Worth the Risk Read Free Page B

you OK?”
    “Yes. And thank you. I didn’t know what to say to him. I’m stunned he’s here. You’re sure you didn’t know he was coming?” Surely her friend wouldn’t have kept her in the dark. Had Molly known, she never would have made the trip this year.
    “No. I’m as surprised as you. While you two were staring each other down, I grilled Brad. Apparently, Tanner just got back to town. Brad ran into him this morning and invited him.” Colleen frowned, but held Molly’s gaze. Her voice a whisper, she asked the same question she’d asked many times over the ages. “What happened, Molly? Are you ever going to tell me?”
    Colleen had never pushed for an explanation. Molly regretted that she couldn’t confide in her best friend, but it had nothing to do with trust and everything to do with grief, guilt, and the pact she’d made with herself. “It was a long time ago, and something I don’t think about anymore. I’d prefer to leave it in the past.” In truth, it never drifted far from her thoughts. She had worked long and hard to get to the point where she remembered without the constant threat of tears. The guilt still needed work.
    She shook her head. Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye. She’d decided long ago to never tell a soul. And with her parents gone, that promise had been easy to keep. She just hoped that somewhere along the way Tanner had forgiven her.
    Colleen offered her a sympathetic smile and hauled her in close for a hug. Molly closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, releasing it on a sigh of relief. She’d been granted another reprieve from divulging her secret, at least for now.
     
    * * *
     
     
    Brad raised his beer. “Here’s to the official start of blackfly season and a long weekend with no rain.”
    “Are you kidding me?” Matt’s hoot of laughter made the others smile. “This is Canada, and it’s May Two-Four. That’s synonymous with cold, damp, and wet.”
    Molly couldn’t agree more. But like most Canadians, this weekend was a tradition, regardless of the weather. Sort of comparable to giving birth and forgetting about the pain—something Molly would never experience.
    Bottles clinked around the table. After Brad, Tanner, and Matt had finished pitching their tents around the double site and stowed their gear, they gathered around the picnic tables. Molly chose the end opposite Tanner, where she could observe unnoticed.
    The remains of sandwiches and a variety of junk food lay scattered among them. A few chipmunks, moving past their stage of shyness, darted in and out grabbing dropped crumbs. The noise level had risen as the other weekend campers arrived. A group of young kids started a game of horseshoes at the site across from them, the ping of steel on steel sporadic throughout the late afternoon.
    From beneath lowered lids, she watched Tanner survey the area.
    “You managed to snag a perfect spot.” He nodded his appreciation.
    Sam snatched up a handful of chips. “Me and Liv came in early and booked them for us. Good thing, too, because the park’s full. Snagging this end of the loop was lucky.”
    “So, Tanner, have you been in Vancouver all this time?” Matt asked the question everyone wanted to know.
    “Yes, but most of the time I’ve been up at Whistler. I went out to visit my aunt and uncle in Vancouver. Then I got a summer job at the ski hill working in one of the restaurants.” Tanner sipped from his beer. “I stayed at the hill for a year, living with friends while I worked.” He shrugged. “I had nothing to come home to, so I decided to stay.” Molly’s gaze jumped to Tanner’s, but even without his glasses, his eyes were hooded, his thoughts hidden.
    The strained silence seemed to last forever, but it only existed between the two of them. Molly scanned the others around the table until her gaze collided with Colleen’s. Molly ducked her head.
    “You know, I can still remember our first trip out here,” Matt said.
    “Yeah,