Stranded

by Chance Carter

  I knew I shouldn’t overthink it, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Levi had brought me a Christmas brew because he remembered our first conversation when I said I looked forward to it every year.

  Surely not, I decided. And I drank.

  Chapter 21

  Levi

  “You.” Mom thrust a wooden spoon into my hand. “You’re on stir duty. If there are any lumps in that gravy, you’re going to get it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I took up my station while Mom doled out the rest of the orders, then moved to the side as Garrick came over to fulfill his duty of basting the turkey.

  “Don’t be so upset with him, Molly,” Dad said. He was deep frying potatoes at the other side of the kitchen, a dish that he refused to go without at Christmas but Mom complained about every year. She insisted he didn’t need both mashed and fried potatoes. He insisted he did. Much as Mom could be a hard ass, she knew when to pick her battles.

  “What is my one rule?” Mom asked.

  “No brewery talk on Christmas,” Garrick and I answered in unison.

  Mom snapped her fingers, and I resumed stirring.

  “Technically I didn’t talk to anyone about the brewery,” I defended. “You and Dad were napping, and Garrick and Val were off doing...whatever it is they were doing. I didn’t think anyone would miss me if I slipped off for a while to get some work done.”

  I chanced a look behind me and saw my mom’s features had softened. “Maybe it’s time you found yourself a girl, Levi. You can’t just throw yourself into your work every time you’re lonely.”

  “Hey, being alone is not the same as being lonely.”

  Garrick snickered. I glared at him.

  “Your mother’s got a point, you know.” Dad came up behind Mom and snaked his arms around her waist. “If it weren’t for your mother, I would have worked myself into the ground just like your grandfather did. And he nearly drove Black Mountain into ruin. There needs to be balance.”

  Mom leaned her head back against Dad’s shoulder and smiled, kissing him on the cheek. Then, without even looking at me, she snapped her fingers. “Stir.”

  I resumed stirring again and turned back to the stove. Garrick finished basting the turkey and stood beside me, inhaling. “Damn I love gravy.”

  “We know. That’s why Mom cooks so much of it.” I shouldered him away from the stove. “I guess it’s useful when we’ve got unexpected guests though.”

  Garrick shrugged. “Guess so.”

  I wanted to ask why Frankie was there but couldn’t make it seem like I was too interested. Garrick suspected that something had happened between Frankie and me on Mount Hood, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction so hadn’t told him anything.

  “So does Frankie not have her own family to spend Christmas with?” I asked, stirring casually.

  Garrick leaned against the counter next to me and took a draw of his beer. “Her family’s all in New York, but she couldn’t afford to go this year.”

  “Couldn’t afford to go? She seems like she does okay for herself.”

  Garrick nodded. “She does, but her dad had surgery a couple of weeks ago, and since he and her mom were going to have to take out a loan to cover it, Frankie stepped in and paid for it.”

  I paused. Frankie never mentioned her dad’s surgery when we were on Mount Hood. She didn’t mention not going home for Christmas, either. If Val hadn’t brought her here today, would I have ever found out? Not that it was any of my business. I felt bad for her—which was likely exactly why she didn’t want me to know.

  “That Frankie girl,” said my dad. “She’s a real doll. Your mother and I were just saying earlier how much Val has brightened up since she started working with Frankie. She’s got a real shine to her now.”

  “I agree.” Garrick pulled plates down from the cupboard and passed them over to my mom. “It’s amazing what a good friend can do.”

  “They’re not friends. It’s Frankie’s job, and she just happens to be good at it.”

  Dad and Garrick both frowned at me. Mom, predictably, was too absorbed in setting the table to notice the conversation.

  “You’re too harsh on her,” Garrick said. “I figured after your weekend getaway you would realize that there’s more to her than you think.”

  I had come to such a conclusion, but it didn’t seem like such a bad thing to remind people that Frankie was only going to be in our lives for so long. She seemed very fond of Valerie, but once the wedding was over, she would move on to the next. None of us would see her again.

  Mom shuffled in beside me and took the spoon from my hand. “Why don’t you go see if the girls need another drink?”

  “I just got them one.”

  “You know how fast Valerie drinks.” She pushed me away. “Go on.”

  I sighed and left the kitchen. The sound of laughter hit me like a wall the second I stepped into the living room and I stopped when Frankie and Val came into view. They had moved to the couch. Spread open on Val’s lap was one of our old photo albums and Val was pointing at a picture of Garrick wearing my dad’s shoes and vest. He couldn’t have been older than five at the time. The two of them were busting their sides over it.

  Hell, maybe they were friends. Maybe Frankie wouldn’t disappear once the wedding was over. I hoped for Val that was the case. Months ago, when Val’s parents dropped on her that they were going away for the holidays without her, she seemed excited about the opportunity to spend Christmas with our family. But when she and Garrick showed up last night, I could tell she was sad. Nothing any of us did had worked as well to cheer her up as whatever Frankie was doing now.

  The girls finally noticed my presence and Frankie’s smile fell away. The atmosphere altered, grew chillier. A pang of something like sadness hit me in the chest.

  “My mom sent me in here to check if you guys need another drink,” I explained.

  Valerie shook her bottle and then her head. “I’m good.”

  “Me too,” said Frankie.

  “Call if you need anything.” I turned away, but instead of heading back to the kitchen I turned right down the hall and made my way to the stairs.

  Something was bothering me. It was the same thing that had been bothering me for the past week, but I’d been doing a good job of ignoring it until now. Or, at least, a better job. Now that Frankie was here, in my childhood home, I knew it would be impossible for me not to think about her.

  She wanted us to forget that Mount Hood ever happened, but I didn’t see how that was possible. If I could forget it, I would—because it was damned inconvenient thinking about Frankie as much as I did.

  But what could I do? She’d left an indelible impression on me. Her plump ass, those gorgeous tits, the way she moaned in that rasping, sultry voice of hers. I was constantly horny, but the idea of fucking anybody else just didn’t appeal. I wanted her. I thought all I needed was time to get over it, but it had been a week and still no progress. Worse, now Val had shoved the temptation right in front of me.

  I mounted the stairs and followed the corridor to my bedroom, which had remained unchanged since high school. I’d had horrible taste back then. Football posters lined the back wall, and the shelves were cluttered with knickknacks and dog-eared novels. The closet door hung open from Valerie’s visit earlier. Just thinking about Frankie in that ridiculous sweater made me hard and it had nothing to do with the holiday spirit. It was my sweater, and it looked like sin on her. I couldn’t tell whether I loved or hated my dad for making her wear it.

  I fished my phone out of my pocket and collapsed onto the bed, still disheveled from my rough night’s sleep the night before. I knew I didn’t have long before Mom sent someone to look for me, particularly since dinner was nearly ready, but I had one thing I needed to do before I had a few beers and started to enjoy the evening.

  I just hoped Frankie wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

  Chapter 22

  Frankie

  My sides ached with laught
er and I doubled over, desperately trying to gulp down a breath.

  “It wasn’t even his suitcase!” Garrick finished in a voice squeaky with laughter. “He nearly got in a fistfight over the damn thing, and then his comes around on the belt. You should have seen the look on his face.”

  I wiped a tear from my eye and looked over at Levi, who was smiling good-naturedly even though we were laughing at his expense.

  “He always puts a neon tag on his bags now,” Gerhart added. “The brighter, the better.”

  “Tell us another,” begged Val. “You’re the best at telling stories.”

  I had to agree. The story of Levi inadvertently trying to steal the suitcase of an old Floridian man was funny, but the way Garrick told it took it up a few levels to hilarious. I’d been laughing so much over dinner that I’d barely finished half of my food, whereas Gerhart was already on his second plate. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had this much fun.

  Actually, I could. A week ago, careening down a hill in a laundry basket with the wind whipping snow in my face.

  “We should keep the score even,” Levi said, leaning toward Val. “Tell something embarrassing about Garrick for once.”

  Garrick stuck his nose in the air. “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  “I challenge you to think of even one instance where I’ve ended up with egg on my face.”

  Val chuckled. “What about the time you were parading past my booth at that festival in Vancouver and fell face first in the mud?”

  Levi’s eyes lit up. “Good one, Val.”

  “It got your attention, didn’t it?” Garrick said.

  I’d been watching Levi all night to see if what Val said was true—that he was nicer to her now. He was. He was still quiet, even a little brooding at times, but something had worn down his hard edges. I just had trouble believing that something was me.

  We finished dinner and retired to the living room with snifters of brandy. Gerhart and Molly puzzled over the app for their music system on their phone, rejecting help from their kids, until soft Christmas music began to play from speakers in the walls.

  “Presents!” Gerhart announced, clapping his hands. “Everyone take a seat, and I’ll hand them out.”

  I took my seat in the armchair again, while Garrick and Val pulled the love seat forward and Molly and Levi sat on opposite ends of the couch. Gerhart began to enthusiastically hand out presents like he was Santa Claus himself, and soon the room filled with the sounds of tearing paper and cheerful exclamations.

  I didn’t have anything to open, nor did I have anything to give, but I enjoyed sitting there and watching them. I could tell how much they all loved each other and it reminded me of my own family.

  I wondered what they were up to right now. Since New York was three hours ahead, I could easily imagine my dad snoring in his recliner while my four little nieces and nephews raced around him and played with their new toys. My sister would be enjoying her first Christmas as one of the adults proper, and she and my mom had probably retreated to the kitchen to drink red wine and gossip about the neighbors. My brothers and their wives were all close with one another, and they would be out on the back deck, smoking cigars and complaining about parenthood.

  And me? Where would I fit in if I were at home? That was the beauty of my family—anywhere. I’d spent Christmas evenings snoozing on the sofa, playing pirates with my nieces and nephews, wine drunk with my mom, and out on the patio in a cloud of cigar smoke. The house was never peaceful growing up, and there was always someone yelling at someone and calling someone else an idiot, but we loved each other, and it showed whenever we came back together. I missed them a lot.

  Still, Dad had his surgery, and that was more important than anything else. He’d have many more years of peaceful Christmas naps to look forward to.

  The Wheelers finished opening presents and Levi went around to gather up the wrapping paper. He stopped next to my chair and looked at me, almost like he wanted to ask if I was okay, but continued on. I knew why it was weird for him that I was here, and it wasn’t just that only a week ago he was fucking my brains out. He was different with his family. Even if I could accept credit for him being more courteous to Val, the rest of his behavior was just him. And I liked it. I liked that he pushed his mom’s buttons and was goofy with his brother. He was a different person here, and I knew from experience he didn’t like to share that person with just anybody.

  “Let’s sit and have another brandy,” Gerhart announced, retrieving the bottle from the sidebar and walking around to fill everyone’s glasses.

  He and Molly snuggled up together on one half of the sofa while Levi sat on the other, one leg folded aristocratically over his knee and his glass of brandy dangling from his fingertips. The pose would have been reminiscent of a model if it weren’t for the ridiculous Christmas sweater.

  Garrick and Val spoke together in hushed tones, giggling and flirting, but Gerhart and Molly just put their heads together and listened to the music. I stared at the tree so I wouldn’t be staring directly at the couch in front of me, but every once in a while I snuck a glance at Levi. Sometimes I caught him sneaking a glance back.

  I found myself wishing he wasn’t so far away. I imagined curling into his lap on the armchair, head tucked under his chin. I could still remember the way my body seemed to fit into his perfectly, how secure I had felt in his arms.

  I blamed it on the brandy.

  Then again, was it that crazy to want him? The sex alone was enough to keep me wanting more, but the side of his personality I’d glimpsed on the mountain and caught more of today intrigued me even further. I’d traded the heat of my hatred toward him for something else, and now I couldn’t stop thinking about his mouth on mine. Maybe it wasn’t crazy, but it was still a mistake. He said himself he wasn’t looking for a relationship, and that I wasn’t his type. If I let myself fall for him I would fall hard, and then what? I’d probably end up ruining Val’s wedding. That was why I didn’t get involved with my clients’ friends or family. Too messy. I had a job to do, and I couldn’t let myself get distracted from that.

  Who was I kidding? I was already distracted. I could hardly be in the same room as Levi without breaking into a cold sweat. I was desperate for any sign of affection from him but terrified that he’d give me one. I felt like I was going insane.

  I finished up the brandy in my glass and coughed as I swallowed it wrong. All eyes fell on me.

  “Looks like somebody’s ready for bed,” Gerhart said, laughing.

  “Bed sounds amazing,” I replied. “I’m half asleep over here.”

  Gerhart’s eyes filled with mirth. “Garrick, could you show Frankie her room?”

  “Yeah, we’re going to head to bed too.” Garrick stood and helped Val up, securing an arm around her waist when she wobbled on her feet.

  We said our goodbyes and Garrick and Val walked me up to a guest room on the second floor. My bag was waiting for me inside. I said goodnight to Val and Garrick and rooted through my backpack for my pajamas. I changed and made my way to the bathroom, which Garrick had pointed out on the way up. As I closed the door, Levi arrived at the top of the stairs and slipped into a room a couple of doors down the hall from mine.

  I finished in the bathroom and went back to my room, walking a little slower past Levi’s room. I wasn’t sure why. When I reached my room, I closed the door behind me and sighed. I didn’t feel tired in the slightest.

  I grabbed my phone from my suitcase and flicked off the light, climbing into bed. I figured I’d surf on the web until I started to feel sleepy—though with Levi just down the hall, I didn’t know if that was even possible.

  I had a few new emails, but only one stood out to me. It was from Levi. Weird. The subject was a booking confirmation, and I figured he must have sent it to me by mistake. I opened it and started to read.

  No...it couldn’t be. I reread the email, then scanned it once more just in case, but
it still didn’t make sense. The confirmation was for a business class flight from Portland to New York just before noon tomorrow, with a return on January 2. And the name on the booking was mine.

  I flung back my covers, face hot, and sprang for the door. I tried to make as little noise as possible sneaking down the hall, not wanting Garrick or Val to hear me creeping down to Levi’s room. For the same reason, I didn’t knock when I reached it.

  Levi was stripping off his t-shirt when I entered and whirled around in surprise. He saw it was me and his forehead creased.

  I ignored the tempting buffet of muscles and tattoos on display and showed him the screen on my phone. “What the hell is this?”

  Levi’s eyebrows rose. “I believe they call it a cell phone. It’s a communication device.”

  I rolled my eyes and moved closer to him, shoving the phone in his face until he leaned back to get away from it.

  “Don’t be a smart ass,” I said. “What did you do?”

  “Relax, Frankie.” He batted my hand away and stepped around me, folding his shirt and placing it on top of his suitcase. “I felt bad that you didn’t have any presents to open. It’s not a big deal.”

  “I can’t accept it,” I said, shaking my head.

  Levi unbuttoned his slacks and I turned to face the wall, suddenly shy. He chuckled, and the fabric swished and hit the floor. The thought of him half-naked behind me sent a bolt of desire twirling through my limbs. I licked my lips, mouth suddenly dry.

  “It’s a non-refundable ticket. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but it’s not like I can return it or anything.”

  I could be home tomorrow night, hugging my parents and razzing my sister about school. I wanted to snuggle into the thought. I spun back, and Levi was standing in nothing but a tight pair of boxer briefs. I had to force my eyes not to stray down to the impressive bulge in the front of them.