Page 8 of Searching for Sadie (Mystic Falls #5)

SADIE

S adie watched as Lucas weaved his way through the crowd. Her hand absentmindedly touched where his hand had just been. The spark she felt when he had touched her was like something she'd ever felt before.

"Are ye lookin’ for something particular, lass?"

She turned to find a short woman with a plump figure and wild red hair. There was a twinkle in her eye and grin like the Cheshire cat.

"Oh, no. I'm just looking."

"Are ye new to the area?"

Sadie nodded. "Yeah, I moved her a couple days ago. My aunt left me her house, and I was having a bit of a rough patch. I always had such a good time when we would visit her here in the summers so I thought I would give it a chance."

Wow. Why did she just say all that? It was like the words just fell out of her mouth of their own accord.

There was a time in Sadie’s life where she’d been an open book, and would have gladly shared personal information, but not anymore.

Even before NDA’s and broken hearts were involved, she’d started living her life a little more guarded, so she wasn’t sure where that came from.

"Oooh are ye Rosemary’s niece then?"

“I am.”

The woman cocked her head and seemed to be evaluating her. "My name’s Bridget. I've been staying here for a few years myself, and yer right. There's no place quite like it. Would ye like a reading?"

"I'm sorry?" Sadie wasn't quite following.

"Yer cards?" Bridget gestured to a small round table that was covered by a purple cloth with two chairs opposite each other. In the center of the table was a well-worn deck of cards.

"Oh," Sadie perked up. She loved this kind of stuff. "Yeah, I would love it."

"Come have a seat, lass."

She followed Bridget over to the table and sat down across from her.

“Let’s see what the cards have to say,” she said as she shuffled a well-worn deck of cards in her hand. “Here, cut the stack.” She laid them in the middle of the table and motioned for her to cut it.

As Sadie cut the deck she felt a small jolt of electricity, like the one she’d just felt when Lucas touched her.

“Let’s see what the cards have to say, shall we?”

Bridget flipped over the first card and gave a little gasp. Sadie’s brows drew together as she peered down at the cars. The Ten of Swords. Before her lay a card depicting a person lying face down on the beach with ten swords sticking out of their back. That didn’t look great.

“Oh, my dear, it seems ye’ve really been put through the ringer. The Ten of Swords is a high card of betrayal. It seems people ye thought ye could trust turned out to be terrible snakes on the grass.”

Bridget looked up at her with kindness in her eyes where the mischief had been. “Tis’ a good thing this card is in the past, my dear. Let’s see if we can get a little insight into the present, shall we?”

She flipped over another card revealing The Fool, a bright yellow card depicting a man setting out on a journey. The name on the card did make her bristle though.

“Ahhh, the Fool. Don’t be fooled by its name,” she said, clearly pleased with her own pun.

“The Fool is about embarking on a new journey. It is a clean slate. And with the betrayal in yer past and yer appearance in Mystic Falls, I would imagine a fresh start is exactly what yer looking for, are ye not?”

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Sadie said, slightly uneasy with the strange exactness of this reading.

“Now, let’s see what lies ahead.” The woman flipped over the final card to reveal The Sun. The card before her depicted a big golden sun with a child riding a white horse carrying a big red banner.

“Och, my dear, yer about to shine so bright. I think ye will find Mystic Falls is about to be a wonderful new home to start this journey, and in the end ye will have everything you ever hoped for plus some things ye never even knew ye wanted. It’s all about to open up for ye, lass.”

“Wow.” She sat there stunned, unsure of what to say.

"What do ye say, lass? Do the cards ring true?"

Sadie looked up at this curious woman with wide eyes. "Yeah, I mean, here’s hoping they do," she said with a rough chuckle. "A little too on the nose if you ask me. How did you do that?"

"Some call it a gift, others call it intuition. I've been around a long time, and I can just tell these things. I see yer here with the youngest Fipp brother?"

Sadie followed her gaze. Although all she saw was the sight of a small town carnival.

A handful of rides, some games, a music stand with a DJ, neighbors chatting and kids running around with cotton candy.

She could actually go for some cotton candy, come to think of it.

But as charming as the sight was, there was no Lucas Fipp in sight.

Then she spotted him, and he was walking right towards her.

His tall frame and wide chest made her want to snuggle right into him.

The way his dark blond hair fell over his eyebrow only for his hand to sweep it away made her feel something she was not quite ready to be feelings.

That was not why she came to Mystic Falls.

Although admittedly her reasoning for coming here might not have been the best. Still, she couldn't take her eyes off him.

As he continued to move close, she noticed he was waving. She looked behind her to see who he was gesturing at, only to find Bridget looking at her with a grin like a cat who just ate a canary.

"He is a handsome fellow, isn't he?" Bridget said.

"Ohh, umm." That was all her brain could get out with Lucas smiling right at her shaking his head with a gentle amusement.

"Hey," Lucas said as he finally made his way over. "Sorry about that. I'm done for the night though."

The look on his face settled somewhere deep in her. It was a place she was trying to close off, a place that had all too recently caused her way too much pain.

"I was just reading the cards of our town's newest member," Bridget said.

"Oh yeah? I've heard you have a way with those cards, Bridget."

"That's what they say. I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of reading yers?"

An easy laugh bubbled up from him and the crooked grin covered his face. "Some other time. I'm showing Sadie around. Like you said, she's new and she doesn't know to stay away from Vivian's punch."

"Well, have fun, you two."

A warm breeze blew through the crowd carrying the sweet scent of cotton candy and the sound of laughter from the welcoming crowd around them.

While this was by no means her first carnival, there was something about this one that felt special.

She didn't know if it was the town or the people she'd met, but something about it told her she would be just fine here in Mystic Falls.

And frankly, that was a pleasant surprise.

"Where to?" Lucas asked, smiling down at her.

"Would you think I was totally lame if I wanted to ride the Ferris wheel? I don't think I've done it since I was a kid."

"Yeah, let's do it."

They wove their way through the crowd and Sadie couldn't seem to help the smile that spread across her face as they got to the line. As they waited for their turn nerves bubbled in an effervescent way she hadn't felt for a long time.

"So, your dad owns the market in town?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, he has for years. My brother is taking it over once my dad retires, which he's been saying he was going to do for years now, but he's still there. He just can't seem to let go."

"You have a brother?"

"I have two brothers. I'm the youngest. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

She nodded, sadly the thought of her sister was enough to dampen the nervous joy and snap her back to the reality of her situation. "I do," she said, holding back a sigh. "I have an older sister."

"Are you guys close?"

Were they close? That was a question that was hard to answer these days. A small crease found her forehead as she tried to think about how to answer that question.

"Don't answer that if you don't want to," he said quickly, seemingly picking up on her change in energy.

"No, it's fine. We used to be, but we had a bit of a falling out before I left Nashville."

Relief washed over her as the line moved, and it was their turn to get on the ride. Lucas reached out and held the seat steady as she climbed on. She scooted across the hard plastic seat making room for him. The seat rocked as Lucas sat down next to her and the attendant shut the bar over them.

The attraction she'd been fighting was front and center as they sat in this seat slowly making its way to the top.

Neither of them were small, so his leg pressed against her as they climbed higher and higher.

The gentle rocking and the setting sun had her wishing he would slip his arm around her shoulder and then her head could find that inviting nook between his chest and shoulder.

At that thought, she had to give her head a little shake.

She was going to get swept away in another fake fairytale if she wasn't careful.

As they hit the top she could see all of their sleepy little town against the backdrop of a picture-perfect sunset painting the sky with pinks and gold.

Next to her, Lucas took a slow calming breath. "Call me cheesy, but I love the sight of Mystic Falls from up here. If you look over that way, you can almost see the waterfall."

Sadie turned her head, following where he was pointing. "It's beautiful up here."

When she took a moment to look down, she noticed his hand fisted in his leg before he flattened it against his own leg. "It is."

The last seat had just filled, and the Ferris wheel started its journey around and around.

As the wind blew her hair around, she tucked it behind her hair.

When she looked up at him the wind was ruffling his blond hair, and he had a smile stretched wide across his face.

A giggle bubbled up as they crested the top causing her hair to blow in the other direction.

Moments like this made her forget about the reason she was here, and it gave her the courage to just forget about it, even if it was just for tonight.

Maybe she could let herself have fun with her new friend and experience what this wonderful little town had to offer.

If the tarot cards were correct, this would be her new home, and right now that felt pretty incredible.

After a few minutes the ride slowed, and it was their turn to get off. The bench rocked beneath her as Lucas stood and got off before offering her a hand as other held it steady as she got off. Her heartbeat just a little quicker at the feel of his strong callused hand in hers.

"Where to next?" he asked.

"I think I might need some cotton candy."

"Let's do it," Lucas said as he guided off the line and through the crowd of people.

There was something about the feel of his gentle yet strong hand on the small of her back that somehow managed to calm her but also shot little sparks of desire all over. She needed to make sure she kept her feelings in check. Everything was still so raw from the show.

Not only that, but she was probably making something out of nothing. He was just being nice. This whole town was just being nice. She didn't really belong here. She was an outsider.

"Is everything okay?" Lucas asked as they got in the line for some cotton candy.

"Yeah, why?"

"You just looked about a million miles away for a second there."

Before she had a chance to take that in, they were in the front of the line.

"One cotton candy," Lucas said as he reached for his wallet.

"I can buy my own cotton candy," she protested.

"I'm sure you can," he said as he handed the money over to the cashier taking a cone of cotton candy.

She bit back a smile as she looked up at him through her lashes. The sun was setting in the background and the pink glow of everything made him look soft and safe, and once again Sadie found herself reminding herself to be careful where this man was concerned.

They made their way through the crowd as they rounded the town square to the side with all the carnival games.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" said a man who looked vaguely like Lucas... only a little more polished.

"I'm Derek. The older, more attractive, Fipp brother. How are you settling in?"

"Shut up," Lucas said.

“I’m settling in nicely, thank you.”

"I hope Lucas here is showing you around," he said.

"He sure is.”

"What do you say about a little brotherly competition?" Derek said as he nodded his head over to a strength machine.

"Derek, it wouldn't be fair," Lucas said with a smug smirk on his face.

"We'll see," Dereck said as he walked over and picked up the large wooden hammer.

"If we must," Lucas said following him.

Sadie watched as this cleaner cut, thinner version of Lucas raised the hammer above his head and brought it down. The marker did move up to the top quarter of the gage.

"Impressive," Lucas said as he took the hammer.

The anticipation bubbled in her chest. Why did she feel like a high school girl watching her crush?

She needed to get this under control. But that wasn’t possible as she watched him raise the hammer up over his head and bring it down with force that shook the whole machine and sent the marker straight up to the top to ring a bell.

Before she even knew what she was doing a small squeal escaped her mouth and she clapped her hands.

Lucas turned to her with a broad grin across his face. Then he winked. He fucking winked. She felt that wink in places she shouldn't. She needed to get these feelings under wraps, and fast.