Chapter 2 #2
There was obviously a growing interest for adventure in the teenagers in town, but paired with a total lack of training, it was a recipe for disaster.
I’d come up with the idea to put together a group where we could offer some basic training and knowledge sessions, as well as give the kids a chance to participate in some of the activities they wanted to try out in a safer environment.
So far, it had been a hit. But we were always recruiting more members, and now that winter was finally loosening its grip on the mountains, and we could get out for some more hikes and backcountry camping opportunities, I was sure we’d get some more members.
At three, when our full time employee, came into the shop, I left the dog in the back with Brody, took my stack of flyers, and headed out into the plaza to hang them.
I’d hung about half my posters by the time I got to Plot Twist, the bookstore next to the brewery. The bells over the door announced my presence, and Delaney called out a greeting from the back.
“It’s just me,” I called back. “Take your time.”
“Uncle Pres!” Ethan’s daughter, who spent most of her free time hanging out in her stepmom-to-be’s bookshop, ran through the shop toward me.
“How’s my favorite niece?” I stopped short of offering her a hug. At thirteen now, Quinn bounced between being a little girl and being a too-cool-for-her-uncles, or anyone else, teenager. I never knew what version I was going to get.
“I’m your only niece.” She wrapped her arms around me, and I happily accepted the hug. “Where’s the puppy? Dad said you got a puppy.”
“I did. He’s super cute, and you’re going to love him. But I left him at the shop with Brody for a bit.”
Her face fell. “Man. I wanted to meet him.”
“You can,” I told her. “He’s literally across the plaza.” I pointed behind me and laughed. “But first, you can help me find a spot to hang this.” I handed her one of the posters I’d been carrying around.
“Teens in the Trails?” She scrunched up her nose as she read the information. “Like, you hang out in the trails?”
“That’s exactly what we do.” I chuckled. “You should come check it out. I think you’d like it.”
“Yeah.” She gave me the kind of look that only a thirteen-year-old girl could give an uncle who clearly had no idea what he was talking about. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, Uncle Pres.”
“And why not? You might like it.” I knew I was pushing my luck, but I also knew that Ethan would love it if Quinn got involved with something like my group.
She was a great kid, and she stayed out of trouble more than any other teenager I knew.
Certainly more than her dad and uncles had at her age.
But spending time outdoors was good for any kid.
“Do you read books?” She lifted the paperback she held in her hand.
“We do, actually.” Her eyes widened and immediately lowered into a scowl when I added, “Map books and guides to identify different types of edible plants.”
“Pass.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are we passing on?” Delaney joined us from the back room, her arms full of books that she balanced around her growing belly.
I rushed to relieve her of the books and set them on the front desk that Ethan had commissioned our brother Reid to make especially for her. “Quinn here has decided that, without even checking it out, my Teens in the Trails group isn’t for her.”
“It’s not happening, Uncle Pres.” She grabbed the roll of tape from the counter and moved to the window, where she quickly slapped up the poster. “But I am going to go meet your puppy.”
I waved her away and waited until she flew out the shop door, headed straight across the plaza, before turning to Delaney.
“I heard you adopted a puppy,” she said. “Summit?”
I nodded. “I don’t know about adopted. It’s more like I saved him. But either way, it does look like I have a dog now.”
“Right.” Delaney moved to the other side of the counter and started to organize the books she’d brought from the back. “I heard something about how you went rogue on a rescue mission.”
I didn’t bother responding to that. It wouldn’t matter.
Instead, I turned to look out the shop windows at the plaza, my eyes catching immediately on the garish purple and gold signage.
“Can you believe that?” I hooked a thumb in the direction of the offending sales office.
“It’s like they’re trying to be obnoxious. ”
Delaney shook her head. “Do you really think affordable housing is a bad idea in this town, though?”
“I don’t.” I sighed. “But I think there are about a million ways they could go about it without being obnoxious or destroying the best trail access we have.”
She left the books and looked up at me. “So, is your main objection how obnoxious it is? Or the location?”
“I just can’t believe that Jess would—”
“Or is it Jess?” I shot her a look, and she laughed. “Ethan mentioned you two have history.”
“I wouldn’t call it history,” I grunted. “We were twelve. And she…well, it doesn’t matter.”
Annoyed all over again, I shook my head and looked out the window at Jess’s new office space. With a snort, I looked away.
“Look, Preston. If you’re really upset about it, why don’t you come to the community meeting and present an official objection?”
That was the first reasonable thing I’d heard. “You can do that?”
She laughed. “Have you never been to a community meeting?”
I shook my head. “Brody always goes to represent the shop.”
“Well then, I’d say it’s long past time you attended,” Delaney said. “It just happens to be tonight. The new development is already on the agenda.”
“It is?”
“Of course.” Delaney nodded. “If you feel passionately about it, this is your best opportunity to have your voice heard.”
“Tonight, huh?” I grabbed up the rest of my posters, already thinking about what I’d say at the meeting. She was right. I needed to have my voice heard. “Thanks, Delaney. I’ll be there.”
Jess
“Breathe, Jess.” Lauren’s voice filtered through my growing panic. “Just breathe. It’ll be okay.”
I let my eyes flutter open. I was still sitting in the chair at the salon. Noa, Kat, and Lauren all hovered around me, matching looks of concern on their faces.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so.” I accepted a glass of water from Kat. “Did I…”
“You didn’t pass out or anything,” she assured me. “But you looked like you kind of disappeared a little bit.”
“Like a panic attack,” Noa said. “Do you normally have panic attacks?”
I shook my head. But then again, I wasn’t usually getting married to a man whom I hardly knew and… “No. I think it just all felt like a little much all at once.”
Noa nodded knowingly. “I get that feeling very well.”
“That’s right.” I looked at her. “You got married at the lodge, too.”
“Correction.” She held up a hand. “I ran out on my wedding at the lodge.”
“I wish I’d been there to see it.” Next to her, Kat laughed. “From what I understand, it was all very dramatic. You running down the stairs in your gown, and my brother almost running over you.” She shook her head. “A true runaway bride.”
“That’s right.” I stared at Noa. “I can’t believe I forgot about that until right now.
” In my head, Noa and Asher had been together forever.
They were such a perfect couple, it was hard to remember that they’d met when Asher more or less kidnapped her moments before Noa was supposed to say her vows to someone else.
“Never forget.” Noa laughed. “But seriously, I get it. Weddings can be stressful, especially if you’re having second thoughts.” Her voice softened. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you, Jess?”
“It’s okay if you are,” Lauren chimed in. “From what I understand, it’s totally normal, and you and Trevor are moving so quickly, I wouldn’t be surprised if…well, I’m just saying…if you need to talk about anything, Jess…we’re here.”
I looked around at all three faces of my friends, who had nothing but concern for me. But I wasn’t having second thoughts, was I? This was just normal. These questions, and the stress…it was all normal.
I turned my chair around so I was once again facing the mirror and assessed my beautiful hair, trying to picture how the veil would be clipped into the top.
“There’s just a lot going on right now,” I said after a moment. “It feels like a bit much with the new development and everything all at the same time. But no, I’m not having second thoughts.”
I looked myself in the eyes as I spoke, as if it were really myself I was trying to convince. And maybe it was.
All three of them stared at me for another moment before Lauren finally nodded and said, “Weddings are so stressful. That’s why I’ve decided not to worry about the husband thing at all.”
“Excuse me?” I spun around in the chair to stare at her.
“What do you mean, you’re not going to worry about the husband thing?” Kat asked pointedly.
“I thought you were enjoying the dating scene,” Noa said. “Didn’t you just go on another date last Friday?”
“What about Brody?” Lauren shot Kat a look.
Noa and I just raised a brow.
Brody and Lauren were best friends and spent almost all their free time together. Anyone could see that there was more than friendship going on between the two of them, but for some reason, they couldn’t see it. Or if they could, they were steadfastly ignoring their connection.
“Okay, wait.” I pulled Lauren’s attention back to the topic at hand. “What do you mean, you’re not going to worry about it? I thought you were on a mission to find a partner. Isn’t that what all this dating has been about?”
Lauren was a beautiful, successful woman who owned and operated the local health store in the plaza. About six months ago, she declared that she was ready to meet someone and settle down. She’d really thrown herself into dating, and as her friends, we’d been nothing but supportive.
Even when some of her matches weren’t even remotely good enough for her.
“I’m over it.” Lauren waved her hand. “I’m not getting any younger,” she continued. “I can’t afford to waste time anymore. Not if I want kids.”
“Kids?” I thought Kat was going to choke at the sharp pivot the conversation had taken. “So, you’re just going to have kids?”
It was my turn to choke when Lauren nodded and said simply, “Yup. Why not? I can get a donor and do it on my own. I don’t need a man to have a family.”
Noa, Kat, and I all exchanged glances. None of us had seen this coming from Lauren, but then again, it probably wasn’t all that surprising. After all, Lauren was a strong, independent woman. But still…
“Wow,” was all I could manage. “That’s…well, that’s unexpected, Lauren.”
She laughed. “I know. I’m still getting used to the idea myself, but honestly, I just thought…
choosing to have children with someone is the biggest decision you will ever make.
Bigger even than getting married. Because even if your marriage doesn’t work out, you will still have kids with that person, right? ”
We all nodded.
“So, if you don’t choose right, you’re stuck with him forever.
And not only that, the pressure to choose a man good enough to be the father of your children is intense.
I mean, I’m sure all of you can imagine your guys as amazing fathers, right?
” She looked at Kat and smiled. “I mean, Andy is an amazing father. And you probably knew that long before you got pregnant.”
Kat didn’t hesitate. “I always knew Andy would be an amazing father. I had no hesitations, even though our little one wasn’t planned.”
Noa nodded, a small smile creeping up over her face. “I know Asher can come off as all business first,” she said. “But the softer side of him with his nieces and nephews is incredible. I can’t wait until he’s a father himself. He’ll be amazing.”
All three of my friends turned to look at me, waiting for my answer.
“We’re not in a hurry to have kids.” It was a partial truth. “Trevor thinks it’s important to have a solid financial base before we bring children into the world. We decided to focus on our careers first, and when we have some savings put aside, we can—”
“There’s never enough money to have kids,” Kat interrupted with a laugh. “But seriously, if you wait for the perfect time…”
“There’ll never be a perfect time,” Noa finished for her.
“I get that.” I nodded. “But right now, the focus is very much on this development and the investment we’ve both made. I’m sure once that gets off the ground, we’ll be able to think a little bit more about the future.”
My friends exchanged a glance I pretended not to see, and I turned my attention back to my reflection in the mirror.
The longer I looked, the harder it got to recognize myself at all.