* * *

  “We’re all done, Emma.” Barry, the carpenter was packing up his toolbox.

  She looked around. When the flowers arrived, the place was going to look like a real flower shop. “Thanks, Barry. It looks amazing.”

  “Are you alright?” Barry paused as he latched up his tools.

  “I’m just fine,” Emma lied. “Will you be emailing the invoice?”

  Emma didn’t feel like small talking, she wanted to lock up the shop and go curl up under her duvet and try to figure out what the heck had just happened.

  Fourteen

  She had sworn at him. In all the time he’d spent with Emma, he had never heard her swear. It was one of the things he found so endearing about her. She said fudge, and darn it, and his favorite, shootskisitis instead of shit. But today, she had dropped the f-bomb at him, and she looked as shocked as he was when she said it.

  All she had to do was tell him the truth. Would he have been able to live with the fact that she had hawked her diamond ring? Probably. But to keep it after cheating on her fiancé, that seemed like a low blow.

  He understood why Jason had warned him about the lying. The woman could’ve won an Academy Award. She stood in front of him and pretended to not know what the hell he was talking about. When she wasn’t forthcoming about the funds for the flower shop, the diamond, or the misappropriated funds from the townhome, he didn’t even bother asking about the cheating. If she was an accomplished liar, something she had just done to his face, who was to say that she’d fess up to that biggie.

  No.

  Even though he felt like a piece of him was missing, that there was a hole in his guts, he had done the right thing. He thought that he was falling in love with Emma. Cutting her out now was the best thing that he could’ve done. The idea of seeing one more girlfriend with another man’s face between her thighs would’ve been too much for him to take. Getting rid of her now was the best thing he’d ever done. Even though he felt sick to his stomach.

  Like he’d never eat again.

  He definitely wouldn’t let himself fall for another woman again, that’s for sure. Just yesterday he’d been judging his brother’s immature behavior, but now, he thought that Jason was onto something.

  It was time for him to get his brewpub done and move on with his life as a single man. He picked up the drywall screw gun and lost himself in the constant drone of the tool. He got in the groove and didn’t hear the door open until Freddie’s voice shouted out over the tool. “Where’s the music and the beer?”

  Charlie paused. He wanted to hang out with his friend, but for now, the construction was his priority. He turned, ready to tell Freddie that he couldn’t hang out and was surprised to see not only Freddie, but Josh, Logan, Ethan, and even Baxter. “What are you guys doing here?”

  “I’ve brought the cavalry,” Freddie grinned. “But they don’t work for free. I hope you’ve got the beer taps hooked up.”

  The men were all wearing work clothes, even Baxter. “You guys don’t have to help out. There’s a lot to do.”

  “That’s exactly why we have to help you out.” Josh rolled up his sleeves.

  Charlie had spent many a free evening helping his friends shingle their roofs, or plow their driveways when they were out of town. It’s what small-town people do – they help each other. That’s why it felt so normal to pick up a paintbrush to help Emma, even if it was to his detriment. “The kegs lines aren’t hooked up yet, but I do have a few cases in the fridge in the back.”

  “Let’s get ‘er done.” Freddie took the screw gun from Charlie’s hand. “Now you go get the brewskis.”

  Charlie jogged to the back of what would someday be the brew pub’s kitchen and opened the temporary fridge and pulled out beer for all of his friends. By the time he was back, all the guys, two of whom were trained tradesmen, had donned their tool belts and were in the process of measuring and hanging the rest of the drywall. He handed out the lavender pale ale beer from his private stash and felt like he wanted to hug every single one of the guys that had shown up for him – especially after the day of hell he’d just endured.

  Well into the early morning hours of the next day his ‘crew’ labored, and they didn’t stop until all of the drywall was not only hung but mudded and taped, ready for sanding and a second coat. “Whoa, not too thick, just a skim coat,” Josh shouted as Baxter laid on the last of the mud. Baxter was a city boy who had moved to Chance Rapids and was engaged to Lauren, Charlotte’s sister.

  “Okay, boss.” Baxter bit his lip and scraped off the excess mud.

  “I didn’t think that you owned clothes like this.” Charlie pulled at the arm of Baxter’s flannel work shirt.

  Baxter smoothed out the fabric. “It was the last one at The Work Outfitters shop.”

  “Ha, you can still see the lines,” Charlie smiled. Never in a million years did he think he’d get the tasting area finished, now with the help of his friends, the entire place was done – coincidentally at the same time the last beer was finished.

  Charlie handed Josh a beer and reached for the bottle opener in the side pocket of his work pants. His small-batch beer was always brewed in pop-top containers. He loved the old school feel and sound of popping a cap off of the bottle, and if he could source out a bottler who used stubby bottles, the kind from the seventies, he’d be all over it. Before he could open the bottle, Josh flicked the cap off with his bare hand. “How did you do that?” Josh was an outdoorsman and tough as nails. “Do you have bionic hands?”

  Holding up his left hand, Josh wiggled his ring finger. “All you need is a wedding ring, my friend.”

  “He’s working on that,” Freddie laughed.

  Charlie’s stomach sank.

  Ethan yawned and checked his watch. “Alright, boys. I’ve got to get my beauty sleep.”

  “You’re twenty-one,” Logan said. “I’ve got to get home too. I need a couple of hours' sleep before practice. The hockey team has an important practice tomorrow.

  “Thanks for coming in, guys,” Charlie said. “You have no idea how much you’ve saved my ass.”

  “You’ve still got a lot to do,” Logan said. “I’ll be here every night that I’m not coaching the team.”

  The rest of the guys nodded and murmured the same thing. “That’s too much, you guys. I can’t ask you to do that.”

  “Don’t get too flattered. We just need another place to drink besides the Last Chance,” Baxter laughed. “And the new bartender isn’t as good as you.” For a new addition to their group of friends, Baxter felt like he’d been hanging out with them for years.

  “I’d better stock up on beer then.” Charlie hugged Baxter. “Thanks, dude.” Overcome with gratitude, he proceeded to hug all of his slightly tipsy and very dusty friends. “See you tomorrow,” Charlie opened the door and his friends filed out into the misty night. He brushed the drywall dust off the door handle and turned to see Freddie still perched on one of the barstools.

  “Once the second coat is dry, I’ll be able to get the pot lights and all of the fixtures installed. I’ll even work on the weekend now that I’m doing your girlfriend’s project.” Freddie drained his beer and then reached under the bar for another.

  “Did you hide that earlier?” Charlie furrowed his brow.

  “Did you see how fast that square Baxter was pounding them back?” Charlie kept an eye on his good friend. Charlie worried that Freddie straddled the line of having a drinking problem. Freddie and Logan’s mom had been an alcoholic, and where Logan rarely drank, Freddie had no problem polishing off a six-pack daily.

  “Are you walking home tonight?” Charlie hated feeling like the fun police, but after the night he’d had with his brother he knew he had to keep closer tabs on those drinking in his bar.

  “Of course.” Freddie grabbed the bottle opener from Charlie’s hand and popped the top, then reached behind the bar and grabbed another, popping the top off as well. “Are you riding your bike?”

  Charlie nodded towards the storage room, “I’ve got a cot set up in the back there. I’m camping out here until this place is done.”

  “Good.” Freddie handed the second beer to Charlie. “Then sit and have a drink with me.”

  “It’s three in the morning, Fred.” Charlie was exhausted.

  “So?” Freddie took a sip and patted the barstool. “You’re not going to let your friend drink alone are you?”

  Charlie took the beer and clinked the neck of Freddie’s bottle with his as he sat down. “Thanks again. Were you in charge of putting together that crew?”

  “I ran into Logan today and he made a few calls. If everyone shows up on time you should have flooring, lighting, and painting done by the end of the week.”

  “You guys are something else.” Charlie took a sip of his beer. “I never could’ve done this without you.”

  “Sure, you could,” Freddie said. “But that’s what friends are for. I know that you would do the same thing for me.”

  “I totally would.” Charlie looked around the brewpub, which all of a sudden looked a lot more finished. It wasn’t going to be a huge space, it would only seat about sixty people, including the little patio out front.

  “I saw your girlfriend today,” Freddie said. “Is everything okay with you guys?”

  Charlie furrowed his brow. The two of them never sat around talking about women. Their conversations revolved around the avalanche report, the condition of the mountain bike trails, or how long the highway was going to be closed.

  “She’s not my girlfriend.” Charlie pulled at the label on the sweating beer bottle. “Not anymore at least.”

  Freddie nodded slightly. “That’s what I thought. She looked like hell this afternoon.”

  “It’s not my problem.” Charlie shrugged, but a twinge of guilt twisted his stomach. She looked like hell because of him. Before Freddie could ask, he added, “I just have too much going on here to deal with a girlfriend right now.”

  “That’s all?” Freddie asked. “Nothing happened between you two?”

  Charlie wanted to tell Freddie what he’d discovered about Emma, but he still had integrity. He wasn’t going to ruin Emma’s reputation with everyone else in town, that wasn’t his style. “Nope. I just don’t have time for all of that stuff.”

  “I hear you. Serena’s been all over me to plan our wedding, but I just don’t have time.”

  “Women,” Charlie muttered. “They just don’t get it.”

  “But we can’t live without them.” Freddie smacked Charlie’s leg. “I’m going to go and wake Serena up.” He winked. “You should rethink that whole thing with Emma when this is all done. You two looked good together.”

  “Maybe,” Charlie said.

  Freddie left and Charlie tidied up the empty bottles before heading to the back room where he stripped out of his work clothes and slid into the sleeping bag on his inflatable cot. Cold and alone.

  Fifteen

  All night long, the rain beat like pellets on the window beside Emma’s bed. At times, she wondered if the single pane would break. She tossed and turned and felt like she had just fallen asleep when her alarm went off. She reached out from underneath the quilt and turned off the sound. She rolled over, promising that she would only sleep for another five minutes, but was woken up to pounding on the front door so hard that she wondered if a SWAT team was about to bust through. Through squinted eyes, she looked at the time on her phone.

  “Holy cats,” she whispered to herself and tossed the blankets off. She padded to the front door and peeked through the lace curtain, confirming who she knew was on the other side. She opened the door and Serena stepped inside.

  “Nice hiking clothes.”

  Serena looked like she had just stepped out of the pages of an outdoorswoman magazine with her fitted hiking pants, Scarpa boots, and turquoise soft-shell jacket. She had two sets of hiking poles clutched in her hand.

  “Just give me two seconds.” Emma ran into her room and changed as quickly as she could into clothes which she hoped were appropriate for their planned hike: a pair of yoga pants, a tank top, running shoes, and a windbreaker. She put her hair in a ponytail and as she brushed her teeth, she looked in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize herself. Red rimmed eyes over dark puffy circles stared back at her. She looked like she’d aged ten years overnight. She splashed some water on her face and almost as an afterthought smeared on some concealer and a little bit of mascara. Serena was a social media maven and Emma knew that there would be photos of their excursion posted whether she liked it or not. “Okay.” Emma plastered a smile on her face and tried to put a spring in her step.

  “You’re not fooling anybody.” Serena handed her the second set of walking poles.

  “What are you talking about?” Emma’s voice wavered.

  Instead of responding, Serena pulled Emma in for a hug. “He’ll come around.”

  Emma took a step backward, extricating herself from Emma’s hug. “How did you know?” It had been less than twenty-four hours since Charlie turned into a complete asshole and broke up with her. She hadn’t told anyone. Was he out screaming the news to everybody in town?

  “Freddie was with Charlie last night. Freddie is like a little old woman; he tells me everything.” Serena’s eyes searched Emma’s. “What happened? I thought that everything was going so well with the two of you.”

  “I did too.” Emma studied the rag rug than ran the length of the living room. “What did Freddie say?” She almost didn’t ask, but she was baffled about the whole thing. Maybe Charlie would’ve told his best friend why he never wanted to see her again.

  Serena sighed. “Freddie just said that Charlie wants to focus on his business.”

  Emma didn’t know if Serena was looking for an insider scoop, or she genuinely wanted to console her about the breakup. “That’s what he told me too.” She left out the money part, she still hadn’t wrapped her head around it, it didn’t make any sense.

  “Come on,” Serena put her willowy arm over Emma’s shoulder and steered her toward the door. “A little exercise and fresh air will help.”

  Emma was dubious, but twenty minutes into the hike she felt the life coming back into her body. “What’s this trail called?” Emma said, glad that her voice didn’t sound like she was having a heart attack. Serena had set an ambitious pace and Emma wasn’t sure if she’d be able to continue the conversation if they kept going uphill.

  “It’s the Sugar Peaks Loop, but I call it the Defibrillator,” Serena laughed, and Emma was slightly relieved when she heard the breathiness in Serena’s voice too. She had been so focused on the trail and not slipping off and careening to her death that when they reached the top and she actually looked up, the view literally and figuratively took her breath away. She dropped the poles and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

  “It will take you a little bit of time to get acclimatized to the elevation here,” Serena said. “You did amazing, I threw up the first time I did this trail.”

  “Really?” Emma asked.

  “Yeah, Freddie thought it was hilarious.” Serena shook her head, and Emma could see the smile on her face.

  “You two are the real deal, aren’t you?” Emma stood up and stretched her arms over her head and then bent her knee and grabbed the top of her foot to stretch her hamstrings that had been barking at her for the last two miles.

  “I like to think so. I puked in front of the man and he still proposed.”

  Someone had carved a bench out of a fallen fir tree and even though she knew she was going to get a wet butt, Emma sat down. “It sure is beautiful here.” She gazed at the mountain peaks that were still capped in white even though the temperatures in the valley had been warm enough for the brave to swim in the glacier-fed river that ran through town.

  “It is.” Serena agreed. “I fell in love with Freddie, but I also fell in love with the town.” Serena sat next to Emma. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright? I’m always around if you want to talk. Or just have some wine and watch movies.”

  “The hike seems to help.”

  “Or hike.”

  Emma realized that Serena wasn’t digging for dirt, Serena cared about her. They had started their hike at dawn, and as they sat on the lookout, the sun made its first appearance over the Sugar Peaks Ski Resort. Emma leaned her face back, letting the rays warm her cheeks.

  “Don’t leave,” Serena said.

  “What?” Emma looked away from the peaks and blinked at her friend.

  “Don’t let some asshole dude scare you away from this.” Serena gestured to the mountain vista and then towards town, the tin roofs of the downtown homes glinting in the sun’s rays. Emma pressed into her hands and stared at her new home. She hadn’t moved here for a man; she’d run to the mountains to forget about one.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” Emma brushed small pieces of wood from her hands and stood up. “Charlie doesn’t get to have Chance Rapids just because he was here first.”

  Serena grinned and hopped up from the bench. “That’s the spirit.”

  Emma held the grips of her hiking poles tightly. “Down is going to be scary, isn’t it?” It wasn’t a question. The path seemed to drop off into the abyss at the corners of the switchbacks, one misstep, or slip on some loose shale, and Emma didn’t know where she’d end up.

  “Nothing like a little adrenaline first thing in the morning,” Serena said. She snapped a photo of the mountain peaks. “Start walking,” she ordered, pointing to the path. “I’m going to take your photo.” Emma didn’t know it at the time, but the photo that Serena took of Emma’s and her ponytail blowing in the wind, glowing from the sunlight behind her, would capture the moment that Emma fell in love.