Meant for Now

1. Frankie

ONE

Frankie

“Fired? Fired! Can you believe it?” I knocked back one of the tequila shots the bartender had set in front of us. The burning sensation coated my throat and I welcomed the sting. The shot glass hit the table with a loud clank before I brought the lime wedge to my lips and sucked.

“I mean, it was a shock at first, but considering this is the fiftieth time you’ve brought it up, I’m starting to believe it,” my older sister Mattie muttered from the barstool next to mine. “And technically you got laid off, not fired.”

“What’s the difference?” I demanded, snatching her shot and knocking it back too. “It’s all just an excuse to get rid of me. Me! I’ve done everything for that company. I’ve been there for years. And to just lay me off on a random Thursday without even giving me a chance to say goodbye?” Tears pricked at my eyes, but I had already sobbed over this enough in the past twenty-four hours. I refused to be reduced to a shriveling mess of a human.

Mattie lightly placed her hand on my shoulder. “Frankie, it’s going to be alright. You’re the most qualified, driven person I know. You’ll find another job. This is a slight detour in the grand scheme of things.”

Her words danced around in my brain. Maybe it was the buzz, but they didn’t quite hit their intended target. The din in the bar faded to background noise as I tried to focus on the conversation at hand.

I was fully prepared to spend a few more days wallowing before I accepted this turn my life had unexpectedly taken. And what better place to wallow than in the company of my only sister? As soon as I’d stepped out of my former office in downtown Atlanta, clutching a box of my belongings and still feeling shell-shocked, I had stumbled over to a bench across the street and looked up flights on my phone. I had to get away. Spending some time with my sister in the small town she’d moved to a few years ago had sounded like the exact getaway I needed.

Key Ridge, Colorado had one main street, a handful of hotels, a ski resort, and a population of just over one thousand people. But when I got off the plane a few hours ago and Mattie picked me up, I was surprised to find the streets practically bustling. We’d even had to wait to get a seat at the bar we’d been holed up in for the past two hours.

“Spring break,” she’d explained, like that was supposed to mean something to me. We’d both grown up in Florida before I’d moved to Atlanta after college. Spring break to me meant lazy days on a beach and sun-kissed skin. But apparently in Colorado, spring break was prime time for skiing and snowboarding. Which explained the feet of white fluff piled up alongside the sidewalks.

When I’d decided to fly here on a whim, I hadn’t exactly pictured this much snow in mid-March. But Mattie had informed me there was at least a month left before the ski season officially ended, and Mother Nature had blessed them with way more snow this year than the past few. Funny—I didn’t realize more snow was a blessing, but you’d have thought it was a miracle with how excited my sister was describing it.

“Twenty-eight and unemployed,” I groaned, resting my forehead in my hands. “I never thought it’d come to this.”

“You’re being dramatic,” Mattie unhelpfully pointed out.

“I can be dramatic if I want to be. It’s my life.”

“It’s a job, not your life.” Mattie waved the bartender over to order another drink, purposefully ignoring the scowl that had creeped onto my face.

My career was my life. Or at least it had been up until yesterday. I’d been scaling the corporate ladder of that company ever since I graduated from college. It defined me, and I was more than okay with that. It thrilled me when people asked me what I did for a living and I could tell them I was the Director of Marketing at a thriving real estate company.

Now I was nothing.

“Did you tell Mom and Dad yet?” Mattie asked.

I scoffed. “When would I have had time to tell them? When I was sobbing on my drive home after my boss broke the news to me? When I was packing to come visit you? Or did you want me to call them from the plane? Where I was such a whimpering mess that the gentleman sitting next to me asked if he could switch seats.”

“He did not,” Mattie said.

“He did too. He picked a seat next to a crying baby— a baby , Mattie. He thought that would be a more peaceful flight than being in my vicinity.”

Mattie completely ignored my hysterics. “They’re about to leave for that month-long cruise in Australia. You should really call them while they still have service. ”

“I’ll call them when I have a new job,” I said.

“Who knows how long that will take?” Mattie argued. “You’re just going to lie to them?”

“I thought you said I’d find a new one in no time.” I narrowed my eyes at her, throwing her words back in her face.

An elbow bumped my back and I turned around to glare at the culprit.

“Excuse you,” I said to the older woman getting settled onto the barstool next to mine.

“Sorry.” She looked at me with apologetic eyes.

“You’re fine.” Mattie leaned forward and offered the woman a smile. “My sister is having an off day.” With that, she tugged at my arm and glared at me. “Can you not be so on edge right now? You almost ripped that poor lady’s head off.”

“She bumped me,” I grumbled.

“It’s a crowded bar.” Mattie’s eyes flicked to the ceiling in a silent plea for patience.

The grizzly-looking bartender showed up at that exact moment and set down another margarita in front of Mattie. She took a small sip before pushing it in my direction.

“Can we get an order of fries, too, Dave? She needs to soak this up.”

The bartender gave Mattie a small nod and punched something into the handheld device he carried around.

“I’m fine,” I argued, even though I was a complete lightweight and the two shots of tequila had already gone straight to my head. But if losing your job wasn’t a good occasion to get a little tanked, then what was? “And sorry I’m not in a hurry to tell Mom and Dad my life is over.”

“I don’t think there are any acting scouts in Key Ridge so you can lay off the melodramatic monologue.” Mattie shot me a look, and irritation bubbled in my gut—the kind that only a sister could cause.

“No,” I fired back stubbornly. “When that asshole ex of yours cheated on you and you thought your life was falling apart, I didn’t call you dramatic.”

She rolled her eyes. “Um, yeah you did. And you heavily implied I needed to move on. You’re probably half the reason I ended up in Key Ridge to begin with.”

She had a point there. Perhaps tough love ran in our family.

I took another sip of the margarita, attempting to quell the adrenaline that somehow raged inside of me. Exhaustion should have stepped in by now, but I was wound up tighter than a toy top. Apparently, I did not handle change well.

Trying to distract myself, I regarded the small, divey bar. When I told Mattie I needed a drink as soon as I exited the airport, she’d taken us here. It was the only place open right now.

The bar had sticky floors, old pool tables with ripped felt, and dartboards that currently held the interest of a small group of men who let out excited cheers every five minutes or so.

“I still can’t believe you live in a town like this,” I said, glancing back at my sister.

The Mattie who had picked me up at the airport today in her olive-green puffy jacket, beanie, and boots was a far cry from the Floridian sister I’d always known. The one who preferred to wear flip-flops well into the winter months and thought she’d freeze in fifty degrees. I had only visited her here once—for her wedding to her husband Giles—but that had been in the summer.

“You sure Giles won’t mind me crashing?” I asked again. I had sprung this visit on them, after all, and I hadn’t bought a return ticket yet. I’m sure an open-ended visit from his sister-in-law wasn’t the most exciting news for the guy. We got along well enough, but he was a quiet one. Probably preferred his alone time.

Mattie waved off my concern. “It’ll be fine. Our basement is completely redone and has a full guest bedroom and bathroom. It’ll be like your own little apartment.”

“And I won’t overstay my welcome,” I promised. Even though I had no idea how long I’d be staying, it felt like the right thing to say. Besides, it was more of a promise to me than to her. I’d figure out this whole mess soon. Maybe I had been thrown for a loop, but I was still me.

Responsible. Driven. Not afraid of a challenge.

This was only a tiny little setback. Microscopic even.

The bartender returned and set a plate down in front of us. The scent wafting from the fried, salty goodness was utterly mouthwatering. Without hesitation, I stuffed a few fries into my mouth and moaned.

“I know you’re still in mourning, but this is actually going to be so great.” Mattie clapped her hands, then daintily took one fry while I continued shoveling them into my mouth by the handful. “We can spend time together, I can show you around town—oh, and you can help out at the lodge too!”

The lodge being the Key Ridge Ski Lodge—the one Mattie had originally come to town to work at. The same one owned by her husband’s family.

I wrinkled my nose. “You’re going to extort me for free labor while I’m visiting?”

She shrugged. “It’ll be fun.”

I thought about fighting her on this, but it actually didn’t sound that bad. I’d been punching away at my corporate job for years at this point—sitting in my cubicle from eight to five every day, often even staying later to finish something. That was the only life I’d known. Getting a taste of something different could be a welcome distraction.

“Mattie!”

My thoughts were interrupted by a pretty brunette with a very pregnant belly. She smiled and waved as she walked from the front of the bar over to us. Mattie stood from her stool and embraced her tightly.

“Erin, oh my God. What are you doing here? I thought you were already on the road.”

“We’re all packed up and ready to go. Johnny is in the car. I figured you’d be at the lodge so I stopped in to say goodbye, but Bev said you’d be here.”

“Ugh, I’m going to miss you.” Tears welled in Mattie’s eyes.

“Denver isn’t that far,” Erin said, going in for another hug. “We’ll be back for the Fourth of July.”

Mattie nodded before looking back at me as if just remembering I was still here. “Frankie, you remember my friend Erin from the wedding. She’s married to Giles’s cousin, Johnny.”

“Right, of course.” I waved, the reminder effectively jogging my memory.

“And of course I remember you!” Erin exclaimed. “I was in awe of the color-coded itinerary you handed out to all the guests.”

“Oh, um, yeah. I’m a pretty organized person.” That was an understatement. That color-coded itinerary was nothing compared to the binder I’d put together for Mattie. She had begged me not to plan her entire wedding, but I hadn’t listened. Growing up, everyone had always joked that I had the older sister energy. Not that Mattie was a mess by any means; we were actually quite similar in a lot of ways. It was just that I’d never met a situation I didn’t want to take charge of. That had caused us to butt heads quite a bit growing up, but Mattie had slowly learned to just let things go when it came to me. If I wanted to plan something, she no longer fought me tooth and nail on it.

When she had moved to Key Ridge, I’d been shocked. She’d had a nice little career of her own in Florida, and our lives were relatively parallel to each other. She’d originally come down here through her last job, but when she’d dropped everything to move here because she’d fallen in love with the town—in addition to some local ex-professional snowboarder—I had thought she’d lost her mind.

But now she had this whole life. She was happy and settled. And here I was, the lost and aimless one.

Mattie and Erin continued their drawn-out goodbye. From what I’d gathered, Erin and her husband were moving to Denver for a job opportunity for him. It was more stable and safer than what he’d been doing—odd jobs around town, including teaching private snowboarding lessons for the Key Ridge Ski Lodge.

Seeing Erin and Mattie give each other one last hug left a lump in my throat. It was a stark reminder that my sister had created this whole family here. Even though I had lived in Atlanta for years—owned a condo, had roommates, the whole thing—I hardly had any acquaintances outside of work, let alone real friends.

Erin waved goodbye and left the bar.

Just as Mattie turned back to me, her phone vibrated on the wooden bar top, almost sending it over the edge. She snatched it and pressed the answer button before holding it to her ear.

“What’s up, Bev?” she asked. Bev was Giles’s aunt and owned the lodge with him. I remembered that much at least.

Lines formed between Mattie’s brows as she listened to whatever Bev was saying on the other end. “Did you check the storage room? I could have sworn I put the extra sheets there.” She paused before letting out a sigh. “Alright, no worries. I’m still at The Ridge. I’ll swing by before I head home.”

Mattie hung up and slid off her barstool.

“Speaking of Erin and Johnny leaving, I’ve got to run to the lodge. Giles has a friend coming into town to take over the private snowboarding lessons for the rest of the season. He’s staying in the studio above Bev’s garage and she’s rushing around trying to get the room ready before he gets in tonight.”

“Okay,” I said, sticking another few fries in my mouth.

Mattie slipped on her coat and pulled the zipper up all the way to her neck. “You coming?”

I gestured to my full plate of fries and barely sipped margarita. “Um, clearly not.”

“Seriously?” she asked, pulling on her mittens.

Instead of responding, I took a slurp of my drink.

Mattie pinched her lips together and gave a disapproving shake of her head. “Fine, whatever. But I’m going to be at least an hour.”

“Have fun.”

She turned to leave before whipping around. “You’re really going to stay here alone?”

“What better way to commiserate than with myself?” My attempt at a joke fell flat and Mattie’s eyes instantly softened. “I’ll be okay,” I insisted. “I remember the way back to your house. I’ll finish these and head out.”

“You have the address?” she asked.

Wow, either she was really worried about me, or seriously underestimating me.

“Yes, I have your address. And my phone. Plus, you live like two blocks away. Pretty sure I can find my way back.”

“Says the person who got lost walking back to her own dorm room freshman year of college and had to call the police,” Mattie said.

My smile froze in place. “That was one time,” I said through clenched teeth.

Mattie laughed, tossing her wild light-brown hair back in the process. “Call me if you have any issues.”

“I’ll be fine,” I insisted.

Mattie turned to address the bartender—Dave, was it? “She’s having a bit of a mental breakdown at the moment,” she said. “Please don’t let her drink too much.” With that, she walked away from us and headed toward the exit.

I scowled at her back, before turning back to Dave. “Am not,” I said, picking up another fry. Then I offered, “I got fired.”

Dave had already returned his attention back to the drink he was making. “I’m no babysitter,” he said.

“Then can I have one more drink?” I asked, batting my eyelashes innocently.

Dave chuckled and eyed the margarita still in front of me. Then, he slid a full glass toward me that looked suspiciously like straight soda water. Part of me wanted to object, but the more rational side of my brain recognized that I was plenty buzzed. The headache already threatening to make an appearance in the morning was thankful for this.

“Any plans while you’re in town?” Dave asked as he pulled the taps. Amber liquid flowed into the beer glasses he held.

“Umm…” I pursed my lips. In reality, I hadn’t spent a single minute thinking about what I wanted to do with my newfound freedom, or my time in Key Ridge for that matter. I had been thinking one singular thought when I’d bought that plane ticket—escape. “I don’t know, I guess.”

“Well, Key Ridge is a pretty magical place. I hope you find what you’re looking for here,” he said, before he walked away to serve the beers.

I frowned and took another large sip of my drink. Little did he know, the only thing that I was looking for was a new job that would get me out of this town as quickly as possible.

Now left alone to my own thoughts, I started making a mental to-do list. Update my résumé. Sign up for job-searching sites. Rerecord my voicemail so it sounded more professional. Let my roommates know I would be out of town for an indefinite amount of time.

I groaned thinking about the girls that I lived with. I owned my condo, and being the financially responsible person that I was, I had always rented out my spare bedrooms to cover the mortgage. I wasn’t close with the girls that lived there now. I knew them from work, but we weren’t friends by any stretch of the imagination. Aside from the occasional happy hours and work talk, I knew nothing about them. But now, after all this, I never wanted to face them again. Their sympathetic eyes as they’d pout and tell me how sorry they were. Ugh, I couldn’t take it. I already felt pathetic enough.

I slurped down the remainder of my margarita and rested my cheek in my hand.

The front door opening caught my attention, but only because of the guy who’d just stepped inside. He was tall—definitely over six feet. His shaggy dark hair was tucked into a beanie and it poked out in a careless way that still somehow looked perfect. I couldn’t describe his face as anything other than boyishly charming. Like he had a permanent twinkle in his eye or something like that. The stranger brushed off a few snowflakes from his tan jacket. I knew I should turn around so that he wouldn’t catch me staring, but I was completely taken with his face. I found myself wondering what his smile looked like. But when he looked up, our eyes met for only a second before I jerked my gaze forward.

The last thing I needed was some random local thinking I was sending out some flirtatious vibe. I had way more important things to think about aside from how a man was perceiving me. No matter how attractive he was.

Even though I’d already told myself that I didn’t care, I still found my fingers frantically brushing through the ends of my messy, wavy hair, attempting to tame it. I froze when I felt a presence looming over the empty barstool next to mine.

“This seat taken?”