Lumberjack Crush

1 ALICE

I’m sitting behind my sewing machine in the studio, attaching some wings to the back of a costume.

I’m lost in my work as per usual. Creating costumes has always been a passion of mine since junior high when I made my first dress for a formal dance.

The fashion industry is too competitive, so I shifted more into costumes for Halloween or cosplay.

I was taken off guard when I was sought after to create a wardrobe for big Hollywood productions.

Things have really taken off for me in the past few years.

I’ve gone from a small-town girl who likes to make her own Halloween costume to a seamstress to the stars.

You can’t watch any A-list movie without seeing my name in the credits— not that anyone really pays attention to that kind of thing.

The door opens, and my assistant, Liz, walks in, her hands loaded down with papers. “Jamie called, and he wants to know when you’re going out again,” she says, reading off my messages.

I roll my eyes and try even harder to ignore her. I’m over Jamie. We hit it off on our first date, and I stupidly agreed to a second. I should have known that he would get cocky because he was a different person on our second date. I faked sick and left early with no plans of ever seeing him again.

“Nikki Dunn called three times. She wants to know when she can come by and see the progress on her costume. Ricky Baker is dying to interview you for his article, and your lawyer called.”

My ears perk up.

“He wants you to call him as soon as possible. he said something about drawing up the paperwork you asked for and how this sudden knowledge of a husband has thrown a kink in some things.”

I’m up and out of my seat faster than she can process.

“I told him you didn’t have a husband,” she says as I grab ahold of her arm and pull her toward the door. “He must be mistaken, but he insists you do,” she says.

“Thank you,” I say, ripping the messages from her hand before slamming the door closed. My mind is a whirlwind of thoughts as I pull my cell out of my back pocket and call Jerry as fast as my fingers can move.

“Good afternoon, Jerry Burk’s office,” his secretary says.

“Yes, this is Alice Turner, and I had a message here from Mr. Burk.”

“Okay, hold on one moment, and I’ll see if he’s free to take your call,” she says before putting me on hold.

I impatiently wait, my knee jumping up and down as fast as possible.

“Alice,” Mr. Burk says the moment he picks up. “How are you doing today?”

“Wonderful, how are you, Mr. Burk?” I want to skip the pleasantries, but I force myself to go through with it.

“Perfect. Now I was calling because I was working on the paperwork we discussed, the life insurance and your will.”

“Yes, what about it?”

“Well, you wanted everything to go to your closest living relative, and if nobody was left, you wanted it divided evenly to your choice of charities, correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Well, I was working on that, and I was doing a deep dive into your family tree, and that’s when I found that you’re married. Your husband will be your next of kin.”

“No, I want to leave him out of this.”

“I was under the impression that you were single. That is what you have marked here on your paperwork.”

“Yes, I know, Mr. Burk….” I hang my head and rub my temple with one hand.

“That was a childish mistake. I got married right out of high school, and as you can probably imagine, things didn’t end well. We split up, and I moved to California, and he stayed back home. We’re not together, so he doesn’t need to be involved with any of this.”

“I would strongly suggest that you end this marriage before we go forward with this paperwork. With him actively being your husband, he could always take the issue to court, in the instance of your untimely death, and take everything you’ve worked for.

Now it’s only an issue if you want to have a say in where things go, but a divorce is the only sure-fire way to keep him from suing for what he feels he could be owed.”

I let out a long sigh. I knew this would come back to bite me in the ass one of these days. “Could you possibly draw up some divorce papers for me?”

“Of course. I’ll do it right now, and I’ll leave them up front with June for you to pick up.”

“Thank you, Mr. Burk.” I hang up the phone and yell for Liz.

She opens the door with a questioning look.

“I need you to book me a flight to Loveville, Colorado, round trip.”

She nods. “Any certain day or time?”

“Tomorrow. And cancel my appointments for the rest of the week. Leave that return ticket open-ended.”

She nods and rushes off.

I let out a long sigh, unable to fucking believe this.

I have to go home and see Cole. It’s been ten years since I’ve been back there, and I’d hoped to never have to see that place again.

I barely escaped it once. I ran here and made something of myself.

That place has a way of getting its hooks in you and holding you down until you smother.

If you’re born there, most of the time, you die there.

Very few get out, and I’m one of the lucky ones.

But now it’s time to go back to where it all started.

There’s nothing on this earth that I could dread more.

Now that my mind has been thrown through a loop, I can no longer focus on work.

I gather my things and tell Liz to forward me all the info I need, and I walk out of the studio with my bag on my shoulder and my dark sunglasses low on my nose.

My heels click off the sidewalk as I order a car.

At least twenty are local, so I grab the one closest to me and wait on the corner.

The car pulls up, and I climb into the back seat, making a show out of putting my AirPods in so they know I don’t want to talk.

This is Los Angeles, and nobody wants to talk unless you have something they want. The driver has his own AirPods in, and when our eyes meet in the mirror, we share a moment to appreciate the silence from one another.

After being dropped off at home, I make my way to the kitchen, where I pour a stiff drink.

I throw back the vodka and pour another shot into the glass, then take it with me to my home office.

I sit at my desk and turn on the computer.

Liz did as I asked, and I see I have a flight booked and ready first thing in the morning.

Great.

I pick up my glass and throw back the liquid, knowing that I’ll need to be drunk to get on that plane.

I could probably stay up drinking all night and then continue the party on the plane so that I can arrive in Loveville completely trashed.

Maybe Cole will sign the papers just to get my drunk ass off his property, and then I could be back home before I ever sobered up. Nah, I’m not that lucky.