The small town of Cedar Grove hadn’t changed much in the twelve years Savannah Greer had been gone. The streets were still lined with red brick buildings, the smell of freshly baked bread still wafted from Murphy’s Bakery, and the old clock tower in the square still chimed every hour. But for Savannah, everything felt different. The girl who had left for college full of dreams was not the same woman stepping off the bus now.
This wasn’t a visit. It was a last chance to put her life back together.
Savannah had barely set her suitcase down in her late grandfather’s farmhouse when her lawyer called. The inheritance came with one significant condition: she had to marry within sixty days to prove she could build a stable life in Cedar Grove. If not, the property would go to the town, to be turned into a museum.
“Marry?” Savannah said incredulously, gripping her phone. “That’s absurd. What does marriage have to do with inheriting a house?”
“I don’t make the rules, Savannah,” the lawyer replied. “Your grandfather was a traditional man, and he thought this would ensure the house stayed in the family. If you don’t want to do it, you can contest the will, but that could take years.”
Years Savannah didn’t have. Her savings had dwindled after she lost her teaching job, and the farmhouse was her only chance at stability. But marriage? Who could she possibly convince to go along with such a plan?
The answer came to her the next day when she saw Hayes Walker at the farmer’s market.
Hayes, her childhood best friend. The boy who used to race her to the lake every summer and bandage her scraped knees. The man she had left behind without explanation when she went to college, leaving their friendship in tatters.
He hadn’t changed much. His broad shoulders and easy smile still made heads turn, but there was something harder about him now—a guardedness in his dark eyes. He was wearing the navy blue uniform of the Cedar Grove Fire Department, carrying a bag of produce in one hand and laughing with a vendor.
Savannah hesitated, unsure if she should approach him. But when his eyes met hers, the air seemed to still.
“Savi?” he said, his voice tinged with disbelief.
“Hi, Hayes,” she said softly.
For a moment, he just stared at her, as if trying to decide if she was real. Then he set his bag down and crossed the distance between them, pulling her into a hug that was both familiar and foreign.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, stepping back but keeping his hands on her shoulders.
“Came back to take care of the farmhouse,” she said. “I… thought it was time.”
His expression darkened slightly, but he nodded. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too,” she replied, her chest tightening. She wanted to say more, to explain why she had left, but the words stuck in her throat.
Later that evening, Savannah sat on the farmhouse porch, staring out at the fields. The sun was dipping below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow over the landscape. She was still wrestling with the terms of the will when she heard a knock on the porch railing.
Hayes stood there, holding a pie in one hand and a six-pack of soda in the other.
“I figured you could use some company,” he said, smiling faintly.
Savannah’s heart ached at the sight of him. “Thanks, Hayes. Come on up.”
They ate on the porch steps, reminiscing about their childhood and avoiding the elephant in the room. Finally, Hayes asked, “Why did you leave, Savi? You just… disappeared.”
She sighed, setting her plate down. “I thought leaving Cedar Grove was the only way to chase my dreams. But then things fell apart, and I didn’t know how to come back.”
“You could’ve told me,” he said quietly. “I would’ve understood.”
She looked at him, tears stinging her eyes. “I’m sorry, Hayes. I didn’t know how to face you.”
He nodded, his jaw tight. “You’re here now. That’s what matters.”
As the days passed, Savannah and Hayes found themselves falling back into an easy rhythm. He helped her fix up the farmhouse, hauling lumber and patching the leaky roof while she painted the walls and planted flowers in the garden. But the will’s looming deadline weighed heavily on Savannah.
One evening, as they sat on the porch, Savannah decided to tell him.
“I need your help,” she began, her voice trembling.
“Anything,” he said without hesitation.
“I need to get married,” she blurted out. “To keep the farmhouse.”
Hayes blinked, clearly startled. “Married?”
“It doesn’t have to be real,” she added quickly. “Just for a year. Then we can annul it. But I don’t know who else to ask.”
For a long moment, Hayes said nothing. Then he leaned back, crossing his arms. “You think I’m just going to marry you for a house?”
Savannah’s face flushed. “I know it’s a lot to ask. But I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.”
He studied her, his expression unreadable. Then, to her surprise, he smiled. “Alright.”
Her jaw dropped. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “You need help, and I owe you one for disappearing all those years ago. Besides,” he added with a teasing grin, “who wouldn’t want to be married to me?”
Savannah laughed, relief flooding her. “Thank you, Hayes. You have no idea what this means to me.”
The wedding was a small, simple affair at the courthouse. Only a few close friends attended, and though the vows were for show, Savannah couldn’t help but feel a strange warmth as Hayes slid the ring onto her finger. For better or worse, they were in this together.
At first, their arrangement was easy. Hayes moved into the farmhouse, sleeping in the spare room and helping with the renovations. But as the weeks passed, the line between their fake marriage and something real began to blur.
One evening, after a particularly long day of work, they sat by the fireplace, sipping cocoa. Hayes leaned his head back against the couch, looking at her with a softness that made her heart skip.
“This feels… right,” he said quietly.
Savannah looked away, afraid to meet his gaze. “It’s just the arrangement,” she said, more to herself than to him.
“Is it?” he asked, his voice low.
She didn’t have an answer.
The turning point came when a storm swept through Cedar Grove, knocking out power across the town. As the wind howled outside, Savannah lit candles and wrapped herself in a blanket, trying to shake the unease creeping through her.
Hayes found her in the living room, his expression concerned. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “Just not a fan of storms.”
He sat beside her, draping an arm around her shoulders. “I’ve got you,” he said, his voice steady.
For the first time in years, Savannah felt safe. She looked up at him, her heart pounding. Before she could think, she leaned in, and their lips met in a kiss that was both gentle and electric.
When they pulled apart, Hayes smiled. “I guess this is more than just an arrangement now.”
Savannah laughed softly, her cheeks flushing. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
Over the months that followed, Savannah and Hayes built more than just a life together—they built a love that felt unshakable. The farmhouse became their home, filled with laughter, warmth, and the promise of a future neither of them had thought possible.
And as they stood hand in hand on the porch, watching the sun dip below the horizon, Savannah realized she had finally found what she had been searching for all along: a place to belong, and someone to share it with.