1
SUMMER
This isn’t the way it was supposed to be.
That’s what I think, as my feet dangling over the lake water as I sit on the edge of the dock. This spot to perch is only fitting. It reminds me ofthat summer, after all.
The summer where I was stuck in a corner between the Nix brothers. Zac, my closest friend, who was without a clue that his brother Nash was more.
And here I am seven years later after having my heart broken… twice. But broken in two very different ways. That’s what the Nix brothers do to a human. Or at least me.
The two brothers were always complete opposites. Zac was slim and not as tall, still attractive to most, even if he often had his nose in a book, whereas Nash was and still is the guy who has a bit of muscle and a look that is cocky and tense. His glances could slice the air in half, if that were possible. Maybe that’s why hockey was his calling. He was Zac’s Irish twin, only ten months older. But old enough for Nash to go into protective big-brother mode, which was my undoing.
Now my husband is gone.
Zac Nix is gone.
Our marriage wasn’t what it seemed, but we cared for one another all the same, and we created a child from our hearts, which means I’ll always have a piece of him. A ping hits my heart. He left us five months ago, and now I have a seven-month-old baby.
Cancer is a bitch, and the path he left behind wanders around corners too sharp.
Luckily, footsteps break my morbid thoughts.
“Hey, Summer, I saw you from the window by the lobby,” my friend Lexi informs me.
I glance over my shoulder to be greeted with a smile and the backdrop of the Dizzy Duck Inn. The place where people escape Chicago for a weekend getaway. Even now, when the leaves begin to turn and the charm of lake swims and sailing fade away.
“Hey.” My tone must sound somber to her.
She drags her shiny blonde locks up into a messy ponytail and sits down next to me.
Lexi nudges my shoulder. “Big day.”
It causes a crack of a smile to break out. “No shit. I’ve had my playlist on repeat for the past three hours while I was handling payroll in the staffroom. How is the lookout going?”
She winces. “Sorry. I’m not on my A-game with my detective skills today. School drop-off was an adventure this morning. Holden and Lori might kill one another soon.” A fond smile hits her face.
She’s perfect for Holden, who runs the Dizzy Duck Inn, and Lexi is perfect as a stepmom too, even if the school moms get snooty at her for the age difference. I can only imagine that rearing a thirteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old doesn’t come easy.
I give her an amused look. “Did we not establish that today we have priorities? Holden can deal with teenage angst for the team. I needed you to be Sherlock today.”
“Well, you already know…” She’s dreading to remind me.
I wave her off. “That he checked in? Yeah, I heard someone mention. But damn it, I need more clues or at least a giant bucket of ice cream from Jolly Joe’s.”
“Gosh, our local Lake Spark establishment never fails us. Cures everything. Did you hear the bubble gum ice cream is back?”
My nose squinches. “Disgusting. If I want bubble gum flavor, then I’ll just grab the children’s medicine from the pharmacy,” I attempt to joke.
“I know, right?” I appreciate her effort to distract me.
This is a big day. My entire body is unsettled, and my heart isn’t ready for this either.
Zac, a doctor, so meticulous, left behind a house that’s mine, a child so perfect, and assurance that my support network of friends won’t leave me to be alone. He also passed on without ever learning of the secret I carried.
I focus my gaze on the pines surrounding the other side of the serene lake. Blowing out a breath, I can’t keep it in anymore. “Tell me I’m not heading toward a car crash that I’ve already been in?”
Lexi opens her mouth, a sound scraping out, only to close her lips as she considers her answer. “I’m sure it’s fine. Everyone needs a former hockey star to argue with. Besides, Nash is Bo’s uncle.”
