Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Emmanuelle
It took me around twelve hours to drive to Wintervale from Storyville. I made sure to text my family at every stop. I finally made it to Wintervale at ten PM. I called ahead to make sure that I could get dinner at the restaurant in the resort. They said they stop taking dinner orders at eleven-thirty, so I’ll have enough time. I check in, get my room key and toss my bag in the room. I shoot a quick text telling everyone I’m here and I’ll call them tomorrow morning. Then I head down to the restaurant.
There’s a group of huge men already there, eating. They all turn and look at me when I get seated.
“Thank you,” I say to the hostess.
I try to ignore them as I sit and look at the menu. But it’s really hard with them staring at me. A shadow comes over me and I look up to see one of them standing next to me.
“Hi, we were wondering if you wanted to join us. A gorgeous woman like you shouldn’t be eating alone,” he says.
“Thank you, but no. I’m fine.”
“We promise we won’t bite. Our mamas taught us to never let a woman eat alone.” He smiles.
They’re all nodding at me and I laugh.
“Okay, thank you,” I say as I get up to follow him. I don’t usually talk to people I don’t know, but I feel like I’ll be okay.
He pulls out a chair for me and I thank him.
“What are you doing in Wintervale?” another of the guys asks.
“I’m here for a memorial.”
“Did you know the people that passed?”
“Not personally, I know the kids of two of them. What brings all of you here?”
“We’re on a road trip for this one,” he says as he slaps another guy on the back.
“We should introduce ourselves. I’m Lorenzo Mancini, these are my cousins Salvatore, Galen and Noah.”
“I’m Aodhán O’Callaghan and this is my brother Keegan.”
“I’m Celestino Bastianini.”
“I’m Levi Anderson. We’re here cause I’m on leave from the Marines. I have two weeks off and these crazies kidnapped me and said we’re taking a road trip.” He laughs.
I chuckle. “That sounds like a lot of fun. Where are you all from?”
“We’re from Lake Renegade, Illinois. You haven’t told us your name,” Celestino says.
I chuckle. “I’m Emmanuelle Rousseau. I’ve never heard of Lake Renegade.”
“It’s about two hours west of Chicago.” Salvatore smiles. “Where do you live?”
“Do you all live there? I’m from Storyville, Colorado.”
“We do. Our grandfathers are the founders of Lake Renegade,” Lorenzo says.
“Wow! That’s impressive.”
“If you love small towns, you’ll love Lake Renegade,” Salvatore says. “You should come and visit our town.”
“I love small towns, I grew up in one. So I definitely want to come and see your town.”
It was nice to have the guys to eat dinner with. They were all really polite and they even walked me to my room. And not one of them even hinted that they wanted to come in. We did exchange numbers since we’re all going to be here the whole weekend. I talked a little about the Vandenberg’s and we’re hoping we can all get together and go snowboarding. It was a nice start to my stay here, and it kept me from worrying about seeing Lukas tomorrow.
Before I go to bed, I look out at the mountain. It’s always reminded me of our mountain in Storyville. The concierge said they just had the first big snowfall of the season. And the slopes are all clean and ready for the skiers and snowboarders. When I first came to Wintervale, I stayed here at the resort. But when I decided to stay to be with Lukas, I moved into his house.
Felicity didn’t say if Lukas was bringing someone to the memorial. I think she would if he was, or at least I hope so. I’m scared and excited to see him tomorrow.
Lukas
I’m kicking myself for not calling Emma about this weekend. No matter how I feel, I should’ve given her the option to come for the memorial. She was a big part of us finding our parents and the others. Plus, I miss her and I just want to hold her again.
“Are we all taking one car?” Paxton asks as we eat breakfast.
“Probably be easier,” Rhett says.
“You’re quiet this morning,” I say to Lissy.
“Just tired,” she says. Which I know is a lie. She’s a morning person and she’s never quiet. But I let it go, considering what today is.
An hour later and we’re headed out the door. Karen and her husband James meet us in the lobby.
“I think we’re going to have a decent turnout for the memorial,” Karen says as she hugs each of us.
“Thank you again for helping us do this,” I say to her as I shake James’ hand.
“Your parents meant a lot to this town, we’re glad to help you celebrate their life. And they were our friends too,” James says.
We all head into the room where everyone has started to gather.
“Okay big brother, you’re up.” Felicity smiles as she hugs me.
I take a deep breath and head up to the front. Everyone quiets down as they face me.
“Hi everyone, if you don’t know, I’m Lukas Vandenberg. These are my siblings—Paxton, Rhett and Felicity. We want to thank you all for joining us today. Five years ago, I was on a ski run with our parents and their ski club. A storm rolled in and we weren’t able to get off the mountain before it hit. What happened after was the worst thing I’ve ever been through. The storm triggered an avalanche that took the lives of our parents and three others. Today we’re here to celebrate them. Our parents were born and raised here in Wintervale. We miss them everyday and I hope that when they’re looking down on us, we’re making them proud.”
I look out at the faces in the room, some I know and some I don’t. My eyes land on the one face that I’ve been dreaming about every day. Emmanuelle Rousseau. I want to go over to her but I need to finish this speech first. I keep my eyes on her as I take a deep breath and start speaking again.
“Since we lost our parents, Paxton has become one of the best carpenters here in Wintervale. Rhett has finished pharmacy school and takes care of everyone in town. And Felicity? Well, she’s a genius at running our store. Lissy reminds me of our mom. She always had really good ideas about how to arrange the store and setting up sales. Before we lost our mom, she was teaching Lissy to crochet and knit. Now she’s selling dolls and blankets. And she can help you find any book you’re looking for. I know our parents are proud of them. Our tribute to our parents today will include skiing and snowboarding. Something our parents loved to do. So whether you’re on the bunny slope, the intermediate or the advanced, please join us. Thank you so much.”
Everyone claps as I step down, my brothers and sister hug me. I excuse myself and head straight for Emma.
“You’re here,” I say as I grab her and hold her tight. I breathe her in and kiss her neck.
“I’ve missed you so damn much,” I whisper to her.
She pulls back and looks at me.
“I didn’t know if you’d be okay with me being here. Lissy asked me to come.”
“I should’ve called you and told you. Of course I want you here.”
It’s then I notice that there’s a group of men hovering close by. And they’re watching us.
“Do you know them?” I ask her as I frown.
“I met them last night when I got in. They’re from Lake Renegade, Illinois.”
“So you’re not with one of them?” I look into her baby-blue eyes.
Emma shakes her head no.
I keep my hold on her as one of them steps forward.
“I’m Salvatore Mancini, Sheriff of Lake Renegade. We’re on a road trip and decided to stop here in Wintervale. We saw the board up for your memorial and decided we wanted to be a part of it. I hope that’s okay.”
“Thank you for joining us. What made you stop here?” I ask him.
“We were getting tired and saw the sign for your town. So we stopped.” He chuckles.
We spend some time introducing everyone and I notice the one named Levi talking to Felicity. She’s blushing as she talks to him. He’s standing a little too close to my baby sister and I see my brothers glaring at him.
“How long are you staying?” I ask Emmanuelle.
“I was hoping we could talk after we snowboard.”
“Of course we can. Is everything okay?”
“It will be. We just need to talk,” she says softly as she lays her head on my chest. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her head. This is what I’ve dreamt of. Holding her in my arms and I don’t want to let her go again.
“Okay everyone, whoever wants to take a trip down the mountain, we’re starting the lifts,” Karen says.
Everyone starts to put on their snow gear and grab boards or skis. It takes about an hour to get everyone up the mountain. We hired a videographer to capture the memories. My parents would’ve had a great time today. Our new friends help us clean everything up, even though we told them that they’re guests, they should relax and have fun.
“I’m going back up the mountain. I saw Lissy go up there with that Levi kid. I don’t trust him.” Paxton frowns.
“Yeah I saw her too. I don’t know what to think of him. Emma said he seems like a really nice guy. And the others seem like good people too. But yeah, keep an eye on them,” I say to him.
Paxton nods and heads back up the mountain.
Rhett is talking to our new friends so I go over to Emma.
“Would you like to take a walk?” I ask her.
She nods at me. I grab our coats and we head out to the garden. It’s covered in snow but the walkways are clear. I stop in the middle of the garden and face her.
“I’ve missed you—” I start to say as she stops me.
“I need to get something out. And if you keep talking, I know I won’t.”
I clean off the bench and lay the blanket down that I brought with us. I hold her hands and wait for her to start.
“When we decided to stop seeing each other, that was the worst day of my life. It’s taken me three years to realize that I was stupid to say no to moving here with you. I was afraid that you would wake up one day and realize that you didn’t really love me. That you just needed me in your grief, but when that cleared up, you’d leave me. But I’ve never stopped wanting you and I hope that you still feel the same way?—”
I wrap my hand in her hair and pull her to me, taking her lips with mine. She moans softly as she matches the passion I have for her. I finally pull back, but keep my hold on her.
“I love you, Emma. I never stopped loving you. Are you saying you’re willing to move here?”
“Yes. If you’ll have me.”
“Baby. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. That day we split up? I knew then it was the dumbest decision I’d ever made. But I didn’t know how to fix it. Are you sure about this?” I ask again.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything. My family told me that leaving Storyville doesn’t mean I’m leaving them. It means that our family is growing. I never should’ve left you,” she says as tears fall down her face. I wipe them away.
“You don’t know how happy you’ve made me. When I saw you this morning, I told myself that I was going to find a way to get you to stay.”
“I was so worried that you might have changed your mind about me…about us.”
“That would never happen. I told you when I met you, you’re my soulmate. That fairytale love that people whisper about. That my parents talked about, your parents talk about. We found it. And when we weren’t together? It was horrible for me.”