The news that a woman was behind everything did not surprise James at all. After Olivia’s painful betrayal, he expected just about anything from them. The past few days had taken such a toll on him that he could not bring himself to discover her identity. After all, her plan had failed; now he needed to focus on his work. The first part, however, was the one he enjoyed the least. Unfortunately, he would have to spend a considerable amount of time with Michelle, which meant that he had to abandon his cabin for a few days. Much to his liking, though, their first meeting was scheduled on Monday. At least, he could spend the weekend on the mountain.

The following afternoon, it occurred to him that he needed to thank Helen’s parents for their noble gesture. If anything, it proved to him that they had not forgotten about him, and cared about him enough to send their own daughter to check up on him. James knew that he didn’t deserve such treatment. He had been cold to them over the years, never once inviting them over to his cabin. The least he could do was attend her father’s retirement party.

The “Brown Oak” bar was located on the east edge of town, and sadly for James, getting there would prove to be much more challenging than he anticipated. More than a mile away from it, he found himself in a real traffic jam and, just a few minutes later, he discovered he would have to leave his SUV hundreds of yards away from the bar.

“Dear old Dwight seems a lot more popular than I thought. Ah well, what the hell. I need to do this.”

Dozens of people had already queued up outside the “Brown Oak”, by the time he arrived. Helen, along with another blonde James had not seen before were at the door, welcoming each and every guest. A rather peculiar thing happened, as their eyes met: Helen opened her eyes wide, then whispered something into the other blonde’s ear, before disappearing into the bar.

“Good evening.” James smiled down at the blonde. “My name’s James Farrell.”

“I’m Patricia.” She said, offering her hand for a handshake. “I’m Helen’s older sister.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said with a nod, shaking her hand. “Where did Helen go? She was here just a minute ago.”

“Well…” Patricia gave a snort of amusement. “I’d love to tell you all about it, but it would take a little too long and I’m kind of busy here. Why don’t you get a table? I’ll come find you, as soon as I can.”

“Alright,” James agreed. Country music was playing from the speakers, as he swept the spacious bar for Dwight and Helen. They were nowhere to be seen. Curious as to why she had reacted like she had, he found an empty table closest to the door and waited patiently for Patricia to join him.

“Look at this place… American flags everywhere, people laughing their hearts out, nice music. I like it. It has a positive vibe; it’s certainly nothing I’m used to. Maybe staying away from the locals was a mistake. I mean, who doesn’t like to have some fun? But, if I did mingle with them, sooner or later, one of them would try to set me up with his daughter, especially if they knew who I was. It’s complicated…”

“Earth to Mr. Farrell…” Patricia waved a hand in front of his face. Lost in his thoughts, James had not noticed that she had seated herself across from him. “Say something.”

“Sorry,” He said, a smile of embarrassment on his face.

“I brought you a beer,” She cast an absorbed glance down at the bottle on the table.

“Thanks; to your father.” James grabbed it and proposed a toast. “Where is he, anyway?”

“Last time I saw him, I think he was adopted by his army buddies.” Patricia grinned, lifting her own bottle to her lips.

“How come I’ve never seen you before?” James wondered, his voice nervously squeezing up an octave.

“I live in Boston.” Patricia claimed. “To be honest, I can’t believe I’m talking with you.”

“Really?” James raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“You’re a ghost.” She attempted an emphatic tone. “You have no friends. Trust me, if you didn’t play music…” She paused and leaned forward. “People wouldn’t know you even existed.”

“Could you go get me your father?” He dropped his gaze from her stare, uncomfortable by her remark.

“Fine…” Patricia spoke in disgruntled tones, “you don’t want to talk about it.”

“You said you’d tell me why your sister left,” James said, his voice stiff. “Well?”

She was about to verbalize, when her phone buzzed with an incoming message.

“I’ll leave that to her,” A broad smile spread across her face. “She’s waiting for you on the terrace.”

“The terrace?” He squinted at her.

“Yeah,” she affirmed. “There are stairs in the right corner, leading upstairs. Excuse me.”

“Yeah, I know what this is. This was never about your father, Helen. This party was just a front. I fell into a trap… again. Damn it.”

A fantastic, unobstructed view of the town of Shandaken greeted him, as he climbed the last few steps. Helen was standing close to the edge of the terrace, gazing at the hundreds of town lights. The moonlight reflected in her big blue eyes, as she turned to face him.

“Isn’t it amazing out here?” There was something different in her voice. It came out slow and drowsy. “I mean, look at all that.” She pointed it at the sky.

“It looks great.” He spoke in his baritone, “but it’s way too cold.”

“That’s never stopped you from playing the guitar.” Helen teased him as he walked up to her. “And boy, you sound good.”

Her toothy smile and the smell of alcohol in the air made him understand why she sounded so odd. Helen had been drinking.

“You’re drunk,” James said, narrowing his eyes at her. “Why, girl?”

“I couldn’t do this sober, honey!” She laughed, taking his left hand into her palm. “You see, Mr. Farrell, I’ve had this…” she faltered, as she raised her gaze to meet his; “huge crush on you for a while now.”

“Don’t go there, Helen,” he urged, his voice soft as she ran her thumb across his wrist. “Please, don’t.”

“I thought you’d be…”

“Surprised?” He finished her sentence. “Not really.”

“Huh!” She let out a short gasp of despair, covering her mouth with her other hand. “Oh, my God: you’re gay!”

“No.” James whispered, bending his head down towards her.

“Then why haven’t you asked me out yet?” Helen asked, removing her hand from her mouth, her voice riddled with tension.

“I wish it was that simple,” he heaved a long, deep sigh.

“Well, you like me, don’t you?” Her voice became high-pitched. “I mean, isn’t that enough?”

“I do like you.” James nodded. “But…”

“But?”

Her persistence put him in an awkward position. James squeezed his eyes shut, as the memories he had with Olivia returned to his mind. In an instant, his heart was flooded with a sea of emotions. Unable to utter a single word, he felt the tears surging up in his eyes.

“There’s someone else, isn’t there?” Helen’s broken voice tore the silence, as she circled her left arm around his neck.

“There was.” He corrected her.

“Is that why you…” She faltered once again. “Make your guitar cry?”

James nodded assent. His hand was starting to shake, as she stroked the back of his neck.

“I’ve been listening to you for years. In the summer, I just go out on my back porch and enjoy the show. There’s so much emotion, so much pain … Sometimes, I even pull over outside your cabin, just to get a better look at you,” she confessed, her tender voice a low, almost inaudible whisper, as a tear streamed down her cheek.

“I’m flattered.” James admitted, slowly opening his eyes. “B…”

“Don’t say ‘but’ again…” She slightly raised her tone, her lips quivering as she squeezed his hand in her palm. “Let me help you.”

“You can’t, girl,” he sighed out as he shook his head, gazing down deep into her teary, reddened eyes. “No one can.”

“It breaks my heart to see you like that.” Helen’s hot whisper sent shivers down his spine, as two tears spilled from his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I must get going.”

James had barely finished his sentence, when she let go of his hand. Before he knew it, Helen had wrapped her right arm around his neck as well. She tilted her head up and pressed her lips against his mouth. Stunned to stillness, James tasted her moist, salty lips, but, he was too vulnerable to resist her. Putting his hands on her waist, he pulled her closer and kissed her back, while feeling her warm breath on his skin. Helen’s hands crept around his neck, holding him tight, as their kiss grew in intensity. Her hot, passionate sighs gave him the chills, as her fiery kiss soothed his shattered heart. James entwined his hands around her lower back and trapped her lower lip between his own lips. Kissing it softly, he leaned back and opened his eyes, the vapors from his breath clouding his vision.

“Goodnight, girl…” he whispered, as her lips continued to tremble. Unwilling to wait for a response, he removed his hands from her, turned around and left the cold terrace, still feeling a little dizzy from her intense kiss.

“She has a crush? Judging by her kiss, it’s a lot more than that. But it doesn’t matter, Helen. We can’t be together. I’m sorry. I can’t give you what you seek.”