Wrong Places

Maggie

“Who are you staring at so hard?”

“No one.”

“Right. So I’m just imagining that my best friend isn’t looking at my face?” Rhiannon quipped.

I tore my eyes away from Xavier and the pretty woman he was sitting with. They were in my line of sight when I was standing behind the register at my family’s coffee shop. Amusement danced in my best friend’s hazel eyes and mine sought out Xavier again. I shook my head. He was still the same guy, flaunting pretty girls in my face. He’d only been back in Rosa Oaks for about a month now, and he was living with my brother, Zane. I had no interest in rekindling a relationship with him, so it shouldn’t bother me that he was sitting over there with another woman. What we had ended over five years ago. It shouldn’t bother me, but stupidly, it did.

“Why are you here again?” I asked.

“To bug you, of course. Jess is gone this weekend, and I didn’t want to stay at my apartment in the city.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you as a friend.”

“Nothing at all. It was our moms, so you can thank them,” she replied with a cheeky grin.

The bell over the door dinged, and I moved away from Rhiannon to help the customer walking toward the counter. They ordered a simple coffee that took me all of two minutes to make. The man thanked me and headed right back out the door.

“You never answered my question, Maggie Anthony.”

“Why are you two-naming me? Stop being so bossy.”

“Answer the damn question or I’m going to talk about really inappropriate things when your next customer comes in.”

I groaned. She’d totally do it and just deal with the lecture she’d get from my mom and probably her mom too. Rhiannon lived by the phrase “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

“Do you not see Xavier sitting over there?”

Rhiannon glanced over. “I saw him when I came in. But why would I think my best friend is staring at him when she’s told me on so many occasions—since she’s been back—how she’s over Xavier? You know, finito, finished.”

I looked up, letting out a long sigh. Sometimes I truly wondered why I put up with her. “Why are you like this?”

“Like what? Totally awesome and freaking amazing?” she quipped, grinning widely. “I got to go hang with my true bestie.”

“That didn’t sting like you hoped it would,” I shot back.

“It did or you wouldn’t have said anything. Stop by my parents’ farmhouse when you get off.”

I agreed as she slid off her stool. She was gone in an instant. There was never a dull moment with Rhiannon. You’d think she was the more outgoing of the two of us, but she was actually reserved when it came to meeting new people. The people she knew… yeah, we got the Rhiannon who just left.

*

I walked into Rhiannon’s parents’ home, affectionately called the Saucers’ Farmhouse, through the garage door, which was unlocked. I ended up going through the kitchen to get to the den where I found my bestie lounging and half watching a replay of a basketball game.

“I have a brilliant idea,” were the first words she said when she saw me.

“Okay,” I said, a bit wary because most of Rhiannon’s ideas weren’t “brilliant,” and a lot of the times they ended with me getting in some kind of trouble because of her. “But first, where’s Emmy?”

“Dad took Emmy and Ollie to get ice cream. Mom went along and says it’s a date night,” Rhiannon told me.

I dropped down beside her on the couch. “Have they even eaten dinner yet?”

“Like my mom would ever not feed the kids before they had dinner. Dude, you remember how she was when we were kids. She’s the same now.”

I chuckled. Yeah, Ms. Irene—Rhiannon’s mom—was strict and felt like certain things had to be done in order. Like, no dessert before dinner and kids should do homework as soon as they got home. I was used to it having known her since I was born.

“Do you want to hear my idea?” Rhiannon asked.

“Fine. Excuse me for wanting to know where my kid was first.”

“Now who’s being the annoying one?” Rhiannon quipped. “But I’m going to let it slide since you’ve stalled me enough. When I was heading over here, I got a call from a client whose house I finished last month. He offered me the use of his rental cabin in Blue Ash, North Carolina next weekend. It’ll be free of charge for us, so I was thinking we should totally go. We never celebrated you and Xavi’s homecoming. This would be perfect for that.”

“I think that’s a damn good idea, Rhi. You know, I could use a vacation, and since I’m sure Mom will agree, I’ll get her to cover my shifts at the coffee shop. When will we drive up?”

“Thursday night so we could get in two days of skiing and snowboarding,” she responded. “I invited Mase, Aly, and Zane, along with Xavier, of course.”

“Yay, I’m glad Aly is coming, and Mase could also use the trip as much as I can,” I said. “What about Emmy?”

“I already made arrangements for my favorite little girl. Your parents will watch her on Friday, and Morgan’s parents agreed to watch her on Saturday when your mom has to work at the coffee shop. Your dad could have technically watched her, but he has to take Beasty to some extracurricular activity, and I thought it’d be easier if he didn’t have a two-year-old to keep up with.”

“Dude, did you just call my sister Beasty? You two have the strangest relationship.”

“Of course I did. It’s one of my nicer nicknames for her,” she answered, and I shook my head. “And our relationship would be so much better if she didn’t feel the need to always tell me what to do. We fight because she can’t understand who’s the adult in the relationship.”

I chuckled. Olivia—my sister—was nine years younger than me and Rhiannon, and we grew up babysitting her and spending a lot of time with her, unlike my older brother, Zane. Rhiannon had known her since she was a baby, changing her diaper and all that stuff. I knew it was all talk. She loved Olivia as if she were her own little sister. And they argued like they were related.

“Didn’t you just call her your bestie earlier?”

“That was because I hadn’t seen her yet today. I saw her and she had a snide comment about my outfit, so we’re not friends anymore.”

“Wow, that went left fast,” I quipped, and she flipped me off.

“So, you’re in?” Rhiannon asked. “I’m not telling Mr. Kavanaugh yes until you say you’re coming. If not, then no one is going.”

“Aww, I knew you loved me best and I was your favorite.” I hugged her, and she pushed me away, laughing. “And of course it’s a yes. It’ll be fun.”

“Hell, yeah, it’ll be fun.”

Rhiannon had her phone out already and made the call. I wandered into the kitchen to find something to snack on. I was excited about the trip, even though Xavier was going too. The last couple of years had been a lot to deal with. I’d found out my husband, Morgan, was cheating but gave him another chance. I thought we were on the right path but not even a year later I caught him in our bed getting a blowjob from one of the fellow moms in our building. I was twenty-five years old and living back at home with my parents, sister, and daughter. That wasn’t where I thought my life would be when I said, “I do,” three years ago.

“I’m out, Mags,” Rhiannon said, joining me in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open.

“Where’re you going?” I asked, finally deciding on a yogurt.

It may seem strange that I was just going into Rhiannon’s parents’ fridge without asking, but it wasn’t. We grew up together. I’d spent as much time at the Saucers’ Farmhouse as I’d spent at my own. I found a spoon and sat at the massive island in the kitchen where we usually gathered when we were here.

“I have plans with Xavier and Zane,” she answered. “I’m having dinner with them at their place. Connor is joining us, and Xavier’s latest squeeze is too, I think. I’m not looking forward to seeing Hannah, so maybe you could come with.”

“No, thanks. I’m not going to be a fifth wheel and have to play referee between you and Hannah.”

“She’s the one with the problems, not me.”

“I know, and it’s weird. I don’t know how I’m supposed to like her if she doesn’t like my best friend. It’s kind of hard with her being Zane’s fiancée.”

“It’s a conundrum. But I got to go.”

“Have fun, I guess, and don’t text me all night.”

“I make no promises.”

She hugged me and kissed my cheek before leaving me alone in the kitchen.