Free Secretly Yours: A Christian Valentine's Day Romance (Riverbend Romance Novella Book 1) by Valerie Comer Page A

“You guys were awesome. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
    “It was fun!” Madison’s friend Erica announced. “Maybe someday I’ll be a chef.”
    “You could be,” Lindsey assured her.
    The music dwindled from the sound system and Nick’s voice came through. “Wasn’t that an amazing dinner?” he asked.
    A smattering of applause came through the speaker.
    The kids grinned at each other.
    “I’d like to ask Chef Solberg and her staff to please come out of the kitchen.”
    Oh, no, he wouldn’t. But he had. Lindsey motioned the teens through the door ahead of her. She blinked as a spotlight found them.
    “Chef Lindsey Solberg is a Riverbend girl trained at Niagara Falls Culinary Institute. She was the premiere chef at Fresh Start in Castlebrook for several years and is now on staff at the Water Wheel here in Riverbend. Chef Lindsey donated her time to help our youth group raise funds for our missions trip to Mexico during spring break. Thank you so much, Chef Lindsey!”
    This time the applause rocked the roof.
    Nick listed her helpers before the spotlight turned off. Then he named the local farms and businesses that had offered deals or donations on food and decorations.  
    Lindsey heaved a sigh of relief. “Let’s get our dinner and sit here in the back for the drama presentation.”
    The kids exchanged glances. “I’ll get the plates,” offered Erica. “Let me serve you.”
    “Thanks.” It felt wrong, even though she was in charge. Even though her legs had turned to rubber after the rush. She sagged into a chair as Nick introduced Jared and the drama team. Madison had been very close-mouthed about their production. Some kind of fairy tale thing was all she’d said.
    The illumination on Nick at the podium faded as the row of spotlights shone on the stage curtains, which slowly drew apart.
    “May I join you?” whispered Nick.
    “Um, sure.” Her heart warmed that he’d sought her out on this busy evening.
    A moment later Erica set a plate of chicken cacciatore in front of her. “Did you eat?” the teen asked Nick as she sat down on the other side of him.
    “I did. It was incredible.”
    A few minutes ago Lindsey had been starving at the brink of death. Now, with Nick seated beside her, she wasn’t sure she could force down a single bite.
    The curtains revealed a divided set with a darker raised portion on the right, evidently the inside of a room with a window to a bright wildflower meadow, trees painted on the backdrop.
    Madison, wearing a wig of long braided hair, leaned out the window, her side to the audience. Rapunzel. A familiar enough fairy tale, even though the original was a long way from the Disney princess version.
    Lindsey settled into her chair and toyed with her fork. This production would likely be distant from any previous adaptation she’d seen. Hadn’t Madison said something about this production being for credit for Jared’s college classes? Probably somewhere in this room his instructors watched, grading him on the finished play.
    A parade of men in various costumes engaged the princess in her tower. Some begged her to come down with flowery poetry, while others tossed gifts. Madison waved, smiled, and shook her head as the lights very slowly illuminated the tower room. A narrow beam shone on her ankle, and a gasp came up from the audience as they noticed the ball and chain holding her in place. A cackle crackled through the sound system.
    That illumination shone straight into Lindsey’s soul. This was where she’d been, smiling and waving and pretending everything was okay while being chained in place, unable to respond to love.
    A young man knelt at the foot of the tower, head bowed, while the princess fumbled with the bindings on her ankle. Lindsey’s heart reached out for Madison. She knew exactly what it felt like, struggling to remove the bondage by herself. She’d battled for years, unable to free herself.
    “I can’t believe this,” whispered