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Holly
Holly stared at the mound of wedding stuff she was going to have to return. She would have to deal with it eventually — return what she could, sell or keep the rest, but she didn’t feel like dealing with it right now. Her friends had been supportive and assured her she wasn’t an idiot for falling for Frederick which had helped, but there was one friend she hadn’t spoken to yet. One whom she owed a massive apology to. Dougie.
She didn’t even know if he would still have the tape of Frederick and the woman at the hotel, though knowing Dougie he would have saved it in case she ever wanted to see it. Nor did it even really matter. Frederick had stolen from her and her business. It wasn’t much of a stretch to believe he’d cheated on her too. She didn’t need to see the tape, but if it did still exist, she wanted to. It made little sense but she figured it was just another way to prove to herself that Frederick was as bad as she thought.
Holly grabbed her keys and headed for the car. She should have found Dougie days ago, but she’d been avoiding him, mainly out of embarrassment and then because she didn’t know exactly how to apologize, but it was time she remedied that now. If she was going to put this unpleasant part of her past behind her, then she needed to tie up all the loose ends, and that meant asking for Dougie’s forgiveness.
Her heart was pounding as she pulled into the parking lot of the Patriot Peak resort. Dougie had a forgiving nature and such a big heart that he would probably have no qualms forgiving her, but there was always the chance he would want nothing more to do with her, and she supposed she would deserve that, but she hoped it didn’t end that way.
She made her way to the security office and knocked quietly on the security office door frame. The door was rarely shut as Dougie encouraged an open door policy. He wanted the guests to feel free to address any concerns they might have, though she knew from Merribeth that most of them still reported it to the front desk rather than security itself.
Colton glanced up and waved her in. She didn’t know him well, but they’d met a few times here and there over the years. “Oh, hey, Colton. Is Dougie around?”
A look of confusion contorted Colton’s features. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“He quit. He’s gone.”
“Gone?” Holly leaned against the desk as her knees went weak. “Where did he go?”
“To Breckenridge to join the police academy. He really didn’t tell you?”
Holly shook her head. How could he have left without saying goodbye? But she knew. She’d told him she never wanted to see him again, and he was simply doing what she asked. “We, um, had a falling out over something he said he saw regarding my fiancéI mean ex-fiancé — with a woman.”
Colton’s forehead furrowed for a moment before he snapped his fingers and grabbed a disc. “Room 812, right?”
“I have no idea. Dougie told me he saw Frederick with a woman and that I needed to see it.”
Colton nodded. “Yeah, I remember that day now. He told me to watch and log when they left the room. He never said much more about it after that day, but before he left, he gave this to me and said to make sure you got it if you ever came asking about the incident.”
“Can you play it for me?” Holly’s throat felt as dry as the Sahara, and she knew watching it wouldn’t change anything, but she still needed to see. She chewed on her lip as he inserted the disc and then clicked a few buttons. Her heart froze as Frederick and a woman appeared on the screen. Dougie had been right. There was little chance this woman was a relative, not with the way she was draping herself on him and he was smiling flirtatiously back. She watched them exit the elevator and enter the room. “That’s enough. Thank you.”
A look of sympathy swam in his eyes when he looked up at her again. She didn’t have to ask him what he thought, she could read it on his face like a book. “I’m so sorry, ma’am, but you said you broke it off?”
“I did. Even though I didn’t believe Dougie when he told me about this, several other things happened that showed me Frederick was not who he claimed to be. I just wish I had listened to him. Do you know if he’s coming back?”
Colton’s gaze slid from hers. “I don’t know if he is. He gave up his job and his place here, but I can tell you that he cared for you. If he knew he had a reason to come back…” Colton shrugged, letting the unfinished question hang in the air.
“Thanks, Colton.” Holly could track him down. Breckenridge wasn’t that far away, and she doubted it would be that hard to find his contact information, but did she want to? He’d left to become a cop, and she didn’t want him to give that up for her. Especially not after the way she’d treated him. No, it was better to let him go, but why did it feel as if her heart was breaking for the second time?
She drove to the restaurant on auto-pilot. Her world felt out of control, and the only thing that made sense to her at the moment was working. She doubted she would be able to put Dougie completely out of her mind, but it was worth a shot.
However, hours later, she couldn’t pinpoint a single productive thing she’d done, and Ashley had covered for her quite a few times as she messed up orders or tried to take them to the wrong tables. She didn’t even try to stifle the sigh of relief she felt as she flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed.”
Ashley laid a hand on her shoulder. “I know you haven’t been open to it in the past, but I only know one place and one person who can truly make you feel better.”
Holly lifted her eyes to Ashley’s. “Where’s that?”
“Church. Come with me this Sunday and just try it. I promise God can fill all those holes you’re feeling right now.”
Holly doubted that was true, but she knew wallowing in self pity wouldn’t work either. All of her friends seemed to find some comfort in God, so maybe it was time she at least tried it. It certainly couldn’t hurt. “Okay, I’ll go.”
