Let It Snow (The Hope Falls Series)

by Melanie Shawn

  Amanda didn’t look like she’d aged a day since the last time Tessa had seen her. Her blond hair and fresh face looked exactly how Tessa remembered her. Tessa had always thought that she resembled one of the porcelain dolls her grandma had collected, and that was still what Amanda reminded her of.

  She saw a wedding picture hanging on the wall of Amanda and Justin. It made Tessa’s heart fill and ache at the same time. It was great to see that she had gotten her happily ever after, but at the same time it made Tessa wish that she had gotten hers as well.

  “What’ll you have? White or red?” Lauren asked, holding up two bottles.

  “Oh, none for me. I’m driving,” Tessa said.

  “I can take you. I’m just having water,” Amy offered as she lifted her bottle in the air.

  Amy looked different as well. Jake’s little sister had worn glasses and always had her hair pulled up in a ponytail with her nose in a book when Tessa had known her. Now her light brown hair flowed beautifully around her face. She no longer wore her wire-framed glasses, and Tessa noticed for the first time how large and blue her eyes were.

  From what Sue Ann had told her, Amy had just recently started dating and now lived with Henry’s nephew, Matt, who, like Amy, was a teacher at the high school. Sue Ann had said—in a whispered voice—that Matt had lost his wife tragically years earlier and had moved to town to start over. From the glow Amy had, it looked like things were going well.

  A glass of wine did sound like the best thing since the invention of Twinkies, but she had to decline. “No, it’s okay. I’ve got my car.”

  “Oh, it’ll be fine in the parking lot.” Amanda assured her. “You can come pick it up tomorrow.”

  “Are you sure?” Tessa asked both Amanda and Amy.

  Both girls nodded in unison.

  Well, who was she to turn down a ride and a glass of wine? Especially after the day—no scratch that, years—she’d had. “Red.”

  Lauren’s lips turned up into a small smile. “Girl after my own heart. All of these lightweights always go white.”

  From the looks of the three empty bottles of Pinot Grigio on the table, Lauren was not kidding.

  Tessa heard the front door opening behind her just as a girl who looked exactly like a young Sofia Vergara walked through the door. Her long dark hair hung loose, she didn’t have a stitch of makeup on, she wore black leggings and a loose sweatshirt, and somehow she managed to look more put together than Tessa did when she spent hours getting ready.

  “Hey! Sorry I’m late. The senior ladies wanted me to show them how to give a lap dance after Burlesque class.”

  Tessa almost spit out her wine. Luckily she only choked a little bit. It’s not that there was anything wrong with lap dances. It was just not something she usually heard in the same sentence as “senior ladies.”

  “Please tell me Renata was not one of them,” Karina said flatly.

  Tessa remembered Renata Blackstone as a stern disciplinarian. She was tall and thin and always wore her long hair pulled back tight and braided down her back. She was Karina’s grandmother, and she had raised her. Tessa didn’t know where Karina’s parents were, but she did remember going out to the reservation where Karina had lived, nestled in the hills beside Hope Falls, to do a photography project with her.

  Somehow Tessa could not imagine the Renata that had given Tessa a stern talking to for wearing too much eyeliner, getting tips on lap dances.

  The gorgeous dark-haired girl pursed her lips and her eyes widened before repeating verbatim with a flat tone, “Renata was not one of them.”

  Karina moaned and shook her head. Tessa laughed. She’d only been around this new girl for a minute and she already liked her.

  Nikki popped up from her seat. “Tessa, have you met Lily, Eric’s fiancée?”

  Tessa smiled as she stood and held out her hand. “Oh, no, It’s nice to meet you.”

  Lily’s face lit up. “You too. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “You have?” What could she have possibly heard? Tessa had only gotten to town yesterday.

  Tessa’s reaction must have seemed like more than just surprise because Lily began explaining. “Oh no, nothing bad. Sorry.” Lily waved her hands like she hadn’t meant to say that. “Eric just told me that you were Jake’s ‘one that got away.’”

  The room went quiet and Tessa could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Her cheeks started burning and she was sure that they were bright red.

  Lily looked around the room that was so quiet, they could have heard a pin drop. “I’m sorry. Should I not have said that?”

  “No, it’s fine,” Tessa said. She knew that Lily hadn’t meant anything by it. Changing the subject, she asked, “So you teach dance lessons?”

  Lily nodded as Karina jumped in, explaining, “She got roped into it by Henry. Lily is an ah-may-zing dancer and I hired her to do my winter tour. She moved here from Sacramento on what was supposed to be a temporary basis, but within a week of being here, Henry had her teaching classes and Lauren rented her the house next door to Eric. Poor Lily didn’t stand a chance. Once Hope Falls claims you as its own, it’s like the Bermuda Triangle. You can’t escape.”

  I did, but not because I wanted to.

  Then Karina added, “Case in point: Sam, Lauren, Justin, me, and now you. We all came back.”

  “Oh I’m just here for a little bit. Until I can fix up the house and sell it,” Tessa provided, quickly setting the record straight. She knew that conversations like these were what turned into rumors, and she didn’t want anyone—Jake!—to hear false information.

  A knowing twinkle lit in Karina’s eyes as one brow arched. “We’ll see.”

  As Tessa looked around the room, she could see that all the ladies had similar looks of keep-telling-yourself-that on their faces. But that was only because they didn’t know what she knew.

  She couldn’t live in Hope Falls and not be with Jake. Since she couldn’t be with Jake, she couldn’t live in Hope Falls. It was that simple.

  Chapter Twelve

  ‡

  “So what happened in the tent?” Eric leaned his head in and asked quietly with an I’m-your-big-brother-so-you-have-to-tell-me look in his eye. Eric might not be a detective anymore, but the reason he had been so successful was that, when he wanted information, his pursuit to gain it was relentless.

  Looking around the lively bar, Jake knew that no one was paying attention to his and Eric’s conversation. The rest of the guys were in a heated sports debate.

  “Tessa and I went camping up at Mountain Ridge after Prom. Parker found us. That’s it,” Jake answered.

  Eric stared at him, trying to read Jake’s expression.

  Getting a little irritated, Jake continued, “That’s ancient history. Why the hell do you even care?”

  Eric lifted his mug of cold beer to his mouth and took an unhurried swig. “No reason.”

  No reason, my ass.

  “Girls are on their way,” Luke declared as he typed on his iPhone.

  Every Thursday, the girls all had a “book club meeting” while the guys played hoops. Then afterward they would all meet up at JT’s. Usually, this was the portion of the evening when Jake would find someone to go home with since everyone coupled up with their significant others. Eric used to be his wingman, but now even he was engaged. But being on the solo tip had not slowed Jake down.

  Tonight, however, he had zero interest in starting up a conversation with one of the half dozen girls who had been undressing him with their eyes since he had been there. The only girl on his mind was Tessa. He didn’t want anyone else, but he couldn’t have her.

  He also didn’t trust himself to leave right now. It was too early and he was sure that if he got behind the wheel he would drive right over to his house, the one that was currently being occupied by the one girl he wanted and couldn’t have. If he waited a couple hours until he knew she’d be asleep, it would be less of a temptation to go see her.

  Well, that wa
s his plan anyway.

  So he figured that he’d hang out with Nikki. Her fiancé, Mike, was a senator and was back in Washington. He figured they could play some pool, maybe throw darts. Anything to kill some time.

  “Sorry, guys. I’m slammed,” Levi said as he dropped off a pitcher they’d ordered about fifteen minutes ago.

  “No worries,” Jake assured his friend. “You should really think about getting some help in here.”

  “Yeah, I think it might be time,” Levi agreed before he turned and went back behind the packed bar.

  “Do you want to dance?”

  Jake felt a tap on his shoulder as he looked up to see Darla, who Jake lovingly referred to as the leader of the B.B.B. (Bleach-Blond Bimbo) clique.

  “Not tonight, sweetheart.” Jake winked at her and smiled. He wasn’t trying to be a dick. It was just that one, the double run, no sleep, and physical basketball game was catching up with him, and two, he knew the only dance she was really interested in was the horizontal mambo and she needed to find a different dance partner for that one.

  “Please,” she purred, “it’s my birthday.”

  Shit.

  “Come on, Jake.” Eric elbowed him with a challenging gleam in his eye. “It’s her birthday.”

  Damn. When had his brother become such an asshole?

  “All right, birthday girl. One dance.” Jake stood and wrapped one arm around Darla’s waist, leading her to the dance floor as he flipped his brother off behind his back.

  Jake could hear Eric chuckling. All the years Jake had been a smartass to his brother, he’d thought it was really funny, but now that Eric was stepping up his smartass game and Jake was on the receiving end of it, it wasn’t quite as amusing.

  Just as he, Darla, and her fake double D’s reached the center of the dance floor, the music slowed and the opening chords of Peter Cetera’s ‘Glory of Love’ began playing through the speakers.

  What the…? Is this some kind of a joke?

  Jake looked around, but everyone was minding their own business. Of course they were. Why wouldn’t they be? No one else knew that this had been Jake and Tessa’s song.

  It had started out as a joke because the first time they’d hung out they’d watched The Karate Kid. It was one of the few VHS tapes Adeline had owned. Then, since Jake had done morning announcements at school senior year, he had taken the opportunity of dedicating and playing ‘Glory of Love’ to Tessa the next morning.

  Since that day, it had been “their” song.

  Darla wrapped her arms around his neck and began seductively swaying against him. Jake moved his hands to her lower back and held them there loosely. He tried to step away and put some distance between them, but the birthday girl was having none of it as she molded her body to his.

  Jake couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard this song. It had to have been years. When it would come on the radio, he’d turn it off. If it started playing in a store he was at, he’d leave.

  What were the chances he would hear it and be forced to listen to it the day after Tessa showed back up in town? A hundred to one? A thousand to one? A million to one?

  Whatever it was, the chances were slim. Now, as he listened to the lyrics, he realized how much he’d wholeheartedly believed in them as a naïve seventeen-year-old. How much he had needed her and would have done anything for her.

  You keep me standing tall

  You help me through it all

  I’m always strong when you’re beside me

  I have always needed you

  I could never make it alone

  I am the man who will fight for your honor

  I’ll be the hero

  You’ve been dreaming of

  We’ll live forever

  Knowing together that we did it all

  For the glory of love

  But it really didn’t matter how he’d felt then or still felt now because she’d walked away. Left him. So now, here he was dancing with Darla. On her birthday. In a bar.

  Life hadn’t quite turned out how he’d planned.

  *

  “No, it’s fine Amy. I don’t mind. Really,” Tessa assured Amy.

  This was why Tessa always drove her own car and never drank. Because of situations like this. Now she was stuck going to JT’s when all she really wanted to do was go home and go to bed. Well, maybe she’d take one more shower first because, seriously, that shower was incredible.

  “Okay, good. I can’t wait for you to meet Matt,” Amy grinned and a blush rose up her cheeks.

  Tessa was so happy that Amy had found someone who could make her blush at the mere mention of his name. She’d always been so sweet and quiet. Eric had been in college the year that she’d spent a lot of time at the Maguires’s house, so it had just been Jake, Amy, and Nikki there. And Tessa remembered thinking at the time that Amy seemed to be overlooked a lot or just not seen because her siblings were so loud and outgoing.

  If the glow Amy had was any indication, Amy had definitely found someone who saw her. Tessa was looking forward to meeting him and the rest of her friends’ significant others. But there was a small voice in the back of her head—which happened to be screaming!—that Jake would probably be there.

  No one had said as much and she hadn’t asked. But if he wasn’t at work, which he’d told her earlier during their grand tour that he didn’t go back to work until Sunday night, then chances were he’d be with his friends and brother.

  What would she say to him? How should she be around him? What would he say to her? How would he be around her?

  This whole situation was so bizarre. She didn’t know how to just be around him. Part of her just wanted to have it out with him once and for all. Lay all her cards on the table and let him do the same. But another, bigger, part of her just wanted to leave with the memory of who Jake had been to her intact and unvarnished. That memory had gotten her through so many bad times in her life that she honestly didn’t know if she could face the rest of life without having it to hold on to.

  If they had it out, who knew what can of worms she would be opening. What if he hated her for what she’d done all those years ago? Or worse, what if he really didn’t care at all? Tessa knew that it probably wasn’t the healthiest or most mature thing to think that his not caring would be worse than hating her, but that is how she truly felt.

  Her biggest fear was to find out that their one year together didn’t mean anything to him. As ridiculous as it was, that would devastate her.

  “So where are you living now?” Amy asked.

  “San Diego,” Tessa replied.

  “Do you like it there?”

  “It’s beautiful, and you can’t beat the weather,” Tessa spouted. It was her go-to answer whenever anyone asked her about San Diego. But the truth was the constant seventy-degree weather was kind of boring. She liked seasons and she missed snow.

  She remembered the first time it had snowed the year she lived in Hope Falls. Jake had known that she had been waiting, like a kid for Christmas. So the first snow that year, he’d come over to Adeline’s and woken her up at five a.m.

  If she closed her eyes, she could still feel his hand brushing against the side of her face as he’d whispered softly, “Wake up, beautiful. I have something to show you.” She’d thought it was a dream when he’d picked her up in his arms—not unlike he had earlier today—and carried her down the stairs. She’d only really woken up when he’d set her down and helped her into her coat, boots, and gloves.

  Then they’d gone outside and played in the snow. Afterward, they snuggled under a huge throw blanket on the porch swing, sipping hot chocolate Gran had made them, and watched the sunrise while it snowed. It was one of the best memories of her life.

  Jake had talked about their future. Getting married. Having kids. The same things he always had said when he’d hold her in his arms and promise her forever.

  Honestly, a small, totally selfish part of her had been happy when he’d told her that he wasn’t m
arried and didn’t have kids. Which she could fully admit was not only ironic but also insanely hypocritical since the reason she’d done what she had was so that he could be happy and have a family.

  Gravel rumbled under the tires as they pulled into JT’s parking lot. Tessa’s head was spinning and she didn’t think it had anything to do with the two glasses of wine she’d had back at Amanda’s. Nope. Most likely it had to do with a certain brown-eyed, sinfully sexy, heartbreakingly hot man-of-her-dreams-slash-soul-mate.

  She needed to stop thinking about him. Distraction. That was the name of the game from here on out. Looking around, she saw that the parking lot was just as crowded, if not more than it had been last night.

  Holy cow!

  She’d only been in town for twenty-four hours. How was that even possible? It felt like it had been a full week at least.

  As she shut the car door, Tessa immediately put her hands in her jacket pockets as her body shivered from the cold.

  “Looks like we beat the other girls here,” Amy observed as the two girls hurried across the parking lot as quickly as they could to get to the heated comfort inside.

  As they stepped inside the dim bar, the level of noise was much higher than Tessa had remembered it being last night. But in all fairness, she had been mainly concentrating on not peeing her pants and then in just a little bit (a lot!) of shock at seeing Jake, so it could have been this loud.

  Even over all the white noise of people laughing, talking, and playing pool and darts, Tessa clearly heard their song playing. She was trying to figure out if she was having stress-induced delusions or if by some crazy coincidence the song was actually playing as she followed Amy over to a table that was brimming with testosterone and ridiculously good-looking men, only two of whom Tessa knew. She was both relieved and disappointed that Jake wasn’t one of them.