Page 23 of Fight Or Flight

“It’ll have to wait until I finish school.”

“Yeah, I don’t really care how long it takes.”

Chelsea gave a resigned nod. “Fine. Deal.”

six

“Guinness, please.”

Ethan stood patiently, waiting for the bartender to pour his drink. He stretched his neck from side to side and rolled his shoulders back. Who knew getting married would be like running a marathon?

The planning of the event for months and months had been bad enough. But the last two days had felt like a wedding tornado barrelling down on him. He’d been pulled in a hundred different directions every hour. He’d had to make a spreadsheet just to get through it.

The positive takeaway was that it left no time to worry about the future of the Monroe estate.

“Guinness,” the bartender mimicked as he passed the pint glass over the polished wood bar.

“Thank you.”

Ethan took a deep drink as he looked out over the wedding. He had to admit, Jaclyn’s “vision” was beautiful. Rows of wood tables were adorned with tall centrepieces overflowingwith white and green flowers. Tapered navy-blue candles in different height copper candlesticks sat in clusters between the centrepieces and lent a soft glow to the room. Overhead, the wood ceiling beams were wrapped in a million twinkling lights.

The five-course dinner had been devoured; the three-tiered cake had been cut, and Ethan’s best man of honour speech had been delivered. It had all gone according to plan. And now, Amy and Jaclyn were on the dance floor, swaying together to the sound of the band, with ear-to-ear smiles on their faces.

And since his mind was no longer on all the pressing concerns, it roamed back to the pond and the snakes. And to the homeless girls warning about what he was getting himself into.

“That’s a pretty picture,” Adam said, coming up to stand next to Ethan. He silently gestured to the bartender, who nodded and went about getting Adam’s drink ready.

“You know what’s not pretty? That.” Adam jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

Ethan followed its direction. In the corner of the room was Lindsay in a low-cut, skin-tight red dress, the exact same colour as her fake dyed hair. She was sitting in Derek’s lap at a table with Jaclyn’s friends. Amy had stuck them there in the seating plan, hoping the family wouldn’t notice her and ask Ethan questions all night. The last time most of his family had seen her was when he brought her to their family’s annual Easter brunch. Most of them probably didn’t even know about the breakup, and now she was here with someone else.

Lindsay let out a shrill laugh, and Ethan looked away, taking a large swig of his stout. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not.” Adam took the drink from the bartender with a smile and a thank you before turning back. “Anyway, you’ve been MIA for a few days, hiding out, and I have news.”

“What is it?”

“Eileen said that Norm, the cab driver, told Betty that he dropped off a ‘beautiful young lady’ at Monroe Manor. Must be the distant relative Speeler’s waiting on.”

“Yeah . . . I met her, actually.”

“You did?”

Ethan nodded and filled Adam in on the details from the first meeting at the waterfall, to Speeler’s news at the office, and the realization that she was Robert’s first-born child.

“Man,” Adam said, taking a drink. “Homeless?”

Ethan nodded.

“So do you think she’ll live there?”

“God, I wish. It would be ideal if someone lived there instead of selling it. But I highly doubt it. She already had a flight booked to go back to wherever she came from, and she laughed in Speeler’s face when he suggested she live there. I asked him what I can do to stop the land from being sold or developed, but he said it’s private property and up to the new owners.”

Adam took a sip of dark liquid from his glass, scratched his chin. “Weird, eh? That she can afford flights, but she’s homeless? How does that work?”

“Don’t know.”

“Well, was Norm a reliable source? Is she beautiful?”

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