Trent was surprised by how much he’d enjoyed hanging out with Ashby. He was a nice guy, but he was also really fun. As Trent made his way back to the main lodge, he felt lighter somehow.

It had been years since he made a new friend. Someone who was genuine, not a work colleague or a fan or some blogger looking for a story. Ashby was easy company. Trent was glad he’d swallowed his pride and approached him to make amends for his initial behavior.

Ashby reminded Trent a little of his buddy Joey. Not just because they were both obviously gay, but he felt like Ashby wore his heart on his sleeve just like Joey did. He was surprised to realize he was actually looking forward to meeting up again later.

Now, if only he could have a civil conversation with his dad, Trent could relax. But all the work he’d done forgetting his troubles on the mountain was undone as soon as he stepped inside the resort again.

Fuck, he didn’t want to have this conversation.

But he hadn’t wanted to have this conversation for two years and nothing was getting better. Maybe knowing he had a friendly face to see later would fortify him. It was certainly more appealing than going back to his cabin by himself. Besides, the whole point of him being here was to try and bury the hatchet with his dad. Barry would have Trent’s hide if he didn’t at least try.

When Trent went around to the shop, it was packed. Or, at least as packed as such a tiny place could get. The couple of aisles between all the tightly stacked souvenirs were filled with half a dozen geeky guys who looked like they were barely out of high school. Trent guessed this was maybe the first vacation they had taken by themselves from the way they were goofing around taking photos on their cameras wearing anything they could from his dad’s stock.

Trent didn’t want an audience for this little chat, so he lurked a little way down the corridor and took off some of his layers from where he’d been out in the snow. With his jacket unzipped, his gloves shoved in his pockets and his board propped up against the wall, he fished his phone out from where he’d secured it deep within one of the pockets.

When he saw the messages waiting for him, he almost put the phone right back.

Not because he didn’t want to talk to his friends. But because of what they wanted to talk about.

Trent had forgotten all about the wedding.

Jesus, he was a shitty friend. How could he forget that was this weekend? Groaning, he unlocked his phone to face the music.

Since Blake, Joey and Raiden had all got themselves boyfriends, they had started a new band group chat, this one including their other halves but leaving out the fifth and final member of Below Zero, Reyse Hickson. Hicks wasn’t really in the loop anymore, what with being one of the most famous pop stars on the planet. It made Trent sad that there were some inevitable hurt feelings that the label had dropped the rest of the band to pursue solo prospects with Reyse. Trent had never cared, but it had left a rift between them as their lives all moved on.

So now he mostly talked to the guys in this chat group. There wasn’t the time to ponder that, though, because Blake and his partner Elion had very specific questions on their mind. Questions for Trent.

Hey TJ! Blake had written an hour or so ago. How’s the vacation? Meet any hot girls? Maybe one you’d like to take to a wedding this Saturday??? He followed it with several winking emojis.

Dude, we’re not playing around here! came Elion’s message next. Trent sighed, imagining the happy couple sitting next to each other in their appartment in Cincinnati, tag-teaming their efforts to tie Trent down to an answer. I’m printing the place cards at home, but there’s still so much to do!

Elion had recently qualified as a Licensed Practical Nurse and had taken a position at one of the city’s ERs. The stress of that on top of wedding planning meant he had apparently been bursting into tears regularly over the past few weeks.

He was a charming guy. Trent was very happy for him and his buddy Blake. But damn if they weren’t making this huge fucking deal over Trent picking a girl to come to their big day with.

They kept saying that Trent could bring anyone. He never had a shortage of ladies in his life, after all. But Trent couldn’t help but feel like this wasn’t a ‘bring any old girl’ type of situation.

Blake had met Elion almost as soon as the band had broken up. Joey had met his guy Gabe a few months after that, and they’d gotten married last fall in a beautiful ceremony that Trent actually remembered most of, despite the free-flowing tequila. Then Raiden had surprised everyone last year by getting together with his beast of a bodyguard. Although Trent maintained he had felt there was something brewing between them when they’d met in Philadelphia.

However, now it meant the pressure was on him. Why did happy couples always want to see everyone else settled down as well? All that shit he’d been feeling in Barry’s office came crawling back, causing his throat to get tight. Trent knew his friends meant well, but their incessant pestering for him to find The One was just making him feel even crappier for all the incredible women he had let go over the years. Because when it came to commitment, apparently TJ Charles was a big fucking chicken.

How did you know when you met the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with? Trent had fallen for so many girls over the years. Some he even thought he’d been in love with. But he’d never felt that ‘struck by lightning’ moment, where his heart ached so much it was physically painful to be apart from that special someone. Wasn’t that how love was supposed to feel?

This plus one situation with the wedding felt like the guys were trying to get him to commit, really commit. Like they’d all ganged up on him and decided he needed to find his soulmate, now, or he would never be happy. What if he wasn’t ready yet? He could bring a girl to the next wedding. Maybe she really would be The One.

He certainly wasn’t going to produce a girl in time for the flight out on Friday. Let alone someone truly special.

Fuck it, they’d just have to get over themselves.

Sorry, dudes, he typed out. Looks like I’ll be going stag again. Invite some hot girls for me to meet. Maybe I’ll get a date by the end of the night? He added a winking and kissing emoji, hoping he wouldn’t upset them that much. But he just wanted to enjoy one of his best friends’ special day. Trent felt like he’d had enough attention on him for now.

The little dots bounced to show that Blake was writing something. Sure enough, a new message popped up within thirty seconds.

Hey man, no worries. It’s gonna be a blast. Can’t wait to see you.

Definitely! Joey piped up, making Trent smile. He’d always had a soft spot for the youngest and undeniably sweetest member of the band.

See you soon, Trent typed back. He’d missed his friends a lot. No one understood their crazy lives quite like each other.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket thinking about how he’d have to cancel the flights to Ohio he’d had booked via LA and get new ones sorted from Jackson. But at that moment, the gaggle of teenage boys left the gift shop. Trent knew he needed to go face his dad right now before he lost his nerve. He could rearrange the flights later.

Sighing, he picked up his board, damp with melted snow, and trudged over to the gift shop. He thought for the nth time how he wouldn’t mind so much that his dad devoted all his energy into this place if the resort actually gave him decent things to sell. But this stuff was all so tacky.

It was a good thing at the moment, though, he realized as he entered. Because an excitable Merlin saw him come in and immediately went berserk. He started barking, his tail going crazy and sweeping off whatever was on the bottom shelves along the aisle between him and Trent as he charged over to greet him. Trent gasped, throwing his hands up to try and calm the little fella before he wrecked everything.

“Hey, hey,” he said, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him away from the glass ashtrays. At least he’d only knocked down some wooden, poorly painted boomerangs. This time. Trent risked glancing up and making eye contact with his dad, who was scowling at him from behind the counter. “Sorry.”

His dad gave a shrug with one shoulder. “He’s better when you’re not here.”

Trent gritted his teeth and tried to keep his cool. It hadn’t always been like this. He knew his dad loved him. He’d always been supportive and happy for Trent, even if he didn’t understand his chosen careers.

“Dad, can we talk?” Trent asked, rising to his feet. Merlin dutifully followed as he approached the counter, thankfully going behind it to Trent’s dad where he couldn’t cause much mayhem.

Again, Trenton Sr. gave half a shrug, his attention on his laptop. “We’re already talking.”

Trent sighed and propped up his board against the counter, wincing when he realized the snow was already dripping onto the wooden floor. It was only water, but he didn’t want to give his dad any reason to kick him out of the store before they’d at least tried to clear some of the air.

Trent decided to keep things plain and simple. “I know I didn’t come back here when I should have,” he said.

He couldn’t bring himself to look his dad in the eye, so he picked up a keyring from the display on the countertop and ran his thumb over the design. It was a cactus. What the hell did a cactus have to do with a ski resort in Wyoming?

“No, you didn’t,” his dad agreed.

Trent winced, yet he still couldn’t bring himself to look up. “I just…I see her everywhere here.” It was one of the reasons he liked his staff cabin. He’d never been in there before, so it had zero association with his mom.

His mom, who had been skiing like she always had, when one day something went drastically wrong. She’d lost control of her skis and slammed into a tree. She’d died instantly.

Not that Trent had known that at the time. It had taken him almost seventy-two hours to hear the news. He’d been too busy partying in Prague to notice his phone had died. By the time he’d recharged it, his dad had been coping with the death of his wife, Trent’s mom, for close to three days. Alone.

“It’s a good thing you see her here,” his dad said stiffly. He was scrolling on the mousepad, but his eyes were fixed when Trent risked glancing up. He doubted he was looking at anything on the screen. “This was her home. She loved it.”

“I miss her,” Trent said softly around the lump in his throat. They’d never been the closest of families. He’d always been far too different from his parents for that. But he had loved them regardless. He still loved his dad, even if he didn’t exactly like him right at that moment.

His dad harrumphed as if to challenge the idea that Trent missed his mom. Trent swallowed down his hurt. Fuck, he’d been a jackass. This wound had been festering for too long. He’d only come back to Wyoming long enough for the funeral. He should have made much more of an effort.

But it was always so much easier to get drunk, throw himself into work, and fall into bed with a girl. Literally anything to distract him from his hurt. Except his work had been suffering from how much he’d been drinking, and no girl ever stuck around long enough to build anything meaningful like a relationship.

“I miss Lancelot, too,” he mumbled.

His dad hadn’t called when their old dog had passed. Trent hadn’t gotten the chance to say goodbye before he’d been put to sleep. Trent knew it was his dad’s way of protecting himself after Trent hadn’t been there when his mom had died, but, fuck. He would have come. He would have supported his dad then. He would have liked to tell that old mutt he was a good boy one last time.

Trent squeezed his eyes shut. He hadn’t cried over his mom or his dog. Not once. What the fuck was wrong with him? Was he even human? What kind of dickhead didn’t grieve for his family?

“The puppy doesn’t replace Lancelot,” his dad grumbled.

Trent smacked the glass counter, making his dad jump. Finally, they looked at one another. Trent curled his hand into a fist and took a breath. He wasn’t going to lose his temper. He wasn’t that guy.

“Merlin isn’t supposed to replace anyone,” Trent said, his voice heavy as he deflated. “I just thought he’d be a good friend for you. That…that he’d be better at looking after you than I’ve been.”

That sounded like he was letting himself off the hook, but that really wasn’t it. He wasn’t ever going to have a life at the Grand. The best he could do would be to repair things with his dad to call every week or two, like they used to. Merlin could be with his dad every damn day. Trent didn’t want him to be lonely. Sure, his dad had friends at the resort and in the nearby towns. But Merlin could be with him all the time. He’d never judge him.

“Look, Trent,” his dad said. He rubbed his eyes under his glasses. They had a different smudge on them today. “I appreciate what you’re doing. But I don’t know what you’re expecting. Maybe you should just go back to California.”

The words hit Trent like a sucker punch. “No,” he said carefully. “I want to try and make things right.” Besides, Barry wouldn’t let him come back so soon. Trent had to stick it out in the mountains for as long as his manager said.

Trent’s dad clicked his fingers and managed to get Merlin’s attention long enough to attach his leash. “Some things,” he said slowly, “you just can’t fix. Too much damage has been done. You can stay as long as you like. Just…bear that in mind.”

Trent watched silently as his dad placed a ‘Back in ten minutes’ sign on the counter, then led Merlin and his wagging tail out the door. Trent sagged against the counter, his stomach rolling.

Goddamn it. He would give anything to change what had happened. He wished his mom hadn’t gone on the slopes that day. He wished he had charged his phone. He wished he’d swallowed his own shit and just come back to be with his dad two years ago, no matter how difficult that was.

But he couldn’t alter any of that. All he could do was keep trying and hope that eventually, he and his dad might have some sort of breakthrough.

In the meantime, he was going to go back to his cabin, change his clothes, then hope that Ashby really did want to hang out tonight. Because if ever Trent needed a stiff drink and a friendly face, it was right then.