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Her gaze dropped to his upper lip, searching for…there it was. That scar. She’d never forget the night he got that scar.
After all, he’d been defending her.
Two
“Do you guys remember when I nearly started a brawl at the Cue Ball pool hall?” At the end of the long day, Kendra sat with her besties Carly and Gina at the bar at the Blue Drake Club and Resort. A jazz combo played on the iconic stage with its enormous statue of a blue duck.
Recently, her father had taken over the restaurant portion of the club and renamed it Alvin’s Burgers and Blues. After they stopped serving, the bar stayed open until midnight. That was when she could finally relax and enjoy the acts that came through town. Thanks to Steven Gault, Carly’s father and Alvin’s close friend, this tiny spot on the map was a top destination for some of the best musical talent in the world.
“I heard something about it, but it was just you and Brooke, right?” Carly sipped from a bottle of nonalcoholic beer. She’d just gotten married this past New Year’s Eve and was due to give birth any day—or minute—now. She sat astride the bar stool, the heels of her boots hooked on the rungs. Her dark hair was pulled into a low ponytail and she looked tired. Kendra kept trying to get her to slow down, but she was a constant ball of energy.
“Yes, and really it was all Brooke’s fault,” Kendra said. “She was the instigator.”
“Well, of course. You were such a good girl.” Gina pulled a sassy face, her dark curls dancing as she bopped to the music. “By which I mean you were more careful not to get caught.”
Kendra laughed and clicked her vodka tonic with lime against Gina’s wine glass. Gina had recently fallen in love, too. So had the fifth member of their friend group, Trixie, back in Lost Harbor, Alaska. Only Kendra was currently single. Well, and Brooke.
It’s me and you, Brooke. She toasted her friend’s spirit. Me and a ghost, we’re the only ones still single.
Gina ran a finger around the rim of her wine glass. “Do you know how many times I think, WWBD?”
Kendra cocked her head. “What would Brooke do?”
“Yes. And the answer is always the opposite of what most people would do.”
They all laughed. Brooke the Rebel. “Do you think if she’d lived, she would have stopped being such a revolutionary?” Kendra asked her friends.
“No. Not Brooke,” Gina said instantly.
“I’m not so sure,” Carly mused. “If she’d lived, she would have been a mother to Danny. She might have toned it down for him.”
Kendra took a sip of her ice-cold vodka. “She probably would have dragged him to protest marches.”
They all laughed, knowing it was the truth.
“I still miss her,” Kendra said softly.
“I do too,” said Carly. “Especially being back in Lake Bittersweet. It’s like she’s just around the corner, and if I move fast enough, I’ll catch her. I love hearing stories about her, especially if I can tell them to Danny.”
When Carly had married Thomas, she’d become stepmother to Danny, who was now a teenager. Danny was the result of one experimental night between Thomas and Brooke, seventeen years ago. Tragically, Brooke had died while giving birth to him, and Thomas had raised him alone. Kendra couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than Carly stepping into Danny’s life at this point.
“This might not be the best story to tell him.”
Carly chuckled. “Let me guess. Brooke tackled some idiot and made him eat pool chalk?”
“No. Jason stepped in. He got a pool cue in the face.”
They both looked at her blankly.
“Jason Mosedale,” she prompted.
“The cute firefighter?”
Kendra felt her face warm. “Sure, I guess.”
“Okay, now you have to tell the whole story.” Gina bounced on her barstool in excitement. “Tell, tell! Where were we? Me and Carly?”
“You were all asleep. I think we smoked a little too much. Everyone crashed except me and Brooke.”
