Taking Chances (Love at Starlight, Book 2)

by Kris Jett

  Still feeling a buzz of excitement, she climbed back into the car and headed to Snowy Ridge and Starlight Pub for her afternoon shift of work. She’d decided to keep her exciting news to herself for just a bit longer. Jessie was coming over to the house for dinner that night and Luci was cooking. They’d all be together as a family and it would be the perfect time to tell them about her new major then.

  Chapter Three

  Bryce Alexander moved to South Lake, Wisconsin, to forget. Or, if not to forget, to just go numb temporarily; like a Novocain shot to the whole body. He needed something to help him not feel so damn much, all of the time.

  He’d only moved thirty miles away from where he had lived with his wife. Correction, ex-wife. He had to get used to saying that now. He never thought that when he was swearing before God and his church and his childhood priest, who not only baptized him but confirmed him in high school, to love and honor Julia until death did they part, that a mere two years later he’d be divorced and living alone in a one-bedroom apartment, facing an ice-covered lake. Although, the lake view was actually kind of nice.

  It was like Julia had completely gone mad. They’d dated for six years, long enough to feel like you really knew a person, and she’d been so excited to get married and spend their lives together. But then they said their I Do-s and it was like a switch had flipped. She had suddenly become this woman who’s personality changed from hot to cold as fast as you could google “personality disorder.” And he never knew what would trigger her to flip. One minute she’d be laughing at a rerun of Seinfeld on TV; and in a blink of an eye, she’d be swearing and whipping magazines off the coffee table at him. Really, she’d throw anything nearby that she could grab quickly: mugs, empty takeout bag, Kleenex boxes, and one time, even her winter boots went soaring through the air toward his head. It was like she had a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing going on. And when he suggested that she see someone to talk things over, and maybe get a diagnosis, though he didn’t say that part out loud to her, it only enraged her more.

  Bryce had moved to South Lake after Julia so kindly moved all of his belongings on to the front lawn about eleven months ago, when she’d decided they were separating. He’d gone out to get the groceries, like she’d asked, and when he’d returned, there was everything he’d owned, scattered about on the grass for all the town to see. He ran up the walk to the house and tried to get in but she had bolted the doors. He’d like to say he was shocked, but it wasn’t the first time Julia had done something this crazy since they’d been married. Her highs were always super high and her lows were near destruction. But this was the worst time. There wasn’t any really coming back from this. Bryce was angry and humiliated. Even more so when his older neighbor Bob, the local high school principal, came out front to help him pick up his stuff and load it into his truck. Bryce was beyond hurt and had no idea what Julia had thought he’d done that time. She had been cheery and had given him a goodbye kiss when he’d left for the store. She’d even reminded him not to forget the laundry detergent. And then it was all over. He remembered sitting in his truck, stuffed with everything he owned, in a McDonald’s parking lot wondering how he was going to explain this all to his parents. It was the worst day of his life.

  Bryce ran his own web design company out of his home. He designed, created, and maintained Web sites for a huge list of customers ranging from local businesses, like plumbers and accountants, to authors and local bands. That’s where he met his client-turned-friend Ed Stevens. Ed played the drums in a band with a bunch of other thirty-something year old guys. Top 40s kind of stuff. They mostly did bars and festivals. The Fourth of July fest circuit always kept them pretty busy.

  Ed had been on him to start getting out more; going on about how it wasn’t healthy to sit in the house day after day. Since Bryce did work from home, he rarely felt the need to go anywhere or even get dressed for that matter. Between Amazon Prime and Netflix, he didn’t see much need for donning pants when there was no real reason. But Ed was relentless in his quest to get Bryce out the door and back in the land of the living. He’d gotten him a side job for extra cash at the community college in town. Once a week, Bryce would need to show up and teach an Intro to Web Design class, which he was pretty sure he could do in his sleep. And the college was so relaxed in their hiring process; he never even had a proper interview, just a welcome email with pay information and paperwork to fill out. And there was zero guidance in what his job even entailed. They basically gave him a free for all. He could do whatever he wanted with the class. They didn’t even require him to turn in a syllabus for review. And since it was effort enough for him to shower and show up once a week, he decided this class wouldn’t get a syllabus. He’d wing it.

  His first class was coming up that week and Bryce wondered what kind of people would fill out his student roster. Probably a bunch of eager teenagers all still living at home, dreaming of life as an adult; like it was so great to be old and alone and taking care of yourself. He’d definitely dash their dreams fast with his cranky old man attitude, he was sure. Or, maybe there would be an older crowd of people returning to school, looking for a new career. He would enjoy that group better than the former. At least he’d be able to relate to them.

  Bryce yanked open his freezer and pushed around the contents within until he found half a bag of pizza puffs. Dinner of champions. He dumped the remainder of the bag onto a small metal pan, pushed it into the toaster oven, and set the time for ten minutes. A Game of Thrones marathon for one was on the agenda for that night. Maybe he needed to get a cat or something. Then again, that might be more responsibility than he could handle.

  He flipped through the mail on his crowded kitchen table and stopped at a small envelope with the return address of his former home with Julia. What the heck is this? he thought. Why would Julia be writing him now? He stared at it for a moment longer, wondering if he should just dump it straight into the trash. Nothing good could possibly come from it. He hadn’t heard a word from Julia since their divorce was final and that had worked for him. Curiosity got the better of him, however, and he ripped open the envelope.

  Save the Date!

  For the wedding of

  Julia Alexander & Mason Reynolds

  This June the 3rd.

  What? Bitch! Bryce thought. Why the hell was she sending this to him? Is she that crazy? Flippin’ psychopath!

  So, his ex was getting re-married and to some poor sucker named Mason. “Good luck, Mason,” Bryce said out loud. “You’ll need it.”

  Bryce couldn’t figure out why on earth Julia thought sending a save-the-date to him made any kind of sense. Like he would ever attend her wedding. She was a cruel, cruel woman and Bryce, once again, thanked God he never procreated with this loose cannon.

  Bryce ripped the card into tiny pieces and was just about to find a lighter to burn them when he noticed a flier lying on the table. Ed had given it to him a couple of weeks back. His band was performing at a local bar that night. Ed was always inviting him to these things even though he knew Bryce would never go. Well, maybe he’d have to change that.

  Bryce crossed the small apartment and begun rifling through his tiny closet, not quite sure what he was looking for. A nice-ish shirt and pants. Most of his clothes were shoved into the tiny bureau of drawers, but he kept some stuff hung in the closet for when he needed to look professional and see clients. Luckily, this didn’t happen too often. He didn’t necessarily want to go out in a business-y type shirt though. What were people wearing to bars these days? At only thirty-two years old, it was sad that Bryce even had to wonder this, but he was so far removed from the nightlife scene he really didn’t know. He finally settled on a dark pair of jeans and a soft navy blue polo. He hadn’t worn the shirt in some time and the fabric was a bit snug on his arms, chest, and shoulders. He’d started lifting weights more regularly after he moved out of the house he’d shared with Julia. One of the items he was glad to take was his old bench and weight set from high school.r />
  Bryce ran his hands through his short brown hair and patted his mustache and beard. He kept it short and neatly trimmed. Another change he had made after separating from Julia. She’d always hated any facial hair at all so the first thing he did was stop shaving. He briefly wondered if he should run a little gel through his hair, and then if he even owned gel anymore, before deciding to just forget it and go au natural.

  With one last mirror check, Bryce grabbed his wallet and keys off the table and headed out of his tiny apartment. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for that evening; but, he knew whatever it was, he’d never find it if he stayed home.

  Chapter Four

  Wynn cradled a sleepy Melody in one arm and a bag of fresh cannoli in the other and she pushed through the front door of their house. It smelled heavenly. A wondrous combination of garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil filled the air.

  Luci walked out of the kitchen, donning a black apron, and wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Hey, Wynn! Hey, Melody! Oh no, is my little sweet pea pooped?” She rubbed Melody’s back and gave her a tiny kiss on her nose. Melody’s eyes were closed but she smiled.

  “She’s so tired from daycare lately,” Wynn said. “Too much fun, I guess.”

  “But auntie is making her special angel hair pasta.”

  Wynn laid Melody down carefully on the couch and pulled a soft velour blanket over her. “I’ll just let her take a short nap and then wake her when it’s time to eat. I know I shouldn’t let her nap now but she just looks so tired.”

  “How about you?” Luci asked. She returned to a pan on the stove and stirred the thick red sauce.

  Wynn wandered in behind her and took a seat at the counter to watch her sister cook. “Me? Oh, I’m fine. Work was good. We had a nice crowd today.”

  Wynn looked her sister over. When Wynn cooked, she looked a mess. There would be more flour and batter and sauce on her and in her hair than in whatever it was that she was cooking. But Luci looked gorgeous. Like someone playing the part of a beautiful woman cooking dinner on a television show. Her silky blonde hair was pulled into a high pony and she was sporting one of those super cute, super expensive, workout outfits under her apron that Wynn would kill to wear. Of course, now that she’s dropped so much weight maybe she could wear one of those outfits. Not in front of other people though.

  “Did you just come from a yoga class?” Wynn asked her sister. Luci was always just coming from a yoga class or asking Wynn to go to one with her. Wynn really should start exercising. She’d definitely take Luci up on it one of these days.

  “I did. I figured I’d change after I finished cooking. I needed it today too. I was having major writer’s block.”

  Luci had moved to New York six years ago to write. She struggled for a long time trying to get published before moving back to Snowy Ridge. She thought she would easily craft a bestselling book and sell it to a big New York publisher, but after hundreds of rejections, she threw in the towel and came home. Wynn was happy to hear she was starting to write again.

  “Okay, I’m dying to tell you about what happened at work today. I was going to wait for Jessie but it’s literally bursting out of me. You know that woman with the big fluffy white fox fur hat?”

  Luci stopped stirring and looked at her. “Grilled cheese and Guinness?”

  “Yeah, her,” Wynn said. “Well, she got into a monster, Real Housewives type of fight with this other woman today. I assume they were friends. At least, when they walked in they seemed to be friends. Both sported the fluffy fur hats. Like, they belonged to the same fluffy fur hat club or something. But her friend’s hat was in black.”

  “No way, seriously?”

  “Yeah. They super stood out in the crowd of snowmobilers. Everyone was side-eyeing them. Anyway, I was taking table eight’s order and from behind me, I could hear their voices rising. Like, a lot.”

  Luci nodded, urging Wynn to go on.

  “I tried to ignore it and stay professional; thinking they’d settle whatever it was like adults. But the little boy at my table was getting really concerned. He was all, ‘Mommy, I think the black bear is going to hit the white bear.’”

  “Shut up!” Luci squealed and started giggling madly.

  Wynn giggled too. “I know, I know. It was so cute. His parents assured him that the bears were friends and that about set me over the edge. I was really trying to hold it together.”

  Luci shook her head. “Man, none of the fun stuff happens on my shifts.”

  “So, I turn around to see if there’s anything I can do to calm down the situation and that’s when black hat lunged over the table and tried choking white hat! White hat was whisper-screaming, ‘I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!’ And the little boy was crying now. It was awful.”

  “No. Freaking. Way.”

  “Way,” Wynn said with a slow nod. “Jessie came flying across the room and grabbed black hat and I grabbed white hat and we pulled them apart. Jessie made them leave. And I had to compensate table eight’s food because the boy was so hysterical. It was total madness.

  Wynn and Luci both jerked their heads toward the front door opening.

  “I’m here,” Jessie called. She walked into the kitchen carrying a bottle of red wine and a plate of cheese and sausage.

  Luci and Jessie locked eyes and then Luci burst into laughter all over again.

  “Aw, come on,” Jessie whined. “You told her the fighting bears story already?”

  Wynn gave her sister a sheepish look. “I couldn’t help it. But you can tell Mom. Where is Mom by the way?” she asked Luci.

  “Resting. I told her I’d wake her when you all got here.” Luci tapped the large nylon spoon on the side of the sauce pot and then rested it in a spoon holder. “Be right back.”

  “So, what’s Cade doing this evening?” Wynn asked Jessie.

  Jessie’s face immediately popped into a smile at the mere mention of Cade’s name. She had it so bad.

  “Catching up on a little paperwork at work and then we have a Netflix date at my place after our dinner is done here.”

  Wynn gave her sister a small smile. She missed having someone to sit around watching movies with. But, she was dedicated to her boyfriend time out, so she’d just have to keep to watching cartoons with Melody.

  Jessie and Wynn looked up as their mom, with Luci trailing behind her, walked slowly into the kitchen, a hunter green flannel flowing loosely around her and black yoga pants that showed her too skinny legs. She’d been having such trouble keeping weight on since starting the chemo. Her shoulder-length gray hair was limp and pulled into a loose braid. Her cheeks were sunken in but her eyes still bright. Their mom was always happy when her whole family was together.

  “My girls,” she said as she sunk onto her kitchen chair, the one with the extra pad on it. The hard chars had been hurting her tailbone lately.

  “You’re looking good today, Mom,” Jessie said encouragingly.

  Their mom reached one frail hand up, patted her head, and then let it slump back on the table. “Thanks, Dear.”

  The sisters brought all the food to the table and then Wynn roused Melody and sat her in her highchair with the group. They talked and laughed through dinner, sharing their days with one another and Wynn felt happy. It reminded her of when they all lived at home. Except for their dad being gone, of course. He had a massive heart attack at home six years ago, and everything changed after that. Their mom was, of course, devastated. But the sisters sort of all fell apart. Everyone went their own way. Luci went to New York. Wynn followed Eric to St. Louis and married him. And Jessie stayed back to co-run Starlight with their mom. Wynn heard from Luci only sporadically and she never talked to Jessie. Not until she moved back home that was. Their silence started because of an issue over a guy. Wynn was sick of always having men issues. It happened far too often. But then they both sorta just stopped trying and Wynn was preoccupied with her new husband and pregnancy, and then daughter. Things were going good now between the girls an
d Wynn didn’t want to mess it up.

  Melody was falling asleep again during the meal so Wynn briefly excused herself to put her daughter in her pajamas and down for bed. When she returned to the table, Jessie had broken out the cannoli and poured glasses of wine for the sisters, and a cranberry juice for their mother. It had really been a lovely dinner and their mom looked so happy. Tired, but happy.

  “Girls, thank you so much for doing this. I think I need to lay down now though,” she announced.

  “Of course, Mom. Go on,” Luci said.

  After Wynn was sure their mom was out of air shot, she grabbed her sisters’ hands. “I have to talk to both of you.”

  “Uh-oh,” Luci said.

  “You look serious. Please no more stalkers. You said you were going on a boyfriend time out. Didn’t she say that?” Jessie asked as she turned toward Luci.

  Wynn let out an annoyed sigh. “I am. Gawd. It doesn’t involve a man. Well, no, that’s not true, now is it,” she said, more of a question to herself.

  The three sisters slid into seats around the kitchen table.

  “I’m afraid to ask,” Luci said.

  “Geez you two. Just listen, would you?”

  “Okay, okay, we’re listening. Spill,” Jessie said.

  “It’s not that big of a deal, really. I mean, I don’t think it is. I’m not sure. But,” Wynn paused, “Eric texted me today.”

  “What?” Jessie screeched, sitting bolt upright in her chair.

  “Eric, ex-husband, Eric?” Luci asked.