Page 4 of When Ellie Falls in Love

Of course, she also remembered the way Ellie Mackenzie looked in the black suit she had worn to the wedding. She had her hair pulled back in a braid that hung loosely over her shoulder as she sat with her sisters and parents in the church. Since Sadie was the only bridesmaid for Delaney, she could see everyone in attendance. But her gaze always ended back on Ellie. If Ellie noticed, she didn’t act like it. Aside from the one smile she offered Sadie, she was too focused on the wedding to pay attention to Sadie.

And Sadie was done over-analyzingwhythat bothered her.

Ellie was a well-known kid at school. She was in theater and everyone knew her family. There were people with her everywhere she went, even if Ellie looked less than excited to be around some of them. And everyone in town knew her parents. Vera and Isla Mackenzie were Moonflower Cove royalty. If anyone could live and prosper off their family name in the Cove, it was the Mackenzies.

Not that Ellie was that kind of person.

She wasn’t.

Or, well, Sadieassumedshe wasn’t. They didn’t know each other well enough for Sadie to make that kind of assumption. They had hung out a few times at one event or another, but never one-on-one. It was usually a foursome with Ellie’s sister Mason and her girlfriend Chase, who was also Charlie’s cousin. The four would often go to the movies or bowling together, but even then, she didn’t get to know Ellie much better. Usually, some of Mason and Chase’s friends inevitably joined in. It was clear that Ellie was everyone’s little sister and Sadie was, well, just Sadie.

Clearing her throat, Sadie crossed her arms and smiled as her parents stopped kissing and looked her way.

“Sadie, hi.” Delaney scurried over to her and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Obviously,” Sadie laughed as she turned her attention to Charlie. “Is this why you weren’t at the pep rally?”

“I, well,” Charlie nervously laughed, “I might have left work early.”

“You could have signed your favorite daughter out to go home with you so she wouldn’t have had to sit and watch the hockey team get praised, again.”

“Show some school spirit.” Delaney sat down at the kitchen table as Charlie came up behind her, placing her hand on her shoulder. It was both gross and sweet how they werealwaystouching each other in the smallest of ways.

“I’ll show some school spirit when they care about the softball team as much as the hockey team.”

“They’ll care about it this year,” Charlie said with a wink. “This is going to be our year.”

Sadie plopped onto the bench seat across from them. “I hope so. I might actually go to that pep rally.”

“You’d be the star of that pep rally.” Charlie winked. “Are you ready for practice to start next week?”

“As if you haven’t had me in the batting cages all winter.”

“You say that like you’re a trapped animal. You love it.”

And Sadie did. They all knew it. It was why Charlie had kept the batting cage in their backyard covered with a tarp and heated during the past two winters. By the time spring rolled around and practice started Sadie was the most prepared on the team. While her teammates took the winter off, Sadie didn’t know what a break was. And it showed in her skills.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sadie waved them off as she stood. “I’m going to go change.”

“Dinner’s at six,” Delaney called as Sadie took the stairs off the kitchen up to her room. She enjoyed having the second floor to herself; it added to her privacy. Not that she was doing anything that required added privacy.

Shutting the door to her room, Sadie flopped onto the bed and took her phone out of her hoodie pocket. Opening Instagram, Sadie was immediately greeted with a post by Ellie. The first picture was of her and Brayden, who was dressed in his hockey uniform. They were standing in the Mackenzie living room; Sadie recognized it from Mason’s birthday party. Ellie looked stunning, as usual. Her long straight brown hair was elegantly flowing off her shoulders as her head was cocked ever so perfectly toward Brayden. The resemblance between them was uncanny, as it was with all the Mackenzie kids. Sadie wished, not for the first time, that she had a sibling.

Or at least a best friend who cares enough to text me back.

Sadie flipped to the second photo Ellie had posted. It was a selfie of her and Dylan at the pep rally. The last picture was of Vera, Isla, Brayden, Ellie, and their youngest sister, Everleigh, huddled around for a selfie. They were a picture-perfect family. There was no denying that.

Grabbing a jacket from her closet, Sadie opened the window in her bedroom and carefully stepped out onto the roof. Thankfully, the roof right in front of the window wasn’t sloped as much as the rest of the house, allowing her a place to sit. Sadie often found herself out there when she needed to think or clear her mind or be alone. She wasn’t sure which reason brought her out there currently, but it didn’t matter.

The view from her spot was calming, which was what she needed. It overlooked the Christmas tree farm, the red barn, and the makeshift softball field. In the distance, Sadie could see the horses grazing in the pasture, and just beyond that was a row of tall trees. Sadie knew that on the other side of the trees was the ocean, but even from the roof, she couldn’t see it. But she could smell it. The mix of pine trees and ocean air always worked together to clear Sadie’s mind.

Pulling her knees up toward her chest, Sadie wrapped her arms around her legs. Her mind wandered back to that picture of Ellie. The way she looked in the sweater and jeans; the way she had that perfectly crooked Mackenzie smile.

Ugh.

If only the roof and fresh air could clearthosethoughts from her mind.

There was no way on God’s green earth that Eleanor Mackenzie wouldeverlook Sadie’s way—not the way Sadie wanted her to. In fact, no one had ever shown any interest in Sadie since she’d moved to the Cove. She was truly an outcast, doomed to be single and friendless forever.

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