by Kay Correll
Bree took the glass and sipped. One thing she’d learned with her catering business was how to pick out a good bottle of wine. Many of her customers wanted her to provide the wine with their catered events, so she’d learned a lot about it in a short time. Luckily she’d met a man who had recently opened a wine shop near her home. He’d taught her a lot and gave her a good discount on wines she bought from his store. She’d been surprised how helpful other small business owners were if she just learned to ask for help.
“Where’d you go, Bree?”
“Hm? Oh, I’m still here. Mind is just wandering.”
“Are you thinking about what it used to be like here at the lake?”
That couldn’t have been any further from her mind. “No. I try not to think about those years.”
“Not even the good times?”
“The good times were way overshadowed by the bad ending.”
“Peter made a mistake. A big one.”
“About as big as you can get, as far as I’m concerned.” Her heart pounded, and the familiar surge of hurt and anger poured through her.
“I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“Me too.” Hurt repeatedly by every man she’d ever let into her heart. Let the pity party begin. She swore she was going to get over the whole feeling sorry for herself thing. Soon.
Thunder rumbled and grumbled in the distance, rolling over the mountain peaks. “I should have told you.” Jason sighed. Regret touched the corners of his eyes. “I’d known for just a few days. If I had said something, maybe it would have all ended differently. I was just so torn between my loyalty to Peter and my friendship to you. I took too long to make up my mind. I actually headed over to the cabin to talk to you—”
“You knew and didn’t tell me?” She hadn’t expected that twist.
“I was coming to tell you that day... that day when it happened. I got to your cabin and you and your parents were rushing out to the car. I called but you didn’t hear me.” He looked down at his hands. “I found out later where you were heading. To the hospital.”
He paused and looked at her with tortured eyes. “I’ve always felt so guilty. Like maybe I could have prevented it all from happening.”
So he’d known, too. Of course, he had. He and Peter told each other everything. Another man, another betrayal. Such was her life.
“I swear I was coming to tell you. You were the most important person to me. The one I felt I owed the truth to.”
That made her feel a little better, even if he’d been late in coming to the decision to tell her.
“I promise I’ll never keep anything from you again. You can trust me.”
She looked at him, searching his face, his eyes. She nodded. But still, she was unable to make herself a participant in this game of remembrance. Instead, she poured herself another glass of wine, pretending the pain in his eyes didn’t tear at her heart.
Jason, though, didn’t seem to have her qualms about strolling down memory lane. No matter how hurtful those memories were. “I got back home and mom told me Peter had been hurt. By the time I got to the hospital, he’d died.”
“Jason, I can’t go there.”
“Not after all this time?”
“No, not even after all this time.”
“I’m sorry, Bree. I thought it might get easier for you as the years went by.”
“Well, it didn’t. Since I have to face it again and again, year after year when...” She sucked in a breath of the storm-laden air. “New topic.”
The wind struck up an almost violent whirl around the lake, matching the twirl of pain racking through her at the memory of that night. The breeze chased white caps across the water. She’d always liked to sit by the lake and watch the storms come in. The fury of the wind, and the power of the waves.
Big drops of rain started to splotch down around them. Lightning cracked nearby, splitting the evening with its silver-white flash.
“We better head inside.” Jason stood and reached down a hand. He hoisted her to her feet, and without any more warning, the skies let loose, dumping cold, icy rain on them. He grabbed her hand and they raced through the storm. She tugged open the French door and they slipped inside. Jason shook his head and drops of water sprinkled from his hair. He laughed a deep-bellied, life-is-good laugh, chasing away the echoes of their sober conversation.
The laugh was like magic to her soul. Soothing. Easy. Comforting. “I’m going to go change. Strip off your shirt and I’ll throw our things in the dryer.”
“You just trying to get me naked? Well, half-naked?”
“In your dreams, buddy.” She laughed and went to her room to put on dry clothes. The easy banter buoyed her spirits, chasing away the ghosts.
She slipped off her wet clothes and toweled her hair. The curls rebelled by dancing all around her face. Whatever. She shook her head. She quickly slipped on dry clothes and picked up a towel for Jason. She paused at the door to her parents’ bedroom. With a resolute push, she opened the door and walked over to her father’s closet. There she rummaged through until she found a pair of sweatpants and an old flannel shirt of her father’s for Jason to wear. She pulled the shirt to her face, inhaling the scent. She swore it still smelled faintly of her father’s aftershave. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
Quit being silly.
She headed back to the great room with the clothes and towel clenched firmly in her hands.
Jason stood in the window and watched the storm turn to a mix of rain, ice, and snow. The icy drops bounced off the worn wooden planks on the deck.
He shouldn’t have brought up Peter. He shouldn’t have. But he’d hoped that somehow things had gotten better. He’d hoped... he didn’t know what he’d hoped.
He just hated how so many lives had exploded that one fateful day.
He wished Peter were still here. First he’d yell at him, then he’d hug him, then he’d... well, there was no use wishing. Life threw curves and you learned to deal with them.
He’d lost so much in his boyhood. His father had died. His best friend had died. Didn’t take a psychologist to tell him that was probably the reason he didn’t let a lot of people get close to him now. He had friends, just not real close best-friend type friends. He did lots with his family. He was fine with it. Happy with his life.
Mostly.
Bree turning up here had brought up long-forgotten feelings. The easy way they could talk to each other. How he could just always be himself and she accepted him. He remembered back to when, years ago, he’d finally convinced himself to ask her out.
Only his timing had been rotten because that very day Peter had come over and told him that he’d asked Bree out. Peter and Bree had quickly become a couple. Though Jason had always had the feeling that Bree cared more for Peter than he did for her.
Sometimes the choices he’d made and his unwillingness to take a risk haunted him. The amount of time it had taken to get up the nerve to ask her out.
If only he’d asked her out first.
What would have happened?
Would Peter still be alive?
Chapter 4
She entered the great room to find Jason looking out the window. His back was cut with strong muscles leading up to wide sturdy shoulders. The thin boy she’d known had grown into a well-built man. He turned when he heard her, and she noticed his muscular chest. Darn good looking...
She tossed the thoughts aside. Kind of. “If you slip off your jeans, I’ll dry those too.”
He gave her the eye. “You want to see me in my boxers?”
“Again, I say, in your dreams, mister.” She handed him the sweats and the flannel shirt. Go change in the bathroom. I’ll dry the clothes.”
He came out from the bathroom, dressed in her father’s clothes. She was okay with it. She really was. Really.
She plopped their wet things in the dryer and headed back out to the great room.
“No cable service, but why don’t you pick out a DVD from the bookc
ase? We could watch a movie while your clothes dry and wait for the storm to blow over.”
She was pleased to see Jason grabbed Casablanca. Good choice. “Start the movie and I’ll grab us another bottle of wine. I’m not dashing out in that storm to get the one we left out there.” She opened the wine, took out two new wine glasses, and settled down beside Jason on the couch. They drank their wine, watched the movie, drank some more wine, and then put in It’s a Wonderful Life... even if it wasn’t yet the Christmas season.
A pounding noise startled Bree awake. She blinked a few times, then opened her eyes to the hard, flannel-shirt-covered chest she was sleeping on. Jason’s arm was draped protectively around her. Light drifted in through the windows, but she couldn’t wake up enough to figure out the banging noise. She shook her head to clear it. Stayed up way too late. She ran her hand through her hair and pushed off Jason’s chest.
The banging continued.
The door.
Someone was at the stupid door. She looked at the clock and saw it was already eight o’clock. She never slept this late and was sure Jason didn’t either. Too many movies and a bottle of wine.
She got up and stumbled toward the door, looking down at her wrinkled clothes. She got to the door and yanked it open. This time it opened almost easily, causing her to have to catch herself to keep from falling backward.
There in the doorway stood her greatest fear.
The person she’d done her best to avoid whenever possible for over eighteen years.
Petey. Looking like the spitting image of his father.
Cece’s son.
Cece and Peter’s son.
Chapter 5
Jason walked up behind Bree and stared at the young man standing there. For a moment he thought he was seeing things. Peter had come back to life.
The young man was the first to recover. “Aunt Bree, I didn’t know you were here.”
“I... uh...” Bree stood grasping onto the door, a dazed expression on her face.
He’d called her Aunt Bree. This just had to be Peter’s son, Petey. Had to be. He’d never met him, but there was no doubt about it.
“I wanted to come see the cabin one last time before... before you guys sell it. I... I didn’t know anyone would be here. I saw the car and didn’t just want to use my key.”
“Does your mother know you’re here?” Bree seemed to recover a bit.
The young man squirmed. “Not exactly.”
“How not exactly?”
“Well, I didn’t tell her. She thinks I’m at school.”
“Mountain Grove College, right?”
He nodded.
“Well, come inside.” Bree stood aside to let Petey in.
Jason couldn’t quit staring at Petey. He reached out his hand to the young man. “I’m Jason... I was your father’s—”
Bree cut him off and frowned at him. Jason had no clue what he’d done wrong.
“Petey, go call your mother and tell her you’re here. I’m not keeping it a secret from her. Use the landline.” Bree nodded toward the kitchen area, and Petey crossed over to the phone with reluctant steps.
Bree turned to Jason. “He doesn’t know.” She whispered the words.
“Doesn’t know what?”
“He doesn’t know anything about Peter and me. Just that Peter died before he was born. I didn’t want you saying something...”
“What was I going to say? Hi, I’m your father’s best friend and he cheated on your aunt?”
Bree flashed him a quick look. “Just... be careful what you say.”
“Got it.” As if he’d do anything to make the situation worse. He turned around and headed to the kitchen. If he didn’t get a cup of coffee soon, he was going to say something he regretted, and it wasn’t going to be anything about Peter and Cece. It was going to be about how Bree should trust him.
He’d promised her that she could trust him, but he was her best friend and he hadn’t told her about Cece and Peter soon enough. So maybe it would take a while to build that trust.
Bree could tell she’d made Jason mad, but she wasn’t sure how. All she’d wanted to do was to make sure Jason knew that Petey knew nothing about the whole Peter sleeping with two sisters mess. The family had long protected him from the truth. He had no idea why Bree stayed away. He probably just thought she wasn’t much of a family person.
And that was the truth.
At least it was now.
“She’s not answering.” Petey hung up the phone.
“Okay, then. We’ll try again later.” Bree crossed to the kitchen to find Jason busy making coffee and obviously ignoring her. “How about I make us all some breakfast?”
“That would be great. I’m starving.” Petey perched on a barstool next to the counter.
“I’ll just have coffee, then be on my way.” Jason continued making coffee and rooted around the cabinets looking for mugs.
“They’re in that cabinet.” Bree pointed.
He grabbed three mugs and set them on the counter.
Bree’s cell rang, and she snatched it from her pocket. “Hello?”
“Mom?”
“Cody. Is everything okay?” Her son rarely called her. He didn’t even answer often when she called him.
“I was wondering... could I come and visit you for a bit? I... well, Dad’s out of town for two weeks and I don’t think his new girlfriend is very excited to be here babysitting me, as she calls it.”
“You know you’re always welcome to come visit.” Or stay forever. But she didn’t say that.
“I could book a plane to Austin. Dad said he’d pay for it. Pretty sure his girlfriend asked him to.”
“What about school?”
She heard him pause. “Well, I finished up almost all my credits for graduation, didn’t I tell you that? I’m just doing two online classes and I’ll be finished. So I can work on my coursework there with you.”
No, he hadn’t told her that. She hadn’t known. So much she didn’t know about him anymore.
“Well... right now I’m in Sweet River Falls working on your grandparents’ cabin. Getting it ready to sell. Would you like to come here?”
“Yes. That’d be great. I’ve never been.”
She heard a bit of accusation in his words. Maybe. Or maybe she was just overly sensitive.
“And another surprise. Your cousin, Petey, is here.”
“Cool.”
“Okay, book your flight to Denver and let me know when you’re arriving. I’ll pick you up.”
“Okay, thanks, Mom.”
Bree hung up the phone, her mind reeling. Cody was coming to visit. Even if it was just because Brian’s new girlfriend had banished him.
“Cody’s coming?” Petey looked at her.
“Yes.”
“You think I could stay a few days? I haven’t seen him in forever.”
“Of course you can, but how about school?”
“We have a four-day break.”
“Okay, but even if you are in college, you still have to tell your mother you’re here.”
The cabin phone rang, and she walked over to grab it off the wall. “Hello?”
“Bree?” Cece’s surprised voice came across the line. “What are you doing at the cabin? I saw I had a missed call from there.”
“I’m here getting it ready to sell.”
“Well, why did you call?”
“I didn’t call. Petey did.”
“Petey? Why is he there?”
Bree handed the phone to Petey. “Your mother wants to talk to you.” She wasn’t about to get in the middle of this one.
She headed over to Jason, who held out a cup of coffee to her. She took a sip and looked at him gratefully. “I’m sorry.” She kept her voice low. “I... I was just thrown for a loop when Petey showed up. And I wanted you to know that he doesn’t know anything about... the mess. I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s okay. I get it.” He looked at her closely. “You doing okay? You�
�ve had quite the series of surprises today.”
In typical Jason fashion, he was finished being hurt that she’d been so short with him and was worried about her.
“I... I don’t know.” She didn’t know. She was just numb.
Her cell phone pinged, and she looked at it. Text from Cody. Ten a.m. flight.
“Mom wants to talk to you.” Petey held out the landline handset.
She walked over and took the offered phone, her mind spinning from all the calls. “Yes?”
“Listen, Petey said Cody is coming there, too.”
“He is.”
“I think I’ll come up in the morning.”
Bree closed her eyes for a moment. Cece here too. The hits just kept on coming. It wasn’t like she could say her sister couldn’t come to the cabin. Cece had every right to. But why now? Why when she was here? “You don’t need to. The boys are fine here with me.”
“I want to,” Cece insisted.
“Fine. Cody is flying into Denver tomorrow.”
“Why don’t you give me his flight information and I’ll pick him up, then we’ll both head up there?”
She didn’t really want to do that, but it was an hour or so to the airport, then another hour or so back. She could be busy getting the cabin ready so this whole nightmare could be over sooner. Maybe she could even get it finished and she and Cody could fly to Austin for a while.
“Okay.” She gave her sister the information, reminding herself to text Cody that it would be Cece picking him up.
“See you tomorrow.”
Cece might have just meant that as harmless small talk, but it sounded like an ominous threat to her.
Chapter 6
Nora looked up as Jason walked into the kitchen at the lodge. He was hours later than he usually showed up to help. She’d noticed his truck wasn’t at his cabin this morning. He hadn’t shaved yet, and she’d swear he was wearing the same shirt he had on yesterday. She frowned but kept her thoughts to herself.”Good morning.”