Authors: Heidi Hutchinson
“
I'm
sorry, I didn't know it was up to
me
to secure
your
future for you!” Lenny replied sarcastically. “Maybe
you should have been a decent human being instead of alienating
everyone around you.”
“
You're
such a spoiled little bitch! You have always had every little thing
handed to you and what wasn't given to you, you had no problem
taking!” Cody's lips twisted savagely and Lenny stepped into a
defensive stance. Cody had been drinking and Lenny knew that if she
attacked it would be sudden and sloppy.
“
Ladies,
how about we take a breather.” Nathan inserted himself into
the confrontation. He nodded at one of his frat bros who came over
and took Cody's elbow, leading her away. Lenny didn't break eye
contact with her until they had rounded the corner.
“
What
was that all about?” Nathan asked when they were finally
alone.
“
Cody
brought Shane's new girlfriend to the party. Did you know that he's
telling people I cheated on him?” Lenny felt her eyebrows go up
when Nathan nodded. “You don't believe it, do you?”
How
did I end up the villain in this?
“
No,
I don't believe that you cheated on him. But he was really hurt by
your leaving and I think he's just handling it badly.”
“
This
is unbelievable.” Lenny's face was hot and she wished she
could go outside for a break from this...insanity.
Nathan took a breath
and continued. “You have to remember the facts. You and Shane
dated for over two years. He got your name tattooed on his arm, he
moved to Wyoming to be closer to you, and I have it on pretty good
authority that he was getting ready to propose to you before you
dumped him…in a text message.”
“
Geez,
Nate. You make me sound like a monster.” Lenny was really
growing tired of how people assumed they knew what had happened
between her and Shane.
“
I’m
not trying to. I just think you need to realize someday that your
actions have consequences. Just because you weren’t invested
in the relationship didn’t mean he wasn’t. You kind of
treated him like crap and he was a really great guy.”
A
really great guy? What-the-frick-ever.
“What
are you saying?” Lenny was trying hard to bite her tongue.
Nathan had no idea what he was talking about.
Nathan let out a
heavy sigh. “If you weren't in love with him I don't
understand why you waited two years to end it. And I have to wonder
about the new guy.” Lenny shot him a glare and Nathan
swallowed hard. “If you’re not in love, don’t lead
him on. End it soon and be gentle.”
***
Luke found himself
on the back patio, without a coat in the cold mountain air. Someone
approached him from behind and handed him a heavy jacket. Luke
slipped it on and turned to thank the individual. It was Duke.
Perfect.
Duke nodded at him
and gestured to a set of chairs off to the side of the patio. Luke
followed him and sat down, not sure what to expect from this
conversation. A lot had happened so far tonight and he hadn't
processed any of it. So far, all he had gathered was, Lenny had a
much more serious relationship with Shane than she had led him to
believe. Oh, and she was living with a very attractive man who stank
of testosterone in the backwoods of Wyoming.
“
Saw
that little display in there,” Duke started.
Luke grunted and
looked up at the stars.
“
If
you wanna be with Lenny you’re in for one hell of a ride.”
Duke chuckled to himself. “She probably spent too much time on
the mountain, never learned all the ‘girl stuff.’ Her mom
was always after her to hang out with people her age doing regular
teenage things like, go to the mall.” Duke shook his head,
“But Lenny wouldn’t have it. Nope. Our Bird had to be
free.” Duke nodded to the starlit mountain line. “Out
there, the only place I’ve seen her truly happy.” His
words hung in the silent cold for a while.
“
So
you’re saying that it’s probably not gonna last.”
Luke responded quietly, feeling his gut twist.
“
I
didn’t say that.” Duke countered. “I said it would
be one hell of a ride.” Duke gave a sly smile. “Don’t
give up. You’re already loads better than that tool, Shane.”
“
I
thought Shane was perfect.” Luke grumbled despondently.
“
Ha!
Yeah, he sure was pretty.” Duke let out a dark chuckle. “He
wasn’t all that. He was nice but he wasn’t any good for
her.”
“
What
makes me different?” Luke couldn't help but ask. Here he was,
with someone who probably knew Lenny better than she knew herself.
What made Luke the guy?
“
After
her accident, a little piece of her died. I know that sounds macabre
but it’s true. She left a chunk of herself out there. Shane
tried to bring her back to life, I tried, her folks tried but it was
no use. It was like talking to a walking corpse.” Duke
breathed out through is nose. “But she’s suddenly back. I
look in her eyes and I see her in there.” Duke’s voice
grew thick with emotion. “You’re the one who found her.”
Luke looked back up
at the stars. He wanted badly for what Duke said to be true. He had
never felt for anyone the way he felt for Lenny. But was that
enough? She obviously had issues with commitment and an addiction to
fight or flight.
“
It’s
worth it.” Duke said into the darkness as if reading his
thoughts. “Grab that light and don’t let go.”
After several
minutes outside with Duke, Sway came and got Luke, asking him to be
his partner in the pool tournament. Luke had reluctantly agreed,
wanting more to sulk in the cold.
As the game got
underway, Luke regretted even more that he'd agreed to this. For
some reason, Cody was the only girl in the room and she was being
very...vigilant. She kept finding reasons to stand very close to
him. She hardly spoke to him, but he could feel eyes on him wherever
he took a shot.
He and Sway won the
first round and moved on to the next. All Luke could think about was
how he hadn't seen Lenny in over a week and he was playing pool with
a bunch of dudes he didn't know with a drunken chick attached to his
hip. It was not his ideal situation.
Some of the guys
cleared out to race snowmobiles and Luke and Sway went onto the next
round.
“
You're
really good at this game.” Cody leaned over and Luke caught a
whiff of vodka off her words. She must have some stashed nearby,
Luke hadn't seen any being served.
“
Thanks.”
He responded tersely as he lined up his shot.
Cody pressed her
body against his side and he felt her hot breath in his ear. “After
this game you want to go...somewhere?”
Luke's stomach
roiled inside and he clenched his teeth. He made his shot despite
Cody's interference and he walked away from her to the other side of
the room. Sway gave him a perplexed look and Luke ignored him.
Cody was close
behind, not deterred in the slightest. Luke wasn't sure how to deal
with this. He was used to women pawing at him, but it had never been
the best friend of the girl he was with. Wasn't this against girl
code? Did girls have a code?
Just then, Blake
walked into the room. Shirtless. Luke could have kissed him.
“
Hey,”
Luke handed him his cue, “play for me, I have to go do a
thing.” He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder.
Blake didn't
hesitate, he grabbed the cue in one hand and Cody around the waist
with the other. “Be my lucky charm?” He grinned down at
her and she giggled.
Luke was thankful
for his brash and bold band mate as he booked it out of there. He
needed to find Lenny. He knew a couple of hours had passed and he
had to talk to her. This wasn't right.
***
The snowmobile races
wrapped up and Duke put the sleds away. Lenny watched from the
patio, her hands shoved deep in her coat pockets. What a crappy New
Year's. For her anyway. Everyone else seemed to be having a
wonderful time. Did it bother her that she hadn't seen Luke in a
while? Yes. Did it bother her that she also had not seen Cody during
that time? More than she liked to admit.
***
Luke didn't want to
appear frantic. So he casually strolled through the huge Lodge that
was packed with people. He smiled and chatted with those who
recognized him but he was searching for Lenny.
He glanced in what
he assumed was some sort of den. It was fairly dark, lit only by a
few candles artistically placed around the room. No one else was in
the room and he took a few steps inside to see if there might be
another room beyond a door or something. This house was massive and
damn if he hadn't already gotten turned around a few times in it.
“
There
you are.”
Luke turned to see
Cody closing the door and smiling at him seductively.
“
Hey,
Cody. Have you seen Lenny?” Luke tried to remain polite but
she was testing his patience.
Cody curled a lip
up, “Why do you care where Lenny is? She's not here, that's
all that matters.” She began to step towards him and Luke
shook his head in wonder. How were they even friends?
“
You
can do to me all the things you want to do to her. She's never gonna
love you. She only cares about herself.” Cody slid her hands
up Luke's shoulders and pressed her body against him. Luke grabbed
her hands and took a large step backwards.
“
You're
drunk, Cody.” He tried to give her an excuse but he knew in
his gut that this is who she really was. And it sickened him.
“
Cody,
your ride is here.” A gruff voice interrupted them and Luke
looked up, startled to see Duke standing in the doorway. Cody didn't
even seem to notice. She leaned towards Luke again.
Duke entered the
room and grabbed Cody by the arm. “Your ride is here.”
He repeated, his eyes flashing to Luke's. Cody struggled against him
as he forced her out the door.
“
What's
your problem, Duke?” She shrieked, wrestling out of his grasp.
Duke scooped her up
and flung her over his shoulder. He nodded at Luke, “Can you
help me with the door?”
Luke had no words;
he just did as the man asked. The way to the front door was cleared
of human presence and Luke wondered how that was even possible. But
it would probably benefit Cody some if no one saw the degrading way
she was being asked to leave.
The limo driver
waiting outside didn't even look surprised as Duke shoved his niece
into the car. The rest of her friends were already inside and Luke
heard a plethora of questions being hurled in Cody's direction. Duke
slammed the car door and the driver made haste getting underway.
Duke placed his
hands on his hips and gave Luke a hard stare. “You want to
tell me what that was?” His words coming out as white puffs in
the cold air.
“
I
was looking for Lenny.” Luke knew what it must have looked
like when Duke had opened the door but he had to know the reality.
Didn't he?
Duke met him with
silence. His frown deeper than Luke had seen it all night and he
realized that with one word, Duke could turn Lenny against him. If
Duke didn't want him around this was the perfect opportunity to make
that happen.
***
Lenny cruised
through the Lodge reminding all the remaining guests that the
countdown to midnight was happening in fifteen minutes. She had no
explanation for why Blake and Sway were both playing pool in only
their boxers and she didn't ask. She found Harrison and Mike had
taken over the DJ's job and were playing a mix all their own. It
seemed that Cody and the rest of her friends had vacated early and
Lenny felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. She still hadn't
seen Luke and her worst fear was that he had left with Cody. He
wouldn't do that? Would he?