Chapter 4 Wrenley
Wrenley
We didn’t get a chance to see much of the town because apparently, walking ten feet in Alpine Harbor without getting trapped in a thirty-minute conversation is physically impossible.
Every person knew Ruger and Remi. And thanks to Bonnie, everyone already knew Ruger was engaged.
Once people confirmed I was the fiancée, conversations started growing the way snowballs do rolling downhill, with more people wandering over to introduce themselves, ask questions, and casually absorb every detail they could get of my existence.
In the city, you can hide in plain sight. Blend in with the crowd, slip through the cracks. The odds of running into someone you know are practically zero. But here? It’s like The Truman Show. Everyone’s got a story, a cousin, an opinion, or all three.
It’s beyond exhausting.
Eventually, we gave up and decided to go back to Ruger’s house. I’m ready to sell my soul for a foot massage and a heating pad.
Remi drops dramatically to the floor the second we walk through the door, arms sprawled like a felled tree.
I bend to untie my boots. I’m realizing why they’re called fashion hiking boots: they’re heavy on the fashion and not so much on the functionality of standing for hours.
My feet are screaming, and I rotate my ankles just to feel something again.
Can you take my shoes off, Wrennie? Remi moans with mock desperation. When did this town get so many people?
You knew them all, I say, tugging one boot off and then the other.
She doesn’t move once they’re off, and just as I’m about to straighten, the front door swings open. Ruger steps inside, only to trip over her outstretched leg.
What the—Remi, he snaps. Why are you lying in the middle of the floor?
Living here, she sighs.
Oh, hell no. Ruger sidesteps her and makes a beeline for the kitchen. I already took one person in. You can go home.
Remi lifts her head and looks at her brother. You’re not going to feed me? she asks sweetly, batting her lashes.
You want burgers? He holds up a butcher-wrapped package.
Remi groans and lets her head flop back to the floor. Why don’t you keep the stuff for my famous veggie burgers in your house?
Ruger doesn’t answer. He just shakes his head, opens the freezer, and pulls out a box.
Do you eat these? He looks down the hall at her.
Remi sits up, squinting. Her whole face lights up like someone plugged her in. Are those meatless burgers?
Ruger sighs. Yes. Believe it or not, I think of you every once in a while.
Oh my God! You saw meatless burgers and thought of me? She stands and stumbles toward him, throwing her arms around his back in a dramatic, full-body hug.
He stiffens like he’s deeply offended by this display of affection. Don’t make it weird.
You love me, she sings, squeezing tighter.
I regret everything.
But there’s no real bite to it. His voice is tired but not irritated. Fond in that brotherly, I-would-set-myself-on-fire-for-you-but-I’m-not-going-to-smile-about-it kind of way.
He peels her off and disappears out the back door with the burgers and a handful of grumbling.
I turn to Remi, a little amused and a little something else. That was sweet of him.
She shrugs like she didn’t just fling herself at the man in gratitude. Yeah. He can be.
I smile, but I feel it waver. Remi catches it.
You okay?
I wave a hand. Yeah. Totally. It’s just… this day was a lot. I’m not used to small-town life where everyone wants to know you. It’s not like that in Vancouver.
She nods. It was intense.
Not to mention the hand holding. And pressing against Ruger’s firm body.
Okay. She claps her hands. Let’s go save Ruger from my soy-based patties.
I grab her wrist before she can escape. Wait. Rem?
She turns back. What?
How are we supposed to pull off an actual wedding? I ask. I don’t exactly have money for that lying around.
Remi’s expression softens immediately. Don’t worry about it. I can cover things.
Remi, you’ve already paid for a lot.
She shrugs. I’m not going to be on the hook for all of it. I know the local baker, so I’m sure he’ll kick in something. I could probably work something out with the florist. And Walter already declared himself the officiant. I’m sure he’d do it for free.
I groan softly. Hearing that more people are going to invest in this sham makes it worse.
Remi bites her lower lip.
We don’t really have a choice, she says quietly. Unless you want to not go through with this at all. I mean, you know the consequences if we get found out.
Guilt creeps slowly into my chest. Do you really think people would say something?
She gives me a look. Wrenley. You’ve known this town for less than twenty-four hours, and you already know nobody here can mind their business.
Fair point.
I sigh.
Look, I love this town and the people in it, she says, but I’m also not willing to risk you and my brother getting in trouble because someone can’t keep a secret.
This all felt so much simpler when it was just the three of us.
Finally, I nod. Okay.
Hey, Remi says. Try not to stress. We’ll figure it out. Planning things is literally my favourite pastime, and I’m pretty good at getting stuff to go my way.
I laugh softly. That is all true.
Exactly. You’re in excellent hands.
She flashes me a bright grin before disappearing out the back door.
I rub my arms, trying to shake off the feeling that the town has become a huge complication.
But when I step outside and Remi is pointing at the grill while Ruger stares down at the meat in disgust, watching the two of them together, so familiar and ridiculous and seemingly completely unfazed by the chaos unfolding around us, something inside me loosens slightly. Maybe everything really will be okay.
Over a hundred expletives and one spirited debate about factory farming later, we’re all gathered around Ruger’s kitchen table, chewing in silence.
The silence is thick and hot and filled with the echo of Remi yelling, Beef is murder!
while Ruger tried to grill, which was a weird comment since he was cooking bison.
Remi munches on her meatless burger like this is any other Tuesday.
Ruger looks like he’s counting backward from one hundred to avoid spontaneous combustion.
You and I both know hunted meat isn’t the same as store-bought beef, Ruger says, barely looking up from his plate.
Remi lifts an eyebrow, expression blank. If that helps you sleep at night.
She leans down and slaps his stomach. He lets out a low grunt of protest.
You’ll learn, brother of mine, she says with a wink, that all your meat-eating is a mis-steak!
I choke on my bite, sputtering laughter, while Ruger shakes his head.
Okay. Remi wipes her fingers on a napkin and stands with a dramatic sigh. Well, I’ll let you two carnivores eat yourselves into an early heart attack. How about dinner at my place tomorrow?
I’m in, I say happily.
Ruger says nothing.
She leans in close and says, It’s not an invitation. It’s a demand. She pats him twice on the shoulder like she’s congratulating him for surviving the day. I’ll see you both tomorrow for dinner. Then she flounces out the door.
Ruger groans and leans back in his chair, rubbing a hand over his face.
Tired? I ask.
Too much Alpine Harbor, he mutters.
I laugh softly. I’m starting to understand what Remi was saying about how everyone knows everything.
It’s usually not this intense, he says. At least not for me. Normally, I can go into town, grab a coffee, talk to three people, and leave. But admittedly, this is not the first time I’ve watched the town take something small and make it massive.
I nod. Yeah, we kind of acquired a wedding today.
His expression turns thoughtful. We did. When I agreed to marry you, I didn’t think it would become this much.
Guilt immediately curls through my chest.
I’m sorry, I say quietly. I know I asked for a lot from you, and now—
His eyes lift to mine. Wren. No. His voice softens. I’m not talking about helping you. I meant all— He gestures vaguely in the direction of town. —that.
The wedding?
He sighs. I just don’t love the idea of turning something that’s supposed to be private into a public event.
I tilt my head slightly. You don’t like weddings or something?
I don’t like performances, he corrects.
Wasn’t this always a performance? I ask.
He shrugs. It felt different when the idea was to just stand before a civil servant and say what needs to be said for this thing to be legal. Now… He trails off and looks thoughtfully out his kitchen window.
I bite my lower lip, waiting for him to continue.
Now? I encourage.
He shakes his head. It’s nothing.
I nod, trying to stamp down the curiosity of what he was about to say.
Instead, I ask, Do you think we’ll be able to pull off a believable wedding?
With Remi on our side? Absolutely, he says. She’s sweet, but when she gets an idea in her head, she is full force on it. Lists, to-dos, and she will make sure everything goes off without a hitch.
And if it doesn’t go according to her plan?
He shrugs. Oh, it will. She’s a force of nature when she needs to be. A little thunder, a little lightning.
That’s true. I don’t think this whole plan to move here would’ve happened without her persistence.
I wondered about that, he says. I know we’ve known each other all of two seconds, but it’s clear Remi takes the lead when it comes to this whole thing.
I shrug. She’s just good at thinking on her toes in a way I’m not.
He nods.
I like that she’s the opposite of me. She says what she wants. She doesn’t wait around for someone to give her permission. I admire that. I want to be more like that. I draw patterns with my finger on the table. Sometimes she forgets other people don’t run at the same speed.
She’s always been like this, he says. Even as kids. She’s not easy to say no to.
No kidding.
She could convince a glacier to melt with sheer willpower.
And then complain it made the ground soggy.
We both laugh, and it feels good. It feels like we can have a fun friendship through this time.