by Marie Force
“Don’t start on me. I’ve already taken a year’s worth of abuse from Max today. He was my technology consultant.”
“I can’t believe you actually got a phone.”
“Believe it.”
“That’s really sweet of you.”
“I’m a sweet kind of guy.”
The comment made her laugh, and the sound of her laughter, even over the phone hundreds of miles away, made him hard. “How are things in the city?”
“Same as ever. Hot and smelly, but I love it. I got to see my dad, Emma and Simone tonight as well as my friend Troy, so it was a fun night.”
“Troy? Who is this guy?”
“A friend of mine and Cameron’s. One of our best friends.”
“So wait, you’re allowed to have friends but I’m not?”
“My friend is not a friend with benefits and never has been, so there you have the difference between my friend and yours.”
His smile stretched across his face. God, he loved to provoke her. What did that say about him? “I miss you. It sucks here without you. Even Sarah and Elmer are down in the dumps.”
“I miss you guys, too. It was really fun being on your mountain. I’m glad I got to see it.”
“I’m glad you did, too.”
“And the lake house was great. That’s an amazing spot.”
“It was much more amazing before Will and Cameron showed up and ruined everything.”
She laughed again, and he discovered he’d do just about anything to make her laugh. “I’m glad they know about us.”
“I am, too.”
“I told my family tonight. About you.”
Colton perked right up at that news. “Is that right? What’d they have to say?”
“My dad said I’m bringing you to Queens for dinner while you’re here.”
“He said that, did he?”
“Yeah, said versus asked. You get the difference.”
“Uh-huh. Is he scary?”
“No!” she said with a laugh. “Not at all. He’s just protective of his girls.”
“I think I’ll like him. Will I get to meet Emma and Simone, too?”
“Absolutely. Simone already told me she wants to meet my boyfriend.”
“So you’re throwing the B word around, huh?”
“My boyfriend told me I had to call him that.”
“Damn straight you do. What about Troy? Do I get to meet him, too?”
“Not if you’re going to act like a jealous ass around him.”
“I’ll do my best to behave.”
“I’ve seen your best efforts to behave, so you’ll pardon me if I’m skeptical.”
“That hurts me, Luce. Deeply.”
They chatted for more than an hour about nothing in particular until his phone began to beep with a low battery warning.
“So what’s your plan to charge that bad boy on your mountain?” she asked.
“I bought a small generator for just that purpose.”
After a brief pause, she said, “You brought electricity to your mountain for me?”
“I sure did.”
“I’m deeply honored by the effort.”
“It’s no big deal,” he said, even though he was pleased by her reaction.
“It’s a very big deal, Colton, and don’t think I’m not seeing that.”
“This situation is tough enough without having a way to keep in touch between visits. It was a small price to pay to hear your voice at the end of every day.”
“Colton,” she said with a deep sigh. “You know just what to say to make a girl all fluttery inside.”
“Fluttery, huh? That sounds promising.”
“Mmm. Indeed.”
The extended M sound reminded him of her lips vibrating against his shaft, which got even harder. “Lucy . . .”
“Yes?”
“Don’t act all innocent with me, like you don’t know what you do to me even over the phone.”
“I can’t help that you have the self-control of a fifteen-year-old boy.”
“Damn it, the phone is about to die, but we’ll discuss my inner fifteen-year-old tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it.”
“Me, too. Talk to you tomorrow. Night, Luce.”
“Night, Colton.”
He couldn’t bring himself to end the call or the connection.
“This is where you hit the End button.”
“Don’t wanna.”
“Your phone is going to die.”
“That’s okay.” He listened to her breathe until the phone went dead in his hand. Lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as Sarah and Elmer slept on either side of him, Colton decided the purchase of the phone and generator was the best money he’d spent on anything. Ever.
CHAPTER 21
Any leftover thoughts of the best run of the year—yes, that’s what it was—dissipated by nine o’clock this morning when a torrent of ice like you read about belched out of the main lines. If anything indicates the end of the season, it is mucky pumps, tanks and lines.
—Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, April 15
The next morning, Colton made an effort to get back to his routine on the mountain. He tended to some record keeping, hiked up the mountain to check on trees that had shown signs of a possible blight earlier in the summer and added another cord to the growing woodpile.
By noon, however, he was hungry and in bad need of someone to talk to about all the shit that was in his head. He gave careful consideration to several possible people, including both his parents, his sister Hannah and his brother Hunter, all of whom had opinions Colton normally trusted implicitly. However, Will had the best perspective on Colton’s situation, having recently been through it himself.
And since Colton needed perspective, he went looking for his second-oldest brother. He parked in front of the store and was halfway up the back stairs that led to the offices when he met Charley coming down.
“What brings you into town on a Wednesday?” his sister asked.
“I’m looking for Will, if you must know.”
“He’s across the street at the diner having lunch.”
When Colton heard the words diner and lunch, his stomach let out a huge grumble. “Okay, I’ll look for him over there.”
“So, you and Lucy, huh?”
“Yeah, what’s it to you?”
“Nothing.”
Charley could be such a pain in the ass when she wanted to be. “Great. See ya.” He turned to head back down the stairs.
“Are you going to move there?”
Colton stopped in his tracks and turned to look up at her. “No plans to move.”
“Then she’s coming here?”
“That’s not happening either.”
“So what’re you going to do, then?”
“Who knows? For now, we’re having fun and not worrying too much about the future.”
“Well, good luck with that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’d hate to see you get hurt when she gets bored and moves on to someone more convenient, Colton.”
Her words sent an arrow of fear straight to all his insecurities where Lucy was concerned, especially since she’d told him herself that losing interest had been a problem for her in the past. “Thanks for that cheery thought. Appreciate it.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a downer. Just be careful, okay?”
“I will and thanks for the concern, but it’s all good. Nothing to worry about.”
“See you later.”
“See ya.” He trotted down the stairs, the weight of Charley’s worries accompanying him across Elm Street to the diner, where he found Will and Cameron having lunch with his grandfather. For a second he was torn about whether he wanted all three of them in his business, but then his gramps caught sight of him and waved him over.
Elmer slid over to make room for Colton on his side of the booth. “This is a nice surprise.”
&n
bsp; Colton gave his grandfather a one-armed squeeze. Elmer Stillman was one of his all-time favorite people. “For me, too.”
“What brings you off the mountain on a Wednesday?” Will asked.
“Am I so regimented that I can’t deviate from the schedule without everyone wondering why?”
After a heartbeat of a pause, Elmer and Will both said, “Yes,” making Cameron giggle.
“I take it you’re kind of predictable,” she said with a kind smile.
“Clearly, I need to shake things up if everyone thinks they know me so well,” Colton said.
“What is that in your shirt pocket?” Cameron asked with a shriek that caught the attention of diners all around them.
Colton placed his hand over his chest and realized she meant the phone. He withdrew it from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“Oh. My. God,” Will said. “This is worse than I thought.”
Cameron picked up the phone and programmed her number into it before Colton had a chance to ask her what she was doing. “There.” She slid it across the table to him. “Now you have two numbers, interestingly, both of them New York numbers.”
Colton scowled at her, which only made her laugh.
Megan appeared at the table, casting a frosty glare at Cameron, who smiled sweetly at the waitress. “Something to drink?” she asked Colton.
“A Coke would be great, thanks, and a turkey club.”
Megan turned and walked away.
“Was it something I said?” Colton asked.
“Nope,” Cameron replied as she took a drink of her soda. “All her hatred is for me.”
“For you?” Colton couldn’t imagine anyone hating Cameron. She was so damned nice to everyone. “What the hell did you do?”
She used her thumb to point to Will. “I cast a spell on him and got him to fall in love with me.”
“Sorry,” Colton said, plopping a straw into the Coke the busboy delivered. “Still not getting it.”
“Apparently,” Will said, clearing his throat and seeming embarrassed by the whole thing, “Megan has had a, um, a crush on me for a, um, a while now.”
Cameron spun halfway around in her seat to stare at her boyfriend. “A while? More like forever, and it wasn’t a crush. In her mind, it was full-blown love.”
“Which I have never encouraged.”
Cameron leaned in. “And the kicker of it all is that Hunter has it bad for Megan.”
“Hunter as in my brother Hunter?” Colton asked, stupefied by this revelation. Hunter and Megan? No way.
“One and the same.”
“How does she know all this?” Colton asked Will.
“It’s her special gift. Abbott 101.”
“Damn, I need to get off my mountain more often. I miss out on all the good stuff up there.” He watched Megan hustle around the diner, interacting with customers and staff. “I’m not sure I see her with Hunter.”
“A wise man once said that a fool in love makes no sense to anyone but the fool,” Elmer said.
“I like that one,” Cameron said with a warm smile for Elmer. “Can I write that down?”
“It’s all yours, honey.”
Colton had so many things he wanted to ask them about his own situation, but the words were frozen on his tongue, stuck on the embarrassment of having to ask how he’d know if he was in love with Lucy. If he had to ask, maybe that was a good sign that he wasn’t.
“Colton?”
Cameron nudged him out of the contemplative state he’d slipped into. “Sorry. Did you say something?”
“We asked how the rest of your weekend with Lucy went.”
“Good. Great.”
“Ohhh,” Cameron said, “that’s what she said, too.”
“Is it? She did?” Ugh! Could he sound any more pathetic?
Cameron laughed at his distress. “Yes, she did. She said she really enjoyed seeing your mountain and learning about how you make syrup. She loved it.”
“That’s good,” Colton said, aware of Will watching him intently from across the table.
“She said you’re going there for a week on Friday.”
“Yeah.”
“Wait till you see New York, bro,” Will said. “It’s unreal. You won’t believe how crazy it is.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” He was far more looking forward to a week with Lucy, but he didn’t share that.
“So are you in love?” Cameron asked with a goofy grin.
The unexpected question knocked the wind out of him for a second. But he also recognized the opening Cameron had given him. “I don’t know.” He looked to her and then Will. “How would I even know that?”
Will laughed, and for a second Colton thought his brother was laughing at him. Then he realized he was laughing at himself and sharing the amusement with Cameron.
“Your brother had the same problem not all that long ago,” Cameron said. “He wasn’t recognizing the symptoms for what they were.”
“Give him your list,” Will said to her.
Cameron ticked the items off on her fingers. “She’s all you think about. You can’t wait to spend more time with her, and you can’t seem to keep your hands to yourself when she’s around.”
Colton’s palms felt sweaty and his heart beat fast as he realized all those things applied to him where Lucy was concerned.
“Oh boy,” Elmer said, taking a close look at Colton. “Looks like he’s caught the love bug.”
Cameron reached across the table to cover Colton’s hands with her own. “If it’s any consolation, I know Lucy is grappling with many of the same feelings.”
It was a huge consolation, but before Colton could say so, Megan appeared at the table carrying two plates laden with food. She stared at Cameron and Colton’s joined hands. “So one brother isn’t enough for you? Now you’re after him, too?”
“Ease up, Megan,” Will said somewhat sharply.
Megan’s face fell, and her eyes filled.
Cameron pulled her hands back so Megan could put the plates on the table.
The two plates landed with a clatter, and Megan scurried off. The busboy delivered the other two meals.
“You’ve broken her heart,” Cameron said to Will as she stole one of his fries.
“Enough is enough. She needs to leave you alone.”
As he devoured his turkey club, Colton was grateful for the diversion Megan’s jealousy had created because he was still reeling from hearing Cameron’s list and his grandfather’s comment about having been bitten by the love bug. Was that true? Did that explain the overwhelming sense of malaise that had overtaken him since she left?
Elmer nudged him. “You okay, buddy?”
“Yeah, just thinking.”
“Save a couple of minutes for me after lunch.”
Colton wiped a smudge of ketchup off his lip. “Sure.”
When they finished their lunch, Will swiped the check off the table and got up to pay. Colton noticed him speaking with Megan, who looked at him worshipfully as she nodded at whatever he was saying. “Looks like he’s making up with her,” Colton said, nodding toward the register.
Cameron turned in her seat to check it out and then quickly turned back around when Will returned to the table. “What was that about?” she asked him.
“I asked Megan to cut out the hostility toward you. I told her it was annoying me.”
Cameron’s eyes lit up with pleasure. “You really said that?”
“Yeah, I really said that. She’s got no reason to be hostile to you. There was never anything between us, which I just reminded her.”
“Whoa,” Colton said. “You came right out and said that?”
“Among other things.”
“What other things?” Elmer asked.
“I mentioned she might be directing her attention toward the wrong Abbott brother.”
“Oh, jeez,” Colton said. “Thanks a lot. Now it’s open season on the other six of us.”
“I meant Hunter, y
ou fool,” Will said.
“Did you actually mention his name to her?” Colton asked.
“Um, no, I just said she ought to pay attention to one of my brothers.”
“Idiot.”
“I was trying to help him out,” Will said.
“Your intentions were good, William,” Elmer said with a patronizing smile.
“Exactly,” Will said with a pointed look for Colton.
“I’m out of here before she thinks you meant me,” Colton said. “Gramps, can I walk you to your car?”
“That’d be great. Thank you for lunch, Will.”
“Yeah,” Colton said. “Thanks, Will.” He hadn’t gotten the one-on-one time he’d wanted with his brother, but he felt a little less wound up than he’d been when he came down off the mountain. And of course, the food had helped, too. Food always made things better. “Where’d you park?” Colton asked his grandfather.
“Behind the store.”
They walked to the crosswalk in front of Nolan’s garage and waited for a chance to cross.
“Looks like we’ve got some company,” Elmer said, nodding to Fred the moose, who strolled down the middle of Elm Street without a care in the world. Accustomed to his frequent visits, motorists simply waited for him to pass before continuing on their way.
“He scared the living hell out of Lucy up on the mountain,” Colton said, relaying the story of her introduction to Fred.
Elmer laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. “I suppose the old guy can be somewhat intimidating if you haven’t yet made his acquaintance.”
“Lucy was totally freaked out, to say the least.”
“I like her,” Elmer said, hooking his arm through Colton’s as they crossed the street.
“I like her, too.”
“I couldn’t help but notice at dinner the other day that you rarely take your eyes off her when she’s in the room.”
“Really? I do? I mean I don’t?”
“Uh-huh. After you left, your dad and I agreed that you seem positively smitten.”
“Smitten. Hmm, is that so?”
“Yep. And she seems equally so. Had her eyes on you much of the time, too.”
Hearing that, Colton was filled with unreasonable hope that was quickly dashed when he recalled all the reasons it might never work between them.