6.

R OOSTER

"Tell me everything you know about the woman in Cabin 23."

I immediately knew I was approaching this conversation the wrong way, just like I'd done with Curious last night, when Dianna locked eyes with me. Luckily, she didn't have a door to slam in my face, or I'd be staring at it in shock right now just like I had last night on that porch.

"Do you wanna start this conversation over, or are you going to stick with the stupid?"

I took a deep breath and smiled broadly before I cheerfully asked, "How's your morning, beautiful? Are you feeling okay? I have something to ask you if you've got the time to spare."

"Good boy," Dianna said before she tossed one of the saltines she was holding my way. When I caught it, she grinned at me and said, "Look at that! He can be trained!"

I heard a muffled chuckle and cut my eyes to the side to find Clark standing in the doorway with his hand over his mouth. When I glared at him, he gave up all pretense of trying to hide his amusement and let out a loud bellow of laughter. When I looked back over at Dianna, she was grinning.

"Why are you wondering about our guest in 23?" I looked down at the floor and thought about what I could say to Dianna without giving away what I was positive Curious wanted to keep a secret. When I lifted my head, Dianna said, "I was hoping the two of you would hit it off."

"We've met before."

"When?"

"At Dub's wedding."

Dianna's eyes got wide and she gasped. "She's the one?" I nodded, and she burst into tears. "This is perfect!"

Clark started laughing again, and I had to resist bounding over the counter and punching him in the face.

"No, it's not," I argued as I thrust the box of tissues we kept on the counter toward her. She didn't take the box, so I pulled two out and tossed them toward her before I threw the box at her husband.

The bastard just laughed even harder, which caused Dianna to start some sort of sobbing, sniffling, cackle that was so unnatural, I couldn't help but take a step back from the counter.

Dianna put her hands up and stared at the ceiling as she wailed, "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"It's the unholy demon spawn you're carrying, and it's all Clark's fault."

I looked over at Clark with a grin when Dianna spun her chair around and glared at her husband. After a loud sob, she wailed, "What have you done to me, you son of a bitch?"

Now it was my turn to laugh as I walked out the front door to my secondary source of information - who I hoped was more agreeable than Dianna was right now.

Once I made it down the long porch to the outdoor coffee shop entrance, I wasn't surprised to find a line of people waiting for their morning dose of caffeine. I was polite as I wove my way through them and then walked around the counter to see what I could do to help.

The machines that Madison had endlessly researched and finally chosen were a complete mystery to me, sort of like the wild coffee concoctions she created with them. I had never been a huge fan of coffee, but I had to admit that some of the tea blends Mads created were pretty delicious. She loved making coffee and serving customers, but she really loved to create and drink tea - so much so that for her birthday last year, Clark and I had built her a greenhouse where she could grow the herbs and flowers she liked to add to her blends.

Since I was useless when it came to creating the specialty coffee drinks, I did the one thing in the coffee shop I could handle and took over at the register to free up the barista there.

The morning rush seemed endless even though it really only lasted for half an hour or so. I greeted the patrons I knew by name from their time in my establishment when they enjoyed an entirely different kind of beverage and was pleasant to the customers I didn't recognize. Finally, the line trickled down to just a few customers, so I made my way down the counter to talk to my sister.

"Thanks for your help, Roo. It was crazy busy there for a while."

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Madison looked over her shoulder at the tables strategically placed around the coffee shop and winced. "Okay, finish up what you're doing back here while I clear tables, and then we'll talk."

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

"I don't know. Did you?"

She gave me an exasperated look and said, "That hasn't worked on me in a long time."

"It was worth a try," I said with a shrug before I grabbed an empty bus tub and got to work. The second I was finished with a table, it was seated again with new customers. I made a mental note to talk to my friends at our next meeting about hiring another employee for Mads.

We worked with the community center and high school to help give jobs to people who might otherwise not be at the top of the hiring list so they could gain work experience. I was sure they'd have at least one or two for us to choose from if we just gave them a call. Mads would argue because she had control issues when it came to her side of the business, not that I could fault her for that because I did, too, but I had a greater chance of being able to convince her if she kept having mornings like this.

When there weren't any more people in line and the shop had a few clean and empty tables, I tried again. "What about now, Mads?"

She finished wiping the counter in front of her and called out to one of the other baristas that she'd be right outside if they needed her. She picked up two of the custom mugs she'd purchased from my friend and handed me one. I lifted it to my nose and sniffed before I hummed at the delicious smell.

"My favorite blend! I thought you were out."

"I made some more," Madison said as she took her mug and walked past me to go outside. I followed her, and we sat at a table on the patio before she asked, "Why are you bothering me so early in the morning?"

"What is it with you and Dianna today?"

"I'm tired, and she's pregnant."

"Why are you tired?"

"I was on the phone until past my usual bedtime."

"Talking to Jeremy?"

"Maybe."

I ignored the pang in my heart that thought gave me and asked, "What can you tell me about the guest in Cabin 23?"

"Rosie? She's awesome. What do you want to know?"

"Her name is Rosie? That kind of fits."

"What do you mean?"

"I've met her before but we didn't . . . um, well . . . we didn't exactly exchange names." Mads narrowed her eyes and I said, "That's neither here nor there. Tell me what you know about her."

"She's a writer."

"Really?"

"She's writing her first book right now. That's why she's here."

"So, you've gotten to know her a little. What's she like?"

"She's nice. We're friends."

"Good. Tell me more."

"Like what?"

"Is she single?"

"She's living alone here and hasn't mentioned a boyfriend."

"I'd like to get to know her, but there are things . . . Certain situations that . . . Shit. I don't know how to explain this." Madison sighed, and I knew what she was thinking, so I said, "It's not that I don't think you'll understand, it's that I don't want you to see her . . . or me . . . in a bad light."

"Why don't you just talk to her?"

"It was a shock for both of us when I showed up at the cabin last night to deliver her food, and I may have said . . ." When Madison raised one eyebrow and gave me a look that reminded me so much of our mother that it shot a pain through my chest, I said, "Okay, so I definitely said some things that she might have misconstrued as . . ."

Madison interrupted my rambling and asked, "Were you an asshole to her, Roo?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Just because you're good-looking when you smile doesn't mean that we don't realize that you're an asshole."

"Let's get back on track here," I said as I leaned back in my seat. I took a sip of my tea and hummed as the flavors burst on my tongue. I collected myself and said, "There's something about her, and I just can't get her out of my mind. I haven't been able to since the night we met and . . ."

"Did you sleep with her on the first date?"

"We weren't on a date. We met at a wedding and danced for a long time before she invited me back to her hotel."

"If you like her so much, then why did you quit talking to her after that?"

"She was gone when I woke up the next morning. I didn't have her phone number or her real name and . . ."

"Star-crossed lovers," Mads muttered. "She wanted to stay with you, but her job as a spy took her away too soon. She used her contacts to find you and then put herself in your path to see if you remembered her."

"This is not one of your books, Mads," I chided.

"She had a baby after your one-night stand, and now she's spying on you to see if you're a good person before she tells you that he needs one of your organs."

"What?" I yelled. "She had a . . ." I shook my head and said, "No. That's not possible. It's only been a month since I met her at the wedding."

Madison got excited and said, "Maybe she's pregnant now and wants to get to know you so . . ."

"Madison. Real world," I said as I rolled my eyes at her dreamy expression. "Come on. Tell me about her."

"Wouldn't it be cool if you and Rosie got together like they do in books? How romantic. Maybe she can write a book about your love story."

"We don't have a love story yet because she won't talk to me."

"I'm the quirky side character that makes it happen!"

"Mads. Babe. Did you take your meds this morning?"

"Yes, but it's hard for me to focus when I'm tired."

"I get it. Lesson learned, right? The last thing we need is for you to run yourself down and get sick again."

"You're right," Mads agreed. "I'll make sure I get better sleep."

"Now that we've given up on the romance novel . . ."

"But that's what she's writing! She likes the same books I read. You did something to irritate her, so now you have to make it up to her. I can give you some ideas from the stories I've read and she'll fall in love with you in no time. Then I won't just be a side character - I'll be the reason you get together."

"You'll never be just a side character, Chicken Little. You're the fucking star no matter who is on the stage."

"Thank you," Mads said sweetly. She lifted her mug and said, "I need a refill. Want some more?"

"Yes, please," I said as I slid my mug her way.

When she walked back inside, I looked out over the grass toward the woods beyond and wondered if she may be right. Maybe there was a way to get Rosie to see me as something other than a one-night mistake.

A plan started to form, and even though I tried my hardest to shake it off, Mad's idea wasn't too bad. It might actually work.

Apparently, she thought so, too, since when she came back to the table she had the mugs in one hand and a pad of paper and a pen in the other.

"You should take notes, Roo, because I'm about to school you on romance."

And school me, she did.

◆◆◆

ROSIE

I sat up straight and tried to work the kinks out of my neck before I leaned back against the chair. For some reason, sitting at the beautiful and professionally appointed desk I'd spent so much time turning into the perfect writing environment didn't work for me. I needed distraction and noise.

The book I had planned to write and been working on for a week now was just sitting in my digital cloud, unfinished and unresolved. However, the book I started last night while I sat and listened to the storm, pondering what could have been and what might have been if mine and Rooster's lives weren't so far apart, was flowing nicely.

I had to admit that three and a half hours wasn't exactly worlds away. Both before and after my divorce, I had more than one long-distance relationship, but considering I was currently single, that didn't exactly give me hope that I could make one last.

However, my profession in Rojo was lucrative enough to give me the security to take a few months off on a whim, so I didn't exactly want to leave it anytime soon. And since his business was firmly settled in Red River with his partners, it wouldn't make any sense for him to move to Rojo. A long-distance romance couldn't really become long-term. Or could it?

What was I thinking?

I snorted in disgust and closed my eyes as I ran my hands over my face a few times.

It was a one-night stand, Rosie. That wasn't exactly the kickstart for a long-lasting romance. It had been known to happen, though. Well, it happened a lot more in books than in real life. That didn't give me much hope for anything I'd been daydreaming about to come to fruition - so instead of wishing about what might have been or what could have been, I would just write about it and give myself . . . No! My character. Not me. I would give my character the happily-ever-after she deserved.

Somehow, this story was easier to write than I'd ever imagined. The only thing slowing me down was the aches and pains in my shoulders and back from my posture after sitting in the recliner hunched over the keyboard I had sitting on the extended footrest. I needed to get up and stretch, maybe take a short walk to get my blood pumping, before I came back and got to work again.

Even though I hadn't slept much last night - just a few hours here and there - I was exhilarated at the words flowing from my mind through my fingers. My characters were kind, outgoing, funny, and sexy. Their situation was relatable - two hard-working people who happened to meet at the wedding of mutual friends and hit it off in a way they hadn't ever connected with anyone before.

But now I had to figure out the catalyst. What would tear them apart and bring them back together?

I looked over at the bookshelf I'd filled with some of my favorite paperbacks and framed pictures of my family and some of my friends and thought of the love stories that were almost legendary in my hometown.

Of course, I knew I didn't have all of the details, thank God. That would be kind of gross, considering they were my friend's parents and other family members. My eyes stopped on a picture of me and my mom with my friend Zoey and her mom, Carlie, who also happened to be one of my mom's best friends.

Zoey's parents, Sam and Carlie, had one of those storybook romances that most people could only read or dream about.

Young man and woman fall in love but are torn apart by forces beyond their control. She leaves him without any explanation or even a goodbye kiss, under duress of course, and not just for her own safety, but his too. She goes on the run for years, pining away for the man she left and wondering what his life had become. Was he happy? Had he found love again? Did he have a family of his own? Did he ever think about her? Of course he did. Almost every day. He even kept a poster-sized picture of her in his office. After years apart, she was suddenly able to come back to find the man she loved. There were a few bumps in the road, most of which I could only speculate about since Zoey's family didn't exactly discuss them over the dinner table, but they obviously got past them and started a family. And they lived happily ever after.

Now I was going to give myself . . . my character . . . the same sort of happily ever after.

And I would keep working toward that goal as soon as I got something to drink and stretched the kinks out of my back.