by Cassie Mae
—
Aaron had been right; when someone needed help in a small town, the entire population stepped up to the plate. Removing the tree turned out to be a party, complete with little children running around delivering water and lemonade. Several awnings had been set up to provide much-needed shade, and foldout tables were set up with several snacks and beverages. Kennedy smiled as she stood up from her job of snapping off pesky branches, appreciating the camaraderie around her and how she’d been welcomed into it.
“Get this beautiful woman a drink!” a man named Sawyer called out when he noticed Kennedy taking a break. She laughed at his loud and confident antics, dubbing him the male version of Chelsea. A lot of Lyra Valley residents got a kick out of that description.
A sweet girl, maybe twelve or so, ran right up with an offer of either water or sports drink. Kennedy took the dripping blue bottle and thanked her before the girl ran off to provide refreshment to anyone else who was pouring sweat from the sun and physical exertion.
“Did you see them last night?” one of the girls on the opposite side of the tree asked her. Kennedy took a moment to answer, unsure if it was really her she was talking to.
“What?”
The girl smiled, standing up straight to pull her highlighted hair into a ponytail. “The stars. You’re staying at the B&B, right? That’s what the lake is famous for—the stars are absolutely unreal after a storm like the one we had last night.”
Kennedy tilted her head. “Oh! No, I missed it, unfortunately.” Her eyes went directly to her left, knowing that was where Aaron was. He’d shed his plaid overshirt and was now in only a sleeveless white tee that hugged his frame and showed off his muscular torso. He wiped his glistening forehead with the back of his gloved hand before leaning down to the end of the saw, nodding to Austin on the other end.
She bit back a sigh and ripped her gaze away. Watching the corded muscles in his arms was going to do nothing but cause more and more confusion in her already muddled mind.
“You’ll have to catch them next time,” the girl said with a smile. “There’s another storm blowing in. It’ll probably hit either tonight or tomorrow morning.”
Kennedy turned a frown up to the clear sky and hot sun. The girl laughed.
“I know. It looks deceiving, right?” She leaned against the trunk of the tree, resting her elbows against the rough wood. “Trust me. It’s coming.”
Kennedy mulled that one over, having no reason not to trust the girl, who obviously knew much more about the town than she did. The plan, after removing the tree, of course, was to put Jared to rest. After last night, she felt a little bit stronger than she’d been before. Talking about him, reminiscing and admitting to someone other than herself that she’d had a hard time letting go, actually helped her to let go…even if it was just a little bit.
Her gaze fell to Aaron again, and she cursed herself for letting it happen so naturally. His mesmerizing eyes met hers, and she blinked away, shaking her head for how ridiculous she was being.
“Hey, Kennedy!” someone called from that direction, and her stomach jumped during the brief moment that she thought it had been him. But it was Austin who was waving her over. “You wanna help me with this?”
Her eyes flicked between him and Aaron, the latter giving his brother a look that could freeze a person even in this heat. She bit back a laugh, propped herself up on the tree trunk, and swung her legs over. Austin grinned, face sweaty underneath a baseball cap. Seeing them both together, she could see the subtle differences between the twins, besides the apparel. Austin had broader shoulders, a more defined cut of his body; it hinted that he spent a lot of time doing manual labor. How she could help him with sawing a log was beyond her.
“I wanna show you how to do this,” he said as she wandered over. “You ever use this kind of saw before?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Excellent.” He took her by the hand and settled her right behind him. She locked eyes with Aaron, who was trying his best to keep a neutral expression. “Take a hold of this right here.” Austin’s hands wrapped around Kennedy’s, his skin warm, callused, and sweaty, and she let out a laugh at the memory of them in her hair digging out a clip when they first met. It seemed centuries ago instead of days, and she shook her head at how twitterpated she’d gotten in his presence. He was a good-looking man with a friendly smile and disposition, but as he settled in behind her, it wasn’t the fact that he played for the same team as she was that had her hoping for a different touch; it was the man across from her, watching with a focused, honey-colored gaze.
She ran a tongue over her lips, and hot flames licked up her arms as she noticed Aaron’s eyes drop to the action. He visibly gulped and wiped away dots of sweat along his forehead.
Her flattered grin could not be helped, and it took her way too long to realize she hadn’t even paid attention to the instructions Austin was giving to her.
“You ready?”
“No.”
He laughed and nodded over her head to Aaron. Kennedy blinked in fascination as Aaron’s hands grabbed the opposite grip, the muscles in his arms leaner than his brother’s, yet absolutely breathtaking. In fact, she was sure her breath was lost forever until Austin lunged her forward.
“Oh!” she squeaked, and Aaron broke his careful expression with a bolting laugh. She gave him a playful, stern look. “I was not prepared!”
“You ready for this one?” Aaron asked this time. Austin’s grip tightened around her fingers, and she braced herself for the force of being pushed back into him.
She nodded once, and Aaron pushed while she and Austin pulled. A giggle slipped out when there was no time to rest, and Austin had her moving forward again. The tree was rough and relentless, but so were the brothers, and she was a Ping-Pong ball in the middle of their game. Her arms grew tired, and she felt an ache begin to rise in her triceps, but the smile remained on her face.
In the corner of her eye, beyond the mass of Austin’s thick arms, Kennedy noticed they had drawn a crowd. There were cheers and hollers, everyone clapping and encouraging them to cut straight down to the bottom. Kennedy wasn’t sure she’d last that long—they still had so much to go—but she sure enjoyed the faith the townspeople had in them. Aaron’s lip stayed curled and she returned the smile, appreciating the sweat soaking his white shirt, the strained muscles in his arms, and the strong, sturdy force behind his forward and backward movements. She ached to stop the sawing for only a moment so she could switch sides and lean into him while he worked. Sure, she wouldn’t have such a beautiful view, but she would feel his hot, labored breathing against her neck, bump into his hard and toned body, and soak in that fresh scent that she’d been craving since that very morning.
“You got it?” Austin asked, and her eyes widened.
“Got what?”
A wicked grin formed on his lips before he completely let go. Kennedy pushed with all her might, but the saw stopped dead center of the tree trunk. Aaron let out a laugh as they both slumped over, admitting defeat. The crowd both cheered and laughed before dispersing to go back to their assignments. Kennedy rested her head on her palm, her elbow digging into the rough bark of the tree. Aaron echoed her stance, staring back at her with a grin. His breathing was rough, labored, hard…matching hers inhale for exhale. Through her exhaustion, Kennedy felt a surge of energy through her chest at the look he gave her.
“Your brother…needs to work on his…warning signals.”
Aaron laughed. “That he does.”
They rested against the log, Kennedy feeling completely worn, but so completely content. With everyone there, with Austin and Sawyer and Aaron…the entire town, really, she felt something she hadn’t felt in over a year. She felt at home. She grinned, closing her eyes and relaxing in a welcome breeze that swept over her. It was undeniable that Jared was there, in some way, too.
Chapter 9
Aaron
The tree removal went well into the afternoon, wh
at with the entire town making an event of it. Chelsea and Dan hadn’t come around until about four o’clock, right as Aaron and Sawyer were dragging the last piece off to the side of the road. Then, of course, they were all invited back to the B&B for more food. The light in Kennedy’s expression was enough to convince Aaron to tag along, even though he was jonesing for a cool shower and a beer. If only he hadn’t been stopped by Mr. Douglas.
“Nothing works,” he told Aaron as he stepped up to his truck. “The fuse went up in smoke. Would you mind taking a look?”
Aaron smirked, his specialty not exactly in electrical, but he wasn’t a novice in that arena, either. “Sure thing. Give me thirty minutes to wash up?”
Mr. Douglas stuck his hand out in gratitude. “No problem at all. Thank you.”
Aaron waited until he was well out of hearing range to let out the long, disappointed sigh he was holding in. Kennedy was across the road with Sawyer and Dan, covering her mouth as she giggled at Sawyer’s buoyancy and Dan’s embarrassment at whatever was said. Spending more time with her was the one thing he shouldn’t be doing, yet it was the only thing he wanted to do. He shook his head and patted the seat for Charlie to jump in. The door on his truck clanked as he swung it shut, which grabbed Kennedy’s attention.
“You heading to Chelsea’s?” she called across the road.
He forced a smile. “Nah, got somewhere to be.”
His wicked heart leapt underneath his sweat-soaked shirt, and it beat erratically as he saw her lips pull down in the corners. She waved an unenthusiastic goodbye, which he returned before hopping into his truck and chugging down the road to his place. He hoped she wasn’t thinking he was avoiding her on purpose, but maybe it would be best if she did think that. After last night, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to avoid her on purpose again.
—
The clouds were starting to roll in, but they were white and wispy—the calm before the storm Aaron was sure would hit within the next twenty-four hours. They always came in threes; when they were kids, Jared always blamed Vicki Harding for it because she was a storm junkie. He’d said that she most likely went out and did a three-day rain dance every once in a while. The theory held up, because after Vicki left town to chase the scariest storms of all in the Midwest, Lyra Valley didn’t see a storm for nearly a year. They came back with a vengeance, though.
Aaron held out a hand to Charlie, telling him to stay while he went to the Douglas place. Granny Douglas was getting up there in age, and with Charlie still in training, Aaron didn’t trust him not to jump up where he didn’t belong.
“I won’t be long, boy,” he assured him, then patted his head before heading out.
He tried talking himself out of it, but logically, driving past the B&B was the fastest route to the Douglases’. He idled at the fork in the road, and ultimately decided he’d wasted more time than necessary arguing with himself. The B&B would most likely still have a few townspeople inside and out, chatting and enjoying the sun before they all went back to their homes to hole up for the night. The chances of seeing Kennedy in the crowd were slim to—
A faint hue of pink caught his eye as he passed the boathouse near the edge of the lake, and of course his attention was full on the beautiful woman with her hands wrist-deep into her hoodie pockets, slowly walking back toward the B&B. His foot let off the gas without him really noticing, and he wondered if she had been thinking of spreading Jared’s ashes, or if she had done so already and was just there talking with him. The absence of the urn shouldn’t have sparked his curiosity like it did; she’d spent all afternoon without it, but it was the only thought that crossed his mind.
An ache rose in the pit of his stomach, and he focused on the road ahead of him, pressing down on the accelerator until the SUV left a trail of dust in its wake. He wasn’t sure if he believed in an afterlife. He wasn’t sure what was next, if anything, but when Kennedy had jokingly offered the ashes up for him to apologize to, he did consider it. He’d seriously considered it. If by chance Jared could hear from some unknown space, then Aaron wanted him to know.
He took a deep breath, glancing up to the rearview mirror, at the pink dot in the distance and the wide lake behind her. Wherever the ashes were, Aaron knew the docks were where Jared would be if he could be anywhere. His grip tightened on the wheel, and he steeled himself in his decision. After the Douglases’, he’d stop, visit the lake, and finally say to Jared what he’d wanted to say for years.
Chapter 10
Kennedy
Every aching step from the lake to the B&B felt heavier than the one before. Kennedy sucked in a deep breath, refusing to look over her shoulder for fear of turning right back around.
“Baby steps,” she whispered to herself. After a good twenty minutes at the edge of the dock, her courage had faltered once again. If only she had some sort of assurance that everything would be all right once he was really gone. It was silly, because Jared was already really gone. The ashes were nothing, but at the same time, they were everything.
She’d turned around and stared at the boathouse, an idea surfacing in her mind. Maybe a trial run was in order. So she’d tucked the urn away in a crate, next to some extra ropes and tethers, and left it there. She’d try again tonight after the crowded B&B settled down…if she made it that long without him.
When she got within a few yards of the front door, the happy noise inside only exhausted her more. The day was certainly catching up with her, not to mention the long night before with little sleep. Though, she had to admit, the sleep she did get was the most restful she’d had in nearly a year.
She fought the extra beats pattering in her chest and frowned at the uncontrollable reaction she had when she thought of Aaron. Guilt almost always followed suit, and it did in that moment, especially after just wishing she didn’t have to let Jared go again.
Her mind was most definitely done for the day, and while she wore a painted-on smile as she passed through the townspeople and the guests checking in for the evening, it was a welcome relief not to pretend when she got to her room, shut the door, and fell back onto the bed. The moment her eyes closed, her mind drifted away into blissful oblivion.
—
Kennedy startled awake as a deep, vibrating clap sounded outside her open window. The wild wind blew in, whipping her short, mussed brown hair over her eyes, bringing with it the watery scent of the lake. She pushed her hair out of her face, squinting over to the clock on the nightstand. It was only just after six o’clock; she hadn’t been asleep for even an hour, but just like that girl had said, Mother Nature was a deceptive woman. Another storm was rolling in, and it looked even darker than its predecessor.
Kennedy stretched on the mattress before curling back up to snuggle with her pillow. “Is this your doing, again?” she asked the space next to her, her eyes closed as she soaked in the comfort of the blankets tangled between her legs. She imagined Jared answering in her sleepy haze, telling her that he was indeed the reason for the weather. She could almost hear his laughter puncturing the thunder in the distance. It enveloped her, wrapped around her shoulders, brought a light smile to her face until she remembered that it was only a memory—as fleeting as the sunshine had been.
A salty tear filled the corner of her eye, and she reached up and swept a finger over her cheek. There was no warmth to curl into anymore. No strong set of arms, no contagious laughter, no comforting kisses or long, passionate expressions of love. It was all gone. All she had was the cold steel of a polished urn and the memory of someone she feared she’d eventually forget.
Her hand fell to the empty side of the bed, feeling along the stitching of the comforter for that cold steel she desperately needed to hold. When her fingers bumped against the soft feather pillow, she lifted her head, brows pulled in confusion. Then, as quickly as light chasing away darkness, her sorrow warped into panic.
He’s outside….She’d put him outside.
She pushed up off the bed and searched for her shoe
s. “I’m so sorry,” she babbled under her breath as she hopped into a pair of ballet flats. “Sorry, sorry, sorry. I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Her feet slipped across the wood floor as she turned the corner and started down the stairs. The B&B was quieter than it had been when she’d fallen asleep, but she barely noticed as she threw her pink hood over her head and jogged out into the fury of wind and the smell of forthcoming rain.
The thunder above was nothing compared to the thundering of her heart, beating in tune with her gait. She raced through the overgrown grass, slipped through the damp sand along the edge of the lake, and thumped across the splintered wood of the dock. She pulled the heavy door of the boathouse against the wind, and it slammed shut behind her, leaving her in darkness. She felt along the wall, realizing she’d left her phone up in her room and there was no source of light other than the single skylight above her. The clouds were growing a darker gray, threatening rain, but there was still no sign of it. A sting ran through Kennedy’s shin as she hit the crate, and she crouched, hands shaking as she dug around for the familiar smooth surface.
The moment her fingers slipped over the round metal of the lid, her stomach eased and she found breathing much easier.
“Thank heavens,” she whispered, plucking the urn from the crate and hugging it to her chest. She retraced her footsteps back to the door, pushed against it hard, and squinted into the brighter outside. As the door slammed shut behind her and the wind nearly knocked her off her feet, she clutched the ashes, her relief quickly morphing into an overwhelming sense of grief. She felt her knees buckle, and they struck the wood underneath her as she collapsed, a wave of sobs racking her very core.