CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Monday afternoon, Alex ran into Brody at the office. He was lurking on the front porch, stealing the Wi-Fi. Since he was more resident than guest now, she didn’t harass him about it.
“It’s safe to be out, right?” he asked.
She knew immediately what he meant. “Yes, they’re gone. Last one checked out this morning.”
“They had loads of nerve, didn’t they?” Brody said. “Trying to pry out all of our deep, dark secrets?”
“They were very tenacious, yes,” Alex agreed. “This week’s guests should be better behaved. There’s a big family reunion this weekend, and several of the families are coming early. Later today, in fact. They’ll probably spend a lot of time in the rec cabin. Just FYI.”
“Sounds good. I’ve got work to do anyway. And I’ll be gone for the weekend.”
She didn’t really care what he did with his time, but supposed he was just being polite, telling her his plans.
The families who came for the reunion collectively brought a slew of children, which gave the place new life.
Alex didn’t have to worry about feeding Daisy.
Every time she went to do so, she found a gaggle of kids already there, throwing breadcrumbs and trying to coax her out of her little house to play.
Brody kept to himself, presumably writing—or moping—and Alex didn’t see him again until Friday morning. She was walking to the parking lot from the dock when an ancient blue pickup stopped in her path. It took her a second to register who sat behind the wheel.
“Hey,” Brody greeted. “No boot. Your ankle feeling better?”
“Yeah,” Alex said. “Still got a little hitch in my giddy-up, but I’m tired of that stupid thing.”
“It’s only been two weeks. I thought the doctor said it would take you a month to heal.”
“What can I say?” She shrugged. “I’m an overachiever. Whose truck is this?”
“Mine now,” Brody said. “I bought it yesterday from a guy I met at The Tool Shed. For a thousand bucks. Can you believe that deal? He even followed me to the rental place to turn in my car.”
“Wow. That’s some commitment. You really are here for a while then, huh?”
“At least through the end of the year. I’ll reevaluate after that.”
“Nice beard,” she said. It wasn’t as full as when she’d first met him, but probably a week’s worth of growth.
“Tess suggested it.” He stroked his chin. “Said it might help keep me warm this weekend.”
“That where you’re headed now?”
“Yep. Wish me luck.”
“Whatever you do, don’t cry,” Alex warned. “You’ll never live it down. And Tess won’t go easy on you just because you know her.”
“I’ll do my best.”
The next day, she was about to head out to Faith’s to watch Maddie’s show when there was a knock at her door.
Thinking Juliet had assumed she needed a ride, Alex yelled at her to come in.
Only when the door opened, it wasn’t Juliet. And Alex immediately wished she could claw back the hearty welcome. Dang it. She finally gets rid of the pain in her foot, and a pain in the ass shows up on her doorstep.
“Blossom?” Alex’s heart rate jumped. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to visit,” Alex’s mother said. “And why are you calling me Blossom?”
“Habit,” Alex muttered. She hadn’t spoken to her mom in almost five years, and in that time had taken to referring to her by her first name.
Blossom moved in for a hug, like they hadn’t just gone half a decade without seeing each other.
“I’m here to see my baby girl and show my new fiancé where I grew up.” She waved a hand triumphantly at a middle-aged man standing behind her.
Pudgy, graying, and plain, the man had a used-car-salesman look about him, causing Alex to assume they’d just met coincidentally on the porch. Him, here to sell her a vacuum cleaner, and her mom, here for who knew what.
“Wesley,” Blossom said. “This is my daughter, Alexandra.”
“Alex,” Alex corrected, wondering if Wesley actually preferred Wes.
Wesley gave a chin hitch in greeting, but Alex barely acknowledged him. Her mind was already racing to figure out her mother’s angle. The real reason for her sudden appearance.
“Aren’t you going to invite us in?” Without waiting for an answer, Blossom pushed past Alex into the living room, Wesley hot on her heels with two suitcases.
Alex fought to not lash out.
“So, honey, how have you been?” Blossom said. “We have so much to catch up on.”
“Yeah. About five years worth,” Alex mumbled.
Uninvited, her mother sat on the couch. Guess this was happening. Alex perched on the edge of a chair, ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.
“Does Pops know you’re here?” Alex asked. She would kill him if he’d known and hadn’t warned her.
“Oh, um, not yet.” Without any coaxing or segue, Blossom launched into listing all the cities she’d been to since leaving Green Valley Falls—Boston, Cincinnati, even Nashville—as if they were exotic, wondrous places that warranted jealousy.
Alex said as little as possible, hoping her mother would lose steam and they could promptly end this charade.
“You should get out and see the world, honey. There’s so much beyond GVF. So many men.” She paused to wink. Yikes. “I don’t know how you stay in this dinky town.”
Alex didn’t need a reminder of how Blossom felt about Green Valley Falls. “Getting out of town” had been her mantra Alex’s whole life.
“I stay because I like it, and because Grandpa is here.”
“You still running this place for him?”
Alex hesitated. Could Whispering Pines have something to do with this out-of-the-blue visit?
“Yup.” Until she unveiled Blossom’s true motives, she’d play her cards close.
“I know it’s hard to meet men here,” Blossom said. “But do you have a boyfriend?”
“I was dating someone from New York, but it didn’t work out.”
“Because you wouldn’t move, no doubt. You’ll never find anyone special living in this godforsaken town.”
The words, though maybe true, raised Alex’s dander. This was her town, and whether or not her mom was right about the scarcity of men, she felt compelled to defend it.
“That’s not true. Holly got married last year, and Faith, a few months ago.” She omitted the fact that Holly had indeed moved to make that work.
“Oh, well, but, honey,” her mother started. “They’re much prettier than you. For someone like you, it’s going to be tough.”
There was her mother! It had taken her long enough to come out. Subtle—sometimes not-so-subtle—digs, always aimed at keeping Alex in her place, were classic Blossom behavior.
Over the years, Alex had come to realize that her mom’s issues stemmed from little to no self-esteem. The insults were her way of projecting her own vulnerabilities onto Alex. With that knowledge, Alex had sworn she’d never let Blossom get to her again.
Unfortunately, Alex’s own insecurities perpetually simmered just below the surface, constantly at the ready to rise up and revolt. One scratch from Blossom’s pointy red fingernail, and they exploded.
“The guy from New York didn’t work out, but I already have a new boyfriend,” Alex lied, taking her mother’s bait and feeling the trap snap around her. “He’s smart, handsome, and kind. He’s renting a cabin long-term just to be with me.” Even as she said it, she wanted the words back.
“Oh, great.” Blossom narrowed her eyes in a challenge. “I’d love to meet him.”
Alex panicked, but only for a second. Brody would be away all weekend, and there was no way her mom would stay more than a day or two. He could be her pretend boyfriend without ever knowing.
“I really wish that were possible, but he’s gone camping for the weekend.” This was a dangerous game, but if her luck held, it was potentially winnable.
“Camping? In this weather? It’s almost winter.”
“He’s very tough.”
“Not as tough as Wesley,” Blossom said as if it were a competition. Which of course, to her, it was. “I bet he could handle a week in the woods.”
“Wait. Wha—” Wesley started to protest, but Blossom cut him off.
“Not that I’d ever let him do such a thing. I love him too much.” She laid a protective hand on Wesley’s soft arm. The underlying message implied Alex didn’t love her man because she’d allowed him to traipse off into the cold wilderness.
Alex’s phone buzzed, jolting her back from the brink of insanity. It was a text from Juliet, saying the show was about to start, and asking about her ETA. Ah. Thank goodness. An excuse to get the heck out of here.
“It’s been great catching up.” Alex stood. “But I gotta go.”
“We just got here. Where could you possibly have to go?”
“My friends and I get together to watch Maddie’s show.”
“Oh, yes. See. That proves my point. Maddie moved away and made it big. If you weren’t so stuck in your small-town mindset, maybe you could do that.”
Alex walked to the entryway, done with the conversation. She opened the door and waited for them to take the hint and leave. Blossom did not take the hint, or ignored it if she did.
“We’ll get settled while you’re gone,” Blossom said.
“Settled?” Alex’s gut got heavy, like she’d swallowed a sock of pennies. “Where are you staying?”
“Well, here, silly.” Blossom pouted. “Where else would we stay?”
“I don’t have a cabin for you,” Alex said. “We’re booked solid all weekend.”
“You’ll have to make room here then,” Blossom said, irritation growing. The snippy tone was more in line with the Blossom Alex knew—the shiny veneer always wore thin when she didn’t get her way.
Alex rolled her eyes. Of course, finding them lodging would be Alex’s problem to solve.
“What? No.” Alex was on the verge of suggesting she stay with Pops, but that wouldn’t be fair to him. Blossom didn’t treat him any better than she treated Alex. “There’s only one bedroom here.”
“Don’t be rude,” her mother chided. “We’re your guests after all. If you don’t want to sleep on the couch, why don’t you shack up at your boyfriend’s?”
It was a challenge. Was her “boyfriend” real? She might as well have just asked it outright.
Alex dug into the lie, and once again took the bait. “Fine. Change your own sheets.”
She stormed out with only the clothes on her back and got all the way to the parking lot before stopping, her ankle throbbing from the dramatic exit. She took a long, deep breath, mad at herself for letting Blossom push her buttons and drag her into her cesspool of crazy.
All this drama was supposed to be in her rearview mirror. Blossom had fled Green Valley Falls as soon as the candles were out on Alex’s eighteenth birthday cake. And in the nine years since, had only returned a handful of times.
Alex thought she’d successfully dealt with the emotional damage her mother had inflicted, so it surprised her how quickly the old emotions came flooding back.
She texted Juliet to let her know she wasn’t coming. I have a Blossom emergency. Not gonna make it.
Juliet responded right away. Should we come rescue you? Huge eyes emoji.
Nah. Thanks tho.
No need to impose her bad mood on her friends. They’d wasted enough time over the years consoling and counseling her, helping her understand that Blossom’s cheap shots were insecure, lame attempts at making herself feel better and had nothing to do with Alex.
But that knowledge had come late in life and didn’t automatically undo all the damage from her childhood.
Alex grew up believing she was the cause of all Blossom’s problems. That she’d single-handedly kept her from making something of herself, being famous, or meeting and marrying a wonderful man. She believed it because her mom had repeated it on a near-daily basis.
As Alex got older, Blossom seemed to think she was competing with her, though Alex never could guess why. That’s when the snide comments and backhanded compliments started. When Blossom finally made good on her promise to leave, Alex only felt relief.
She walked to cabin twelve and let herself in. What luck Brody was on a campout this weekend.