Alaska Reunion

by Jennifer Snow

  She stared at Brent, his eyes closed as he lay on the bed, his breathing sounding hoarse and slightly strained. A slight pang of sympathy washed over her, diluting her anger a little.

  He could have died. They both could have...

  What the hell had he been thinking driving so fast? And under the influence? And why had she gotten on the machine with someone who’d been drinking? It wasn’t like her to make such a bad judgment call.

  He opened his eyes, and the pained, remorseful expression helped to dampen her anger even more. He hadn’t meant for them to get hurt. It didn’t change the fact that they’d made a terrible choice that could have ended so much worse. “I’m sorry, Ellie.”

  She nodded. “I know,” she said as she sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m not completely faultless here either.”

  He sighed as he stared at the ceiling. “My drinking has gotten out of control. It’s been a problem for a little while now.”

  She was surprised to hear it. He’d always drunk responsibly when they were teens. He was the one who’d always been the designated driver, who’d always made sure everyone got home safe after parties. He’d been so focused on all of his sports and other extracurricular activities that he hadn’t even stayed very long at events. He’d been the good guy who would never have harmed anyone—on purpose or otherwise. So conscientious. It was one of the things she’d loved about him.

  Obviously he wasn’t exactly the guy she remembered.

  Then again, she wasn’t the same person either.

  “It’s partially the job. It can be stressful, so a cocktail after work helps to calm me. At first it was one, then it was two... When we are on resorts, we drink.” He shrugged. “There’s no excuse. I have to take responsibility for my own actions.”

  She nodded. At least he was realizing he had a problem. Didn’t they say that was the first step in healing? “But why did you say Callum had been drinking?” She still couldn’t understand that part. Was he trying to make Callum look bad in her eyes?

  “I thought he had been,” he said with a shrug. “Guess it was just me.”

  She swallowed hard, unsure whether or not she believed him. But given the circumstances and everything that had happened that day, she wasn’t sure if it really mattered. A lot had been put into perspective in the last few hours. But there was still a lack of clarity regarding her feelings for both men.

  She stood slowly. “I guess I should let you rest.”

  He reached for her hand, and the pleading look on his face weakened her. “Please don’t go yet.”

  She sighed, then sat back down on the bed. Brent’s hand held tightly to hers as he closed his eyes. Conflicted, Ellie stared at their conjoined hands, waiting for the sensation she got at Callum’s touch to appear.

  It didn’t.

  Unfortunately, he did. “Hey, Ellie, are you...” He paused on the third step, seeing her and Brent together, and his gaze fell to their hands joined on the bed. “Sorry to interrupt. We are about to dock,” he said, his voice cold as he turned and headed back up the stairs.

  Ellie sighed as she slipped her hand out of Brent’s.

  Too late.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  THE ATMOSPHERE WAS tense in the lodge as Ellie joined the others for dinner. Alone. Callum hadn’t been in any mood to try to pretend that everything was okay.

  Ellie was still rattled too but she was trying not to make an even bigger deal of what had happened. After all, she’d gotten on that Sea-Doo. No one had forced her. Callum was acting as though Brent had abducted her. She was alternating between her own anger at and sympathy for Brent and just an overall relief that they were all okay.

  That was what was important, right?

  “Hey, how are you feeling?” Alisha asked as she took a seat next to her at the otherwise-empty, long dining room table. The concern on her face had Ellie rushing to reassure her she was okay.

  “I’m fine. Just a little sore.” Little was an understatement. Her entire body felt as though she’d spent twenty-four hours powerlifting at the gym. Her arms and legs felt tight, but it was her chest and ribs that ached the most. Partly from the inhalation of water and partly from the CPR Callum had performed.

  “No doubt every muscle in your body tensed upon impact with the water.” Alisha studied her closely. “Any headaches or blackouts? Trouble breathing?”

  “No. Nothing like that.” A few waves of dizziness and a couple of coughing spells but they were subsiding. She and Brent had refused a trip to the hospital, claiming to be okay. Ellie hadn’t wanted to make a fuss and ruin everyone’s week, more than she may have already.

  “Good. Well, let me know, okay?”

  She nodded. “Where’s Brent?” she asked, looking around.

  “Sleeping still,” Alisha said. “I keep waking him every half hour looking for signs of concussion. So far I’m not seeing anything to be concerned about, but he hit his head really bad.” She paused. “He’s pretty shaken up. He feels horrible.”

  Ellie nodded as she picked up her glass of water, then rethinking it, set it back down.

  “I guess his drinking is a little out of control,” Alisha said quietly as the others carried their plates of food into the dining room. “I would have warned you, had I known.”

  “It’s no one’s fault. That’s why they call it an accident, right?” Keeping her tone light was the only way through this. She didn’t hold anyone responsible, and she hated that once again, she was the odd man out who had put a damper on the day. Brent hadn’t done it on purpose and they were all okay.

  “I’m thinking Callum’s not seeing it that way,” Alisha said, sounding like she understood his point.

  “For the record, no one is blaming him at all for being upset. If Alisha had been the one on that Sea-Doo, I’m not sure I’d be able to resist kicking Brent’s ass right now,” Nick said, setting his plate and Alisha’s on the table. “I’ll get you some food.”

  “Oh no, it’s okay. I can get it,” Ellie started to protest.

  Nick touched her shoulder gently as she went to get up. “Sit tight.”

  She hated everyone fussing over her but she nodded. “Thank you.”

  Cheryl sat on the other side of her and gave her a quick hug. “So relieved you are okay.” She held out a hand that trembled slightly. “I’m still shaking. I don’t know how you’re not still freaked out.”

  Maybe because everything had happened so quickly. One minute she was on the Sea-Doo, the next she was in the water and everything was black. There hadn’t been time to be afraid or worried. She hadn’t struggled for air the way others do when they are drowning because she was already out cold the minute she hit the water.

  “That fiancé of yours an Olympic swimmer?” Mitch asked, pouring a glass of Scotch at the bar before joining them.

  “Not that I know of.” But who knows? She was discovering so much about Callum that week that nothing would surprise her. Maybe she should have stayed at the cabin with him. He seemed to be okay once the boat had docked, but he hadn’t really said much to her after seeing her below deck with Brent. He’d obviously misread that situation and was upset, but she had no idea what to do now or what to say. They’d been connecting on the boat before the accident, but where were they now?

  Where did she want them to be?

  “Well, if not, he should be. I have never seen anyone swim that fast,” Mitch said.

  Alisha nodded. “True story. As soon as you hit the water, he was diving off the boat without a second’s hesitation.” She shook her head and shivered. “You were so far away and then when you went under without the life jacket on, we totally lost sight of you. Apparently not Callum. I don’t think anyone else could have gotten to you so quickly.”

  Nick nodded as he returned with Ellie’s plate of food and set it in front of her. “With both of you landing in the water
so far apart, I know there’s no way we could have gotten to you both.”

  A silence fell over the table and Ellie’s appetite was gone as the reality of that day’s events hit her. She hadn’t fully processed everything clearly until now. The boat had been closer to Brent. He’d been injured, but alert and bobbing on the surface. She’d gone under. Brent would have been the one they could have gotten to. He would have been the one they rescued first.

  If Callum hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t dived into the water to save her, the rest of the group may have completely lost sight of her and been unable to locate her beneath the surface of the lake. Without consciousness, without a way to try to save herself, Ellie would have drowned. Without Callum’s quick thinking and heroic actions, she would have died today.

  * * *

  THE ONLY GOOD thing to come out of today’s events was the inspiration for his writing. All afternoon the words had flowed out of him, anger fueling each word. If his hands could just stop shaking, he might actually have one of those words without a squiggly red line underneath.

  Ellie had gone to the lodge to join the others for dinner. She didn’t want anyone thinking she was upset or holding them responsible for what had happened. Callum didn’t care if they thought he was upset. He was. And he was holding Brent a hundred percent responsible for what had happened.

  It annoyed him that Ellie wasn’t.

  He still didn’t know what was going on. On the boat, she’d clearly chosen him over Brent to spend time with. Then he’d gone below to answer a frantic call from Sean and somehow she’d ended up on that Sea-Doo...

  The worst part was seeing her holding Brent’s hand. It was right up there with the image of her flying through the air and crashing into the lake.

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. There was no way to save the rest of the week. He wanted to leave, but he knew if he did, he’d be leaving alone. And he couldn’t do that to her.

  Ellie entered the cottage, and Callum glanced up from his laptop. She carried a plate of food and set it down on the table. “You didn’t come up for dinner, so...”

  “Thanks,” he said, returning to the keyboard. It hurt to look at her. Every time he did, his heart raced and his palms sweat. He’d come so close to losing her that day. Not just to Brent, but for real.

  “Everyone asked where you were,” she said.

  He ignored her and kept typing. Incoherent sentences, probably, but he wasn’t ready to discuss things with her. He had no idea where they stood. He had no idea what she wanted from him. If she still even needed him here. Maybe it was time to just come clean.

  “Are you getting much writing done?” she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

  He sighed and nodded once.

  “Will you please talk to me?” she asked, sounding exasperated with him.

  Exasperated with him.

  He set the laptop aside and stood. “What do you want me to say, Ellie?”

  “I don’t know. I just don’t know why you’re so upset with me.”

  She didn’t know why he was upset? “Seriously? Because I don’t even recognize you this week. All of these activities aren’t your thing, yet you’re going along with the group as though you’ve suddenly lost your own voice. Your ability to speak up.”

  “So, now stepping outside my comfort zone and trying new things is a bad thing?” she countered.

  He raised an eyebrow. “That’s just a new bullshit way of peer pressuring people into things. If you wanted to do these things and were simply afraid, that’s one thing. But you have no interest in any of these adventure activities. You’d rather be curled up in the lodge reading or sitting out on the deck swing...”

  She sighed. “Fine. You’re right. But this was a vacation. It’s not like they do this stuff every day.”

  So she was still contemplating a life with Brent. Thinking about how everyday life would look with him. He shook his head and stared at the floor.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” There was no point saying anything. If the connection forming between them wasn’t enough for her to start having a change of heart, him criticizing Brent wouldn’t get him very far.

  “No, what is it? You obviously have something to say,” she said.

  “Fine.” He took several steps toward her. “You are so blinded by past feelings that you aren’t seeing what’s really in front of you. You’re not seeing who Brent is now and that maybe the things that connected you in the past don’t anymore.”

  She stood slowly. “How would I know that after a few days? We are just getting to know one another again, and it’s very difficult when he thinks I’m engaged.”

  “So this is my fault?”

  “You were the one who got us into this mess by saying you are my fiancé.” She started to pace the room. “I still don’t know what the hell you were thinking. This is such a disaster.” She massaged her temples and his gut turned. He hated seeing her upset. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her. Make her feel safe and secure.

  “I wasn’t thinking,” he said. Then shook his head. Time to be honest. “Or maybe I was. Maybe I was hoping that if you were forced to pretend to like me, be attracted to me, you might just look beyond your prejudices against me and realize there could be something there,” he said softly and paused. “Between us.”

  Her mouth dropped. “For real? Like a real relationship?”

  “Yes, Ellie, and don’t look so surprised. I’ve only been crazy about you for two years.” Now he was exasperated. He ran a hand over his face and sighed.

  “Crazy about me?”

  His shoulders slumped and he released a slow, deep breath. “Seeing you every day at the store is the highlight of my day. Highlight of my life, really.” Couldn’t say it any clearer than that.

  Ellie strode across the room and stopped just inches from him. She reached up and gripped the back of his head, pulling his face toward hers.

  A momentary shock had him paralyzed, but then his arms went around her and he deepened the kiss. The stress and tension and fear of that day all came out in the kiss as he pulled her into him. Every emotion he’d been hiding, repressing for two years poured out in this one moment.

  If he’d lost her that day...

  He kissed her even harder, needing the feel of her, the taste of her. He breathed in the sweet honeysuckle scent he couldn’t get enough of as his hands dug into her rib cage.

  When she pulled back a long second later, he inhaled deeply as he rested his forehead against hers. His heart thudded in his chest. “What was that?”

  “My attempt to show you that there’s no spark between us,” she said, her voice quivering slightly.

  “How’d that work out for you?”

  “It may have backfired.”

  “You bet your ass it backfired,” he said. There was no way she could deny their connection now. “So, what do we do about it?”

  She hesitated, moving slowly away. “I don’t know. I mean all of this—” she gestured between them “—is kinda unexpected.”

  “It shouldn’t be. I’ve only been flirting with you for two years.”

  “I didn’t think you were serious,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “Why not?”

  “Look at you. You’re like a chiseled Greek god. You could have anyone you want.”

  “I only wanted you. I still only want you,” he said, his courage growing. His secret was out. She knew he was serious. Now the ball was in her court.

  Man, he’d really put himself out there today. But he didn’t regret it.

  “I guess now the question is, what do you want?”

  She was quiet for a long time as she stared at him. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak.

  “I think I want to read your work,” she said, finally.

  He frow
ned. “What? Now?” They were kind of in the middle of something important.

  “Yep. You promised if I made it to the bottom of the rock face, I could read your work,” she said. She sat back against the bed cushions and reached out her arms. “Laptop, please.”

  Wow. Okay. Guess they were doing that instead of figuring out where they went with their relationship. He sighed as he reached for his laptop case. “The work in progress is still off-limits, but you can read these revised pages.” He hesitated, then reluctantly handed her the printed version of the first six chapters of the book.

  She took them with a huge smile, her excitement only making him that much more nervous. But what the hell, he’d already been vulnerable twice that day, may as well go for the hat trick.

  An hour later, Callum paced the room, shooting a glance at Ellie. She was a speed reader, often consuming a book in less than a day. What was taking her so long? Her expression was unreadable as her eyes flew over the words in his manuscript pages. “They are still really rough...”

  “Shhh...”

  “Sorry.” He sat in the chair near the window and scrolled through his cell phone. Seeing a text from Sean, he ignored it, putting the phone aside. There was no way he could deal with his family after the day he’d had. The call earlier that day had stolen his attention and look what had happened. His brother could deal with things without him for a few hours. He couldn’t do much from three hours away anyway, and didn’t he deserve a vacation? Some time to forget about his family issues. He’d have to face it all again far too soon.