Free Bearly In Time by Kim Fox Page B

hand painted Brooke Excursions sign finally came into view on the side of the road. Rebecca’s pulse raced faster than her crappy car. She was almost there. She pulled over on the shoulder, her tires sinking in the soft dirt. She didn’t want her car to announce her arrival. She wanted to see Connor’s excited expression when he saw her. I’ll walk up and surprise him.
    She shut the door quietly, checked her reflection one last time in the side mirror, fixed her brown hair and headed down the dirt road that led to Connor’s kayaking business.
    Her heart thumped as she quickened her walk. She turned around the bend and the guesthouse came into view. She turned her head away and winced when she saw him. She closed her eyes tight, feeling like she was going to throw up. You’re such an idiot!
    Connor was sitting on the porch swing with another girl. He was touching her, stroking her hair and whispering softly to her.
    Rebecca forced herself to look. She forced her eyes open and watched Connor stroke the girl’s long auburn hair until her eyes were full of tears and he was just a blurry, betraying object.
    Her hand flew to her mouth and she held in her sobs as she ran back to the car. To think that she actually thought that he loved her. Her!
    She jumped in the car and slammed the door closed, feeling stupider than she had ever felt before. The trunk was full of her stuff. She had told her parents that she would be gone for the rest of the summer. She shook her head, wondering how stupid she could be to actually think that he would want her to move in with him.
    Her hands were shaking so hard that she had a hard time putting the keys in the ignition. She finally got it and started the engine. She put her hand to her aching chest as she drove away. Her heart felt like it was literally breaking.
    He was just a player all along. It was all an act and she had fallen for it. Why would he settle for her? She wasn’t good looking like Grace or smart like Angie. Even Mark thought that he could do better when he cheated on her. Why would Connor be any different? He was way out of her league anyways.
    The girl with the auburn hair was more on his level. She was slim. Gorgeous. She shook her head as a new wave of sobs came on.
    He must’ve gave all the women that came through there the royal treatment. It was probably in his business plan.
    Rebecca pictured Connor’s hands all over the girl and her lungs started to constrict, making it hard to breathe. Her arms and legs started trembling and her vision was spotty. She pulled the car on the side of the dirt road and hopped out, rushing to the grass. She held her tight stomach, bent over and puked out the licorice.
     
     

three
     
     
     
    Connor hung his certificate of business on the wall of the lobby and stepped back to look. That large blue wall was reserved for any awards and accomplishments that his business won. So far it was empty, except for the small, crooked frame and certificate that the government had sent him when he registered his business. He frowned and stepped forward to straighten it.
    “Breakfast,” Sidney called out from the kitchen.
    Connor placed a level on top of the frame and lifted the corner until the little bubble slid in between the two black lines. Perfect .
    And every detail had to be perfect. Rebecca was coming back tomorrow. He couldn’t wait.
    He headed into the kitchen before Sidney ate all of the bacon. There was a brown bear at the back door that was turning into a naked Edwin.
    Sidney was at the stove in his boxers, scratching his hairy chest. “On the table,” he said, pointing with his spatula as Edwin walked in, wearing even less than Sidney. “Just like you like them.”
    Connor frowned at the plate of burnt eggs and bacon that was so crispy it would disintegrate as soon as you touched it. “Thanks,” he mumbled as he sat down.
    “Your mate still coming tomorrow?” Sidney asked, as Edwin sat down in front of his plate of burnt