“Hello,” she said again.

  He hung up.

  Twenty-Four

  The metal doors of the care facility felt cold against Serena’s sweaty palms. The drive from Chance Rapids had gone by in a blur. She felt like she was being pulled in two separate directions; on one hand, extreme happiness at the news about her dad, but on the other sadness about falling for the wrong man. She had been wrong about Freddie and he had broken her heart.

  It had been so long since she’d heard her dad’s voice, she was worried that she wouldn’t recognize it. The nurses had warned her that his vocal cords had been impacted by the coma, so she wasn’t expecting lengthy speeches or even heart to hearts. She just wanted to hear him say hi.

  The doctors were touting his recovery as a miracle, but Serena firmly believed that the latest treatment plan was what made the difference. The first thing she saw when she walked into the room was his smile. He always had the biggest smile in the room and today was no exception. She dropped her bag on the chair by the door and rushed to give him a hug. His arms felt skeletal around her shoulders but still comforted her, in the way only a dad’s hug can. She felt her body fully relax for the first time since the accident, and couldn’t stifle the sob that had sat dormant in her body for so long. She sobbed heartbrokenly. As they held each other, her shoulders racked as she wailed, and so did her dad’s.

  “Hi,” she whispered, once the tears had dried.

  He pointed to his throat.

  The nurse stepped in. “It might be a while for that to come back. He has been out for a long time.”

  Serena nodded, sad that she wasn’t going to hear his voice today, but his eyes said it all.

  “I love you, daddy,” she said.

  He nodded and drew her hand to his lips and kissed it.

  This moment made everything worth it. Her fake life, a job that she hated, the fake engagement. She’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

  “He has a physiotherapy appointment in a few minutes,” the nurse said. “The doctor would like to see you as well.”

  “Okay.” Serena brushed away her tears and smiled at her dad.

  He raised his eyebrows and pointed to her mouth.

  “Oh, this?” she giggled and pointed to her jagged tooth. “That’s a story for another day.” She grabbed her purse. “I’ll be back after your appointment.”

  He waved weakly, and then his arm flopped back down to his side.

  “That’s the most he’s moved since he woke up,” the nurse whispered as they walked down the hallway. “Seeing you has brought him to life.” She stopped and rested her hand on Serena’s forearm. “It’s good that you’re here, but you need to know his limitations and make sure he doesn’t push himself to exhaustion.”

  “Okay,” Serena said, feeling guilty. “How do I know what’s too much?”

  The nurse opened the door to the doctor’s office, “The doctor will go over all of that with you.”

  “Thank you,” she looked to the nurse’s name tag, “Candace.”

  Serena was on a first-name basis with all the nurses at the previous facility, but she hadn’t met all of the caregivers at the Willowrun yet.

  “You’re welcome, Miss Cruise.”

  Serena sat across from the doctor, an attractive brunette with her hair pulled back into a low bun. Dr. Wiseman was all business, and Serena appreciated it. They sat and discussed her dad’s treatment plan, and managing expectations. For both Serena and her dad.

  “What does he know about the accident?” Serena asked.

  “His brain is all there, Miss Cruise. He knows that his wife and your sister perished in the accident. He knew all along.”

  “How did he know?” Serena fingered the leather handle on her expensive handbag.

  “We don’t know.” The doctor said, and closed the file. “Until he gets his voice and motor skills back, it will be a mystery. I’ve been doing this a long time, and there are some things that just can’t be explained.”

  Serena walked out of the building with a spring in her step. The doctor had confirmed what she had known all along: her dad knew that she was there every day. The doctor was optimistic about his recovery but had urged Serena not to push things, or her dad. It may be months before the connections in his brain were firing properly, and he might have to learn to speak from scratch. Serena didn’t care. She’d come and read to her dad every day. All day. Whatever it took to hear that man speak.

  Twenty-Five

  Freddie’s eyes took a minute to adjust to the darkness of the Last Chance Tavern.

  “Charlie,” he nodded to the bartender as he slid onto the barstool.

  “Coming straight from work?” Charlie turned away from the stack of glasses he was polishing.

  Freddie looked down at his work pants and a ratty old t-shirt. “What gave it away?”

  “The usual?”

  “Sure. And maybe a shot.”

  Charlie raised his eyebrows but dutifully pulled a beer stein out of the freezer to pour Freddie a glass of beer. He set two shot glasses on the bar, “Whiskey?”

  “You know it,” Freddie said. “It’s the weekend, isn’t it?”

  Charlie poured the amber liquid while nodding. Freddie knew that Charlie was working up the nerve to tell him to slow down on the booze. He’d been at the Last Chance every night that week – and his beer and whiskey combo wasn’t limited to the weekend – he’d been somewhere between tipsy and blackout drunk every night that week.

  “To the weekend,” Charlie said and held up the shot glass.

  Freddie smiled. Charlie was a great bartender, He knew when to talk and when to shut the hell up. “The weekend,” Freddie echoed, and the two-shot back the fiery whiskey.

  Freddie coughed and chased it with his beer.

  They both turned in response to the blast of bright afternoon sunlight as the newest patron entered into the dank bar.

  “Ugh,” Freddie groaned, as he saw the unmistakable silhouette of his brother. “I’m not ready for this,” he muttered to himself.

  Logan’s footfall was heavy as he strode across the well-worn floorboards of the bar in his cowboy boots. He perched on the barstool beside Freddie with one foot on the floor – a temporary seat.

  “I’ll have what he’s having,” Logan said to Charlie.

  “You sure about that?” Charlie held up the bottle of whiskey.

  “Yep,” Logan barked.

  Freddie stared at his reflection between the bottles in the mirrored backsplash of the bar. He watched Logan do the shot of whiskey and then fully settle onto the barstool beside him. Freddie swore he wasn’t going to be the first one to crack. To talk. He gripped the handle on his mug. Whiskey made him aggressive, and he had been looking for an excuse to punch something, or someone.

  Freddie felt the fury growing inside him as Logan just sat there silently. Charlie turned his back on the brothers and appeared extra focused on polishing the glasses. Freddie finished off his beer and set the mug down heavily enough on the bar so that Charlie could hear.

  “Another?” Charlie asked.

  Freddie just nodded.

  Logan held up his empty beer stein, “Me too.”

  Charlie refilled both glasses.

  “These are on me,” Logan said.

  “I can take care of my own,” Freddie growled.

  “Suit yourself,” Logan said, and returned to his smug beer drinking not talking position.

  Freddie couldn’t take it any longer, “What?” he seethed.

  “What, what?” Logan replied into his beer mug.

  “Ugh,” Freddie muttered. “What the fuck do you want?”

  “I’m just having a drink. That’s what you do at a bar, right?”

  Freddie rolled his eyes and picked up his beer.

  “Where are you going?” Logan asked.

  “If you’re going to be childish, I’m going to sit somewhere else.” Then he set his beer back down on the bar with a thud. “Never mind, I was here first. Maybe you should go find a new spot.”

  “Now who’s being childish?” Logan laughed, and took a sip of his beer.

  Freddie couldn’t help it. The two of them were acting like they did when they were kids. He stamped his foot and stared at his brother, “Go away, Logan.”

  “No, I’m here to make up with you.” Logan’s voice sounded anything but apologetic.

  “Did Charlotte put you up to this?”

  “How’d you guess?” Logan took a handful of peanuts from the bar, cracked one and popped the nut into his mouth.

  “The Brush brothers,” a familiar voice boomed, and then Freddie felt an arm hanging over his shoulder.

  “Hey, Josh,” Logan said.

  “Hey, guys.” Josh looked at Logan and then to Freddie, “Oh, shit. Am I interrupting something?”

  “Nope,” Freddie said quickly.

  Josh shrugged and ordered a beer. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you. Did you lose your phone or something?”

  Unless it was work-related, for the past week Freddie had avoided all contact with the outside world. “It’s been on the fritz,” he lied.

  “Listen, the guys want you to reconsider this whole fundraising thing,” Josh said.

  Freddie had forgotten all about the Search and Rescue Bachelor auction. He wasn’t enthused about the whole thing and was secretly thankful that his fake engagement provided him with an appropriate ‘out’.

  “Ahhh. Man, I don’t know about that.”

  “Look, the guys are a little worried that the whole thing is going to be a disaster. I mean, right now the star bachelor is Ray.”

  The three men turned to look at the table filled with raucous men. Ray was the town’s taxi driver and proud owner of the best beer belly in town. “The poor women of Chance Rapids. They’ll never know what hit them,” Logan said.

  “You see what I mean,” Josh said. “We need you.”

  “When is it again?” Freddie asked. His drunken brain was chugging along. Hey, worst case scenario he went on a bad date. Best case scenario, some hot woman bid on him, and they could fuck each other’s brains out all night. That was the best way to get over Serena, right?

  “It’s the weekend after this one.”

  Freddie did the calculations; his fake engagement contract wasn’t going to be over. But with the fantasy mystery woman parked in his drunken brain, or rather, his dick, he said, “I’ll do it.”

  “It’s totally not romantic. Your fiancée should be fine with it. You don’t have to sleep with them, just go for coffee or a drink, or something.”

  “Why aren’t you doing it then?” Logan asked.

  Josh smiled sheepishly, “I get your point; there’s no way Megan would let me enter.”

  “Listen,” Freddie slurred. “The engagement is off. I’m a free man. I can do whatever the hell I want.”

  “Shit,” Josh whispered. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry Freddie.”

  “Shhhhhhhh,” Freddie leaned forward with his finger to his lips, swaying on the barstool. “It’s a secret breakup.”

  Both Josh and Logan furrowed their brows. “What do you mean—” Josh said, but was interrupted as Ethan, the youngest member of Search and Rescue and the town’s star snowboarder, approached.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but can I talk to you for a second,” he asked Josh.

  “Yeah, buddy.” He clapped Freddie on the shoulder. “We’ll talk later. Keep your chin up, kid.”

  Josh headed off to join the rowdy table and Logan leaned in towards Freddie. “Did she really call it off?”

  “Yeah,” Freddie said.

  “That’s strange. Charlotte’s been showing me all of her online posts, and it looks like you two lovebirds are having a great ol’ time?” Logan held up his beer. “Charlie – one more.”

  “Me too,” Freddie shoved his glass to the rear of the shiny bar. “I’ll explain it to you in a month.”

  “No. Explain it now. I need this whole thing to make some sense. Something isn’t right about her,” he said, shaking his head.

  The room had started to tilt ever so slightly, like a sailboat rolling about in the doldrums - Freddie had officially reached tipsy status. He could hear the words coming out of his mouth and they were a lot more slurred than the thoughts in his head.

  “She heard you. She heard what you said and left.” Freddie took a sip of his freshly poured beer. He had to shout over the growing Friday afternoon bar crowd.

  “And you two broke up over that?”

  “No, she thinks I slept with Stacy while we were together.” Freddie shook his head, the idea of him sleeping with Stacy so preposterous.

  “Did you?”

  “Hell, no. Jesus, Logan.”

  “Just checking,” Logan said. “That woman is one of the most aggressive cougars I’ve ever met.”

  Freddie shuddered. “I tried to explain it to her, but she wouldn’t listen. But, she’s just another city girl. It’s for the best anyway.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Freddie, but you’re right.”

  “Yeah, but you still don’t know the whole story,” Freddie muttered and instantly regretted it.

  “Why don’t you fill me in then.” Logan turned to face him. Freddie hated the fact that Logan could handle his booze better than him. Where Freddie was slurry and tipsy, Logan appeared to be bright-eyed and solid.

  “I can’t tell you. Believe me, I wish that I could.” Freddie chugged back the rest of his beer.

  “You’ve been drinking like this all week.”

  “No,” Freddie slurred.

  “That wasn’t a question. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’ve closed this place down every night.”

  Freddie was tired. He was tired from working, emotionally exhausted from losing Serena, and now he was tired of keeping a secret from his brother.

  “It was fake. Until it wasn’t anymore…” his voice trailed off.

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  Freddie turned to Logan, his bearded face coming in and out of focus. He leaned into his brother and whispered, “It was a fake engagement. We were doing it for money. How do you think I paid to get my truck fixed?”

  Logan’s face dropped. “It was all an act? For money?”

  “One hundred grand.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Logan’s eyes bored into Freddie “I wouldn’t have been such an asshole. I mean… wow, man, that poor girl.”

  “Yeah, you were a dick. But I get it. I would’ve been the same if you got engaged to one of those bimbos you used to date. We were going to tell you the details when it was done. That’s what Charlotte said to do…” his voice trailed off as he realized he had just given away Charlotte’s involvement in the whole thing.

  “Wait, Charlotte knew about this?” Redness rose from the collar of Logan’s shirt.

  “Shit,” Freddie looked into his beer. He wasn’t a liar, but lately, it felt like everything that came out of his mouth was a fabrication. “She did. We were going to tell you…”

  “I’ve gotta go,” Logan said and stood up. He pulled out his wallet and left a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the bar. “This should pay for my drinks. Take the rest and drink your life away for all I care.”

  Logan shoved back from the bar so hard that the barstool toppled to the ground. Every eye in the place was on the Brush brothers. One so drunk he could hardly stand and the other so angry he was practically breathing fire.

  Twenty-Six

  One week had passed since her dad came out of the coma, and Serena had gone to see him every day. The clinic was starting to feel more like her home than her cookie-cutter condo. The nurses all knew her by name and even Doctor Wiseman’s cold demeanor had warmed ever so slightly. Her dad had been making decent progress with the physio program, but the therapists kept telling both Serena and her dad that they needed to practice patience. He still wasn’t able to speak but was able to communicate via a tablet. His cognitive skills were coming along nicely and he would speak again. The only question was, when.

  She had been dutifully uploading photos of her weekend with Freddie. The posts were bittersweet. She hated that she could see the moment when she fell in love with him in the canoe.

  She felt like she was betraying herself with the positive quotes, but scrolling through the thousands of photos she felt a sense of pride. She had done her job well. She could practically feel the chill from the mountain air. The only thing her fans would see is a couple in love, romping around the most beautiful place on Earth.

  But it was fake.

  Somewhere, someone was comparing their life to hers, and as much as she hated to admit it, probably feeling shitty about their own. She wished she could reach out to all the young women and girls like Tabitha and scream, ‘It’s a façade, it’s not real,’ but this was her job and people did jobs they hated, right?

  She pulled a wrap dress from her closet and packed a lunch to take to Willowrun. She was so engrossed in her makeup routine, that she jumped when the intercom buzzer broke the silence of her condo. She pressed the button and held her breath. Had Freddie come to the city? “H-h-hello?” she spoke into the speaker.

  “Serena, it’s Charlotte. Charlotte O’Hare.”

  Serena’s shoulders slumped with disappointment. She had been hoping to hear Freddie’s goofy voice through the speaker, and she realized she missed that man like crazy. Her life felt empty without his smile.

  “Come up,” Serena spoke into the speaker, and buzzed Charlotte into the building.

  Minutes later, Serena heard a rapidfire knock on her door and pulled it open.

  “Hi,” Charlotte smiled. “I brought you some scones from the café.”

  “Thanks,” Serena said, and took the box from Charlotte’s hands. “You came all this way to bring me some baked goods?”

  “No,” Charlotte said. “Can I come in?”