Advice from a Jilted Bride

by Rayne, Piper

  “You’re being vague.” She positions the bottles precisely how she wants them on the counter.

  “It doesn’t matter what I think, Brooklyn.” I stand and cage her in. She stares at me through the mirror, her mad demeanor diminishing a bit with my proximity.

  “You know how many people depend on their jobs here?”

  I nod. “Since I signed their paychecks last week, I do. You have to understand it was a tough decision, but I have some good news.”

  “I’m not sure what good news you could possibly have.”

  I entwine our fingers and walk back over to sit on the tub with her next to me. I enclose my hands over hers.

  “My dad has agreed to give me the chain of hotels.”

  She smiles, although hesitantly. “Congratulations. I know you really wanted that.”

  “And guess what my first order of business will be?”

  “What?”

  “I want every room to be stocked with a sleep aid essential oil. In the suites, maybe a kit of four. I thought I’d talk to the owner of Earth’s Potions and see what she thinks.”

  Her smile grows but doesn’t last nearly as long as I thought it would.

  “And where do we do this from?”

  This is the hard part. “I can’t do my job here. I have to be in New York. I want you to move there with me.”

  Her hands slide out from mine and she walks out of the room.

  This is not how I thought this was going to go.

  I follow her, but she’s already on her way in with fresh towels.

  “Brooklyn, talk to me.”

  She folds them over the rack with the precision of someone who’s done it a thousand times before. “You want me to leave Lake Starlight and run off into the sunset while all my friends and co-workers are left to struggle?”

  I come up behind her, stopping her from adjusting the towels. “Talk to me please.”

  She slowly turns and I’m not prepared for the tears. Strike that, tears of happiness I was all for, but these aren’t those. “I think the man standing in this room with me isn’t the one I’d want to move to New York with.”

  I rear my head back. “What?”

  “How could you be this selfish? You get your hotels. I get my business and we leave all these people to scramble and maybe get a job in the next town over? It’s not lost on me that they have to interview for jobs they’re already doing. I’m curious, why would you want me to move with you?”

  “Because I think I’m fall—”

  “Because surely you don’t know me if you thought I’d be all for this plan. I told you I don’t want to move away. It’s the reason Jeff left me.”

  I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I thought maybe I’d be enough.”

  “Spoken like an egotistical jerk.”

  Her insult throws me off and I take a step back. “I have no idea why you’re so mad.”

  “Wyatt! Do you not realize what you’re asking?”

  “Yes. I do and I thought you were feeling the same way about me. I thought we wanted to see where this thing between us went. You knew my life was in New York.”

  She puts her hands on her hips. “And you knew mine was here.”

  “But I’m offering you a way to grow your business. A way to really make something huge out of Earth’s Potions.” I throw my hands in the air not understanding why she’s being so difficult when I’m handing her her dream on a silver fucking platter.

  “I know that, and I love that you’ve thought of me, but you’re asking me to abandon the Glacier Point family. And if you knew me at all, you’d know I can’t do that.”

  “For a family, they haven’t been very supportive of your choice to date me.”

  She narrows her eyes. “Go back to work, I need to work this out in my head.”

  “So, you’ll think about it?”

  She sprays the mirror and wipes it down, staring at me in the reflection. “I can’t see my answer changing, but I need to work. We can discuss this tonight after I’ve thought about it.”

  “Okay.” I step back. “I’ll be in my office.”

  “Wyatt?” she calls out and I walk back into the bathroom. “It’ll be longer than a few hours.”

  I inhale a deep breath and nod. Leaving her in the room, I’m certain Brooklyn and Wyatt are no longer going to be kissing in a tree and I honestly have no fucking clue why not.

  Forty-Eight

  Brooklyn

  “So, he wants to make all your dreams come true?” Reagan asks, raising her hand to Nate for another round.

  “Pretty much,” I mumble.

  “And you told him no?” Savannah asks.

  “I told him I had to think about it.”

  “I can’t believe they’re closing the hotel.” Juno sips her beer. She’s probably thrilled that Wyatt turned out not to be my prince.

  “Tell me about it. The hotel in Sunrise Bay is going to be some posh hotel with a spa. How am I supposed to fit in there?”

  I reach my hand over to Reagan. “You’d fit in great.”

  “Thanks. Guess we’ll see. Back to you though… I think Wyatt just wants you to have everything. You two have definitely grown closer.” Reagan slides the shot glasses around.

  “We’ve only been dating a hot minute.”

  Savannah raises her eyebrows and then looks to Juno. “You’ve been dating for months.”

  “No, we haven’t.” I down my shot. “I was getting over Jeff for months.”

  “You were basically dating without the sex. But you two acted like you were in a relationship—dinners, movie nights, him helping you with your business. I mean not a lot of guys would go with you to your garden and help you pick and plant flowers.” Juno surprises me. She’s been the captain of team ‘I Hate Wyatt’ recently.

  “You’re like a teeter-totter when it comes to your feelings about Wyatt and me.”

  She shrugs. “I knew this day was coming. He’s being selfish, taking what he wants and bolting out of town without looking at the wake he’s leaving in the rearview mirror, but he does want to make it right for you, so I can’t hate him too much.”

  My head falls to the table. “What do I do?” I mumble.

  “Go,” Reagan says, and I glance up at her.

  She’s serious. Here is someone who will be directly affected by Wyatt’s father’s decision and she’s telling me to go live my dream? I reach over and squeeze her hand. She’s a great friend and that’s precisely why I won’t just up and leave.

  “Savannah, could Bailey Timber purchase…” She knows what I’m implying and her eyes flick to Reagan and back to me.

  “I don’t know. I’d have to talk to Dori, but I don’t think so.”

  I nod.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Juno interrupts the conversation. “Do you love him?”

  Do I?

  “Um…”

  “She does,” Reagan confirms. “More than Jeff.”

  I look to my good friend and I guess I’m that transparent because I’ve felt something for Wyatt for a long time. We clicked and when I think about being happy, he’s front and center in that picture.

  Savannah and Juno look to me.

  I nod and steal Savannah’s shot glass, downing it. This time I’ll be breaking my own heart.

  * * *

  Leaving Lucky’s, I walk along the lake to head home, much to my sister’s chagrin. But I need to think this all through and if I know Wyatt, he’s waiting for me to get back to the apartment.

  Our time together runs through my mind. From hitting him in the head with the book to us sitting down by the lake and talking about life, to his confession about what it was like to grow up in his family.

  Is Wyatt enough to move to New York for? Of course. When he asked, my heart swelled, but the thought of leaving my family dampens any excitement I may have momentarily felt. To not be here when Austin and Holly or any of my other siblings have kids? To be the aunt they see once in a while when she’s in tow
n versus being able to be at their games and recitals, birthdays and holidays. My parents’ death taught me that time is never guaranteed. You’re not promised a year, much less a tomorrow. No matter how intense my feelings for Wyatt are, I’m not sure it’s enough to leave my family. I’m not sure anyone could ever be enough for me to leave my family.

  I sit down at the lake’s edge and pick up some pebbles, tossing them into the water.

  My head is a jumbled mess.

  “Hey.” Wyatt’s voice surprises me from behind. “I didn’t want to startle you, but Juno texted me and said you were walking home.”

  He sits down next to me and puts Gizmo between his legs. Tears prick my eyes.

  “I just wanted to think.” I reach over and pet Gizmo’s head.

  “About my offer?”

  I shake my head, sitting up straighter. “You make it sound like a business deal.”

  “Is that why you don’t want to come to New York with me?”

  I turn my head, resting my cheek on my forearm. “I think I want to talk to your dad about keeping the hotel open.”

  He chuckles until he realizes I’m serious. “Nothing will change his mind. I tried. Believe me. I have a feeling his plan this entire time was to close Glacier Point, so it wasn’t in competition with his new baby up in Sunrise Bay. It sucks, but it’s just business.”

  “I hate that you say that. It’s not just business, Wyatt. It’s people’s lives. People I’ve known my whole life. People who have spent their whole careers working at the hotel. What will Molly do? Or Reagan? Or Mac? How can you work alongside those people every day and not worry about them now?”

  He turns away from me and stares out at the lake. “It’s not that. I’m going to try to get them all a spot at the new hotel, but there’s nothing more I can do. Does it suck? Yes. But this is our chance and I really want you to come with me.”

  “I don’t think I can,” I whisper.

  “Can I ask you a question? Would you come if the hotel was staying open? Am I enough?”

  A tear slips from my eye. “It’s not about being enough, Wyatt. I do have feelings for you. Strong feelings. As shitty as it sounds, stronger than I ever had for Jeff, a man I was going to marry. My heart is already breaking with just the idea of us not being together, but I’m giving up my family if I go to New York.”

  “We could come back all the time. We’d make it work,” he assures me.

  I smile over at him. “But there would be no impromptu cookouts. Grandma Dori is getting older and I’m not sure how many more years she’ll have left. I’ll miss the Sunday dinners.”

  “You’ll gain Sunday mornings with me and late nights of filthy sex.” He waggles his eyebrows.

  I can’t fight my smile.

  “But it’s not enough, right?”

  I huff. “It’s not about being enough. I don’t want to choose between you and my family. It’s been what? Five months? What if we get to New York and you decide you don’t want me? What if the business grows too fast and I can’t keep up? I appreciate you wanting to be some white knight who saves me, but I don’t need saving. You shared your knowledge and helped me gain footing. You gave me the best thing ever—you gave me my self-confidence back. I can never repay you for that.”

  “Is this your nice way of turning me down?”

  I stare out at the lake before I place the spike in the beating heart that was the two of us. “I can’t go to New York with you.”

  “I can’t stay here,” he says, sounding torn.

  I want to ask why? Why is it me having to leave everything I love? I could twist this around and say why am I not enough for him to stay? But I don’t want him to ever feel like he settled by staying here. He has so many opportunities waiting for him in New York, even if he doesn’t like his dad.

  “I guess that means we’re going our separate ways.” My chin hits my chest and I fight back the tears.

  He stands, picking up Gizmo and tucking him under his arm. “Let me walk you home. Maybe something will change after a good night’s sleep. Another alternative we’re not thinking of.”

  He wraps his arm around my shoulders, and we walk the path back to the apartment in silence because we both know, nothing’s going to change in the morning. If anything, daylight is only going to make it that much clearer that we can’t stay together.

  Forty-Nine

  Wyatt

  We woke up the next morning and nothing had changed except the distance we put between us. Brooklyn made excuses that she was too busy to hang out because of all the orders she had to fulfill. I offered to help, but unlike before she didn’t take me up on it.

  So, here we are, three weeks later and I’m packing up my office with one week to go in Lake Starlight.

  A knock sounds on my office door.

  “Come in,” I say, stacking papers on my desk.

  “Did you not see the light dusting of snow that fell this morning? You better have Mac throw some salt out there before some old lady like me falls and breaks her hip. She might sue this place.” Grandma Dori walks in with Savannah in tow. “You can wait outside.” She flings her hand in Savannah’s direction.

  “I think you should just call yourself Thelma,” Savannah grumbles and grabs the knob. I don’t understand the reference but I don’t have long to think about it before she says, “Hi, Wyatt.” She shuts the door before I can say my hello.

  “Hi, Dori.” I motion for her to take the seat across from me.

  Her eyes fixate on my half-filled box. “Packing up, huh?” She sits down and I eye the wrapped box in her lap.

  “I am. We’re shutting down next week and I’m going back to New York the day after.”

  She nods. “It’s a shame really. I wish Bailey Timber could bail out the hotel, but we just can’t. All these people losing their jobs.”

  I lean back in my chair. “We were able to employ half of the current employees at the new place in Sunrise Bay.”

  “That’s probably a good average for you guys, right? Fifty percent.”

  I clasp my fingers, smiling. “You’re being very polite today. You can say what you really think.”

  She smiles. “That’s why I’ve always liked you, Wyatt. You’re a smart boy.”

  “Thanks?”

  “From day one you knew what you wanted.”

  “How so?” I tilt my head.

  She leans forward in her seat. “Our Brookie. You liked her from the get-go, didn’t you? When I first met Mr. Bailey, he told me when he saw me across the frozen pond, he got this feeling in the pit of his stomach. He thought he ate too many meatballs.” She giggles. “He wasn’t exactly a man who was smooth with words, but he loved me something fierce.”

  “You must miss him a great deal.”

  “That’s why I wonder for such a smart boy, why you’re being so dumb.”

  Her insult catches me off guard and I blink a few times in succession.

  “Don’t act insulted. You love Brooklyn, but you’re going back to New York.”

  “I need to make a living.” I steeple my fingers.

  The two of us have polite smiles on our faces, but it still feels like a showdown.

  “Well yes, I understand that. My husband didn’t want to take over the timber company from his dad. He wanted to build something for himself. Now, he eventually did take the reins and I like to think he loved what he did with the company. Most of that joy came later in life when he got to show the ropes to Tim, Brooklyn’s dad. But in those early years, I’d find him watching the boats go out with a longing in his eyes. He’d wanted to be a fisherman and captain his own boat. Back in that day, we would have struggled without a steady paycheck.”

  I nod. Her story is endearing, but I’m wondering when this stroll down memory lane will end.

  “Life is about chances. Taking an opportunity and running with it. Now I don’t know much about you and your father’s relationship and to be honest, right now your father is on my shit list. But I witnessed what th
e pressures of a family business can do to the relationship between a son and a father. I wish things would’ve been different for Mr. Bailey and me. I wish I would’ve told him to live his dream of being a captain. Now he was such a great man, he never resented me for working for his dad. We had a wonderful life together. But as a wife, I feel it was my job to push him. To tell him to take the risk, I wasn’t going anywhere.”

  “I’m sure he was happy with what the two of you made together.”

  She stares me right in the eye. “As scary as it is, if you take a leap of faith, sometimes it pays off.”

  I nod, not really sure how that implies to me.

  “Anyway, I suppose I should go. Savannah’s probably out there tapping her toe to get back to the office. Hopefully she finds someone to drill the energy out of her one day.”

  I laugh.

  “Oh.” She places the box on the desk. “A goodbye gift for you.”

  “Thanks.” My fingers move to unwrap it.

  “Not yet. When I leave.”

  I stand. “Thanks for coming, Dori. Maybe our roads will cross again.” I round my desk and put my hand out between us.

  She leans in and pats my stomach. “Oh, they will. I guarantee it.” She smiles and opens the door, taking a step out of my office. “You look like a fine fellow. What’s your name?”

  “Neil,” I hear him answer.

  “Does she scare you?”

  “Seriously, Grandma? Let’s go,” Savannah says.

  “I get it. She needs a man who can give her some tough love. I don’t think you’re him.”

  “Thanks?” Neil says, confusion laced in his tone.

  Then I overhear Dori saying things to people about how if they don’t have jobs, come apply at Bailey Timber after they burn this place to the ground.

  I close my door and stare at the wrapped gift.

  Curious, I unwrap the blue paper, finding a set of mugs. I open the box and pull them out. One has an outline of the state of Alaska on it and the other an outline of New York. A dotted line with the words, Never too far apart. Maybe in distance but never in heart is printed on each. Inspecting them closer, I see Brooklyn inscribed in the New York outline and Wyatt in the Alaska one.