3. Carrie

3

CARRIE

A cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows is not going to make this any better. Still, I take the mug Joyce holds out to me and sink into the plush two seater of the open plan living area in Sunrise Cabin.

“I’m sorry, dear. Gus can’t come out until tomorrow.”

To make up for her sins, Joyce called the local Sweetheart Falls mechanic and said she’d cover the repairs. She should be paying for all the money I wasted on the rental, not to mention the precious week of vacation I took from my meager amount of PTO.

Besides, the rental company will pay for the repairs. When I called them and demanded they send me a new car, one that works, they said they don’t have anything this remote, and either I can wait until next Tuesday or get the repairs done and they’ll reimburse me.

So I’m stuck until someone called Gus can come out here tomorrow, fix whatever’s wrong with the Jeep, and get me away from this shitty situation .

Joyce has been flittering around me like a lost bird, and, not wanting to be rude to an elderly woman, I’ve kept my mouth firmly shut. Better to keep quiet than to say something hurtful, or whatever that saying is. I’m channeling it now as I stare out the window, straight into the front yard of the real Cole’s cabin while the virtual Cole flutters around me fluffing pillows and making me hot chocolate and trying to make amends for the worst case of catfishing in the history of catfishing.

How could I be so stupid? To think I was talking to a rugged mountain man only to discover I was chatting with his granny. I sent her a picture of my boobs! My cheeks flush thinking about it, and I’m finding it hard to look Joyce in the eye. At least I kept my bra on.

She takes a seat in the armchair across from me and leans forward so I’m forced to look at her.

“He’s never been good at asking for help.”

I take it she means Cole, and if he’s had to battle a melding granny his entire life I can understand why you’d end up a little withdrawn. I wonder where the missing generation is. Joyce already told me he lives in the big cabin with the girls, but I don’t know where Cole’s parents are.

Not that I care, I tell myself. I’ll be out of this place tomorrow, and I can put the entire experience behind me.

“I didn’t mean to cause such a fuss,” says Joyce. “But I had to do something extreme. Those girls need a mother and Cole needs a woman. It’s not good for a man to be alone.” She sits back in her chair. “It’s not good for anyone to be alone.”

She sips her coffee, and for a moment I catch a glimpse of a vulnerable woman, worried about her grandson and great grandkids. Then I remember the emails, the texts, and the damn boob photo.

“That doesn’t give you the right to meddle in other people’s business.” I’m not letting her get off that easily. “I really thought I was here to meet someone I’d struck up a friendship with.”

More than that. The rugged mountain man had captured my imagination and my heart. While the emails were stiff at times, they painted a picture of a strong man, maybe a bit lonely, and two wild girls whose antics made me fall for them as much as for their dad.

If I’m honest, it was the pull of those girls as much as Cole that got me on that plane. I’m a sucker for anyone who needs help. Always have been. I wanted this adventure to do something for myself, but if I’m honest, it was the thought that I would help here that was half the attraction. Maybe Joyce is as astute as she claims.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, dear, but please try to understand. I’m not going to be around forever, and if Cole doesn’t find a woman while those girls are young, they’ll be teenagers before he knows it, and coping with two strong-willed teenage girls on his own will not be fun. And it’ll be too late then. No woman wants to take on two teenage girls, no way. But two little pipsqueaks aching for a mother. It’s an easy gig.” She sits back in her chair and eyes me knowingly. “For the right woman. ”

Joyce obviously thinks I’m somehow qualified to be mother material. Like finding a life partner and mother of your children is something you can put in an application for.

I imagine her eyeing my boob pic critically and ticking a box on her clipboard.

Nice rack, tick.

I lean forward to accentuate the point I’m going to make. “That doesn’t give you the right to do what you did. You tricked me here under false pretenses, I could go to the police.”

Her hand goes to her necklace, and she grips it tightly. “You won’t do that, will you dear? If I’m in prison, Cole’s got no one to pick the girls up when he’s on shift.”

She looks so concerned for her family that the fight goes out of me. She may have put on a fake persona online, but in the flesh Joyce is exactly who she says she is. A woman willing to do anything for her family. And I can’t fault her for that. Even if her tactics are entirely misguided.

I sigh heavily and sit back on the couch. “No, I won’t go to the police.”

Joyce relaxes. “Thank you, dear. I’ll speak to Cole. He’ll come around…”

I hold my hand up, stopping her train of thought. “No.” She looks startled. “No more meddling. Cole doesn’t want me here, and I don’t want to be here. As soon as my car is fixed tomorrow, I’m leaving.”

She opens her mouth to say something then closes it again. “Okay.” She nods .

I relax into the cushions. I think I’ve finally gotten through to her.

“Thank you for letting me stay in your cabin. I’ll be gone tomorrow.”

She drains her coffee and gets up, suddenly sprightly and no longer the vulnerable woman of a few moments earlier. “I had some supplies brought in from the store in town, so you should have everything you need for a few days.”

“For a night,” I correct her. “I’m only staying for a night.”

“Of course.” Joyce smiles, and her eyes sparkle before she turns away. “Cole will be picking up the girls soon.”

A pang of regret goes through me that I won’t get to meet the girls. The emails were full of what they’d been up to, written from the place of a great-grandmother’s love, I know now, and not that of a father sharing his day with me.

“If you need anything, he’s up at the big cabin.”

“I won’t be going up there,” I say quickly, reinforcing to her that her matchmaking scheme is dead in the water. My intention is to get out of here without speaking to Cole again. I’m dying of embarrassment that I was catfished by his grandmother.

“Or I’m down the hill in the small cabin,” she finishes.

“Thank you.” I see her to the door, and she gives me a wave as she heads down the gnome-lined driveway.

The roar of a vehicle has me scurrying into the cabin and closing the door. Cole’s back, and he’s the last person I want to see. I just need to get through tonight, get my car fixed, and get out of here and back to the safety of home.

So much for an adventure.