by Marci Bolden
Darby pointed at a horse in the distance as she beamed with excitement. “Oh my God! We’re going to watch a polo match, you guys. I feel like Julia freaking Roberts right now. This is going to be so much fun.”
Taylor shook her head and kept her mouth shut, as did Jade.
“You’re going to break an ankle in those shoes,” Taylor said as they headed toward the winery.
Darby slipped her sunglasses down her nose and eyed Taylor’s sensible shorts, T-shirt, and shoes. “Nobody who wears open-toed sandals without a proper pedicure gets to talk to me about shoes. Understand? I am a professional at walking in stilettos.”
“In the grass?” Taylor asked as they neared the big cobblestone building. There, Taylor and Darby would taste wine while Jade chose something from whatever nonalcoholic options they had. Once they decided on their drinks, they’d head out to the meadow to find a place to spread a blanket and let Darby live out her fantasy.
“At least she tried,” Darby said, gesturing at Jade, who’d worn a lace-trimmed dark blue romper and ballet flats, since wearing wedges would have caused her even more regret than leaving her crutches at the cabin.
Jade could walk without assistance now, but her stride had a significant limp to it. Even so, she’d opted not to bring the gaudy crutches, despite Taylor’s warning that she wouldn’t be carrying Jade if her ankle gave out. Jade didn’t want to be shuffling around the winery with bedazzled props under each arm.
“How are you doing?” Taylor asked as she opened the door.
“I’ll make it.” However, Jade ground her teeth together and silently cursed herself for letting her ego talk her out of using the assistance for one more day.
“Sit here,” Taylor told her, pulling out a chair tucked beneath a small table. “We’ll get you a drink.”
Easing down, Jade rested her left foot on another chair and sighed at the beginning signs of swelling in her ankle. Okay, she might have jumped the gun by insisting she didn’t need help walking. The good news was that once they found a place to sit next to the polo field, she wouldn’t have to get back up for some time. The bad news was, she probably should have brought an ice pack.
As long as she stayed off her foot, she should be fine. She was distracted from her internal debate when her phone pinged, letting her know she had a text message. She pulled her phone from her purse. Her heart flipped over when she read Nick’s name on the notification.
She glanced around the room and sought Darby and Taylor. She wanted to call out to them and tell them to sit with her while she read the text, but they were deep in a discussion with a wine steward as he held out a bottle to them. Holding her breath, Jade tapped the screen on her phone and opened the message.
Just letting you know I’ve moved out. My keys are on the table.
Jade read the message three times before closing her screen. She didn’t know how to reply to that. Not that she owed him a reply. She didn’t owe that lying, cheating bastard anything but a swift kick in the balls.
After dropping her phone into her purse, she returned her attention to the spacious room around her. The rustic room was perfect for weddings or receptions. Jade imagined they had a lot of ceremonies there. Her wedding had been rushed. They’d never had a reception. She’d always said she’d plan a big party for their twentieth anniversary, but she’d spent that day in bed, too queasy from treatment to celebrate.
Nick had brought her a small cake that she hadn’t been able to eat. She’d thought that was so sweet of him. She still did, if she put her anger aside long enough to give him credit. Giving him credit wasn’t something she was up for yet. She was too angry. Anger was good. Anger would keep her strong. She needed to be angry right now.
So he’d moved out. Likely living with his girlfriend. Happy as a fucking clam, and she was sitting in a winery with two women she barely knew who had somehow become the closest thing she had to friends.
How the hell had she fallen so damn far in the last year?
“Jade?”
She blinked a few times and looked up at Taylor, who was holding out a bottle of juice. “Oh, sorry.”
Taylor eyed her. “You good?”
Jade nodded, but her friends simply stared at her. “Nick texted. He’s all moved out.”
“Are you okay?” Taylor asked. “Do you need to go back to the cabin?”
When Darby gasped, Jade gave her a weak smile of reassurance.
“No,” Jade said. “We’re staying.”
“Good riddance to him,” Darby said. “You’ll be better off without him.”
“I’m sure,” Jade said softly.
“Are you ready to go watch some guys smacking balls while horses shit everywhere?” Taylor asked.
Jade chuckled at her description of how they were about to spend their afternoon. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”
Darby led the way, head held high, ignoring all the ogling eyes, until they found the perfect spot on the grass. Jade didn’t want to voice how happy she was to sit on the blanket and take the weight off her foot. But she suspected by the way Taylor was eyeing her, she’d known Jade’s pain was steadily increasing. Still convinced she no longer needed crutches, Jade decided to make time to buy a brace from the drug store before going back to the cabin.
“Did you bring aspirin?” Taylor asked as she opened the picnic basket.
“Yes.”
“Take some, please,” she said.
Jade opened her purse, pulled the small bottle out, and rattled them at Taylor as proof she was doing as told. “You really are bossy.”
“I care,” Taylor said. “There’s a difference.”
“Not much,” Darby offered, lifting a bunch of dark purple grapes from the basket.
Jade never would have guessed all the time she’d spent at fancy company parties would come in handy someday, but she’d learned enough about wine and pairings to help Darby compile an assortment of cheeses and accoutrements to go with her Pretty Woman polo fantasy. Darby took out a plate and started carefully placing the various items. When Taylor reached in and pulled out a plastic-wrapped pre-made submarine sandwich and a disposable packet of mayonnaise, Darby cast a not-so-subtle glare her way.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Taylor insisted. “I’m hungry. Grapes and cheese are not going to fill me up.”
“You don’t eat subs with wine, Taylor. Even I know that.”
“Which is why I told you I wanted a soda instead of wine.”
Scowling, Darby said, “You’re not drinking soda at a winery.”
“She’s drinking juice,” Taylor said, gesturing toward Jade.
“Alcohol hurts her butt.” Darby bounced a grape off Taylor’s forehead. “Stop ruining my fantasy.”
“Excuse me, Julia Child.”
Darby’s glare intensified. “Roberts. Julia Child is…someone else.”
Taylor rolled her head back and laughed, but Darby continued to frown.
Jade chuckled too. “Did someone piss on your parade as a child, Taylor?”
Taylor finally said what she’d clearly been fighting ever since Darby pranced out of her cabin dressed like she was heading to tea with a colorblind queen. “Do you see how people are looking at you, Darby?”
Darby’s smile returned. “Do you see how little I care what other people think of me, Taylor?”
“You’re dressed like a freaking lemon. It’s absurd. You are absurd.”
Jade watched as a bit of the light in Darby’s eyes dimmed. Jade’s heart ached for her. She was sure Taylor hadn’t meant to hurt Darby’s feelings, but she had. Her teasing had crossed a line and hit a nerve. Jade put her hand on Darby’s.
“Okay, Taylor,” Jade warned. “We are all friends here.”
Darby didn’t seem to hear Jade’s reminder. “Just because you need to conform to feel good about yourself doesn’t mean I have to.”
Taylor’s mood didn’t dim, like Darby’s had. It sparked with an underlying hint of anger. “Being normal isn’t confo
rming.”
“I like this dress,” Darby said. “I like my hat and my hair. And I like sitting on a blanket with a cheese plate and wine while people play horse croquet in the distance. I don’t care what you think, you…serial killer of joy.”
The air around them seemed to still. Darby’s words felt like an ice-cold wet blanket had been dropped on their little party.
“Ouch,” Taylor finally muttered and turned her focus to squeezing mayo onto the wheat bun.
“Horse croquet?” Jade asked.
Darby waved her hand. “I was flustered. I couldn’t remember what game they’re playing.”
“Horse croquet is good,” Jade said. “Nobody’s trying to kill your fun, Darby.”
“She is,” Darby stated, grabbing an empty wineglass.
“I’m not.” Taylor offered Darby a weak smile. “I’m sorry. Look, I don’t have a lot of friends, but I’m very protective of the ones I do have. I don’t like how people are staring at you. It makes me want to fight them.”
Darby’s pout lifted into a smile. “You’d fight for me?”
“Well, no because I don’t want to get arrested, but I don’t want people making fun of you.”
“I don’t care what they think, Taylor,” Darby said sincerely. “It’s sweet that you do, but you’re going to have to get used to people whispering behind my back if you hang around me. I don’t fit in. I never will. People make fun of what doesn’t fit.”
Taylor shrugged. “Being the center of attention isn’t my comfort zone. I prefer to blend into the background.”
“Which you do incredibly well,” Darby said.
“Ladies,” Jade said with a firm, motherly tone, “my life is utter shit right now. When I go home, I’m going to be jumping headfirst into a world I don’t even recognize anymore. I need what’s left of my vacation to be peaceful. I don’t make friends easily either, but I feel like we’ve become friends already. I need that. I need you guys. But if you start tearing each other down, I can’t be around you. Do you understand that?”
“Yeah,” Darby said quietly.
“Yeah,” Taylor agreed.
“I don’t need any more negativity in my life than I already have, okay?”
“We’ll be good, boo,” Darby said as she patted Jade’s hand. “I promise.”
“Thank you.” Jade opened her bottle of juice and filled a wineglass. She never would have done that before Darby had barged into her life. But just a few days later, drinking juice from a wineglass felt like the natural thing to do. Why hadn’t she started doing this sooner? She, more than anyone else she knew, understood that every day was a gift. Juice in fancy glasses should be a given.
“I eat stuff like this all the time because I can’t cook,” Darby said, returning her attention to her plate. “My mom tried to teach me, but I wasn’t really interested. She came to Chammont Point from Mexico City when she was eighteen. She always wanted to open a restaurant but ended up working for someone else until she died.”
“Where’s your dad?” Jade asked.
“He didn’t stick around. What about you?”
Jade picked over the strawberries Darby had put on her plate. “My parents divorced when I was young. Both remarried. My childhood was pretty normal. Up until I got pregnant and married at seventeen, but that happens a lot, really. Where’s your family, Taylor?”
She shook her head. “I was raised by my grandpa. He’s been gone for a while now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“He worked in construction. We used to build stuff together. I never really learned how to be girly,” she said with a slight smile. “I guess that’s why I prefer a hammer over makeup brushes.”
Jade sensed the topic wasn’t one Taylor was comfortable discussing, so she turned the focus back to herself. “Well, I have two sons, both in college, and…” She laughed bitterly. “I almost said and a wonderful husband. I guess I can scratch that one off the list.”
“Yes,” Darby agreed, “but you’re replacing him with us, and I think that’s a much sweeter deal.”
“Hear, hear,” Jade said, lifting her glass of cranberry juice.
After they toasted each other, Taylor wrapped up her sandwich and pulled a plate from the picnic basket. As she picked through the variety of snacks, Jade glanced at Darby and smiled. While Taylor’s willingness to eat grapes and cheese instead of a sandwich might not have seemed like a big deal, the compromise brought the light back to Darby’s eyes. The woman was ridiculous on some level, but she radiated a kind of gaiety that Jade never had. Jade suspected she and Taylor were similar in that aspect. Jade’s focus had been so singular for so long, she’d equated success with happiness. She hadn’t quite figured out what was stopping Taylor from embracing life like Darby had learned to, but Jade hoped they were friends long enough to learn.
She hoped Darby was right. Jade lost the relationship she’d come to count on when Nick left, but the relationships she had found in return might have been exactly what she needed.
“Oh my gosh,” Darby squealed out and pointed to the field. “Look! The match is about to start.” Her laugh caused Taylor to grin.
Jade turned her attention toward the field, but in her mind, she was alternating between rereading Nick’s text and replaying the night she caught him leaving her. She chastised herself for obsessing about the pain he was causing her.
Darby grabbed her hand and offered her a smile, as if she’d read Jade’s mind. “You’re okay,” she said softly. “We’re right here. You’re okay.”
Swallowing her tears, Jade nodded. Though she was still processing her hurt, she thought that Darby was right. She was going to be okay…eventually.
Seven
Jade had woken up every day for the last week with a cloud hanging over her, but this one had nothing to do with her marital status. This was her last full day in Chammont Point. Her last day of having new adventures with Darby and Taylor. Somehow, that depressed her as much as the idea of heading back to Fairfax the next morning. She was glad when Darby and Taylor showed up bright and early to drag her out of the house for one last day on the lake.
In what had become a normal part of her day, Darby bounced into the cabin before Jade could let herself get too caught up in self-pity. Jade reminded her about respecting boundaries. Darby dismissed her with a wave of her hand and made breakfast. As they were eating, Taylor had shown up, insisting this was the day she was going to finish the banister. However, before she could finish her coffee, Darby had convinced them to do something else.
An hour later, Jade looked out over the water as she tested how her ankle felt. She hadn’t used crutches for two days, and Darby insisted that could only mean one thing: time to level up. She now stood on a paddleboard, testing out her balance.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Liam asked.
She looked at him but then glanced away. For some reason, looking into his eyes made her feel vulnerable. His constant flirting was an annoyance, but he’d seen her on the verge of a breakdown, floating in the water like a fool. She wasn’t exactly embarrassed, but his eyes had changed from teasing to sincere, which set her on edge. She didn’t like that.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked.
“Your ankle,” he said.
She put more weight on her left foot and barely felt a twinge. “It’s better.”
He stared, as if assessing her, but she suspected that had less to do with her ankle and more to do with her confession that her husband had left her. Instead of letting him look through to her broken heart, she turned her focus to Darby, who was still struggling to stand upright on her board. Taylor, on the other hand, had already started paddling out into deeper waters. She’d clearly done this before.
Darby held a paddle and practiced the movements as Liam directed her, making whish-whishing noises with each fake stroke. She only stopped play paddling and whishing when she nearly tumbled over. As soon as she did, Liam gently gripped her arm and helped her straighten
up.
As soon as Darby grinned at him and whispered her thanks with an undercurrent of seduction, Jade started to suspect Darby was playing him. The way Liam winked made Jade think they were probably playing each other. Two natural born flirts fine-tuning their art. Yeah, Jade wasn’t sticking around for that.
“I’m going to catch up to Taylor,” Jade said and started moving forward.
Darby didn’t even object, confirming what Jade had suspected. Darby was more interested in giggling at their instructor than actually learning anything. As soon as Jade was about halfway between where Taylor had dropped to sit on her board and where Darby was still pretending to need Liam’s help, Jade stopped paddling.
She looked around the lake, the calm waters, and the trees in the distance. The sun reflected off the dark blue ripples dancing across the water’s surface. Far in the distance, boats and jet skis skittered along. People and bright umbrellas dotted the beaches. The scene was peaceful. Serene.
Chammont Point was perfect. So perfect, it made her heart hurt. She shouldn’t be so sad in this place. She shouldn’t feel so broken and useless. However, as soon as she stopped moving, Nick’s words slipped into her mind. Whenever she wasn’t focused on the next thing to do or try, the hurt he’d inflicted flared up.
Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she told herself to let go of the anger, to not let it ruin her day. However, she couldn’t ignore the fury building inside her. When she wasn’t sad, she was so damn furious, she wanted to throw anything she could get her hands on.
Twenty years. Two children. One horrific battle. Countless tears and whispered what-ifs. So much time spent looking back and apologizing for not being a better wife, mother, and all-around person. So many promises to do better. And not once did he man up and tell her that he didn’t love her anymore.
She didn’t care if he thought it would have been cruel to leave her when she was sick. Giving her false hope—fake love—was not the answer. Letting her believe that he was going to be here when she started her life over had been callous. His intentions might have been good, but his actions had been merciless. Kicking the world out from under her when she was finally learning how to stand again was heartless.
