Page 37 of Beautifully Undone

“We’re done here. Why don’t you follow me back. I’ll get you settled in and get you the key.”

“Sounds good.”

Mel finished her ginger ale and we walked to the truck.

“Pilsner?” I said to Mel as we got in the truck to follow Brodie to the cottage.

“It was the only name I could think of. And, I thought you didn’t want them to know who you were yet. I saw the name on the wall and went with it.”

“It’s a beer.”

“Technically, it’s a pale lager, according to the sign at the bar.”

I shook my head and laughed. “You’re crazy.”

She shrugged. “Maybe. But this is sort of fun, don’t you think?”

“You could have used my middle name. Becket.”

“I could have, but you said you didn’t want them to know who you were yet, and you never know, that last name might sound familiar if your dad ever mentioned your mom to them.

I doubted he had, but she was right. “You sure you’re going to be okay with this sleeping arrangement?”

“I guess. We’ll think of something, but I didn’t want to make them suspicious about who we were. It seemed more likely that a couple would be traveling together rather than just a guy and his friend who was a girl.”

“What would be strange about that?” I asked, not quite understanding why that would be so hard to accept.

“I don’t know, Asher. You didn’t give me any instructions before we got here. I’m just going with my gut, and it just felt better to say we were a couple rather than just friends.”

We pulled into a gravel driveway that seemed to go on forever. Red and pink carpet roses flanked each side. We stopped in front of a two-story farmhouse that sat on what looked to me like an acre of grassy land leading into a forest area in the back. The house had a wooden porch wrapping around the entire front, complete with a two-seater swing and a couple of comfortable looking chairs. A tiny pang of jealousy crept up my spine. Did they grow up here in this house?

We got out of the truck and Gabrielle waited with us while Brodie headed in to get the key. The sound of crunching tires came from behind us as another car pulled up behind my truck. Jackson and Lena stepped out.

“Could I use your bathroom?” Mel asked.

“Sure, come on,” Gabrielle led her inside.

“I’m coming, too,” Lena said. “I want to see what you did with the spare bedroom you just redecorated.”

“Our place is just down the road,” Jackson said, pointing to his left. “This old farmhouse belonged to my uncle. He left it to Brodie when he died. We used to live down the road that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction of where he’d said he and Lena lived. We spent a lot of time in this house when we were kids. My mom, too, since my uncle was her only living relative and our dad died when we were young. Where did you say you were from?”

“I didn’t, but San Francisco. Mel and I both grew up in the Bay Area. Now we live in the city. We perform at one of the local bars.”

“Really? What do you perform?”

“We both play guitar and sing. I was doing it on my own up until last night. I invited Mel to play with me. It was something I’d been wanting to do for a while, and then when her brother died suddenly, well, it was time.”

“That’s too bad about her brother. Was it recently?”

“Yeah, a few weeks ago.”

He nodded. “Well, it’s great that you play. We’ll have to jam sometime.”

“Sounds fun.”

He nodded. “What’s up in Oregon, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“No. It’s fine. We’re heading up for a vacation. Since Mel’s brother just died and my mom passed away a couple of weeks before that, we just needed to get away for a while. Clear our heads.”

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