Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
TATE
One month later
Josie peered out the window. “It’s still snowing,” she announced.
“It’s March in Alaska. It snows here then,” I deadpanned.
She rolled her eyes when she turned back to face me. “I know that. April and May will be mud and snow.”
I nodded. “And your point is?”
She giggled, and before I knew it, we were kissing again. There was a lot of kissing.
Josie staying with me was pretty much the best thing ever. Every day felt easy. First and foremost, she was my friend. With that foundation and getting to know each other in a different way now that ten years had passed, things felt both familiar and fresh.
I wasn’t letting myself dwell on examining my feelings.
That freaked me out a little bit because the idea of Josie not staying with me was frightening.
I thought it might crush my heart. I was trying to stick to what we agreed on—that we would take it seriously but would let it unfold however it did.
In spite of my reassurances to Josie, I was trying not to worry that this might be happening faster than it should.
I told myself that was because we’d known each other for so long.
Our relationship was open around town now.
We still worked on how to keep things low-key around Kara.
I’d even asked Graham at work for advice on addressing that, seeing as he was a single dad who’d brought someone new into his life.
Granted, his daughter was a teenager by then, but still.
As of now, I planned to make sure Josie and I were on the same page before talking with Kara about it.
Josie had started working with Marley on the planning for the ski resort. Archer was thrilled to bring her onto the project because having an Olympic gold medalist as the face of the resort would be a boon for marketing.
Josie still worked at the café because she liked it, and it was helping her reconnect with everyone in town. When I left for work that day, life felt good.
That afternoon, I swung by the grocery store to pick up a few things. I was walking down the aisle when I heard my name. I glanced over to see Kayla. She was by herself with her hands curled tightly on the handle of the grocery cart.
“Oh, hey, Kayla.”
While Willow Brook was a small town, our paths simply didn’t cross often. I took a moment to study her as she approached me. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her sharp blue eyes were almost hard now. The girl I’d fallen for in high school seemed bitter.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care about Kayla.
But the parts of her that I’d once seen as fun-loving and impulsive now looked more reckless and pushed the envelope on any situation.
There was a quality of calculation to her that I hadn’t noticed then, but I could see so clearly now.
I could feel the deliberation at this moment.
She was trying to assess what to say to get what she wanted from me.
“I’m happy for you and Josie,” she said, her tone carefully level.
Way to open the conversation, but whatever.
The only vague thing I could think to offer was, “Thanks. How are you?”
Kayla cleared her throat. “Fine. Lyle and I were going to try to work things out, but we’ve decided it’s best for us to divorce.” Her words were laced with bitterness.
In high school, Kayla had been perceived as the prettiest girl.
Years later, I could see why she did what she did.
Josie had been the skiing star and the more athletic one, more cute than pretty.
Kayla had been so jealous of the attention Josie got.
She used to vent about it to me, but I didn’t have the understanding to grasp what that showed me about Kayla.
“Just so you know, Lyle is going to make a play for Josie again. He’s been saying for years that I was his biggest mistake,” she said.
“Well, that’s a shitty thing to say,” I pointed out, feeling a twist of sympathy for Kayla.
Unfortunately, the younger me couldn’t see my old friend for who he was.
With a little betrayal and the wisdom that came with it, I could definitely see him saying that to Kayla.
He always liked things to be easy for him.
Being an asshole in that situation hadn’t worked out for him.
My guess was he thought he’d get away with it.
He blew up a friendship and a relationship in one swoop.
Meanwhile, Josie left town and won a gold medal.
She was Willow Brook’s pride and joy, while he was considered a cheater.
Even if he wanted the family he had, I knew that kids were a lot of work.
The daily parenting tasks could be overwhelming with just one and not glamorous at all.
I studied Kayla for a beat. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, Kayla, and I hope your kids are okay.”
“My kids are fine,” she snapped.
“I wasn’t implying they weren’t, but I know divorce can be hard on families.”
Her eyes narrowed. “For what it’s worth, I still think my biggest mistake was not realizing you and I were meant to be together.”
I couldn’t even mask my expression of shock and distaste. “What?!” I sputtered.
“We were good together, Tate, and you know it. Maybe you want to pretend otherwise now that you’re with Josie.” She rolled her eyes at that. “I was young and stupid. I can’t go back and fix it, but if I could, I would. Maybe you should think about that.”
I shook my head. “Kayla, like I’ve said before, that is absolutely never going to happen. It wasn’t a mistake. It was a good lesson for me to learn. I got over you a long time ago, and I still am.” I paused, marshaling my composure. “Do not fuck with Josie. I wish you the best.”
I started to walk away but then paused to glance back at her.
“No matter what happens with you and Lyle, maybe you could try counseling for yourself. Life isn’t high school.
It’s not a popularity contest. It helps to try to be good to the people we care about.
That’s really the best thing we can do. It’s not a competition. ”
Kayla looked shocked at my words. I walked off, marveling at her. It wasn’t the first time she’d made a play for me, but it was the first time she dropped that line of bullshit about us being meant for each other into the middle of it.
I couldn’t unwind the tangles in my past related to Kayla and my old best friend. That was something for them to figure out. But I could cut those ties for myself. I mostly had, but this conversation snapped the last thread.
As I drove home later, the only person in my thoughts was Josie.