Chapter 23
Melinda
One week.
It had been one week since Chris left, and he was coming back tomorrow. I thought everything was fine with us. We had been skyping, texting, calling, and then while I was Googling the news in NYC because I liked to stay up to date, I saw a small press post something about chris. It had the words amateur snowboarder and model in one sentenced and I clicked on it.
He was sitting with women in a bar and not just any women, but models—three of them. He had his arm around one, whispering something in her ear with a smile on his face. Another woman had her hand on his chest, but he didn’t seem to pay attention to her, just the one he was whispering to.
I slumped in my chair and wondered if I wanted to call him and ask. We hadn't been dating long, just a few weeks, and we weren't exclusive, but I had just assumed that he wasn't dating other people. Especially since he'd gotten so riled up about me even speaking with Ben, but maybe we should have had “the talk.”
My curious got the best of me and I called him. It rang and rang until it went to voicemail and I debated on leaving one, but what was the point? I didn’t even know what I wanted to say as I looked at the pictures of him.
Chris pressured me to make Valentine's Day ball perfect to make sure we got those funds, and while I had been busting my ass, he was off gallivanting with models? I needed to step away from the internet, turn off my phone, and socialize because I needed some time off too.
I had a few places I could hit — Ben's bar and the coffee shop. I'd bet anything Esther was at the coffee shop being her badass self, flirting with Bobby. I needed a pick me up, and Esther was the perfect person for it.
If Chris wanted to parade around with other women and not tell me, then fine, I was going to do my own thing too. We weren't exclusive. I could go out, have fun. He seemed to be having the time of his life. I scratched Rocket on the cheek, and he gave me a few kisses in return. “You love me, don't you? You wouldn't leave, right?”
Of course, he wouldn’t. I fed him and cuddled him. If only men were that easy.
Rocket just sat there, wagging his tail; his tongue lolling outside his mouth and his head tilted. He was adorable.
“I love you too. I'll be back, okay? Keep the house safe.”
He barked once and ran in a circle before lying down in front of the fireplace.
I locked the door and walked toward my car. I stopped at the end of the deck before I left, loving the dark wood against the white snow. It was a clear day, which was odd. The sky was blue, and the caps of the mountains could be seen. They struck me as taller than I remembered and the snow…wow!
Staring at the scenery in front of me, I was reminded that this place held more than Chris Bates. I came here to prove myself. To do this on my own. And I couldn't do it on my own with Chris barking in my ear. I had organized everything so far from the New Year's ball to Valentine's Day gala for the fundraiser. If he wanted to fight about contacts, then so be it, I was going to do it.
“Go ahead with the billboard.”I texted the message to my friend in NYC and hoped it would annoy the hell out of Chris. Childish? Maybe. But he was truly the one being childish, not accepting help when offered. It was my job to market this place, and I would do it.
Satisfied with that, I tucked my cell in my purse and headed out. Once in town, I parked at the end of the village nestled downtown. I liked to walk the sidewalk since Ben's bar was on one side and the coffee shop on the other.
I was smiling to myself, thinking about all the work I’d done since moving here. I hadn’t relied on old contacts more than a couple of times, and I certainly hadn’t been working for my father. It was all me, and that was something to feel proud about.
“Did you see Chris out and about with other women? It was all over the gossip mags this week.” Lost in my reveries, I hadn’t seen the dark cloud approaching.
How was Bess everywhere I was? The town wasn’t that small for goodness sake.
“Don’t you have a life, Bess? Doesn’t this get old for you?”
“Hmm, let me think about it….” She looked toward the sky in thought before deadpanning me with her eyes. “No.”
“Ok then, let me spell it out for you: my life belongs to me. Chris’s life belongs to Chris. Your opinion or thoughts about either one of us is just that. Your thoughts. And I have no interest in hearing them, so if you’ll excuse me.”
She looked sufficiently perturbed as I stalked past her and opened the door to Ben’s bar.
I stepped into the bar with a new sense of confidence and sat down at the bar, waiting for Mary to notice me. When she saw me, she pushed herself away from a guy who looked like he belonged in Hell’s Angels and seemed like he wanted more than just a drink. Ben stood off in the distance, a man who seemed very unhappy.
“Hey, Melinda. Same old?”
“You got it,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, making my drink, flipping the shaker as she made it.
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
