The Friendship Pact
Chapter 1
For the better part of her childhood, all Tae Holmes had wanted was to be an adult, only as it turned out, adulting was overrated. Take tonight for example. She'd planned everything down to the very last little detail, and things had still gone FUBAR.
So she did what the Holmes women did when facing disaster- something she had a lot of experience with-she pretended all was perfectly well. Chin up, she strode across the ritzy hotel lobby like she owned the joint, shoving the inner echo of the emo teenager she'd once been deep. Because this wasn't about her. It was about making sure her fledgling event company became a success, starting with tonight's fundraiser for her biggest client.
Moving through the post dinner-and-auction crowd in the lobby, she forced the confident smile of someone not at all worried that the heels she wore were so high she risked her neck with every step, or that her updo kept quivering, threatening to escape the pins that held it together.
The epitome of a girl playing dress-up.
Her gaze caught on the sight of a guy standing by the twenty-five-foot-high rock fountain in the center of the lobby and her fake smile congealed. It was the guy she'd had an awkward first-and last-date with a week ago, Michael Someone-Or-Another. She was pretty sure the decision to never see each other again was mutual, so why was he here at her work event?
When he craned his neck her way, she hurriedly crouched behind one of the dozens of potted blue spruce pine trees and tried to bargain with karma. I'm an okay person, right? I try to recycle. I give fifteen bucks a month to an elephant orphanage in Africa. I–
"Tae?"
She closed her eyes tight, like that could make her vanish. She'd gone out with him because she'd made that stupid promise to her mom, that they'd both put themselves out there for some badly needed fun in their lives. Fun had been a rare commodity, what with work and the whole pesky keeping-a-roof-over-her-head thing.
"It is you."
Drawing a deep breath, she opened her eyes to find Michael closer, in a slim-cut blue suit, his long hair neatly contained in a man bun, his goatee perfectly manscaped.
"Wow," he said, looking her over with surprised appreciation.
"You didn't look like this on our date."
True story. She looked like this never. Not to mention, he'd taken her on a hike to Five Lakes, a straight uphill climb, where he'd then decided to "test her outdoorsiness" by suggesting they go skinny-dipping. When she'd balked, he'd stripped anyway and jumped into the water. She'd promptly hiked back by herself.
"Seriously," he murmured, still taking her in. "Wow."
One more “wow" and she was going to start her own drinking game. "Listen, I'm not sure how you managed to find me here, but I'm working, so–"
"There you are." This was uttered by a beautiful woman in a killer red dress with a camera strapped around her neck and a flute of champagne in one hand. Her smile was warm and welcoming. "Hello, darling."
Tae sighed. “Hi, Mom."
April Holmes shifted the camera aside so she could squeeze Tae in close for a hug. “Dress number three," she whispered. "It's perfect for you."
Okay, so Tae had rented three different dresses for the evening, no big deal. But her mom had promptly said the first two looked like they were meant for the sixty-five-years-and-older set. So here she was, in the third dress. Sexier than she'd wanted for a job, but that's what happened when you and your mom- only fifteen years your senior-had a codependent relationship. You did dumb stuff to keep the peace.
"Hold up," Michael said and looked back and forth between the two women as if he'd won the lottery. "You're... mother and daughter? I mean, sisters, sure, but no way mom and daughter."
April laughed in delight.
Tae, who'd heard the sisters comment a hundred million, billion, trillion times, just rolled her eyes. Yeah, yeah, whatever, they looked very much alike with the same five-foot-seven build and dark, shoulder-length brown hair. They each had brown eyes as well-though April's were dark brown and always smiling, and Tae's were light brown and usually not smiling.
"Tae, you look beautiful tonight," April murmured. "Doesn't she, Michael?"
Annnnnnnnd there it was-her mom was matchmaking, part of her New and Improved Mom plan. “Mom, Michael and I have already figured out we're not a match."
Michael nodded in agreement. "Because you're uptight and don't know how to let loose. It messes with my aura."
Tae looked at her mom. "I mess with his aura."
"Wow," Michael said at her clear sarcasm.
Tae took the flute of champagne from her mom's hand and drank.
"But for the record, she's right," he told her mom. “We didn't vibe. But you and me, April ..." His smile warmed, and was actually quite charming. “We vibe."
Tae laughed, but it backed up in her throat at Michael's serious expression. “Wait. So now you want to date my mom?"
"Until two minutes ago, I had no idea she was your mom." He winked at April. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Robinson. You're stunning, by the way."
"Aw." April smiled at him. “You're sweet." She turned to Tae. "Honey, I'm sorry. I had no idea he was the same Michael you went out with when I arranged to meet him here for a nightcap after the event."
Tae nearly choked on her champagne. "Wait. You're on a date with him?"
April smiled at Michael. “Would you mind giving us a minute?"
When he moved off, her mom sighed. "I'm truly sorry. I had no idea. And your eye twitch is back."
Tae pressed a finger to her eye. "This is what happens when you go rogue and set us both up for the same dating site."
"I've got just the thing." Her mom went through her purse and pulled out a piece of butterscotch candy. "Here. Your favorite."
Tae had to laugh. “Mom, that only worked when I was a little kid."
April took the candy back and popped it into her own mouth. "I'm just so sorry. I went out with Michael two days ago and you never came up in conversation, not once. We planned to go out for dessert tonight, and then a walk along the lake."
"Warning, he likes to skinny-dip."
"Oh boy." Her mom sighed. "Let's make a motion to strike him from the dating pool. The truth is, he's kind of smug, but I went out with him because I made you pinkie swear you'd get back into the dating pool, and I couldn't let you go swimming alone."
Tae had to laugh. “Always a giver, Mom."
"Remember that." She drew a deep breath. "Off I go to let him down." She fanned herself. “Look at me, I'm sweating behind my knees. I'm usually the one being dumped."
"Mom," Tae said softly, pained for her because it was true. April's dating life had been erratic over the years, to say the least. But that was what happened when you raised yourself with no authority figure-you made a whole bunch of mistakes along the way. The men April had chosen weren't bad guys, just lazy and unambitious, often siphoning off April as a result.
As for Tae, who'd witnessed every one of her mom's mistakes, her own life often being affected as well, her views on love had been formed by what she'd seen. She'd early on given up having expectations regarding love.
Even as she still deep down hoped it existed.
"It's okay," her mom said. "It's taken a while, but I think I'm finally figuring out what I'm worth."
Tae hugged her tight. “Good. Because you're worth a lot. And if he gives you trouble, you're not alone. I'll kick his butt."
Her mom's gaze went from bemused to regret. “Tae, always have to be the tough one. I'm the mom, and I know what you don't tonight means to you. Adrenaline HQ is your first big client."
"A client you got for me."
"No." April shook her head. “I’m just the receptionist. All I did was introduce you to my boss. You got the contract to run AHQ's fundraiser events all on your own."
Maybe, but she still had to prove herself to the company, which took athletes with disabilities and wounded warriors out on the mountain for winter adventures. Tonight's dinner and auction would fund next winter's ski program. She’d also proposed adding local at-risk youths to the program, and Jake Copeland, owner of Adrenaline HQ, had readily agreed. If they did well tonight, some of the money would be allocated as scholarships for those at-risk youths. But there weren't as many people here as she'd hoped.
"You're obsessing again," her mom said with a gentle shoulder nudge to stop Tae from mentally counting their guests.
"It's a way of life." They had maybe one hundred people here. Half of what she'd hoped for.
"We really need to revisit yoga and deep-breathing techniques for you."
That wasn't going to help. The only thing that could help Tae was success tonight. Success would mean security, safety, and stability-her life goals-so that neither she nor her mom would ever again have to work two or three jobs at a time.
Her mom put her hands on Tae's shoulders and turned her to take in the whole area. A bolt of lightning hit, making the lights flicker for a heart-stopping few seconds. But for a native Tahoe girl, taking Mother Nature in stride was par for the course.
"Take a good look," her mom said. "What do you see?"Okay, so the venue was truly fantastic. “We're short a lot of рeople.""The surprise storm is to blame for that, not you." Her mom gave her a little shake. “What else do you see?"Tae looked around. “Well, Michael's either having a seizure or he's winking at you.""Ignore him. People are having a great time, Tae, and I've got the pictures to prove it. Look." She brought up the screen on her camera, scrolling through some fantastic photos. Her mom had been a lot of things in her forty-three years of life: a teenage mom, a housecleaner, waitress, nanny, and now a receptionist, but she'd always been a photographer at heart, taking baby and kid pics for friends and neighbors as side jobs. And yet her real passion was landscape photography.Tae could only imagine where her mom might’ve been if she hadn't had a baby while still a baby herself. “These are amazing, Mom.""I’ve got a great backdrop."It was true. The hotel sat on a hill overlooking the dizzyingly gorgeous Lake Tahoe, which thanks to another lightning blast was lit up in all its heart-stopping glory for a few seconds. The massive, sprawling lobby was where they'd held the auction, the place made up of floor-to ceiling windows, lit with miles and miles of twinkle lights and people in cocktail dresses and suits, who indeed were mingling and chatting and laughing. It was all so pretty it could've been a movie set. But had they made enough money on the auction items? Jake was currently adding everything up, so Tae could only hope."Smile," her mom said. "Remember, you can fake anything with a smile."Tae bared her teeth in a semblance of a smile that made her mom laugh. “That’ll do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I've got a date to dump."Tae caught her mom's hand. “Only if you want to. I mean howoften do you ... vibe . . . with someone?"
Her mom snorted. "I don't want to vibe with anyone who can't see what a beautiful, wonderful, unique woman my daughter is, whether you liked him or not."Tae's heart warmed, but she also had to laugh. "I know you're stretching when you use the word unique.""It's true!" She pulled in Tae tight for another quick hug, then strode off, blind to the heads that turned and watched her move.
Tae took a deep breath and let it out, turning in a slow circle. Her mom was a lot of things, most of them wonderful, but she was also an eternal optimist.
Tae was the realist in their family of two, always had been.
Overhead, the lights dimmed except for the fairy lights. The music slowed, and the crowd on the dance floor slowed with it. A man and a young girl probably his daughter stepped onto the floor. The girl was maybe eight, and had her feet on top of her dad's. They were beaming at each other, and Tae's heart tugged hard. She'd seen dads laughing and having a great time with their kids before, of course. But there was something about never having experienced it herself that made her feel like she'd missed out.
"Sweet, isn't it?"
She glanced over to find an elderly gentleman smiling at the duo. "I know men aren't supposed to admit it," he said, “but it chokes me up every time I see a father and daughter like that." Same, but probably for a very different reason than he thought.
"I remember dancing with my daughter when she was that age," the man said wistfully. “One of my favorite memories." He sighed. “Did you ever dance with your dad?"
Surprised at the intimate question, she glanced over at him.
"My dad died when I was a baby."
Now he looked surprised. "Well, that can't be."
"Excuse me?"
"You're Tae, right?" He pointed to her name tag, which had only her first name on it, encouraging a more casual setting for people to interact. "I'm Carl Schwartz. My grandson Denny has spinal bifida and attends all of AHQ's ski days. I go with him whenever I'm in town."
Tae gave a small nod, not understanding what that had to do with her dad. “Nice to meet you," she said politely.
"I knew your dad. Well, vaguely anyway. He hung out with my son Scott when they were teenagers. A few years back, Scott mentioned running into him."
Tae stilled. This simply couldn't be true. "He died overseas."
The man frowned. "We're talking about AJ Strickland, yes?"
Having never heard that name before, Tae felt a trickle of relief. “No. Thať's not my dad's name."
"Oh." He looked so surprised. "I must’ve confused things. We all knew that AJ had a daughter named Tae, so when I saw your name I just assumed ..." He shook his head. "Well, we all know what happens when you assume anything. My sincere apologies."
With her heart thudding oddly in her chest, Tae took a step back. "No problem." She glanced around for her mom, finding her across the room clearly trying to let Michael down sweetly and gently. That was her mom. Sweet. Gentle. Trusting . .. the most open person in the world, which meant she believed just about anything that anyone told her.Not Tae. Never Tae, and she turned back to Mr. Schwartz to ask one of the hundred questions in her head, but . . . he was no longer standing there. "What the-" She looked around, but there was no sign of him anywhere. It was as if he'd never existed in the first place. Needing air, she headed toward the wall of glass doors to the exit. Halfway there, her phone rang. She would've sent it straight to voicemail, but it was her client Jake. They also had another connection that he didn't know anything about, and if she had anything to say about it, he never would."Hey," he said. “Everything okay?""Yes." She turned to sweep the room again and saw him in his wheelchair near the fountain, physically imposing and handsome as ever. At his side sat his dog Grub, a ridiculously adorable rescue mutt who resembled Sulley from Monsters, Inc. Well, except he was red instead of turquoise with purple spots."That asshat you went out with last week is here," Jake said. "Don't tell me you decided to give Nature Boy another chance."
She'd known she'd be sorry she'd told Jake and his girlfriend, Carolyn, about her really bad date at lunch the other day. “Actually, he's my mom's date for the night."
Even from their distance of at least a hundred feet, she caught the flash of Jake's smile. “Awkward."
She rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks, hadn't noticed."
He snorted, and she was happy to be the source of amusement for him, but ... “I'm really sorry about tonight, Jake."
"What are you talking about? You did a great job. Grub loved the ... well, grub."
"Only half the RSVPS showed up. The night's a disaster."
"No," he said. "If I'd run it, it’d have been a disaster. Tonight wasn't that. The storm kept some people home, sure, but everyone who showed up opened their wallets. But that's not what tonight's about anyway."
"No?"
"No," he said. "It's about talking with families, hearing their stories, and making connections. Being emotionally available."
Tae sighed.
"What?"
"I'm trying to figure out why you hired me. I'm not exactly the emotionally available type."
Jake Copeland had been Special Forces, then run a huge boating tourism company in San Francisco before settling here in Tahoe to start up Adrenaline HQ. He was as tough and badass as they came, and didn't laugh often. But he was laughing now, in obvious agreement that she wasn't the most emotionally available person "Look," he said. “I was older than you in high school and we didn't know each other then. But you're April's daughter, so I know that deep, deep, deep down inside you must have the same compassion and warm heart that she does. You're going to be a huge asset to Adrenaline HQ. Now go home."
"But the cleanup–"
"Will be handled by my staff. Not your problem. Good night, Tae."
Not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, she ordered an Uber as she headed outside. For the first time all night, something went her way. A car would arrive in two minutes. It took her that long to get down the stairs, through the slick parking lot to the street without breaking her ankles in the most ridiculous shoes she'd ever worn. She couldn’t wait to strip out of this dress, pull on comfy pj's, pour a glass of wine, and make herself a big, fat, gooey grilled cheese sandwich. She texted her mom a quick be safe, don't forget your carriage turns back into a pumpkin at midnight before looking up at where she was going.And damn.Michael stood not three feet away.He shook his head in disgust. “You made her cancel on me."Oh goodie, they were going to talk. "I don't make her do anything.""You know, I could tell from our half-date that you were cold and heartless," he said. “But I didn't think you were the type to also be jealous and vindictive. I honestly tried to like you, Tae. It's nothing personal that I didn't."She opened her mouth, then decided nope, not worth it. Catching sight of a car pulling up, she mentally matched it to the color of the Uber she’d just ordered, and grateful-on top of freezing, she hopped in almost before it came to a full stop. Pulling on her seat belt, she laid her head back and closed her eyes. “Rough night, so I'm going to need you to be liberal withthe gas."The car didn't budge."Uh, it's the pedal on the right.""This isn't an Uber," the guy in the front seat said.Of course it wasn't. Well, never let it be said that once committed, she didn't go all out, even for a horrible evening.