Chameleon Games

Chapter 3

3

SEVEN HOURS EARLIER…

Chelsea used the sleeves of her sweatshirt to wipe the tears on her face. A calmness enveloped her as she stared through the window pane, focusing on the antics of a black squirrel running up the bark of a tree. The sun disappeared around the corner of the house and the room chilled. Goose bumps rose on her skin. She ran her hands up and down her arms over her sweatshirt to warm them while reliving the confrontation with her daughter. Sydney’s hurtful words forced Chelsea to assess the past nine months, to re-evaluate her actions and face her failures. She tried to imagine it all from her mother and daughter’s perspective.

A burst of jumbled ideas assaulted her mind. One word rose to the surface above the quick succession of thoughts that opened her to an awareness—victim. Sydney had used the word in her anger towards her.

I was a victim; I AM a victim…because I still think of myself as one.

Chelsea gave this a lot of thought. She’d talked through all the stages of her recovery with Dr. Sauvé and experienced all of them; shock, anxiety, guilt, depression, anger, loss, and loneliness. But understanding them didn’t seem to be helping her. Why? I want to feel normal—be normal.

In that moment, Chelsea knew what she had to do. She returned to the kitchen with her empty coffee cup. A glance at the clock told her it was 4:00 p.m. Hmm…better get a move on. It’s getting late in the day. She retrieved the telephone book and searched until she found the number she wanted. She punched in the number and waited.

A voice answered. “Rhyder Developments, Mr. Rhyder’s office.”

“Hello. Is Mr. Rhyder available?” Chelsea asked.

“He is in, but I’m not sure he’s taking calls at the moment. Can I ask who’s calling?”

“Yes, please tell him Chelsea Grey would like to talk to him. It’s important.”

“One moment, please,” the voice said.

Chelsea paced the kitchen, tapping her fingers nervously on the cell phone to the beat of the music playing in her ear. She didn’t have to wait long.

“Chelsea? Wes here. I’m so glad you called. How are you?”

Wow, he sounds the same as he did at eighteen. A nervous laugh escaped her lips. “Well…that’s a loaded question. Let’s just say I’m getting there, or trying to. Listen, Chaz…” The nickname she’d always called him slipped out. Another snicker. “…or should I call you Wes?

It was Wes’s turn to laugh. “No one’s called me that in years. You can call me Chaz if you like, either way is fine. It’s good to hear your voice.”

He sounds as nervous as me. “I’d like to thank you for the flowers and card. I should have called months ago, but I wasn’t…” Chelsea faltered, searching for the right words. “I wasn’t ready to talk to people from my past.”

“Hey, I get that. I really do. And now…here you are.”

Chelsea decided to get to the point. “Listen, there’s something I’d like to run by you, but I’d rather not do it over the phone. Do you think we could meet for coffee?”

“Sure. When did you want to get together?”

“As soon as possible. I need to make a decision, and our meeting might have an effect on that.”

“Wow, intriguing. Look, I’m finishing up here for the day. If you’re available now, why don’t you come to my office? Everyone will be gone in thirty minutes and we’ll be free to talk.”

She let out a sigh. Step one. “I’ll be there.”

“Third floor, turn left when you leave the elevator. How do you like your coffee? I’ll order some in from downstairs.”

“Black, thanks.”

“Easy. Okay, see you soon.”

Chelsea raced to her room and pulled off her sweatshirt and replaced it with a black silk blouse with a cowl neckline. She redid her make-up and pulled her hair up and tucked it into a wool cap, leaving a partial bang and wisps of hair soft around her face. Black leather knee-high boots over her skinny jeans and a black leather bomber jacket finished her apparel. A glance in a full-length mirror revealed a haggard face with tired eyes. That’s as good as it gets, girl.

As she drove to meet him, she thought about their teenage relationship and all that had happened over the past twenty years. She had grown up and gone to school with Chaz in Stoney Creek. Wes ‘Chaz’ Rhyder had been her only teenage boyfriend. They’d been in love. But after he’d left Stoney Creek to go to university, she never heard from him again. At least that’s what she thought. Chaz had written letters and called, all intercepted by her father, who didn’t like his family. After her father had passed, her mother found the letters and put them away. Chelsea had gone missing by that time, and Chaz had married another. When Chelsea was found and freed after twenty years, her mother gave her the letters.

After his marriage had failed, Chaz returned to Stoney Creek to set up his own construction and renovation company and recently moved to Kelowna to go into commercial development. He was also the father of Jax Rhyder, her daughter’s boyfriend. Jax had stayed behind in Stoney Creek to run his own residential development and renovation company. When Sydney moved back to the family farm in Stoney Creek, she hired Jax to renovate the buildings on the property, and their business relationship became personal.

Chelsea arrived at Chaz’s building right on time. She took an elevator up and found his offices easily. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, opened the door and entered.

Chaz came out of an inner office right on cue. “Chelsea. Please, come in.”

Chelsea was taken back. He looked almost the same at forty as he had at nineteen. His blond hair was a little shorter than in those days, his blue eyes still sparkling. A few lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes added a mature look. A mature, handsome man stood before her, no longer a boy. A damn handsome man.

He led her into his office. “Let’s sit here in the armchairs.” He handed her a cup. “One large, black coffee.”

“Thank you.”

She took in his office. Dark heavy furniture with winter colours of rich browns and olive green. “Nice office. You’ve done well, Chaz. You must be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

“I am, and proud of Jax. He’s doing well in Stoney Creek.”

There was an uncomfortable silence. Chaz changed the subject. “It’s so good to see you.”

“And you.” Chelsea dropped her eyes to the floor. It had been twenty-two years since she’d last seen him. “This…this is really weird.”

Chaz nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. “It is that. Look, one day, if you are up to it, maybe we can talk about what happened back then—I mean…not about Arne, but with you and me. Somehow, I don’t think this is the time. Why don’t you tell me about this decision you need to make and how I can help you?”

Chelsea nodded. “We’ll talk—one day. A couple of months ago, I had a conversation with Jax about your grandparents’ cottage at Emerald Lake. He reminisced about summers he spent at the lake in his childhood and how you rarely get to go there anymore. I told him about the one trip you and I made to visit your grandparents the month before you left Stoney Creek. He mentioned that you had considered selling it, but your heart wasn’t in it because it held so many memories from your own childhood.” She paused to take a sip of her coffee.

“No, I can’t bring myself to sell it. But it’s a shame no one gets to use it. I try to go to the lake a couple of times a year to check on things.”

“I’d like to address that. I was wondering if you’d be willing to lease it to me.”

Chaz’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Are you planning to live there full-time?”

“For a while anyway. Let me be honest here. I’m sure you’ve heard from within the family that I’ve been having my struggles of late. Some of my choices have been…let’s just say not helpful to my healing.”

Chaz studied her for a moment. “I always ask after you. Although Sydney and Jax have expressed concern for you, they’ve not elaborated on anything specific.”

If he’d heard anything, he chose not to say so. She appreciated his discretion. Chelsea decided that this was a good place to leave that part of the conversation. "I need to make some changes, and to do that I need to live alone. And I need to have some space. The cottage is perfect. There are neighbours close by, but they won’t be in my face.”

“Can I ask how Elizabeth and Sydney feel about you distancing yourself? They’ve just got you back into their lives.”

“I haven’t told them yet. Hopefully, they’ll understand my motives. They do want what’s best for me. And Emerald Lake is halfway between Kelowna and Stoney Creek, so they can visit whenever they want.”

“Hmm…two questions. Did you want it furnished, and when did you want to move in?”

“Furnished would be great to start, and as soon as possible. I’ve received victim compensation monies from the province and a monthly living allowance until my doctor deems me able to work and be a productive citizen. I’d planned on going back to school, but I’m just not ready to integrate with people. I’m thinking of taking online courses from home.”

“That’s a great idea.” Chaz looked at his watch. “I haven’t been to the lake since October, and it’s due to be checked. The hydro is always on. The electric heat kept low. There is a pellet stove if you like fires. Are you up to taking a run there right now?”

Chelsea’s face lit up. “Now? Absolutely.”

Forty minutes later, they reached Emerald Lake, southwest of Penticton. Chelsea couldn’t believe the changes in the area. “Omigod…is that a subdivision on the north side of the lake?”

“Yup.”

“Wasn’t that part of the Double T Ranch?” she asked.

“It was. They sold out to a developer and moved into Penticton. But on our side of the lake, the south end, the Desert Hills Ranch worked hard to have the land designated an environmental grasslands protection area. So all the properties on the south side back onto the grasslands. They’ll never be developed. Sure pissed off the developers.”

“That’s impressive and so right. I’m happy your cottage is on the south side. There’s some beautiful hiking trails back there.”

“There are. But don’t forget the rock cropping half a kilometre back. Rattlesnake Bluff—aptly named for its deep crevices full of rattlers.”

“Ewww…I forgot about that place. A beautiful spot from a distance.”

They reached the driveway and turned in, pulling up beside the cottage. Chelsea got out and looked out at the lake. She instantly felt a sense of peace. “Our timing is great. With daylight savings last weekend, we have another hour of daylight.”

“I was thinking that, too, when I suggested we come right away. I’d forgotten how tranquil this place makes me feel,” Chaz said.

Chelsea looked from east to west. “What I love is that I can sit on the deck in the early morning with my coffee and watch the sun rise in the east and sit out here again in the cool of the evening and watch it go down in the west. Beautiful.”

“Let’s go inside and check the mouse traps.”

Once inside the sprawling open-style Pan-abode, Chaz checked all the traps. “Wow…no mice this year. Guess I found all the holes last year.”

“Good to know.”

They walked the three-bedroom cottage, searching for anything that might need repair. “I was planning to repaint the trim and modernize the doors, and replace the curtains with wooden shutters. It needs a good cleaning, too.”

“I don’t mind doing the work. I’d enjoy it. It’ll be fun and keep me busy when I’m not doing studies.”

Chaz studied her. “Okay. How does this sound? You do what you want to the place—cleaning, painting, new whatever—and I’ll pay for the materials and throw in the first month’s rent free.”

“So whatever I decide, do you want me to run it past you first?”

“No, I trust your judgement. If you’re going to live here, I want you to be comfortable.” His eyes scoped the living room. “Whatever you choose will be an improvement over this old tried look. And I’m sure your choices would be better than mine.”

Chelsea laughed. “Come on. You’re an architect.”

Jax scoffed. “I design exterior structures, not interior design. Well, I could, but it’s not what I like to do. Feel free to do what you like. You can use my commercial account in Kelowna to charge materials. Now that I see the old furniture, if you want to put your own furniture in, I’ll take this stuff away. Most of it will be tossed, but there’s some memories attached to some of it, and Jax and I might want to keep some of it. I’ll give you a list of my suppliers and let them know you can use my accounts.”

She crossed her arms across her body and walked in a circle around the room. Chelsea turned to the expansive living room window and stared out at the lake. “It’s perfect. When can I move in?”

“I’ll be out of town tomorrow, but the day after I’ll get some keys cut. I’ll drop them off at your mother’s that night if that works. And the cottage is yours.”

Chelsea grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, Chaz, thank you. I’m going to love it here. Will you bring a lease with you? How do you want to set up payments?”

“We don’t need a lease. You can stay as long as you need to and leave when you are ready. As for rent, I’ll give you my account info and you can set up auto-pay if you want.”

She nodded her head. “Okay. We’re doing this.” She put out her hand and they shook on it.

They left the cottage and Chaz locked up. “See that shed? It’s filled with bags of pellets. Should last you for a couple of months anyway…” He stopped mid-sentence. “I should have shown you how to use the wood stove. Let’s go back.”

“No need. It’s the same model as Sydney’s in Stoney Creek. I know how it works.”

Chaz laughed. “Of course, a Rhyder Construction special.”

It was dark when they reached Penticton. Chaz broke through her thoughts about what she would say to her mother about moving out on her own. “Are you hungry? We could stop here for some dinner.”

“I’m starving. Let’s stop.”

Settled at their table, they studied the menu. The waiter asked if they’d like some drinks first. Chaz looked up at Chelsea. “Would you like some wine?”

“Um…no. Nothing for me, thanks.”

Chaz was a good companion. He kept up the conversation throughout their meal with stories about raising Jax on his own, and his business dealings, never once asking her anything personal. Chelsea felt at ease, just an evening out sharing a meal with an old friend. Almost normal…almost.

He dropped her off about 10:30 p.m. back in Kelowna. “Thanks, Chaz…for the cottage and for dinner. See you day after tomorrow.” She watched him drive off, and as she let herself into the house, she noted her mother must have retired early. She smiled to herself.

I guess I am, too. It’s been awhile since I was home this early…and sober.