by A. J. Wynter
Charlotte replayed her run-in and subsequent high-speed escape from Logan.
“I can’t believe he’s back here. I mean, Chance Rapids?”
“I know. But you haven’t heard the worst part.”
“There’s more?” Lauren leaned forward; her eyes wide. “This makes my day seem like a walk in the park.”
“You just wait. I took Tabitha for hot chocolate at Sugar Peaks Café and met up with Megan. You know that big news she had for me?”
“Yeah, were you right? Is she engaged?”
“Yep.” Charlotte reclined back into the overstuffed chair and rested her sock feet on the edge of the coffee table. “And I’m her maid of honor.”
“That’s cool,” Lauren replied. “And what you expected, isn’t it?”
“It is. And I’m really happy for her. She’s my best friend, so I couldn’t really say no.”
“Why would you say no?”
“Guess who is in Josh’s wedding party?”
“No,” Lauren gasped again. “There’s no way. I didn’t even know that they were friends.”
Charlotte finished off her glass of wine and held it up, “I didn’t either. Another?”
“I think I need it,” Lauren replied. “You pour the wine; I’ll throw another log on the fire.”
Once they were settled back into their seats, Charlotte filled Lauren in on all the details. How Freddie and Logan Brush had become close with Josh after his girlfriend died, and that they had been the ones who got him through the tragedy.
“I mean, I see how you have to be in Megan’s wedding, but does she know what happened with you and Logan?”
“She knows that I hate him, which is why she wanted me up here, to break the news to me face to face but I haven’t told her all of the details.”
“I think that you should.”
“And then what? Put her in the awkward position of telling her fiancé that she doesn’t want his friend in the wedding party?”
“I guess that would make things a little awkward, but Megan’s your best friend. She should know.”
Charlotte sighed. “I guess I’ll have to tell her. Lauren, am I being childish? I mean, it was over fifteen years ago, and we were basically kids.”
“I saw you fall apart after Logan Brush. Mom and I were so worried about you. But maybe people change?”
“Is that a question?”
“I don’t know, Charlotte. I don’t think people change. If Logan was a shitty human being in 2004, chances are he still is. And now that he has money, well, from what I’ve seen, it only amplifies bad human traits.”
Charlotte tilted her head. “Like with me?”
“No, not like you. You were generous and kind even when you didn’t have money. In your case, money has amplified your good traits.”
Charlotte smiled. Lauren always had an interesting way of looking at things.
“Although, I think that it turned you into a workaholic.”
“I took today off!” Charlotte replied.
“You were sending emails and making calls when I walked in the door, I hardly call that ‘taking the day off’.”
“You don’t understand, it’s hard to turn it off. And you should talk, you left in the dark this morning and are just rolling in now, at 9:30.”
“So, maybe both of us throw ourselves into our work to avoid real life.”
“Work is real life,” Charlotte scoffed.
“Don’t get huffy with me. You asked. You’re a great person who has spent her entire life working. Maybe you should thank Logan Brush for lighting the fire that drove you out of this piece of shit town. Because let’s be honest, he’s the main reason you left.”
Charlotte hated to admit it, but every word that Lauren said was true.
“Oh, I forgot to mention. We need to hire a sitter, we have plans Friday night,” Charlotte said.
“Friday?” Lauren scrunched up her forehead. “What’s going on?”
“Megan and Josh’s Stag and Doe at the Last Chance.”
Lauren groaned. “Nope.”
“Yep,” Charlotte replied and smacked her sister on the foot. “I’d rather squeeze lemons into my eyes than set foot in that bar, I’m going to need some backup.”
Lauren looked into her wine glass. Charlotte allowed the silence to linger heavily in the air, a negotiation tactic. Lauren swigged back the last of her wine and then let out a huge exhale. “Fine. Let’s go face all the people that made our high school years the worst years of my life.”
Charlotte raised her glass to toast Lauren’s, noticed that it was empty and filled it up.
“To the triumphant return of the Bunkman sisters.” She raised her glass.
Lauren shook her head, pursed her hips, and met Charlotte’s glass with hers, the expensive crystal ringing out as they said ‘cheers’.
The two of them sat up talking until the logs in the fire were coals and the bottle of wine was drained. Charlotte was dreading Friday night, but knew that with Lauren by her side, they could face the town, and, Logan Brush.
Charlotte shuffled to shut off the porch light and nearly jumped out of her skin.
There was a knock at the door.
Chapter 9
LOGAN SHOVED HIS FEET into the big snow boots and trudged into the knee-deep snow on the back deck to light the barbecue. He shivered, his tenure as a pro hockey player had been in Florida, and he swore that his blood had gone thin living so far south. He looked up to the horizon, the jagged darkness of the mountains gave way to a clear sky full of stars.
Freddie poked his head out the door, “Ready for the burgers?”
“Let’s give this thing a minute to heat up.” Logan stepped back inside the house.
“Chilly are ya, bud?” Freddie laughed.
“Nah,” Logan lied. “These boots are toasty warm.”
“That’s because they’re mine,” Freddie said. “You’re going to have to get your own things soon. You know, like your own house...”
Logan had been living with Freddie, and on days when he was second-guessing his decision to move home, liked the fact that he hadn’t officially set down any roots in Chance Rapids. Just like he’d never been able to commit to a woman, he wasn’t ready to fully commit becoming a Rapidian again.
“But how will you eat when I’m gone?” Logan had been cooking dinner for both of them. Left to his own devices Freddie would subsist solely on food from the G-spot and the Sugar Peaks Café. “You spend more on takeout than anyone I know,” Logan joked.
“For a bigshot hockey star, you could loosen up the purse strings a little.” Freddie handed Logan the plate of homemade burgers. Logan pulled one of Freddie’s thick canvas jackets off the hook and layered it over his ski jacket. Freddie grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge and joined him outside. He sat down in one of the snow-covered patio chairs.
“You’ll never guess who I ran into on the mountain today.”
“You took someone out?” Freddie grinned.
“Since when did you become such a literal pain in the ass?” Logan grinned as he set the burgers on the hot grill and closed the lid of the barbecue.
“Since always.”
“I can agree to that statement,” Logan laughed. It was good to be home.
“Billie Jo Bunkman,” Logan said.
“Oh, yeah?” Freddie replied but seemed awfully interested in the shape of his beer bottle.
Logan had been expecting more of a reaction. After all, Billie Jo had broken his heart when she disappeared all those years ago. “Yeah. She looks different.”
Freddie took another sip of his beer. “How did you know it was her then? I mean, it’s been years, dude. It could’ve been anyone.”
“Oh, it was her alright.” Logan thought back to her beautiful eyes. There was no way that he could’ve forgotten the gold flecks that punctuated the warm brown.
“That’s something,” Freddie murmured.
“Yeah, I mean. It is something. Billie Jo Bunkma
n is back in town. And man, can she ski. I tried to catch her, but she was like the roadrunner.
“She spent years avoiding you, Logan and I mean, you get why... Maybe you’re the coyote.”
“She just disappeared and never wrote me back. What was I supposed to do?”
“Yeah, but you stood her up on prom night and the whole town turned on her.”
“You know I couldn’t tell the real story.”
“But Char—, I mean, Billie Jo doesn’t know that. And Logan, you didn’t really try that hard.”
Logan narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Is there something that you’re not telling me?
“Fuck,” Freddie muttered under his breath. “I mean, you’re going to find out soon enough.”
“Find out what, Fred?” Logan flipped burgers while keeping his eyes trained on his younger brother.
Freddie took a sip of his beer. “Those burgers done?”
“Don’t try to change the subject on me. I just flipped them.” Logan shook his hands and held them near to the barbecue to try to warm them up.
Freddie sighed, releasing a cloud of breath. “You know the Sugar Peaks Café?”
“Of course. I go there every day before practice. It’s the only place in town to get a decent cup of coffee.”
“Billie Jo owns it.”
“No, Josh’s fiancée owns the café.” Logan knew for a fact that Megan was the owner, and she was there every day slinging coffee and croissants.
“Billie Jo is the silent partner. She was there opening day. You saw her.”
Logan thought back to December when he first moved home. He remembered seeing the gorgeous woman with expensive clothes. As a matter of fact, her hot body and long dark hair had made his cock stir that day. “But she looks different.”
“Of course, she looks different. It’s been fifteen years. I was surprised as hell that you didn’t recognize her. I did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was sworn to secrecy.”
“From your own brother?”
“As far as I knew, she was leaving town. The last thing I needed was to see you fall apart like the first time she left.”
Logan thought back to the moment when he first saw the Sugar Peaks Café. His heart had raced, and he was certain it was Billie Jo’s enterprise. Years earlier, he and Billie Jo had created a business plan for the exact café, the economics assignment brought them together.
His heart had grown heavy when he heard that Megan was the owner. He remembered wishing that Billie Jo could see the café; see that their vision had come to life. It made sense now. Every time he went into the café, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the entire place felt like Billie Jo, except for the name, their economics assignment coffee shop had been called “Sharon’s Spot,” after Billie Jo’s mom.
“Freddie. I don’t fall apart over women anymore. No girl can get to me now. I break their hearts. Not the other way around.”
Freddie laughed. “Well then, Mr. Heartbreaker, you’re going to be just fine. But Charlotte is no girl.”
“Charlotte?”
“That’s why you could never find her. She changed her name. Billie Jo Bunkman is gone. That woman you saw today, that’s Charlotte O’Hare.”
Logan steadied himself with the handle of the barbecue. Charlotte O’Hare, he rolled the words around on his tongue. “Wait, where have I heard that name before?”
“Those burgers done now?” Freddie asked.
Logan checked the burgers and pulled them off the grill. “Freddie? Why do I know her name?” He shivered. He knew that he had heard her name somewhere, he just couldn’t place it.
“Aww, pumpkin, you’re shivering. Let’s get you inside.”
Logan wanted to press the issue, but he was really cold.
“Wouldn’t know that you’re a hockey player. You know, a winter sport on ice.” Freddie laughed as he followed his brother inside the house. The two of them kicked off their boots and Freddie flopped back onto the worn couch. Logan plated the burgers and sat down on the sofa beside his brother. Freddie did have a dining room table, but they hadn’t used it once since Logan had moved in. Freddie clicked on the hockey game and the two of them sat down and took bites of their burgers hunched over the coffee table.
“Beer?” Freddie asked.
“Sure.”
Freddie hopped up and grabbed two bottles from the fridge. He handed one to Logan and sat down. The game was on a commercial break.
“Logan, you’ve probably heard Charlotte’s name around town. She’s a big deal in the city and owns that big house on Sugar Peaks Way.”
“No shit. Really?” As much as Logan was pissed at Billie Jo for disappearing from his life, it brought him a bit of happiness knowing that she had done so well for herself. “Good for her. She was street smart, that girl.”
“And she’s in Megan’s wedding party.”
Logan practically spit his beer out all over the coffee table and choked on his burger. THAT was where he had heard the name, but it hadn’t meant anything to him at the time.
He pounded his chest. “When the hell were you going to tell me? There’s no way I would’ve agreed to be one of Josh’s groomsmen if I knew that.”
“Really, Logan? You would’ve let a girl from another lifetime scare you off?”
Logan eased back into the couch. He was right. “Well, no. I just, I should’ve had all the details, that’s all.”
“If it makes you feel any better, she doesn’t know yet.”
That made sense. Billie Jo, or rather, Charlotte seemed genuinely shaken to see him on the chairlift.
“We were going to tell you both before the Stag and Doe, I swear.”
Shit. The Stag and Doe party was only a couple of days away. “Yeah. And see, I told you about it, with two days to spare. Game’s back on.” Freddie pointed to the screen and unmuted the sound.
Logan saw the players skating around the ice, many of them friends of his but his mind wasn’t on the action. It was reeling. The one woman who had meant anything to him, the one that had caused such heartache in his life, had reappeared. And he was going to be walking down the aisle with her.
Chapter 10
CHARLOTTE CHECKED HER watch which read 11 p.m. She peeked through the glass panel beside the large wooden door and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Megan’s trademark giant pompom hat.
“Meg, is everything okay?” Charlotte said as she opened the door.
“Actually, I came by to ask you the same thing. I kind of dropped a bombshell on you today,” Megan whispered.
“You don’t have to whisper. Lauren and Tabitha sleep like logs. Come in.” Charlotte stepped aside and pulled Megan into the house by her arm.
“Sheesh, how much wine have you had Dracula? Your lips are purple.”
“Lauren and I split a bottle, although she’s a lightweight. I think that I had most of it.” Charlotte had a nice little buzz from the wine. “Want some?” Charlotte held up another bottle.
“No, thanks. I just wanted to apologize for surprising you with that news about Logan.”
Charlotte sighed and sat down on the couch. She patted the cushion beside her, and Megan joined her. Charlotte plucked some dog fur off Megan’s yoga pants.
“It’s a losing battle,” Megan sighed. Megan and Josh had a husky and as much as Megan loved Timber, she was constantly covered in white fur.
Charlotte brushed the fur from her hands. “Meg, this is hard for me. I worked so hard to forget my old life. As a matter of fact, it feels so far gone that I don’t even know that girl anymore. I thought I had moved on until I saw Logan. Seeing him brought back insecurities that I didn’t even know I still had. I must’ve buried them deep.” Charlotte had never vocalized these feelings, and as the words spewed out, she realized that Logan represented the weaker, more vulnerable side of her. A side that she thought she’d bidden farewell to years earlier.
“But you’re not that girl anymore. You’r
e not Billie Jo. You’re Charlotte now,” Megan smiled warmly.
“I know, I really thought I’d left her in the past. Meg, you saw where I grew up.” Back in the fall, Charlotte had driven Megan past her childhood home. The clapboard house sat on the wrong side of the tracks with a half-collapsed front porch and chain link fence. The neighborhood was now part of Chance Rapids’ seedy underbelly, inhabited by crackheads or meth heads, Charlotte wasn’t sure if she could tell the difference between the two.
“And I see where you live now,” Megan gestured to the palatial living room of Charlotte’s multi-million-dollar ski ‘cabin.’
“I know. It seems crazy,” Charlotte muttered and took a sip of water. “I don’t want to bore you with the whole story, but I fell in love with Logan in my senior year of high school.”
“Were you two a couple?” Megan asked.
“Not exactly. We worked on a project together and got to know each other that way. I thought that he was a dumb jock, but he wasn’t. He was funny, thoughtful, and hot.” Charlotte remembered the way his hockey hair would flick out from under his baseball hat, and how even at eighteen, his back, broad like a man’s, filled out his hockey t-shirts. “Every girl in school wanted Logan Brush.”
“Not much has changed then.”
Charlotte silently agreed. When she had seen Logan, he looked like the high school version of himself, only better. He was even more broad, larger than life, but he had the same hair and million-dollar smile. “I know. I’m sure he’s had half the town in his bed by now.”
“Maybe his looks haven’t changed, Char. But that’s not the Logan I know. I don’t think that he’s been with anyone at all. And he’s living at Freddie’s house.”
“Mr. Million-Dollar Hockey Player is living in his little brother’s spare room?” Charlotte felt a small sense of gratification that her living arrangements were ten times better than Logan’s. “What? Did he lose all his money? Did some baby mamas come out of the woodwork?”
“Wow, Charlotte. I’ve spent time with Logan. I know that you hate the guy, but I’ve never seen you catty like this.”
Charlotte breathed out audibly. Megan was right. She was being a giant... to put it politely, asshole.
