Holiday Hideout (Polar Bear, Alaska)

“Fender Fallon, oh my god, all my dreams have come true.”

I step away from Fender, breaking the connection between us.

“Fender, this is my sister, Joanie.”

Joanie steps forward with a wide grin plastered all over her face. “I can’t believe I’m meeting you.” She sticks out her hand, and Fender laughs.

“The sister. Ah, so you have lots of stories about Rachel, huh?”

“Loads,” Joanie answers with a mischievous glint in her eye.

My mind races through memories she could bring up to embarrass me. Please don’t let her tell him about the time I fell flat on Mrs. Rutger’s apple pie I brought to school in the tenth grade. I’ll never live that one down.

“Can’t wait to hear them.” He glances over at the lake. “Are you doing this craziness too?”

Joanie scrunches her face. “Hell no.”

I smack her arm. “Watch your language.”

Fender chuckles, and it’s all sexy how he does it. I don’t think this man knows how to not be sexy.

“I’m not killing off my brain cells by freezing them to death.” She steps closer so only we can hear her. “You know that’s what the cold water does, right? Kills functioning brain cells.”

I give her my best snarky smile. “Good thing for you, you don’t have any.”

Her mouth opens. “How dare you?” She grabs Fender’s arm, locking elbows with him. “I have so many more stories to tell you now.”

He laughs and they walk off together.

“You’re really doing this?” my father’s voice sounds from behind me.

I spin around to face him. “Sure am.”

He smiles, his frown lines disappearing. “You have nothing to prove to anyone, you know?”

“Dad, do you not want me to do this?”

He shakes his head. “No, it’s nothing like that. I want you to do it for you, and not for anyone else.”

I give my father a side-hug. “I am.” I step back, giving him a stern stare. “I ran into Sammy.”

“Oh, yeah?” His eyes no longer meet mine as he scans the crowd for no one in particular. “How’s he doing?”

“Well, he told me to tell you he hasn’t seen you in a while. To say hi to you.”

“That’s nice, dear.” My father appears distracted, and I know it’s because I’m questioning into dangerous territory. Every time my father has tried to avoid us girls, or not tell us something, it’s always been the same thing.

No eye contact.

An aloof voice.

“Dad,” I get his attention, “what’s really going on?”

He nods. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” He scurries away before I can ask him anything else.

I size up the lake, taking a deep breath and blowing it out super slowly. I spot Mrs. Green, my high school English teacher, and step up closer to her. “Have you done this before?”

“Last year, it was a blast,” she says. “You’ll be just fine, sweetheart.”

I wish I could believe her. I jump in place to warm up as I look for where Joanie and Fender have rushed off to.

As I glance around, I spot Fender returning with Joanie and a few of her high school friends dragging behind.

“I see you found a fan club,” I say to him.

He smiles. “Yes, I did, and my fans want me to jump.”

Joanie and her friends plead with Fender as he smiles down at me.

“Well, you can’t disappoint the fans.”

He laughs harder. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”

“It’s for a good cause.”

Eleven

Fender

* * *

She could tell me the money was being used to fund Trinity’s next album and I would still jump with Rachel.

Because I am just that smitten by her.

Unlike I ever have been in the past.

I stare out at the lake, and then at the crowds of people gathered out here today. Everyone bounces on their toes, trying to stay warm.

I’m a complete block of ice, so I can only imagine what this water will do to me.

“What if I catch hypothermia?” I ask Joanie and her friends.

“We’ll warm you up.” They all giggle in unison.

Rachel studies me with a smile on her face. I’d love to know what she’s thinking about. Is she thinking about the other night?

Is she thinking about all the things I said to her?

I wasn’t lying when I told her I would take my time with her, and I plan on doing just that.

After I jump into this freezing cold water.

We head off to a public restroom to change into the clothes we’ll wear to jump in the lake. Once I emerge, Rachel smiles at me.

“Ready?”

I shrug. “As I’ll ever be.”

They roped a small part of the lake off with paramedics standing by, just in case anything wrong were to happen. Women with oversized, fluffy towels stand just outside the roped off water, ready to wrap the participants in warmth.

We move to the starting line and a man with a whistle announces the plunge will begin. The whole town is here, and there’s other games and activities.