Page 47 of Falling Madly
“No! They wanted to see it, but I’ll make sure no decision is made before we’re all back in Denver.”
She propped an elbow on the table and leaned closer, looking distressed. “Then, what is it? I’ve tried to explain this to myself and everything I can think of is… bad. It’s freaking me out.”
“It’s nothing,” I said quickly. “I thought your shoes weren’t good for walking.”
The whole point of this was tonotfreak her out. If I couldn’t avoid it, I might as well show her the cabin.
“Then let’s get me another pair of shoes!”
I bit back a smile. “Aye. Do you want another outfit, too?”
She was being a good sport about it, even removing her coat as the heater blasted next to us.
“You look good in green,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear it.”
“I feel like I’m in disguise.” She looked relaxed, sitting back in her chair to finish her smoothie.
Did she want to be in disguise? What had she left behind when she’d fled the town? I could barely contain my curiosity, but I knew that pestering her wouldn’t work. I had to wait until she was ready to tell me.
The door swung open and a middle-aged man in a puffer jacket stepped in, shaking snow off his shoulders. He headed straight to the counter with a stack of flyers. After a quick exchange with the young woman behind it, he turned to the rest of us, raising his voice. “Good morning, everyone! I’m here to spread the word about the sled contest. We just heard some of our contestants have dropped out to join the search for the missing tourist, so we’re a bit short on entries for tomorrow. Please consider joining! We have new prizes that were just donated. It’s going to be an amazing event!”
He began handing out the flyers. “All you need to do is turn up with your sled!”
I grabbed one, reading it out loud. “Cardboard Sled Contest, sponsored by Neville Architects.”
Teresa stiffened, her face pale.
“What is it?” I asked. “This sound fun.”
Teresa shook her head. “Nothing… anyway, I don’t think we can make it.”
The flyer guy stopped at our table, smiling at her like she’d been talking to him. “Well, if things change, we’d love to see you. There’s prize for the best dressed, and you, young lady, are well on your way to winning.”
When he left, Teresa took the flyer and studied it, her eyebrows drawn. “I’d forgotten about this contest. We never built anything, but it was fun to watch.”
“Sounds like all you need is a box with some duct tape on the bottom. And someone to give you a push.”
She slid the flyer back to me. “It’s way more elaborate than that.”
I read the small print. “Warm cider, cinnamon rolls, hot dogs, and you can place bets! I think the spectators are having more fun than contestants.”
“Probably why they’re short on contestants.” Teresa finished her coffee with a grimace.
“If I was into gambling, placing bets on cardboard boxes going down a hill would be my number one choice. Imagine the adrenaline!”
She gave me an eyeroll and a smile. I loved seeing her smile—it soothed my soul. Whatever was on that flyer, or whoever it was that had drained the blood from her face, was momentarily forgotten. Despite my curiosity, I didn’t want to dredge it up.
I gathered my courage and asked, “So, how was your Valentine’s Day?”
She sunk her fingers into her hair, messing up those adorable curls even more. “Yesterday was insane. I’m still processing it. I keep thinking, if I hadn’t caught Richard with Carolyn, I would have gone out with him. He might have told me about her and broken up with me. Or…”
“The ‘or’ is more likely,” I said gently. “Would you rather not know? You could have had a nice date with him. Chocolate soufflé, then going back to his place…”
She shuddered, gripping her hair with both fists. “No! Don’t say that. He would have broken up with me. We would have never…”
“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “I don’t know him.”
I didn’t want to think about her sleeping with Dick. The last year had been hard enough.
