Free One Sweet Day by Kristin Miller

Chapter One
     
     
    “That’s a much better likeness.” Laney Owens drew horns and a pointy goatee on her ex-boyfriend’s picture. “Should’ve known you’d hook up with the town floozy. Stupid, desperate… devil goat man !”
    She scribbled violently, smashing the Sharpie’s tip down to nothing. With a huff, she tossed the frame into the trash and scrubbed her hands over her forehead.
    “Lying sucker.”
    She couldn’t believe she’d wasted five years of her life with him. Blue Lake had been good to her. She’d made friends here. But she wasn’t born in the picturesque Sierra Nevada mountain town like Brian Goulding, the town’s “Golden Boy”. Ever since they’d started dating, she’d been treated like Blue Lake royalty. That is, until Golden Boy decided to hook up with Brittney McGee during the Annual Holiday Hop last week.
    Glancing around Sweet Tooth Candy Shoppe and the boxes she’d already filled, Laney realized this was the only way she was going to be able to move on with her life.
    Everything reminded her of Golden Boy and the life she’d painted for them. She couldn’t stay, couldn’t bear to hear the whispers that would inevitably follow her everywhere. She could almost hear them now: Poor Laney Owens. What will she do without Brian at her side? He’s the one who started the candy shop for her, you know. She’ll be lost without him.
    The bell attached to the front door jingled, and an older woman entered, her gray hair covered by a hand-knit beanie with a burgundy ball at the crown.
    “Morning, dear,” Meredith said, her thin lips spreading into a smile. “How are you holding up… you know, after the break up?”
    Ah, the town gossip. She meant well, but if loose lips sank ships, Meredith’s could wipe out the United States Navy.
    “Fine.” Laney tied on her batter-splattered apron and moved behind the glass counter filled with homemade candies and treats. “What can I get you?”
    “A chocolate covered strawberry, I suppose.” Meredith removed her gloves and shoved them into the pocket of her wool coat. “Will you still be attending your going away party at Moose Valley Ski Lodge tonight? The girls worked so hard to put it together for you.”
    Now they were getting to the real reason for the early morning visit.
    “I wouldn’t miss it.” Laney said.
    The only reason she’d agreed to go in the first place was because her best friends were throwing the party for her. One last hurrah with her favorite girls before she moved to the city.
    Laney removed a strawberry, slid it into a paper pouch and handed it over. Meredith nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing to slits. Laney got the feeling she was missing something.
    “What is it, Meredith?” Laney droned.
    “Well, dear, it’s just that…” Meredith leaned in close, as if there were other people in the shop who would overhear. “…Brian said he might be at the lodge with Brittney tonight. It’s their first year hanging an ornament on the tree as a couple, and we thought it might be awkward if you two ran into each other.”
    We thought. Wasn’t that nice? The people in town were already talking about her.
    Laney went to work wringing hand towels in the sink to quiet the temptation of wringing Brian’s neck.
    “It’s so soon, that’s all,” Meredith rambled on. “We thought a week might not be enough time for you to come to grips with—“
    “With what?” Laney spun around. “The break up?”
    “With the fact that Brian found his true love so quickly after dumping you.”
    Dagger to the heart.
    Laney smiled tightly. “I’ll be fine, Meredith, but I appreciate your concern. Tell the other ladies at the bookclub meeting not to waste another breath of air on my name. Now if you wouldn’t mind, I’ve got a ton to do.”
    “Sure. Whatever you say dear.”
    As Meredith closed the door, Laney snatched a square of fudge from the display. Meredith’s head bobbed as she walked in front of the store window, making