Thick as Thieves (Aster Valley 4)

“There should be groceries in the kitchen,” he said, turning off the ignition. “I hired a kid Tiller and Mikey recommended to stock it for my arrival.”

“Even though you weren’t supposed to arrive till tomorrow?”

He hopped out of the SUV quickly, waving his hand and mumbling something.

“What?” I asked.

“I went ahead and scheduled it for today. In case I wanted to get up here early or whatever.”

He sounded strange when he said it, but I chalked it up to the general stress from the day.

My wedding day. The day I got left at the altar like the plot of a Julia Roberts rom-com. I wasn’t sure where they got the “com” part of it because so far this felt much more like a drama or tragedy. Suddenly, the life I could picture ahead of me so easily was simply… gone. And in its place loomed a great big dark void. Everything in my life involved Erin. My best friend and hers were brother and sister. Her father was my boss. Her mother was the person who made soup for me when I came down with a cold.

I sighed and hopped out onto the snowy gravel drive. So much for the sweet relief of medical mood boosters. Other than a nice solid nap, that had been a bust. Before long, I’d be back in a downward spiral of guilt and second-guessing. Surely Erin hadn’t decided she needed “adventure” out of nowhere. There was a reason, and it was my not being a good enough boyfriend. Fiancé. Whatever.

“Cut that shit out and help me with this stuff,” Julian snapped from the back of the SUV. “Leave the skis. Let’s just take in our suitcases for now.”

After we got our stuff to the door and Julian entered the code on the cabin’s numeric keypad, the front door unlocked. The cabin was as quaint on the inside as it was on the outside. Even though it was mostly one big open room with living, dining, and kitchen spaces all in one, it looked homey and inviting in the best way. The biggest feature in the space was the expansive stone fireplace already set for a real wood fire. I’d noticed a covered rack of wood on the front porch, which meant we wouldn’t even need to traipse down into the snow to get more.

It was exactly the kind of place I could imagine spending a week in while licking my wounds. I let out a big breath and tried to get my shoulders to relax.

“This is nice. How long did you rent it for?”

Julian crinkled his forehead. “I bought it. It’s mine.”

I stared at him. “You bought a cabin in Aster Valley without telling me?”

He busied himself putting down our bags and fiddling with the thermostat on the wall. “I told you about it. It wasn’t a secret.”

It only took two strides for me to reach him. I grasped his arm and turned him to face me. “No you didn’t. You didn’t tell me you bought a place in Aster Valley. I would have remembered. I would have…” I stopped to try and figure out why it was bothering me so much. “I would have panicked.”

Jules searched my eyes to see if I was joking. “Panicked.”

“Yes. What does this mean? Are you moving here? Are you leaving Denver? Is this just a vacation place?”

Julian put a hand on my chest. “Calm down. Take a breath. You know I’ve been doing legal work for Tiller and Mikey’s resort.”

I nodded. “So you just need a place to crash when you’re here, right?”

He hesitated, and I felt my heart rate spike.

Please tell me you’re not leaving me, too.

Julian must have sensed where my head was because he patted my chest reassuringly. “Babe. Aster Valley isn’t that much farther from Vail than Denver is. It’s just in a different direction.”

“Yeah, but I’m always in Denver for…” I stopped. I only ever went to Denver anymore to see Erin unless there were family things scheduled with the Rokas and Thick families. “Oh. Fuck me.”

I rolled my eyes and moved away from him, moving over to start a fire so I’d have something to do. There was crumpled newspaper, small bits of kindling, and split logs stacked perfectly in the grate. I reached for one of the long matches in a decorative thing nearby and struck it before poking it into the newspaper here and there.

“Who still gets a newspaper?” I muttered. “I mean, that’s some vintage shit right there.”

Julian came over to peer over my shoulder. I noticed the familiar scent of his hair gel. “They sell it in stacks at the store here. It’s cheap.”

“You know what we could use for a fire starter when this stuff runs out?” I asked. “My marriage license. I think I have it here somewhere. Might do us some good. Ball it up and shove it in the grate before putting a match to it.”