Chocolate Kisses and Love Filled Wishes: Kissing Bridge Mountain - Book 3

by Linda West

  She felt herself go weak.

  It was Brody.

  He was smiling from ear to ear, like he used to do whenever she said something funny.

  Kacey felt a wave of sadness come over her.

  Brody.

  Her communication with Brody had become almost nil. She could blame his traveling, or the shoddy reception on the mountain, but the truth was, since her return to Kissing Bridge, she had been reluctant to talk to him. Each time they spoke, it seemed as if they fell further and further apart. Instead of the usual easy banter and comfortable warmth between them, it had become odd and filled with untruths.

  Her untruths.

  She cringed inwardly, recalling their last conversation.

  She had had to lie to him about what her days were like. He thought she was home healing, and instead she was training harder then ever.

  Kacey watched him on the screen moving through the crowd like a lion with his golden mane. Kacey couldn’t take her eyes off of him, but also dreaded seeing some beautiful girl draped over him, like Drake had been over Summer.

  The reporter suddenly brightened to another perkier level, if that were possible.

  “Oooooo..” She cooed, “I see superstar Gold Medalist, Brody Jenkins, in the crowd. Let’s see if we can get him free from all his fans here to give us some words!”

  “No, no, not yet!” Tanner said, charming as ever as he laughed.

  “First, I wanted to bring the focus back here to Kissing Bridge and introduce a celebrity that we are blessed to have within our midst at our East Coast Climate Event! I am pleased to introduce Olympian, and Gold Medalist hopeful, Kacey Anderson!”

  All of a sudden, cameras were swinging around to point at Kacey, and her face was blown up to gigantic proportions on the big screen. She was in sky attire and had her goggles carelessly pushed off her face. She was still dusted with snow from riding and teaching the children earlier. Her grey eyes looked large and luminous on the big screen.

  The crowds on both coasts were applauding and screaming. Kacey tried to control her shyness and pulled up her confidence. Her pulse hammering in her temples, she managed a small smile and a wave.

  “Isn’t she something,” Tanner smiled. “I’ve only been here a few days but I’ve had the pleasure of personally witnessing some of Kacey’s signature outrageous tricks and maneuvers. I’m betting on this little beauty from Kissing Bridge to take the 2018 Olympics by storm!”

  The hometown crowd took up the cheer. “Kacey, Kacey, Kacey!”

  Tanner, always one to know how to milk a moment, suddenly lit up with a great idea.

  “Well, how about a little demonstration Kacey? Perhaps you could give the crowd a hint of that new big air trick you showed me that you’ve been working on to take the Gold?”

  Kacey squirmed modestly, wishing he hadn’t told everyone. Suddenly a voice boomed out of the speakers.

  “WHAT?!!!”

  Kacey froze.

  She recognized that voice instantly.

  Brody!

  Suddenly, Brody’s face flashed up on the big screen as he moved in to frame and everyone’s attention was drawn back to the screen to see what had occurred.

  Brody Jenkins was now standing next to the perky reporter looming over her small frame and looking tanned and angry. He glared at the screen and bore his green eyes straight into Kacey’s straight through the camera as if there were not 4,000 miles between them.

  Kacey gulped.

  This wasn’t exactly the way she had planned to break the truth to Brody about her training.

  In all fairness, she actually had not really come up with a plan for that yet. But this definitely was not it.

  Tanner switched gears quickly to pander to the crowd.

  “Oh, well hey there, Brody!” Tanner said, with a glare toward the technician tent, as they swung back to the screen with their cameras.

  “It’s Brody Jenkins, three-time Gold Medalist, folks!”

  The crowd went wild. All the young girls, and old girls were swooning.

  Tanner continued with a smooth smile. “So Brody, thank you so much for stepping up to do your part against climate change! Any words?”

  Brody was frowning.

  Kacey could see he wasn’t happy at all.

  Why would he be?

  He had heard what Tanner had said about her snowboarding. Her untruths to him had come flying out—for all of America to know.

  She looked into his eyes across the screen and hoped he could see she was sorry; hoped he could see that she loved him and only wanted to get better the way she knew how—by training.

  He looked away from her on screen and Brody’s eyes glazed and the practiced professional took over. He fixed his face into a smile and waved.

  The crowd all cheered for him again. All the girls screamed, as if he were Elvis. Kacey wanted to remind them all he wasn’t Elvis. He was soft-hearted, kind and super funny.

  He was her loveable sweet ‘98’—if he was hers at all, anymore.

  Brody moved away from the camera, and the rest of the celebrity screen appearances passed her by in a haze of worry. Soon she was caught up in a blaze of activities and helping the children learn. Still, the look in Brody’s eyes shook her.

  She wondered if she might have lost much more than her chance for the Olympics with that fateful fall.

  Didn’t he realize that without her being able to snowboard with him, they would drift apart? She was young, but even she knew that people had to be together to make a relationship work. His traveling the world without her would be a death knell to their union.

  Tanner came over, grinning from ear to ear. “Did I do okay?” He sounded like he really cared.

  “You were wonderful.” Kacey assured him.

  “Thank you.” He gave a small bow, delightfully self-mocking, she thought. Then he slipped his strong hand into hers, and she felt her heart flutter out of control. “Come teach these kids how to snowboard and I’ll get it all on camera.” He nodded at his camera crew, who were standing by, waiting for his signal.

  So she did.

  Spending the afternoon watching the kids master the basics of getting on the slopes, filled her heart with gladness. There was nothing she liked more than being out in the cold mountain air with those who loved it just as much as she did.

  The whole event was a massive success, with the residents of Kissing Bridge and surrounding areas enjoying themselves to the fullest. The celebrities were more than happy with their VIP flights, champagne and top-notch gourmet food served up by Earl. Of course, they were showered with an abundance of Tiffany-blue cookies, courtesy of Ethel Landers, Kissing Bridge’s very own cookie queen.

  “Mmm, delicious,” Kacey had said when she’d first tried one. It was easy to believe Summer’s mom had taken the crown.

  Tanner had gotten plenty of footage and had retired back to his room and his Mac to work on it for the evening. The dismantling of the screens and the clean up would wait until tomorrow, when it was light again.

  **********************************

  Kacey flopped back onto her bed with a huge smile. Earl had lit the fire for her when she was out finishing up with the kids and the room was warmed with its golden glow. Every part of her body ached and there was a niggling twinge in her back, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so carefree

  As she got up and unzipped her snow gear, she felt a new confidence burst around her body. She would make it to the Olympics. She was going to win. She was absolutely convinced of it.

  She poured herself a hot bubble bath, ready to soak her aching body and breathe in the fragrance of the cinnamon candles that wafted their comforting scent around the bathroom.

  Just as she padded back to the bedroom in the Eagle’s Peak Lodge slippers, she caught sight of her cell. She’d left it there all day and had forgotten all about it.

  12 missed calls, the screen read.

  Uh oh!

  They were all from Brody. />
  Her heart flipped. All those times she had looked at the phone willing it to ring, hoping to see his name and now here it was.

  She rang him back right away.

  “Yes?” Brody’s voice was tight and cold as the mountain air.

  “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t even think to take my phone downstairs and the event has just been manic.”

  A pause. “So, I hear you’re boarding?”

  So he had heard Tanner.

  “Just a little.”

  Kacey’s heart but beating so loud she could barely hear her own voice.

  A long silence hung in the air before Brody continued.

  “Didn’t sound like it. Sounds like you were putting on quite a show.”

  “Babe, it’s nothing like that,” Kacey assured him. “I just—it’s just… I can’t not board, babe. What am I supposed to do—sit around and not do anything? I’d go crazy! You know that already.”

  A long silence hung between them. Brody finally spoke.

  “You said you wouldn’t.”

  She flopped down on the bed, her heart in knots.

  “I know. I know I said that.”

  She desperately wanted to fill the awkward space with reasons he could stop being mad at her, but she couldn’t think of what to say.

  In the end, it was Brody who spoke first.

  “I want a break, Kacey.”

  Her heart beat faster. “What’s a break?”

  She dreaded the answer that was to come.

  “It’s a break… I don’t know. Away time.”

  Kacy held back the tears. “You mean a break up. You want to break up with me, Brody?”

  He let out a long, deep sigh but said nothing.

  “I… I love you,” she said.

  Oh gosh darn it. Now she’d gone and blown it. The death knell. Saying, “I love you,” before he says “I love you.”

  “I mean a break,” he repeated. “I don’t know how long. I’m sorry, Kacey.”

  Tears blurred her vision as she stared up at the rustic ceiling boards. “98.” It hurt her heart to even call him by his nickname. Instead she cried, unable to hold back her feelings. Her hopes crumbling around her.

  “It’s not about me not caring about you, Kacey. It’s about trust. You lied to me.”

  What could she say? She had kept the truth from him, which was the same as lying. This was all her fault.

  “Goodbye, Kacey.”

  With that, he hung up and Brody was gone.

  Chapter 12

  Dodie and Kacey walked through the streets of Kissing Bridge, on the way to Landers Home Baking where Dodie worked.

  “Come with me,” Dodie had said, as she met Kacey in the hall of Eagle’s Peak Lodge.

  Even though all Kacey had wanted to do was dive back under the covers and hide from the world, she doubted it would help anything. The wonderful people of Kissing Bridge always lifted her spirits. Besides, she craved some comfort food and knew the bakery would be stocked full of sweet temptations.

  **************************************

  “Wow, it’s beautiful,” she said when they got there, though her voice was flat and uninspired. She really did like the store though, with its baby blue coat, and modern black awning and lettering. It was the perfect mix between sweet and chic.

  “Good morning, ladies,” Ethel said when they stepped in. She stood behind the counter, kneading dough. “Welcome, welcome. Excuse my mess.” She dusted off her hands with a little towel.

  Kacey looked at the beautiful delicacies in the window display. Ethel smiled at her.

  “Nice to have you back, Kacey! You’ll be my son-in-law’s sister when Brad and Summer get married. What does that make us?”

  Kacey managed a smile. “I’m not sure.”

  Ethel smiled back. “We’ll just stick with ‘family’ then. So which one strikes your fancy?”

  Kacey breathed in the sweet, comforting smell of the baking, she could understand why Dodie liked working here.

  Aunt Carol came in then, carrying a big Easter basket. “Morning, Dodie. Morning, Kacey.”

  “Good morning,” Dodie said. “I take it I don’t need to make any introductions then, huh?”

  “Oh no introductions needed. We know Kacey,” said Aunt Carol. “Since she was in diapers, actually.”

  Kacey smiled. “Nice to see you, Miss Landers.”

  Kissing Bridge was small enough for everyone to know everyone else. Aunt Carol cast her eyes over Kacey as she placed the basket on the counter. “But you’re not looking your regular happy self.”

  Kacey sighed. “Relationship stuff.”

  Aunt Carol unpacked the basket and frowned.

  “Some man break your heart?”

  “Something like that.”

  Aunt Carol leant into the glass container, where doughnuts and cakes and cookies were presented in mouthwatering patterns. “First, have this,” she said, picking up a ring doughnut with icing and sprinkles on the top. “I know we shouldn’t comfort eat, but just once in a while a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Besides, you’ll be up on those slopes burning it all off in no time.”

  Kacey took the doughnut. “Thanks.”

  “Secondly, listen to everything that Miss Dodie’s got to tell you,” Carol said. “Because she came here at Christmas looking a darn sight sorrier than you are and now look at her… beaming and happy and in love with your brother. Baked goods and small towns can do wonders for a woman’s soul!”

  Dodie chuckled as she put on her apron. “I think God just might have something to do with it, too.”

  Aunt Carol nodded. “Him, too.”

  “I think God has big plans for you too, Kacey,” Dodie said. “Sometimes God has to break apart our old things so that we have space for the new things.”

  “That’s so true,” Ethel said. “You know my Summer was involved with that movie star, Drake Mason. I knew he was all wrong for her, but she wouldn’t listen. Anyway, as soon as she broke up with him and came back home, she got back together with your brother. Now, most people would consider breaking off an engagement with Drake Mason as something like a tragedy—am I right?”

  Kacey had a mouthful of doughnut so could only nod.

  She had caught sight of a whole lot of Drake Mason on screen today and he was a stunning piece of work.

  “But now they’re both happier than they’ve ever been,” Ethel continued. “Just hang on in there, Kacey, it’s all happening for a reason.”

  The combination of the sweet baked goods and the sweet words of the ladies made Kacey feel a little better.

  She’d planned to spend only a couple minutes there, then head back to the Lodge to hide from the world, but she decided to stay. “So, is there anything I can help with?”

  “Sure,” Aunt Carol said. “We’re practicing with chocolate molds for Easter eggs.”

  “Does that mean melted chocolate?” Kacey asked, her mouth watering.

  Dodie grinned and held out an apron toward her. “It sure does.”

  Kacey took the apron and grinned back. “I’m in.”

  Between the chocolate and restoration of faith, Kacey was feeling a little better.

  Chapter 13

  When things seemed overwhelming, Kacey took her broken heart out onto the mountain. Between her baking sessions and her boarding sessions, she was able to keep her mind off Brody for long enough that she didn’t spend every day crying.

  The worst times were in bed at night, where the loneliness wrapped around her in the darkness, and in the mornings when she remembered what had happened.

  No more Kacey and Brody. Now it was just Kacey. Alone.

  Ten days went by and she didn’t hear a word from Brody. She tried to kid herself that every day got easier, but her heart still felt just as raw on the tenth day as it had the first. Maybe even more so.

  This was seeming much more like a ‘break-up’ than just a ‘break.’ Kacey sighed.

/>   On the other hand, her boarding was getting better.

  Way better.

  She was getting so much practice in, she was flying down the course with more style and precision than ever before. Somehow, her pain inspired her to get deeply into focus. It felt almost meditative as everything in the world disappeared except herself, the board and the slope.