The Sugar Queen by Tess Thompson

8

Trapper

Floodedwith so many contrary emotions, I hardly knew what to do with myself after I heard the news from Huck. I floated on air after the night I’d spent with Brandi. She loved me. I wanted to declare it from the mountaintops. My girl had come back to me.

Conversely, half my friends had suffered devastating losses. My job now was to help them through.

I made it a life goal to be positive, to uplift however I could, but this was a tough one. Brandi had found some coffee packets, tin cups, and a pan in my camping gear. By the time I returned from the bathroom, she’d boiled water and made us both cups of coffee.

Garth and Crystal were still inside their tent. I imagined waking up hungover to this kind of news. “We better keep that water hot,” I said.

Brandi sat huddled in one of the chairs, blowing on her coffee. I sat next to her. “This isn’t fun,” she whispered. “They’re going to take it so hard.”

I nodded, then kissed her on the forehead. She looked so cute with her hair all tangled and her face clean of makeup.

We’d almost finished our coffee when we saw Garth sauntering across the grass toward us, looking rumpled and exhausted.

Brandi had already risen to make him a cup of coffee.

“Morning,” Garth said.

“Good morning.” Brandi handed him the cup of coffee.

“Thank you, ma’am. You’re an angel.”

“Sleep all right?” I asked.

He sat across from me and gave me one of those looks men give each other when one of us has scored with a girl but we’re sure in the light of day that we’ve made a terrible mistake. Out loud, he said, “No complaints. Other than this headache, which can only be blamed on overserving myself.”

“How’s Crystal?” Brandi asked.

“She was still sleeping.” Garth’s ears pinkened under Brandi’s gaze. “In the tent. You know, with me. So I’m not sure.”

“Listen, man, take a seat,” I said. “We have some news. Huck texted.”

“Is it gone?” Garth winced and sucked in a deep breath.

“I’m afraid so,” I said. “Crystal’s too.”

Garth scrubbed his chin with one hand as if there were dirt there. A deep shudder went through him. When he looked up at us, he’d composed himself. “Well, hell. That sucks, but no one got hurt. I need to remember that before I have a pity party. Wait, that’s right, isn’t it? Firefighters are all okay?”

I nodded and told him about the men and women who had come from California and Oregon to help. “They saved most of our town.”

“Those people are my heroes,” Garth said. “Even before this.”

From across the way, I spotted Crystal falling out of the tent, then righting herself. “Looks like Crystal’s headed this way.” I said this mostly as a warning for Garth.

He jumped to his feet and sprinted over to her.

“He took it well,” Brandi said.

“Like a man. God bless him,” I said.

Garth put his arm around Crystal’s shoulders as they walked over to us. Brandi made another cup of coffee.

“My head’s throbbing.” Crystal sank into one of the chairs. “I’m not used to drinking.”

“I’ve got painkillers,” Brandi said. “Here’s some coffee. We’ll go somewhere for breakfast in a minute.”

Crystal rested her elbow on the arm of her chair, then plopped one cheek into her hand before looking at me. “Do we have bad news?” Her voice trembled. “I can see in your faces that we do.”

Garth knelt near her chair. “Both our houses are gone.”

She made a squeak from the back of her throat, like a child trying to be brave. “Oh, oh, okay.” Her chest rose and fell as she locked eyes with Garth. “We thought so, of course, so it shouldn’t be a shock.”

“No, but it still hurts,” Garth said.

“We lost the high school and rink too,” I said. “And Jamie’s inn.”

Crystal’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she turned toward me. “We did?”

“But the rest of the town’s okay,” Garth said. “Your shop’s okay. Brandi’s, too. The whole downtown area was untouched.”

“Thank God,” Crystal said.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right. I’ll be all right.” Crystal’s complexion had gone almost gray. Her hand shook as she raised the cup to her mouth. “I had all this art. Pieces Patrick had collected. I should’ve given it to a gallery. I had no idea it wouldn’t be safe with me. They were a part of him. A little piece of him to keep for myself, and now I’ve let them burn.”

Garth, still kneeling next to her chair, patted her hand. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart? Garth’s tone sounded so tender and loving. Was it more than just drunken sex between them?

“Where will I go?” Crystal asked, as if speaking to herself and sounding so lost and sad that it pierced my heart.

“You can stay with me,” Brandi said.

“No, you’ll stay with me,” I said. “Both of you. I have plenty of rooms. We can go home today and come up with a plan.”

“That’s kind of you, brother.” Garth straightened, brushing the knees of his jeans, wet from the dew on the grass. “I appreciate it.”

“Yes, that’s better, Brandi,” Crystal said. “Your place is small. We’d be on top of each other.”

Brandi sat in the chair next to her and patted Crystal’s forearm. “Whatever you want is what I want.”

“We can go home today?” Crystal asked, sounding slightly less desolate.

“Yes, they said it’s safe now,” I said.

Crystal looked up at Garth. “I don’t even have a car. I shouldn’t have been so cowardly and just followed you out.”

“That’s what insurance is for,” I said. “You can get something brand-new.” I felt certain she could buy whatever she wanted without a second thought. With or without insurance.

“I’m sorry for acting like such a baby,” Crystal said. “I know I should just be grateful that Garth and I are all right.”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Brandi said. “You have every right to wallow for as long as you like.”

“It’s impossible to think of everything being gone.” A lone tear trickled down Crystal’s cheek. “All my wedding photos.”

“They’ll be on the cloud.” Brandi took Crystal’s hand. “We’ll get new prints of photos made.”

Crystal sniffed and wiped her face with the napkin. “I don’t even know where to start. Should I buy a car down here before I go home?”

“I think so,” I said. “Get whatever you need before you come back to Emerson Pass.”

“I’ll have to buy a phone.” Crystal’s face crumpled. “This is all overwhelming. I’m sorry I sound like such a baby.”

Brandi continued to pat her arm. “Sweetie, it is overwhelming. Anyone would feel this way.”

“I’ll take you wherever you need to go.” Garth handed her a napkin. “I need everything too. We can buy some new clothes before we head home.”

“I forgot about clothes.” Crystal spoke as if she’d forgotten we were there.

I exchanged glances with Brandi, who looked as if she might burst into tears right along with her friend.

“We should eat.” Brandi smoothed a wayward strand of hair from Crystal’s damp face. “A big breakfast with pancakes and bacon.”

“I could eat,” Garth said.

“Showers first?” Brandi asked.

“Definitely showers,” Crystal said. “And I’ll take that painkiller now, too.”

Thirty minutes later,Garth and I headed back from the showers. The campground had come to life. Like busy bees, people were packing up their cars. At least a fourth of the sites were already empty.

“How you doing?” I asked Garth. He’d been quiet since the ladies had left for the showers.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Can’t lie, though. I’m bummed about my house.”

“I mean it about staying with me for as long as you like. There’s plenty of space.”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “You don’t even know me. It’s big of you.”

“I’m glad to do it. In Emerson Pass, we stick together.”

“I think I may have really messed up with Crystal.” Garth massaged the back of his neck with his free hand.

“How so?”

Garth ran a hand through his wet hair. “We were both a little drunk. She hadn’t been with anyone since her husband.”

“Did she tell you that?” I asked.

“She told me afterward—while crying.”

I cringed. “Oh, dude, that’s rough.”

“I feel like a jerk.”

“Were you the pursuer?”

“No, that’s just it. She asked me to join her in the tent. Not that I didn’t want her. She’s about the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen, and damn if she isn’t sweet and smart, too.”

“Then you have nothing to apologize for,” I said. “You two can write it off as a by-product of a bad situation.”

“I’m sure you’re right. Still, she’s fragile. I feel like a heel. My dad raised me to be respectful to women, not take advantage of them during moments of weakness.”

“It takes two,” I said.

“I guess so. Bottom line, she’s not ready for a relationship, and neither am I. Not to mention she’s a freaking billionaire. We have nothing in common.”

“Have a talk with her today,” I said. “Tell her you’re sorry you let things get out of hand. Go back to being buddies.”

“Good plan,” Garth said.

He didn’t sound convinced.

“What about you and Brandi?” Garth asked with a teasing lilt to his voice. “Were you warm enough in the bed of your truck?”

I grinned. “Yes. We were warm enough.”

Brandiand I arrived back home that afternoon. Traffic had been slow, but at least this time it was in the right direction. We gasped at the sight of the southern mountain. The path of the fire had spared some sections of the mountain and scarred others. A patchwork of black and green appeared like a half-shaven face.

Brandi reached for my hand. “It’s awful.”

I turned in the direction of River Road. As much I dreaded it, I had to see what was left of my rink. However, police cars blocked off the road right before a sharp turn, making it impossible to see the high school or rink. I parked on the side of the road.

“I’m going to ask if we can get closer,” I said.

“I’ll go with you,” Brandi said.

We both hopped out of the truck and walked over to a deputy. I recognized him from high school. Mason Harper. We shook hands. “Mason, it’s been a while,” I said.

“Hey, Trapper. Did I hear right, you bought the rink?” Mason asked.

“Sure did. I don’t suppose you’d let us get a little closer? I’d like to see the damage.”

“I can let you in,” Mason said. “As the owner, you have a right to see.”

“Five minutes,” I said. “And then we’ll be out of your hair.”

We hustled back to my truck. Mason moved aside one of the squad cars so we could pass through. A mile later we arrived at the edge of the fire’s destruction. The rink and high school were within a hundred yards of each other. Now they were piles of charred wood and melted steel.

If the mountain was a man’s half-shaved face, the high school was a neglected mouth. The scorched walls looked like decayed and broken black teeth. Steel frames remained, like old fillings. Beyond, the grass that had once covered the football field was no more. Our metal bleachers had melted into disfigured shapes.

The ice rink, built in the forties without steel enforcements, was nothing but ashes. “I guess my renovation has turned into a rebuild,” I said.

“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise?” Brandi asked.

“I’m going to choose to think of it that way.”

At seventeen, I’d sat right here in my old beater of a truck with this same gorgeous girl and told her about my dreams. My truck was new now. My girl older. And all those dreams had already come true.

“Everything I became, all the successes and failures started right there.” I pointed to the fallen rink. “We have to build it again. Better this time. For the kids.”

She smiled over at me. “It’s been a dozen years since we sat in this exact place and you told me your dreams. Now it’s time for you to make new dreams come true. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”

I smiled back at her. “Only in this dream, you’re going to be by my side.”

Her gaze shifted to her lap. “I hope so.”

I tugged on a section of her hair. “I want you more than anything else. This time, I choose you and only you.”

She lifted her head and looked into my eyes. “I choose you, too.”