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“If this ends up a disaster, you owe me for making me the frontman.”
“I’ll get you an extra beer for your troubles,” Max called over his shoulder as he went back to the storage locker. “Just make sure they’re still smiling after they leave.”
Although, given how rude all of the women had been checking in, he doubted they would be happy with anything. They seemed like the types to be grumpy over the wrong color paddle.
Max knew he shouldn’t judge the ladies before he had properly interacted with them, but the way things had been when he saw them, he wasn’t sure if his first impression could be changed.
If he was honest, he was looking forward to actually doing his job now; it had been some time since he had come out on the lake; the storms lately had been horrific, and Max was fed up with being stuck indoors.
Mountain Ridge was a beautiful place. When it was beautiful weather. In a storm, it was not exactly Max’s favorite place. Luckily, it wasn’t often, but when it happened his work stopped for a while.
But he needed the money, and the pay was really good. Plus, the owner had done him a massive favor hiring him right out of college, so Max knew he owed something back. He just didn’t want to help out waiting tables for the guests; that was something he had hoped never to do again after doing it through college.
Hopefully, the morning’s activity would pass by pleasantly enough, and then Max could go back to his usual schedule. The current resort guests were lovely people, and he enjoyed interacting with them. They certainly loved coming out on the water when it was as lovely weather as it was now. Looking over the water, it was hard to believe they had been in the midst of a storm a couple of days ago. Even the ground was dry when it had been a quagmire the day before.
Max hoped the nice weather would hold and they didn’t have any more storms.
The sudden loud cackle of laughter had Max looking around, the paddles in his arms. The bachelorette party had arrived. He could see them coming down the path, squealing at something the bride was saying. Max could tell she was the bride; she had a sash on that indicated her status. Beside her with the older woman, looking like a handsome, grayer version with a ‘mother of the bride’ sash on. She was beaming widely, linking arms with her daughter. Max had seen plenty of mothers who exuded pride in their children, and this was one of these parents.
Then he spied someone at the back of the group, moving a bit slower than the others, the gap between her and the group getting bigger and bigger. He was sure she was dragging her feet. And she didn’t appear to be smiling, her head down and mostly obscured by a baseball cap. He could see tendrils of blonde hair on her shoulders, but that was it.
Max couldn’t stop himself from watching her. She was dressed in leggings that accentuated her legs and a simple white t-shirt that was a bit oversized, finishing halfway down her thighs. Old sneakers were on her feet. Like the other ladies, she looked ready to get some old clothes wet, but her demeanor was indicating that she didn’t want to be there.
Maybe she was scared of the water? Or maybe she wasn’t feeling well? Whatever the reason, Max had a feeling he was going to have to stay on dry land, anyway, to keep an eye on her. He wasn’t about to force everyone onto the water if they didn’t want it.
The group had now come onto the sandy beach, still giggling as they approached Chris. Max’s coworker gave them a warm smile and started to introduce himself. Max saw one of the women bite her lip and blush bright red. That was no surprise; Chris was a handsome man. As a former boxer, he still had the physique that made women go gooey over. He would be able to keep their attention for the time being.
Meanwhile, Max’s attention was still on the woman at the back. She was coming slowly onto the beach, standing just off from everyone else, looking like she wanted to run away. Max watched her, wondering if he should approach her or leave her alone.
Then she lifted her head and started looking around as if desperately looking for a place to go. And Max caught a look at her face. High cheekbones, full lips, smooth skin with cobalt-blue eyes, she was lovely. It was like she had stepped off the pages of a magazine. But she was frowning, her lips pursed in her frustration.
If she didn’t want to be here, why was she even here in the first place?
“Mary! Come on!”
The older woman detached herself from the other girls as they started putting on their life preserves. Somehow Chris was keeping their attention, considering they were crowding him enough that he was almost ankle-deep in the water. The older woman pushed a life preserve into Mary’s arms, hard enough that Mary took a step back to stop herself from falling.
She looked like she was about to cry. And that just made Max pause. He didn’t like seeing a woman in distress, especially when the mother of the bride seemed to be berating her. Nobody else seemed to have noticed. If they had, they didn’t care.
Max knew he couldn’t stand there watching this. Putting the paddles aside, he started to walk over.
* * *
Mary really didn’t want to be here. She had protested plenty of times that she didn’t want to come. This had been to be hers, after all, not Olivia’s. But ever since she had had a bomb dropped in her lap only a couple of weeks ago, everything became a blur. Mary was too numb to put up much of a fight.
And she felt like a coward for not standing up to her mother and sister. They always ruined things for her. Ever since they were kids, Olivia stole and lied, got Mary into trouble, and she got away with it because their mother thought she was an angel. Mary was pushed to one side. All because she sided with their dad in the divorce.
It was only because of her father that she was here at all. Jake Atkinson knew everything, but he had suggested going for one day as a compromise and making her own memories. She didn’t have to hang around the group all the time, and she had been looking forward to visiting Mountain Ridge. Stay for the night and then come home again, and he would take her out to his cabin in the mountains, where she could stay until after the wedding.
Mary was looking forward to that. Her dad had always been on her side, although she did question his judgment about saying to go on what should have been her bachelorette party.
“Put this on, Mary.” Delia Boulter practically slapped the life preserver into Mary’s chest, nearly knocking her over. “And stop sulking. Put a smile on your face and look like you want to be here. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Can you blame me, Mom?” Mary nodded towards her sister, who was talking to the instructor. She was also standing a little too close with a bigger smile than she had a moment ago. “You’ve turned this into Olivia’s circus again. I should have been here with my friends, not with hers.”
“She needs a bachelorette party, and you weren’t going to be using it anymore. So what’s the problem?”
“How do you not realize what you’ve just said is insane? No reasonable person steals their sister’s wedding plans!”
