Authors: Heidi Hutchinson
“
One
knee? People still do that?” Miranda interrupted.
“
Get
down on one knee,” Sway continued, throwing a scowl in
Miranda’s direction. “And you ask her to marry you.”
“
You
really think he can sing her a little song and she’s just gonna
forget Skank-Gate and promise to love him forever?” Harrison
had been relatively quiet during the whole event. Until now. He
stood and grabbed his hair in both hands.
“
You
have pictures of you playing Who Can Be The Whoriest with a random
floozy circulating through the general populous! Am I the only one
who has noticed this?” Harrison’s voice continued to
raise. “Lenny was supposed to be your soul mate! What the hell
were you doing with other girls at all!”
Luke swallowed and
hung his head. He didn’t have any words with which to defend
himself anymore. He knew Harrison was right. And he didn’t
deserve Lenny’s forgiveness let alone a second chance.
“
I
agree with Harrison.” Carl's gruff voice joined in. “Lenny
is smart, and she's too good for you.” He shrugged and leaned
back in his seat, his peace having been said.
The
room fell quiet again as everyone stared at Luke. They all knew he
had seriously screwed up big this time. Lenny
was
smart, she wasn’t going to let some guy treat her like a cheap
novelty item and be okay with it.
Luke felt the
hopelessness of the situation pulling his insides apart. It couldn't
end like this! He had loved her with truth and passion and fury, how
could it end with a kiss goodbye at the airport? No fight? No
conviction? No effort?
Luke’s anger
rose to the surface and he bolted to a standing position, making
everyone around him jump.
“
No,”
he said forcefully, “It doesn’t end like this. Not yet.
She might not want me but I still want her. And she needs to know
that.” He turned to Sway, “Get the studio, tonight if
you can.” Sway nodded and pulled out his phone. Luke pointed
at Harrison. “Don’t stop pointing out what a dick I’ve
been.” He pointed at Blake and Mike next. “You guys can
both punch me if you want.”
Mike gave him a
small smile and uncrossed his arms, “I’m just glad you’re
gonna fight for her.”
“
Me
too,” Blake concurred.
Luke finally had the
conviction he needed to fight for her and it might be too late. This
plan might not work but he was willing to try anything at this point.
He needed her more than he needed to feel sorry for himself.
***
The song turned out
as good as it could for the rush they put on it. The label agreed to
release it immediately with no questions asked. Luke was hoping the
song would reach Lenny before the photos. She was never one for
reading tabloids but that didn’t matter. It would be all over
TV soon enough. Luke called his manager and told him to set up a few
interviews for the next couple of days. He’d try to get out in
front of it as soon as possible.
The interviews went
as expected. They showed the illicit photos and Luke tried to make
it sound like it wasn’t as bad as they made it out to be. He
attempted to avoid using the phrase, ‘we were on a break,’
but it came out a time or two. Mostly he tried to focus on the
single and how much it meant to him and how in love he was with the
person he wrote it for. They asked if it was for Lenny and he would
neither confirm nor deny. Again, the hope being that Lenny would
hear the words and not see the pictures.
Then he flew to
Jackson Hole. He wasn’t sure what he’d say when he got
there. He just knew that he didn’t want to say it over the
phone.
The flight seemed to
take forever. He rented a car and drove to the Lodge, parking in the
empty driveway. He tried to still his flipping stomach as he
approached the front door. What if she was angry to see him? What
if she was with someone else? What if she was with Duke? He took a
deep breath and rang the doorbell.
After a few minutes
without an answer, he rang it again. Still nothing. No one was
home. Luke looked up at the overcast sky. Maybe she was on a ride.
She’d probably be back by dark. Luke got back in his rental
and decided to wait.
***
Luke woke up,
startled. Someone was knocking on his window. He must have dozed
off. It was dark outside, he wasn't sure how long he’d been
waiting. He opened his car door to find Duke frowning down at him.
“
What
are you doing here, Casey?” Duke greeted roughly.
Luke climbed out of
the car and tried to look evenly into the taller man’s eyes. “I
came to see Lenny,” he answered as confidently as possible.
“
She’s
not here,” Duke replied flatly. Luke saw a flicker of
something in his eyes he couldn’t place. Either Duke was glad
to see him or he was going to punch him in the nose.
“
When
will she be back?” Luke refused to be intimidated.
Duke’s jaw
worked under his skin before he finally relented and gestured for
Luke to come into the house.
When he walked into
the warmth of the Lodge, he noticed how empty it felt.
“
She
left.” Duke said as he hung up his coat and proceeded to the
kitchen.
“
What
do you mean, she left?” Luke followed him, feeling his world
crash around him. He'd waited too long.
“
I
mean, you didn’t call and she went to Alaska.” Duke took
out some milk and poured two glasses, offering one to Luke. “She’s
not here. She’s gone.”
“
When
is she coming back?” Luke’s memory banks fired and he
vaguely remembered having a conversation with Lenny that she was in
Alaska. But he hadn’t been sure if that memory was real or
just a dream.
“
Don’t
know.” Duke took a drink of milk. “You should’ve
called.”
“
I
know,” Luke responded, feeling more defeated than he had all
week. She was even further away now.
“
Where
in Alaska?” Luke suddenly asked. Why not? He had the money and
the time. Why couldn’t he just go there? It didn’t
matter where they were when he told he loved her, she just needed to
hear it.
“
Valdez.
With a bunch of other people.” Duke's face was unreadable.
He was obviously just as pissed at Luke as the rest of them.
Luke thought for a
few minutes before speaking again. “I don't know what to do.
I'm so backwards and turned around without her. I love that woman
with everything I have. I can't stop trying until I'm positive she
knows that.”
Duke nodded once and
tried to hide his smile behind another drink of milk. “This
might be salvageable after all, Casey.”
***
It had been an
amazing week. Getting up early, fresh rides all day long with the
best in the sport, Lenny couldn’t ask for more. She’d
hardly had time to think about Luke, much less be surprised when he
didn’t call her back. He had been very drunk. He’d
probably forgotten the whole conversation. It was just as well,
Lenny thought, they should give each other some space to move on. As
impossible as that seemed.
The snow had started
to come down in thick waves sometime in the middle of the night.
Nick met everyone in the Lodge the next morning and explained that
the current storm system moving through might last a couple days.
His words were met with groans and complaints. But nothing could be
done. They had to wait out the weather and then they’d be able
to tackle the mountains again.
The first day of the
storm, everyone gravitated to the Lodge and played pool or watched
TV. It wasn’t so bad. The group was growing closer and more
tight-knit and the age gaps weren’t as apparent anymore. But by
day two, people were going a little stir crazy.
Lenny was watching a
very dodgy game of darts between Ben and Trucker when Shane took a
seat next to her on the couch.
“
I
was wondering if we could talk?” He asked gently.
Lenny turned
sideways to face him. They were relatively alone. The Lodge was
buzzing but no one was close enough to overhear a casual
conversation.
“
Sure,”
she answered sincerely. She and Shane had gotten along better during
this trip than they had the entire time they’d known each
other. The awkward tenseness that she had expected was nonexistent.
He had been nothing but friendly and encouraging. It was as if their
ugly breakup and following confrontation a few weeks ago had never
happened.
“
I
guess, I just wanted you to know how sorry I am.” Shane’s
amber eyes were pulled down at the sides in regret, taking Lenny off
guard. “I feel terrible about what I did to you. You were
always so amazing to me and I really hurt you.”
Lenny had no idea
Shane had wanted to have such a serious conversation. It was as good
a time as any, Lenny supposed. She had a few things she’d been
wanting to clear up herself.
“
Why
did you stick around for so long after the accident? You could’ve
just moved on.” She searched his eyes as he looked back,
unblinking.
“
Because
I was really hoping maybe you
did
forget what Cody and I had done and we could pick where we left off.”
“
But
there were other girls, Shane…not just Cody.” Lenny
reminded. Her previous anger had evaporated weeks, ago. It had been
replaced with acceptance and curiosity.
“
Yeah,
I was a horrible boyfriend.” Shane acknowledged. He looked at
her earnestly. “But, I think I did love you, as much I was
capable of at the time.”
“
What
does that mean?” Lenny asked, her eyebrows pulling together.
“
I
didn’t love you like you deserved.” Shane’s eyes
were serious and sad. “But I learned a lot from losing you.
And I hope, someday, I can be your friend again.”
Lenny studied his
face, he had gotten older when she wasn't looking. She had known
Shane for a long time. They had a history, not a great one, but it
was there nonetheless. She had never seen him more genuine and her
heart changed in that moment. She decided to let go of the past.
“
I
forgive you, Shane.” She reached over and laid her hand on his
forearm. He looked up at her, relief creeping into his gaze.
“
I
didn’t ask you to,” he responded softly, his voice full
of hope and wonder.
“
No,
but we both needed me to.” Lenny gave him a crooked smile and
moved to sit closer to him on the couch. He hesitantly put an around
around her shoulders as she hugged up next to him.
“
Thank
you, Lenny.” He rested his chin on the top of her head and she
smiled. They couldn't go back and fix everything, and they would
never be more than friends. But at least they
could
be friends and that meant more to Lenny than she had realized.
She glanced over as
Nick sat down nearby and started a conversation with those at the
bar.
“
The
storm is actually getting worse.” Lenny overheard Nick telling
Smitty and Serge. “We may have to move the kids into town till
it passes.”
And that’s
exactly what happened. Nick announced a few hours later to pack up
what they needed and they piled into a caravan of cars and trucks and
headed to a hotel in Valdez.
***
The hotel was nearly
empty from other travelers and the group all got their own rooms on
the same floor. It was almost like a college dorm, Lenny thought
ruefully. Hopefully they would all behave themselves. Snowboarders
forced to stay indoors sue to inclement weather? Probably not.
She decided to
explore downtown Valdez and took Ben, Shane, Shelby Lynn and Travis
in tow. They went in and out of little shops and stores, sometimes
buying trinkets for family back home. They ate at a small restaurant
that served fresh fish and lobster caught in the Sound.