me I would prefer a quiet proposal, with just the two of us, but one of his fraternity brothers had already popped the question to his girlfriend. His frat brother made sure there was a photographer there along with about fifteen of their friends.
“I wonder what size carat he’s going to buy,'' Mia said.
“A diamond has to be at least two carats. Maybe three,” Emma said.
I hoped he didn’t go any bigger than that. I didn’t want to be ostentatious. But with Winston, the bigger the better.
We all had one more semester at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville before graduation, and he’d want me to be wearing a big ring when we got back.
The first guests begin to trickle in. We recognized them. The same people tended to come year after year. They were neighbors and colleagues of my dad’s from the hospital, and colleagues of my mom from her law firm. In addition, all of our friends from the private high school we had graduated from showed up too.
Once the crowd got more sizable, I didn’t have time to think. I was busy giving tours and answering questions about where we’d gotten the decor.
This year we even decorated the backyard. We had a live Douglas Fir tree next to the pool, and in the pool we had floating lanterns that illuminated the dark water.
At 11:00 pm, the last guests were trickling out. It was just me and my parents and Emmaline and Mia downstairs.
My mom looked around. “Honey where is Winston? Did I miss him?”
That’s when I realized he’d never shown up.
I checked my watch. No text from him either, or missed call.
Emmaline handed me a glass of champagne. She handed Mia a glass of eggnog. “Another successful home tour,” she said.
As for Winston, I bet some of his friends showed up and they lost track of time. I was lucky that Mia and Emmaline had gone to Fayetteville with me for college. But one of Winston’s friends had gone to Baylor and one had gone to Purdue.
My mom hugged the three of us. “I love you girls.” She kissed the top of my head. “What am I going to do when you girls are all married with your own family?”
The four of us stood in a circle, with our arms around each other, hugging. Mia laughed. “Oh Miss Susan! You know we’ll still be back here for Christmas. We wouldn’t miss it.”
“Of course we won’t.” Spending Christmas in my family home would be non-negotiable. Luckily, Winston lived just one street over. We would never have to debate whose family we spent Christmas with.
“I’m going to head over to his house and surprise him.”
My dad, who had just stepped into the room and snapped a candid picture of our group frowned. “It’s awfully late to walk down the street by yourself.”
“We’ll go with her,” my friends said.
My dad kissed me on the cheek. “We had a record night. We raised thousands of dollars for Children’s Hospital.”
“That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to deliver it.” A news crew would be there filming as we’ll hand over the check to the hospital CEO next week.
The three of us linked arms, just as we had as young children, and stepped out into the street.
None of us bothered with our coats, even though we were met with frigid air. It had been fifty degrees Farentheit when the tour started, but now it was closer to thirty-two degrees. “The temperature’s dropped.”
“Maybe it will snow!”
It barely snowed in Little Rock. We were lucky if we got one good covering per year. A white Christmas would be extra special.
Mia leaned her head on my shoulder. “That will make your engagement even better.”
Emmaline shivered and leaned in closer. “Imagine the pictures!”
Winston’s parents weren’t home. They were at a charity gala for Alztimer’s that was being hosted in the Governor’s mansion, and he was an only child. I knocked, and rang the doorbell, but no one showed up. I keyed in the code that would open his front door. I’d had it for years, just as he had a code to my house.
The house was silent. “I assumed his friends would be here.”
“Maybe they went out,” Emmaline said.
The three of us headed up stairs to the game room. They had a pool table and a theater room. It was empty. Now I was worried.
“I’ll check his bedroom,” I said, and Mia and Emma went back downstairs to wait.
Winston’s bedroom door was only half closed, but the light was on. I pushed it open, expecting to see him and his two buddies from high school.
But he wasn’t with his buddies. He was lying on his bed, with his shirt off, and he wasn’t alone.
A woman was straddling him.
Her shirt was off too. In fact, she was practically naked. She wore a lacy black bra and black panties and her hands were on his belt buckle.
Next to them, lay an unopened condom. Winston and I had never even had sex.
I screamed.
Winston grabbed the girl by the hips and lifted her off of him. He shot up off the bed. “Beth! What the hell are you doing here?”
“I came to check on you, you piece of shit!”
I heard footsteps on the wooden staircase, and behind me, Mia and Emmaline each grabbed one of my arms.
His face was crimson as he buckled his belt. “You can’t just barge into my house.”
I lunged forward, but I didn’t get far, thanks to my friends holding me back. “You gave me the access code, you dumbass! I was worried! You said you were coming over!”
Winston had nothing to say. We’d always gone back and forth between each other’s homes.
He glanced toward the bathroom where the girl had escaped. “Who is she?” I demanded.
“No one you know,” he said.
“Do your parents know about her?”
“No. Of course not.”
Suddenly, Mia was in my ear. “Come on. We need to get out of here.”
“And you’re not going to tell them,” Winston said.
Emmaline held up her hand. “I don’t think you get to call the shots right now, Winston.”
“I swear to God, Emma, if you--”
I jerked away from my friends and got in his face. “Do not threaten her. Do not even speak to her.” I pointed at him. “I won’t tell your parents. Because I want you to do it yourself. Goodbye Winston.”
“Beth, wait,” He tried to grab my arm, but Mia blocked him.
I managed to hold it together until we got to his front porch. Not wanting to be caught crying on his surveillance cameras, I took off running.
Hope you loved the excerpt of Stranded - A Mountain Man Christmas Romance. You can read the full story here.
Special Invite from Miley
I hope you enjoyed reading this book.
If you want to receive updates on my new releases, I would love to have you on my mailing list.
Below is the special invite to sign up!
Sign up here for Miley’s Mailing List today