Wild Ice (14 page)

While the next band set up their instruments,
Kyle tried to make his way over to Lauren and JD’s table to say goodnight, but he was bombarded with women from the audience.

After hearing
Kyle’s music, JD developed a new respect for his brother. Kyle had a heck of a lot more talent than he’d given him credit for, that was for sure. JD had spent so long with his head up his own ass that he hadn’t noticed Kyle blossoming into a bona fide rock star. Maybe he would go on to become a household name after all.

Kyle
glanced at JD over the heads of several blondes, brunettes and a handsy red-head. The look the two brothers exchanged was brief, but in it were all the words that JD couldn’t bring himself to say out loud. Kyle understood. Either because he obviously had a way with words or because of brotherly intuition.

Onstage, the
Orange Cones played an energetic song with a beat perfect for dancing to. Couples took to the dance floor and everyone bobbed their heads in time with the music.

“Come on,” Lauren said and took JD by the hand. “Let’s dance.” Without giving him the opportunity to refuse, she
pulled him out to the dance floor.

T
he mood needed to be lightened after Kyle’s poignant yet beautiful songs and grooving to the music would do just that. Within minutes, Lauren had JD grinning from the silly way she danced in time to the lively beat. The song had funny lyrics and they laughed and moved to the music together. The Orange Cones wouldn’t be finding their faces on the cover of
Rolling Stone
any time soon, but Lauren and JD had fun anyway.

After the last note faded into the
murmur of the crowd, Lauren and JD made their way out to the parking lot. It was getting late and Lauren was anxious to get back to Hayley’s Point. Marsh probably thought she’d abandoned him for good. As nice as the city was, she still missed the quiet coziness of the cottage.

When she paused next to
JD’s SUV, all Lauren heard was the noisy sound of traffic. People made just as much noise as birds, but what they said was usually less meaningful. Tonight, Kyle’s lyrics were meaningful and she was glad she’d decided to come to the city and drag JD along with her. The crowded nightclub might not be her favorite type of scene but she still had fun.

Lauren sensed that JD could be charming when he wasn’t trying so hard to be distant. The beer and music seemed to loosen him up and she liked seeing a different side of him.

On the ride home, Lauren sighed and the happy sound caressed JD in the driver’s seat.

“I had so much fun tonight
,” she said. “Your brother is very talented. I didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t
that
.”

“Yeah.”
JD couldn’t argue. As much as he and Kyle disagreed on things, he knew his brother had what it took to go far in the music business. “He was always trying to get me to be in his band when we were growing up. I couldn’t sing, had no rhythm, and all I wanted to do was play hockey. The last thing I wanted to do was sit around turning my feelings into songs and the last thing Kyle wanted to do was play hockey. I wanted him to be my goalie so I could practice and he wanted me to be his drummer. It was a lose-lose situation.”

Lauren smiled as she imagined the Mason brothers squabbling over guitars and hockey sticks.

On the way to the freeway onramp, they passed the NorCal Center, home of the Red Valley Razors. The giant marquee outside was lit up, advertising the upcoming famous names and attractions.

JD shifted in his seat and Lauren could feel the tension roll off him in waves.

Did the arena bring back memories of his time spent playing hockey? She assumed he’d played pro because of his financial ability to purchase a property like Teal Manor, but she didn’t know for sure. She could easily look him up on the internet where she’d probably find pages about him and his career, but she respected him enough not to do that. He would share his past with her when he was ready and when the time was right. He used to play hockey. It was all she knew and she’d just have to leave it at that.

JD looked over at the building as if he hadn’t been expecting it to be there.
It reminded him of all the things he’d been missing out on during the past year. He was reminded of a time when he and Darla went out on the town. With his crazy travel schedule during the hockey season and her busy work schedule, they always set aside time to have date nights. Sometimes they would double-date with Darla’s sister, Sloan, and her husband, Collin, and sometimes it would be just the two of them at a romantic restaurant downtown. He could hear her voice now, talking about items on the menu and telling him how nice he looked.

JD
gunned the engine and merged onto the freeway.

Lauren gripped the armrest and tried to think of something to say. One glance at the troubled expression on his face and she decided silence would be best.

During the rest of the ride home, JD was more distant than he’d ever been. It was as if a gate came down and closed him off from her. Just when Lauren thought she was pulling him from the gloom, he slipped even further away. She didn’t know exactly what brought on the brooding this time, but he shut down as soon as they passed NorCal Center. She’d give anything to know what was going on behind those haunted eyes of his.

“Thanks for driving,” Lauren said as he pulled into his driveway.
Teal Manor was large and looming in the headlights.

JD
blinked out of his quiet stupor. “I had fun tonight, Darla,” he replied. He blinked again and frowned. “I’m sorry, Lauren.” He reached out to touch her hand and she shrugged away.

“That’s okay. I had fun, too. Goodnight.”
Lauren scrambled out of the SUV and dashed to her car. After fumbling with her keys, she finally got the Geo started and pulled out of the driveway. Her hands shook and she gripped the wheel.

Who was Darla?
And why would he call her by her name? She must be the reason he kept pulling away. Whoever she was, she had a fierce grip on him.

Lauren pulled up to the cottage and parked. At the front door, she paused and listened. There weren’t any tires on gravel or footsteps. He hadn’t followed her to offer an explanation.

Lauren went inside and was instantly disappointed by how empty the cottage was. It wasn’t like she expected anyone to be there to greet her when she came home. Just Marsh, probably hiding under the bed. She was expecting things to go differently with JD tonight. She planned on maybe inviting him in for some coffee or some store-bought cookies. They could have sat and talked about Lavender Fields or shared another laugh about the Orange Cones…

But that was before he called her by another woman’s name.

Lauren tossed her keys on the coffee table and sighed. Why JD had stopped playing hockey was the least of her questions now.

Chapter Fifteen

Chasing Butterflies

Mel sure lived up to the title of man’s best friend. He was a heck of a companion and he was turning out to be one heck of a bird dog. He obeyed silent cues from Lauren and proved time and time again that he could sneak up on a bird without scaring it away. Lauren liked having him around and when he accompanied her on her daily walks to the creek, his presence counteracted the loneliness she sometimes felt. Her housemate, Marsh, wasn’t a companion as much as an independent mooch.

Lauren and Mel were in the clearing after returning from their morning walk
and the sun was starting to heat up. When they neared Teal Manor, Mel cocked his head to the side and gave a yellow swallowtail butterfly a curious sniff. The swallowtail continued to flutter over the grass and Mel barked. Lauren laughed as Mel gave chase to the uncooperative insect and darted to and fro in the grass. The butterfly remained just out of reach, but Mel wouldn’t give up. The more he hopped, the more the oblivious butterfly remained untouchable. He looked silly bounding through the grass on his oversized paws and was the funniest thing Lauren had seen in a long time.

Lauren
collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles and held her sides. “You’re silly, you know that, Mellow dog?”

Mel bounded over to see what the commotion was
and sniffed her face. His wet nose snorted and she threw her arm around his neck and laughed into his fur.

* * *

JD watched
Lauren from the kitchen window. He’d never seen a grown woman skip, birdwatch and now roll on the ground with hysterical laughter. Although she was a mystery to him, he felt like he’d known her for years. He yearned to feel that type of joy and total abandonment. What would it be like to not have a care in the world? Just once? To be able to look at his surroundings and see only beauty? To laugh? To have a carefree approach to life? To love again?

Mel pounced on her and she squirmed away from the hairy
, slobbery assault. Tears ran down her cheeks she was laughing so hard.

JD
laughed while he watched and the sound was foreign to his own ears. Lauren had made him laugh last night, too, while she made funny faces and danced to that ridiculous music. And then he’d gone and screwed it all up when he’d been dragged back into the past by icy cold fingers.

* * *

Finally,
Lauren got Mel to lie still for a minute, so she could catch her breath. It felt good to laugh. Lately, she’d been spending way too much time trying to figure out the mind of a man. Last night, JD had thrown her for so many loops that she felt like a Birmingham roller pigeon. She was growing more attracted to him and he had made it clear that she wasn’t the woman occupying his thoughts.

Before
JD had come along, Lauren had spent the beginning of the year preoccupied with an entirely different man. Daniel. In her head, she’d had dozens of imaginary conversations with Daniel and they always ended the same. None of them ended with them resolving things and being together. Which was fine. That wasn’t what she wanted anymore anyways. She just wanted some answers. Didn’t she deserve that common courtesy after laying down so much groundwork with him?

Before long, another butterfly (or maybe even the same one)
caught Mel’s attention and he took off again, following in hot pursuit.

The happy tears turned sad and
Lauren started to cry for real. She couldn’t hear the birds anymore or Mel’s barking. Instead, she heard the sound of a church organ. Suddenly, she back inside the little church in South Oakdale. The one with the flower boxes out front that were stuffed full of purple and yellow flowers.

The memories of that day overwhelmed her.
The looks of all those people in the church—pity, surprise—flashed in her mind. Out here in the field with Mel, Lauren had let her guard down and the past crashed in on her like a tidal wave. She closed her eyes and was instantly transported to that Saturday afternoon.

She tiptoed up to the swinging doors that led into the church and peered through the little window at the top.
The white satin pumps she wore lifted her up a few inches above her regular height. The chiffon dress rustled around her and the garter belt felt foreign and scratchy on her thigh. It was the first time she’d worn a dress since college graduation and high school graduation before that. It seemed odd to get so dressed up to marry a boy she’d known since high school. But she did. Because that’s what girls did when they married the boy they were in love with. They dressed up, smiled for the camera and lived happily ever after.

Lauren looked out at her wedding party.
Everyone was in their places, just like they’d practiced at the rehearsal. Because she didn’t have many close friends, her cousin and her acquaintance from college stood as her bridesmaids. On the other side of the altar, her brother, Scott, and Daniel’s older brother, Mark, served as best man and usher. They looked so serious and official in their crisp black tuxes.

Everything looked exactly as it should.
The church was decorated with bouquets of roses, carnations and baby’s breath. They’d both agreed to keep things low-key. Even though it was a simple wedding there still had been a lot to plan. The reception, invitations, flowers, the vows… They’d planned for months and everything had turned out perfect.

Except there was one thing
—or one someone rather—who was missing.

The groom.

Lauren had pictured this day for years and every scenario involved her walking down the aisle
toward
the groom. Where was he? Where was Daniel, her husband-to-be?

Lauren had
made sure he picked up his tux and knew how to fasten the cummerbund. She’d even seen him the night before at the rehearsal dinner. He’d seemed extra nervous, but that was expected, wasn’t it? They were starting a new life together and joining themselves together with vows in front of their families. All of which would start just as soon as he arrived.

Lauren looked back over at h
er brother, Scott, and watched as he glanced nervously at his phone. It was the first time she’d seen him look this nervous. A part of her wanted to think it was sweet and overly protective of him, but there was more than nervousness in his eyes. Something was wrong.

Scott
left his place at the altar and walked toward the doors and Lauren. Their eyes met through the little window in the door. His lips were drawn tightly together and there was a wrinkle in between his eyebrows. What had him looking so worried?

It was
strange how Lauren could remember specific little details so vividly. She remembered that little wrinkle between her brother’s eyebrows, yet she couldn’t remember how she got home that day.

As soon as
Scott left his post at the altar, everyone inside the church began to swivel their heads and whisper. The pianist played a Beethoven song that was probably meant to soothe everyone’s nerves, but somehow only added to the anxiety of the situation. The wedding party glanced nervously at each other and bouquets and boutonnieres quivered anxiously.

Lauren’s
mind automatically assumed the worst. Maybe Daniel had been in an accident. Maybe he was too injured to call. What if he was bleeding on the side of the road somewhere, hurt and broken, while she stood here in her uncomfortable white dress? She pushed the gruesome thoughts aside. Nothing would happen to Daniel today. Not on her wedding day, the most perfect and beautiful day of her life. Certainly not. Maybe he was just running late.

Lauren
stepped aside so Scott could pass through the swinging doors.

“
Lauren,” he said. His voice was more out of breath than it should have been from the short walk down the aisle.

“
What’s going on?” she asked, trying to read the pained expression on his face.

He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. She almost shrugged away—she didn’t want him wrinkling her dress—but the look in his eyes froze her in place.

“Where’s Daniel?” she asked. The weight of Scott’s hands on her shoulders was too heavy, but she didn’t dare move.

“He’s…Oh
God.” Air wheezed in and out of his mouth and she willed him to spit the words out already. “He’s not coming, sweetheart.”

Lauren frowned. Scott
didn’t call her things like
sweetheart
. He called her things like spazz and freak and what every other older brother called their younger sister. He never called her
sweetheart
.

“He just sent me a text.”

He’s not coming, sweetheart.

“What?”
Lauren gasped. “What did it say?”

He’s not coming
. It sounded so final.

“He said he can’t go through with it. I’m so sorry,
Lauren.”

That’s when the buzzing in her head started. A low hum that blocked out everyone’s voices including her brothers and the one in her head
that told her this wasn’t happening. It
couldn’t
be happening. His car probably just ran out of gas or something. It wasn’t unusual for Daniel to be a little—or a lot—scatterbrained.

She
glanced back through the window and into the church. Guests whispered to each other and looked around expectantly. They were all waiting and whispering and speculating.

He’s not coming
.

“Is the traffic bad or something?”
Lauren asked, ignoring her brother’s ridiculous explanation.

It was
Saturday afternoon so traffic wasn’t a likely scenario. It wasn’t like Daniel was stuck in rush hour traffic or anything, but her brain was grabbing at straws.

“He’s not coming at all
, Laur.”

He’s not coming
.

The words finally registered and Lauren understood. She wouldn’t be getting married
today.

Mel bounded back to
Lauren, the butterfly forgotten, and she was brought back to the present. The big dog licked at her cheek, hoping to catch a stray tear and Lauren sat up and wiped her face with her sleeve. Daniel wasn’t worth crying over—she knew that. Sometimes it just felt good to cry for the life they’d never have together. They’d spent so much time planning for the future that the present had gotten away from them. Lauren had been ready to be a wife and eventually a mother and she thought she’d found the perfect man to settle down with, but it turned out she’d been wrong.

Daniel burned a lot of bridges by not showing up that day.
Scott had been best friends with Daniel, but Daniel’s stunt on his sister’s wedding day had torn their friendship apart. Scott couldn’t forgive him for humiliating his sister like that. Neither could Lauren.

There were so many questions she wanted to ask Daniel. Most of them began with
why
. Why did you leave me at the altar? (Obviously.) Why didn’t you talk to me if you were having doubts and cold feet? (We could have worked things out.) Why didn’t you call me instead of texting my brother Scott? (Do you know how much of a coward you are?)

Lauren
would always be known as that girl who was jilted, stood up, left at the altar. And Daniel would always be known as the one who walked away.

Mel rested his
face next to Lauren’s and she patted the top of his head. His nose sniffed her hair and breathed out a fine mist. Despite his bodily fluids, Mel was the best friend she’d had in a long time.

* * *

Liquid sparkled on
Lauren’s cheeks and JD peered closer out the window. She was crying. One minute she’d been laughing hysterically with Mel and now she was crying. He couldn’t see the expression on her face because she was looking up at the sky, but he wanted to wipe her tears away. He wanted to tell her that everything was okay and that everything would be all right. Where did that thought come from? Who was he to reassure anyone that things were going to be okay? Would they really be? He’d like to think so. Eventually at least. He certainly didn’t want to see Lauren cry. He’d much rather see the carefree, happy woman who skipped through the grass and giggled at his dog.

It just went to show that everyone experienced sadness at some point in their life no matter what face they put on for the outside world.

* * *

Lauren dried her eyes and walked Mel up to the back patio to make sure he made it home safe. Mel said goodbye in his own doggie way and obediently trotted through the doggie door and disappeared inside the house.

When Lauren turned on her heel to head home, the sliding glass door slid open
behind her. She spun around and JD stood there looking concerned.

He
stepped outside and eyed her slouched posture and watery eyes. She always told him about the birds she saw out on the trail, but she wasn’t volunteering any information today. Whatever had upset her in the field had taken her joy away. From inside the house, Mel enthusiastically lapped water out of his water dish.