Page 55 of On the Slopes of Tahoe
“Asshole,” I mutter.
“No, it’s not Logan’s fault. He doesn’t know my parents are—well, the way they are. I’m sure he assumed my parents knew and supported me.” She slumps against me, like the weight of that hurt on her shoulders is crushing her.
“I’m sorry, Rory. I’m so sorry. How can I help, what do you need?”
“I don’t know. The condo’s been my home for years and I don’t know where I’d go without it.” I nod, hearing the pain in her voice. “So I need to cancel the elopements I have booked over the next few months and—”
“What? Why?”
She pulls away, breaking our connection as she slides back on the couch. “Didn’t you hear me? They know, and me staying in the condo is dependent on not doing them anymore.”
“But Rory—”
“No. It was stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking. It was a pipe dream, Breck.” She wraps her arms around her knees, hugging them to her chest.
“You don’t believe that.”
“I don’t think it really matters what I believe. I won’t have a place to live if I don’t quit. Do you know what it would cost for me to find somewhere else to live this close to the mountain? My parents aren’t playing around. If they say they’ll kick me out, they will.”
“What if you did?” I ask tentatively. “Have someplace else to live, I mean.” I was going to tell her about my plan tomorrow anyway. I don’t have all the details worked out yet, but I’m not going to change my mind.
She raises both brows. “Like where?”
“Okay, hear me out. I’ve been looking for a new rental the last two days. I’m not ready to go home yet, and neither is Willow. Your parents said this place is rented after we leave, and also… they’re assholes.” She almost smiles. “What if you come with us? I can find a place with three bedrooms. You could leave their condo on your terms, make your own decision about what you want to do about the business and your current job.”
“But that’s a short-term solution, Breck. You’ll go home eventually. It’s not like I can bounce from rental to rental with you forever.”
“You’re right, it is short term, but it would buy you until the end of February. A little over a month to figure out a plan, find a place of your own. I can help you. I need something to focus on if I’m going to put Adventure Chasers behind me for good, and helping you set up Adventure Elopements could be that thing. If you want it to be. I won’t pressure you, but I don’t want to see you give up.”
She chews her lip, thinking, eyes flitting around the room. “Adventure Elopements?” She smiles, just the smallest lift to her lips. “Sounds a lot like Adventure Chasers.”
“I was just trying it out. You’re going to need a name one way or another, and it can be whatever you want.” I shift to close the distance between us and ask, “Do you really believe they’ll kick you out?” She nods. “Do you want to quit? Do you want to let Rory’s Elopements go?”
She shakes her head but also chuckles. My little“name the business” game is helping.
“Then we figure it out. We have an opportunity to help each other here, Rory.” Our eyes clash and I see the wheels turning, her brain working to see every angle of this option. It’s not ideal, I know that, but if quitting isn’t what she wants, then I’ll be damned if she does it because her parents told her to.
“What if they hate me?” she whispers, the words barely audible as her head lolls back on the arm of the couch.
“They won’t hate you, Rory. They might not like your decision, but they’ll eventually see that they’re wrong. You can do this. Then it’ll be up to you if you want to forgive them for not believing in you.”
She lifts her head and looks me straight in the eye. “Do you believe in me?”
The question hits like a tornado, creating a swirl of emotions in the center of my being. “I believe in you, one hundred percent.”
Her eyes water and her lip trembles.
“Why does that make you sad?”
“Because it’s rare that anyone does.”
“You know that’s not true. Wes believes in you. He’d be ripping your parents a new one if he was here right now.”
“But he isn’t,” she says, and though she tries to hide it, there’s hurt in her voice. “I know he can’t be. I wouldn’t want anything different for him, but I feel his absence like it’s a physical thing.”
“I know, and I get that. But you have Jamie too. He’s doing what he can to help you here. He’s agreed to officiate the elopements you already have booked, right?”
“I know. I guess I’m just so used to their support. They feel like anchors that are always there, but someone else believing in me… I haven’t had that in a long time.”
