Chapter Twenty-One
“These cabins are great, Jake. Thanks for the heads-up,” Peter said. Hudson, Peter, Garrett, and Jeff were in one unit, and Jake was with Chuck, Bryan, and Stewart in theirs. Half of them sat around the table, puffing away at cigars. As if the smoke outside wasn’t bad enough, now their cabin was full of it too.
“No problem. I’m glad she could accommodate us on such short notice,” Jake said, checking the two cards in front of him. An ace and a ten, suited clubs. That was a good start. “I guess having raging fires around the state isn’t good for our tourism industry.” He made it sound like a joke, but he was truthfully terrified. What if the fires came to the Pines? He had insurance, but he’d lose everything. Their brand-new house was in danger, and they hadn’t even lived there yet.
“It’ll be okay, son,” Hudson said, obviously picking up on Jake’s inner thoughts. Was he that obvious with his body language? “I raise to fifty.” His future father-in-law dropped the chips into the middle of the pot, and Peter folded beside him.
Garrett called, coolly. “It’s insane out here. I’m still surprised they haven’t evacuated more people.”
“Things are better in Maine. They’re mostly out, or at least under control. We thought we’d have to leave for a while there,” Stewart, Jake’s sister’s husband, said as he folded his cards.
“My mom’s trying to get me to go back to New York early, ‘just in case’.” Chuck used air quotes to describe his mom’s words. He called the bet, and Jake saw his eyebrow rise slightly. One thing Jake did was watch how each player reacted when they saw their cards, or folded, raised, or otherwise. He’d won more games than not by understanding what he was up against through his opponents’ tells.
Jeff was last to act, and he folded quickly. “I’m trying to get Kimber to leave, but she won’t. I do think it’ll be fine, though.”
Jake called the chips, and Stewart flipped over the three cards. Nine, five, ace. Jake kept his expression still as he assessed the flop.
“Enough about this. The wedding is next week!” Peter said as Chuck dropped fifty chips into the pot. Jake hesitated, making it seem like he was unsure if the call should be made. After a minute, he called without saying anything. Hudson called, and Garrett folded.
“It is. I can’t believe it. I’m also amazed at how little I had to do for it. I feel guilty,” Jake said.
Hudson took this one. “Barbara was all over it, and believe me, you don’t want to be planning beside her. I love my wife to death, but she has a tendency to control the situation.”
Another card fell, this one a ten. Jake waited until it was his turn, after Chuck checked it over to him, and he bet one hundred chips. Hudson let out a low whistle. “What are you hiding under there, son?” Hudson took one last look at his cards and folded them. Garrett let out a sigh and folded his too, before grabbing his beer and taking a pull.
“You have to pay to see, Pops,” Jake said, getting a laugh from the others.
Garrett chimed in about wedding planning. “Believe me, I let Mom do whatever she wanted for my wedding. I still have things I wish were different, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.” He grabbed Peter’s hand, and his husband smiled a heartfelt look at him.
“That’s your mother.” Hudson puffed away on his cigar, his cards pushed away to the center of the table.
“Looks like it’s just you and me, Jake?” Chuck said, calling the bet.
The last card came, and it was a jack. That could give Chuck an outside shot at a straight. But the look of excitement was gone from Chuck’s face now, and unless he was doing it intentionally, Jake was sure he had the hand.
Chuck checked, and Jake took his time, reaching for chips. He glanced to Chuck as he did so, and saw the boy slump a tiny bit. He wanted to draw him into the pot, so he bet another one hundred, hoping Chuck had a piece of the hand, but not a great one.
Chuck pushed his cards away. “You can take it. I drew dead on that last one.”
“Nice hand, son,” Hudson said, and Jake raked the chips over to his stack.
“Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t,” Jake joked.
Garrett’s phone was out, and he was tapping it. “Guys, my reception is down.”
Almost at once, all of their phones were out, checking. “Nothing here,” Peter said. The rest said the same thing.
Jake stood, moving around the cabin, seeing if he could get any bars. “Towers must have gone out. The reception here was spotty the last time, so there’s probably only one shared tower in the county.”
“Let’s check the radio,” Hudson said, getting up and turning on the small kitchen antenna radio. He scrolled through static until he found a station on the AM band, and Jake could hear the tinny voices carry over to the table.
“The fires have continued to spread sporadically; their patterns are baffling the fire crews as a result of the current wind rates. If you’re in Vermont tonight, stay tuned in, because we’re going to be announcing evacuation notices.” The announcer’s deep voice cracked a couple times.
“This isn’t good, is it?” Chuck asked.
The room had gone quiet, and Jake’s heart raced in his chest. “Should we stay put?”
Hudson answered. “I don’t think driving around in the middle of the night after a few drinks is going to do any of us a favor.”
Chuck’s hand was raised in the air. “I can drive. I’m not drinking. Underage and all.”
“I think we should wait and see what they say on the radio. If they announce any evacuations around here, we’ll take off right away,” Bryan said. “The only gamble I want to lose tonight is all my poker money.” He pointed to the pile of bills in the center of the table.
Jake wasn’t sure if that was the right answer or not, but he didn’t want to argue or ruin the bachelor party weekend Peter had planned. “Okay, let’s keep playing. But the second we hear anything unsafe on the radio, we leave. Good?”
Everyone agreed, and they sat back down at the table.
New cards were dealt, but Jake couldn’t shake the terrible feeling in his gut. He glanced at his cell phone one last time, still seeing no reception, and hoped Summer was doing okay.
*
The music was loud, and everyone at their table was talking over it, each of them dressed in skin-tight dresses and veils. It was quite the sight. Summer was already buzzing from the champagne and was so happy they were all together. It was nice to see Jake’s sister Lisa here. Summer hadn’t spent a lot of time with her but always loved to chat with Jake’s only family.
Haley was inside with them, the bar breaking their “no minors” rule just this once, as long as she didn’t have a drop of alcohol. Haley was having enough fun without it, singing along to the loud music and swaying with the rest of the girls on the dance floor. Carpe Diem wasn’t a night club, but tonight, during their party, it was beginning to turn into one.
“Summer! Do you want another drink?” Kimber asked, getting up to head for the bar.
Summer wanted to pass, but she also didn’t want to be a drag at her own party. She was tired and was glad she’d had that extra-large latte in the afternoon. “Sure! Whatever you’re having.”
Everyone at their table was either married or in a long-term relationship, but that didn’t seem to stop the girls from acting like hormone-filled teenagers. A good-looking man walked by, and Kimber whistled at him from the bar. This got everyone laughing, and soon half the table was cat-calling the poor man. He seemed to revel in it, and Summer cringed when he walked up to the table. Barbara raised an eyebrow, making her daughter giggle at the face.
“What’s going on here? Let me guess, knitting club’s weekly meeting?” the man joked. Summer had to admit he was handsome, if not a little too manicured for her previous tastes. She still wanted nothing more than for him to turn around and go back to his friends. He seemed to pick up her vibe.
“You got it. We made these last week,” Trina said from beside Summer, alluding to her skin-tight dress. The man laughed and set his palms down on the table.
“Who’s the lucky lady?” he asked.
They all pointed at Summer, who in turn signaled toward Kimber at the bar. “Nice try,” he said. “Can I give you a piece of advice?”
Summer scanned to his hand and didn’t see a wedding ring. She hesitantly nodded her head, hoping it would get rid of him faster.
“If it’s real, don’t screw it up.” His voice was a whisper in her ear as he leaned down. She could smell whiskey on him, and when he stood back up, she momentarily saw sadness in his eyes. A second later, he was smiling and telling them all to have a great night. He motioned for a waitress and said the table’s next round was on him.
The girls all thanked him, and Summer smiled at him as he walked toward his friends. She pulled out her phone, wanting to text Jake, just to say how much she loved him. She typed in the message and sent it, hoping they were having a good time. Summer glanced over at her mother, who was unable to mask her concern.