Lakeside Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) (2 page)

“This isn’t about money or people’s schedules, Evelyn! This is about the rest of my life. I thought I was spending my life with your son. I was making plans for houses and babies and grand babies. My whole world has changed because he chose to screw some slut!” Erica didn’t know why she was unleashing her anger on Evelyn. For some reason, the thought of her sharing DNA with Max made her want to slap her across the face even though she’d always loved her.

Evelyn put her hand to her chest and took a deep breath before she stood. She knelt down and looked at Erica in the eye. With her trademark soft voice, she spoke. “Honey, I’m so angry at Max. We all are. I hope you know we adore you and didn’t see this coming at all…”

“Oh, Evelyn, I know that. I’m so sorry I yelled at you. I’d yell at Max if he was here,” she said reaching forward and hugging her. Evelyn had been a stand-in mother to Erica for the last couple of years, and it would be painful to lose her solid presence in Erica’s life. The sense of loss - Max, his friends, his family - was almost too much for her to bear.

The noise was irritating Erica, but she was unwilling to do anything about it. From the ringing of her home phone to the dinging text messages piling up on her cell phone, she could care less. She was supposed to be on her honeymoon, but instead she was holed up in her apartment which was starting to look like an episode of one of those hoarding TV shows.

Dishes were piled up in the kitchen while her wedding dress hung in the doorway of her bedroom. She had taken to drawing graffiti on it, mostly curse words directed at her philandering ex-fiance. She no longer cared how much money the dress had cost her; it was worth it to destroy the evidence of the worst day of her life.

“Erica, open up! I’m worried about you!” Callie called out as she pounded on her apartment door. Erica had moved into a new place just days after her “fiasco” as she called it. Her friends and family had pitched in and moved everything for her as she was in no position to do it herself. However, she had barely left her new place since moving in. She just didn’t have it in her to do anything. Exhaustion plagued her body and depression had claimed her brain.

“Go away!” Erica yelled from her couch. She had mindless daytime TV shows playing while she lounged around in her yoga pants and a t-shirt stained with chocolate from a particularly bad overnight binge.

“If you don’t open this door, I’m calling the super to open it for me!” Callie called. Not one to be deterred, Callie would get in one way or another, and Erica knew that.

“Fine…” Erica said barely able to push herself up to a sitting position on the sofa. “I’m coming…” she mumbled loudly as Callie continued to pound. She knew her friend wasn’t going to let it go, so she might as well give in and open the door.

When she swung the door open, Callie’s nose immediately drew up as her eyebrows squeezed together. She looked around behind Erica and shook her head.

“Girl, what on Earth have you been doing in here? This place was brand new a few days ago,” she said pushing past Erica.

“I’ve been busy,” Erica snapped as she slammed the door. “What do you want?”

“Well, first off, I want you to stop acting like an ass to your best friend. Second, I, along with the rest of the world, would invite you to take a shower sometime,” she said in her typical sarcastic tone.

“Whatever…” Erica was immune to her humor.

“No. Not ‘whatever’. Erica, you’ve got to start pulling yourself together. This is just what Max wanted. You’re letting him win!”

“I don’t care, Callie! Let him win! He destroyed my life, and now I have become an old maid. I think I will get a few cats and a nice house coat…” Erica said falling down on the sofa in dramatic style.

“Wow.”

“What?”

“You are having the biggest pity party I’ve ever seen in my life,” Callie said sitting down on the coffee table.

“Thanks,” Erica said rolling her eyes. “Much appreciated.”

“Listen, you know how much I love you. You’re like the sister I never had, Erica. But this has to stop. Your poor father is worried sick, and Evelyn keeps calling me. What’s your plan?”

“My plan? This is pretty much it,” Erica said tossing some popcorn into her mouth as she turned up the TV.

“Stop!” Callie said as she grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. “You’re acting like a brat.”

“Seriously?” Erica snapped.

“Yes, seriously. So you got stood up at the altar. You think you’re the only one in the world that has had it happen to them? So what? Get on with your life, Erica. It’s time to get on with it!”

“Easy for you to say…”

“No, it’s not. Don’t you remember my breakup with Paul? I was devastated. You were there to kick me in the butt and make me get up. Now, I’m here for you,” Callie said reaching across and grabbing Erica’s hands.

“It wasn’t the same, Callie. You weren’t left standing in your wedding gown in front of one hundred people explaining why you weren’t good enough,” Erica said trying in vain not to break down yet again.

“Is that what this is about? You don’t think you’re good enough?” Callie asked with her eyes wide.

“Well, if I was good enough, Max would have shown up.” Erica stood and walked to her marred wedding dress. “He threw me away like I was nothing, Cal.”

“He’s a stupid jackass, Erica. This isn’t about you. It’s about him. He’s the one lacking here, not you. This has nothing to do with being good enough. You are more than enough for any man. You just haven’t found the right one yet.”

“I spent years with him, Callie. Years of my life wasted that I will never get back. I just don’t know if I have it in me to start all over. I don’t think Mr. Right is out there for me…”

“Of course he is, sweetie,” Callie said putting her arms around Erica’s petite waist. “You just have to take a shower before you can find him.” Callie’s joke sent Erica into hysterical laughter, which represented the first time in days she’d cracked a smile.

“Wow, laughing hurts,” Erica said holding her side. “My muscles must be turning to mush…”

“That’s because you have to get out of this apartment and start living again. And, I came here with the perfect plan to help you do just that!” Callie said with her trademark grin as she pulled Erica back over to the sofa.

“What kind of plan?” Erica eyed her with her usual suspicious face. Callie was always concocting some crazy plan, and Erica was always silly enough to go along for the ride.

Over the next few minutes, Callie explained to Erica she had a cousin who owned a cabin on a small lake in the mountains. As spring was starting to bloom all across the Georgia landscape, Callie told Erica she thought getting out of the city for a week or two might be the best thing for her. Of course, Erica would have to convince her boss to give her a little bit more time off than her honeymoon had originally been planned for.

After some prodding, Erica finally agreed she needed a change of scenery. She called her boss, who had been at the “fiasco”, and explained she required some time off. Thankfully, her boss understood and gave her a couple of weeks to get her head together before coming back to work. Erica was all set to go to the mountains and clear her mind of all things Max.

After the two hour drive to the north Georgia mountains, Erica was tired. It was only mid morning, but her body and mind were still wracked with exhaustion. She wasn’t sure, but she thought this might be what depression felt like.

She'd never experienced depression before in her whole life, but what Max had done had rocked her to the core. They'd had such a close relationship for so many years that she never would've imagined he could concoct such a plan. At the core of their relationship, she had always thought they were great friends. But was this how a friend would treat another friend? Abandonment? Betrayal?

As she pulled into the driveway of the log cabin, Erica felt a moment of peace. She stepped out of her small compact car and started to walk around the property to get a feel for where she would be staying for two weeks. She walked up to the large wraparound front porch of the log cabin and looked from left to right. Lined with rocking chairs, she could imagine herself sitting out there having her morning coffee and listening to the birds that were so prevalent in early spring.

As she walked around the back of the property, she could hear the gravel driveway crunching beneath her feet. It was so completely quiet and serene in this area, she knew she would never be bothered by anyone or anything. Behind the property was a beautiful view of the north Georgia mountains, along with a small lake. She walked down the gentle incline to the shore and noticed a canoe. There was also a small dock where she could sit and fish or climb into the canoe and take a short ride across the pond.

She made her way up to the back of the house, which had a large deck overlooking the mountains. Everything about this place screamed peace and quiet. This was just what she would need to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and memories of Max.

She walked around to the front of the house again and found the hidden key that Callie's cousin told her about. As she unlocked the door, she walked into a rustic masterpiece. It was absolutely stunning inside. It should have been no surprise since she knew Callie's cousin was quite well off. In fact, he had cabins in several parts of North Georgia as well as a couple of beach houses. She wasn't sure what he did for a living, but she knew he had plenty of money to get by.

She walked into the cabin and saw a gourmet kitchen with granite countertops and top-of-the-line cabinets. There was also a separate eating area with a round rustic table. The living room was two-stories tall with floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a curved staircase going up to a loft. Of course, there were also bedrooms and bathrooms scattered throughout the cabin. It looked small outside, but it was a deep property with plenty of room for a family to live in.

She took her bags into the master bedroom, which was on the upper level. It had a huge, rustic style king-sized bed. The adjoining bathroom had a large garden tub with jets, which she knew she would find particularly helpful in easing her weary muscles. The long trip up to the mountains had done nothing for the exhaustion in her body.

As she sat down the bed, she listened to the quiet for a few moments. She never really heard quiet in the city. There were always honking horns, slamming doors and people talking. To some extent, the noise had helped to drown out all of the emotions and feelings she was having since being stood up at the altar. Now there would be nothing between her and her thoughts; nothing but the silence of the north Georgia mountains.

And the silence was already becoming deafening. She decided it might be a good idea to drive into town and see where she was. She needed to pick up some basic supplies at the local grocery store and get a feel for any local restaurants she might want to visit. Her plan wasn't to stay inside the cabin for an entire two weeks. She could've continued on doing that at her apartment … she actually did that for the last few weeks. That's what led to this little two week excursion to the mountains in the first place.

She grabbed her purse and locked up the cabin. As Erica drove down the mountain and into the small city of Mill Creek Crossing, she felt like she been transported back in time. Only a few people were milling about on the sidewalks of the small city square. Of course, it was mid morning on a Wednesday, so most people were probably at work. Surrounded by mountains, the tiny little town seemed like something from the 1950s.

She noticed an old time drugstore, a small grocery store and the coffee shop. She figured she'd spend a lot of time at the coffee shop since it was the only thing that was really familiar to her from the city. There were other little places along the square such as a barber shop with one of those real twirling red, white and blue lights outside. Amazingly, people waved at her when she got out of her car even though she didn't know anyone. Southern hospitality was seeping out of every pore of the cozy mountain town. She decided to head for the diner on the corner because she’d forgotten to eat breakfast before driving the two hours from the city.