“It’s a crowded bar.” Mattie’s eyes flicked to the ceiling in a silent plea for patience.
The grizzly-looking bartender showed up at that exact moment and set down another margarita in front of Mattie. She took a small sip before pushing it in my direction.
“Can we get an order of fries, too, Dave? She needs to soak this up.”
The bartender gave Mattie a small nod and punched something into the handheld device he carried around.
“I’m fine,” I argued, even though I was a complete lightweight and the two shots of tequila had already gone straight to my head. But if losing your job wasn’t a good occasion to get a little tanked, then what was? “And sorry I’m not in a hurry to tell Mom and Dad my life is over.”
“I don’t think there are any acting scouts in Key Ridge so you can lay off the melodramatic monologue.” Mattie shot mea look, and irritation bubbled in my gut—the kind that only a sister could cause.
“No,” I fired back stubbornly. “When that asshole ex of yours cheated on you and you thought your life was falling apart, I didn’t callyoudramatic.”
She rolled her eyes. “Um, yeah you did. And you heavily implied I needed to move on. You’re probably half the reason I ended up in Key Ridge to begin with.”
She had a point there. Perhaps tough love ran in our family.
I took another sip of the margarita, attempting to quell the adrenaline that somehow raged inside of me. Exhaustion should have stepped in by now, but I was wound up tighter than a toy top. Apparently, I did not handle change well.
Trying to distract myself, I regarded the small, divey bar. When I told Mattie I needed a drink as soon as I exited the airport, she’d taken us here. It was the only place open right now.
The bar had sticky floors, old pool tables with ripped felt, and dartboards that currently held the interest of a small group of men who let out excited cheers every five minutes or so.
“I still can’t believe you live in a town like this,” I said, glancing back at my sister.
The Mattie who had picked me up at the airport today in her olive-green puffy jacket, beanie, and boots was a far cry from the Floridian sister I’d always known. The one who preferred to wear flip-flops well into the winter months and thought she’d freeze in fifty degrees. I had only visited her here once—for her wedding to her husband Giles—but that had been in the summer.
“You sure Giles won’t mind me crashing?” I asked again. I had sprung this visit on them, after all, and I hadn’t bought areturn ticket yet. I’m sure an open-ended visit from his sister-in-law wasn’t the most exciting news for the guy. We got along well enough, but he was a quiet one. Probably preferred his alone time.
Mattie waved off my concern. “It’ll be fine. Our basement is completely redone and has a full guest bedroom and bathroom. It’ll be like your own little apartment.”
“And I won’t overstay my welcome,” I promised. Even though I had no idea how long I’d be staying, it felt like the right thing to say. Besides, it was more of a promise to me than to her. I’d figure out this whole mess soon. Maybe I had been thrown for a loop, but I was still me.
Responsible. Driven. Not afraid of a challenge.
This was only a tiny little setback. Microscopic even.
The bartender returned and set a plate down in front of us. The scent wafting from the fried, salty goodness was utterly mouthwatering. Without hesitation, I stuffed a few fries into my mouth and moaned.
“I know you’re still in mourning, but this is actually going to be so great.” Mattie clapped her hands, then daintily took one fry while I continued shoveling them into my mouth by the handful. “We can spend time together, I can show you around town—oh, and you can help out at the lodge too!”
The lodge being the Key Ridge Ski Lodge—the one Mattie had originally come to town to work at. The same one owned by her husband’s family.
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re going to extort me for free labor while I’m visiting?”
She shrugged. “It’ll be fun.”
I thought about fighting her on this, but it actually didn’t soundthatbad. I’d been punching away at my corporate job for years at this point—sitting in my cubicle from eight to five every day, often even staying later to finish something. Thatwas the only life I’d known. Getting a taste of something different could be a welcome distraction.
“Mattie!”
My thoughts were interrupted by a pretty brunette with a very pregnant belly. She smiled and waved as she walked from the front of the bar over to us. Mattie stood from her stool and embraced her tightly.
“Erin, oh my God. What are you doing here? I thought you were already on the road.”
“We’re all packed up and ready to go. Johnny is in the car. I figured you’d be at the lodge so I stopped in to say goodbye, but Bev said you’d be here.”
“Ugh, I’m going to miss you.” Tears welled in Mattie’s eyes.
