Green Mountain Collection 1

by Marie Force

  Molly and Lincoln were teary-eyed as they delivered their eldest daughter to her groom, who had been riveted by the sight of his love coming toward him as their friend Jack played his guitar. He only took his eyes off Hannah long enough to bend and scoop up Homer Junior, who sported a black bow tie collar for the occasion.

  Nolan wore a white dress shirt with a blue tie and khakis. Hunter stood beside him, while Ella, Charley and Cameron were Hannah’s attendants.

  Both the bride and the groom were barefoot, a touch that Lucy found particularly perfect. Standing in front of Colton to watch as his grandfather officiated the ceremony, it was difficult to wallow in her own misery while watching two such deserving people get their happy ending.

  It was excruciating to know that she and Colton wouldn’t have a day like this. They wouldn’t have any more days after today, and it was all because she was too afraid of what might happen tomorrow to enjoy today. Knowing what Hannah had endured to get to this moment in her life made Lucy feel ashamed of her own inadequacies.

  As she listened to Elmer talk about the incredible journey Hannah and Nolan had traveled to reach this day and heard them pledge their eternal love to each other, Lucy yearned to someday say those same words to Colton and to hear them from him. She yearned for the forever they weren’t destined to have. Maybe he was feeling the same way because his hand found hers and held on tight. It was the first time he’d touched her all day, and she clung to the welcome feel of his hand in hers.

  After Elmer declared Hannah and Nolan husband and wife, a cheer went up from the friends and family who surrounded them, including the Guthries, Caleb’s beloved Sultans and Nolan’s racing team. The group tossed rose petals at the bride and groom as they went up the stairs to the house where the reception would take place.

  “So beautiful,” Cameron said as she wiped tears off her face.

  Will put his arm around her and drew her into his embrace.

  “Incredible,” Colton agreed. He continued to hold Lucy’s hand as they made their way up the stairs and only let go to hug the bride. “So happy for you, Han.”

  “Thank you.” Hannah glowed with happiness as she stood next to Nolan on the deck, accepting hugs and kisses from everyone. She hugged Lucy as if they’d been friends for years rather than months. “So glad you were here with us today.”

  “Me, too,” Lucy said sincerely. It was comforting to know that sometimes things worked out the way they were meant to. She followed the crowd inside where Molly was supervising the caterers. Despite her depressed state, Lucy was swept up in the party atmosphere as everyone ate and drank and celebrated the happy couple.

  The effort to hide her own pain in the midst of such incredible joy was exhausting, but Lucy kept a smile on her face, determined to get through this day and night so she could go home and lick her wounds in private.

  Outside on the deck, a trio provided music that only added to the festive atmosphere. She was standing with Colton, Will, Cameron, Ella and Charley when Hunter took the microphone from the singer and waited for the group to quiet down. Then he turned his attention to Hannah and Nolan.

  CHAPTER 35

  Interesting: A visitor from Kuwait remarked that oil and maple syrup producers have this in common: You drill, you collect, you boil, you filter, you grade. You end up with something amazing at the end of all that.

  —Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, after the boil

  Nolan stood behind Hannah, his arm hooked around her waist as they waited to hear what her brother had to say. So far their wedding day had exceeded Hannah’s wildest hopes. They had wanted simple, elegant and intimate, and had managed to achieve all three in this beautiful spot by the lake.

  “Every time I saw Nolan the last few years,” Hunter said, “he’d ask how Hannah was. He asked me, he asked my parents, he asked my grandfather, he asked my brothers and he asked my sisters. He never missed a chance to ask about Hannah. And being the concerned, involved family we are, we never missed a chance to pass along his thoughts to Hannah. We thought it was the least we could do to deliver his messages.”

  Hannah snorted with laughter and rolled her eyes at her brother.

  “So I speak for all of us when I tell you, Nolan, how grateful we are that you can now ask her your damned self—every day for the rest of your lives.”

  When the roar of laughter died down, Hunter continued. “It’s my very great honor to welcome Nolan to the Abbott family, although I think we actually did that a long time ago. Again, I speak for my parents and my siblings when I tell Nolan he was an Abbott long before Hannah made it official. I feel extremely fortunate that my twin sister, who is my very best friend, married another of my best friends, and I can’t help but think that Caleb is looking down on this happy gathering today with love and approval of the man his beloved Hannah chose to accompany her on the next part of her journey.”

  Touched by the way Hunter had managed to include Caleb, Hannah wiped away tears. As Nolan pressed his face against hers, she felt the dampness on his skin and knew he was as equally moved by Hunter’s words.

  “I know he loved you both as much as the rest of us do, and we couldn’t be happier to celebrate this amazing day with you.” He raised his glass of champagne. “To Hannah and Nolan, may you know many, many years of happiness together.”

  After everyone had toasted them, Hunter gestured to Nolan. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  “What’s going on?” Hannah asked.

  Nolan turned her to face him and looked down at her, his eyes warm with humor and love. “This is gonna go one of two ways, babe, so bear with me.” He took her into his arms, nodded to Hunter, who accompanied him as he began to sing to her in a deep, melodic voice that astounded her. Where had he been hiding such a talent?

  She recognized the song, “I Won’t Let Go,” a favorite of hers by Rascal Flatts, but she wouldn’t have guessed that he knew it, let alone could sing it so beautifully. Once she got past the shock of him singing to her when she’d had no idea he could, she began to focus on what he was saying and everything else fell away as the emotion of the moment hit her square in the heart.

  By the time Hunter played the final notes to the song, everyone around them was sniffling, but Hannah paid no mind to anyone other than the amazing man she’d married and his incredible gift to her.

  While their guests applauded and wiped away tears, Nolan leaned down to speak only to her. “I told you I could teach you to enjoy surprises.”

  Hannah laughed and hugged him tighter. “That was the best surprise ever.”

  “Glad you liked it.”

  She looked up at him, filled with the kind of joy she’d never expected to experience again. “I loved it, and I love you.”

  “Love you, too, Hannah. Forever.”

  She hadn’t meant to watch him all day like a crazed stalker, but Ella Abbott couldn’t help that her gaze was naturally drawn to him. It had been for as long as she could remember, and today was certainly no exception. So when he slipped away during Nolan’s touching song, Ella went after him.

  Everyone was so caught up in the moment between Hannah and Nolan that no one saw her follow Gavin Guthrie down the stairs to the beach, where she found him skimming stones into the lake.

  He wore a dress shirt rolled up to his elbows and khaki pants that molded to his muscular legs and ass. His dark, curly hair was on the longish side, the way Caleb’s had been before he joined the army. Gavin was, without a doubt, the most incredibly gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on, and she’d been in love with him for almost as long as her sister had been in love with his brother. Not that she’d ever told anyone that . . .

  “Hey,” she said when she joined him on the beach.

  “What’re you doing down here? Don’t you have bridesmaid duties or some such thing?”

  “Nope. Hannah didn’t want any of that.”

  “Keeping it simple, huh?”

  “That was the plan.”

&nbs
p; “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Hoping to hide her unreasonable pleasure at the unexpected compliment, Ella bent to pick up a flat, shiny stone and sent it flying over the surface of the water, counting at least twenty skips.

  “Wow. That was awesome. Where’d you learn to skip like that?”

  “I have seven brothers. You’d be surprised at all the stuff I know how to do.” The moment the words left her mouth, Ella realized there were a number of ways he could interpret them.

  Thankfully, other than one rakishly raised brow, he didn’t comment.

  “Are you okay?” She hadn’t spoken directly to him since the day of Homer Senior’s funeral, when he’d confessed to how acutely he still felt the pain of his brother’s death.

  He looked over at her and then back at the lake as he let another stone go flying. “Truth?”

  “Please.”

  “I’ve had better days.”

  “I’m sure it has to be very difficult for you—and your parents. I know how much it means to Hannah that you’re here.”

  “Of course we’re here. We love them and wouldn’t have missed sharing this day with them. But still . . .”

  “It hurts.”

  “All the goddamned time. Sometimes more than others.”

  Ella knew it wasn’t wise, but that didn’t stop her from moving closer to him. It didn’t stop her from putting her arms around him, and it didn’t stop her from wishing she could do something to ease his pain.

  For a second, he seemed too startled to react, but then his arms came around her, too.

  She looked up at him as he looked down at her. And then he was kissing her, roughly, without finesse or any of the things she would’ve expected from him. But finesse didn’t matter. She was kissing Gavin Guthrie, and her entire world was reduced to the feel of his lips on hers, the press of his tongue in her mouth and the tight clasp of his arms around her.

  She curled her hand around the nape of his neck, wanting to keep him anchored to her.

  Then he pulled away abruptly, leaving her bereft. “Christ, Ella. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m so fucked up today. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  She wanted to tell him not to be sorry, that she’d loved kissing him and wanted to do it again. But all she managed to say was “Wait.”

  He turned to her, looking tormented and regretful.

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m not.”

  “You’re beautiful, Ella.” He stole her breath when he caressed her face. “Inside and out. If I were going to let something like this happen with anyone, you’d be the first one I’d call. But I’ve got nothing to give you, and it wouldn’t be fair. It just wouldn’t be fair.”

  Before she could begin to formulate a response, he walked away, heading down the beach. She watched him go, noting the curve of his shoulders, an obvious indication of the pain he carried with him everywhere he went.

  He said he had nothing to give her, but he’d just given her the one thing she’d never had where he was concerned—hope.

  Colton was dying inside. All around him, people smiled and laughed and celebrated the beautiful bride and her handsome groom. He was so happy for his sister and her new husband, but inside, he ached.

  Lucy was leaving him for good tomorrow, and he had to pretend like everything was fine when he felt like complete and absolute shit. He could tell by watching her as she talked to Charley and Cameron that she felt the same. Her smile was forced and her eyes were puffier than usual after she’d cried herself to sleep the night before.

  He’d run out of ways to assure her that everything would be fine. He’d failed to persuade her to give him a chance to show her they could make this work if only she had faith. The effort to pretend that everything was fine when it wasn’t was wearing him out.

  Looking to escape the prying eyes of his family, he went into the kitchen to grab a beer.

  “Make it two,” his grandfather said.

  Colton turned. “Where’d you come from?”

  “I followed you.”

  “Oh. Okay then.” Colton opened a second bottle of beer and handed it to Elmer. “Fantastic day, huh?”

  “One of the best I can ever remember.”

  Colton nodded in agreement. “Great job on the ceremony.”

  “Glad you liked it.” Elmer took a sip of his beer. “What’s on your mind today, son? You’re not yourself.”

  The last thing he wanted to do was introduce his problems into a day that should be trouble free for everyone. “Nothing much.”

  “You may as well tell me. You know you want to tell someone.”

  Colton laughed at his audaciousness, but he knew it came from a place of pure love. “Lucy and I have decided to break up. I’m bummed out, to say the least.”

  “Huh.” Elmer leaned against the counter and thought about what Colton had said. “So that’s it? Over and done with?”

  “I guess so. We’re both firmly rooted in our lives in two separate places.”

  “Seems to me you’ve been working around that rather well for quite some time now.”

  “I thought so, too, but she’s worried about what happens when it stops working.”

  “So she’s going with a preemptive strike.”

  “Something like that.”

  “And how do you feel about it?”

  “How do you think I feel? I’ve never felt worse about anything, but what choice do I have if this is what she wants?”

  “I don’t believe for one second that this is what she wants. I believe it’s what she’s convinced herself needs to happen.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “There’s a huge difference, Colton. Think about it. She wants the same things you do, but she’s convinced it can never happen. So you have to show her it can happen. Do what you do best and draw her a picture. Make a case. Prove to her you’re in it for keeps. You know what you have to do.”

  “How do I do that when she’s telling me it’s over?”

  “First, you give her a week or two to miss you, and then you go in for the kill.”

  “You make it sound so dramatic.”

  “You’re fighting for the life you want with the woman you love. If that’s not dramatic, I don’t know what is. You can’t leave anything on the table, my boy.”

  Colton’s mind raced as he contemplated what his grandfather had said. “So I let her go tomorrow, and I let her think it’s what I want, too, even though it isn’t?”

  “For starters.”

  “And then I don’t call her or talk to her in any way for a week, maybe two . . .”

  “That’s right. And you use that time very, very productively.”

  “What if I do all this, and she still says it’s not what she wants?”

  Elmer placed his hand on Colton’s shoulder and looked him square in the eye. “Then at least you’ll know you did everything you could and you’ll respect her wishes. But if I had to guess, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “You really think that will work?”

  Elmer touched his beer bottle to Colton’s. “I really do.”

  “I sure hope you’re right.” The alternative was unimaginable.

  Saying good-bye to Colton the next morning at the airport was the most excruciatingly painful thing Lucy had ever done. In deference to the wedding and the happiness of the day, they hadn’t said a word to anyone yesterday about their decision to end their relationship. Lucy hadn’t even told Cameron.

  After two nights of awkward silence between her and Colton, it was almost a relief to finally leave. He hadn’t begged or pleaded with her to change her mind. Rather, he seemed to have accepted her decision, albeit reluctantly. That was for the best, she’d told herself during that second night as she lay awake next to him. Though he’d been right there with her, he’d been a million miles from her.

  Gone was the teasing, the laughing, the loving, the talking, the playful bickering, replaced by a pe
rvasive silence that shattered her already broken heart all over again.

  When they arrived at the airport, Elmer and Sarah stuck their heads out the back window of the truck, and Lucy reached up to pet and kiss them both.

  Almost as if she knew this was really good-bye, Sarah whimpered.

  Lucy clung to her composure like a life raft in a stormy sea, determined to get through this without making a scene.

  Colton deposited her suitcase and computer bag on the curb. “If you forgot anything, I’ll send it to you.”

  “Thanks.” There was so much she wanted to say, but none of it mattered now. She placed a hand on his shoulder and went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “I’m sorry, Colton. I truly am.”

  He hugged her—tightly—but he didn’t say anything. And then he let her go, because it was what she’d told him she wanted.

  Lucy looped the strap of her computer bag over her shoulder and reached for the handle on her suitcase. She forced a smile for him and then walked away, all the while resisting the urge to look back. She’d made her decision. There was no point in looking back.

  Once again feeling like she was wading through hip-deep snow, she went through the motions at security and moved like a zombie through the airport in search of her gate. She held it together on the short flight and in the cab ride home from LaGuardia.

  Only when she reached the comfort of her own bed did she finally give in to the tears that had threatened to consume her for two days. She cried until her eyes and chest ached, until there was nothing left but the loneliness she’d inflicted upon herself.

  Other than to tend to essential needs, she never moved from her bed for the rest of the night. Hours later she realized she’d been waiting for him to call her. But he didn’t call. He wouldn’t call again. She’d seen to that. It had been the right thing to do, even if it hurt like hell right now. It would only be worse a month or six months or a year from now.

  It was for the best. If she just kept telling herself that, soon enough she might actually believe it.

  During the next two weeks, she threw herself into work with an almost religious fervor. She worked twelve, fourteen and even sixteen hours a day, stopping only for an occasional meal with her sister and Simone or her dad, all of whom repeatedly expressed concern. But Lucy didn’t want to talk about it—not with her family and not with Cameron, who called several times hoping to talk it out.