Eagle River

by Isabelle Kane

  It was then that Galen turned from chatting softly with one of the bridesmaids to look at Kjersten.

  Her gaze locked with his and her breath caught. There was naked longing in his gaze, desire for her, and it consumed her, set her aflame. Suddenly, the two of them were locked in a moment. There was a depth to his look that pierced through her and ensnared her. There was so much in his eyes, knowledge of himself and of her, and a nearly painful yearning suddenly stirred to life and echoed in Kjersten’s soul.

  Found, I feel found, and I didn’t know I was lost.

  “Hey,” Cat whispered and elbowed her, breaking the spell. “Don’t be so obvious.”

  “What?” Kjersten asked.

  “You two look like you’re going to eat each other alive. The girlfriend’s noticing. He does have a date, you know. You two are so not happening tonight.”

  Kjersten looked up and found Sarah’s eyes upon her, speculation in them. Still, she couldn’t resist glancing back at Galen. He was still looking right at her, seemingly oblivious to all of the people around them. His gaze seared her, nearly tangible. Every part of her ached for him. Did I even understand that I still cared this much when I lost him? Somehow it hurts more now. Maybe we were too young before, too inexperienced to know what we had. Awareness of each other was a live current passing through the air between them, connecting them, drawing them together, back to each other.

  “Man, you two got it bad,” Cat commented.

  Kjersten glanced down then, breaking the connection. He has a date, maybe a girlfriend, so why does he look at me like that? Does he still feel something for me? I can’t speak to him here or at the reception, but when will I see him again? Her eyes felt suspiciously full and she swallowed the tears rising in her throat.

  “I feel sick,” Cam’s date announced loudly from her seat near the other end of the boat, breaking the spell. She turned and rushed down the length of the pontoon to where Kjersten and Cat were sitting. She climbed up on the bench, staring down at the water.

  “What?” Cat asked.

  “I think I’m going to throw up. It’s either the mojitos or the water or...” Suddenly, the girl leaned over the side of the pontoon and began to vomit into the lake.

  “Oh, gross,” someone commented.

  Both Sarah and Galen stood up and shifted away from the sick girl.

  “You okay?” Kjersten asked.

  Cat reached over and pulled the girl’s hair back.

  “Cam?” Kjersten called. “Your date needs help.”

  Cam took a step back under the Bimini cover, took in the scene of the miserable and ill girl, and then growled, “Can this get any worse? Paige, you’re just embarrassing.”

  The sick girl began to sob miserably.

  “Come on, Cam. Have a heart,” Kjersten protested. “She’s in bad shape.”

  “She’s pathetic.” Cam scowled, turning away.

  “Cam, you’re such an asshole,” Cat exclaimed. “You need to take care of her.”

  “I didn’t sign up to babysit. Obviously, she can’t handle her booze. She can go to our room when we get to the lodge.”

  “Seriously Cam. You need to step up here,” Kjersten insisted.

  “I don’t have to do a damn thing, including listening to you. You always were a bossy bitch, Kjersten.”

  “Don’t you call her that,” Galen broke in.

  “Come on, Odgers. You know she’s a bitch, a hot one, I’ll give you that, but a bitch.”

  That was all it took. Galen pushed through the crowd, took a swing, and clipped Cam in the chin. Then he stood, fists raised, on the balls of his feet, ready to fight.

  “Stop them!” the pontoon driver shouted.

  Cam also clenched his fists, clearly ready and eager to go, but then, to Kjersten’s amazement, he took a deep breath, straightened up and adjusted his jacket. “You know, Kjersten, Galen, you two deserve each other. Everyone here knows you want to fuck her and from the looks of it, she wants to jump your bones, too. You’ve been eye fucking each other the whole time we’ve been on this boat. Just go get the job done, Galen. Maybe she’ll show you some of the things I taught her. I know you’ll appreciate them.” With that, he turned away and walked to the other end of the boat, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.

  Kjersten closed her eyes. Let me disappear right now. Don’t let me be on this boat, going to this reception. Let it be over with now. She didn’t dare look at Sarah, Galen’s date.

  “Wow,” Cat mouthed to Kjersten, once awkward conversations had started back up. “Wow, am I glad that I came.”

  The island and the brilliantly illuminated, glassed in gazebo where the reception was taking place finally came into view.

  Cam jumped out as soon as they docked. He didn’t say a word to anyone and just ditched his date. Cat and Kjersten were left to maneuver Paige over to the gang plank and then into Olson’s lodge, where they handed her off to Maggie’s mother. Galen and Sarah left the pontoon in a whispered but clearly heated conversation.

  Charmingly decorated for the reception, the great room of the Eagle River lodge looked magnificent from the towering stone fireplace to the barrel vaulted ceilings. The woodsy décor had been given a rustic chic wedding makeover with foliage chains adorned with tiny white lights and multicolored lush cabbage roses. The rectangular head table was raised on a dais and looked out over the other round guest tables. Kjersten, who was seated at the head table, was relieved to find herself at the opposite end from Cam and Galen. Despite her best intentions, she caught herself stealing glances at Galen. Stop it. He’s here with that Sarah girl. I’m not going there. As for Cam, he had already found another attractive female wedding guest to sit with him. Cat appeared to be having a good time with another one of Coach’s former players, a big guy who had graduated a few years before Kjersten.

  “They look so happy,” Tami, the bridesmaid seated beside her commented.

  “What?” Kjersten said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

  “Tom and Maggie. He doesn’t take his eyes off her and she’s glowing.”

  Kjersten truly looked at Maggie and Tom, but for a moment another face, a beautiful one with red gold hair, filled her mind’s eye. Jessica Odgers. Kjersten shook her head. Why think of Mrs. Odgers? Tonight is about Maggie and Tom. They did look brilliantly happy. Tom also appeared relaxed and content, not a demeanor that he usually wore. One of Maggie’s young daughters was on her mother’s lap and the other was seated between Maggie and Tom. The bride was radiant in her old fashioned, A-line lace gown. They looked like a family, like they were meant to be together. Kjersten was so very happy for them and what they had together, but she also ached with loneliness.

  * * * *

  This evening sucks. Why did I bother to come? Coach is too busy to talk. There’s no one else here that I want to talk to at all. And with Kjersten and Cat here, could things get any worse? From his seat at the head table, he glanced over at the red head who’d been giving him the eye earlier. She smiled at him again. She’s not bad and at least I won’t have to go back to the room with Paige.

  Just then, someone began to clink a fork against the glass.

  “Kiss. Kiss!” someone shouted.

  Smiling, Tom drew Maggie to her feet. He turned and smiled with tenderness at her.

  Cam leaned a little forward in his seat, looking around the other bridal party members to get a better view of the bride and groom.

  Odgers was blocking his view, since he, too, was leaning forward and looking up at the newlyweds. Cam glared at Galen, who, unfortunately, didn’t look his way. Maggie said something, and both Galen and Coach turned their heads toward the bride, in Cam’s direction.

  Holy shit. Their profiles are the same, Cam observed. Their noses, their lips, their jaws, all of the lineaments were the same. They could be father and son. Cam rose to his feet, to get a better view. He studied Galen’s features and Coach’s, and then he glanced over to another table where Kyle Odgers and Sandra Odger
s O’Brien sat. Those two siblings definitely resembled each other. On the other hand, Galen resembled his brother and sister only in coloring, the fair hair and skin. Cam glanced back at Coach and Galen, looking closely. The builds were the same, the broadness of shoulder and thickness of thigh, the large, deep socketed eyes, though Tom’s were blue and Galen’s were brown. Even their very smiles were the same.

  Suddenly, a realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. Why didn’t I guess before? Why hasn’t anyone else noticed? Odgers is Coach Murray’s kid! That explains everything.

  Cam was unable to take his eyes off Coach or Galen. How could they have kept this secret for so many years in a small town where everyone knew everyone else’s business? How could no one else have guessed? No wonder Coach had treated Galen as if he was special. He was his kid and I was just one of his players. Does Odgers even know?

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Promise

  ~ Kjersten ~

  It was time for Tom and Maggie’s first dance. “Please join me at the dance floor,” the DJ directed, “for Mr. and Mrs. Murray’s first dance.”

  The music opened with fanfare and then there was only Harry Connick’s voice and he was crooning “It had to be you” while Tom led Maggie out onto the dance floor and twirled her once and then drew her into his arms. The crowd pressed in close and tight around the dance floor. Kjersten became aware of a tall, hard body on her left side. She looked over. Galen! He smiled that devastating half grin that had her melting inside. Curiously, she looked around for his date, but Sarah was nowhere to be seen. He moved right up behind her as the crowd pressed closer. Suddenly, she became aware of the rich musky scent of his cologne, of him. She longed desperately to lean closer into him, but she resisted the urge, with so many people around.

  Suddenly, she felt long, warm fingers reach down and entangle with hers. He’s holding my hand. Electric currents shot up her arm. She couldn’t breathe and felt nearly faint though there was only the most minimal of touches between them, fingers just barely intertwined. She didn’t dare to look at him. God, don’t let the song end. Please let this moment last forever. Aware that the lights had been dimmed for the First Dance, Kjersten closed her eyes and let the moment take her. Ever so gently, she squeezed his fingers back. There was magic, heat, music, and nearly excruciating awareness of the man beside her, touching her. Still, she had to ask. “Sarah?” Leaning towards him, she whispered the name so that only he could hear it.

  “I told her,” he whispered back.

  “What?”

  “About you... About us.”

  Us. For a moment, she felt as if she would swoon. This can’t be real.

  “Come with me, now.”

  “Won’t she be in your room?”

  “I got her her own room. It’ll just be us. I want you. Now. Tonight.”

  “Is she your girlfriend?” Kjersten looked directly up at him.

  “No, just my date. A friend. I won’t say she understood. We probably aren’t friends anymore, but she knows.”

  “Okay.” The word was a whispered promise, and Galen’s eyes on her became hot, hungry, and possessive.

  Hope and hunger coursed through Kjersten.

  The DJ broke in, “Let’s give a round of applause to Mr. and Mrs. Murray and let’s welcome the rest of the bridal party onto the dance floor.”

  Suddenly, one of the groomsmen, a former teammate of Coach’s who was likely the same age as Kjersten’s father, appeared before her. “Would you care to dance?” he asked.

  Kjersten glanced longingly back at Galen. “Later,” he mouthed to her. “I’ll find you. I promise.”

  She nodded, and allowed the groomsman to lead her onto the dance floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Unexpected News

  ~ Galen ~

  Galen stood and watched Kjersten gracefully move over the dance floor. Then, in no mood to dance, himself, he made his way over to the bar. It’s going to happen! We’re going to get back together! Aware of a twinge of guilt over Sarah, he decided he would send her an apology. But I can’t let this opportunity go. This is once-in-a-lifetime. I can’t risk losing Kjersten again. I have to seize this opportunity. Sure, we’re both a mess, but together, we are okay.

  He walked up to the bar where a few guests lingered. “I’d like a Windsor Sour,” he said to the bartender.

  “Odgers.” Cam Fawst nodded at him, an odd look on his face. Cam was seated a little further down the bar. His tie was undone and his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the thick mat of dark hair on his chest. “The drink’s on me,” he stated to the bartender.

  “Thanks,” Galen responded automatically, his mind still on Kjersten and what the evening ahead promised. He wasn’t about to let Cam ruin the magic. I won’t think about the two of them together. We’ve all made mistakes.

  “You know,” Cam’s voice was deep and dark. “Coach looks happy with his little Phy Ed teacher. I don’t get it. That guy played in the NFL. So why did he stay in this little pisshole of a town?”

  “Maybe its home to him. Thanks for the drink.” Turning away from Cam, Galen took a long swallow.

  “I’ll have what he’s having,” Cam ordered.

  “Got it,” the bartender agreed.

  “You know, I used to pretend or maybe wish that Tom Murray was my dad,” Cam commented once the bartender had moved away.

  “Look, Cam, I appreciate the drink, but you and I have really nothing to say to each other. So, let’s just drop the social bullshit.”

  “I don’t know much about my real dad. Just his name really. Never had anything to do with him. Did you know that?”

  “No,” Galen replied, though he’d suspected as much.

  “My mom dated Coach for a while. Just like a month or so when I was ten. He got me into football.”

  “That’s great, but I’m really not interested in anything you have to say. I shouldn’t have hit you on the pontoon, and I’m sorry for that, but that’s it.” Galen turned away.

  “Oh you should be interested because I know something that concerns you. Coach didn’t really date anyone seriously until Maggie came along. He and my mom just hooked up for a while. You see, Tom was mourning the loss of the love of his life.”

  Galen didn’t react.

  “It turns out the woman he loved didn’t want him. At least that was Bethany’s story. Bethany’s my mom, though you probably know that. She lives in Waukesha now, but she knows everything and anything that has ever happened in this town. Well, I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with her. I had this idea, more of a suspicion actually, and I wanted to ask her about it. At first, she wouldn’t say anything, she said it was someone else’s secret. But then, she came clean. You want to know what I learned tonight?”

  “No.” Galen began to walk away, but Cam, moving quickly, grabbed his arm, stopping him.

  “Oh, but you should. It’s about a secret, an old one, and it concerns you. Actually it is about you.”

  Galen went cold.

  “You know that woman that Coach loved. Well, she was your mother, and she and Coach were together before your dad had that accident. But the thing is, that guy isn’t even your real dad. Murray is.”

  “Shut up!” There was a roaring in Galen’s ears. “Shut the fuck up,” he repeated.

  “I only figured it out tonight. I don’t know how they kept the secret all these years. It’s obvious now, though. Look in the mirror, Odgers. You two look so much alike. I wonder how many other people have figured out that Tom Murray is your dad.”

  Galen said nothing. Tom Murray is your dad. The words echoed through his mind. It explained so much and yet it couldn’t, shouldn’t be true. Mom! The word was a cry from his soul. Why didn’t you tell me?

  “You know, it used to bug the crap out of me that Coach paid so much attention to you. But now it makes sense. It wasn’t because you were a special player or anything, but because you were his kid. Thinking about it, I wasn’t his son, but
he took an interest in me. Shit, looking back, I can’t understand why I was ever jealous of you at all. He had to be interested in you. Me, I was the special one.”

  “You’re fucking crazy.” Galen turned away.

  Cam leaned up against the bar on his elbow. He swirled his drink in his hand and then offered Galen a lopsided grin. “At least I already knew that I was a bastard. Seems like it’s news to you.”

  Galen nearly ran out of the bar.

  * * * *

  Kyle eyed the deep, plunging neckline on the curvy bleached blond seated beside him. “So, you were a couple of years ahead of me in school, right? You were in my sister’s class?”

  “No.” The woman took a sip of her wine and leaned closer, pressing her breasts together. “I am a year younger than she is. You sure you don’t remember me? Cassie, Cassie Cramer?” She pressed her breasts together and leaned them up against his arm.

  “Honey, I wouldn’t forget someone who looks like you.”

  “Well, I did look different back then. I was heavier and my hair was brown. I also had braces.”

  Kyle studied the pert face before him. “Well, let’s make up for lost time now.” He leaned forward, his eyes on the full red lips.

  “Kyle! Kyle!” A hand firmly gripped his shoulder. “Galen?” He turned to look at his brother. “This cute, little lady is Cassie and—”

  “I need to talk to you... now.”

  “Slow down and say ‘hi’ to Cassie, here.”

  “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, lady, but I need to talk to my brother now. He’ll find you in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, I’ll just go get a drink.”

  “Don’t go far,” Kyle called to her, letting go of her hand as she left the table.

  Just then, Sandra appeared at the side of the table. She looked stunning in a green silk dress with her auburn hair piled artistically on her head. “Joe said you wanted to see me.”

  “What’s this about?” Kyle demanded. “That girl is totally hot for me, so it better be good.”