Chapter 3
ELIZABETH
I pulled into the parking lot, the gravel under my tires crunching.
One day, I knew the town would vote to pave over this lot so that our cars wouldn’t end up with so many nicks and dings, but I didn’t think it would be anytime soon.
Not when we had so many other things to put towards the town’s upkeep.
And since I was here for a town meeting, I had to wonder exactly what would be on the itinerary this time.
Most funds went towards events that brought the town together and helped tourists settle in.
Having a little thing like a paved parking lot on the outside of the main barn, where all town meetings were held, wasn’t a priority.
Many people walked to town for these meetings, and sometimes I did as well.
But it was a little harder than usual, and I’d had a long night of tossing and turning.
I didn’t want to think about exactly what dreams had plagued my mind, but it wasn’t as if I could have stopped them.
Atlas had always built my dreams. Even when we had been younger, and our dreams had been far-fetched, something that had never made sense. He would be an all-star NHL goalie, with countless Stanley Cups and MVPs to his name. He’d be the team captain and one of the best out there.
It only annoyed me slightly that most of his dreams had come true.
The idea that I wasn’t one of those dreams was something I had long since gotten over. It would make no sense to allow Atlas to become the touchstone of my dreams and waking moments. And that was why I had moved on.
Now it was funny to think of the dreams I had once had.
Because they didn’t make much sense in retrospect.
I had always wanted to teach, wanted to be part of a community as I was.
I loved watching the children of this town grow into the adults I knew they could be.
But the pre-teen and teenage years were so difficult for so many reasons.
One was trying to find out who they were, and what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, and many times it felt as if they weren’t allowed to make mistakes.
But that’s what childhood was for. And being in high school was still being a child.
I had always thought it odd that we expected children at eighteen to know exactly who they wanted to be when they grew up, while in my thirties, sometimes I didn’t feel like I had grown up at all.
But in my dreams with Atlas, when we had been young and stupid, lying on the forest floor, staring up through the trees at the different birds and animals, we had dreamed.
I would travel with him, not letting my career falter.
I would be a best-selling author and would travel the world, and even have Atlas be my assistant at certain events, just to turn the tables.
That had only been a dream for a few moments, although Atlas had been all for it.
At the time, and now, I still didn’t know if it was because he believed it was something I could do, or if he just wanted a reason for me to leave with him.
I didn’t like to think about those things.
It only hurt more in the end.
But those moments of dreams had only been that. Moments. Because I loved my town and I wanted to stay here. Unlike some who felt as though we were trapped, like many of my friends, I didn’t. My family was here, my life was here. And I was doing well.
So our next dream had been perhaps him coming home to me, and me traveling with him during the summer.
After all, if he were in the NHL, I wouldn’t need a job.
I shivered, that memory popping up. He had only said the phrase once, though I had no idea how many times he had thought it.
He’d only believed that I could be on his arm, his sport, and nothing else, just once. And then we knew the truth.
Our futures were never meant to entwine, and that would be good enough.
“Hey, you doing okay?”
I turned to Teagan, pushing those odd thoughts from my mind. I did not think about Atlas daily, or even weekly. Other than when some people brought him up, I lived my life as my own person. I dated, I slept with men, I built a life. Just like Atlas did. One of my own. Not his.
As soon as he set foot on Ashford Creek land, here I was, confused once again.
“Sorry, just woolgathering.”
Teagan studied my face, and I had to wonder what she saw.
Although we weren’t sisters, we looked somewhat similar.
Teagan had gray eyes to my hazel, and she was only a year older.
In fact, she’d been a grade higher than us.
It had been me, Bodhi, and Atlas, all graduating the same year, with some of our friends graduating a couple of years before, and the rest a few years after.
I hadn’t been in school with the younger Ashfords, as the age gap had been a little too much, and I had been off to college, away from town for the first and only time, when Felicity had entered her teen years.
But our faces still held the same look, that similar Ashford Creek-esque because of the tall trees, and the fact that we both slathered ourselves with sunscreen. After all, we were far closer to the sun than most. That made me smile, because Atlas had never believed.
Both Teagan and I were of similar height, although our hair color was pretty much the one defining feature that set us apart.
Hers was a soft blonde that went to the small of her back, but mine was more of a honey-brown.
I had a bit more wave to mine, but we wore the same-sized shoes, the same-sized clothes, and even had similar tastes in jewelry.
Which was always fun for a girls’ night out.
It was as if my closet expanded two times over.
“There you go again. What is going on, friend of mine?” Teagan asked as she gripped my hand. I smiled and reached forward, pushing a strand of her blonde hair back behind her ear.
“I was just thinking about how pretty you are.”
Teagan gave an unladylike snort. “Okay. I really hope you didn’t drive here if you’ve been drinking.”
“Ha. Ha.”
We hooked arms and made our way inside the barn.
The noise inside was a cacophony, echoing off the walls and rising with each passing moment.
As Teagan and I made our way towards the Ashford section, not a designated area, just one where the family tended to sit often, the noise around us quieted.
People gave me strange looks before going back to whisper as if I couldn’t notice what they were doing.
I gave Teagan a look, and she pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.
I did love this town, and I knew the people here loved me right back. But sometimes they were as subtle as a hammer.
And as I looked up towards where the Ashford family stood, I knew exactly why people were whispering.
Atlas and Callum stood close together, laughing with one another, both broad-shouldered with narrowed hips.
Callum was slightly taller, his arms just an inch longer.
Perhaps that’s what was needed as a tight end.
I didn’t watch football often. I only had for Callum’s team when he had been playing. No, I was a hockey girl.
Was being the operative word.
Atlas’s profile was to me, and I did my best not to study the long line of his jaw, the scar on his right brow that still haunted me.
There was an Instagram account about that stupid brow, and while most people joked that it must be Atlas running it, I knew it wouldn’t be him.
No, Atlas didn’t like every single part of notoriety.
At least not the Atlas I knew.
Then I noticed what he’d added to his looks, and I barely held back a groan.
When Atlas and I were sixteen, I had wanted a second piercing of my ears. My parents had been adamant that I was not allowed to. So I had gone to Atlas’s parents and tried to plead my case.
I didn’t do that often, but sometimes my parents’ age was a factor in the decisions that they made.
If it had been for a reason that made sense, I wouldn’t have asked Atlas’s mom for help.
But my parents hadn’t thought a woman should have a choice about something like that.
That a second ear piercing was one step closer to hard drugs. It wasn’t lady-like.
I resisted the urge once again to roll my eyes at that.
So Atlas’s mom had talked with mine, and somehow my parents had seen the light. I had gone in for my piercings, and Atlas had sat right beside me, at the tattoo shop in Denver, one of the town’s favorites. And then, with a wink at his mom, who let out a long sigh, he got his ears pierced as well.
Just small studs, and every single girl—and a few of the boys—in school had swooned at the sight of him.
He didn’t wear them while playing, and I thought they had closed up over time. But now he had small silver hoops, just subtle ones that didn’t even glint under the light, and I hated him.
He was not allowed to continue looking so damn hot. Not when it was hard enough to be in this town with him around.
“Are your parents coming?” Teagan asked as we shifted towards the group.
I looked down at my phone and nodded. “Yes. They said that they were going to make it here on their own.” I let out a sigh. “I tried to tell them that I would drive them here, but God forbid my dad not make it to the town hall on his own, like the adult he is.”
Teagan winced. “I don’t have any experience with aging parents, but I do with stubborn men.” She gave a pointed look to her many brothers, who were now surrounding them. “If you need any help, let me know.”
I squeezed Teagan’s hands because I knew that slight comment about parents might not sound significant, but to the Ashfords, it was.
Years ago, the town had been founded, and the Ashfords had been one of the main families. The town lore was that the patriarch of the Ashford family had paved his way. But as generations had grown, so had the mystery.