Whiskey and Whispers (Winslow Heights #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

Lunchtime during the school year was always busy at Tate’s Tavern and today was no exception. They’d been slammed since opening at eleven, and it was just beginning to slow down now that the clock was showing two in the afternoon.

The mood at Winslow University was exuberant and irritable in equal measure.

Spring break was a mere two weeks away, and the students were more than ready to migrate—albeit only temporarily—to a warmer climate where there were no exams and studying, only alcohol-soaked beaches and bars welcoming them to five days of unbridled hedonism.

Tate remembered his own spring break adventures in Florida well. It hadn’t been that long ago, but somehow, it felt like forever. Being around these kids every day made him feel middle-aged, and he wasn’t even thirty-five. Yet.

But in the meantime, there was more snowfall, and the temperatures were freezing. This wasn’t the holiday time of the year snow, either. That had come and gone in December when everyone welcomed the white stuff along with Christmas trees, lights, and general goodwill toward mankind.

Now it was the end of March, and the whole town was ready for winter to end. They’d had enough of scraping off their cars, digging out their driveways, and hibernating at home. They were ready for blooming flowers and trees, and temperatures that didn’t require coats, mittens, and hats.

“Are you going?” Cooper asked. “She’s going to be there. I heard she’s back in town.”

At some point during lunchtime, Tate’s brothers had shown up and ordered a couple of pizzas, munching away while chatting with him at the bar between customers. They were all in excellent spirits, celebrating the successful opening of the old movie theater.

Cooper and Zack, with some unexpected help from Sam, had done an amazing job fixing it up.

The first thirty days in business were a smash success, far better than they’d hoped.

It seemed the whole town had embraced having a local movie theater and the crazy “theme weeks” that Zack and Cooper thought up.

Last week, vampire movies from the seventies.

Next week, they were doing a beach movie theme to get people excited about warm weather.

“Of course, I’m going,” Tate replied. “They’re my friends.”

He didn’t comment on Cooper’s statement about her . They all knew who her was, after all.

Catherine Townsend - Tate’s high school sweetheart. They’d vowed to love each other forever, but forever turned out to be a damn long time for two teenagers just starting out their lives after graduation.

“I think it’s sort of weird,” Sam said with a shake of his head.

“An anniversary party at ten years. Don’t get me wrong, that’s an achievement.

But to have a big party like this? I don’t know shit about relationships or marriage, but it seems like people just celebrate among themselves. Is this some sort of gift grab?”

“They specifically said no gifts,” Tate said. “And I guess it is sort of strange but romantic, too. Rachel and Josh have been dating since seventh grade, and they always said they would get married right after college. They promised to have a big party on their tenth anniversary. Here we are.”

Rachel and Josh had always been the kind of couple that made others believe in love and commitment. They’d been happily together for almost twenty years. Hell, they still held hands when they walked down the sidewalk.

“You don’t need a good reason for a party,” Cooper declared. “It sounds like fun.”

Tate didn’t reply, instead going back into the kitchen to check in on a few last lunch orders. When he returned to the bar, Zack and Cooper had left, and only Sam was still there.

“They had to get back to the theater,” Sam explained. “Something about the popcorn machine. To be honest, I didn’t really listen that closely.”

“I don’t think there will be a quiz later,” Tate chuckled. “What do you have on the agenda for this afternoon?”

“Not a thing,” Sam said, wearing a delighted grin across his face.

“Unemployment isn’t as bad as everyone says it is.

People keep telling me I’m going to get bored or some shit like that, but frankly, I’m having a great time.

I may never get another job again. I get up when I want, eat when I want, and sleep when I want.

And I don’t have to see or talk to our father. It’s awesome.”

“You might get bored eventually.”

“Doubt it. I have about ten years’ worth of projects I want to work on. Don’t worry about me. I’m good. But I’m worried about you. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Why are you worried about me?”

It was a stupid question, however. Tate knew good and well why Sam was concerned.

“Cat,” Sam said. “She’s here. In town. Are you okay with that?”

“I don’t think I get a vote on whether she’s allowed in Winslow Heights,” Tate replied, stalling for time. He wasn’t sure what to say, to be honest. “She’s here. It’s a done deal.”

“Stop playing games,” Sam said. “You know what I mean. She was important to you once.”

Important. Such a small word for what Tate had felt for Cat. She’d been the air he’d breathed. She’d been the center of his universe. There was nothing he wouldn’t have done for her.

Even let her go.

“She was,” Tate conceded. “That was a long time ago.”

Years. It had been literal years. Even the few times Cat had come into town to visit her family, he’d never seen or talked to her.

She’d fly in for a day or two and then fly out.

He’d only hear about it later. She couldn’t have made it clearer that she didn’t want to see him.

He was part of her past. A past she wanted to pretend didn’t exist.

“You’re not in love with her anymore?”

“No. Shit, we were just kids. Are you still in love with your high school girlfriend?”

“I wasn’t in love with her then, let alone now. I think I may have inherited our dad’s ability to be emotionless in a relationship. I’ve never been with a woman who made me feel anything more than sexual desire.”

“Jesus, that sounds awful. I’m not sure I’d admit that out loud.”

“I’m not proud of it. Just stating a fact,” Sam said, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

Maybe, to him, it wasn’t. “I’ve come to a point in my life where I think love isn’t going to happen to me.

It’s not so bad. I have friends and family.

I don’t miss what I never had, and it makes my life easier and simpler. ”

“As long as you’re okay with it.”

“But we’re not here to talk about me,” Sam said. “We’re here to talk about you. You and Cat.”

“There hasn’t been a me and Cat for a long time.”

Unwanted images of Cat and himself flitted through Tate’s mind.

Some of them sad, most of them happy. Even all these years later, he’d never quite gotten over just how amazingly beautiful she was.

It didn’t matter whether she was wearing ratty sweatpants with her hair in a messy bun or dressed up for their senior prom; she’d simply sparkled like no other woman he’d ever met.

Obviously, he wasn’t alone in how he felt. After all, she’d become a world-famous model before the age of twenty.

“She’s moving here. I need to tell you that she’s coming back.”

Sam’s abrupt words pulled Tate from his memories of the past.

“She’s moving here,” he echoed. “What do you mean? What about her career? And her mother? Grace moved to New York City to be with Cat.”

“I don’t know all the details,” Sam explained.

“I only know that I heard that Cat looked at a house for sale just down the block from her mom. She didn’t buy it, but they said she was moving home and selling her New York City apartment.

And you know what that means, bro. Eventually, you’re going to run into her at some point.

Even if you don’t go to this anniversary party, you’re going to see her. What are you going to do?”

Sam seemed to think that there was some five-alarm issue happening here. But it wasn’t like that.

“Gosh, I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to move and go into some sort of witness protection. Or I could just change my hair and name. Maybe wear a disguise around town. What do you think of a funny nose and glasses?”

“You’re such a comedian,” Sam replied. “I’m being sensitive and helpful here.”

“Since when has the Winslow family ever been sensitive or helpful?”

“I was trying something new. Forget I asked.”

Tate appreciated his brother’s efforts, but it just wasn’t that big of a deal. Fourteen years was a long time. He’d dated many women since, and he would in the future, too.

“Listen, I’m grateful that you care. It’s just that I’m not worried about this. I’m going to see Cat, and that’s fine. Hell, maybe we’ll become friends. We were friends before we started dating.”

“I don’t think Cat Townsend is the kind of woman that men become friends with.”

“I don’t think you know anything about her,” Tate retorted. “She was a good friend to me for a long time. Before and during the time we dated.”

But not after. Cat had simply disappeared out of his life, slowly at first and then one day…gone.

“I don’t know shit about love, but I can’t imagine being friends with someone that I loved in the past. I think it would hurt too much.”

It had hurt back then. A whole hell of a lot.

“Time heals all wounds,” Tate quoted. “Unrequited love is a luxury that few have in the real world. We can’t all be starving poets in the English countryside. Some of us have adult responsibilities.”

Back in high school, Tate had been a dumb teenager who thought everything was life and death.

Now he knew differently. In a way, Cat had taught him that.

She’d shown him that things change, people change, and he’d better be ready to roll with it.

Life wasn’t going to somehow stand still because he wanted it to.

Cat Townsend had been Tate’s first and only broken heart, but he’d learned quickly that the promises made in the dark were the first ones forgotten in the light of day.