by Beth Wiseman
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” He wondered if she was thinking about Brendan, but he didn’t want to spoil the moment and ask. Pam had certainly crossed his mind, but he assumed that was normal. He’d been with Pam for a long time. Alyssa was the first person he’d kissed since he and Pam had broken up, and the kiss was every bit as good as he’d suspected it would be. He leaned forward and covered her mouth with his again, and even though she responded to him, he could feel hesitation.
He forced himself to pull back again. He brushed a kiss across her forehead, then another one on her cheek. As he gazed into her eyes, he made another mental note to take things slow with her. “First kiss since Brendan?” He held his breath for a few moments, wishing he hadn’t asked, but hoping she would throw him a bone, tell him how great a kisser he was—the way Pam always had.
She just nodded. “Yes.”
“I’m willing to go as slow as you want, Alyssa.” He reached for both her hands, then guided her to the couch. After they sat down, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. Just that simple act made him want to lay her down right there. Sex had certainly been the highlight of his relationship with Pam, and he yearned to make it part of his life with Alyssa. She was sweet, emotional, and sensual—not to mention gorgeous. Sex with her was bound to be amazing. But he truly cared about Alyssa, so he was willing to wait.
But not forever.
Brendan sat on the side of his bed opening and closing the little box that housed Alyssa’s engagement ring. It wasn’t the biggest and most expensive ring in the world, but the expression on her face when Brendan gave her the diamond was forever etched in his mind. “It’s perfect,” she’d said through her tears.
A week after the wedding date, Sherry had shown up at his work with the ring. “Alyssa said to get your money back,” she’d told him. But as tight as things were, he’d never been able to bring himself to do that. And he was still kicking himself for all the money he’d spent trying to woo her back. At the time he would have done anything to have her back in his arms. But now that she was with Dalton, he’d quit wasting his money and time over the past couple of months. Brendan knew that the money he could get for the ring would help his mother with prescriptions that weren’t covered by insurance.
He put the ring in his pocket, then walked through the living room past the Christmas tree. Brendan wasn’t in the spirit of the holidays, but his mother had wanted a tree, so Brendan had brought one home and decorated it for her. He stopped at the door to his parents’ bedroom and tapped lightly on the door. “Mom?” His father opened the door. “I’m off work today, but I’m leaving to run some errands. How’s Mom?”
“Not so good today.” Dad rubbed his eyes. “That last round of chemo really took it out of her.”
Brendan had noticed some changes in his father over the past couple of months. It was like his mother’s cancer had snapped him into being a better man. Things were far from perfect, but he’d slowed way down on the drinking when Mom quit completely. She’d done it when she started the chemo treatments, said it made her sick to her stomach. But Brendon suspected there was more to it than that. Maybe thoughts of her own mortality had fueled the decision to quit.
Dad looked up, and Brendan saw fear in his eyes. For all their fights, all their faults—his parents truly did love each other. It was a shame it had taken something like this for them to start making changes.
“Do you need me to stay home or stay with her?”
“No. I’m here if she needs anything.”
Brendan stuffed his hand into his pocket and fumbled with the small box. “Okay. I’m going to go return Alyssa’s ring. You can use the money I get to help with Mom’s bills.”
His father rubbed his eyes again. “You take that money and do something for yourself. Buy yourself something for Christmas. We’ll make do. And don’t be gone too long. Storm’s supposed to hit this afternoon.” His father closed the bedroom door.
Brendan stood there for a few moments, still shocked at his father’s change of behavior. Maybe fear does that to a man. Fear had certainly wrecked Brendan’s life. As for buying himself something, he couldn’t think of anything he needed or wanted.
Except Alyssa.
He plucked his coat from the rack by the front door and buttoned it up on the way to his truck. It had been unseasonably cold the past week, and now they were under a winter storm watch. Folks in town were saying they might even have a white Christmas.
Brendan doubted that. Snow was rare in Texas, especially this early into the winter. But things could definitely get icy, and that’s what they were predicting for later today—frigid temps, high winds, freezing rain, and sleet. That could pretty much shut down the town, since no one knew how to drive in that kind of weather. He remembered his uncle from Minnesota laughing when Brendan’s father said they couldn’t leave the house because there was ice on the roads.
So far the roads were okay, though. He turned the corner into the town square, wondering if he’d run into Alyssa. The jewelry shop was right next to Jillian’s Boutique, where she worked. He eyed the lampposts and the shop windows all decorated for Christmas and thought about the holidays last year with Alyssa.
We were so happy. Why did I have to mess things up?
He’d seen Dalton and Alyssa in Dalton’s shiny red truck a few times, but he’d managed to avoid any direct contact since that disastrous encounter at Monument Hill three months ago. He’d heard through the small-town gossip loop that things were getting serious between her and Dalton, so he’d tried to avoid the places where they might be—including church. He’d started going to a church in Schulenburg, about fifteen miles from La Grange—just far enough away that no one knew his story. His parents had even gone with him a few times. At times Brendan almost felt like they were a normal family.
As he pulled into the parking lot, he spotted Alyssa’s car right away, and an overwhelming desire to see her overtook him. Getting out of his truck, he walked toward the glass window that ran the length of the boutique. A guy Brendan didn’t recognize was pouring kitty litter on the sidewalk in front of the jewelry store. Brendan was pretty sure you did that after the ice formed, not before.
As he passed the boutique window, he leaned in close to the glass, looking for Alyssa. There she was. And there was Dalton too, kissing her. Brendan forced himself to watch. It was his own self-inflicted punishment for letting her get away. But he should have pried himself from the scene before Dalton came out of the shop.
“Brendan.” Dalton stopped in front of him, frowning. “You’re not here to bother Alyssa, are you?”
“Nope.” Brendan wanted to punch Dalton in the gut, just because. But instead he nodded toward the jeweler’s. “I have business next door.” He tipped back the rim of his Stetson. “I was just wondering if Jillian and Alyssa were, uh, ready for the storm.”
Dalton stuffed his hands in the pockets of his coat, teeth chattering. “Jillian already left, and Alyssa is getting ready to close up shop so she can get home before it gets icy. I’ve gotta go home and wrap my pipes before Alyssa and I get together tonight.”
Brendan nodded. If Dalton had meant the comment to sting, it did.
“Listen, you should probably know that, uh, I asked Alyssa to marry me, and she said yes.”
Brendan felt the breath rush from his lungs as his knees went weak. “After three months?” Who gets married after dating for three months?
“Well, it will be ten months by the time we get married in July, and we don’t see any reason to wait. We’ve known each other since we were kids, and we both know what we want.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I just didn’t want you to hear it on the streets.”
Alyssa will have her July wedding after all. Her mother had gotten married in July, and so had her grandmother and great-grandmother. And if Brendan hadn’t blown it, Alyssa would have married him in July.
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. He sig
hed, but then forced himself to meet the eyes of the man who would be sharing his life with Alyssa. He held out his hand. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. Hey, how is your mom doing?”
Brendan was still trying to picture Alyssa married to Dalton. “Um, the chemo’s been rough, but she’s almost done, and the doctor says things are going pretty well.”
“Good news. Give your parents my best.” Dalton gave a quick wave and headed down the sidewalk, but he looked back several times, probably to make sure Brendan didn’t go into the boutique. Brendan was tempted, but he made himself walk on. In light of this news, there was definitely no reason to hang on to Alyssa’s ring. He edged past the guy pouring kitty litter everywhere, and hurried inside the jewelry store.
Charlie Wetherall was behind the counter. Normally Brendan looked forward to any visit with Charlie. The old-timer was full of great stories about La Grange, including first-hand tales about the notorious Chicken Ranch—the illegal (but tolerated) brothel that used to operate a couple of miles outside of town. Some news reporter from Houston had gotten it shut down back in the seventies. But since then there had been a movie about it starring Dolly Parton, and “La Grange,” the song about it by ZZ Top, still got a lot of play on local radio stations. But not many people remembered the place like Charlie did, because he’d done odd jobs on the property. Or so he said.
Brendan usually found the old guy’s stories fascinating, but not today. He just wasn’t in the mood. His heart was heavy as he pulled the small box from his pocket, opened it, and put it on the counter.
“I was just wondering if I could return this.” He held his breath, tempted to grab the box back and run out of the store. Or run next door and beg Alyssa not to marry Dalton. But he kept his feet rooted to the floor while Charlie inspected the half-carat diamond in its dainty white-gold setting. Dalton had probably gotten Alyssa a much larger ring.
“You sure about this?” Charlie drew his thick gray eyebrows together.
Dalton nodded. “Yes, sir. I have the receipt if you need it.”
Charlie picked up the ring and looked it over. “I don’t think that will necessary. Be right back.”
As Brendan waited, the kid who had been scattering kitty litter on the sidewalk came inside, his teeth chattering. “Hey,” he said as he walked around to where Charlie had been standing. “Can I help you with something?”
Who was this kid anyway? He didn’t look like he could be over fifteen or sixteen, and Brendan didn’t remember seeing him before. “Are you new here?”
“I’m Charlie’s nephew. I’m just here for the Christmas holidays.” He extended his hand. “I’m Jeremy.”
“Nice to meet you.” Brendan shook his hand and looked past him, hoping Charlie would hurry back.
“I was just trying to get ready since they say we’re gonna get pounded. Bastrop is getting hit right now. Lots of rain and sleet and real bad winds. We heard on the radio that people are sliding all over the road. Lots of wrecks.”
Brendan turned around and looked outside. Though the gray clouds seemed lower than when he’d walked in, it was eerily still. But Bastrop was only about thirty miles from La Grange. “You sure? I thought we weren’t going to get the brunt of it until later this afternoon or this evening.”
“That’s what we thought too, but this storm is crazy. You see on TV what it did in Oklahoma last night?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think it will get that bad here. I hope not anyway.” Brendan was wondering if he should go back home and check on their house. But the place had been around for over a hundred years. Surely it could weather an ice storm.
Charlie came from the back room. “I see you met my nephew?”
Brendan nodded as Charlie handed him an envelope. “Here you go, son. I’m sorry things worked out the way they did. I’ve refunded all your money.”
Brendan hadn’t expected to get all the money back. “Thanks, Charlie. I appreciate it.” He glanced over his shoulder again toward outside. “Jeremy said the storm is already in Bastrop.”
“That’s what I hear. We’re getting ready to close up and head home. We’ve done all we can do here. Pipes out back are wrapped, and I want to be home with Evelyn before the streets get icy.” He pointed toward the back. “Jeremy, go make sure the coffeepot is turned off. Then let’s head to the house.”
Jeremy shuffled to the back. “He’s a good kid,” Charlie said. He smiled, then whispered, “Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but then neither is my brother.” He chuckled, and for a few seconds, Brendan worried Charlie was leading into another story about the Chicken Ranch. He quickly stuffed the envelope with the money in his back pocket.
“Thanks again, Charlie.” He waved before he turned and walked out the door. Small drops of icy rain began to splat around him as he crossed over to his truck. But he sat there a while, hoping to catch a glimpse of Alyssa. He really needed to talk to her now, hear the news of her engagement from her own mouth. He was still sitting there when Charlie and Jeremy locked up the shop and headed to their own vehicle. Brendan finally talked himself into leaving and had just put the truck in reverse when his cell phone rang.
“Dad, is Mom okay?” His heart raced because his father rarely called him.
“Yes, but I was calling to tell you to stay off the roads. I just heard on TV that there’s ice on the bluff. Two cars slid over the side already. The weather alert system is going off continuously, and the storm isn’t even here yet.”
Brendan didn’t like driving the bluff when it was raining, much less covered in ice. It was a narrow part of the two-lane highway with several hairpin turns. And it was the only way home without going many miles out of the way. “Okay,” he said, still adjusting to his dad behaving like a dad. “Do you think you and Mom will be okay?”
“I think so. We’ll hunker down and stay off the roads. I don’t remember a storm like this in years.”
Thank you, Lord, for keeping my dad sober so he can take care of my mother. Brendan had thanked God every day since his father had eased up on the drinking. “Okay, I’ll stay somewhere in town, and I’ll see you when it clears up.”
Brendan hung up and was thinking about where to go when the door of Jillian’s Boutique flung wide. Alyssa removed the big wreath from the door and took it inside. Brendan hurried out of the truck. But he found he needed to walk carefully because it was beginning to sleet, and ice had already formed in a few places on the sidewalk. He made it to the boutique just as Alyssa was locking the door.
“Hey.”
Alyssa spun to face him. “Brendan.” She brought a hand to her chest. Her left hand. The one with a big giant rock on her third finger. “What are you doing here?” she asked him.
She glanced at her watch and avoided his eyes. “I have to go. I’m late, and . . .” She put her hands in the pockets of her coat, then stepped around him. He grabbed her arm, but she shook loose.
“Brendan, I have to go.”
“My dad just called, and two cars went over the bluff. It’s covered in ice and that’s your only way home too. The storm is coming through faster than we thought.”
She peered out into the wet street. “I’ll drive really slow.” She took two steps, then turned back around. “Do—do you know who went over the edge? Dalton just left here, and . . .”
Brendan saw worry etched across her beautiful face. “I don’t know. But Alyssa, please don’t get on the road right now.”
“I’ll be careful.” She stepped over the curb. And down she went.
Brendan slid across the patch of ice and offered her his hand. “Are you hurt?”
She huffed. “No. But I’m supposed to meet Dalton.” Her teeth were chattering, and Brendan’s cheeks burned from the frigid air.
“Can we please go back into the boutique and warm up? Maybe a cup of coffee? We don’t need to be driving, and I really want to talk to you.”
Alyssa had missed Brendan more than she’d ever admit to anyone, and knowing that left a
sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t want to miss him. Or care one little bit about him. She had a wonderful man now, someone she trusted not to hurt her the way Brendan did. Someone who wouldn’t walk away from her in front of the entire town.
“Here.” She led him into the little break room in back of the store and busied herself with filling the coffeepot. “What do you want to talk to me about?” She wished she had a button she could push, an invisible shield of sorts—something to protect her heart from whatever he had to say. He sat down and motioned for her to join him at the table.
Before she could take a seat, Alyssa felt her phone vibrating in her coat pocket just as Brendan’s phone started ringing. She recognized his ring tone—“Kokomo,” by the Beach Boys. Brendan loved the beach as much as Alyssa did, and as her phone continued to vibrate, she thought of the many trips they had taken to Galveston, Freeport, and Port Aransas. She was lost in memories when she finally reached for her phone. It had already gone to voicemail. When she looked at Brendan, she knew something was wrong, so she waited until he hung up.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Alyssa took a step closer to him. “Is your mom okay?”
Brendan stood up and paced the small room. “That was my dad again.” The color had drained from his face. “Two people have already died in car accidents between here and Bastrop.”
Alyssa checked her voicemail as her heart pounded in her chest. How could she have missed a call from Dalton? She was mad at herself for allowing Brendan to distract her. But relief washed over her when she heard Dalton’s voice. He told her not to get on the road at all. Begged her not to. He said he was sliding all over the place.
She hit End on her phone and put it in her pocket. When she looked up, Brendan was staring at her. She met his gaze, then quickly looked away.
How long could she stay cooped up with Brendan before he saw right through her?