34. Elsa
Chapter Thirty-Four
Elsa
Maggie and Chloe listened to my little outburst as I finished with, “And I was going to deal with it.”
Maggie let out a soft sigh before pulling me into a quick hug and squeezing my shoulders as she stepped back. “Haven likes to take care of people, and he doesn’t always know when to back off.” She let out another sigh. “But my gut tells me there’s a little bit more to this than that.”
“What do you mean?” I chewed the insides of my cheeks to the point of pain. Just thinking about the more to this brought up all of my embarrassment and foolishness inside.
“I’m not asking you to explain your reaction, but I’m curious.” Maggie eyed me carefully. “All Haven did was what you say you want, which is for him to back off.”
“What’s the other guy’s name again?” Chloe asked.
“Brad,” I ground out.
“That’s a good asshole name,” Chloe replied, and I burst out laughing.
“Haven loves you,” Maggie said, her gaze somber.
My heart was beating so hard, the echo of it reverberated to every cell in my body, and I wanted to cry. “Okay.”
Maggie’s phone rang, and she had to take the call. Everything was hectic and crazy here because they were opening in a week. She hurried away, mouthing, “Don’t forget he loves you.”
I didn’t even realize my tears had started to flow until Chloe stuffed some tissues into my hands. “For what it’s worth, Maggie’s right. It’s plain as day. Haven loves you. You know what you need?”
“What?” I sniffled.
“A girls’ night.”
Aside from my massive, overwhelming fears about abandonment and putting myself out there, what if I made a fool of myself with Haven?
Maybe he did love me. But he sure as hell didn’t have time for more than what we already had, which was some really smoking-hot benefits at night.
Here I was worrying about how much time he had, as if that was the problem.
“Elsa?” Chloe prompted.
“Huh?”
Chloe blinked as her gaze coasted over my face. “I was invited out to, I guess, a regular get-together they have. Just women, and you need support. There’s nothing like the support of a whole group. It’s a collective energy thing.” Chloe was completely serious.
A twinge of guilt pricked my conscience. “Oh, that’s right. Tiffany invited me before, but I couldn’t go because—” Pausing abruptly, I let out a sigh. “No good excuse. I always worry I don’t belong, so I didn’t go and gave her some lame reason.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes, resting a hand on her hip. “Stop it,” she said.
“Stop what?”
“Look, Elsa, I might be new here, but here’s the thing about Alaska: everybody’s a little funky here.
I bet it was hard to move in the middle of high school like you did because what few connections you had were taken away.
You probably felt really out of place wherever you went to high school after that. Where was that?”
“Seattle,” I said.
“Whoa, talk about a change of pace. Major urban center. Anyway, my new friend Josie invited me, and she told me I could bring someone if I wanted. You’re my plus-one.” She smiled, but her eyes had a bossy look. “So you’re coming, and we are all going to give you moral support.”
I blew my nose, took a shaky breath, and nodded. Even though it felt dramatic, I put a note on my bedroom door that Haven was not allowed to come in because I needed a little time to think things over. I figured putting it there now was a little insurance that I’d take the space I needed.
“I remember you.” Josie pulled me into a big hug.
Josie was an Olympic skier, so it was kind of hard not to know who she was in our little world. All that aside, her smile was warm, she was welcoming and kind, and before I knew it, I’d gotten about ten hugs from everyone there.
Aside from Chloe and me, Josie, Maisie, Amelia, Madison, Tish, Luna, and Casey were here.
“We’re a smallish group tonight,” Tish pointed out.
Before I could even reply to that, four more women piled in. Respectively, Phoebe, Lucy, Stella, and Rachel.
“See? You’re not the only new person here,” Chloe said with a pointed look, promptly followed by a squeeze around my shoulders.
“Do not ever worry about that,” Madison said, who was, honestly, intimidatingly beautiful with her glossy dark hair, sparkly green eyes, and almost regal features.
“Yeah, we all look at her like that,” Amelia offered dryly from my side.
“Huh?” I glanced askance.
“She used to be a homecoming queen,” Maisie added.
“Hey.” Madison held up a hand. “I’ll have you know that maybe I was a homecoming queen in high school, but I’ve come a long way since then.
I can now chop wood, start a fire, survive potential hypothermia…
” She let out a sigh, rolling her eyes slightly.
“Graham even asked me to help him when he butchered a moose.”
I couldn’t keep the snort of laughter from escaping. “And, how did that go?”
“Oh, it went,” she said dryly. “I’ve never done anything like it.”
“You know, that is something I’ve done,” I chimed in. “My dad was big on moose hunting and fishing and more.”
“You grew up here?” Madison prompted, her voice lilting in question.
“I did.”
“Remind me, when did you move away?” Phoebe asked.
“Well, after my dad passed in my sophomore year in high school.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Phoebe’s brow wrinkled with worry. “I’m sorry about your dad,” she added.
“I appreciate that. It’s been years, so I’ve had time to get used to it.”
“Are you planning to rebuild on your parents’ old property?” Amelia asked.
I shrugged, throwing my hands up and letting them fall. “That’s the plan. But it’s kind of a long-shot plan. For now, I’m staying at Heartfire Falls.”
“And Haven’s in love with her,” Chloe interjected, sooooo not-helpfully.
“Chloe!” I yelped.
She shrugged, clearly not feeling any guilt about putting my business in front of this whole group.
Josie’s smile was warm from across the table. “He totally is. Let’s just be honest.”
“I sense a story. What is it?” Madison asked.
I tried not to cry, although I could feel the tears threatening and had to blink them away. “He’s being a little overbearing.” I quickly summarized the whole situation about Brad, ending with, “And Haven butted in. I can deal with it.”
“What’s the deal with Brad?” Maisie asked.
“He’s my ex, and he’s an asshole. It’s kind of my specialty, dating assholes.
” I let out another sigh. “It’s been a long time, but I’m sure you all remember, my dad was…
” I tapped my fingers on the table. “Quirky? His quirkiness is what killed him. I’m all about people being a little offbeat, but he died because of his own stupidity.
Drives me nuts. Anyway, even though he grudgingly let my mom send me to school, I never really got to have regular friendships or date.
It wasn’t because he was controlling. He was just a dumbass.
” I rolled my eyes. “To be honest, I was always embarrassed about bringing people out for a slumber party or something like that, and he was always worried about me being exposed to, you know, regular life. God love the man. He was a sweetheart but totally misguided. All this to say, I don’t think it helped me with my judgment in men, mostly because I just wanted the chance to have regular things in my life.
So it’s not like Brad was anything unusual, except that he just took advantage of me.
I have no idea how he found out about me owning the property in Anchorage.
Now, he wants to use it as collateral.” I shrugged.
“But it’s the kind of thing he would want to do. ”
“I don’t like Brad.” Josie narrowed her eyes.
“I don’t either. Not even a little,” Amelia said.
“So let me get this straight. You’re upset with Haven for getting in the middle?” Phoebe prompted.
“I guess. I can deal with Brad. I really can,” I insisted.
“Of course, you can,” Madison said matter-of-factly. “But what’s wrong with Haven helping? Based on what you’ve described, Brad seems like the kind of guy who would back off more easily with a man. Sometimes it’s helpful. Haven can use his privilege in a good way.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay, that makes sense.”
“Like, say in a bar fight, I’m not that tall,” Lucy pointed out.
“It’s probably helpful if somebody bigger than me gets in the middle of it.
Brad isn’t physically threatening you, but he sounds like a class-A asshole who might pull some shit behind the scenes.
And Haven’s an attorney, even though we all kind of forget that. He’s also a tough guy.”
“I wouldn’t mess with him,” Maisie offered with a wry smile.
“I know, right?” I let out a little snort. “I do forget he’s an attorney. He’s sharp and smart. He handles all the paperwork for the resort and everything, and fights fires on the side.”
“Let him make Brad feel small,” Tish said with a grin.
“Important question: are you in love with him?” Madison leaned forward, her gaze soft and understanding as she looked at me.
Emotion rushed through me, and I burst into tears. “Yes. And now I have to fix it.” I sniffled.
“Okay, well, fix it,” Luna said with an airy wave.
“I don’t know what to do,” I mumbled, feeling sheepish. Someone thrust a box of tissues in my direction, and I snagged a few to blow my nose and dab at my eyes.
“There is this thing called having a conversation. Crazy idea, I know,” Chloe offered dryly.
A laugh sputtered out as I looked at her. “Wow.”
“Just talk to him. Let him chase Brad away. You can hold your own,” she said encouragingly.
“You already did,” Madison pointed out. “You dumped Brad, right?”
I cleared my throat, nodding vigorously. “I did. Such a dick.”
“When is the resort officially opening? Those Silver boys must be up to their eyeballs in work right now,” Lucy chimed in.
“They are. It’s crazy there,” I said, my lips twisting to the side. “I’m going to talk to Haven as soon as I see him.” I looked around at the women at the table. “Thank you.”
“For what?” Amelia asked.
I felt bashful when I smiled. “For welcoming me here tonight. For, I guess, making me feel like I belong.”
“Of course you belong,” Amelia curled an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “You’re a badass. And we’re glad you’re back.”
A little while later, as Chloe and I drove back toward the resort, she asked, “So what now?”
“I’m going to talk to Haven the first time I see him.” My tone was resolute, even though I was a little nervous.
“Thank you,” I said when she parked in front of the main resort at Heartfire Falls.
“For what?”
“For dragging me along with you tonight. I needed that.”
Chloe’s smile was warm. “Anytime.”
We parted ways, and I tried to ignore the shaft of disappointment when I walked into the apartment upstairs in the barn and discovered Haven wasn’t there.
I knew he would show up, so I planned to sit down and watch TV until he arrived. I needed something to distract me. Except I got paged from work. A whale was stranded in the mudflats off Turnagain Arm.