Page 50 of Only Some Stars Fall

“Well, because I would never lie to you, Stephen put together the chicken avocado salad in the homemade croissants, my mom gave me the bottle of pinot grigio, there is strawberry shortcake made by the one and only Rhonda, and the battery candles were all my doing.”

“The candles are my favorite part.” She smiles at me, and despite the expansive landscape around us, I swear there is no better sight in the world.

We settle onto the red and black plaid blanket I’ve packed. The afternoon sun hangs low, hovering just above the jagged mountain ridgelines in the distance. It’s funny to me how different Everly has become in such a short amount of time. The adjustment from city to woods can be quite unnerving for a lot of people. The quiet can make them extremely uncomfortable, to the point that we keep a couple of sound machinesbehind the front desk just in case guests can’t handle the silence.

Everly takes a bite of her sandwich, letting out a satisfied groan. “Wow, this is delicious.” She demurely covers her mouth mid-chew.

“We lucked out getting Stephen as the new chef. His food is excellent, and it helps guests overlook the parts of the resort that are, well, far from excellent.”

“Seems the projects are never-ending for you, huh?”

I can tell by the way she asks that she’s trying to open up a conversation about the business, and for once, I am thankful for the nudge. This talk needs to happen, and even though talking about the past still makes my stomach flip, I know she deserves some answers.

“It’s always been that way, something that just comes with a family business, I guess, but without Storm, the work has landed on my dad and me, and to be honest, it can be suffocating most of the time.”

Everly keeps her eyes on mine, and her lips part as if she wants to add a comment but thinks better of it. I let out a heavy sigh.

“I know I owe you an explanation, and I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t shared what happened to my brother.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Hux. I just wish I could understand better what you’re going through. I’m no stranger to loss, and I know what kind of havoc it can cause.” Her smile is sad, and I sense, for a moment, that her thoughts have drifted to her mom.

“I know I have told you I went to college in New York. About two years ago, the summer before my senior year, I was back here at home. I had to sublet my apartment because Storm and my dad were on my ass about needing help here. I swore it would be the last summer I would ever work at Anderson’s.”

I pause to look out at the tree tops below us, the sun still hitting some, while others already in the shade create a quilted effect.

“That year, we had new guests. Their daughter Julia had just turned eighteen, and all the guys up here immediately tried to get her attention.”

“Fresh meat.” Everly chuckles, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Something like that. I mean, we are in the middle of nowhere.” I laugh, thinking about how frantic all the local guys would get when new girls would arrive for the summer.

“Anyway, on top of being beautiful, Julia was also smart, funny, and kind. It was impossible not to like her and to not want to be close to her. She immediately hit it off with Elle and me, and we spent a lot of time together for the first few weeks.” I pause again, letting some memories pass over me like the big rolling lake waves that come when a storm blows in.

“Did you love her?” Her voice is barely a whisper. Her body has become stiff, and I can tell she’s holding her breath.

“No, it wasn’t like that. Did I have a crush? Sure, but two weeks after she arrived, Storm got back from a fishing trip and it was game over. You could see in her eyes the moment she spotted him she was a goner.” I flinch slightly at my last comment.

“Storm had been through a rough breakup when we were in high school, and he had decided that being a massive dick to everyone in retaliation was a better plan.”

“Oh, so he’s the one you learned that from.” She grins, lightening the mood a bit.

“Yeah, I guess that could be true. Something changed when he met Julia, though he continued to be a dick to everyone, everyone except her. I still don’t know that I believe it was true love, at least on his part, but I know he seemed happy when hewas around her, and he sure as hell didn’t let anyone else even attempt to look at her.”

Here comes the hard part.

“You know that day in the laundry room?” Everly swallows hard and nods.

“The accident happened two years ago on that day. My dad had been out with guests for a few days, and Storm and I were in charge of running the restaurant and bar while my mom oversaw the rest of the resort whenever he was away.”

I take off my hat and push my hair back from my face.

“But what’s that saying, ‘when the cats away, the mice will play?’ I had tried to warn him about the weather. He knew the lake better than anyone; he knew how it could turn in a split second, but his vision was clouded, and he was too focused on a day out on the water. Drinking beer and hanging with Julia and his friends was too attractive an idea. None of us knew she couldn’t swim.”

I exhale and meet Everly’s frozen stare.

“My dad had always taught us to find the nearest cove and wait out the weather, but for some reason, the group thought they could make it back to the resort in time. That storm was one of the worst we had in years, doing tons of damage to the shore and docks. The boat they were on capsized, and Julia didn’t have a life jacket on. Storm searched the raging water until rescue came, but it was too late. She was gone.”

“I’m so sorry, Hux, that must have been awful. Her poor family.”

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