Chapter 24
WYNTER
Wynter’s eyes had long since run dry of tears.
They were dry, itchy, and likely puffy. She hadn’t wanted to leave her home, but she knew she couldn’t stay.
Not with Marcus there. Not only had he humiliated her, but he’d also dug up the fears she’d worked so hard to bury.
The only good thing that had come from tonight was that she’d finally realized she’d been living in a fairytale.
She’d thought she could move back to Copper Creek to be closer to Grams, to fall in love with Marcus, and have the perfect life.
But that wasn’t how reality worked.
Yes, Wynter could move back to Copper Creek. She had a place to live. A job. And Grams was there.
But so was Marcus.
And she wasn’t made for serious relationships. She’d already decided she wasn’t going to marry. She didn’t want a family that could get torn apart. She just didn’t.
The vibrating on the side table in her motel room drew her attention, and she sniffled before wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
She’d missed several phone calls, and the text messages were piling up.
The last time she’d picked up the device, she’d caught a glimpse of the people reaching out.
Most of the messages were from Rose and Morgan.
Marcus had tried a few times, but he’d since given up.
And Grams had called and left one message.
They were all worried about her. And rightfully so. Wynter wondered if any of them had known about Marcus’s plan and could have put a stop to the horrendous evening before it took place.
She fell back on her bed and stared at the ceiling, scowling as she went over all the details from the evening. Then it hit her.
Jason.
He’d been acting strange. He’d known.
Wynter shot up on the bed and stared at her phone. Did that mean that Isabelle was involved in this? What about Grams? She hadn’t missed the way Marcus’s sister interacted with Grams when she’d come over.
Disappointment turned into fury, and she was tempted to call Grams to chew her out right then and there. Her fingers twitched with the temptation to demand answers. She gave up the fight when her phone vibrated again. Leaning over, she snatched her phone to find Rose calling.
She swiped to answer the call and lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey.”
“Wynter! Oh my gosh. Are you okay? Where are you? Grams said you haven’t answered her calls, and you haven’t come back yet.” There were some muffled voices in the background, and Wynter half-wondered if Marcus had been the one to get Rose to call.
Gritting her teeth, Wynter got to her feet and paced the room. “Who’s with you?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “What?”
“Who’s with you? I heard someone.”
“Oh. Just Morgan. We were worried about you. After…” Her voice trailed off, and then she spoke again, this time quieter. “Did you know Marcus had been thinking about proposing?”
“Of course not,” Wynter snapped. Then she closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “He knew I didn’t want to get married. Or at least I thought he did.”
“Yeah, I thought it was a little weird. I wonder what got into him. Did you say something to make him believe you were—”
“You know I didn’t.” Wynter slowed her pacing, second-guessing her answer. Then she shook her head. “I’ve been keeping my distance for the most part.”
“For the most part?”
Wynter flushed, thankful that Rose couldn’t see her. “We were getting closer, but I told him that I wasn’t ready for anything serious because I’m moving back to California.”
Rose hummed in understanding.
When she didn’t say anything else, Wynter groaned and perched on the edge of her bed. She spread her hand along the comforter, smoothing out the wrinkles as if doing so would smooth the mess of thoughts in her mind. “That’s it? Nothing to say?”
Rose spoke to Morgan away from the phone, and then her voice was clear again. “Where are you? I think you need a girls’ night. We’ll bring some snacks and some hot cocoa. And you can tell us what you need.”
Wynter looked around the sparse room. There were two queen beds, a small table with two chairs, and a dresser with a small television. It wasn’t exactly the place she wanted to be for the night, but maybe her friends could help get her mind off everything.
“Fine.”
“Fine?” Rose let out a quiet laugh. “And?”
“Room 110 at the motel just outside of town.”
“Give us thirty minutes.” Rose didn’t give Wynter a chance to argue before she hung up the phone. Wynter glanced at her phone, seeing that the call had ended, then she tossed it aside, ignoring the several other missed calls and messages.
True to her word, Rose showed up with Morgan in tow. Their hands were filled with bags from the grocery store, and they were covered with the snow that hadn’t let up since Wynter had left work.
The second Wynter saw them, the tears started up again.
Rose dropped her bags to the floor and pulled Wynter into a hug.
“It’s going to be okay.” She rubbed Wynter’s back up and down.
“You’ll see. This will blow over by Christmas.
I guarantee it. And don’t even worry about what they were talking about. ”
Wynter stiffened. “What?” She pulled back and searched Rose’s eyes as the sinking feeling started in her chest. “What were they saying?”
Morgan cut Rose a dark look. Rose shrugged. “What? She can know. It’s not a big deal.”
“What were they saying?” Wynter wheezed.
“Just that Marcus got his heart broken again. And hoping the poor guy,” she continued, using her fingers to quote the words, “would get through it better this time.”
The blood drained from Wynter’s face. She had a feeling those were things Marcus’s family would be saying to one another. But there were others from town at the party. Rumors would spread like wildfire, and by tomorrow, she’d be the villain in this story.
She covered her face with her hands and groaned. “This is the worst.”
Morgan reached over and patted her arm. “No. It’s going to be fine.”
At some point one of them had shut the door and ushered her toward her bed.
They’d coaxed her into a seated position and spread out the snacks around them.
But none of that mattered. Wynter was feeling lightheaded.
She’d never wanted this kind of attention.
Everything was falling apart. How could she stick around Copper Creek now?
There was zero chance that the community would drop this.
What was more scandalous than a proposal gone wrong?
Morgan squeezed her arm again. “Really, Wynter. It’s going to be okay. No one is going to be talking about this in the new year.”
“New year?” Wynter squeaked. “I don’t want them talking about this at all. Marcus was never supposed to do something so… so… impulsive.” She reached for a pillow and buried her face in it. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I know it doesn’t help, but Marcus was wrong.” Rose tugged the pillow from her face, forcing Wynter to meet her eyes. “You had every right to turn him down, especially since this came out of nowhere. That’s a manipulation tactic if I ever saw one.”
Wynter opened her mouth to argue that Marcus wouldn’t manipulate her like that. She truly believed he thought he wanted to get married. He lived his life with his whole heart. It wouldn’t surprise her that he was all in—for now. But Rose continued before Wynter could say any of that.
“That being said, you really shouldn’t have hidden the job offer.”
Wynter straightened, staring hard at her friend. “How did…”
Rose didn’t seem apologetic at all, but Morgan winced. The latter was softspoken when she said, “We heard him telling someone at the party. He was really torn up about all of this. He’s blaming himself.”
“And rightfully so.” Rose nodded. “This fiasco is his doing.”
Morgan gave Rose a pained look. “But maybe he wouldn’t have felt inclined to make a big show of things if she’d come to him and told him why she didn’t want to take the job.” Morgan turned to Wynter. “You don’t, right? Want to stay?”
Did she? Wynter was torn about all of it. She still loved it here. She still wanted to be close to Grams, who was more stubborn than she was when it came to moving. But to see Marcus around town and know what had happened? She wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with that.
And then there were more reasons why she didn’t want to stick around.
And all of them revolved around her beliefs that nothing was forever.
Her friends would tell her she was being ridiculous.
Fear of commitment wasn’t something everyone could relate to.
Fear that she’d lose him forever if they crossed that line officially wasn’t a worthy excuse.
And reliving the pain of knowing Marcus hadn’t fought to keep her in his life was the cherry on top.
Selfish. She was selfish, and she couldn’t figure out a way around it. Anytime she thought about fighting her basic instincts, her anxiety spiked. Today had been the first time in her life that she could remember being willing to give it a try.
And Marcus had scared her to death by moving too fast.
Wynter fought the burning sensation behind her eyes and avoided looking directly at her friends. She shot up a little prayer right then and there that God would help calm her anxiety about this.
“Enough about the crazy that was tonight,” Rose said with a matter-of-fact tone. “We’re not here to talk about mistakes. We’re here to support our girl. And if that means we binge-watch Christmas movies while chowing down on peppermint brownies and hot chocolate, then so be it.”
Wynter opened her eyes and gave Rose a grateful smile. They’d support her no matter how crazy she felt. She also knew God would take care of her, though sometimes that was hard to remember.
Nothing had changed. She was going to leave when her term was up. She’d deal with seeing Marcus until that time. And she’d do her best to ignore the gossip that would certainly follow her wherever she went in town.
The one thing she wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle was the looks she’d be getting from Grams. That woman never hid her true feelings when it came to Marcus. And something told Wynter that Grams would give her an earful when she got the chance.
Nodding, Wynter reached for the brownies closest to her. “Sounds perfect to me. What movie are we going to watch first?”
Morgan held up a couple DVDs in a fan. “The question is, do you want to cry, laugh, or fall in love?”
Wynter scrunched up her nose at the last one. “I think I need a break from love.”
Rose plucked the movie in the middle. “Tonight definitely calls for laughter. I vote we watch Elf. Any objections?”
Wynter shook her head, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
Morgan reached for the movie. “Elf it is.”