Page 47 of Along Comes Trouble

TESSA

“Y ou’ll behome for Christmas, won’t you?” Ellie’s voice is so welcome right now. I love my life here in Brookside, but I miss my friend something fierce .

“Yep.” I curl up on my couch, wrap a blanket around my legs, and stare at the falling snow on the other side of my window. “I’ll be in Bliss at the end of next week .”

“So soon? I thought for sure you’d make this the shortest visit ever, considering how hot and heavy things are between you and Colton .”

I pause, unsure how to answer, before I hurry on and give Ellie something vague and happy so she doesn’t sense how off I am right now. Things between Colton and me are good. Kind of unbelievably good, but…something’s not right and I can’t put my finger on what it is. Colton’s been withdrawn since he and I watched the kids. Not enough to call him on it, but something’s different and it has me worried .

“Tessa?” Ellie’s voice jerks me back to the present .

“Yeah, sorry. I got distracted watching the snow.” I tell Ellie about the day at Colton’s trailer with the kids, highlighting all the good parts and skipping past the stuff that has my jaw clenched tight .

“Wow, Tess.” Ellie sighs. “You guys sound so happy. I’m just thrilled for you .”

“Life is good,” I say, even though I feel like a fraud for saying it. Life doesn’t feel as good as I’m making it sound. It feels messy. Confusing. Like I’m teetering on the edge of amazing and awful and all I need is one strong breeze to knock me over. I have my dream job, but when everything’s said and done, it’s still a job. There are days when I want to pull out my hair and scream once the kids have gone home because anything would have been better than enduring a room full of children who all decided to be grumpy on the same day. I’m seeing a great guy, but maybe we’re not ever going to go further than where we are, and that thought is hard to process. Colton is fun, but I want more than fun with him. Given his take on kids and his sudden withdrawal, I’m afraid more isn’t possible .

“Well, listen.” Ellie continues, oblivious to my dark mood. “I have to go, but when you get to Bliss, please, please, please come and see me ?”

“How can you even think I’d step foot in Bliss and not come see you? I miss you big .”

“I miss you bigger .”

We say our goodbyes and I tug my blanket to my chin. It’s a fuzzy pajama kind of day if I ever saw one. I don’t know how long it’s been since I sat at home in my pjs and read, and that’s exactly the kind of day I need. I’ll put on some soft music. Bake some cookies. Curl up on the couch and disappear into a book. Today has officially been declared an old school Tessa kind of Sunday .

I wander into the kitchen and open the cupboards, peering inside to see what ingredients I have when there’s a knock at the door. I consider not answering, but after yet another series of knocks, my manners win out. With my blanket wrapped around my shoulders, I trudge through my apartment and pull open the door to find Sarah on my doorstep, snowflakes melting into her dark hair .

“Hey there, sweetness.” Sarah pushes past me without waiting for an invitation. “What’s good ?”

I sigh and close the door behind me while Sarah slips off her boots and sets them on the mat. “Just enjoying a quiet day,” I respond. “I was going to bake some cookies and then read until my eyes bleed .”

“Sounds pretty boring to me .”

I catch a hint of alcohol on her breath and frown. “Have you been drinking?” It’s Sunday afternoon, for God’s sake .

“I stopped at Colton’s. He’s watching the game so, of course, beer. I had a drink or two and got bored. So, tada!” She holds out her arms. “Entertain me.” She smiles broadly. “What kind of cookies are you making ?”

I consider asking her to leave, but if she’s been drinking, I don’t trust her behind the wheel. At the rate the snow is falling, the roads will be treacherous for a sober driver before she gets home. Bad weather and alcohol are such an obvious recipe for disaster, I’d be a horrible person if I let her leave. So much for an old school Tessa Sunday. It looks like the spice I’ve added to my life is here to stay. Like heartburn , I think, and then chastise myself for being mean. It’s not Sarah’s fault I’m grumpy. Although it is her fault for showing up uninvited .

“I’m not sure what I’m baking yet,” I say. “I was just peeking in on the ingredients I have when you showed up. I have about a million Christmas cookies to bake before I head home next week, so I was thinking just a small batch of something simple today .”

“Sounds perfect.” Sarah leads the way into my kitchen and hops up onto a counter. “Do you have stuff for sugar cookies? Those are easy, right ?”

“Very easy.” I grab the ingredients, shooing Sarah off the counter. “But if you’re eating, you’re helping, so grab a bowl and let’s get to it .”

Sarah lifts her hand in a mock salute and gets to work, dumping ingredients I measure into the bowl. “What are you even doing here?” she asks after a few minutes. “You and Colton are pretty much inseparable these days. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t weirded out when I showed up at his place and you weren’t there .”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess we both just felt like having a Sunday to ourselves .”

Sarah grabs a spoon and starts mixing. “Yeah…” She shakes her head. “You’ll have to excuse me if I call bullshit on that one. You’ve been kind of weird and withdrawn all week. What gives ?”

I lean on the counter and drop my head into my hands. The last person I want to get into this with—besides Colton himself—is his sister. “I don’t know, Sarah,” I mumble. “Maybe I’m just off because I have to go home next week.” That’s not true either. I was dreading going back to Bliss, but after the last couple days, I’m starting to look forward to the break .

Sarah shakes her head. The woman can smell a line of bullshit a mile away. “Nope. That doesn’t make sense, either. You, the one who insists that family is so important, want me to believe that you’re stressing because you get to see your mom and dad?” Sarah stops stirring and lets the spoon hit the side of the bowl. “Try again, sweetness .”

“Fine. I’m stressing out about me and Colton. He and I are so different and while I still love being with him more than anything, I’m afraid you were right when you said we’re destined to fail. We want different things out of life .”

Sarah nods. “I totally get that. But, indulge me here. Before you guys got together, how would you rate your life? Were you happy ?”

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