Chapter 31
Briar
One month later
Briar barreled down the steps of The Thirsty Crow.
‘I know, I know, I’m late,’ she said, shucking off her jacket and stuffing it under the bar.
Oscar nodded easily. ‘No worries. It’s been slow.’ He continued wiping the spotless glass in his hands for several more seconds, his expression vacant.
‘You good?’ Briar said. He nodded again, finally putting the glass down and picking up another. ‘The gummy hitting a little too hard?’
He flushed, finally glancing at her. ‘Maybe…’
‘Go take ten,’ Briar said, grabbing the glass out of his hand. ‘Maybe see if the kitchen will make you a cup of coffee. And if you see Shannon, don’t talk to her.’
‘On it,’ Oscar said, his eyes still not quite focusing on her face. ‘Good to have you back.’
Briar sighed as she watched him walk away. She quickly finished up the prep work for the night. It was only a Tuesday, but the trivia crowd could get rowdy, so it was best to be prepared.
The dive bar had operated in the basement of an old brownstone in Capitol Hill for several decades. Their ten-dollar beer and shot combo made it a local favorite among young staffers. And though it wasn’t exactly Briar’s scene, she’d missed it.
She nodded at some entering patrons, taking their orders and delivering drinks to their table. When she turned back to the bar, she caught sight of a familiar ponytail in the corner.
Briar stared, convinced she was seeing things. ‘Alice?’
‘Hi,’ Alice said. She sat with a manila folder and half-empty beer in front of her.
It looked like she’d been there for a while.
Briar walked over to her, blinking quickly, as though she might disappear at any moment.
‘Do you want to sit?’ Alice said, sounding exactly like herself and stubbornly not disappearing. ‘I thought we could chat.’
‘You’re in London,’ Briar said stupidly, still standing.
‘I was,’ Alice said. ‘But I’m back.’
‘I can see that,’ Briar said, because she could, even if it didn’t make any sense why she could.
‘Aren’t you going to ask me why I came back?’
‘Um, okay,’ Briar said, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Whatever it was would probably only break her heart all over again. ‘Why?’
‘Because I want to be with you,’ Alice said. Like that fixed everything, like none of the problems that were insurmountable a month ago still existed.
‘But—’ Briar started.
‘But I didn’t have a plan,’ Alice said, holding up a hand to stop Briar’s protest. ‘And now I do.’
‘You do?’ Briar echoed faintly.
She’d made peace with how they’d left things. She’d been doing fine without her for the past few weeks. But having Alice in front of her again, Briar ached with how much she’d missed her.
Alice nodded. ‘Yes. First,’ she said, ‘you asked me what I was going to do. And I’ve decided to be the director of Camp Lakeside.’
Briar felt a pang of annoyance. She had almost let herself dream for a moment that Alice had solved their problems, that she was back for good. But of course not – that would have been too perfect for real life, something that only existed in Briar’s imagination.
‘I sold the camp.’
In the end, it had been simpler than Briar had imagined.
She’d told Mr. Lavish that he could take the best offer he got, and it had sold a week later.
Briar suspected the Randolphs were currently drawing up plans to fit the cabins with AK-47s or something equally upsetting.
She wasn’t sure how Mr. Lavish had managed it; probably it was the miracle fix-up job Alice had done, but he’d sold her mother’s house, too.
‘I know,’ Alice said, tapping her manila folder as though that explained things. Briar frowned. ‘Would you sit?’
Briar sat, arms folded, guarding herself against whatever Alice said next, knowing it wasn’t wise to allow herself to be drawn in. Alice opened the folder, handing some papers to Briar. When Briar read them, the words didn’t make sense.
‘This is the deed to the camp,’ she said, confused.
‘It is,’ Alice confirmed.
Briar squinted at the name at the bottom. ‘Who’s Matthew Blair, and why have you stolen his legal documents?’
‘He handed them over willingly,’ Alice said, taking a sip of her beer and making Briar wait an infuriatingly long time for her to continue. ‘He’s the very motivated buyer who ended up outbidding the Randolphs.’
‘And he wants to keep an unprofitable camp?’ Briar asked suspiciously.
‘He has a particular interest in keeping it a camp.’ Alice pulled out a few more documents, placing them in a spread in front of Briar. ‘And he and I have spent the past few weeks developing a business plan to make it profitable.’
‘Well, this all seems very official,’ Briar said, impressed despite herself by the detailed plans laid out before her.
‘Thank you,’ Alice said, her cheeks going pink the way they always did when Briar praised her. ‘I’ve barely slept pulling it together.’
‘I assume there’s more,’ Briar said, eyeing the folder. Alice nodded.
‘With the camp staying open for outdoor education trips during the spring and fall,’ Alice said, ‘I thought we’d need another full-time staff member. There’s one assistant director in particular I happen to know is looking for a job.’
‘Freddie?’ Briar asked.
‘The visa paperwork should be sorted in the next week.’ Alice folded her hands on the table in front of her. ‘Truthfully, that was a bit of a nightmare, but I think the consulate was just looking to get me off the phone at a certain point. I can be very annoying when I need to be.’
‘I know,’ Briar said.
Alice ignored that. ‘And I’ll have other support too. Matthew will be nearby if I need anything. He also bought your mom’s house, and he’s planning on living there.’
‘Who is this mysterious benefactor?’ Briar asked, narrowing her eyes.
Alice nodded to someone over Briar’s shoulder. She turned and did a double take, her brain not computing the sight of Cook anywhere other than camp.
‘Hiya, Bri.’
Briar stood and crushed him in a tight hug. ‘Your name is Matthew?’
‘Ay, it is.’
She pulled away, looking at Alice and then back at Cook. ‘Where did you get enough money to buy the camp and the house? If I’d known you were interested and could afford it…’
‘Nearly forty years’ salary, with food and lodging provided.’ Cook shrugged. ‘I grow my own grass, so I’ve not had many expenses.’
Briar was sure her lungs weren’t working properly. That was why her brain was getting all fuzzy around the edges. That had to be it.
She couldn’t stop herself from looking at Alice again, from drinking in the sight of her, from hoping that maybe this was all real.
‘So you’ve got it all figured out, huh?’ she asked, failing miserably to strike a nonchalant tone.
Alice looked pleased with herself, and Briar wanted to kiss her more than she ever had before. ‘I do.’
‘Then what’s next for me?’ Briar asked.
‘That’s easy,’ Alice said, stepping forward so that they were nose-to-nose. ‘You get to do whatever the hell you want.’
‘Is that so?’ Briar said, finally letting herself break into the grin she’d been suppressing.
Alice nodded, snaking an arm around Briar’s waist, pulling her closer. ‘So… what are you going to do first?’
‘I have an idea.’ She wrapped her arms around Alice and kissed her deeply.