Page 6 of Fall for You
Her grin spread as she dropped to her knees. No, not her spot—theirspot. Hers and Eric’s.
They were the only two people who even knew about the hidden treasure, so far as she was aware. Willow had been the one to find the stashed letters, trinkets, and recipe cards, but Eric had stumbled upon her and her loot while on a run.
It was a mini miracle Eric hadn’t done something shady with the treasure. At the time, she wouldn’t have put it past him.
They’d both known how valuable this treasure could be. Not in terms of money—it wasn’t like they’d found gold or jewels. But with the legal battle raging over who owned No Man’s Land, both their families would have killed to get their hands on something like this, which could have proven they’d had a claim to it first.
But the thing was…the more she and Eric dove into the box of goodies, the more obvious it became that both families could have made that claim. Because there were artifacts from the Spencersandthe Kings.
Eventually they’d pieced it together that her ancestor, Charlie King, and his ancestor, Rose Spencer, had been leaving little trinkets for each other. It was obviously a way to communicate, and Willow was determined to believe it had something to do with love.
Eric—Mr. Skeptical—was not so willing to buy into the romance of it all.
But they’d formed a truce, of sorts, until they figured it out. Neither would move the treasure, meddle with it, or use it as a weapon in the ongoing war between their families.
At least, not until they figured out what it all meant.
Willow gingerly brushed aside fallen leaves and dirt to reveal the wooden slats that hid their treasure. Then she gently lifted the lid.
She tried her best not to get her hopes up. After all, Eric had been busier than ever at his lodge this fall, what with the part-time staff going back to school and all, and yet…
A full-on squeal burst out of her at the sight of a new note inside the partially buried treasure chest she shared with Eric Spencer.
It was ridiculous how much fun this was, exchanging notes with a guy she wasn’t even supposed to like.
And she didn’t. Not likethat, at least.
“He’s just…not as bad as they think,” she whispered as she pulled out the sheet of paper.
If her sister or brothers had any idea she was befriending a Spencer, they’d lose it.
And the worst part was…she wouldn’t be able to blame them.
She settled with her back against the tree as she took in the forest around her. So beautiful. So peaceful. The only sound was the wind whipping through the treetops and the occasional rustle of branches overhead when a bird landed or a chipmunk scurried away.
No one would guess a beautiful, serene place like this could be the source of so much contention. But it was. Legend had it that there was some sort of written truce between the two families that this stretch of land would remain untouched by both sides.
But now the Spencers were getting greedy. They wanted the property that lined the south shore of the lake, but everyone knew that if they were granted the rights to the land, they’d tear down the trees and build condos for rich tourists.
That would ruin her family’s plan to make a real go of the inn—their grandparents’ old house. Not to mention ruin this pristine stretch of heaven they had here.
If it was just Eric, maybe she could convince him. Her family didn’t think so, but they didn’t know him.
The sad thing was, it wasn’t just him. His father and the rest of his family were obsessed.
Just like her family was so blinded by hatred toward the Spencers, it wouldn’t even occur to them to try and hold an actual conversation.
She let her head fall back. Everything in her was dying to open his note—to devour it. But some part of her wanted to savor it, too, because who knew how long it would be before she got another?
Eric was busy, and it wasn’t like she had all the time in the world to traipse up here either.
It was just so silly that they had to go to these lengths just to talk about their shared obsession—Charlie and Rose.
He’d tried to play it cool in the beginning, but these days he was just as invested as she was.
She let her eyes close, the orange rays of the late-afternoon sun bright against her eyelids and warm against her skin.
For a little while, she played a game, pretending she was back in time and coming up here to leave something special for the boy she loved.
