Connection
Forthebetterpartof his life, Ward had woken up to the sound of traffic, of messengers yelling and various alarm clocks ringing. He’d actually been looking forward to the unavoidable change that would happen once he moved to Willow Cove, but he’d forgotten a very simple thing. To turn his cell phone off.
The shrill sound of his ring tone startled him from his trance of exhaustion. He woke up so suddenly he rolled off the couch and fell onto the floor with a thud. Groaning, he rubbed his sore back and blinked in confusion.
Oh right. He’d driven to Willow Cove the day before and had worked his ass off trying to clean up his grandfather’s house a bit. In his zeal to forget, he had made good progress too—well, until he’d finally collapsed on the couch.
His phone rang again, reminding him what had woken him. With a disgruntled sigh, Ward reached for the device, wishing he’d simply turned the stupid thing off, or better yet, left it in New York.
He was not surprised to see the caller was his sister’s best friend. It frustrated him, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to push away one of the few people who didn’t give him the cold shoulder. At one point in his life, she’d been the closest thing to family he’d had—another sister, in a way. Already dreading the conversation, Ward nonetheless accepted the call.
“Ward!” Vera said before he could even greet her. “Oh, thank God. I thought you’d done something stupid after the wedding.”
Ward rolled his eyes, although in his heart, he knew he’d been in a pretty bad head space when he’d last seen Vera. “Like what? I’m not about to off myself for Peter, Vera. You know that.”
The too-long pause at the other end of the connection made him gape. “Come on, Vera. Give me some credit.”
“Sorry,” she replied sheepishly. “It’s not that. You just disappeared before the reception could end. Teresa is pissed.”
“Yes, well, I don’t particularly care, I’m afraid. She shouldn’t have married my fucking boyfriend if she wanted us to be besties.”
Vera sighed. “Ward. Don’t be like that. Peter just isn’t... Like you. You can’t blame him for that.”
Ward bit the inside of his cheek so hard it bled. Yeah, right. Peter had definitely enjoyed the two years he’d spent fucking Ward. Of course, Ward had been the stupid one to accept the secrecy, even if everything inside him rebelled at returning to the closet for anyone. He should have listened to his gut, but his treacherous heart had wanted to believe Peter’s assurances and his charming smiles.
He realized Vera was still talking, and he hadn’t heard anything of the past few phrases she’d said. It was probably not too much of a waste, since it seemed obvious she wouldn’t empathize with his plight. “You should let it go,” she was saying. “Peter and Teresa are happy. You can’t begrudge them for it forever.”
“Actually, yes, I can,” Ward snapped back. “Did you call just to try to dictate my emotions or do you actually have something interesting to say?”
Vera finally stopped her little rehearsed speech. “Where are you, Ward? I went by your place and your neighbor said he saw you leave. We’re all worried.”
“I’m just taking a holiday,” Ward answered vaguely. “No need to be concerned. Letting it go, like you said.”
“A holiday. With whom?”
Seriously? Was that what she meant by ‘doing something stupid'? Just what crap had Peter been feeding her? Typical that the man would take his heart, then the faith everyone else had in him.
Well, Ward refused to continue this conversation. “Look, Vera. I just need a break from New York. The rest is none of your business. Have fun sorting the wedding gifts.”
Vera spluttered, but Ward didn’t give her time to come up with a reply. He ended the call, feeling more exhausted than before. Why was it that even here, he couldn’t escape the pain of the rejection and the betrayal?
Suddenly, the walls of the house seemed to be closing in around him. Ward shot to his feet and stumbled outside, heaving deep breaths of air and studiously trying not to think. It was easier said than done. Years of his life wasted, down the drain, turned into a source of shame and regret. Useless. He was useless, a toy whose owner had lost interest in. Peter hadn’t exactly put it that way, but his words had hurt even more.
“It was never meant to be more than a fuck. It’s not my fault that you made it into a whirlwind romance.”
Maybe Peter was right. Maybe Ward had romanticized something that should have never gotten past their first date. But he hadn’t built up that whirlwind on his own, and he hadn’t forced Peter to tell him all the ‘I love you’s. He hadn’t asked to have his life crushed when the man he’d planned to marry decided he was actually straight, and married his sister instead.
Ward couldn’t think. He just knew he needed to get out of here. On shaky legs, he made his way to his car. As he slid inside, he shoved his key in the ignition. His hands trembled slightly, but he ignored it. With far more difficulty than would have been warranted, he started the vehicle and drove off. He wanted to escape the sound of Peter’s voice. He’d thought the warmth of his grandfather’s old home would be enough. Obviously, it wasn’t.
He didn’t know how long he kept going, but he probably would have driven for much longer had the unluckiest thing possible not happened. He couldn’t have said how it occurred. It was pretty early still, and he didn’t expect traffic anywhere near the house. Suddenly, just when he was about to veer off to head into Willow Cove—perhaps he could find a distraction there, he thought—a wolf popped in his path.
Ward distantly remembered reading somewhere that Wisconsin held a growing population of wolves, and this hour was probably right around the time the beasts liked to come out and play. That didn’t mean he was any less surprised. He pressed the brakes as soon as he saw the animal. The tires squealed, and the car skidded, but despite Ward’s attempt to avoid hitting the magnificent creature, he still heard a dull thud and a pained yelp.
Ward cursed under his breath. He should have known better than to drive when so distracted. Now, he might have killed an innocent animal—just because he’d been stupid and he’d let the damn phone call work him into unwarranted panic.
Hating himself wouldn’t help. He stumbled out of the car, a bit more shaky on his legs than he’d realized. His desire to help the creature he’d hurt gave him a measure of control, so he went around the vehicle, only to see the wolf getting up, limping slightly, but looking otherwise pretty unharmed.
Ward liked wolves. He liked animals in general, and his love for them stemmed perhaps from the time he’d spent here when he’d been younger. There was something simply beautiful about wolves, though, something he hadn’t quite managed to pinpoint.