Piper’s heart cracked wide open. The loneliness emanating from deep inside Otis threatened to break her. How could she not have known all of this? She saw him several times a week at the diner. It made her feel ashamed of herself for failing Otis. She wanted the diner to be a place where people connected, not only with her but with each other. A tight-knit community of sorts. All the while Otis had been suffering in silence. She’d been so busy worrying about the diner’s future, she hadn’t noticed the older man’s isolation.
She swallowed past a huge lump in her throat. “Sharing the recipes with us is kind of like passing them down, Otis. We’ve known you our whole lives. When it comes right down to it, you’re like an extended member of our family.” She wasn’t trying to flatter the older man. Everything she’d just said was true.
Otis bowed his head. “Hearing you say that means a lot to me.” Tears misted Otis’s eyes. He ran a shaky hand over his face. “I’d be happy to work with the two of you. And you’re free to use any of my recipes. Things do tend to get a little isolated around here. Working with a team sounds like fun.”
“That’s wonderful,” Piper said, leaning over and pressing a kiss on Otis’s cheek. “I’m so thankful you’ll be joining us.”
She looked up to find Braden’s eyes glued on her and Otis. The corners of his mouth were showcasing the beginnings of a smile. She grinned back at him. Things were looking up for her beloved establishment. She had no tangible proof that business would increase, but Braden’s assistance at the diner had changed everything. She’d known that recruiting Braden to work with her would yield wonderful ideas.
Their friendship seemed so uncomplicated at the moment. They were working together as a unit toward a common goal, and both of them were putting their best feet forward to salvage her diner. It almost made her believe she’d imagined the distance and tension between them. Deep down she knew she hadn’t.
She prayed this moment of tranquility would last, although she feared something would happen to turn everything upside down.
* * *
For much longer than they’d initially planned, Piper and Braden sat with Otis and went through his scrapbook of pie recipes. Braden couldn’t bear to tear Piper away when she was clearly enjoying herself. Spending time with Otis was serving as a pick-me-up for her. It was understandable, considering she spent most of her waking hours at the diner. Visiting Otis had provided a well needed break from her day-to-day routine. But they both knew there was a lot of work to do at the diner.
After saying their goodbyes to Otis and arranging for him to come to the Snowy Owl at the end of the week, they began their drive back to town. A few minutes down the road, Piper made a request. “Braden, can you pull over?”
Braden’s hands tightened on the wheel as he safely maneuvered the truck to the side of the road. A heavy weight sat on his chest. He didn’t need two guesses to figure out why Piper wanted him to stop. Just breathe, he reminded himself. Please, Lord. Give me the strength to get through this without falling apart.
Piper jumped out of the car and walked toward the base of the trails. She stared off into the distance. “I haven’t been back since that day,” Piper said, her gaze focused on the mountain.
“Me neither.” Braden felt as if he couldn’t breathe properly. He hadn’t ventured out here since the accident on purpose. His last memory of being up here involved the moments where he’d feverishly tried to save Jack’s life. Being this close to the tragic scene felt shattering. Jarring memories flashed before him. He shuddered at the impact. For so long he’d been trying to stuff them down, yet this was proof they hadn’t gone anywhere. They’d just roared back to life.
“Piper, why did you want me to stop here? There’s nothing here for you but sad memories.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and ducked his head. He didn’t know how to handle all the feelings coursing through him. Was this God’s way of telling him he couldn’t run from the past? That he needed to face it head-on before he moved forward? He had avoided this location like the plague, but here he was, standing in close proximity to the accident site.
“I don’t know,” she answered with a shrug. “This was the place my father felt joy. He loved being up here. He was so busy at the diner, so he rarely had time to go snowmobiling. But every now and again, he would carve out a little bit of time to engage in the things he loved. Sometimes it was heading over to the Avon theater on Main Street with Mama to watch a classic film. Other times he went mushing with his friends from Homer. He was a man who enjoyed life.”
“He deserved moments like that. I’ve never seen a more hardworking man than Jack.”
She turned toward him, her eyes full of questions. “You were with him that day. Was he smiling a lot? Happy? Excited about taking a run on his snowmobile?”
Braden winced. How could he possibly answer these questions? If he were to tell her what really happened between him and her father, he knew their friendship would be over. He couldn’t imagine a world where Piper wasn’t his best friend. But he knew she deserved the truth.
Piper reached out and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry. I know you were with him after the crash trying to save his life. I can’t imagine how terrible those memories must be.” She shrugged. “I suppose I’m just looking for something to hold on to, a tiny kernel to help me process losing him in that way. Knowing his last moments were full of happiness helps.”
Braden looked down at Piper’s hand entwined with his own. He squeezed it, hoping to provide a measure of comfort and reassurance. Piper wanted something he couldn’t really give her if he stuck to the truth. But there were shades of gray in the story. Jack had been happy that day. He’d seen him smiling and joking with some townsfolk before he confronted Braden. He knew with a deep certainty that Jack had been in the pursuit of an activity he loved when he crashed.
“Jack was happy that day,” he confirmed. “When I first saw him on the mountain, he was surrounded by his buddies. They were teasing him about the few pounds he’d recently gained.” Braden chuckled at the memory. “He really took it in great stride and made a comment about having a little more stuffing to play Santa at the holiday stroll.”
“That sounds just like him,” Piper murmured. “He always looked at the bright side of things. No one embraced the holidays more than he did. It’s pretty heartwarming, considering his rough childhood and being in all those foster homes. He never had a real Christmas until he met my mom. She was raising Hank as a single mother after her first husband died. Dad said his whole life changed when he met them.” A hint of a smile played at the corners of her mouth. Braden felt relieved she could talk about her father without breaking down in tears, especially considering their location.
He’d always admired Jack and Trudy’s relationship. Although he knew no marriage was perfect, they’d made it look effortless. “True love from the sounds of it. I imagine he spent the rest of his life making up for all those holidays he lost out on.”
Piper nodded. “He really did. And he had a ball doing it. You have no idea how much you’ve helped me, Braden. I just wish I’d asked you a long time ago.”
“I guess I didn’t make it easy for you by leaving tow
n,” he said. By taking off from Owl Creek, Braden had been under the belief that he was sparing Piper the cold hard truth of his argument with Jack. In retrospect, perhaps he’d been protecting his own self. And even though he was happy to have given Piper a little bit of closure, guilt still stabbed at him. What he’d just told her wasn’t the entire truth. It was a lie of omission.
Braden wasn’t sure God would agree with him. He would probably consider it a flat-out falsehood. Matter of fact, he imagined God wasn’t very pleased with him for a number of reasons.
After the accident his faith had wavered. He hadn’t been able to wrap his head around such a tremendous loss. Jack’s passing had created a deep void in his hometown. Piper’s grief had nearly swallowed her up whole, and watching her crumble had been gut-wrenching. His own guilt and frustration had spiraled into anger toward God. Why had He allowed Jack to die? Why had God placed Braden up on that mountain to be the focus of Jack’s wrath? To this day he still struggled with those questions, along with a host of others.
As he drove back to town, Piper chatted nonstop regarding promotional opportunities for the business. He really liked her countdown to Christmas idea. It was a nice tie-in to the way Jack had run the diner—a nostalgic throwback. But Piper needed to put her stamp on the place in order to move forward. It was fine to honor Jack, but in order to thrive she should carve out her own identity as owner of the Snowy Owl.
“I think it’s important to honor the diner’s past, but at the same time you’ve got to make it your own,” Braden said. “People need to think of it as your establishment.”
