On the Way to the Cabin

by Amabel Daniels

  On the Way to the Cabin

  Amabel Daniels

  Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 Amabel Daniels

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions

  No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form whatsoever without the prior written permission from the author

  Chapter One

  Snow fell in an unforgiving blanket. White flakes stuck to the windshield as soon as the wiper scraped across, filtering the darkening sky in a Star Wars space travel mode.

  So…maybe I shouldn’t have stalled so long to hit the road.

  Lena Moore wasn’t a procrastinator by nature. In fact, she harbored a stubborn pet peeve about unpunctuality. This trip, though, while it wasn’t her first one, was difficult to start. Driving at night didn’t bother her, but add in the snow? Not ideal.

  She hadn’t dragged her feet simply for the sake of putting off an awkward moment. Not entirely.

  I did have stuff to take care of all day. She’d spent most of the morning at the ice skating rink, puttering through the menial chores expected of her as manager of the facility. Then she’d felt obligated to supervise a student’s practice—a young skater who promised a lucrative career if she could keep her head in the game and off teenage drama. Plus, she had some running-around kind of errands, like dropping off packages for the rink, stopping for lunch, grabbing her mom’s mail…

  Biting her lip, she risked a glance at the empty passenger seat. Well, not completely empty. Something very, very heavy sat there. An item that clung at her heartstrings and yanked hard. Her knuckles twisted tighter on the steering wheel as she glimpsed the white envelope addressed to her family.

  A wedding invitation that nailed the lid on the coffin of her dreams.

  “Come on, Lena.” She huffed at herself, flicking her finger to speed up the windshield wiper. “It’s not like it was ever going to happen.”

  How many times had she coached herself to forfeit that silly idea? How often had she tried to wean herself away from ever thinking Aaron Hampton could be hers?

  His wedding invite said never.

  Before she could cringe at the finality of her crush—first love, only love—the car in front of her slammed on its brakes. Red lights swayed side to side like they were doing the floss as the vehicle slightly spun out of control.

  “Oh, come on.”

  It’d only started snowing. Maybe a quarter of an inch of the white stuff coated the ground. The forecast called for at least six inches in their region of New Hampshire. A foot could be counted on along the drive to the Hamptons’ winter cabin, her destination for the weekend.

  “If you’re this skittish with this much snow, get off the road.”

  In fact, maybe she should get off the road, too. A New Englander for life, she was confident in her ability to drive in an approaching mini-blizzard. But…

  Lena wasn’t a fan of avoidance because that never solved anything. Really, though, why not? Her best friend Molly Hampton had left early that morning with her boyfriend. She was sure the bubbly blonde wouldn’t mind her flaking out. No one wanted a third wheel, after all. And if she punked out and didn’t go to the cabin—bunking history as she’d always gone to the Hamptons’ cabin this weekend every January—she wouldn’t have to swing by the city and pick up Molly’s brother Aaron.

  Not having to face Aaron would be a breath of relief. Until she’d seen that wedding invitation, she’d been—as she foolishly always was—excited to see her best friend’s brother, the older friend who she’d grown up with. The more mature yet goofy guy she’d slowly fallen in love with as soon as youthful innocence led to an understanding that boys weren’t the enemy. Now knowing he was definitely out of her league and out of her reach, it’d be hard.

  Hard? No, it’d be terrible. She’d be much better off facing him after a solid weekend of alcohol and crying her heart out. Maybe then, she could force a smile, wish him well, and try to carry on with her life.

  Nerves always fluttered high whenever she could anticipate being near him. That was the reason she’d stalled and dillydallied for most of the day, prolonging this drive. Never mind the fact she’d known Aaron since they were preschoolers. It took a lot of courage to prepare for seeing him now. So rarely did she get time to just be with him, she fell into a trap of apprehension—a giddy excitement that she’d try to corral into a calm eagerness.

  He’d moved to the city after high school, going to college and living away from the small town they’d all grown up in. Yet he’d never been far. Friendly texting and coming home for holidays, Aaron had always maintained a semi-distant, casual relationship with her.

  So picking him up on the way to the cabin should have guaranteed seven hours of much-desired companionship on the drive.

  But…he’s getting married. Married!

  It was so final. So…

  “It was never going to happen,” she scolded herself through clenched teeth.

  Then perhaps, maybe this year’s cabin weekend shouldn’t happen either. Or, the Hampton siblings could, here on out, go there without her, keep it as just a family thing. Maybe Aaron could hitch a ride with another buddy or something—

  Beeps summoned from her dashboard and she flicked her focus to the screen. Incoming call. She pressed her lips together and groaned lightly. Molly. It was as though she’d somehow telepathically picked up on Lena’s hesitation.

  She let it ring. And ring. She was driving, after all. Each beeped noise ate at her, edging her into restlessness for ignoring her friend.

  Avoidance doesn’t solve anything. With a groan, she pressed the button on her steering wheel to answer the call.

  “Hey,” she answered.

  “Where are you?”

  Somewhere between shock and heartache. When she’d gotten into her SUV for the drive and read the wedding invitation, requesting the Moores to witness A. Hampton and M. Knight in marriage, she’d been stunned. Almost hyperventilated, if she could claim to be that melodramatic. And with every minute after, still closed inside the car, she’d felt that gasping-oh-my-God-ness ease into a sinking, soul-crushing despair.

  “Lena?”

  She frowned at Molly’s voice and swallowed. “Uh, on route two still.”

  “Is it really bad out there?” She sighed—she was the dramatic one of the two best friends. “I still don’t know why you didn’t just come with me and Justin this morning.”

  “I had to take care of work stuff.”

  It was true. She hadn’t wasted the day away only on juvenile giddiness of seeing Aaron. With her mom off on a business trip and her dad away for a conference, the skating rink was under her direct care. Of course, Lena had arranged for employees to cover for her this weekend. Mom had insisted she schedule their crew to run the rink because Lena had always gone with the Hamptons to their cabin. She wouldn’t hear of her missing out, even this once.

  “Meh. You could have put it off,” Molly argued.

  Lena slid her hands around the steering wheel, letting the friction of her skin against the leather distract her. “It’s fine. I’m…on my way now.”

  “Yeah. But it’ll take you forever to get to the city driving in the after-work rush.”

  To the city. To Aaron. Her heart twisted in her chest.

  “Aaron already called, asking when to expect you.”

  “Well, you could have picked him up on your way, too, you know.” H
e was her brother, after all. But no, Lena had volunteered to pick up Aaron, not then knowing that the guy was freaking engaged.

  “Nah.” Molly huffed. “He said he needed to finish something at work. And you’d already said that you’d leave in the afternoon. We all agreed it made more sense.”

  Lena hummed an answer of whatever. It was just on the tip of her tongue to ride on the temptation of impulse and say she was going to cancel.

  “So what should I tell him?” Molly asked. “How long do you think it’ll take you to get there?”

  A glance at the navigation screen showed the ETA to the city. Granted, the app couldn’t estimate how stupid drivers would be, like the station wagon in front of her that was driving twenty miles below the speed limit—and this was on a plowed and over-salted, clear stretch of the road.

  “Maybe another hour and a half?” Incoming traffic was steady, showing no chance for passing the slow-poke. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, rolling her eyes at the too-cautious driver. Or maybe a week, if this car doesn’t speed up or move over.

  Molly whined an exasperated sound. “Jeez. That long?”

  Lena shrugged. It normally only took forty-five minutes, weather permitting.

  “Okay. Well, drive safe. I’ll text him back and tell him when to be ready.”

  “Uh-huh. See you soon.” Lena pressed the steering wheel’s button to end the call.

  Back in the silence of her cozily warm SUV, she heaved a long sigh. “So much for backing out of it altogether.”

  Brake lights shone through the flake-covered windshield and she slowed to a stop. Probably a car had spun off the road up ahead.

  Okay, make that an hour and forty-five minutes? It wasn’t enough time. There was a possibility Lena would never have enough time to absorb the news of Aaron’s engagement.

  She set her elbow to the ledge of the window on her door and propped her face in her hand. Massaging her forehead, she closed her eyes for a second and sought some kind of reassurance that her life wasn’t ruined.

  So, he’s getting married.

  She laughed sardonically at herself as she opened her eyes. Traffic still hadn’t budged. Averting her eyes, she studied her reflection in the window, her cocoa skin lined with uneasiness. Reaching up, she smoothed her short black hair.

  “So…he’s getting married. No big.”

  But it was big. It was a big hole in her heart. Lena had known since childhood that Aaron was…hers. That they had a special bond. A teasing friendship. A confidant during hard times like his mom’s cancer and her parents’ divorce and later remarriage. A pair of buddies who always had each other’s backs. Yet, through all of it, she’d never once admitted how deeply she felt for him.

  How could she have? As an awkward, shy, younger teenager, his baby sister’s best friend? Or after the accident that destroyed her goals for professional skating, when she’d become even more introverted and timid—drowning in pity from having the label of victim?

  Molly didn’t even know that Lena had been in love with her brother for years. Decades.

  Lena narrowed her eyes and picked up the accosting envelope. She twiddled it between her thumb and forefinger. Was it possible to hate a mere scrap of cardstock?

  She huffed. “She had to know this was coming.”

  Molly and Aaron were close siblings. There was no way Molly wouldn’t have known Aaron was about to be married. Lena thought back for a clue that her best friend might have dropped. Whenever Molly mentioned Aaron, Lena was all ears. She’d mentioned that he’d been talking to someone—a coworker? Someone from Korea who’d come to his firm for a project? Yet, there’d never been a mention of anyone serious, that Aaron was singling a woman to settle down with.

  As much as Lena kept her love for Aaron a secret, it made sense that Molly wouldn’t have felt the need to inform her of the status of Aaron’s love life.

  “He never even hinted he was ready to settle down…” she murmured to herself.

  In any of the casual texts, those almost daily goodnight messages they shared with each other, he’d never once suggested he was with someone steady.

  Traffic picked up and she tossed the offending invitation to the passenger seat again. Paying attention to the road, she tried her hardest to shove away the storm of emotions. She, more than anyone, knew how hazardous driving distracted could be. Since she’d chickened out on telling Molly she didn’t want to come, she’d stick to the plan and drive to the cabin. She’d pick up Aaron and just…well, deal with it somehow. She could figure it out when the time came, because right now, she had to drive.

  Gritting her teeth, she steeled her gaze on the road, focusing on her SUV handling the speed and snow. With a shift of her finger, she turned the radio on via a button on the wheel.

  Lenny Kravitz blasted through the speakers and it took only a few minutes for the loud, punky rock—his old, good stuff, not the new crap—to pierce the haze of heartache and shock. Settling in, she made the trip to the city.

  The nearer she got to Aaron’s building, the nervousness returned ten-fold.

  How can I be normal around him now?

  How can he actually be engaged? How, when he is just right for me—when we’re perfect for each other?

  How am I supposed to—

  No matter how un-ready she was to face him in the light of his wedding news, she was there. Or more, he was there. Waiting outside in front of his apartment building. It wouldn’t have made a difference if he was one man standing in an after-work crowd of several pedestrians. And it wouldn’t have mattered if he was wearing casual, ordinary clothes or hidden in a bundle of a thick coat and hat like he was. Lena could always pick him out, sense his proximity. Like a tether that bonded her to him, she’d never skip over his presence.

  She parked and bit her lip, ducking to see him through the window. He was so tall, his head would have been cut off from her view. Leaning over, she fisted and unfisted her hands in her lap.

  “Well, I’m here,” she rallied to herself.

  And now what? How can I handle this? She refused to let herself think she couldn’t handle seeing him after knowing he’d never be hers, that they’d never be together. With a heavy heart thudding too fast in her chest, she inhaled deeply, but it came in as a shaky choke.

  As though he’d instantly picked up on her arrival, or perhaps merely the sight of her SUV, he grinned one of those cocky but charming smiles. Even from a few yards away, she could note the brightness of his smile in the startlingly bright blue of his eyes. His navy hat and gray scarf hid much of the lean angles of his face, and what she couldn’t actually see, she knew precisely what he looked like. In a sure stride, he made his way for her, cutting his broad-shouldered frame through the mingle of city-dwellers on the sidewalk. He hefted one shoulder, tossing his backpack higher, and reached for the door.

  Mere feet. He was nearly to the car and Lena fought to keep her smile on her face. Just…stay calm. It’ll be okay. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine, somehow. He’ll never be mine, but—

  The door opened, rushing in a blast of coldness. Frigid air wisped at her face and she blinked.

  No. I’m not going to freaking cry. Not like this.

  As Aaron slid into the seat, he multi-tasked, tossing his backpack into the backseat and slamming the door shut.

  Confined in the car with her, he immediately flooded her senses.

  God, I’ve missed you.

  The coolness that wafted from his coat.

  I need one of your hugs.

  That spicy hint of woodsy cologne.

  I want to smell you closer.

  The deep, throaty rumble as he cleared his throat and sucked in a deep breath of warm air.

  It’s been so long since I’ve heard your voice.

  Now the intensity of his study of her, from her short hair all the way down to her skinny jean-clad lap.

  What do you see in me?

  He caught her gaze and sighed.

  Please don’t
say anything to make me break. We’ll still be friends, right? Just give me that much. Let me cling to what we have. Like a pathetic wallflow—

  And then, as he shifted to face her, reclining in the passenger seat with an air of debonair ease, he reached out a hand and patted her thigh.

  “So, how’s my girl doing?” He cocked a half-smile at her.

  My girl?

  Blood rushed in her ears as she battled the grip of the sad reality.

  His girl?

  As if.

  Chapter Two

  Turning toward Lena fully, Aaron lowered his head to be more eye level with her gorgeous face as she moved her attention to the steering wheel.

  Jesus. Is she— Why is she crying?

  Alarmed, he tried to see her eyes again, those deep pools of dark-brown that would command him until his last breath. “Le—”

  A car horn blasted from behind them and he checked a glance at the headlights blinding from the curb.

  “Whoops.” Lena laughed softly and quickly shifted out of park, paying attention to pulling onto the road. “I’m moving, I’m moving,” she muttered to the irate driver.

  Why was she almost in tears?

  He frowned, watching her as she avoided making eye contact. “Are you okay?”

  “Sure. Yeah, I’m good.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he considered her reply. That was too quick and rushed of an answer. For as long as Aaron had known Lena, he’d had plenty of time to learn all her ticks and moods. Her tones and mannerisms.

  Something wasn’t…right. He scratched at his trimmed beard and wondered what could have his longtime friend behaving so skittishly. She hadn’t been this…weird…since sometime in high school, like freshmen year jittery.

  Molly hadn’t mentioned anything that might be upsetting her, and his little sister was as close to Lena as two friends could be. Heck, Lena hadn’t said anything to him, either. No disturbing news in her texts from yesterday.

  What’s going on?

  He shifted to buckle his seatbelt, still keeping his eyes turned to the striking woman driving. She rolled her shoulders, as if she was stiff, and seemed to shiver a bit. Maybe it was just the cold air coming in when he’d opened the door, something to bother her eyes.