Chapter 3 Scarlett
THREE
SCARLETT
My sisters and mother are already up and ready by the time Dad and I get back to the Inn. It hasn’t been that long since I went running, but they’re excited to go see Cedar Creek Ranch, and the place where my sister is going to get married.
I’ve done my research on Cedar Creek Ranch, and on the website, it’s absolutely gorgeous.
They took the photos against a backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, snow covered in the winter and with the sun dipping behind them in the summer, casting the sky into a beautiful rainbow of colors.
Cedar Creek Ranch is a working ranch, but five years ago, they opened an event space which is on the huge property, but far away from any ranch work and the main house.
“Are we having breakfast? I’m starving,” I say, after I’ve showered and changed into leggings and a sweater. I dry my hair and put it into rollers while I do my make-up.
“We’re going to stop by the cafe on our way to the ranch,” Sienna calls from her room. The door between our rooms is open. “They have another event tonight so we’re catching them at a busy time but the coordinator said we can do a tour.”
My stomach rumbles at the thought of breakfast. I’m more excited about breakfast than I am about seeing my sister’s wedding venue.
The idea of her getting married is melancholic because suddenly it’s not going to be the three of us anymore.
It’s going to be me and Sadie, and Sienna and Luke.
They’re going to have a separate life that they make together and even though we will always be a part of it, there’s going to be a divide we won’t be able to bridge.
I can’t let go of the thought that I am losing my sister. My therapist would tell me I’m catastrophizing, like I always do. I need to focus on the good, like my sister marrying the love of her life, a man we’ve known most of our lives.
“I’m starving,” Sadie says, pushing in behind me. There isn’t enough room in the washroom for the both of us. “Has your butt gotten bigger?” She struggles to move in front of me.
“It’s definitely bigger than your pancake butt.”
Sadie moves again as I’m in the middle of applying blush. My arm jostles and the wand moves over my cheek, spreading blush everywhere. Sadie and I freeze, staring at the streak of red on my face. I meet her hazel eyes in the mirror and Sadie shrieks.
“Mom!”
She rushes out of the washroom as I follow her. “Look what she’s done!” I point to my cheek.
My parents, who are sitting in the chairs in our room, look up from their conversation and at my face.
“She was hogging the washroom!” Sadie complains.
“I’m trying to get ready!”
Sadie sits down on the armrest of Mom’s chair and tries to hide behind our mother.
At twenty-one, she’s the youngest of us sisters, which means she gets away with a lot.
Sienna is the oldest at thirty and like every eldest child, she’s the responsible one.
Then there’s me, twenty-seven and the quintessential middle child, who always has to adjust.
“Girls, don’t fight,” Dad says, ever the peacekeeper. “Angel, why don’t you finish getting ready?”
I give Sadie the stink eye as I walk back into the washroom. Wiping away the streak of blush, I reapply my base. Once I’m done, I pull on my knee-high boots and take my hair out of the rollers and I’m all set.
We grab breakfast to go and pile into one car as Sienna drives us to Cedar Creek Ranch.
As we get closer, the road starts to look familiar.
“This is where Scarlett saw her cowboy,” Dad says, as Sienna turns the car down the same unpaved road I was running on earlier.
“Dad!” I exclaim, as my cheeks heat.
“Her wh-at?” Sadie and Sienna simultaneously, drawing out the word.
Knowing my sisters, they’re never going to let it go.
“There was a man horse riding in the field when I was out running,” I explain. “He’s not my cowboy.”
“There was very intense eye contact,” Dad chimes in from the back.
Oh my god! I look out the window to hide my face. The thought of that man still made me squirmy so I’d rather not think about him.
“He was very far away,” I say. “There wasn’t any eye contact.”
“Can you imagine if Scarlett finds the love of her life in the process of getting Sienna married?” Mom says.
I don’t know how I was born into a family of romantics. Don’t get me wrong. I like romance, I like the idea of falling in love. I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I didn’t. But I’ve been in love and just because someone says they love you doesn’t mean they won’t break your heart.
“I can guarantee you, I’m not going to meet the love of my life,” I tell them.
Mostly because I’ve already met him, I don’t add. I never really got around to introducing him to my family.
“Never say never,” Sienna sings.
“Easy for you to say. You’re marrying the boy you’ve been dating since high school,” I say.
“Yeah, you don’t get to opine about dating in this day and age when you’ve only dated one person,” Sadie adds.
“Mom and Dad only dated each other,” Sienna says.
“It was different in the ancient times,” Sadie quips.
Sienna turns the car with the bend in the road and I notice the gate there has been opened.
“Did you hear that, Kate? Our daughters think we’re old and decrepit,” Dad says.
“Practically ready to be mummified,” Mom jokes.
We drive for another mile before we finally see a paved driveway, parking lot, and a large building that resembles a ski lodge. Behind it, the Rockies rise in the clear blue sky. Sienna and Sadie let out an excited squeal.
Sienna parks the car, and we get out, breathing in the cold, clean sharpness of the icy mountain air. Sadie hooks her arm through mine as we walk up to the building.
Inside, it’s warm and smells like Christmas. There’s a big tree by the reception desk, mistletoe hanging over the door, Christmas music plays softly from a speaker. There’s a woman behind the counter wearing a thick white sweater and black slacks, her hair twisted up into a bun.
She looks up when we walk in and smiles. “You must be the Monroes.”
“That’s us,” Sienna says.
“Great! I’m Hannah and I’ll be your guide,” she walks around her desk. “Who’s the bride?”
We all point at Sienna.
“We’re trying to get rid of her,” I say.
“She’s so annoying,” Sadie agrees.
Sienna rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at us. Hannah laughs and leads us further into the building.
“Welcome to Cedar Creek Lodge,” Hannah says. “It was built in 1937 as a lodge for the rich and famous to get away from the real world and was shut down in 2005. We re-opened five years ago as an event space.”
Hannah leads us through the lobby, which overlooks a terrace with a large hot tub.
“Are there any plans to open the lodge again?” Dad asks.
“Absolutely!” Hannah says, grinning. “Cedar Creek is a big property, and our new owner has a lot of plans for it. He hopes to have the lodge operational in the next two years, but there are a lot of technicalities he’s working through.”
She’s practically got stars in her eyes when she speaks of this owner.
“You’ll have access to the whole lodge during your big day. Your guests can hang out here or in the venue. We do have another two events scheduled for the same day, but they will be in the smaller rooms,” Hannah continues.
Sienna looks surprised. “Oh, I think there’s some confusion. I booked one of the smaller rooms.”
Hannah looks down at the tablet in her hands and frowns. “I see a booking for Monroe & Carter for the grand ballroom on December 23rd.”
“I think there’s a mistake,” Sienna insists. “The grand ballroom is completely out of our price range.”
Hannah winces. “Let me get my manager.” She pulls out her phone and steps away from us.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Mom says, rubbing soothing circles on Sienna’s back. My sister gives her a strained smile.
“It’s probably because they have so many bookings,” Sadie says. “Didn’t you get your booking at the last minute?”
Sienna nods in agreement. This is where she wanted to get married because a lot of Luke’s family is from Alberta and because our maternal side of the family lives here.
Our grandmother, aunts and cousins will all be driving in from Vancouver in a couple of days.
The event spaces here are booked out a year in advance and Sienna only managed to get it on the day there was a cancellation.
“My manager is on her way,” Hannah explains. “Why don’t we see the grand ballroom, anyway? I can show you the other rooms also.”
“I don’t want to see the grand ballroom and fall in love with it, only to have to move to another room,” Sienna says.
Hannah smiles softly. “I understand. Let me assure you, the only thing grand about the grand ballroom is the size. All our ballrooms have similar views and you’re going to get the same experience. Or you can wait in the restaurant.”
“We’ll wait in the restaurant,” I say.
Hannah leads us to the restaurant that’s empty at this time of the day. Apparently, they’re only open for the dinner service starting at five. The bartender is already there setting up for the night as we walk in.
“Would you like something to drink?” Hannah asks.
“Water is fine,” Dad says.
“Are you sure? It’s on the house. We’re really so sorry for the confusion.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure we can get it sorted in no time,” Sienna says.
I’m not so sure about that. How do you make a mistake like that when you’re booking events every day?
The good thing is they haven’t charged us more than the deposit on the smaller ballrooms. I can’t help thinking that if this is fucked up then everything else is going to be fucked up, too.
That’s just how my brain works. If one thing goes wrong, then everything goes wrong.
I take the glass of water the bartender sets on the counter, and something catches my eye in the mirror behind him. I turn and look at the wall behind me. There’s a framed hockey jersey hanging on the wall. Three of them, actually. Number fourteen Hayes.
My blood turns to ice.
“Your owner is a big hockey fan?” Dad asks. “Or maybe a fan of the New York Renegades?”
Hannah follows Dad’s gaze and laughs lightly. “Oh, those are his jerseys. Mr. Hayes Senior put them up years ago because he wanted to celebrate his grandson, but now he’s the owner.
“No way! Connor Hayes is the owner of Cedar Creek Ranch?” Dad asks, excitedly.
“He is!” Hannah says, just as excited. “Oh, there they are now.”
Hannah looks out the terrace windows and I see a man and woman walking across the snow-covered garden towards the restaurant. The man is wearing dark wash jeans, boots, a plaid jacket, and a black cowboy hat. Each step is confident and self-assured.
As if he can sense me looking, he looks away from the woman next to him and directly at me. Something tugs at the pit of my stomach, my heart slamming against the wall of my chest.
No, no, no. Fuck, no.
When he enters the restaurant, it’s like all the air gets sucked out of the room and I suddenly can’t breathe. Reaching up, he removes his hat, revealing his dark brown hair which has a smattering of grey now, just like his light beard.
His brown-ish green eyes rake over me and it’s like my body comes alive. Like I’m coming in from the cold into a warm house that’s been waiting for me. He comes to a stop in front of me, eyes soft, one corner of his mouth tilting up into a smile.
“Scarlett,” he breathes.
The sound of his voice causes my body to erupt in goosebumps.
I don’t know how I’m supposed to react right now or what he expects from me. My body cycles through emotions and the ones that stand out the most are hurt and anger.
So I do the only thing that will make me feel better.
I lift my hand and throw my water in Connor Hayes’s face.