Page 42 of Reckless Chances
Chapter 15 – Emma
All night long, therain beat like pellets on the window beside Emma’s bed. At times, she wondered if the single pane would break. She tossed and turned and felt like she had just fallen asleep when her alarm went off. She reached out from underneath the quilt and turned off the sound. She rolled over, promising that she would only sleep for another five minutes, but was woken up to pounding on the front door so hard that she wondered if a SWAT team was about to bust through. Through squinted eyes, she looked at the time on her phone.
“Holy cats,” she whispered to herself and tossed the blankets off. She padded to the front door and peeked through the lace curtain, confirming who she knew was on the other side. She opened the door and Serena stepped inside.
“Nice hiking clothes.”
Serena looked like she had just stepped out of the pages of an outdoorswoman magazine with her fitted hiking pants, Scarpa boots, and turquoise soft-shell jacket. She had two sets of hiking poles clutched in her hand.
“Just give me two seconds.” Emma ran into her room and changed as quickly as she could into clothes which she hoped were appropriate for their planned hike: a pair of yoga pants, a tank top, running shoes, and a windbreaker. She put her hair in a ponytail and as she brushed her teeth, she looked in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize herself. Red rimmed eyes over dark puffy circles stared back at her. She looked like she’d aged ten years overnight. She splashed some water on her face and almost as an afterthought smeared on some concealer and a little bit of mascara. Serena was a social media maven and Emma knew that there would be photos of their excursion posted whether she liked it or not. “Okay.” Emma plastered a smile on her face and tried to put a spring in her step.
“You’re not fooling anybody.” Serena handed her the second set of walking poles.
“What are you talking about?” Emma’s voice wavered.
Instead of responding, Serena pulled Emma in for a hug. “He’ll come around.”
Emma took a step backward, extricating herself from Emma’s hug. “How did you know?” It had been less than twenty-four hours since Charlie turned into a complete asshole and broke up with her. She hadn’t told anyone. Was he out screaming the news to everybody in town?
“Freddie was with Charlie last night. Freddie is like a little old woman; he tells me everything.” Serena’s eyes searched Emma’s. “What happened? I thought that everything was going so well with the two of you.”
“I did too.” Emma studied the rag rug than ran the length of the living room. “What did Freddie say?” She almost didn’t ask, but she was baffled about the whole thing. Maybe Charlie would’ve told his best friend why he never wanted to see her again.
Serena sighed. “Freddie just said that Charlie wants to focus on his business.”
Emma didn’t know if Serena was looking for an insider scoop, or she genuinely wanted to console her about the breakup. “That’s what he told me too.” She left out the money part, she still hadn’t wrapped her head around it, it didn’t make any sense.
“Come on,” Serena put her willowy arm over Emma’s shoulder and steered her toward the door. “A little exercise and fresh air will help.”
Emma was dubious, but twenty minutes into the hike she felt the life coming back into her body. “What’s this trail called?” Emma said, glad that her voice didn’t sound like she was having a heart attack. Serena had set an ambitious pace and Emma wasn’t sure if she’d be able to continue the conversation if they kept going uphill.
“It’s the Sugar Peaks Loop, but I call it the Defibrillator,” Serena laughed, and Emma was slightly relieved when she heard the breathiness in Serena’s voice too. She had been so focused on the trail and not slipping off and careening to her death that when they reached the top and she actually looked up, the view literally and figuratively took her breath away. She dropped the poles and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
“It will take you a little bit of time to get acclimatized to the elevation here,” Serena said. “You did amazing, I threw up the first time I did this trail.”
“Really?” Emma asked.
“Yeah, Freddie thought it was hilarious.” Serena shook her head, and Emma could see the smile on her face.
“You two are the real deal, aren’t you?” Emma stood up and stretched her arms over her head and then bent her knee and grabbed the top of her foot to stretch her hamstrings that had been barking at her for the last two miles.
“I like to think so. I puked in front of the man and he still proposed.”
Someone had carved a bench out of a fallen fir tree and even though she knew she was going to get a wet butt, Emma sat down. “It sure is beautiful here.” She gazed at the mountain peaks that were still capped in white even though the temperatures in the valley had been warm enough for the brave to swim in the glacier-fed river that ran through town.
“It is.” Serena agreed. “I fell in love with Freddie, but I also fell in love with the town.” Serena sat next to Emma. “Are you sure you’re going to be alright? I’m always around if you want to talk. Or just have some wine and watch movies.”
“The hike seems to help.”
“Or hike.”
Emma realized that Serena wasn’t digging for dirt, Serena cared about her. They had started their hike at dawn, and as they sat on the lookout, the sun made its first appearance over the Sugar Peaks Ski Resort. Emma leaned her face back, letting the rays warm her cheeks.
“Don’t leave,” Serena said.
“What?” Emma looked away from the peaks and blinked at her friend.
“Don’t let some asshole dude scare you away from this.” Serena gestured to the mountain vista and then towards town, the tin roofs of the downtown homes glinting in the sun’s rays. Emma pressed into her hands and stared at her new home. She hadn’t moved here for a man; she’d run to the mountains to forget about one.
