Spiral (Spiral Series) (2 page)

“When the time comes,” said Maxie warningly, “you will be there and you will like it.”

“Good evening, everyone,” said a woman standing at the front of the stage. She was short and dressed all in purple, which made a striking contrast to her hair, which was a blinding shade of green. I grinned. It was Mrs. Tiger. She lived a few doors down from me and was, for lack of a better word, the town kook. She was awesome, and I loved her with all my heart and soul. She winked at me before continuing to talk.

“Tonight is Romance Night here at the Bird Bar. I am excited to say that we have a full lineup. Our first storyteller comes to us right from Merset, so without further ado, here’s Harriet.”

Mrs. Tiger stepped aside to reveal a woman in her mid-thirties, and the room filled with polite clapping. The lights dimmed and Harriet walked to the front of the stage. I had no idea who she was, but I sat back in my chair, suddenly really interested to hear her story. Everyone likes a good tale of romance, after all. Well, maybe everyone but Jill.

“Evening everyone, so, here it is.” She cleared her throat and blushed, then launched in.

She told about how her future husband had had a big crush on her in college, but she was dating someone else. He was persistent, though, and senior year it paid off. She dumped her boyfriend and starting dating the man who was now her husband. After a bit of a rocky start they had managed to make it work and had been together ever since.

The next story wasn’t nearly so happy. A man named Sam, with a baby face and bright blue eyes, got up to say he had fallen in love with a girl who came into his coffee shop every morning. He had always wanted to ask her out but had never gotten up the nerve. One day she came into the coffee shop and Sam thought he had never seen a prettier girl. Well, that day she had more guts than he did. After a couple of stutters she managed to ask him to dinner. She said it would be silly to get coffee together, because she felt like she had been getting coffee with him every day for months. He was so happy he burned his hand on the steamer. They made plans to get dinner. His family owned an Italian restaurant and she said she loved Italian.

All week, every time he saw her a lightness filled his chest. It felt right. It felt good. Her name was Julie.

Well, Julie didn’t show up to their dinner date on Friday and he was devastated. Every day after that he waited for her to come in and get her coffee, but after a week he realized that she wasn’t going to come in any more.

He had never known her last name, and he wondered what he had done. He figured she had just gotten cold feet and realized that he had a big nose and the unfortunate habit of putting his foot in his mouth at important moments, but gosh, seeing her had made him happy. She was probably avoiding him because she didn’t want the awkward interactions or for him to spit in her coffee.

A few days later, Sam told the engrossed audience, a girl came in. She looked a lot like his girl - that’s how he had always thought of her - and the new girl instantly started to cry when she saw him.

“Are you Sam?” she blubbered.

“Yes,” he answered, terror racing up to lodge in his throat.

“I’m Katie,” she sobbed. “My sister was Julie. She always came in here. . . .”

And she burst into tears again. After a long conversation, Sam found out that Julie had been in a car accident on the very day of their date. Unlike in “An Affair to Remember,” Julie wasn’t just injured in her accident, she died. Julie had just told Katie that she had had a wonderful week. Not only had she gotten a promotion at work, but the guy she had a crush on had said yes when she finally got up the guts to ask him out. She had been so happy, because it was Friday and she was finally going on the date.

After Sam’s story most of the bar was crying. The next story went some way in mending everyone’s heart.

A woman named Riley got up and told a story about her high school sweetheart. They had been friends since they were kids, starting when he less than gallantly shoved her into the mud and she got up and punched him. He always liked to tell people that he knew at that moment she was the girl for him.

While Riley spoke I let my mind drift. It turned out that I liked watching people’s reactions as much as I liked hearing the stories. I avoided looking at the other kids from my high school, though. Haley was nothing but nasty to me and I didn’t want her to ruin my evening.

As Riley talked, I noticed a flicker of movement off to the side of the room. Frowning, I looked more closely and saw that a guy in a black t-shirt was standing there, hidden in the shadows. He looked like he was going to speak next. My heartbeat quickened and I found my breath coming more quickly. I couldn’t see him very well, but something about his tall frame and broad shoulders made me wonder who he was.

“Oh, check out the hottie,” Maxie hissed in my ear.

I jumped. I already was.

“Don’t feel bad,” she said, grinning. “Everyone in the place has stared at him.” A blush crept across my cheeks and I looked away.

“He’s okay,” I muttered.

“Okay? He’s gorgeous,” Maxie murmured, eyeing him. “Fingers crossed he’s single.”

Despite what I had said to Maxie, I found myself hoping he’d be the next to get on stage. But a sharp elbow in my side brought me back to Riley’s story.

“Pay attention,” Jill hissed. “I expect you to enjoy your first birthday present, not daydream about gorgeous guys.”

“So, you admit he’s gorgeous?” Maxie hissed back.

Riley continued the story by saying that in high school she and the guy who had punched her were best friends, always doing everything together. She liked him, but she didn’t know how to say it. He was the nice guy next door that all the girls smiled at, and she was the tomboy.

Of course, as she explained to her rapt audience, he had always liked her, too, but for a long time he was too shy to say so.

So she decided to do what any sane fifteen-year-old girl in love would have done. She decided to make him jealous. Every school dance they ever had she had gone to alone. This time she asked one of his friends to escort her, a guy of questionable reputation to say the least.

She had gotten her mom to take her shopping and to get her hair done, and that night she walked into the dance with the wrong guy.

By the end of the night she had been the cause of a brawl and started a relationship. Once her darling got out of the hospital, where they had taken care of his black eye and split lip, they lived happily ever after.

Next up was Tammy. She and her husband had been married for three years when she got the call. He had been out snowmobiling with friends and had slammed into a tree. It was a miracle he wasn’t dead, but he was in bad shape. Worse, she was six months pregnant. He spent the next three months in a coma and Tammy never left his side. The hospital gave her special permission to sleep in his hospital room, which she did every night. Amazingly enough, he woke up the day she gave birth, and even though he wasn’t there to hold her hand he got to meet their daughter.

Now she had three kids and her second husband, who only got his skull cracked when he didn’t rent the right romantic comedy for the girls.

Again, there wasn’t a dry eye in the bar.

As Tammy smiled and stepped off the stage, the guy in the black t-shirt stepped up to be next. I found my focus narrowing to just his face and a stunned surprised shook me. Both Jill and Maxie turned to stare at me in shock.

The guy’s name was Pierce and he had jet black hair, a square jaw, and a strong nose. He also had bright silver eyes. Once the audience caught a glimpse of his face, Sam’s sad story was totally forgotten. Some of the women literally gasped. Jill snorted while Maxie clasped her hands together in excitement. I sat stock still.

Jill was right. He was hot. Mrs. Tiger too took notice from where she was sitting off to the side. She caught my eye, and I saw that she was sitting up straight, erect and more alert than I had ever seen her. She turned to fix her eyes on him.

When I looked back at the stage Pierce was looking right at me. I fought the urge to turn around and see who he was really looking at. Then the unthinkable happened. He gave me the sweetest, warmest smile I had ever seen.

I quickly turned to glance over my shoulder. No, there was no one there. He must have been smiling at me. I looked back at him to see his white teeth flash in a grin, and heat crept into my cheeks. Confused, I stared down at my hands.

“Evening,” said Pierce, his voice a deep and sexy rumble in his chest. “I don’t know if I’m the right person to be up here.”

“Honey, we will look at you any time,” called out a drunk woman from somewhere behind me. I found myself wanting to slap her for interrupting him.

Pierce grinned at her with a slow, sexy smile. His perfect features lit up and I felt my heart rate quicken.

Romance slams were awesome.

Jill must have read my mind because she leaned over and said smugly, “You’re welcome.”

“Because my story isn’t done,” he continued. “Not at all. But a lot has happened.”

He cleared his throat and his eyes locked onto mine. A million different feelings slammed through me as my silver eyes met his. I thought I might melt. I thought I might have a panic attack. I had never seen my eyes mirrored in someone else.

He didn’t take his eyes off me as he continued, “I have hopes for the ending, but it’s going to be a long road.”

He sighed and glanced down, playing with something shiny and silver in his hands. When he looked up his face was serious, almost sad.

“My mother’s name was Aren and she was best friends with a woman named Neil.”

At the sound of the women’s names something shuddered inside me. An overwhelming sadness washed over my shoulders and I found myself staring painfully at Pierce.

“Aren was young, part of a good family that had a successful family business. Neil was the same, only more so. She came from one of the most important families in . . . town. Everyone loved Neil, especially my mom. Well, Aren met a man, James, my dad, and they got married. Of course, Neil was maid of honor. Right after the wedding my mom went to work for the family business. She wanted a quiet life and a family. Unfortunately, Neil wasn’t so lucky.”

Pierce cleared his throat, the cocky confidence he had displayed moments before replaced by uncertainty. He shifted, rubbing his right hand over his left arm as if he was cold. His movement revealed the edges of a tattoo on his right shoulder.

“Badass,” Maxie murmured. “I love a guy with tats.”

“Neil disappeared for a while. I’m told my mom was frantic, searching everywhere for her friend, someone she considered a sister. To make matters worse, she was pregnant with me. Everyone told her to calm down, stop searching, but she couldn’t.

“Years went by. I was four when Neil came back. It wasn’t pretty. She was lost and broken. Upset and confused. Stuff had happened. . . .”

Pain shone in Pierce’s silver eyes and I was sure he could hear my heart hammering all the way up on the stage.

“My mom was overjoyed. All she had ever wanted was for Neil to be safe, and here she was, back home. After a careful physical examination they found out that Neil was pregnant. She explained that she’d had a boyfriend, a nice guy. But she had wanted to come home to have the baby, and he couldn’t come with her. She wouldn’t say who he was or what had happened to him when she left. My mom wasn’t sure Neil ever knew, but a few months later Neil was mother to a little girl.”

A smile appeared on Pierce’s face at the mention of the girl, then he continued. “Life settled down a little bit after that. My mom and Neil spent all their free time together. My dad was working for the family, doing well. He was rising up the ranks and my mother couldn’t have been prouder. When I was ten and Neil’s daughter was six, my mom had another baby, my little sister, Turi. Neil’s daughter’s name was Natalie and she and I did everything together.”