“Not happening.”
“Why? This is your chance to find something real. A man who loves you, maybe a family, someone who—”
“Stop!” I said, interrupting her. “Jesus. Would you listen to yourself? We’ve known each other three weeks. Twenty days to be exact. People don’t fall in love that fast. Especially not guys like him.”
“Says who?” she demanded. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you? Why can’t he feel the same?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly. You don’t know, but you’re walking away before you can find out. That’s your MO, how you try to protect yourself, but at the end of the day, can a broken heart be worse than what you’re dealing with now?”
“And what happens to you if I run off with him?” I asked her.
“I’ll figure it out. Just like you’re figuring out your shit, I’m working on mine. I’m going to look for subsidized housing in Vancouver and in Garland Grove. Whichever comes up first, I’m leaving Craig and moving there. Then I’ll get a job.”
“I thought we were going to live together?” I asked in confusion.
“Maybe. But you have to make your plans without me. Just like you don’t want anyone saving you, maybe I don’t want anyone saving me.”
“I thought it was different with us, you and me?”
“It is but it isn’t. I have two kids now, and I have to get my shit together for them. Not for myself, not for you, but for them. And the first thing I have to do is leave Craig. Then find an affordable place to live and a decent job.”
“I was trying to see if Remy would hire you at the arena but now I don’t know if he’s selling it or not.”
“It’s all right. Unlike Craig, I might be able to do that job at the garland factory. I just need someone to watch Daphne if I do because I don’t think I can afford day care.”
“I can help.”
“I know, but you have your own stuff going on.”
“I feel like you’re purposely pushing me away so I’ll run off with Remy,” I said suspiciously.
“Maybe. One of us has to grow a pair, you know?”
I chuckled. “Look, let’s just hang in there until the holidays are over. We’ll reassess after the first of the year.”
“Under one condition.”
“What?” I asked warily.
“You call Remy.”
“And say what?”
“Tell him the truth.”
“No.”
“Then I’m doing my thing without you.”
“You’re so full of shit,” I muttered.
“No, I’m serious. Someone has to save you from yourself.”
I rolled my eyes even though she couldn’t see it.
“By the way, you might want to drive up here tonight.”
“How come?”
“There’s a blizzard coming. The news says it’s going to be brutal.”
“What?”
“Yeah, go online or turn on a weather channel. Supposed to hit tomorrow sometime. Looking at six feet of snow.”
“What?! We don’t get that much snow, especially not in December.”
“I’m telling you—go look it up.”
“Great. Like this day hasn’t sucked enough. All right, I’m going to see what’s what. I’ll call you later if I’m going to drive up there.”
“Okay. And call Remy.”
“Bye, Connie.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.” I hung up and sat on a nearby bench. A freakin’ blizzard was the last thing I needed, and I had no intention of holing up in that tiny apartment with Craig. It wouldn’t be too bad to ride out the storm here at the arena, though. The fireplace in the lounge worked and though I usually didn’t dare turn it on overnight in case I overslept, I could get away with it during a blizzard. No one would be here and I could hunker down in there until it was over.
I’d need food, though, especially if the electricity went out, so I made a list and then grabbed my backpack and headed out to my RAV4. I’d stop at the Twisted Tinsel Bar on my way back for a burger and so I could watch the weather channel on the TVs there. Then I’d decide what I was going to do next.
The only thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t calling Remy.
No way, no how.
Well, probably not.
Chapter Twenty-One
Remy
* * *
I drove to my mother’s house on autopilot, still reeling from last night’s discovery about Noelle. How had I not noticed? I was so fucking pissed off at myself I barely remembered the drive to Vancouver.
Noelle lived at the arena.
That’s why she was always so secretive and cagey about her life and where she lived.
She didn’t have a home.
I wanted to smack myself for missing something so huge, but she’d done a good job keeping it a secret. No wonder she was so nervous about trusting anyone; she had very little left to lose and I guessed her pride was one of those things.
I didn’t know what to do about it, though.
“Remy?” My mother’s voice penetrated my dark thoughts and I looked up in surprise.
We were having dinner and Ashton was telling a funny story about his last hockey game, but I hadn’t been listening.
“Do you want to talk?” she asked gently.
“About what?” Ashton asked curiously.
“I think something’s happened with Noelle,” Mom said.
“Who’s Noelle?” Ashton asked, looking from Mom to me and back again.
“Someone I’ve been seeing,” I said, taking a sip from my wine glass.
“Here?”
“In Garland Grove.”
“What happened?”
“I’m stupid and she’s stubborn,” I muttered.
“That says a lot,” Mom said, chuckling. “Would you like to elaborate?”
I blew out a breath. I hated to break Noelle’s confidence but she hadn’t confided in me. I’d found out on my own, and anyway, there was no one I trusted more than my mother and brothers. “She’s…homeless. I didn’t realize it until after we’d had our disagreement about spending Christmas together. I thought maybe if I followed her home from the arena, since she’d never invited me to her place, I might get some insight into what’s going on. Instead, she never left the arena. I texted her, but before I could tell her I’d been waiting for her to come back out to her car, she lied and said she was going to bed.”
“Except if she lives at the arena, she wasn’t lying,” Ashton pointed out.
“I guess not.” I drummed my fingers on the table. “And now I don’t know what the hell to do. Obviously, she didn’t want me to know, but I’m crazy about her and the thought of her sleeping on the floor of the arena makes me insane.”
“Does she have somewhere to go?” Mom asked worriedly.
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.
“There’s a blizzard headed that way. We’ll only get the tail end of it here, but up there in the mountains, it’s going to be brutal. They’re talking six feet of snow followed by ice. They’re warning people to stock up on food and stay off the roads starting tonight.”