Accidental Chances: A Small Town Love Story (Chance Rapids Book 3)

by A. J. Wynter

  “Dammit,” Freddie muttered as he tossed kitchen towels onto the steaming river of coffee.

  Serena tiptoed back to the bedroom, pulled on her jeans, a t-shirt, and tossed her hair into a ponytail. She made a quick trip to the bathroom to splash some water on her face and brush her teeth. Never in a million years would she leave her city condo without a face full of makeup, but she felt at peace going bare-faced in Chance Rapids.

  She walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Freddie. I’m going to go to the café and...” She pretended to be shocked by the coffee-splosion. “Get some coffee.”

  “Yeah, we could use some,” he said as he continued mopping.

  “Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.

  “No, it’s okay. I can bring back some of those yummy looking breakfast sandwiches.” Serena was dubious about Freddie’s skills in the kitchen.

  “Thank, Serena.” Freddie looked up and smiled at her.

  Serena had her own agenda. Yes, she needed to start the day with an infusion of caffeine. Especially, with all of the activities they had planned, but she secretly hoped that she’d be able to have a few words with Megan.

  Her heart sank as she stepped into the busy café and saw that Megan was in the thick of things, steaming some espresso. She placed her order and took a seat on one of the log benches and scrolled through her phone. Her posts and videos from the day before had been well received, with lots of positive comments and well-wishes about her engagement.

  “Is this seat taken?” a female voice said.

  Serena looked up to see Charlotte, dressed in an exquisite silk dress and heels, holding the hand of a cute little girl.

  “Of course not. Please have a seat.” Serena moved a pile of newspapers and local ski magazines so that Charlotte could set down her cup of coffee.

  “This is my niece, Tabitha,” Charlotte said. “Tabitha, this is Serena, Uncle Freddie’s, uh, girlfriend.”

  “Hi Tabitha,” Serena said.

  “Hi,” Tabitha replied.

  Tabitha and Charlotte sat down at the table. Tabitha was an adorable little girl, her big eyes amplified by the thick glasses on her face.

  “How did the cake tasting go?” Charlotte asked.

  “Great,” Serena said, not wanting to get into any details.

  “What were you looking at?” Charlotte asked, pointing to her phone.

  “Actually, I was checking on my posts from yesterday.” Serena slid her phone so that Charlotte could see the scenery shot from the cabin.

  Tabitha looked over her aunt’s shoulder at Serena’s photos. “When I grow up I want to do these things,” she said.

  “No, you don’t sweetie,” Charlotte replied. “Why don’t you go see if Auntie Megan needs some help and let me have a chat with Serena.”

  “Okay,” Tabitha grinned and hopped up from the table.

  “She loves helping out,” Charlotte explained and resumed scrolling through the photos. “I see you went to High Lake,” she said and started flicking through the rest of the photos.

  Serena grabbed for her phone, but not before Charlotte saw the photo that Freddie had taken of her. The one that she hated, chipped tooth, raccoon eyes, soaking wet. A drowned rat would look good next to that photo.

  “So, you two had a good day then?” Charlotte seemed surprised.

  “Is that a question?” Serena was sick of the passive-aggressive comments from Freddie’s crew.

  “Serena, I’m on your side.”

  The server arrived at the table and set down the coffee and breakfast sandwiches that she had ordered.

  “People are taking sides? Let me guess. There’s a betting pool too.” Serena was appalled.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Charlotte backpedaled. “I just meant that I think that you two are good together, that’s all.”

  “And other people don’t.”

  Charlotte sighed. “No. Other people don’t.”

  “Like Logan.” Even though their relationship wasn’t real, it hurt Serena that someone didn’t like her. That she wasn’t good enough for their brother.

  “Don’t take it personally.” Charlotte reached out her hand to hold Serena’s.

  “How do I not?”

  “He’s protective of Freddie. I shouldn’t say anything...” Charlotte hesitated. “But Freddie was really hurt years ago and he never really recovered.”

  “What do you mean,” Serena asked.

  “Freddie met a girl, a ski racer, years ago. They fell madly in love when she came here to train. They dated long distance the whole time she was in University and then she decided that she wanted to move to New York. She told Freddie that the long-distance thing didn’t work for her.”

  “But they had done it for years,” Serena said. The things Freddie had said to her the day before were starting to make a lot more sense.

  “Freddie was big in the ski scene and being on his arm helped her with her ski career. Logan thinks that she didn’t have a use for him after he blew out his knee and retired. But Freddie being Freddie, decided to drop everything, and surprise her in Manhattan but when he got there, she had already moved on. He walked in on her in bed with another man.”

  “Oh,” Serena whispered. “That explains a lot.”

  “From what I hear, Freddie went into a deep depression, you know. Too much booze and women.”

  “And he hasn’t had a girlfriend since?”

  “Not that I know of. So, you can see why his sudden infatuation with you is ringing alarm bells for those who love him.”

  “But not you?” Something wasn’t quite right with Charlotte, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

  “No, not me. I think that he just needed the right girl to come along and, Serena...” Charlotte reached for her phone, scrolled back a few photos to the one with the two of them in the canoe. “I think that’s you.”

  Serena pursed her lips. She wanted to tell Charlotte the whole truth. She hated lying to people; especially, those who were being kind to her. “It’s a complicated situation but I can honestly tell you that I’ve fallen for Freddie.” She picked at the paper seam on the coffee cup. “And I think he feels the same way too but has been pushing me away,” she whispered.

  “Now you know why,” Charlotte whispered. “He’s scared.”

  “Oh, my god.” Serena finally realized the scale of her situation.

  Charlotte nodded, her eyes exuded kindness as she sipped her coffee. “Yep. You two are in a dilly of a pickle.” Serena laughed. Charlotte was the oddest combination of sophistication and goofiness she’d ever met. Charlotte tapped Serena’s phone screen. “Do you really have 700,000 followers?” she asked.

  Grateful for the chance in subject, Serena clicked to her main page. “Seven hundred and twenty-three thousand. My goal is 800,000 by the end of the month.”

  “Is that possible?” Charlotte asked and leaned forward on her elbows.

  “Sure. I mean, I got into the game early and I’ve built a brand. And...” Serena smiled widely at Charlotte, “a scandal can do wonders for your account. Like someone pouring champagne over your head.”

  Charlotte laughed. “I apologized for that snafu, but it looks like you should be thanking me.”

  “I should,” Serena laughed.

  “I’ve been trying to build up the marketing for my Chance Rapids brokerage but with all of my showings and negotiations, I just don’t have the time for all this stuff.” She fluttered her fingertips at Serena’s phone.

  “I could help you,” Serena offered.

  “Well, I think I’d need someone for more than the next month.”

  Serena looked up at Charlotte. “The next month?”

  “I just meant that it would have to be someone local,” Charlotte stammered. It was the first time that Serena had heard any lack of confidence in her voice. “Listen, it was nice chatting with you, but I’ve got to get going. Are we still meeting at one?”

  “Yes, one,” Serena replied, thoroughly confused b
y Charlotte. It was as if she knew that Serena and Freddie’s relationship was going to be over in a month and that she wouldn’t be a resident of Chance Rapids anytime soon.

  “Great. See you there.” Charlotte gathered up her handbag and coffee.

  “Wait, Charlotte,” Serena said and Charlotte paused. “Great dress.”

  “Oh, this?” Charlotte looked down, “Thanks,” she said and started to walk away.

  “Wait. Can I ask you something?” Serena said quickly.

  Charlotte turned and put her hand on her hip. “Yep.”

  Serena could tell that the busy woman was losing her patience.

  “Do you feel weird walking around this small town in those expensive clothes? I mean, look at everyone here.” Everyone in the coffee shop was in jeans or some kind of high tech performance gear.

  “That’s the beauty of Chance Rapids. You can be whoever who want to be and if not, the city is only a few hours away.” Charlotte winked, turned on her expensive leather-soled heel and marched out of the café hand in hand with her niece.

  While Serena gathered up the paper cups and breakfast sandwiches, her mind was racing a mile a minute. She had spent the last few years swimming in a shit-filled dating pool and now had finally found the fish who made her heart race. Was she was going to throw it all away because she couldn’t live without expensive take-out and cultural events? But there was her dad. She couldn’t move away from him but wondered if he could be moved to Chance Rapids. The thought had never crossed her mind. As if on cue, her phone rang. It was the concussion center. She jabbed at the button to accept the call.

  She said hello with trepidation. So far, all the calls had been bad news.

  “He’s what?” she said into the phone. The noise of the coffee shop faded into the background and she felt light-headed as the blood rushed to her head. She nodded and listened to the report from the doctor and when she hung up the phone, she had tears in her eyes.

  She couldn’t believe it. The experimental treatment had worked. Her dad couldn’t speak but he was awake. She wanted to scream and jump up and down. She looked at her phone and the first person who came to mind was Freddie. He was her person. That’s when she knew that she had to fight for him. She wanted him to be the one she ran to with exciting news.

  She took the café steps two at a time, intent on sprinting all the way to Freddie’s to tell him she had to go see her dad and that she could move to Chance Rapids. For him.

  Her heart was pounding as she rounded the corner of Main Street and Bristlecombe and didn’t see the battered sedan was parked on the corner. As she sprinted by, its owner opened the door and Serena had to do a quick side-step to avoid a full-blown crash.

  The sandwiches went flying and Serena screamed as the hot coffee spattered all over her chest. Her t-shirt now home to a coffee Rorschach pattern. She panicked and pulled at her shirt to get the heat away from her skin.

  “That was stupid,” a husky voice said.

  Serena looked up to see the owner of the voice, a middle-aged looking woman wearing low cut jeans and a skin-tight shirt that didn’t quite bridge the gap between hem and waistband. The woman reached out to help her up off the ground. The door opener’s hair was crispy from too much bleach and her skin looked like it was made from a baseball glove. When she grinned at Serena, her bright pink lipstick amplified the yellow of her nicotine-stained teeth. Serena assumed that the woman was referring to herself, “That’s okay. It happens all the time in the city with bikers.” She herself had been guilty of opening the door into the oncoming path of a bicycle messenger.

  “Bikers run into car doors in the city?” The woman narrowed her eyes at Serena.

  Serena was caught off guard. “I meant, people don’t look before opening their doors,” she clarified. Unwilling to continue the ridiculous conversation, she muttered, “I have to go.”

  “Wait just one minute, aren’t you going to pay for the coffee that you spilled?”

  Serena stopped and turned to face the woman, “That was my coffee.” She bent down and picked up the cups and plastic lids from the sidewalk.

  “Mine too.” The woman held out a coffee mug that read, “It’s Wine O’Clock,” and tipped it over to show that it was empty.

  “Let’s call it even then, I have to go.” Serena stepped around the woman and as she picked up the takeout containers she wondered if the sandwiches were still in one piece.

  The woman narrowed her eyes at Serena, “Ain’t you the girl that’s banging Freddie?”

  Serena paused and turned to face the woman whose smile was now more of a snarl. Enough is enough, she thought. She couldn’t help it. She held up her ring hand and wiggled her finger, causing the giant diamonds to glint in the sunlight. “We’re engaged.”

  The woman stepped back like she had been slapped, then grinned an evil yellow smile. “Ha. Good luck with that,” she said. “Wait, I’ve got something for you.” She turned and reached into her car. “These are your fiance’s; he left them in my bedroom.” She handed Serena a pair of sunglasses. The same sunglasses Freddie had worn to the premiere. “You’re not so special, sweetheart.”

  Serena’s mouth gaped open. She couldn’t believe that Freddie had been with this woman. “W-when did he forget these in your... your...” she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

  “Bedroom? Is that the word your pretty little head is looking for? Oh, just a couple of days ago.”

  Serena felt like all the air had just been sucked from her lungs. In Charlotte’s story, Freddie’s womanizing ways were in his past, not staring her right in the face.

  “Thanks,” she muttered and accepted the sunglasses.

  She was only two blocks away from Freddie’s house, but instead of running into his arms, she walked down the alley and tossed the breakfast sandwiches into the dumpster.

  She crouched, her back against the brick wall and cried silently into her hands. He knew the ramifications for breaking the contract. How could he? If he were caught with someone else, they would lose their deal with Sidney’s and potentially be sued. And the idea of Freddie being with that woman made her want to retch. Was Serena the laughing stock of the town, a joke?

  She wiped away the tears and marched back to Bristlecombe, still in shock that her fake boyfriend had cheated on her. Her anger grew until fury was pulsing through her veins. She burst into Freddie’s house, slamming the door open, the knob denting the drywall. Freddie and Logan were standing in the kitchen and both snapped their heads toward the commotion.

  “Hi, Sweetheart,” Logan said.

  “Hey,” she snapped.

  She brushed by the brothers and locked herself in the bedroom. She grabbed the pillow from the bed and buried her face into it, letting the sobs escape into the feathers. They came quick and hard before the anger returned. She paced the bedroom, waiting for Logan to leave so she could confront Freddie.

  The sliding doors opened and closed. She heard Logan and Freddie’s muffled voices from the back deck and it sounded like they were arguing. She tiptoed into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. The bathroom window was open a crack and from there, she could hear their entire hushed conversation.

  She sat down on the closed toilet seat, leaned her head on the window frame, and held her breath as she strained to hear what they were talking about.

  “I can’t believe you’re being so stupid,” the deeper voice, Logan’s, said.

  “I love her,” Freddie replied.

  What a liar. She thought to herself. No wonder she fell for his façade. Even now, he sounded genuine.

  “Why?” Logan said and Serena heard the disgust in his tone. “You have nothing in common.” Serena had to agree with this point. “She’s pretty but as smart as that rock over there. Looks fade. Trust me.”

  Serena screwed up her face. She wanted to burst out onto the back deck and slap Logan. How dare he say that she was dumb. He hadn’t even given her a chance or said more than two words to her. He was the
brute hockey player.

  “She’s more than looks.” Serena’s heart jumped a half a beat. Freddie was defending her. “She’s actually really smart.”

  Logan grunted loudly. “You could’ve fooled me. She only cares about what her life looks like on that damn screen. She’s vacuous Freddie.”

  “Vacuous?” Serena hated Logan but was secretly impressed by his vocabulary. Her body was tense as she waited for Freddie’s rebuttal.

  “Maybe she is. But do you want me to be with someone like Stacy?”

  “She’d be better for you.”

  Freddie didn’t respond.

  That was enough. Serena grabbed her toiletry bag, marched into the bedroom, and tossed her clothes into her suitcase. Rage surged through her body as she zipped up the bulging luggage. As she trundled out of the house, she glanced to sliding glass doors and could see Freddie gesturing wildly with his hands. She grabbed her car keys, took off her engagement ring since they were going to have to give it back anyway and tossed it onto the kitchen counter.

  She didn’t care about the fallout. She had to break up with her fake fiancé, for real.

  Chapter 20

  FREDDIE’S FACE WAS red, his blood pressure through the roof as he held his raging temper at bay. He wanted to yell at his brother, push him against the railing, and tell him that he was wrong about Serena. He knew that she was the one for him, even if they had only been pretending. Hell, he wanted to scream it from the rooftops.

  Freddie got it. All Logan saw was his brother jumping into something too fast. But from the moment he pulled Serena into the canoe, he knew that she was the one. If they had been dating for real, that would’ve been the exact moment he decided she needed to be his wife. They just had to get through the next month with all the scrutiny from their friends and family. Then the truth could come out and Logan could grow to accept Serena as his sister-in-law.