Beautiful Sacrifice (24 page)

Pete shrugged.

“Do you have a date for Valentine’s Day?”

He frowned and shook his head.

“You should. You’re a good guy.”

He winked at me and continued working.

“Good morning!” Chuck said, pushing through the swinging doors. “I haven’t seen you down here this early in a while, Falyn.”

I shrugged. “Couldn’t go back to sleep after Taylor left.”

Phaedra pulled the small leather pack she used as a purse off one shoulder and shoved it into a bottom cabinet. She brushed her wiry low ponytail off her shoulder. “How was dinner?”

I hopped off the counter. “Amazing, as usual.”

“Are you going to up and leave us for Estes Park?”

I shrugged. “He’s mentioned it. I said no.”

“No?” Phaedra looked to Chuck.

Chuck tied his apron strings behind his back. “He could apply at one of the stations here. If they have a spot open, they’d hire him.”

“They don’t,” I said. “He put a call in a couple of weeks ago.”

“Well, he should apply anyway,” Phaedra said with her gravelly voice.

“He might.”

“He might? He might be the one then, huh?” Chuck asked.

Three pairs of eyes targeted me.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s too early in the morning and too early in the relationship to be talking about that nonsense.” I picked up a tray and pushed through the double doors. I loaded it with salt and pepper shakers and then brought it back to unscrew the tops.

Phaedra started several pots of coffee, powered on the register, and counted the drawer. She watched me return the full shakers to the tables. Hector arrived as the sun chased the shadows from Tejon Street, and he and Chuck were cracking jokes in the back, being so silly that even Pete was laughing out loud. By the time Kirby arrived, I had everything ready. Every employee at The Bucksaw Café was officially in a good mood.

The morning sun reflected off the white snow piled up on each side of the sidewalk, shining uncomfortably bright even through the transparent solar shades Phaedra had installed specifically to cut down on the glare. In spite of the intense light pouring in, a peaceful feeling seemed to have settled over everyone in the building—or maybe it had always been there, and I was finally free enough to feel it.

“I like it when Taylor stays over,” Kirby said, tying on her apron. “He makes my life a lot easier.”

“How’s Gunnar?” I asked.

“Stressed. He took too many hours this semester, and he’s still driving to Boulder, working for the sorority house, which—I have to admit—is a good job for him. His boss works with Gunnar’s school schedule, and the girls treat him like a little brother—or so he says.”

Just before Phaedra flipped over the sign to show we were open, my cell phone buzzed.

Made it. On time. Love you.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “He made it okay.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Kirby said. “That’s not the best drive when it’s snowing.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“Sorry,” she said. She greeted and then seated the first customers of the day.

I responded to Taylor’s text and then slid my phone into my apron before walking over to a table with glasses of water. Tourists—an older gentleman and his white-haired wife—settled in at Don’s favorite table. Chuck had had a small plaque made, and Phaedra had replaced the beat-up, rusted Alaska license plate that hung above where Don used to sit. I glanced up at the words engraved in the gold plating.

THIS TABLE IS DEDICATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF

DONALD MCGENSEY

The gentleman removed his hat and propped his cane against the wall.

“My name is Falyn, and I’ll be your server this morning. May I get you a cup of coffee to start?”

“Yes,” he said, opening the menu Kirby had set in front of him. “Half-and-half, please.”

“The same,” his wife said.

“You got it.” I returned to the drink station, pouring them fresh cups of coffee.

Kirby strolled from her podium and around the bar to where I stood. “You have a look.”

“What kind of look?”

“A happy look. More than happy. Things seem to be going well with Taylor.”

“Yes.”

“I have to say, I’m a little surprised that you even gave him a chance. You haven’t given any hotshot the time of day since I met you.”

“He’s different.”

“He must be because those are the famous last words of every girl left behind around here, and I would never have thought I’d hear you say them.”

“That’s not funny,” I said.

“Leave her be,” Phaedra said, shooing Kirby away.

Kirby offered a cease-fire with a wink, leaving me for her station.

“She’s just teasing you,” Phaedra said. “We all know that Taylor is one of the good ones.”

I loaded the saucers with coffee cups and silver creamer full of half-and-half onto a tray. “He is.”

The day passed both quick and slow, seeming to drag on and then the hours flying by near closing time. Now living for the weekends, time in general either passed too fast or too slow. Time seemed to move in fast-forward when Taylor and I were together. There was no in between.

Valentine’s Day came and went. Taylor and I both worked that evening, so he stayed in Estes Park, but we more than made up for it that weekend.

I began my mornings and ended my evenings on the phone with Taylor. If I were really lucky, he would get impatient for one of us to have a day off, and he’d drive down to see me, only to have to drive back early the next morning. On the rare occasion when we both had the weekend off, Taylor would drive straight to the Springs early Saturday morning and stay until just before dawn on Monday.

I was looking forward to spending the weekend with him in St. Thomas.

“The second wedding on the island is next Saturday, right? Will Taylor be here Friday night?” Phaedra asked.

I wiped down the last of the tables.

“Taylor leaves Thursday for Eakins. There’s a bachelor party on Friday night. I’m flying straight to Saint Thomas on Saturday,” I said.

A steady beat of knocking came from the door, and I looked up to see Gunnar standing there, pointing to Taylor standing next to him.

Kirby opened the door, letting them in, and I dropped my rag before throwing my arms and legs around Taylor.

Taylor pressed his lips against mine. “Hi, gorgeous!” he said, lowering me to the floor.

I kissed him again, and then I picked up the rag off the floor. My heart was pounding in my chest as if I’d just run a marathon. It didn’t matter how many nights I saw him standing on the other side of the glass. It made me feel the same every time.

Chuck walked through the swinging doors, putting a hand on his round belly. “What time did you leave Estes Park?”

“On time,” Taylor said.

Chuck laughed. “You must drive like a maniac. You need to quit that, boy, or you’re going to end up launching off a ridge.”

I grimaced.

Taylor bent down to kiss me. “I drove a little fast, but I was careful. I was in a hurry to get here.”

“It’s snowing,” I said. “You can’t drive fast and careful when it’s snowing.”

He stood up tall. “Obviously, I can.”

Gunnar and Taylor each took a seat on the stools, catching up and cracking jokes with Chuck and Hector. Kirby and I finished our duties, making sure not to leave anything for Hannah the next day.

“You guys coming upstairs?” I asked, drying my hands with a clean rag.

Kirby and Gunnar looked at each other.

Gunnar nodded. “Sure. I just have one paper to write this weekend. It can wait.”

We said good-bye to everyone, and then Kirby and Gunnar followed Taylor and me upstairs.

“The good thing about having a girlfriend who doesn’t drink?” Taylor was bent over in the kitchen, rummaging in my fridge. He wheeled around with a beer bottle in his hand. He popped the top with a smile and flicked the lid into the trash. “I know she won’t drink my stash while I’m gone.” He strolled over to the couch, making me bounce when he fell into the cushion next to me.

I leaned into his side, letting that relaxing wonderful feeling that filled the loft when Taylor was there warm me like a blanket.

He stretched his arm over the back of the couch, touching my shoulder with his fingers, and then he held out his bottle to Gunnar. “There are a few more in the fridge.”

Gunnar watched him take a gulp and then shook his head. “I’m going to need all my senses to pull off this paper.”

Kirby patted his knee.

“I don’t miss college,” Taylor said. “At all.”

“I like school,” Gunnar said, gesturing toward Kirby. “I don’t like being away from her.”

Kirby hugged his arm. “Just keep kicking ass, and we’ll be in Denver in no time.”

Taylor’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re moving there together?”

Gunnar looked both proud and excited. “I’ve just got to get some money saved up and find a place once I transfer.”

“Gunnar’s applying for the physician’s assistant program,” I said.

“Oh, yeah? That’s fucking awesome, man. Good for you.” Taylor held up his beer again, as a toast this time. He looked to me. “What are Phaedra and Chuck going to do when they lose you both?”

Kirby and I traded glances.

“What?” Taylor asked.

“Have you had any luck applying here?” Kirby asked.

“Nope,” Taylor said. “But I’m solid at the station in Estes.”

“But don’t you live with your brother?” she asked.

Taylor set his beer down on a coaster even though the coffee table was scratched and already covered in water rings. “Okay. You two have been discussing. Let’s hear it.”

I squirmed. “It’s just that … it feels wrong to leave Phaedra high and dry after all she’s done for me. And I’m not sure I’d like your brother as a roommate. I don’t really want to ask him to move out, and we have a perfectly good place here. I can save more if I stay here.”

“That’s not true. I told you I’d take care of rent.”

“And I told you it was fifty-fifty or nothing.”

“I’m here, maybe, five months out of the year,” he said.

“Until you get hired on here.”

“They’re not hiring, baby. I’ve asked—a lot.”

“Not yet,” I said, pointing at him.

He looked at Kirby and then back at me. “So, what do you propose? I keep up the commute until I’m hired on here? Or that I move here without a job?”

I winced. I knew suggesting either would be an insult. “If I move to Estes Park, you’ll be here in the Springs or somewhere else for up to half the year.”

“I told you. I have a full-time position at the local station if I want it.”

“I can’t leave Phaedra and Chuck, not right now. Kirby is leaving soon …”

Taylor blew out a breath, looking away from me. “I don’t want to keep doing this. I hate seeing you only on the weekends.”

“Should we go?” Gunnar asked.

We both ignored him.

“So, we’re at an impasse,” I said.

“And what the hell does that mean?” Taylor was more frustrated than angry.

He had been talking about us moving in together since Christmas, and I’d kept giving him excuses—everything from it being too soon to moving expenses.

“I don’t have a car. How am I going to get to work if I move into your condo?”

He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. I can drop you off. It’s a shorter drive than coming here every weekend.”

“We don’t have to decide now.”

Taylor took a long drink, sucking the beer bottle dry, and then he took it with him to the kitchen. He tossed it into the trash can before opening the fridge to grab another. He twisted off the cap and threw it into the garbage, too, before returning to me in a huff.

“Taylor …” I began.

“You’re not the one who has to make this drive, Falyn.”

“You’re right,” I said. “That is a fair point.”

“We definitely need to go,” Gunnar said.

“What’s your rush?” Kirby asked.

Gunnar’s brows pulled together. “When you start agreeing with me the way Falyn just did, shit goes downhill real fast.”

She laughed and nudged him, and Taylor and I couldn’t help but smile.

He hugged me to him and kissed my hair. “I’ll make the drive as long as I have to. It’s the time in between I don’t like,” Taylor said.

“I know. I don’t like it either. The silver lining is that, after we get back from Saint Thomas, you’ll be working back here in five weeks.”

“Maybe. That’s never a guarantee. There’s no telling where I’ll be.”

I cocked my head, getting impatient with his negativity. “You said your crew has been here the last three summers.”

“Okay, but what about the year I’m not? That’s six months I’ll be even farther away from you.”

“If I live in Estes and you’re called somewhere else, you’ll be away from me anyway!” I said.

“Not if we’re in Estes! I’ll take the local position!”

Gunnar stood up.

“Honey,” Kirby said, her voice bordering on a whine.

“I’m going to drink one of those beers if we don’t leave right now,” he said, towering over her.

He reached out, and she took his hand.

“Let’s go do something,” he said.

“We could go to the hookah bar,” she said, standing next to her boyfriend.

Taylor and I glared at each other.

“It is so incredibly stupid for us to be fighting about seeing each other while we’re seeing each other,” I said.

“See? That’s where we’re different. I don’t think it’s stupid to fight for this at all.”

I sighed. He didn’t see it as fighting over who was moving where and under what circumstances. He felt like he was fighting for us to be together. How could I argue with that?

“Let’s go,” Kirby said, pulling me to stand. “I think we all need to be outside for a while.”

We walked downstairs and stood next to Taylor’s truck, watching the snow fall in thick flakes.

“Snow doesn’t look like this in Illinois.” Taylor held out his hand, letting the frozen white bits melt against his palm. He rubbed his hands together, zipped up his coat, and then popped a cigarette into his mouth.

“I wish we could go to Cowboys,” Kirby said, joining Gunnar on the tailgate of Taylor’s truck. She swung her feet for warmth.

“You’re not twenty-one yet, are you?” Taylor took a deep drag and blew out a puff of thick white smoke. “I could probably get you in.”