Finding Carson: Falls Village Collection Read online

  Finding Carson

  Falls Village Collection Book 5

  Rae B. Lake

  Copyright © 2020 by Rae B. Lake

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Disclaimer

  Also By Rae B. Lake

  Acknowledgments

  Falls Village

  Town Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Towns Epilogue

  The Falls Village Collection

  Falls Village Authors

  Coming Next In The Series!

  About the Author

  Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. Please forgive any similarities to actual people, names, literary characters, places, organizations, brands, media, events and incidents. The characters and their actions were developed by the author and any resemblances are coincidental. The above mentioned are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks are not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Warning: This book is for mature readers only. It contains adult themes that are sexual in nature.

  Also By Rae B. Lake

  Wings of Diablo MC

  Wire

  Archer

  Clean

  Cherry

  Prez

  Ryder

  Ink

  Spawns of Chaos MC

  Shepard

  Eve’s Fury MC

  Free

  The Shop Series Books

  His Georgia Peach & Her Mr. Cream

  To Protect and Serve Donut Holes

  On The Edge of Ecstasy

  Acknowledgments

  To My Beast, times have been rough. Not only for us but for the world. In an age where no one can be quite sure what is around the next corner I am happy to say that I have one constant and that is your support. I thank you for all your sacrifices and know that I would not have been able to do this without you.

  To my little village, this tag name for the both of you seems so accurate right now. ☺ I hope you don’t remember it when you get older but the world has pretty much been locked down for months now. In those days and nights when momma got lonely, when I just needed someone to talk to guess who was there to burst into my room and make me smile? You two. There is never a dull day with you two. You talk to mommy asking the most interesting questions. You read with mommy. It was like I had my own little village there in my house, and I love it and you both more than life.

  To my Readers, Friends and Family: Carson is just a mild taste of what I have in store for the Ingram Family. I appreciate each and every one of you. Any of you who have reached out in this horrible time we are living in to see how I was, tell me you liked one of my books or even just to say hey, you are the reason I was able to finish this book. I hope you enjoy the sweet steamy romance of Carson and Frances.

  Falls Village

  Falls Village, Maine is an upscale New England town with under five thousand year-round residents. It’s located on the coast, a picturesque harbor town for art lovers, foodies, and charm seekers. It was once a small fishing village, but now it’s the go-to summer retreat for city dwellers looking for soft, sandy beaches. That’s the good side of town. But it’s split into the two sides of the tracks.

  One part of town is wealthy (Port Dock), but the other section (East Brook) is a run-down zone of long-abandoned warehouses and empty parking lots in need of redevelopment. It’s been the platform that each politician has claimed to support over the last decade or two. None have followed through and the area continues to be the place where kids go to buy drugs, businessmen know they can find a cheap girl at the ready there, and the local police have written off their beat.

  After the revitalization (East Brook will be renamed Port View Center), Falls Village will be considered the mecca of the arts. With converted warehouses that will be turned into residential loft apartments, art studios, and trendy restaurants, the real estate will be sought after by many looking for a new business opportunity. Local artists will open their studios to the public once a month and tourists will come for the showcase of wares, specialty food indigenous to the area, a giant season farmer’s market, and of course an upscale gallery. Port View Center will be home to thriving upscale neighborhoods with posh apartments, a seaport filled with yachts, a new contemporary restaurant, and art gallery.

  Town Prologue

  I remember the days of long ago when I was an upscale New England town located on the coast. Over time, I became split in half, Port Dock and East Brook. As the segregation of haves and have nots took hold.

  The Ingram Family line is etched into my very foundation. Their family has had roots here for longer than most, even though they probably don’t want to admit it. I am as much a part of their lineage as the money they all seem to love to flaunt.

  The family left decades ago for greener pastures but they never gave up their castle here in Falls Village. Now, Carson Ingram has come to town, virtually penniless, secluded, and disliked by most in the village.

  It takes a firecracker of a woman, Frances Hoffman, a doctor and the co-owner of the new urgent care in town, to show him that he can persevere even if it’s his own family that are the ones trying to cut him down.

  Chapter One

  “You can’t keep doing this Carson, just because something appears to be the right thing to do doesn’t mean it is. What will the council think or the board for that matter?” He demanded as he stood from behind his desk and walked around to where I was sitting.

  If this were any other man telling me where I should be donating my money, I would have thrown them through the wall. But this was the great Dominic Ingram, heir to a fortune of old money, a billionaire, and my self-centered, elitist father. My father was born into wealth, and he made sure everyone who entered his orbit knew it. There has never been a time in my entire life where I’d been known as anything besides an Ingram. Of course, I was conditioned to expect the best in life, but I have never been proud of the legacy my name holds. We were a brutal family, a family who held no remorse for stepping on the little guy to keep their status and continue moving forward.

  “Dad, why should I care about what the council thinks? Do they have any power over what we do? Better yet, do they have any power of what I do with my money?”

  “You will not sully our good name with your nonsense, Carson. You will pull all support from this venture, and you will do it before nine am on Monday.” My father glared at me for a second before he turned to go back to his desk.

  “No.” I heard the sound come out of my mouth, but even then, I couldn’t believe I’d said it. No one goes against my father, especially not a member of this family.

  “Excuse me?”


  This time I wouldn’t back down. I was tired of playing a part. Tired of trying to force myself to be something I wasn’t simply because my last name was Ingram.

  “Dad, I am not going to pull my support from the school. They need help, and I’m in a position to help them. What should it matter if the foundation is not part of the established list of approved charities the rest of the social people in our circle donate to?” I stood now, “No, that won’t work for me. I am in the position to help, and they need it, so that’s what I am going to do.”

  “Those people had their chance-”

  I cut him off, “What the hell do you mean by ‘those people’, Dad?” I rest my hands on his desk and lean forward, invading his personal space, “Do you mean the African Americans? The Hispanic people? The Canadian people? Which people are you talking about because last time I fucking checked, everyone deserved help if they need it.”

  He rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance, “Carson, I couldn’t give two shits if the people you are so busy championing for are black, white, purple or green, the problem is they are poor and beneath us. That is what I mean by ‘those people’. They shouldn’t even be allowed to breathe the same damn air as us.”

  I backed up from the desk in disgust. My father has always been a selfish man, always focused on one thing, his bank account. Yet I would never have thought I would hear something like this leave his mouth. It was the last straw. The final nail in the coffin, only confirming I’d rather give it all up, then be tied to this man any longer.

  “It’s so damn sad to hear that you feel this way.” I turned around and started to walk out of his office.

  “I don’t care about your feelings on the subject, but I expect you to have this matter fixed before you get to work on Monday.”

  “Don’t worry about what the people at work will say; it’s no longer their concern. I quit.”

  I could hear him rushing from behind the desk as I left his study.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” He grabbed me hard by my shoulder and turned me back around. My back hit the wall right outside his door.

  “Dom?” My mother asked from her spot sitting in the chair, it wasn’t unusual for my father to be upset, but it was unlike him to be physical. It seems my pushback may have sent him over the edge.

  “Stay out of this, Eleanor.” He barked.

  I let my hands fall to my side, and looked down at my father’s balled fist he held at his side, “What are you going to do, Dad? Do you think hitting me will change my mind? I promise you it will not. Both you and I know you can’t take away my money, even if it is only a quarter of my inheritance, it is mine, and you can’t touch it. You wouldn’t dare sully your name by tarnishing mine, so that’s off the table. So, tell me, what threat do you have left besides violence? Will it make you feel better, to beat on your son because he won’t follow your misguided and disgusting footsteps?”

  My father let the tension in his fist go and stood back from me, I could see he was still angry, but there was truly nothing he could do. I let out a breath in relief. It wasn’t because I was scared of the physical altercation because I wasn’t, with both of us being six foot four and of similar muscular builds, the benefit of age was definitely on my side. Still, getting into a physical fight with him was the last thing I wanted to do.

  “Get out of my house.” My father growled in my direction, “If you want to go against the unspoken rules of our caste, then you are just another one of those people who don’t deserve it. Get the hell out of my house, and when you do, leave my name and my legacy behind.”

  “What?” I shook my head in confusion. He couldn’t be doing what I thought he was doing. It was too extreme, even for him.

  “Dominic!” My mother called out again and tried to walk up to him, but my father put up a hand to stop her.

  “You are no longer allowed to use my name for anything, and your place in the family business will be dissolved. You want to act like you want nothing from us? Then that’s what you will get, nothing.” He looked at me like he was looking at a bug on the street, “You’re dead to me.” He walked by me and went straight into his study.

  I stood there and blinked a few times. I couldn’t believe it. Did he just fucking disown me? His own son? Fuck it and fuck him too.

  My body was shaking with anger, but I wasn’t about to go in there and grovel for his forgiveness. I pushed myself off the wall and stormed off in the direction of my wing.

  “Carson, wait!” My mother called from behind me. I could hear her short legs trying to catch up to my long ones. I pressed the call button for the elevator, and she managed to reach me just as I stepped into the lift.

  “Carson, you know your father, he only wants the best for you.” My mother said as she stepped in behind me.

  I took in a deep breath and did my best not to take out my anger on my mother, “No, Mom, he only wants the best for himself. I am a part of him, so it trickles over to me at times. There has to be more to life than just how great we can be at the next gala or what islands we can buy.”

  “Why, son? We have worked hard for everything we have. Why shouldn’t we be proud of what we have and what it can get us?”

  “Worked hard?” I laughed as the elevator stopped on the third floor in my wing. I turned and walked down the long hallway, my mother right there by my side, “When have we ever had to work hard at anything. Dad inherited the money, the business, hell he even inherited this house from Granddad. Dad has never had to work hard a day in his life. All he has to do is schmooze a bit, and keep his good name intact. How is that hard?” As I entered my suite, my mother followed, trying to reason with me.

  “Carson, this is our life. You shouldn’t be ashamed of it.”

  I sighed and walked into the wardrobe, retrieving a small suitcase so I could pack some clothing in, I’d come back for the rest later. “I am not ashamed to be wealthy. I am ashamed we have all this wealth and can think of nothing better to do with it than to buy the newest release Bentley or waste it on a private plane that no one will ever fly.” I grabbed my leather briefcase and put my important documents into it.

  “Where are you going?”

  “You heard him, Mom, I am dead to him, and he wants me out of his house.”

  She wrung her hands together in front of her body. I was not accustomed to seeing my mother worry. She was always poised and calm. “I am sure if you just go and apolog-”

  “No!” I slammed my bag closed and turned to peer at her, “I will not apologize to that man. For too long, I have just sat back and let him run my life. I have allowed him to tell me how I’m supposed to feel, who is worthy of my help. He has directed how I live long enough, and I’m tired of it. If he wants nothing to do with me, then so be it. I will find my own way.”

  I take a step toward the door. I have never lived anywhere other than this mansion, but I was sure it wouldn’t be too hard to find somewhere suitable. Maybe I would go up to New York. I’ve always wanted to live there.

  “Where are you going to stay tonight?”

  I shrug and think about it for a second; my options limited. I would have to get a hotel.

  “I will work on your father to try to get this resolved quickly, but there may be a place you can go where he won’t look to find you. What do you know about Falls Village, Maine?”

  Chapter Two

  “What do you mean my cards have been reported stolen?”

  I watched as the woman behind the counter took my card and cut it up. “I am so sorry, Mr. Ingram, but I am not allowed to let you leave with this card. This card has been declined. You will need to speak with your bank to figure it out.”

  I walked away from the reception desk and rubbed my temples. The migraine I feel coming on is one for the books. I have been out of the house for all of three days, and my father has already shown me he was more in control of my world than I would’ve ever thought possible.

  I was worth upwards of twenty-six million dollars,
and that was just one-quarter of my inheritance. It was awarded to me the day I turned twenty-one, but what I didn’t realize was to access the money, I would need to go through the lawyers. It had never been a problem before, but now, my funds were mysteriously frozen, and I would need a lawyer to get them released. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money to get my own lawyer so I was pretty much stuck being broke.

  My cars were not only all registered under the family business, but they were all locked in a private parking garage, and my key no longer worked. My father had practically erased me from his life. Luckily for me, I did have a separate account I was sure he didn’t know about. I used it to purchase things I was sure he wouldn’t approve of like new sports equipment for some of the inner-city schools. It didn’t have much, probably around seventy-five thousand dollars. I reached into my wallet and pulled out the card for that account and gave it to the woman. She swiped and smiled when the transaction was approved.

  “Thank you, Mr. Ingram, will you be extending your stay past tomorrow?” She smiled politely at me.

  I laughed and shook my head, “No, I think tonight will be my final night here.” Like I could afford to stay another day. At close to five hundred dollars a night, it was no longer a luxury I could afford.