by Joan Kilby
Her footsteps slowed as she came level with the boutique. The wedding dress was still there, and even lovelier than she remembered.
“Hey, Brianna.” Kylie was sweeping the sidewalk in front of her shop. “Coming in? I’ll look after the kid if you want to try it on.”
“No, thank you, Kylie.” She laughed at her friend’s persistent efforts to get her into that dress. “I have no need of a wedding dress. I just think it’s pretty.”
“Please try it on,” Kylie pleaded. “It won’t fit me, and I’d love to see it on someone.”
“Well…” Brianna glanced up and down the street to make sure no one saw her going into the store at the same time as the wedding dress disappeared from the window. Maybe she was paranoid, but people were already talking about her and Angus. Some folk might put two and two together and get sixteen. “Okay.”
By the time she’d maneuvered the stroller into the store, Kylie had the dress off the mannequin and was hanging it in the fitting room.
“Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll help with the buttons,” Kylie said.
Brianna quickly stripped off her top and pants and slipped the dress on over her head. The heavy satin slithered down and settled over her with a cool weight. She poked her head out to call Kylie and to check on Jeffy who was in his stroller, happily playing with a set of colored bangles.
Kylie buttoned her up, puffed the sleeves, and adjusted the fitted bodice that flared at the hip in swathes of ivory satin. “This dress couldn’t fit better if it was made for you. You look beautiful.”
“I feel like a princess.” Brianna gazed at her reflection in the three-way mirror, and then twirled around to check out the back. The fabric swished and swirled. She pictured herself walking down the aisle on her father’s arm while Angus waited at the altar, heartbreakingly handsome. Suddenly, the ghosts of lost dreams crowded in, filling her heart to aching point. She covered her face with her hands, as if she could block what she’d seen in her mind’s eye. “Undo me, quick.”
“But—”
“Please,” Brianna begged. “I need to take it off.”
By the time she was out of the dress and back into her own clothes, she’d recovered her outward composure but inside she was still trembling. Trying on the dress had been a huge mistake.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Kylie said when she emerged from the fitting room. “What’s wrong? We were just playing around.”
“I’m fine.” Brianna smiled sheepishly. “I guess I’m more superstitious than I thought. Don’t tell anyone I tried it on, okay?”
“Sure, but it’s no big deal.” Kylie’s dark eyes were sympathetic.
Out on the sidewalk, Brianna strode briskly away from the store, pushing Jeffy in the stroller. Dreams were for losers. From now on she would stick to reality.
Her phone rang. It was Angus.
“John Coates has workers we can subcontract,” he said. “The catch is, he wants Gordon to call and ask him himself.”
“I’m on my way to my parents’ place,” she replied. “I’ll run it past Dad and twist his arm if necessary. We need that hall built on time.”
“You’ll never guess,” Angus continued. “John and Gordon used to be best friends.”
“No way!” Brianna said. “How do you know?”
“I saw a photograph dated in the seventies. See what you can find out from your parents about those days,” Angus said. “Can we talk over dinner?”
She hesitated, worried dinner would set a dangerous precedent, and annoyed with herself for breaking every rule she set. On the other hand, was she being as stubborn as her father and John Coates, holding onto hurt and anger? Bottom line, the town was counting on the festival and that was more important than her difficulty in dealing with her feelings for Angus.
“I’ll meet you at the tavern at six,” she said, adding, “This is not a date.”
“Got it.” But a moment later her phone pinged again. Angus had sent her thumbs-up and fireworks emojis.
Brianna chuckled, and tried to ignore the bubble of excitement. It wasn’t a date. But it felt like one.
She crossed Finley Road and followed the lake path to where it ended in a small parking lot. A couple of houses down from there was her parents’ place. Her father was in the backyard tending to his bees, and her mom was in the living room browsing online for sandals.
“Hi, Jeffy,” Anita said, as Brianna lifted him out of the stroller. “I just made cookies. Do you want one?”
Jeffy nodded vigorously and toddled after Anita into the kitchen. She got the tot a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie and sat with him on her lap.
“How’s the festival planning going?” Anita asked. “Is everything on track and on schedule?”
“So far, so good.” Brianna snagged one of her mom’s homemade cookies. “Except that Angus needs more help on the build. He can sub from John Coates, if Dad will agree.”
“Gordon doesn’t like dealing with John.” Anita wiped Jeffy’s chocolate-smeared chin with a napkin.
“Why the antagonism?” Brianna asked. “Angus says they used to be best friends.”
“What makes Angus think that?” Anita got up and took Jeffy to the sink to rinse his hands. “I can’t imagine John telling him.”
“A photograph in John Coates’s office, that’s all I know,” Brianna said. “Angus seemed positive. What happened to make Coates and Dad enemies? Whatever it was must have been a long time ago if I don’t know what it is.”
Anita reached for a tea towel and thoroughly dried each tiny finger on Jeffy’s hands.
“Mom?” she prompted.
“They were best friends,” her mother said, finally. “When your dad first came to Sweetheart, he and John both worked for a construction company that’s gone out of business now but it’s where they learned log building. They hung out after work, played on the same football team.”
“I had no idea,” Brianna said. “Dad’s never mentioned that.”
“They were both very competitive,” Anita went on. “Everything they did, they measured themselves against each other. Back then their rivalry was of a friendly nature, but all that changed when…”
“When what?” Brianna said. “What happened? Why are your cheeks turning pink?”
“I dated John all through high school,” Anita said, jiggling Jeffy on her knee. “We had an understanding, an unspoken agreement that one day we would get married.”
“Wow.” Brianna’s mouth dropped open as the pieces fell into place. “Then Dad came along, you liked him better, and he and John Coates have been enemies ever since.”
“It’s not your father’s fault. It’s no one’s fault. I was having doubts about John even before Gordon came to town,” Anita said. “I would have broken up with him anyway. What made it awkward was that he introduced me to Gordon.”
“Still, it’s a long time to hold a grudge,” Brianna said, taking another cookie.
“It’s grown over time,” Anita told her. “When your dad started his own log home company, he asked John to work for him. Instead, John started his own company in competition. Tit for tat, it went on for years. Eventually John branched into commercial construction and that eased things somewhat. Until recently when your father agreed to build the community hall.”
“Oh, dear,” Brianna said.
“John probably sees the hall as Gordon expanding into his territory, which is simply not true. The hall is a special case, most likely a once-off,” Anita said. “Although what Blake does with the company when he takes over completely is up to him. John Coates has no quarrel with him.”
“It’s sad considering Dad and Coates were good friends once,” Brianna mused. “Dad had a falling out with Auntie Joyce for decades until Hayley brought them back together. The reasons were totally different, but the result was the same. He lost touch with someone he cared about.”
“That also happened to someone else I know,” Anita said gently.
Brianna met her moth
er’s gaze then dropped hers.
“Is there any chance you and Angus will reconcile?” Anita asked.
“I don’t know, Mom.” Brianna rose and went to the back door to look out the window. “He’s going away again. I don’t want to hold him back. He has big dreams.”
“Are you so sure you know what his dreams are?” Anita asked. “Five years is a long time. He might have changed.”
Brianna paced restlessly to the doorjamb to the laundry room and traced a finger over the etched lines and dates showing her and her brothers’ heights as they grew.
She’d certainly changed over the past five years. Maybe Angus had, too. How much did he really want to go to Sacramento? She’d never asked him. She was afraid of the answer in case it didn’t include her.
Well, that was a matter for another day. Right now, she had more pressing concerns.
“Could you watch Jeffy for a minute? I need to talk to Dad.”
Chapter Eight
Angus found a table in a quiet corner of the bar and ordered a beer for himself and a chardonnay for Brianna. A muted basketball game was playing on TV in the corner and from behind the bar came the tinkle of clean glasses being put away. The jukebox was playing a romantic country ballad, a song that had been popular when he and Brianna first starting seeing each other. If he’d stayed in Sweetheart instead of going away to college they could be married now, starting a family. He could have worked his way up in her father’s company.
Frowning, he took a swig of the bitter lager. It was bad enough that he’d worn her brother’s hand-me-down jackets as a kid. To use Brianna as a leg up on the ladder to success was unthinkable. No, he’d had no choice but to leave Sweetheart and make his own way so there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that if he was with Brianna it was for her own sweet self. He’d achieved what he’d set out to, but they’d both paid a price.
Brianna dropped into the chair opposite in a flurry of bouncing curls and a whiff of floral fragrance. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Did you find out anything?” he asked.
“Did I ever.” She leaned over the table and lowered her voice, speaking in a rush. “Mom dated John Coates when they were younger. They were going to get married. Then Dad moved to town and became friends with John who introduced him to Mom. Mom fell for Dad and dumped Coates. Although knowing Mom, I’m sure she was nice about it.”
“Wow.” Angus whistled, eyebrows raised. “No wonder there’s bad blood between your father and John.” He took a moment to absorb the implications. Without much hope, he asked, “Is your dad willing to ask Coates for the workers?”
“No.” Brianna sat back. “He says he doesn’t like being manipulated, and he won’t go begging. He’ll ask around other log home builders.”
“Good luck with that,” Angus said. “It’s spring, and construction is ramping up. We’ll just have to work longer hours.”
“Are we being unrealistic?” Brianna wondered. “Can you really make this happen in such a short time, or should I start looking for another venue?”
“I’ll do it, somehow or other. I won’t let you down.” He touched her hand and when she didn’t pull away, let his fingers rest there. “A problem often seems overwhelming at first. Break it down, bit by bit, and you can overcome any obstacle in your path.”
He’d never hoped that was true more than now. The woman sitting across from him was at once his greatest prize and biggest obstacle to happiness.
“You’ve certainly overcome every hardship in your life to get where you are,” she said. “If you say you can do this, I believe you.”
“That means a lot to me.” He squeezed her hand and released it. It wouldn’t pay to press his luck.
“You have so much confidence now,” Brianna said. “Were you always like this? I can’t recall.”
“I was always determined, but maybe not as confident back then,” he said.
“You were more laid-back and easygoing.” Brianna smiled. “We had fun together, goofing around.”
“You made me stop and smell the roses,” he said. “Otherwise, my whole life would have revolved around work.” Fulfilling and stimulating work, but work nonetheless. Sometimes he thought his ambition was a curse. If he hadn’t been so determined to get ahead, he might still be stripping logs for a living, but he’d be with Brianna.
“Remember when we swam from Finley Point to Kings Point carrying our picnic lunch in waterproof bags on our backs?” she said. “That was fun.”
“That was your idea of fun,” he said, grinning. “The water was freezing and I almost drowned.”
“Oh, you did not,” she scoffed teasingly. “We made it to the other side just fine.”
“We did.” He remembered lying on the grass under a warm July sun next to Brianna, her body wet and tanned. They’d known each other all their lives but those ten months they’d been together had been beyond special.
“I liked that you always knew what you wanted and went after it.” Brianna looked down, twisting the stem of her glass. “Are you sure you want to work for Coates? If he can hold a grudge for decades he might not be the best boss.”
“I don’t get along with him as well as I do with your father, but he’s fair,” Angus said. “More than fair when it comes to this new job. He gave me my contract today.”
“Oh.” She didn’t look happy at this. “What will you be doing exactly?”
“Construction manager, small commercial properties.” He pulled the contract out of his satchel and passed it over.
She paged through it and her eyes grew round when she saw his salary package. “No wonder you accepted the job. Although after what I learned today, I’m a little surprised that the fact that you used to work for my dad didn’t go against you.”
Angus stilled as a thought occurred to him. Gordon had said he wanted to hire him after he graduated. What if John knew that and his whole purpose in offering him this job was to stop him from going back to Gordon? It would explain the swift offer right after he’d graduated and the higher-than-average starting salary. Was Coates that petty, that devious?
“You haven’t signed,” Brianna observed.
“Haven’t gotten around to it.” Should he say something to Brianna about his theory? No, he had no proof. Still, it made him uneasy. He didn’t like the thought that he might be a pawn in John Coates’s feud with Gordon.
“So, will we go cycling to the orchard you mentioned tomorrow morning?” Brianna asked. “I’d love to get the latest photos up on the website first thing in the morning.”
“Sure,” Angus said, glad to change the subject. “I’ll come by your place at six.”
“Perfect,” she said happily. “It’s beautiful in the early mornings.”
“Now that that’s settled, let’s order dinner,” he said. “I’m starving.”
“Me, too.” She picked up a menu and then lowered it to smile at him again. “We make a good team.”
“We really do.” Angus smiled back. In more ways than one.
*
The next morning, Brianna sat on her steps, as excited as a kid about riding through the dawn. Excited, too, she had to admit, about seeing Angus again so soon.
The pale sky was streaked with pink and the birds were chirping their little hearts out when he coasted into her driveway.
“Ready?” he said, straddling his bike.
“You bet.” She fastened on her helmet and tucked her phone into the pack at the back of the seat.
“Hang on.” Angus got off to inspect her bicycle, picking it up and spinning the wheels, then testing the hardness of the tires. “You said you haven’t ridden it in a while.”
“It’s perfectly fine. I changed the back inner tube last night.” She’d forgotten how protective he was. She could have been irked that he didn’t seem to think she could handle something as simple as bike maintenance, but she knew it was only because he cared. After everything that had happened, he still cared.
“Did you test the brake
s?”
Shoot.
“I’ll do it now.” Brianna hopped on and they headed out, crossing Finley Road into quiet residential streets. She squeezed her brakes, first the front and then the back. “All good.”
Angus gave her a thumbs-up.
Before long they were out of town and pedaling two abreast down gently winding back roads lined with poplars. Then the sun topped the mountain peaks, gilding the tops of barn roofs while the waving heads of unmown grass on the verge still lay in shadow. Brianna breathed in the fresh, cool air, and her heart lifted.
Angus signaled with his arm and turned down a dirt track. A moment later, they entered an orchard, riding through rows of lichen-covered trunks of cherry trees that had been planted after the Second World War. Clusters of buds with emerging florets glowed at the end of leafless branches.
When they were deep in the orchard, surrounded by trees, Angus came to a halt. Brianna dismounted, set the kickstand, then took off her helmet and shook out her curls. She retrieved her camera from the pouch and leaned in to inspect the blossoms on a low hanging branch. The florets had extended out of the sepals but the petals were still folded.
“Definitely stage three, and halfway to stage four.” She focused on the cluster of blossoms, set the flash, and snapped a picture.
“If you wait a few more minutes, you’ll have better natural light,” Angus said, studying the sky and the treetops. “The sun is hitting the top branches.”
“Hold this a moment.” Brianna handed him the camera and, grasping a branch above her head, she put a foot into the cleft of the trunk and hoisted herself up. “Hand me the camera.”
Angus passed it to her. “You’re not going to climb all the way to the top.”
“Watch me.” She grinned. “Any kid that grows up in Sweetheart knows how to climb trees.”
Nimbly, she scaled the tree, reaching for limbs and hauling herself up until she was in the uppermost branches. Hooking an arm around the swaying trunk, she leaned out to take a photo of a blossom.
“They are farther advanced up here,” she called excitedly. “I see one that I’m positive is at stage four. Things are happening quickly now.”