by A. J. Wynter
Serena looked behind her, there was no one there. She pointed to herself, “Are you talking to me?” she asked.
“Of course,” he croaked. The crossing signal turned to walk. “You have yourself a great day,” he said and slowly stepped off the curb.
Serena had grown up in the city, strangers didn’t say hi to her, or wish her a good day. She took a deep breath, feeling like an alien in the small town. “Allow me?” she stepped beside the old man and crooked her arm.
“Thank you dear,” he said. Together the two of them set a slightly faster pace across the road.
As the reached the other side he smiled and tipped his hat at her, “Thank you Miss.”
“Have a good day,” she said, feeling proud of herself for her good deed.
She stepped into the log cabin café and was surprised by the variety on the menu, she could easily have been in one of the trendiest coffee houses in the city. She ordered a latte and scrolled through her phone while she waited for the pretty blonde girl to steam the milk. She snapped a few photos of the coffee shop and a couple of the leaf pattern in her latte.
She reached for her cup, but hesitated, “Miss, could I get another to go? Just a coffee?”
“Black?” the girl asked.
Serena had no idea what Freddie took in his coffee. “Yeah,” she replied. “But, maybe a couple of sugar’s and cream on the side. I’m not sure what he takes.”
The girl nodded, her voluminous ponytail swung down her back as she poured the coffee.
“He takes two cream and three sugars,” a deep voice said from behind her.
The barista nodded and Serena caught the blush on her chest before she turned to face the bulkier, slightly taller version of her fiancé, Logan.
“I hear you’re in town for the weekend,” Logan smiled and ordered an americano.
“I am.” Serena replied. “Lots of stuff to get done.”
“Oh really,” Logan grinned. “I’m sure that Freddie has lots of, stuff, planned.” He laughed slightly as he said the word stuff.
Is that all men think about? She wondered. “No, wedding stuff,” she said and pressed Logan’s chest with her palm, a well practiced ‘you’re so silly’ gesture.
As Serena reached for the second cup of coffee, her ring glinted in the pendant lights of the café, and she saw the color drain from Logan’s face.
Chapter 13
FREDDIE STEPPED OUT of the shower and checked his phone. Serena was four hours late, which suited him just fine. He toweled off his hair and wiped the steam from the mirror. The weekend was going to be a tough one, but if he could get through the next forty-eight hours, everything was going to be fine.
He heard footsteps on the front porch and rushed to his bedroom to throw on some clothes. They had planned to meet here, take some casual photos and then head to Charlotte and Logan’s place for dinner.
Now, the cozy photo shoot would have to wait. He heard the knock again, “Hold on,” he shouted. The knock on the door was a full out cop knock, and he swore that she was trying to pound the door off its hinges.
He pulled his jeans up over his wet legs, arching his back as he gingerly zipped them up over his package, boxers would have to wait. His bare feet patted on the floor as he jogged to answer the door, but before he reached got there, the door burst open. It wasn’t Serena.
It was Logan. And he looked pissed.
“When were you going to tell me that you proposed to that twit?” Logan’s nostrils flared as he slammed the door, shaking the little bungalow.
“It’s not what it looks like,” Freddie said, holding his hands up defensively. It had been a long time since he and his brother had exchanged blows, but he remembered who came out on top, and it wasn’t him.
“Is that what you spend your money on? A ring?”
“No, Logan. Calm down.”
“Calm down? That’s rich Fred. You’ve made some stupid decisions in your life, but this, I mean, man, this takes the cake.”
Freddie remembered Charlotte’s words, Logan would understand the situation when all was said and done, but Freddie didn’t know how to calm down the beast that stood in front of him today. Instead of matching the raging hulk in front of him, he sat down on the sofa. “Logan, I love her.”
“How can you love her? You’ve been on what, two dates with her?”
“When you know, you know,” Freddie said. He hated lying to his brother, and he hated spouting out old clichés that he didn’t believe in. “You’ve just got to trust me on this—"
A light knock at the door interrupted Freddie. “That’s her.”
Logan threw his arms up in the air. “I’m out of here.”
“See you at dinner?” Freddie said as he walked to the door.
“Is that tonight?” Logan grumbled. “Yeah, whatever. See ya bro.” Logan pulled open the door and stormed past Serena, who stood shell shocked in his wake holding two cups of coffee.
“Two cream and three sugar?” she said quietly and handed him the cup.
“Thanks,” he said. “Come in.” He opened the door wide and Serena stepped inside the house trailing a giant suitcase on wheels.
He set the coffee down on the counter and opened the fridge. “It’s too late for coffee. Beer?” he held up a bottle.
“Sure,” Serena replied. “Where should I put this?” she pointed to the monstrosity on wheels.
“You can put it in the bedroom there,” he said.
Serena trundled down the hallway and yelled, “There’s no bed in here, just weights.”
Logan had lived in Freddie’s spare room when he returned to Chance Rapids, but when he moved into Charlotte’s mansion, Freddie had transformed it into a home gym.
“No, the other one.”
Serena returned to the kitchen and Freddie passed her the bottle of beer. “I guess we should talk about the um, sleeping arrangement,” she said and took a sip.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the couch,” he said. “It’s where I fall asleep most night’s anyway.”
“What’s up with Logan?” she leaned against the counter.
She was wearing jeans and white t-shirt again. With the beer in her hand she almost looked like she belonged in his kitchen. If he had to be fake engaged to someone, at least she wasn’t hard to look at.
“He found out about us before I could tell him.” Freddie said.
Serena looked to the ground. “I, um...I might have told him.”
“You what?”
“I saw him at the coffee shop and mentioned that we had a lot of wedding stuff to do this weekend.”
Freddie groaned.
“I didn’t know that you hadn’t told him,” she said, her voice shaking.
The waver in her voice caught Freddie off guard. She hadn’t done anything wrong; he should’ve told Logan, he just hadn’t figured out the right way to do it. “It’s okay, Serena. He’s just taking his big brother bear role a little too seriously. I just wish that I could tell him the truth.”
“We can’t, you know how important that is, right? We could lose all the money.”
“I know, I know.” Freddie muttered. “Well, cheers.” He held up his beer bottle. “To our first weekend together as an engaged couple.”
Serena tapped his bottle with hers, “To making the best of it,” she replied grimly and they both sipped their beer.
“Right,” he replied, but felt a touch of sadness. Making the best of an engagement just seemed wrong to him. “Let me get a shirt on, and then we can go be at Logan’s mercy for the rest of the night.”
“Sounds lovely.”
Freddie smiled and looked her up and down; she stood leaning against the counter, her arms and feet crossed, eyebrows raised. “Sarcasm suits you,” he said.
“Thanks. I think?” she replied.
Freddie pulled on a plaid cotton shirt and tucked it into his jeans, grabbed a flat brimmed black hat off his dresser and swiped on some deodorant.
“Come on, love
of my life, let’s get this over with,” he said and grabbed Serena by the hand.
SERENA FILMED THEIR trip across town and through the covered bridge. Chance Rapids was a nice town, with cute little houses, but as soon as they exited the darkness of the covered bridge, Serena was shocked by the palatial homes that lined the road as it switchbacked up the mountain.
“There’s the ski hill,” Logan pointed to an A-frame chalet that sat at the end of a dirt parking lot.
“Do they leave the little thingies there all summer?” she asked, pointing to the gondola lift.
“You mean the gondola cabins?”
“Right, gondola, that’s the word I was looking for,” she replied.
“They do, the mountain biking season with be starting soon.”
“People bike down that?” Serena craned her neck to try to see the top of the peak.
“Yep. And there’s a glacier up there, that’s where the ski team practices in the summer.” As a teenager Freddie had a year-round goggle tan from spending so much time on the mountain.
“That’s incredible, can we go up there?”
“I’m sure I could make those arrangements,” Freddie replied. He had a good relationship with the family that owned the resort. Sugar Peaks was one of the last family owned ski resorts in the state, and the small touches, like Grannie Mable cheffing up her Chili in the day lodge were what made it special.
Serena put down her phone and rolled down the window to look higher into the sky.
“What’s that?” she pointed to the field of wildflowers.
“That’s Boris,” Freddie laughed and pulled over onto the shoulder of the road.
Serena was confused, “Boris?”
“You know, the bear?”
“That’s a bear?” Serena gasped and squinted her eyes at the dark blob. “How can you tell?”
“I’ve lived here my whole life. They’re easy to spot.”
“He’s moving,” she squealed and rolled up her window.
“It’s okay,” Freddie laughed. “And look, Boris is a she...”
The blob was heading toward them, and Serena could make out the rounded ears. Then she saw two smaller blobs. “Are those babies?”
“Cubs,” Freddie said. “That bear has been hanging out in the Sugar Peaks subdivision for a few weeks now.”
The bear had come close enough that Serena could make out her face and see the roly poly cubs frolicking behind their mother. “If they weren’t so scary, they’d be cute,” she said.
“They’re more scared of us, trust me. Although, I wouldn’t want to get in between that momma and her babies. They will defend their cubs from anything, or anyone, who gets in between them.”
The two bears cubs played with each other, following the heels of their mother, who would turn every few moments to ensure that they hadn’t fallen behind. It was the sweetest thing Serena had ever seen. As she watched the planet earth episode unfolding right in front of her, a lone tear escaped from her eye.
Embarrassed, she quickly wiped away the tear with the back of her hand. “We should get going, we don’t want to add being late to the list of reasons your brother is pissed at you,” she said.
“Right,” Freddie said and started up the engine. “Didn’t you want to get a picture or video of that or something, or is nature not part of the Serena Cruise ‘brand’?
Serena couldn’t believe that she hadn’t filmed bears. She scrambled to pick up her phone and roll down the window while simultaneously pushing record. As the bears ambled out of sight, Serena clicked off her phone.
“Ready?” Freddie asked.
“To face my fake brother and sister-in-law, as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Chapter
Freddie saw the lone tear slip from behind her oversized sunglasses and it shocked the hell out of him. For a city girl, the bear and her cubs seemed to strike a nerve. He liked seeing his town through a newcomer’s eyes, sights that he took for granted, the snow-capped mountain peaks, the early season wildflowers, seemed to be extra saturated in color as he saw them anew. As she watched the bears, she seemed radiant with awe and emotion. The setting sun had cast a golden glow around her, and for those brief few minutes, watching the bears, he felt like he was sitting with an entirely different person.
He couldn’t believe that he had to remind her to get out her phone. She was completely in the moment, appreciating something while most other tourists would’ve had their cameras and phones in between themselves and the action.
“This. This is Logan’s house?” Serena’s mouth gaped as she took in the huge fir pillars of the modern multi-million-dollar mountain chalet.
“No, this is Charlotte’s house. Logan is building his own down the street, or at least that’s the plan.” Freddie didn’t think that the house was ever going to get built, the longer construction was delayed, the longer Charlotte and Logan would have an excuse to stay shacked up together.
“Should we have brought something?” Serena asked.
“I’ve got it covered,” Freddie said. He hopped out of the truck and jogged around to open Serena’s door.
“Thank you,” she smiled. “Are you going to do that every time? I’m perfectly capable of exiting a vehicle on my own.”
“I guess I’m a little old school,” he said. He opened the tailgate and pulled out a case of beer.
“Is that what we’re bringing to the dinner party?” Serena pointed to the box.
“What else would I bring?” Freddie grinned.
“Oh, I don’t know, an appetizer, maybe a salad?”
Freddie shrugged. “This is what I always bring, it’s kind of expected.” He could tell that Serena was embarrassed, but he didn’t care. Charlotte only bought the expensive hoppy craft beer, so his cheap stuff was a welcome addition to any party. “Shall we?” He held the case of beer in his left hand and crooked his right arm. He may not know dinner party etiquette, but he was never short on chivalry.
“Here goes nothing,” she whispered under her breath.
Freddie wondered if he should tell Serena that Charlotte knew about the Sidney’s contract. Then he felt the engagement ring band digging into his arm - a sharp reminder of the reason they were together, and something told him to keep his mouth shut.
He rapped the huge iron knocker and waited. He banged it again, but when there was no response, he just opened the door.
“You’re just going to walk in?” Serena asked.
“We are.” He squeezed her hand in his and pulled her into Charlotte’s entryway. “They’re probably just out back and can’t hear the door.”
He was right. As soon as they were inside, they heard laughter coming from the back patio. He pulled two bottles of beer from the case and shoved the remainder into the industrial-sized refrigerator. He handed one to Serena and as he took her hand in his, he could feel her fingers trembling. This was going to be hard for both of them.
Chapter 14
THE ANIMATED GROUP fell silent and turned to stare at Freddie and Serena as they stepped onto the patio. The conversation dropped off and all that Serena could hear were crickets, literal crickets chirping, as the judgemental eyes of Freddie’s inner circle looked her up and down.
“Hi, Freddie,” Charlotte stood up from one of the lounge chairs and squeezed him in for a hug.
Serena gripped her hands around the cold beer bottle, unsure of what to do next. To her complete surprise, Charlotte, a woman who had poured champagne over her head only months earlier, pulled her in for a hug too. Serena was stiff as a board in the tiny woman’s arms but followed her lead and patted her on the back. “Hi Serena, so great to see you again,” Charlotte said as she pulled out of the awkward embrace. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”
Charlotte led Serena to the configuration of outdoor furniture. “Serena, this is Megan and her husband Josh.” The couple on the love seat raised their hands and waved in unison. “That’s my sister, Lauren,” she continued as the girl with the thick g
lasses and chestnut brown hair stood up and shook Serena’s hand like there were a desk and official document in between them. “And, you know Logan.”
“Hi,” Serena said quietly.
Logan grunted and grabbed the beer from Freddie’s hand. “Glad you could make it.”
Serena’s heart sank. Logan wasn’t even attempting to be civil.
“Have a seat, Serena.” Charlotte motioned to one of the free chairs. “Can I get you something decent to drink?” she asked as she pointed to the bottle in her hand.
Serena thought quickly. What would Freddie’s real fiancée drink? “No, thanks. This is my favorite.” It wasn’t. She didn’t really like beer at all.
Charlotte raised her eyebrows at her. “Okay, but if you change your mind, let me know. I’ve got some great Italian wine in the cellar.”
The conversation started back up and Serena sunk into the chair. She raised the beer bottle to her lips to take a sip and the clink of the cap on her front teeth instantly brought tears to her eyes. She instinctively clapped her hand to her mouth to the dull sting at the front of her mouth.
“Here, let me get that,” Logan said. He took the beer from her hand and unscrewed the cap. Serena ran her tongue over her teeth and her heart sank as the sharpness of her jagged front tooth cut her tongue. She touched her finger to her gums and discreetly pulled the chip of her tooth out of her mouth, wishing she could disappear. She pressed the tooth in between her fingertips, intent on keeping it. She had spent a fortune straightening her teeth, there was no way she was losing that chipped piece.
Had anyone else seen? She gripped her tooth with all her might and mustered the guts to look around the firepit. To her, the world had gone silent with that dull cracking sound inside her skull, but Lauren and Josh looked to be in a very descriptive conversation, her arms flailing as she spoke, and Megan and Charlotte were standing at the bbq.
