Chapter Five
Marley
“I don’t know,” I say, dipping my chicken nugget into a bowl of barbeque sauce. I swear we eat like toddlers. “Tex is the same guy he was eight years ago. A little older but still really smart, and he had a lot of interesting thoughts,” I shove another nugget into my mouth, “so we’ll see.”
“We’ll see what? We’ll see like you’re going to dump Richard and go back to the one guy who treated you right? Or we’ll see like you’re still pretending you’ve got your shit together?” Kit jabs me in the side as she grabs a few chips from the bag.
I drag in a deep breath and take a sip of cold lemonade. It’s the kind from a bottle so it’s not that great, but the sweet notes really hit the spot with all this salty food. “We’ll see like… we’ll see if his ideas help the shop.”
“Okay.” Kit grins wide. “So, when do I get to know the real stuff?”
I load a sarcastic remark about her dad’s bestie but bite it back in favor of the desperation itching at my stomach. I need to talk to another human being about what happened today.
“Richard came by,” I say, pausing for dramatic effect, “he shook Tex’s hand, told him how stubborn I am, then Tex got all defensive of me. The second Richard left, Tex lost it. He started asking me all these questions like he’s still interested, maybe, but obviously, I’m not.”
Kit stares toward me for a long minute, chip still in hand, but I can’t read the story her face is telling.
“What? Just say it.”
“Girl,” she pops the snack into her mouth, “when are you going to stop lying to yourself? Richard is awful. I’ve seen him in action.
You’re not imagining it. And even if you were, he doesn’t make you happy.
He makes you question everything. He makes you confused.
Go home, tell him it’s not working, and jump on the giant lumberjack who clearly still has feelings for you. ”
“Oh… my… God.” My cheeks heat. “You’re a mess.”
“I’m thirsty as fuck. That’s what I am. And if a big, sexy, emotionally stable man like Tex were showing any interest in me at all, I’d be figuring my life out really quick.
” She tilts her gaze down. “I mean, you’re saying you have no attraction to the man at all?
Your body didn’t react in the slightest? ”
“Of course, my body reacted. I’m human!” I leave out the part where I’m starved for affection. “That’s not the point, though. Tex and I didn’t work then, and we wouldn’t work now.”
“Come on. I saw you two together. You worked just fine.”
“Clearly we didn’t… because we broke up.”
“You broke up because you were going through something, and you didn’t get back together because you’re both stubborn.”
I roll my eyes and take another sip of liquid sugar. “You’re annoying.”
“I am.” She grins. “Thank you. Now do what I say and fix your life.”
“Well, you make it sound so easy.” I tilt my head to the side with playful sarcasm as I say, “So… tell me how things are going with Daddy’s best friend.”
Kit rolls her eyes and stands before turning toward the freezer to pull out two cartons of Merry Gingerbread ice cream. The local creamery makes all these festive flavors this time of the year. “We’re still talking about you. Can you at least agree that you have a connection with him?”
I sit up straighter. “I agree that he’s easy to talk to.”
She grabs two spoons from the drawer next to the fridge and hands one toward me. “Why are you impossible? The ghost of Christmas present has given you a gift. Take it!”
I roll my eyes and take the spoon. “And are you going to take the gift of your dad’s best friend?”
She narrows her gaze at me playfully. “If you say ‘dad’s best friend’ one more time, I’m going to make the call to Tex myself. Now eat your ice cream. It’s melting.”
I take her advice and flip open the top, taking in the scent of vanilla and ginger. “Have you considered the part where Tex is too old for me? I mean, I know it’s your thing, but it’s not mine.”
“He wasn’t too old for you before.” She narrows her brows as though she’s scolding me for thinking such things.
“He’s lived this whole life, has all this wisdom, knows what he wants, understands what you want, and he knows how to give it to you.
Why are you making everything so complicated?
Ask him to the New Year’s Eve party at the lodge and go recreate that night you told me about back in the day.
You know, the one in the window.” She’s barely gotten her sentence out when I hear tires crunching over rocks outside followed by the slam of a truck door.
I narrow my gaze. “Are you expecting someone?”
She shakes her head. “No, but sometimes the propane guy surprises me. I’ll handle it. You keep eating your ice cream. You look hungry.”
I love Kit. I love that we have moments like this. Moments where we get to be playful and honest. I’ve had friends before where that never happens. Instead, everything just stays on the surface. I guess that’s the benefit of having known each other for most of our lives.
I sit back and take another scoop of ice cream, trying to savor the last of the holiday season, but I’ve barely taken a bite when I hear Richard hollering in the entryway.
What the hell?
I stand from my chair and make my way down the short hall to the front door, my chest tight. Why would he be here? I do this once a week. He’s never shown up before, not once.
“What’s going on?” The words come out stiff, and though I don’t want to sound scared, I am.
“Let’s go, Marley,” Richard barks. I can tell already this isn’t going to go well. I’ve seen this look before. He’s gotten something into his head. I can tell by the vacant glaze in his stare.
“What? No. I’m visiting with my friend.”
“I said,” he lowers his voice and clenches his fists at his side like he’s intimidating me, “get in the truck, now.”
Usually something innocuous triggers these fits of rage, but most of the time, I see it coming.
At first, I figure it was the interaction at the bookstore earlier.
Maybe I said something that upset him. Maybe the conversation with Tex has been bothering him all day.
Maybe he picked up on the way my body reacted to Tex’s.
It wasn’t intentional, but I knew it was happening.
That said, this behavior with Richard isn’t new and it needs to stop.
“I’m not getting in the truck, Richard, and you need to leave.” I hold my tone firm though my insides are shaking.
“Leave, or I’m calling the cops,” Kit says, holding her phone out.
“You’re the one causing a scene,” he snarls. “I told you to get in the truck.”
“I’m not going to the truck,” I bark louder, stepping forward. If this guy wants to fight, we can fight. I’m not doing this anymore.
Kit steps back into the kitchen, tugging at my arm. “Come on. We don’t have to listen to him.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “I’ll get him to leave.
” I push past him and step out onto the covered porch that overlooks the evergreen forest. I’ve always liked Kit’s property this time of the year.
The snow resting on the tops of the pines makes it look like a magical world that lives within the forest walls.
I wonder if I can summon it to get this guy to leave.
When I’m outside, I turn toward Richard, my arms crossed, my toes icy cold against the freezing wood. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been home waiting.”
I narrow my brows. “You have bowling tonight. I told you I was going to Kit’s.”
“No, I told you I’d be home. I made dinner, cleaned the house, checked the tracker, and you’re here.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Have you lost your fucking mind? We just had this conversation at the bookstore. I told you I was coming here. You were supposed to be bowling.”
He steps forward and tightens his jaw, the look in his eyes dark and empty, and I get the feeling he knows exactly what he’s doing.
It’s then that he grabs me by the shirt and shakes while he screams. This has happened before, more times than I’d like to admit.
It’s funny what you accept when you’re falling apart inside.
“Act fucking right!” He spits the words so frantically that I feel the spray against my face, but I’m not here. I’m somewhere else. I’m lost in the place I go when things get crazy like this.
I must be, because I see Tex in his bright flannel. I see him wide and strong, walking up the driveway. I see his gaze locked on Richard. I see his fists balled at his side. He climbs the steps and suddenly Richard releases his grip on me.
The delusion continues because a moment later, I watch Tex drag Richard off the front porch and into the woods, digging deep divots into the snow behind them.
“You okay, sweetheart?” Kit’s voice echoes into the silence. “I called the police. They’re on their way.”
Is that real? I can’t tell. Nothing feels real.
The warmth of a tear slides down my cheek as I hear footsteps crunching back through the woods, and there he is again, this time alone.
Tex. The man in flannel. The man from my past that I shouldn’t have called.
“You ready? I’m taking you back to my place, honey.” His hand reaches out for mine.
Then all at once, without another word, Tex lifts me off my feet, cradles me in his arms, carries me to his truck, and I come back to life, warmer than I’ve felt in a long damn time.