Never Finished: A small town opposites attract romance

1. Emma

“That sounds fabulous,” I enthused with a smile that made my cheeks feel like they would split. I detest that feeling. I used to smile warmly and genuinely, but I didn’t have it in me to put in the effort.

Truthfully, I haven’t felt the energy to put much effort into anything lately. I suppose I could blame it on feeling adrift ever since my mom passed away—or I could blame it on the hoity-toity business dinners, which almost always involved some minuscule serving of what amounted to a gourmet cracker with a teaspoon of pureed meat and a sprig of whatever was in season draped across it.

My client continued to go on about some new spa treatment that didn’t interest me in the slightest, and I bit back at a smile as I remembered an old friend who used to call it “rich people food.” He teased the meager servings were why rich people were so thin, saying they consumed nothing but “petrified shingles with some sort of sauce, along with vodka and tonic.”

Jaime always had a colorful way of describing the world around him. I missed that—and Jaime—a lot. Perhaps too much for someone I hadn’t seen in twelve years. The last time I saw Jaime Acosta, he’d left me dizzy with the deepest, most soul-searing kiss I’ve ever had, and no one had come close since. So, I guess it wasn’t too surprising he popped into my head as frequently as he did.

Like now as I remembered how I frequented the local diner just because Jaime was a cook there—and how badly I could go for one of those burger, fries, and shake combos.

Mercifully, I steered my client back to business and wrapped things up. Soon, I was standing alone outside the restaurant. It was early fall in Colorado, and having spent most of the last decade in Los Angeles, I’d forgotten how cool it got that time of year.

It was a little nerve-racking being back in Colorado, and I blamed being so close to home for why Jaime kept taking up my thoughts. Thankfully, I wasn’t back in Silverpine. Being in my hometown would be far too difficult, especially since my mother died, not to mention the memories of Jaime.

One thing I could take comfort in was the knowledge I would not have to drive far before I stumbled on a greasy diner. With all the truckers who ran through our state, diners were a staple, and while I doubted any place could compete with Mabel’s Diner in Silverpine, I was certain I could find something ten times better than what I’d just consumed.

I went in the opposite direction of my hotel and kept my eyes peeled for any telltale signs of what my stomach was growling for.

Sure enough, not far out of town. I saw the familiar sign of a half-moon, which directed me to Gus”s Bar and Grill.

The parking lot was mostly gravel, and as I slid my rental BMW into a spot in front of the building, I felt a little embarrassed by the stark difference between it and the beat-up cars and trucks dotting the haphazard parking lot.

I was born with money, but I’d never felt like I had a silver spoon in my mouth. My parents grew their wealth from the ground up. My father cashed in a small portion of the land my mother’s family owned and built a resort—which is now one of the premier ski resorts in Colorado—and I’m carrying on my mom’s legacy as the head of business development at Pine Crest Resorts.

My mom”s family had been in the state of Colorado since before it’d been officially settled. They’d had thousands of acres of land and worked it diligently, even through the Depression and the countless blizzards that had threatened their homestead.

My mom could identify every tree, deer track, and bird call—she’d loved nature, and it’d rubbed off on me. She’d loved it so much her first job was a nature guide, and as fate would have it, my father was in one of her tour groups.

He was almost ten years older than her, and I sometimes wondered what had attracted them to one another. But then, I knew my father—he had charm for days and an easy smile, and he could be loving and giving to a fault. There was also a hard edge to him. He could be brutal when it came to business, but my mother always had a way of softening his edges.

Unfortunately, since she’d passed away, there’d been no softening of those edges, and John Carter was not mellowing with age. It was all business all the time now, and he didn’t care who he had the squash to make a deal.

I was becoming increasingly alarmed by his thirst. I tried to employ some of the same tactics my mother had used, but she’d had the magic touch. Every time I tried to calm him, he would snap and say, “This is the way business is done. You need to toughen up and take that heart off your sleeve, or you”re never going to make it, much less take over the company.”

I had to give my father credit. He took that piece of land my mother gave him and built the grandest resort the state of Colorado had ever seen. Our resort hosted more celebrities, debutants, and suspected mob bosses than I could count. If you were famous or had money to burn, you were welcome at Pine Crest Mountain.

Regrettably, that had rubbed my mom the wrong way. She’d wanted Pine Crest to be a place where families could have fun and enjoy the beautiful bounty that was Colorado. But that didn’t change the fact my father had made a success out of the place.

Toward the end of her life, my dad had begun nagging her to sign over the rest of her land. I knew he had thoughts of expanding it into a mega-resort. But as much as she’d had a soft spot for my father, my mother had signed the land over to me, and it was a source of contention between my father and me.

He was always in my ear about how much money we could make off that land, but for the first time in my life, I found the strength to put my foot down and tell him I would honor my mom’s wishes. I didn’t want to see all that beautiful land bulldozed.

Even though I knew I’d done the right thing, I felt guilty. I only had one parent left, and he was upset with me. So, I worked my tail off to prove to my father I could be a savvy businesswoman, especially as he talked more and more about eventually handing me the reins. The problem was, I wasn”t sure I wanted to take over. It was easy to think about the things I could do with the resort if I were in charge. I could make it more accessible to regular families and kid-friendly, just as my mom wanted. But it was also a huge responsibility.

I wasn”t about to admit any of that to my dad because he”d have a fit. I was, however, going to prove to him I was more than capable of managing our business.

It came at a cost, though. I was lonely, exhausted, and still grieving. So much so, my best friends, Caroline and Abby, had tried talking me out of coming on the trip. They’d suggested I tell my dad somebody else should take the lead, but I wasn”t about to let that happen. I knew if I turned it down, he’d believe I didn’t have the courage to be CEO one day. So, I did what I did best—put on a happy face and get the deal done. Which was exactly what I did. Being back in my home state wasn”t all terrible. It was nice to see a Colorado sunset again, even if it made my heart ache for things that might”ve been.

As soon as I entered the diner, the smell of grease, meat, and sugar hit my nose. I inhaled deeply, drinking it into my veins. My mouth practically watered in anticipation of what I was about to order.

A tired-looking waitress handed me a sticky menu and directed me to a booth where I happily slid across the cracked vinyl seat and poured over the menu, tempted to order it all. But I settled for my old standby: a burger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. That was my celebration dinner for surviving my trip to Colorado.

The following day, I would be on the first flight back to LA, and I could pretend there wasn”t a gigantic piece of land beckoning me home. I could throw myself into work and pretend my mom wasn”t gone, and maybe if I were really lucky, I could fool myself into pretending Jaime and I had never been friends.

I smiled to myself ruefully. I didn”t really want to do that. As much as it pained me to remember what I”d given up, I wouldn’t give up my memories with Jaime for anything. It was odd how those memories could both torture and comfort me in my darkest times.

I struggled to accept I was a thirty-year-old woman pining for someone I knew in high school. Sure, we’d stolen a few moments, and sometimes, I believed we could have been more, but in the end, we were friends.

I often complained I could never seem to move on from him. There was always the ghost of Jaime, and nobody could ever live up to it. My friends coined it the “Jaime Effect.” I would date a guy for a while, and everything would go great until I found a frivolous reason to break up with them. Caroline was the one who came up with the name, and when I questioned her about it, Abby backed her up and said, “She’s right. Nobody can live up to Jaime Acosta. I would love to meet this guy someday and find out if he actually lives up to the hype.”

They weren”t wrong. Every time I got close to someone, I couldn”t help but think of Jaime and what our lives would be like if I’d stood up to my father back then.

The waitress plopped an oversized plate with a half-pound burger and a generous helping of fries in front of me, then slid a fountain glass with my chocolate shake and a stripy straw across the table.

I resisted the urge to clap like a delighted child and thanked her before digging in. After my first bite, I was quietly moaning to myself when my phone buzzed.

It was a Zoom reminder, and I remembered it was Wednesday night. Caroline, Abby, and I had a standing appointment, so no matter how busy we were, we had a dedicated time to catch up. If one of us were traveling, we’d video conference, but if we were all in the city, we’d sip margaritas and munch on chips and salsa at one of our apartments, usually Abby”s because she had the best view.

I grabbed earbuds from my purse and slipped them into my ears, so I wouldn’t disturb the other diners as I logged into the Zoom conference. Their familiar loving faces appeared on my small screen, and I beamed at them. Whatever I’d thought I’d missed out on being an only child growing up, Abby and Caroline filled the void. They were more than my best friends. They were my soul sisters, and I didn’t think I’d still be upright after my mom died if it weren’t for them.

“Did you think we were going to let you get away with not taking part in the usual meet?” Abby asked with a raised eyebrow.

I grinned. “Oh, I know that would never happen—I just forgot what day it was,” I admitted.

Caroline gasped dramatically and put a hand to her chest. “How dare you,” she said, fighting back a smile.

I shook my head. “I know, I know. It”s just my head is all screwed up being back in this place.”

As Abby and Caroline both nodded in understanding from their respective screens, I realized they weren”t together. “Wait. Where are you two?”

“Well, I’m in John”s apartment,” Abby said.

Caroline and I glanced at one another, pasting on fake smiles. Abby had just started dating John, and he was all she talked about. He seemed nice enough, but both Caroline and I got a weird vibe from him we couldn”t quite put a finger on. We were nervous for our friend because she was over the moon in love.

All we could do was caution her to go slow, but she wasn”t hearing any of it. As far as she was concerned, Caroline was just a workaholic who wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship, and I was still madly in love with a boy I used to know.

“And as you can see,” Caroline said, cutting into my thoughts and changing the subject, “I am in the dungeon, otherwise known as work.”

“Do you ever leave there before nine?” I asked her in disbelief.

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “You’re one to talk. You”re having to dance a jig for work every time I blink,” Caroline groused.

“There”s a difference,” I said, swirling a fry through my puddle of ketchup. “I have the joy of working for my father, which means there are complex family dynamics and dysfunction at play here. You just work for a corporation that mercilessly sucks you dry every chance it gets.”

Caroline laughed. “I think that”s just the way work is for everyone,” she pointed out.

“Not me,” Abby said.

Caroline and I both shared an eye roll as Caroline spit out, “Yes, well, when you’re your own boss, it”s a little different, isn”t it? I”m sure even you find your boss irritating sometimes—I sure do,” she smirked.

Abby rolled her eyes. “You can abuse me all you want. I”m just saying if something bothers you that much, it”s up to you to change it.”

“She”s not wrong, Lina,” I admitted to Caroline.

Caroline shook her head. “Whatever, save the spiel for another day. We need to check in on Miss Emma here. She”s the one who is several states away doing her father”s bidding … again. How’s it going out there?”

Tears prick the back of my eyes. It wasn’t like I hadn”t been feeling the urge to cry since I stepped off the airplane and onto Colorado soil for the first time in over two years. But having my best friends looking at me so concerned made everything rise to the surface.

“Oh, hey, we”re not trying to upset you,” Caroline insisted.

I shook my head, trying to stave off the tears. “No, it”s not that. I just really miss her. And I can feel her everywhere. I’m so embarrassed I can barely handle being here without her. And I’m not even in Silverpine.”

My friends nodded sympathetically. Caroline already had to go through the pain of losing her father, so she knew better than most. And Abby was one of the most empathetic people I knew. Plus, they both got to know Lydia Carter themselves, and they loved her, too. It was impossible not to be crazy about my mom.

“Well, on the bright side, you’ll be back in LA by this time tomorrow. And we”ll take you out for a proper dinner,” Abby said, having caught sight of the plate in front of me.

“I will have you know this is fine Colorado fare. Nowhere near as good as Mabel”s, but I”m enjoying it.”

They both laughed. “Oh no, it could never be as good as Mabel”s,” Caroline deadpanned.

“Or is it never as good as the hot cook, making you a burger on the spot? Are you going to look up Jaime while you”re there?” Abby asked, only half teasing.

“Please,” I laughed with a wave of my hand. “He probably doesn’t even remember me.”

“Excuse me?” Caroline challenged, raising an eyebrow, “I saw pictures of you in high school, and if that boy doesn’t remember the smoking hot redhead with curves for days, he’s an idiot not to be messed with, anyway.”

I smiled. “You two are too much sometimes.”

“But the best kind,” Abby sang.

I was still laughing when we were interrupted by an incoming call from “Dad.”

“Uh oh, what’s that face?” Caroline asked, worried.

I sucked in a breath. “Nothing, it’s just my Dad. You know how he is if I make him wait.”

My friends rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

“Yep, you better answer that, or the old Sarge will have a fit,” Caroline said, using the nickname many people used for my father. He had long been called Sarge, even though he’d never served in the military—just a drill sergeant’s attitude.

“I hate to cut this short …”

Abby put up her hands. ”Say no more, but feel free to call us back when you”re done with your dad if you need to talk.”

I nodded. ”Just a few more hours,” I said, pasting a bright smile on my face and saying my goodbyes before answering the call.

”Hey Dad, what”s up?” I answered with fake cheer as I eyed my now cold burger in front of me.

”I heard you did a fine job with the Airoldi account this evening and I wanted to call to congratulate my girl,” he said, and even though he was patting me on the back, metaphorically speaking, I could sense there was more.

”Yeah, it was a cinch, just like I said it would be.”

”Atta girl,” he encouraged, ”in fact they were so impressed with you, it makes me more comfortable giving you this next assignment.”

I laughed, ”I just finished your last assignment an hour ago, Dad.”

”No rest for the wicked,” he said, which always put me on edge.

”Right, of course,” I conceded.

”This one”s going to keep you in Colorado for a little longer, which is why I wanted to get a hold of you tonight before you got on that plane in the morning.”

”What? What on earth could keep me in Colorado?”

” I thought you’d like this assignment because it”ll take you back to the flagship resort.”

My heart sank even as it began thudding harder in my chest. The flagship resort—that’s how my father always referred to it—not my childhood home or Pine Crest. Once again, it was all business for him.

I waited with bated breath as he explained. ”I have been working on a merger for some time that has some complex details to it. It”s been a real bear to deal with. But I think I”m closing in on an agreement that will make everybody happy—and very rich.”

I huffed out a laugh. ”Please Dad, we”re already very rich,” I mumbled, not wanting anyone to overhear that bit of business.

”Can you ever be too rich?” he chuckled.

Apparently not.

”Mr. Travers is sending his son, Andrew Jr., to the flagship resort for a few days, and I”m hoping you”ll be able to schmooze him a bit and work over the finer points of the details. I”ll send you what I have so far. I want you to be your best for this, Emma.”

”Aren”t I always?” I asked.

”I am serious, Emma. This has the potential to change everything for the company. Plus, I”ve met this young man. He”s a good sort of fellow, and I think you two would hit it off.”

I didn”t like how sounded. Was he trying to set me up?

”That’s all well and good, Dad, but let”s just keep it to business. Okay?”

”I”m just saying, dear girl, it doesn”t hurt to keep an open mind. He”s young, rich, and successful and I’m man enough to admit he”s pretty easy on the eyes, too.”

”Dad!”

”Okay, okay. I”ll quit pushing. But don”t rule out the possibility just because I said something about it. I am forwarding the details to your inbox as we speak. My secretary has already prepared the family suite, and I”ll have her cancel your flight for tomorrow. Now you have a dinner date—sorry, a meeting with Mr. Travers Jr. tomorrow at seven, but I want you there with plenty of time to prepare and reacquaint yourself with the property.”

I bit back a laugh. ”Right,” I said. I wouldn”t need to reacquaint myself with Pine Crest Mountain Resort. I knew that place and the surrounding land like the back of my hand. It had been my playground, my home as a child, and more recently, the place I’d been avoiding. ”How long do you think it”s going to take, Dad?” I asked anxiously.

”Oh, I wouldn”t worry about your other work, Emma. This deal is of the utmost importance. Anything you have scheduled in LA can be delegated to somebody else or postponed.”

Great, I thought. The few days I’d already spent in Colorado were hard enough, and now I was headed home, to the one place I’d been avoiding. And I was going to have to do it with a damn smile on my face.

My dad gave me a few more details and then signed off. Suddenly, that burger, fries, and shake sat in my stomach like a lead weight.

Since I left Silverpine for college, I’d only returned to Pine Crest to visit my mom, and they were brief. Despite trying to avoid all the places that reminded me of Jaime, he was everywhere. So while my father was off gallivanting in the name of business, I would stick close to the resort and my mother’s side.

Although we never spoke of it, she knew how painful it was for me to return and understood what I had given up. She was my security blanket, and I didn’t know how I was going to survive this visit without her. Now I’d have to face two ghosts—alone.

I paid the waitress and gave her a generous tip, even though I left half my food uneaten and shuffled back to my car.

As I pulled out of the gravel parking lot, tears started streaming down my face. I blinked them away, trying to concentrate on the unfamiliar road leading back to my hotel.

”Only a few more minutes,” I coached myself as the impending panic and anxiety threatened to overtake me. I was well practiced at pushing those feelings aside, but lately it was getting harder to keep them at bay.

I kept my head down as I walked through the hotel lobby and rode up the elevator to my room on the seventh floor. Only when I shut the hotel room door and locked it behind me did I allow the tears to flow freely.

I’d only been in my room for a couple of minutes when my phone started ringing. It was a group call from Abby and Caroline. Somehow, they always knew when I needed them. Of course, knowing I was just talking to my father, it was a safe bet that I would need some moral support.

I contemplated not answering. They were going to know I was crying, and there was no avoiding it. I wasn”t certain I wanted to share what was going on, but they were going to find out eventually, so I sucked in a deep breath and answered.

”Hey, I hope we”re not bothering you again too soon,” Caroline started, ”but Abby sent out the bat signal. She said she could sense a change in your aura, or whatever, and insisted you needed us.”

I heard Abby huff over the line, as I answered in a shaky voice, ”She was right.” Then I burst into tears.

”How do you do that?” Caroline asked Abby.

”It”s a gift and a burden,” Abby replied. ”Emma, it’s going to be okay. Take some deep breaths, and when you”re ready, tell us what happened.”

I couldn”t stop crying and it came out all garbled, but somehow they understood when I answered, ”Okay, but it”s going to be a minute. Or five.”

”Okay. But after that, we’ll be here to redirect you, because while it is totally fine to cry when you”re sad, you never want to do it for too long, or you”ll make yourself sick.”

”My mother always said that,” I blubbered, and Caroline groaned.

”There I go again, saying the wrong thing.”

”No, no, it”s okay. I just…” I sucked in a deep breath and then I relayed the phone conversation I had with my father. Anyone else probably wouldn”t have been able to decipher what I was saying, but I was pretty sure I shared information telepathically with these two, so they would understand.

”Wow,” Abby breathed once I was done, ”that”s an awful lot to ask of you, Emma.”

”No shit,” Caroline agreed, and I could hear the anger bubbling up in her voice, but she was trying to keep it in check for me. It wouldn”t be the first time Caroline went on an angry rant about my father, but she wasn’t saying anything I didn’t already know.

”What are you going to do, Emma?” Abby asked, and I could hear the worry in her voice.

”I don’t think I have much of a choice… I”m going home.”