by Vivian Lux
I ignored the mention of Gray and waggled my thermos instead. "Coffee?"
"God, please."
"Me too," Rett piped up.
I had completely forgotten he was there.
"Sure man," I said, sliding over so that he could sit on the other side of me. "Help yourself."
There was a loud whoop from behind the stand of trees that bordered the waterfront, followed by a chorus of answering whoops.
This was totally stupid.
But as I sat in the bed of my pickup, sharing a thermos full of coffee with Harper, I said a silent prayer of thanks to my buddy, my pal: Grayson Abbott, The Complete Idiot.
"Are they getting started?" Harper asked, shimmying in place. Her leg brushed up against mine, and she looked down to where we were pressed together.
But she didn't move away.
My heart thudded harder as I shifted further away from Rett, so that my leg was completely pressed up against the full-length of Harper's thigh. She leaned up against me, her fingers cupped around the Styrofoam cup full of coffee and I wanted so badly to put my arm around her, but I had to content myself with sort of putting it behind her so as not to raise Rett's suspicions. "No idea," I told her. "As far as I know, there's no real rhyme or reason, they just sort of...run into the water."
She shivered dramatically. "That sounds really silly."
"It is," I agreed. "But think how warm you'll feel, watching them from back here while drinking hot coffee. You need more?" I asked, reaching behind me and grabbing another thermos. "I came prepared."
God, I sounded so fucking eager I wanted to slap myself.
"You sure did," Harper laughed. "And I think I do, thanks. This morning it's going to take a full pot before I can start functioning again."
I leaned back to grab the extra thermos, sending the truck swaying gently from side to side. Harper giggled and flopped dramatically into me. "Staaahhhhp," she moaned. "I'm still dizzy."
"Here," I said as I reached over to pour the thermos for her. I closed my hand around the cup to steady it, and all at once I was aware of our fingers touching.
But even more aware of Rett watching us.
I cleared my throat and shifted my attention to the idiocy going on around me.
"Are they lining up?" Rett asked as he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "How does this work, exactly? There doesn't seem to be anyone in charge."
Of course he was worried about the rules. I chuckled and sighed. "Like I said, I have no idea. This is the first year I've actually been awake to see this."
"Has Gray done it before?" Harper asked.
"No," I said, shaking my head. Even though we were here to cheer him on, I resented how we kept talking about Gray. "He said he was signing up this year before he got too old and sensible to do something like this again," I said.
Harper laughed and then suddenly leaned forward pointing. I noted with some irritation the look of excitement on her face when she spotted him. "There's Gray!" she called.
I shook my head. "The idiot. He was so hungover this morning."
"Jumping in the lake will cure that," Rett said dryly.
A starting gun went off, causing all three of us to jump, then all of a sudden Harper was on her feet clapping and jumping up and down as Gray went tearing into the water wearing only his boxers.
I watched her instead of him. How could I not? Her eyes were shining, and there were pink roses blooming on her cheeks. She was wrapped up in her brother's scarf, her hair a messy tangle on the top of her head, and I swear she had never looked more beautiful.
But it wasn't me she was looking at with those shining eyes. It was Gray.
Last night had been one thing, but here in the cold harsh light of morning, I could see that she clearly liked him. And liked him a lot. Once again, I told myself that this was good, that I shouldn't stand in the way. But instead of doing the thing I knew was right, jealousy made me stand up and sling my arm possessively over her shoulder as I watched Gray flounder in the water.
Chapter Nine
Grayson
The starting gunshot made me think perversely of my older brother Jonas, and the hours he'd spend out at the back or our scraggly property line shooting at targets. He was hell bent on getting the hell out of our house and out of Reckless Falls, and his skills as a marksman did just that. He was somewhere out there now, shooting bad guys on some far-flung continent and I hadn't seen or thought of him in years.
Then I forgot him again as the swell of bodies pushed me forward.
"Oh shit!" I cried gleefully as we pounded across the rocky shore. "Oh shit here it comes!"
A roar, a splash and then suddenly my whole body was being stabbed by a million knives.
"Holy shit!" I roared as I lurched out of the freezing cold water. "Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!" I gasped. My whole fucking body hurt, and it hurt to breath and steam rose off my body and I was laughing and splashing with my fellow idiots because holy fuck, what a rush!
I lurched and danced my way back to the shoreline, feeling like I was somehow on fire at the same time I was freezing my ass off. A numbing pain was settling into my joints already, and my heart pounded dully in my head.
I rushed to the shore, desperate to get out of the water and into some dry clothes.
Then I stopped short and stared.
Somehow, in the blinding pain of ensuing hypothermia I registered that Everett and Harper had shown up in the last twenty minutes. And Harper was by Cal's truck.
Jumping up and down.
Cheering for me.
I broke out into a dead run, suddenly able to move because her laughing green eyes took the chill off of my skin.
"You are the biggest dumbass on the planet," Rett observed as he moved to clasp a blanket around my shoulders.
"Fuck you, old man," I grinned through chattering teeth. "I know how to have a good time. You should try it some time."
Harper handed me a piping hot cup of coffee. She was laughing so hard that I didn't even care that I was standing, shivering and knock-kneed, clad only my sodden boxers. "Something funny?" I said, striking a dignified pose as water dripped in a circle around me.
"You're an animal!" she laughed, shaking her head.
I raised my eyebrows over the rim of my coffee cup at her. "So they say," I said.
She wrinkled her nose, and then laughed even harder.
It was only then that I noticed Cal, standing there with his hand resting on her shoulder. She wasn't moving away from him, and she didn't seem to be shrugging it off at all. And suddenly some of that high-flying adrenaline I felt after leaping into the frozen lake drained away.
There was something going on between them, clearly. I needed to stop this, stop making those dirty jokes to make her laugh, stop feeling like I should get her alone.
But a flood of possessiveness made me fling off the blanket and start dancing toward her. In a second I had her by the wrist and was dragging her towards the lake.
She screamed and I caught her up around the waist. "You wanna laugh?" I shouted, dashing towards the lake. "See how it feels! We can both be idiots!"
She was laughing, screaming, pummeling me on the back, and I ran right up to the water's edge. "You're going in!" I threatened, lifting her up.
Of course I would never do that to her, but it was worth it just to feel her in my arms. I liked making her squirm like this. I liked it way too much.
She flailed helplessly and caught me with an elbow to the back of my head. I stumbled forward against a rock, toppling us both forward, but at the last minute I caught her under her back so that she didn't hit her head. I landed hard on my elbow directly on top of her.
We lay there, breathing hard, her wide green eyes staring up at me. I was on top of her clad in only my boxers, and my naked, goosebumped skin was suddenly superheated. "I wasn't going to throw you in," I whispered.
She licked her lips. "Good," she whispered back.
My words from last night still ech
oed in my head. She had to know how I felt about her.
And right then, I could have sworn she felt the same way.
I lowered my head just a fraction. There was so little distance between us. I only had to move my head three maybe four inches and her lips would be on mine and years of pent up desire would be satisfied.
The thought made the blood rush to my groin, and I felt my sodden boxers pressing against my erection. Her eyes somehow got even wider and she turned her head a fraction, back up to the top of the beach. Where Everett and Cal were watching us...right now.
I pushed myself upward and away from her, feeling my like my blood would start boiling any second. I took one last look at her, splayed out and breathing hard.
Then ran right back into the freezing lake.
Chapter Ten
Harper
I stayed on the freezing cold shoreline, ignoring the sharp shale pebbles as they dug into my back, and stared into the slate gray sky as if it held some sort of explanation for what the hell had just happened.
Gray was going to kiss me. He was about to kiss me, and then suddenly he ran away like I'd frightened him and went splashing back into a freezing cold lake. Was I high instead of drunk? Had I just imagined that connection? Had he just gotten too frustrated about what a pussy I was being, by just lying there and waiting for him to kiss me? I should've closed the distance myself. But then Cal would have seen, and for some reason thinking about Cal seeing me kiss Gray was worse than my brother seeing me kiss Gray. Because if I kissed Gray in front of Cal, then I wouldn't get a chance to kiss Cal either because they were best friends and they would never stand in each other's way. The last thing I wanted to do was get rid of my chance to kiss Cal too.
I wanted to kiss them both, somehow, at the same time so that one would never have to be jealous of the other.
But who was I kidding?
I wanted to kiss them both, somehow, at the same time, for me.
The steel gray sky had an answer for me all right. I was in love with two men at the same exact time. What the hell is wrong with me? Who the hell does that?"
I pushed myself up onto my elbows, feeling the cold wet of the muddy shoreline seep into my jacket. "Hey," I heard a voice say. "Up and at 'em."
I blinked, confused, to see that Gray had reappeared, teeth chattering and shivering, but standing over me with his hand outstretched like nothing had just happened. "Come on, I got you," he urged.
I extended my hand, and he jerked me upright like I weighed nothing more then a ragdoll. "Thanks," I muttered, still confused as anything.
He pressed up against my side. "You can repay me by putting your arm around me. I'm fucking freezing."
"That's because you went running back into the lake." I pointed out."
He nodded. "I did, didn't I," he said, but didn't elaborate further.
I swear he was walking deliberately slowly back to Cal's pick-up. Cal and my brother were watching from the back, when suddenly Cal shook his head and jumped down to meet us. "Are you trying to do impressions of ice sculptures out here?" he asked. "Come on, we can go warm-up at my dad's bar," he said as he casually slung his arm over my other shoulder.
My heart, which had been hovering somewhere down around my knees, suddenly leapt back up again. I was between them again, just like I had been last night. And even though my brother was standing right there, watching us like this was all some sort of innocent horseplay, I was distinctly aware of the throbbing ache between my legs. Being between them. Between them, the thought set my whole body on fire. The chill that had set in as I lay looking at the sky fled instantly once I was stuck between Cal and Gray. I was dizzy, my head spinning, so I didn't even notice the blonde blur until it came rushing up beside me.
"You're an asshole!" Brynn shouted, socking her brother in the shoulder.
Cal staggered backwards, which made me stumble, which made Gray shake free and lurch forward to grab the towel again.
Cal stood rubbing his shoulder. "What the hell was that for?" he asked his sister.
Brynn pointed. "Making Grayson do that. What the hell are you doing?"
Cal shrugged. "He's a big boy, he can make his own decisions."
"Hey Brynn!" Rett called, nonsensically.
Brynn flicked her eyes over to my brother, and then rushed up and socked him in the shoulder too. But instead of rubbing his shoulder, he just grinned. "You're supposed to take care of the slow and simple-minded," she chastised Rett.
"Hey! I'm standing right here!" Gray protested.
"I see that. Put a damn shirt on, It's twenty-nine degrees out here." Brynn sighed.
I watched Grey reach over and grab his sweatshirt and put it on. As his sculpted torso disappeared, I felt a pang of something that could only be regret. My brother was saying something to Brynn that seemed to calm her down, and together they walked towards her car. I watched them, wondering what the hell they were talking about, but Gray moved into my line of sight. "What are you doing the rest of today, Harper?"
"I have a job to do," Cal piped up.
"I wasn't asking you," Gray said jovially. "Is your name Harper?"
Cal narrowed his eyes. "I'm leading backcountry tours now," he said, grinning at me.
I nodded. "I saw your storefront on Main Street. That was a smart idea."
"Yeah, it's picking up a few cold calls here and there. Today some tourists up from Philadelphia. I leading them on a backcountry excursion up the Falls."
"Excuse me, I believe I was asking the lady if she had plans," Gray said. He turned to me. "I don't have a job," he shrugged. "But the good news about that is that it means I can goof off.”
As I watched, a heavy moment passed between Cal and Gray, where they both looked at each other, and then looked away and I had no idea what the hell was going on until Gray suddenly broke the silence. "I hear the Falls are completely frozen-over because it's been so damn ass cold."
I clapped my hands together. "Oh I love when that happens! But it's kind of early in the season isn't it?"
"Global warming or climate change or whatever, getting more extreme around here."
"Oh great, you mean winters are gonna suck even harder here?" I wondered.
"Probably," he shrugged. "But may as well take advantage of it. You want to go see?"
I nodded. "I'd love to," I said. But when I saw the expression on Cal's face, I wondered if I'd just made a big mistake.
Chapter Eleven
Callum
The woman stopped and pushed up her pink headband. "And what kind of tree is this?" she asked, stabbing at the trunk with her pink ski pole.
I stopped and looked behind me. "I have no idea," I sighed. "There are no leaves on it."
She blinked and looked upward. "Can't you tell by like, the bark pattern or something."
"I told you," I said, gritting my teeth to keep the smile on my face. "I'm not that kind of tour guide." I pointed with my pole up the steep grade. "We still have quite a bit of a ways to go, so..."
But her husband had caught up with us by now and was peering upward as well. "It's probably an oak tree, Marie," he said. "You can tell by the spread of the crown."
"Do you really think so? I'm not sure, can you reach for my guidebook? It's in the front pocket of my pack."
"There's nothing here," he said, tugging at the zipper.
"You're not even looking," she complained
"Yes I am, and there's no book here."
"Of course there is, I remember packing it with my very own two hands, Tim."
"Well there's no guidebook here, Marie, and I'm telling you this is an oak. I wish you would just listen and take my word for it sometime."
"I would, except you've been wrong too many times..."
"Excuse me," I broke in. The two of them whirled to stare at me like they had forgotten I was there. "You asked me to get you to the top of the falls in time to get some good photographs. We're going to lose daylight if we stay here like this."
Th
e two of them grumbled, but repositioned their cross-country skis, and made to follow me.
Cross-country skiers were the worst. Of all the tours I'd run, I'd found them to be the most finicky. It seemed to be a matter of equipment. Hikers, with just their boots and packs were less of a pain in my ass then skiers with their myriad of straps and poles and boots and goggles.
Of course, they were also the ones that paid the best. And backcountry cross-country tours were my bread and butter during the winter months, so I had to suck it up and deal with them, even though I looked like an idiot on skis.
I pushed ahead, putting up a punishing pace, forcing some distance between me and their squabbling. All day long, throughout this entire tour I’d been in a state of high piss-off, even before they started asking me questions about the flora and fauna of the region that I had no possible answer to. In fact, that rage had been boiling in my chest since yesterday.
Ever since the McCabe's Christmas party.
The forced exertion was working, and soon Marie and her fat husband fell silent, too short of breath to ask any more stupid questions about the local wildlife. I was pushing them to get to the top of the southern ridge, the roundabout back way to get to the top of Reckless Falls. These two, of course were not the type to go the easy route, which was to park at the base of the Falls and walk up. No, I had to take them down the winding trail that followed Reckless Creek, periodically crossing over in the places where the ice was strong enough to hold. It was a stupidly long and roundabout way, but the end result was always worth it. The gully widened, and I heard Marie catch her breath. And even though I'd been a simmering cauldron of anger all day long, I couldn't help but smile with pride. Yeah, bitch, they don't have views like this where you're from, do they? This is my home, this is my hometown and from this angle it's pretty much perfect.
Ahead of us was the top of the Falls, and spread out below that was the view the town was famous for. Two humped mountains curve down into a scooped out bowl filled with the narrow ribbon of the lake. Reckless Creek dove down to meet it in three exuberant leaps, the falls from which the town took its name. But right now, they were completely iced over, a shimmering chandelier. With the sun diving low behind Whaleback Mountain, the angle was just perfect to set the whole thing glittering like some kind of fairyland.
