Page 17 of One More Chance
“Chilly are ya, bud?” Freddie laughed.
“Nah,” Logan lied. “These boots are toasty warm.”
“That’s because they’re mine,” Freddie said. “You’re going to have to get your own things soon. You know, like your own house...”
Logan had been living with Freddie, and on days when he was second-guessing his decision to move home, liked the fact that he hadn’t officially set down any roots in Chance Rapids. Just like he’d never been able to commit to a woman, he wasn’t ready to fully commit becoming a Rapidian again.
“But how will you eat when I’m gone?” Logan had been cooking dinner for both of them. Left to his own devices Freddie would subsist solely on food from the G-spot and the Sugar Peaks Café. “You spend more on takeout than anyone I know,” Logan joked.
“For a bigshot hockey star, you could loosen up the purse strings a little.” Freddie handed Logan the plate of homemade burgers. Logan pulled one of Freddie’s thick canvas jackets off the hook and layered it over his ski jacket. Freddie grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge and joined him outside. He sat down in one of the snow-covered patio chairs.
“You’ll never guess who I ran into on the mountain today.”
“You took someone out?” Freddie grinned.
“Since when did you become such a literal pain in the ass?” Logan grinned as he set the burgers on the hot grill and closed the lid of the barbecue.
“Since always.”
“I can agree to that statement,” Logan laughed. It was good to be home.
“Billie Jo Bunkman,” Logan said.
“Oh, yeah?” Freddie replied but seemed awfully interested in the shape of his beer bottle.
Logan had been expecting more of a reaction. After all, Billie Jo had broken his heart when she disappeared all those years ago. “Yeah. She looks different.”
Freddie took another sip of his beer. “How did you know it was her then? I mean, it’s been years, dude. It could’ve been anyone.”
“Oh, it was her alright.” Logan thought back to her beautiful eyes. There was no way that he could’ve forgotten the gold flecks that punctuated the warm brown.
“That’s something,” Freddie murmured.
“Yeah, I mean. It is something. Billie Jo Bunkman is back in town. And man, can she ski. I tried to catch her, but she was like the roadrunner.
“She spent years avoiding you, Logan and I mean, you get why... Maybe you’re the coyote.”
“She just disappeared and never wrote me back. What was I supposed to do?”
“Yeah, but you stood her up on prom night and the whole town turned on her.”
“You know I couldn’t tell the real story.”
“But Char—, I mean, Billie Jo doesn’t know that. And Logan, you didn’t really try that hard.”
Logan narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Is there something that you’re not telling me?
“Fuck,” Freddie muttered under his breath. “I mean, you’re going to find out soon enough.”
“Find out what, Fred?” Logan flipped burgers while keeping his eyes trained on his younger brother.
Freddie took a sip of his beer. “Those burgers done?”
“Don’t try to change the subject on me. I just flipped them.” Logan shook his hands and held them near to the barbecue to try to warm them up.
Freddie sighed, releasing a cloud of breath. “You know the Sugar Peaks Café?”
“Of course. I go there every day before practice. It’s the only place in town to get a decent cup of coffee.”
