you can. She bid at the auction to mess with people. She wasn’t really hoping to date Cody or anything.”

Which Fern already knew. “If she’s sure…”

“Very sure. Now, I have things to do since I’m the only sister working the café this morning,” Rose teased. “Have a blast, and I’ll see you this afternoon for your shift.”

“Deal. Love you,” Fern offered brightly.

“Love you too.”

Between catching her mom and grandma up on the details of Tansy’s cold and then getting herself ready for the ride, she didn’t have time to do more than consider in passing that this wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she’d asked to join Tansy and Cody.

She knew him. Sort of. They’d bumped into each other around town over the past few years since he’d moved to Heart Falls, but he was a good bit older than her and didn’t run in her usual social circles.

She’d met him a few more times recently since his older brother was now dating Rose, but that was the extent of it.

The morning was shaping up to be an entertaining adventure, no matter what happened. Proof once again that she’d done the planning to set up the thing she really wanted—the trail ride—and now it was time to trust in fate.

Whatever it had in store for her.

Cody swayed easily in the saddle, letting Princess Buttercup pick her own pace down the dusty trail that edged Red Boot’s western fence line. It was early enough the high summer heat hadn’t set in yet, the sun still polite, and the air tasted faintly of sage and fresh hay.

He’d knocked out chores before dawn to keep the day clear. Fencing check done. Feed delivered. One stubborn calf turned back through the gate it apparently thought was optional.

All so he could ride with Tansy Fields. Too funny.

Princess Buttercup flicked an ear back, annoyed with his drifting mind. He chuckled and adjusted the reins, giving her a reassuring pat on the neck. Smart, steady little mare. Knew the trails better than he did sometimes.

Cody’s mind, however, continued to drift. This time to Chance, his older brother who’d come to Heart Falls barely a month ago yet somehow walked right into a life that fit him tighter than a custom saddle.

And Rose Fields. Good Lord, that girl had turned Chance inside out from day one.

“Settled right down, didn’t you?” Cody muttered to the horse, but the words were for his brother. He could almost hear Chance’s voice in reply, cocky and laughing.

Aye, only feckin’ eejits run from a good thing, Cody. Might as well stay put if yer arse likes the bed.

Cody huffed a quiet laugh. Chance’s accent always thickened when he got smug, which around Rose was more often than not these days. Not that Cody begrudged either of them the happiness. It was early days yet, but so far the two of them were shaping up to be more than a casual fling.

If Cody was honest with himself, he wouldn’t mind a bit of that kind of luck himself. He had steady work, damn good friends, and a stretch of Alberta prairie to live on that felt like home.

Only piece missing was a woman.

He’d found no potential match, though, in the small town of Heart Falls.

His halfhearted attempts at love lately had been through an app, and the results were a bunch of ghostings and cat photos.

One online hopeful in Nova Scotia was the only one he’d corresponded with more than a few times, and while he enjoyed their conversations, it still felt odd.

They’d been talking about her coming out for a visit, and he was strangely okay about it. Which sucked. He should be excited, not simply okay.

Today’s ride was supposed to be a break from all that. Tansy was a hoot, and from what Rose had assured him, even though Tansy had bid on Cody at the bachelor auction, she had zero interest in romance.

Perfect. No expectations. No awkwardness. Just a couple hours winding along trails under tall pine trees. Talking about everything and nothing.

As he rounded the last bend to the main arena, Cody pulled Princess Buttercup up short. Parked in the section clearly marked Visitors was a beat-up old Ford pickup that definitely hadn’t been there at sunrise.

Before he could swing a leg over to dismount, the driver’s door flew open and out popped… Not Tansy Fields.

Fern Fields.

He knew her. Sort of. Mostly in the way everyone in Heart Falls knew the Fields family. Salt of the earth and loyal as border collies. They’d met at a few community events, Fern flitting around like a sunbeam. Always smiling. Always moving.

Right now, she bounced on the balls of her feet as if she might launch into orbit. Her curly black hair bobbed in a halo around her head as she moved, the deep tan brown of her skin warm in the morning sunlight.

“Hey, Cody!” she called brightly, waving her bare, short left arm as she approached slowly. No prosthesis today. He’d noticed she wore or didn’t wear it with about even timing. He respected that.

“Hey yourself. Where’s Tansy?” he asked, scanning behind her as if Tansy might leap from the truck bed with a shout.