Chapter Thirteen
Becca looked around the town square as the sun set and the street lamps flickered on. It always did seem like a pretty picture on a postcard with its grand white wooden gazebo in its center, lined with white twinkle lights. There was a large grassy area where the local children often played during the day and the trees throughout the square were dotted with lights. The small shops and eateries lining Main Street were also lined in lights; it was a year-round look the people of Snowy Ridge loved. That night the band shell was lit up and prettily decorated tables were scattered about on the grass. Long strings of bistro lights stretched back and forth across the square above, giving the whole space an enchanting vibe. It felt magical, like anything might happen. And the townspeople all around them laughed and happily chatted with one another.
Becca returned her gaze to her table and the friends she was sitting with. Jessie was looking around anxiously. It seemed that Cade was late in arriving to the evening’s festivities. April sipped her punch from her glass-handled mason jar. Bets Monroe, the local realtor in Snowy Ridge and Luci’s boyfriend, Evan’s aunt, made a practically lethal summer solstice punch for the dance every year. It was the strongest drink Becca ever remembered having and no one knew exactly what was in it, but it was good and it was one of the traditions in their small town that everyone looked forward to. Becca remembered the first time Luci and she and some of their friends had stolen cups of the punch and gotten drunk behind the bandshell. They had to be only about fifteen years old at the time and had never tasted alcohol before. Luci had gotten completely wasted but Becca had held herself together. The girls had all told their moms that they were sleeping over at Becca’s that night and Becca got them all back into her house without her mom ever suspecting a thing. Becca smiled at the memory.
A local band was tuning up. High school kids, Becca had guessed. Possibly college. Outfitted in old eighties rock band tee shirts and jeans, they were all sporting long shaggy hair that drooped into their eyes. She hoped that the music would be good.
“What are you thinking about?” Luci asked, leaning toward Becca. She took a long sip of her punch.
Becca’s eyes danced. “Remember when we were fifteen? Bets’ summer solstice punch behind the bandshell?”
Luci giggled. “Oh my, yes, I do! I was throwing up in your bathroom that night for like, an hour. Remember your mom asked me if I’d eaten something bad?”
“That’s right,” Becca said. “I’d forgotten that. She’d never suspected what was going on. She was so clueless back then. What am I saying? She hasn’t really changed.”
“Ha!” Luci said. “Your mom wasn’t that bad. She was just a bit naïve. Or she trusted us too much.”
“Or just plain didn’t care. As long as I didn’t get arrested or pregnant she was fine with whatever I wanted to do.” Becca took another sip of her punch and licked her lips. It was sweet but not sickeningly so, and the light carbonation gave it a delicious fizz in her mouth. Becca reminded herself to take it easy on the glasses of punch. It would be all too easy to over-consume them that evening.
April smiled at Jessie. “I seem to remember a time where you and I got drunk on the summer solstice punch as well.”
“Who me? Never,” Jessie said with a gleam in her eye.
“I never heard about this,” Luci said.
“What? It’s practically a rite of passage for teens in Snowy Ridge. Oh hey, there’s Cade,” Jessie said, switching the subject. Jessie jumped out of her seat.
The girls all turned their heads and watched Jessie run to Cade and jump up on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Cade laughed and carried her toward an empty table.
“I guess it’s good she didn’t wear a dress tonight,” Becca joked.
“They’re so in love,” Luci commented. “I think Cade is my future brother-in-law.”
“You think so?” Becca asked. She watched the two in a long lip-lock. He’d set Jessie down on the edge of the table and stood in front of her. She still had herself coiled around him. Cade certainly was handsome; like a younger, slightly more built version of Cooper. People at nearby tables were watching the make-out session but Jessie and Cade didn’t seem to notice or care. “They are awfully into each other.”
“I do,” Luci replied. “Jessie is the happiest I’ve ever seen her. It’s nice.”
“Yep,” April agreed. “I concur. She is head-over-heels for that guy. And he truly is a good guy. I’ve seen my friend date a number of jerks. Cade is a keeper.”
“I miss Nick,” Amber Adams suddenly interrupted.
The women all turned their attention to Amber, who was staring down at her phone miserably. She had been so quiet, Becca almost forgot she was there. She had slipped in with Jessie after Becca and Luci had sat down at the table. Becca didn’t know Amber very well, other than she worked at Patterson’s Bakery and that she had moved to Snowy Ridge last Christmas after falling in love with both the town and a guy. She was dating Nick Jones, the regular dish washer at Starlight Pub, and the guy whose job Becca had taken over for the summer. Becca saw Amber sometimes when she was coming and going to work at Novel Idea. Amber lived above the store in a tiny apartment next door to Jessie’s. Becca knew that Jessie felt protective of the girl and looked out for her like a big sister.
“Aw, I’m sorry Amber. How much longer until you guys can see each other?” Luci asked.
“Three more weeks. I’m going to take a four-day weekend and take the train to New York to see him. It feels like forever, though. I don’t know how I’ll survive the entire summer with him away at this internship. I didn’t realize I depended on him so much.”
“It’ll go by in a snap. You’ll see,” April said encouragingly.
Becca smiled sympathetically at Amber. She knew how unfun it was to be alone. And likely more so for Amber since she did have someone she loved and was separated by distance. But at least she had someone she could talk to everyday. Someone who cared about her and what she was doing and where she was going and what she valued in life. Becca had no one. Technically, her parents were around but it wasn’t the same thing. Becca was growing tired of being single, of not having her “person.”
“Don’t they say absence makes the heart grow fonder?” Luci asked.
Amber nodded. “I guess. I just hate it though. I miss him so much. Especially when I’m here at the dance and seeing other couples together. It makes it hurt even more. Maybe I should just go home.”
“No, don’t do that. You don’t want to be sitting at home, all alone, do you?” Becca asked. Which is exactly what she herself would have been doing had she not decided to make herself get out and have a little fun.
Amber considered this. “I suppose not.”
“We can stick together,” Becca added. “Two hot chicks on a warm June night, sucking down Bets’ summer solstice punch. It’s not so bad.”
“I guess so,” Amber said unconvincingly. She returned her gaze to her phone.
Becca shrugged and looked over to Luci. She noticed April had disappeared from their table. “Where’s April?”
Luci cocked an eyebrow. “Where do you think?”
Becca surveyed the crowd and the people gathering to make a dance floor under the canopy of lights. She spotted April pressed up against a tall muscular man with a shaved head. “Ah. There she is. I swear she has some kind of honing signal that zeroes in on hot available men.”
“Seriously,” Luci agreed.
Becca’s eyes roamed over the couples swaying back and forth to the music. The band played mostly covers and they were actually pretty good, which she was relieved to hear. Cade and Jessie were entwined and looking gorgeous and blissful. They truly were a stunning couple. Danny, the guy who ran the only movie theater in Snowy Ridge, the Bijou, was twirling Eileen Patterson, Amber’s boss and the owner of the bakery, around. They were kind of adorable. A couple of super cute kids were dancing together and giggling nearby their parents. They were maybe five or six years old, Becca guessed. Luci's mom was even out there, dancing with her new boyfriend, Thomas. She looked so happy. Diedre was looking healthier and healthier every day since she’d been declared cancer-free. Becca was thrilled that she was going to be okay. She had been worried when she’d first moved back to town and found out Diedre was fighting pancreatic cancer. The Foster sisters had really pulled together and took care of both their mom and business during that hard time.
Becca looked at her friend to see if she was watching her mom dance as well. Luci’s eyes were lit up and she beamed. But she wasn’t looking at her mom and Thomas. Becca followed Luci’s gaze. Ah, she thought. Evan’s here. Luci’s boyfriend. Evan walked toward their table and looked equally excited to see Luci. Theirs was a new-ish relationship. Heck, she had dated Evan herself not even two months ago. But that had all been a big mistake. Luci and Evan had bonded over writing and playing matchmaker for Luci’s mother and Luci had thought they were just very good friends. When she’d set Evan up with Becca, both Evan and Luci had realized that they had made a terrible mistake and that what they felt for each other was more than simple friendship. Becca wasn’t mad and it didn’t affect her and Luci’s relationship. Evan was smart and very good looking and she had seen possibility there. That was why she’d bugged Luci to set her up with him in the first place. But she knew right away on their date that he only had eyes for Luci. Which was fine. Becca wasn’t exactly sure she was ready for a new relationship then anyway. She more or less forced herself to take the plunge and go out with Evan just for the experience. To go out with a man who wasn’t her ex-husband. Becca had been with Todd for so long she wasn’t sure how to be with anyone else. He was the only man she’d ever loved. Sure, there were a few puppy-love situations early on in high school. And she did sleep with that linebacker from the junior varsity team after homecoming. That was a huge mistake. But other than him, Todd was the only man she’d ever been with. While she had always been confident in her looks and personality, Todd’s abuse had chipped away a bit at her sense of self and she wasn’t sure if she was even attractive to men anymore. Part of her brain knew that was silly. She was still young, only twenty-six years old, but her marriage to Todd had aged her. When your husband cheats on you again and again, something in you changes and says you just don’t feel good enough anymore. Becca wanted to feel good enough again.
“Hello, Beautiful,” Evan said when he reached their table.
“Hey there, handsome,” Becca replied, pretending he was speaking to her. Okay, bad joke, she thought.
Evan grinned at Becca. “Hi, Becca.” He looked over at Amber. “Hey, Amber.”
Amber looked up from her phone and waved. And then returned her eyes right to whatever she was looking at on the screen.
“Hi, honey,” Luci said, looking up at Evan. “I didn’t think you were going to make it. I thought you had an open house tonight.”
Evan leaned down and kissed Luci on the lips.
Becca coughed and looked away.
“I did,” Evan said after he’d straightened back up. “But the owners cancelled it. They had ‘emergency company’ they’d called it. The wife’s brother and his family from Pennsylvania showed up out of the blue for a visit. They didn’t call or anything. She was completely frazzled and calling everyone she knew trying to hunt down one of those portable cribs. We’re going to have to reschedule the open house.”
“I’m sorry they wasted your time but I’m happy you’re here,” Luci said.
Evan turned toward the band. “The music is pretty good. Isn’t the kid on bass Clyde’s boy?”
Becca studied the bass player’s face. He did sort of look like the hardware store’s owner. A twenty-year old version of him anyway.
“I think so,” Luci said.
“Is your family here?” Evan asked.
“Jessie’s dancing with Cade, Mom’s dancing with Thomas, and Wynn is in class tonight.”
“In Professor Sexypants’s class?” Becca asked.
Luci smiled. Wynn’s boyfriend, Bryce Alexander, was Wynn’s instructor for her Intro to Web Design class last quarter. It wasn’t the most appropriate relationship at the time but the two met and fell in love. “Nah, she finished that class. Got an A in it too.”
“I bet,” Becca said.
Evan took both of Luci’s hands in his and pulled her to him for another long kiss. “Dance with me,” he urged when he’d finally come up for air.
Luci hesitated and looked at Becca. Her lipstick was smeared slightly onto her chin.
Becca could tell she was worried about leaving her by herself at the table. Especially since she had been the one to talk her into even going to the summer solstice dance.
“Oh, go, go. Please, you’ll make me gag if I have to sit here watching you suck face all night. Besides, Amber here will keep me company.”
“Thank you,” Luci mouthed to Becca. Evan pulled Luci from the table and the two were swallowed into the crowd.
Becca turned to look at Amber who was now coo-ing into her phone.
“I miss you soooo much,” she said. “The days are going by so slowly.”
She was face-timing Nick in New York.
Becca took another swig of her punch. If she starts dancing with her phone, she thought, I’m outta here.
Becca’s gaze moved from the flickering candles in the middle of their table over to the bushes, with their pink roses budding, dotting the edges of the makeshift dance floor. It certainly was a gorgeous night. Becca sighed. Everyone around her was so happy. Which only intensified her feelings of loneliness. She wished she had someone. Suddenly her thoughts filled with Cooper again and their dinner the other night. She’d so enjoyed spending time with him and talking about their lives. She wondered what he was doing that evening.
Becca sat in her light cotton sun dress, the blue one with the tiny yellow flowers that she had bought in a funky second-hand store before she moved back from California. A breeze crossed her neck as the sky grew dimmer. Her hair was piled high on her head with tendrils hanging freely. She usually always wore her hair down but wanted to try something different that evening. The moon was starting to peek through the sky and the lanterns lit and hanging in the trees all around were the perfect touch. The band switched to a sweet slow ballad, one of Becca's favorites, and she closed her eyes and hummed along. A moment later she felt a shift in the air near her and her eyes flew open. Cooper was standing close to her, gazing down with a sexy smile and an outstretched hand. He was wearing a dark blue-collar shirt, opened a few buttons, fitted jeans, and dark cowboy boots she hadn't seen him wear before. He looked insanely hot. Becca could feel a stirring deep inside.
“Dance?” he asked.
Becca didn’t trust herself to speak so she just nodded and placed her hand in his and he wrapped his large fingers around hers. They were only holding hands but it already felt highly sensual to Becca. She felt a heat move through her just thinking about what it was going to be like to have his strong arms around her.
Cooper led her toward the dance floor and she followed obediently. She couldn’t help but notice how nice his backside looked as they walked through the crowd of people. She had always been a sucker for a nice ass.
When Cooper had found the perfect spot, he turned around and pulled her to him, easily slipping one hand around her waist and holding her other hand gently in his. They were so close she could smell his cologne, a delicious, intoxicating combination of cedar and citrus with the tiniest hint of engine oil. She assumed that last part was left over from his work. She hoped he couldn’t feel how fast her heart was beating but she was so nervous. This felt incredibly intimate and she hadn’t been this close to another man, at least one she felt something for, in a long time.
Cooper brought her in even closer to him. Her whole body reacted to his touch. She felt electricity zip through every nerve and cell in her body. She wondered if he felt it too.
Becca glanced around at the couples dancing besides them, some smiling at each other, others pressed up close, and some kissing softly as they swayed. If Cooper wanted to kiss her right now she sure as hell wouldn’t stop him. In fact, it was taking all of her self-control not to pull his face to her and beg him to kiss her.
She looked up and met Cooper’s eyes. They were smiling.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
Becca could feel a blush rush to her cheeks. “Thank you. You clean up really nice too.”
Cooper laughed and spun her around. “Oh, this old thing?” he joked.
Becca giggled as she twirled and Cooper took both of her hands in his again and pulled her close. His face looked more serious suddenly and she thought he wanted to say something else but had changed his mind, or maybe he couldn’t get up the nerve. Normally she’d have made some kind of joke and dragged whatever it was out of him, but not this time. She held his gaze and though neither said anything, she felt like they were both thinking the same thing. He smiled and pulled her closer.
The music was sweet and Becca wrapped her arms around Cooper’s waist and rested her cheek on his chest. He felt solid and safe; she could tell he was very strong and chiseled under his shirt. She wanted the song to go on forever. She could feel his heart beat and noted it was beating just as fast as hers.
Cooper rested his head lightly on top of hers and she could feel his warm breath tickle her neck.
Becca felt so happy in that moment; happier than she had felt in years. She didn’t know how she could feel such a strong connection to Cooper so quickly but she knew she did. It just made sense to her. Like it was something she should have known all along. And she could swear that he felt the same draw to her. The two moved to the music and to Becca it felt like Cooper’s arms were perfectly molded to hold her body. Everything felt so right.
There was a yearning so deep and strong inside of Becca that it was impossible to ignore. To hell with self-control, she thought. Not giving him a chance to object, Becca placed a hand on each of Coopers’s strong shoulders and pulled him to her, placing her mouth on his.
His reaction was instant. He slipped one hand behind the back of her head and kissed her back with a hunger that thrilled her.
They stood like that, lips pressed, oblivious to their surroundings. Becca let her hands fall from Cooper’s shoulders and trail down his back, pulling him closer to her until there was no space left between them.
His lips were soft and sweet and from the way he was responding, Becca thought he savored the taste of hers as well.
He had both of his hands on either side of her face then and he held her firmly in place, like he was afraid she might get away. But Becca had no plans of going anywhere.
She felt Cooper’s tongue press against the seam of her lips and she instantly parted, welcoming his tongue inside. He explored her mouth slowly at first and she tickled him back with her tongue. He delved in harder then and she requited, the two in a heated wrestling match in their mouths where they were both the winners.
Becca’s heart raced as she clawed for him, pulling him in closer, deeper. His fingers were in her hair and she felt like she might dissolve into a puddle if he wasn’t holding on to her. They were making out in the middle of the summer solstice dance in front of Bets, Mrs. Patterson, her friends, and God knew who else, and Becca didn’t care. All she cared about was Cooper and that very moment.
Some time passed and the music ended. Cooper abruptly pulled back from their lengthy kiss and looked around.
Becca looked up at him in shock.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her breath shaky and shallow. Her lips tingled from where his had just been. She bit her bottom lip and tasted cinnamon.
Cooper let go of Becca and took a step backward. He cleared his throat and stared down at the ground.
Becca’s heart was pounding in her chest. Her gaze moved around the dance and she noted that no one had even been paying any attention to them. Everyone was wrapped up in his or her own partner. Becca studied Cooper’s face. His eyes were big and he looked sort of pale. His entire manner had clearly and quickly shifted and she felt a sense of dread in her stomach. Something was definitely wrong but she wasn’t sure what.
He reached up and wiped three of his fingers across his lips, like he was remembering. “Um,” he begun, “thank you for the dance. It’s just, I forgot that I had to take care of something tonight. Are you okay getting back to your table?” He finally raised his gaze and met her eyes.
Becca stared back at him. Was she okay getting back to her table? Was he serious? As if that were an actual problem she might have. They were standing maybe twenty-five yards from where she had been sitting. It had been an amazing kiss, probably the best one she’d ever had, but she wasn’t so disoriented that she couldn’t find her way back to her seat. Devastated, perhaps. But still on two feet.
Becca blinked at him and waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t. She was totally confused at the change in his demeanor. It was as though they had been under a spell, a wonderfully delicious romantic spell, and it just suddenly broke, like a bubble popping. And she had no idea why. It left her feeling completely rejected. But Becca never was a sappy girl, she wasn’t the type to beg for a guy’s attention; so, if he had to go, then he’d better get to it.
Becca straightened her back and lifted her chin toward Cooper. “Of course,” she said in a no-nonsense tone. Then, because humor always seemed to be the thing she latched onto in times of stress, she threw in, “I’ll google map it. Have a good night,” she added. With that she made an abrupt face and walked quickly back to where she had been sitting only minutes ago. She didn’t know if Cooper was still standing there, watching her leave, or if he had fled the moment she’d turned. But she sure as hell wasn’t going to turn around to find out.