Page 49 of Wild in Minnesota

“Maybe?” I looked over my shoulder before my stomach jerked so hard, I became nauseous. Gabe was across the dance floor seated at a table with Ed. While Ed was chatting away, Gabe was brooding as he stared at me.

I jumped at Brandon’s voice. “I don’t think he’s going to leave you alone. He thinks he can get you whenever he wants.”

While I wanted a strong voice, it came out in a broken whisper. “I need this to be done. I love him, and I need to never see him again.” That was a sentence I never imagined coming out of my mouth. He squeezed my hand.

“You’re sure? You’re ready to blow this thing up forever?”

I swear I was blinking in Morse code, trying to restrain the tears. “I’m sure.”

He nodded, stood, took my hand, and led me to the dance floor.

He held me close as we swayed silently. Without looking, I could feel Gabe’s eyes burning into me, and it wasn’t fair.

When did I become such a wussy woman wearing blinders?

I was planning on some kind of future while he was planning which weekend he would be tapping the chick in the blue dress.

Brandon’s hand slid to the back of my neck, and when I looked up, he grinned. “This is weird, feels incestuous, and may literally be the death of me. You always remember who the best friend in the world is. Okay?”

I nodded.

With that, his lips covered mine, and before I even knew what was happening, he was kissing the hell out of me. His hand went to the small of my back while he pulled me as close as I’d ever been to him.

Even over the music, I heard a crash behind me and knew who it was. I pulled away and looked over while my pulse shot through the roof. A tray of dishes lie on the floor while Ed and Dan each had an arm, struggling to hold Gabe back.

“Oh shit.” Brandon inhaled sharply at the same time my hands began to tremble.

My rib cage squeezed every organ in me at the torn look on Gabe’s face. He was furious, but his eyes were filled with pain. He pulled like a wild animal, trying to escape, as Ed and Dan restrained him.

With a great force, they got him seated in a chair, and he dropped his head forward. I couldn’t hear what Ed was saying to him, but after a few minutes, his face lifted. His green eyes locked with mine for a moment before he stood up, turned, and walked out of the room.

The wind was knocked out of me, leaving me gasping for air as I watched him leave. This would be the last time I’d see him. Gone forever.

The party bounced right back, but I felt like I’d been dragged along the street by a bus.

I don’t know how I made it back to my table, but I plopped into my chair, praying my heart would quit pounding against my ribs.

“I’ll get you some water.” Brandon touched my shoulder before he walked away, and I was alone at my table. Alone. Cue the music; All by myself…

Dave appeared and sat down beside me.

“Hey.”

I squeezed out a smile. “Hi.”

“So…you and Brandon?”

My cheeks burned as Dave could normally read me like a book. To top it off, he was quiet as he examined me. I hated quiet Dave. All I could muster was a shrug.

He leaned back in his chair. “What are you doing, Fern?”

“Just enjoying my cousin’s wedding.” Was my nose growing?

He exhaled. “You’re killing him.”

Everything around me vanished as I stared at my brother.

He knew? There was no way he was aware of terrible decisions I’d made when it came to Gabe.

First of all, Gabe wasn’t dead. Death would’ve been the likely outcome of such a dark discovery.

Secondly, Dave would’ve immediately hunted me down and locked me in Mom’s house until I left the Land of 10,000 Lakes to ensure I’d never breathe the same air as Gabe ever again.

My vocabulary was stuck in my throat as I opened my mouth twice but not a sound exited.

“I found out at the game when he went after you.”

“But you didn’t say anything.” I felt like a five-year-old being caught in a big old whopper of a lie and could feel heat wrapping up the back of my neck.

“Not to you.” He leaned up. “When he came in the locker room that day, I pounced.” He let out a long sigh. “I took every insecurity he has and threw them all in his face. He was trying to explain, but I wouldn’t hear it.”

I swore to God if one more thing caused my heart rate to jump up again, I’d end up a pile of bones and blood on the floor.

“Instead, I told him he was no good for anyone, especially you. That he was incapable of not hurting people, that all he’d ever be is a fuck up, and that he was so messed up from his past, it was just a matter of time before he turned into the bastard he truly was and hurt you.”

I was light-headed, knowing the punch those words would have on Gabe. When he came out of the locker room, I remembered his eyes. They were filled with a sadness I’d never seen before.

“I told him if he cared for you at all, he’d go out and tell you whatever he had to in order to make you run.”

The pounding in my ears grew louder. Gabe’s words from that day, the words that beat me to a pulp, played again. The sentences that made no sense at the time and left me scarred.

“You—”

He put his hand up. “I did. I shook everything in him because I know everything he’s been through. I know what he lived through as a kid and an adult, and I twisted the knife.”

My brain felt like a junk drawer that had been dumped onto a trampoline. I couldn’t string two thoughts together as I stared at my brother.

“This morning, he came to my room. He apologized for not being straight with me from the beginning. He told me he’d spent time with you, and things were going well until something from his past showed up, causing you to cut and run.

” He shook his head. “I don’t even want to know what the thing was, but he said it was bad. ”

I nodded as naked Barbie streaked through my mind. Whore.

“The fact that I took my best friend down like that is horrible. It was you I was worried about, but I knew the things I was saying would break him, and I did it anyway. Gabe has lost more in his life than I’ll ever know in mine, and he’s fought through it all to become a good person.”

I shook my head.

“I need you to hear me. When he came to see me today, he said all he wanted to do was to protect and take care of you.”

My eyes burned as I snatched a napkin from the table.

“Fern, he said he loves you.”

I slammed my hand against the table. “Stop! Don’t say that.”

“He—”

I jumped to my feet. “No!” I pointed to the tall chick in the blue dress.

“He doesn’t love me. I heard him planning a weekend hook-up with her!

” That was it, the final nail in Gabe’s coffin.

Now I was certain Gabe would die tonight.

But you know what? I wasn’t even going to try to save him.

Nope, let Dave do his thing. Peace out mother trucker!

“Jennifer?” He peeked through some people to see her at the bar.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass who she is. I heard them planning it with my own ears, making everything he said last night and forever a lie!”

“Jennifer’s the team’s equipment manager.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Again, a rat’s ass I don’t give! Now, if you’ll excuse me?—”

“Gabe offered to let her use his cabin for a birthday-get-away with her girlfriend.”

Brandon walked over and handed me a glass of water before putting his arm around me.

Dave pointed. “Cut that out. I know this was a fake date thing.”

Brandon let out an enthusiastic sigh. “Thank God, I’ve been feeling pukey all night.”

I elbowed him. “Hey!” Then my mind wrestled with my brother’s words. “Her girlfriend at his cabin?”

Dave shrugged. “Yes, she’s a lover of the ladies.”

Brandon laughed. “I’m a lover of the ladies.” Brandon gave Dave a high-five. “Happy to be single.”

A fire bolt of life re-entered my body. “So she’s planning a hot weekend with her girlfriend ?” OMG.

Dave nodded. “That’s right.”

I was on an out-of-control roller coaster as I gasped for air. “So Gabe wasn’t talking about a hook-up with Jennifer? She’s just using his cabin?”

“What?” Brandon’s nose wrinkled. “Are we still talking about girl-on-girl action?”

Dave laughed. “Nothing wrong with that topic. But Fern was speaking to the fact that Gabe isn’t sneaking around with anybody and told me he loved her.”

Brandon dramatically gasped. “So now I have to un-hate him?” Brandon shook his head as he grinned. “I’ve put so much energy into the whole rage thing.” He whispered to Dave. “We were going to key his truck shortly. I’m a little disappointed in the change of course here.”

My beat-up heart had jumped to its feet and was dusting itself off. “Dave, are you saying you’re okay with this?”

He stood up and hugged me. “I am.”

“What am I going to do?”

Brandon pointed. “I suggest you get the hell out of here.”

Dave fished his car key from his pocket. “My car’s out front. Are you okay to drive?”

I nodded as I took my first step since finding out the glorious Gabe loved me . He loved me. He loved me. I looked at Dave and Brandon sitting at the table.

“We should hit the town sometime.” Brandon pointed at Dave. “You’d make a good wing man.”

Dave groaned. “I might just need a wing man myself.”

Bells were ringing and dinging in my brain. “What’s happening with Liv?”

Dave shrugged. “I’m not sure anymore.”

“Welp, this worry will have to wait for another day. But you can bet your ass I will be all up in this topic soon.”

“Fern, I don’t need your bossy mode.”

I gasped, “I’m not bossy. I just know what you should be doing.”

He pointed, “Don’t you have somewhere to go?”

We enjoyed a group hug before I hauled ass out the door.

I went to my apartment, but it was no good. I didn’t have practice until Monday afternoon, and I needed to get the hell away from everything.

I made my way to the cabin. Once inside the front door, it immediately felt different than it normally did. The last time I was there, Fern was with me. Now everywhere I looked I saw her face.

I paced the floor for a while, not able to get past the vision of her on the stairs and knew I needed to do something. Not the smartest move, but I grabbed my snowmobile out of the garage and took a dark ride around the lake.

I knew I wouldn’t sleep with the vision of Fern with Brandon burned into my skull.

The loss of Fern was a brutal physical pain pressing down on me.

Every breath was a shard of glass slicing through my lungs.

There was only a hollow ache now as the realization that the woman I saw as my future, the one who was already a part of me, was now just a shattered dream.

How had this gone so wrong? I hadn’t realized how much I thought she was going to give me a shot.

I looked in the distance at the snow-covered land lit brightly by the winter moon above and imagined her walking out to me.

Through the snow, I could almost see her coming to tell me she’d forgiven me for my past jackassiness and that she’d lit Brandon on fire to come and be with me.

I’d tell her I’d get rid of the charred douchebag’s body so the cops would never catch her, and we’d ride off into the sunset.

I zipped around the trees a little more to get to the spot we shared one time. When I pulled up and stopped, I blinked hard. Out on the frozen lake in the distance was somebody walking.

It was the kid from the cabin behind the woods. But it was too late and cold for kids to be out. I got off my snow mobile and walked onto the ice. I squinted my eyes at the same time whoever was out there started running away.

“Hey! Are you good?” They kept on running, and I took a few more steps and yelled louder. “Are you okay out there?”

“Only if you come and get me!”

My heart quit beating as I stood frozen while the voice of my angel echoed off the trees behind me. I don’t remember running, but I remember needing to get to her like I needed air.

She screamed with laughter as I pulled her to me. I looked hard into those twinkling eyes.

“Hi.” she whispered.

“Hi.” For the first time in my life, I felt like glitter was pumping through my veins. “You’re here.”

“I’m here.” She stretched up and kissed my cheek. “I couldn’t be anywhere else.”

“I can’t believe this. What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“Well, you are a pretty lucky fella.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I can be pretty epic.

“You are pretty epic, Fern Ethel Novotny.” Rainbows and unicorns were me at the moment. “So, we’re doing this?”

Her voice was as soft as I’d ever heard it. “If you’ll have me, I’d like nothing more.”

Cupid shot the arrow that pierced my heart. I reached up and unclasped the chain around my neck that held the promise ring I’d worn close to my heart since day she threw it back at me. “The promise of us.”

The corner of her perfectly-perfect mouth turned up as I slid the ring onto her left hand ring finger this time.

I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “You own me, Fern. You’re part of my DNA now. All I want to do is hear you, make you smile, make you laugh, and make you hot coco everyday.”

Her nose wrinkled as she blinked back a tear. “I want to hold you forever, protect you, and make babies with you.”

I leaned my forehead against hers. “I love you.”

Her smile lit up the nighttime sky. “I love you, too.” She wrapped her arms around my waist. “Forever.”