Chapter Eighteen
Bree
The spring day was making a valiant attempt to pretend it was summer. The sun beat down from a clear blue sky and sent temperatures soaring into t-shirt weather. Bree slipped her Camry into a slot outside the Frozen Cow and beamed at her passenger. “Do you want me to bring your milkshake to the car or do you feel like trying a bench?” she asked.
“Bench, please. I’d like a view of the river,” Allie said.
A day made a world of difference. Once Allison had slept off the side effects of her chemotherapy, she was back to her old self. It was like her breakdown never happened. Everybody involved was pretending wonderfully. Even Tyson, who Bree had filled in after the fact. But for now, she had her friend back. Life was good.
It didn’t hurt Bree had also been laid to within an inch of her life. Either it had been way too long since she’d had good sex, or Eric had improved since they’d last been together. She didn’t want to know how that had happened, so she was going with self-study.
She hadn’t kicked him out after all. Two mind-blowing orgasms knocked her out for a good six hours. Fortunately she’d set her alarm the morning before, so when it went off, she jumped out of bed and shoved Eric out the door. It was a less than refined move, but she’d panicked. She’d fix it later, but Bree harboured an unrealistic hope that the night before was a one-and-done. She needed to slow things down.
Allie and her wig settled into one of the metal-framed benches on the edge of the parking lot while Bree went to give their order. She was getting another chocolate banana shake—for the memories. Allie thought she could handle a strawberry one. Ice-cream had dairy right in the name; the berries should count as a food group too. It wasn’t a balanced lunch, but so long as Allie kept it down, Bree didn’t care how she got her daily calories.
A television van with a national logo rolled into the parking lot beside them and stopped with a crunch on the gravelly pad.
“Do you think they’re here for a story?” Allison asked.
The mail driver bolted from the truck and headed straight for the order window. “Nope,” Bree said.
A female passenger climbed out of the passenger side. She scanned the area and smiled when she saw them. The blonde immediately headed that way.
“Are you going to be okay with this?” Allison asked.
Bree understood the question. Leandra Northman had gone out with Eric twice while he and Allison had been separated. Bree had cried on Allison’s shoulder. Allison had called Leandra to find out what the story was. Leandra had been horrified to hear from her sorority sister that Eric had been using her to make Bree jealous. She’d refused a third date, and had approached Bree through Allison to make amends.
It hadn’t been Leandra’s fault, and Bree let her knew it. They weren’t great friends, but they’d formed a bond through the experience. The two of them had run into each other a few times since then, mostly with Allison acting as a buffer, and they were slowly developing their own friendship.
“It’s fine,” Bree assured Allie. “Hi, Lea,” she said in greeting as soon as the other woman was close enough to hear.
“I guess great minds think alike. What are you having?” Leandra asked.
“Shakes,” Allison said. “How about you?”
“I haven’t decided yet. What’s new?” the reporter asked.
“Just enjoying a spring day,” Bree hedged. It wasn’t her place to announce Allison’s situation. She didn’t know who her friend wanted to tell.
“I had my first chemo session yesterday,” Allison said bluntly. “I deserve ice cream today.”
Apparently Leandra was on the list. “Damn straight,” the reporter agreed. “Let me grab something and we can catch up. God knows I’m not working on anything right now.”
She quickly returned with a small, chocolate dipped cone. “Who’s first?” she asked.
“Chemo sucks. Next,” Allison said.
“Your husband’s office is not being cooperative,” Leandra said. “Don’t worry, I’m not asking you for information. I’m just venting. I know there’s a story there but I can’t get a handle on it. Courtney Fournier has been out to Stony Mountain three times in the last week. I wasn’t able to get a visit with Ryan Zane on any of those days. He was unavailable.” She made air-quotes around the last word.
“Tyson hasn’t talked about work much lately,” Allison said.
Lea and Bree traded looks. His focus at home was a given.
Bree shrugged. “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” She was getting used to Leandra’s style. The reporter was always looking for her next lead, but she was up front when she was asking for them from her friends. Bree had even seen her pause a conversation to let Tyson know she was on the job at a party before he got too far into a story.
A low roll of thunder echoed in the air. Bree checked for clouds rolling in but didn’t see anything. The thunder grew louder, and a handful of motorcycles rolled into the ice cream stand’s parking lot. Bree didn’t recognize any of the bikes or the helmets, but the jackets were familiar. The Ice Road Warriors had found her again.
“How about you, Bree? Is anything happening with you?” Leandra asked.
