Page 44 of The Vineyard Bride

The Rottweiler’s teeth were fully bared as he started to growl.Lola extended her palms out flatly as she whispered, “Shhh.No reason to freak out, bud.We’re all in this together.”

But the Rottweiler jumped up to all fours and raised his chin.Lola’s eyes flashed toward the door between the garage and the rest of the house.The doorknob was stained with a thousand grubby fingerprints.

Should I just run in there?Open the door?Demand that Valerie come with me?

It was unrealistic to think that way, wasn’t it?Couples fought.Probably, if someone had listened in on one of her rows with Tommy, they’d have charged into their cabin, as well.

In the righthand corner, a large stack of metal glinted.The metal was in multiple different colors, blue, red, green, and yellow, and each piece of it seemed bent out and rusted.Lola stepped toward them tentatively and leaned down to inspect them.

With a strange surge in her heart, she realized that these metal slabs were old license plates, clearly removed from vehicles.

“Just stop your crying, will you?”The voice rang out from the main house.

Lola shivered and returned her gaze to the stack of license plates.The one on the very top was blue from the state of Massachusetts.The license plate read: DTXQ12.

“DTXQ12,” Lola muttered to herself, reaching forward to remove the top plate so that she could read the next one.But as she began to fold the first one upward, like turning the page of a book, the Rottweiler began to howl longingly.Lola turned around and panicked, allowing the license plates to fall back in place.Lola managed to leap away from the stack of license plates just in the nick of time.

Immediately, the door between the main house and the garage burst open to reveal Harry Billson, a handsome man in his mid-thirties with a propensity for thick mustaches, dark blue baseball caps, and jeans with flashes of car oil stains across them.He gaped at her, this stranger in his garage, and his eyes glinted menacingly.

How would she get out of this?

“Harry!”Lola began brightly, overacting the part of an eager and friendly woman.“Harry, I’m so sorry to barge in on you like this.”

Harry cocked his left eyebrow high and tilted his head.In a sense, he reminded Lola of the Rottweiler, as both seemed eager to tear her apart.

“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” Harry shot back.

Lola tried to peer behind Harry to spot some sign of Valerie.

“I’m really good friends with Valerie,” she stuttered.“The best of friends.We’ve had a few struggles lately.We’ve fought.And I really regret that.”

Harry continued to gape at her with sizzling confusion.

“But today is my wedding day.And I don’t know if I can marry my fiancé without Valerie there to support me,” Lola continued hurriedly.“If you could just let me speak with her for a moment.”

“A wedding?”Harry sniffed.“I’ve never heard of any wedding.”He yanked his head back to peer down the hallway, proof that Valerie was the woman he’d just been ripping into.“Valerie?There’s someone here to see you.”

“Who is it?”Valerie’s voice was sharp-edged and entirely unlike the version of Valerie Lola had known for years.

“Some woman who says she’s your best friend.”Harry gave Lola a sneaky smile, one that seemed to suggest that already, he had “won” Valerie.She wouldn’t be coming back from the prison he’d built her.

Finally, Valerie appeared at the far end of the white-washed hallway.Lola could only make out one-half of her face and the strands of her glossy hair.Their eyes connected for a split second before Harry burst into laughter.

“But I should tell her what I already know, shouldn’t I?”Harry continued.“That anyone who crosses you is out for good.You’ve had your fights?That means she’s already shown you everything you need to know about herself.Case closed.Right, Valerie?”

Lola’s throat tightened.“If we could just talk for five minutes, Valerie.Please...”

“I think I’m going to need to ask you to leave my property,” Harry shot back.“Immediately.”

Harry then slammed the door between them, leaving Lola in a quivering state of shock.She glanced back at the license plates, at the oil stain, and at the growling Rottweiler, her heart heavy as a stone.She then darted around and raced off the property, all the way back to the Sheridan House, feeling as though a monster followed behind her the entire way.When she returned to the house, she texted Valerie.

LOLA: If you want to get out of there, just say the word.

LOLA: I’m ready to pick you up whenever.

LOLA: I’ll drive over in my wedding dress if I have to.

But to this, Valerie only texted:

VALERIE: We’re living different lives now.

VALERIE: We don’t need each other.

VALERIE: I certainly don’t need you.

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