Coping Skills (Players of Marycliff University Book 5)

  Contents

  Title and Copyright

  Dedication

  Join My Book Club

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Playlist

  Join my Book Club!

  About the Author

  Other Titles

  Coping Skills

  Players of Marycliff University Book 5

  Jerica MacMillan

  Copyright © 2017 by Jerica MacMillan

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  To Angelina. For Daniel.

  Join My Book Club!

  You’ll also get links to 10 free books I recommend, notices of sales, and more!

  Sign up at www.jericamacmillan.com/book-club

  “Hello?"

  A sob answered Elena’s greeting, and she pulled the phone away from her face to check the screen. Yes, it was her mother.

  “Mamá? What’s wrong?"

  Another sob. “Mija. It’s your papi. He had an accident. You need to come home."

  Chapter One

  Elena pushed open the door to her new bedroom, taking in the bed—her bed, made with her sheets and blankets, only missing the pillow that she’d had with her all summer. Boxes stood in neat stacks in the corners. Hannah and Matt had moved her things for her, including packing everything, so she had no idea where anything was.

  That call from her mom in June had changed her whole summer. They’d just gotten back from Westport for the trial run of Matt’s new surf travel business. Being there had brought a certain nostalgia with it that intensified after her dad’s accident. The last time she’d gone to Westport had been a few years ago with her family, the same summer that Hannah had met Matt. Her parents had dragged them to the attractions in the area, her dad making them all climb to the top of the lighthouse. Her thighs had burned after climbing the narrow staircase that spiraled to the top. They’d had to take turns climbing into the very top section that housed the original lens. Her dad had laughed and joked about how Hannah had been the perfect guest to bring along, since she was gone so much it was just like having a regular family vacation. He’d teased Hannah when she was with them, making her blush, but hugging her to show it was all in fun, turning his attention on Elena or Tomás, poking fun at the way they ordered seafood or how Elena only drank coffee with lots of cream.

  He wouldn’t do that now. After the accident, he didn’t have it in him. He’d hit his head hard on the window when a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned him. The doctors had kept him in a medically-induced coma for days while they waited for the swelling in his brain to go down. And when he’d woken up he’d been a different person.

  She’d waited, trying to be patient like the doctors and her mother had urged, but as weeks had turned into months and his personality still hadn’t magically changed back, she’d lost hope that he would ever be the papi that she grew up with. Who had danced with her on his shoes when she was tiny and taught her to drive a stick shift when she was sixteen.

  Instead of the smiling, athletic man he’d been, he was grumpy and depressed, never smiling or laughing. He sat on the couch watching TV, his face blank, barely responding to anyone or anything. And when she did succeed in getting his attention, he would heave a sigh before turning to her with unconcealed irritation.

  At first she’d been hurt, but that had morphed into anger over the last few weeks, mixing together with her guilt, and she carried a stew of overwhelming negative emotions sloshing around inside her.

  And now she was back in Spokane, getting ready to start her senior year of college, with a little over a week before classes started.

  A soft knock sounded on her door, and she turned to find Hannah poking her head in. “I did my best to label all the boxes and pack things in a way I thought would make sense to you.”

  Elena nodded, mute, still feeling like a jackass for not coming back last month to help with moving.

  Hannah came all the way into the room and wrapped her arms around Elena. “I’m glad you came back. Even though that’s probably selfish of me, and I’m sure your mom could still use your help. I’m glad you’re here. I was worried you might not finish.”

  “Yeah. Thanks.” With her hands touching Hannah’s back, she accepted her friend’s hug, but didn’t fully reciprocate. She didn’t know how to act now, here, after everything. Or what to say.

  She was glad to be back. She’d wanted to help pack their apartment. But she knew that she wouldn’t have been able to force herself to go back home to Richland for the last few weeks of summer after getting away. It had been so awful being home. The worst summer ever.

  Part of her had worried that she’d get stuck there even past the summer. But there was no way in hell she’d quit before her senior year. Fortunately, her mom wouldn’t hear of it either. Education was important to Paola Martinez. And so she’d returned to Spokane, and Mamá would take Tomás to Pullman to start his freshman year at WSU this weekend.

  Hannah pulled back from the hug, examining Elena. “Are you going to be okay here by yourself for a while? Matt has to be at the rehearsal in half an hour, and we’re going to the dinner after that. I feel bad leaving you to unpack by yourself like this.”

  Mustering up a smile, Elena shook her head. “Don’t feel bad. I’ll be fine. It’ll be nice to have the house to myself for a little while and get used to where everything is.” She glanced over at the stack of boxes, their contents listed in neat block letters in black Sharpie. None of them said kitchen or dishes. “Where’s all my baking stuff?”

  “In the kitchen. Here, let me show you where everything is really quick before we go.” Hannah led the way into the kitchen, just down and to the left of Elena’s new bedroom. The other bedroom across from hers was Matt’s office now, since Hannah and Matt shared the master bedroom. And she’d get a bathroom all to herself for the first time ever. At home she shared one with her younger brother. In the dorms they’d had one bathroom at each end of the floor. And she’d shared with Hannah since then.

  Elena hadn’t been in the kitchen before, since her dad’s accident had happened the day after Hannah had brought up the idea of moving into Matt’s house after Chris and Megan moved out. There hadn’t been time for her to visit the house like they’d planned, and when Hannah had called to ask if she was okay with moving, she’d given a distracted yes. Now, here they were. The doorway opened into the dining area, complete with a dented and scraped-up wooden table and mismatched chairs. The rest of the kitchen extended from there, the fridge on the right and sink on the left, with the stove straig
ht back, all connected by out-of-date medium brown cabinets and dingy cream countertops. The whole kitchen could use a remodel, but looked clean and functional enough.

  Hannah opened the set of cabinets to the right of the stove. “Glass bakewear and your pie plates are all down here.” She opened another cabinet next to that one. “Here are your mixing bowls.” Straightening up, she indicated the utensil holder on the counter. “All big utensils are here. Silverware in that drawer. Your favorite marble rolling pin is on the counter back here on its little stand. Umm …” She looked around tapping a finger to her lips. “Glasses up and to the right of the sink, plates and bowls to the left. Anything I missed?”

  Elena shook her head. “I think that covers it. Do you have pie-making ingredients, or do I need to go to the store?”

  With a grin, Hannah opened the little pantry. “I got your favorite canned fillings, plus there are berries in the freezer and Granny Smith apples in the fridge. I just got a couple of packages of your favorite brand of butter when I went to the store the other day, plus flour, cocoa powder, and all the usual things I know you go through on a regular basis. Good enough?”

  Her best friend going so far out of her way to make Elena feel welcome lifted her spirits before she even started thinking about what kind of pie she wanted to make. This time she gave Hannah a real hug. “Thank you. You have no idea how much I need this. I didn’t get to bake as much as I would’ve liked at my parents, both because I was really busy, and because I knew my mom would worry if I made two or three things a day like I wanted to.”

  Hannah pulled back with a chuckle. “Well, go crazy. Matt will love you until he starts gaining weight. But he still works out a ton when he’s home, even without helping Chris train for the NFL anymore.”

  “Well, I’ll get some disposable pie plates so I can give away some of what I make to other people too. Even with Matt around, there’ll be no way we can all keep up with my baking needs, at least for a little while. It’s been repressed for months and is dying to come out.” She smiled like she was joking, and Hannah smiled too, but she was very serious. She needed the comfortable rhythm of making dough, and the predictability of mixing these ingredients to get this specific result to feel more centered again. Her fingers itched to feel the rough grain of her favorite wooden spoon or the smooth metal of her professional-quality whisk.

  Matt poked his head into the kitchen. “Hey, Elena. How was your drive?”

  “Good. Uneventful. The usual.”

  “Good.” His gaze shifted to Hannah. “Ready?”

  “Yeah. Give me just a sec.”

  With a nod, Matt withdrew, and Hannah turned back to Elena, giving her one more hug. “I know your summer has been rough. I hope the fall goes better. I’ll see you tonight when we get back. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Elena had to force the word out. Hannah’s acknowledgment of how hard things had been choked her up. But she swallowed that back down and forced a smile, blinking her eyes to clear the sudden welling of unwelcome moisture. “Thanks. I’ll have pie waiting for you.”

  “Sounds good.” Hannah left the kitchen, and a minute later, the front door opened and closed, leaving Elena alone with her thoughts, which was not a place she liked to spend much time these days. Turning on her Taylor Swift channel on Pandora—nothing like some pop to make her feel better—she started to gather the ingredients for a single pie crust, noticing a carton of cream as she got out the butter. Hmm. Maybe she’d try out a French Silk pie. The creamy chocolate filling sounded good right now. She wouldn’t be able to garnish it with shaved chocolate curls, but otherwise, it should be good. First, the crust. Then, the filling. Distraction and control was the goal here. If she could manage that, she would make it through just fine.

  Chapter Two

  Daniel parked on the street, following the directions that Megan had given him to get to the Rose Garden in Manito Park for Lance and Abby’s wedding. Megan had invited him when she’d called to convince him to be a model for the figure drawing class this semester. It hadn’t fit in his schedule. Juggling classes and football during the fall semester was hard enough already.

  “Oh. Of course.” She’d sounded disappointed. “Well, how about next semester?”

  He’d chuckled. “I’ll think about it. Ask me again in November, okay?”

  “Okay!” She’d sounded way too enthusiastic about that for his liking. “Hey, what are you doing next weekend?”

  The fast subject change didn’t surprise him. He’d modeled for her major project last winter, and she’d convinced him to pose for her again for a smaller project once the fall semester started. She always jumped from topic to topic, the connections not obvious to anyone but her.

  “Not much. It’s the free weekend before classes start, so there’s a party Saturday night. But that’s all. Why?”

  “Lance and Abby are getting married on Saturday morning at eleven. You have to come.”

  He’d gotten to know them on their surf trip at the beginning of summer. They were engaged at the time, but as far as he knew, hadn’t set a wedding date. He hadn’t expected an invitation since Abby had said she wanted a small wedding.

  “Are you sure your friends won’t mind if I’m crashing their wedding?”

  She scoffed. “You’re not crashing. I’m inviting you. They didn’t send out formal invitations or anything. Lance’s family is here because his little sister is starting at Marycliff this semester. It’s just them and whatever friends are around. Chris got a couple days off to come, so he and Matt are the groomsmen. I’m the maid of honor, and Hannah’s going to be the other bridesmaid so the numbers are even. I’m pretty sure Elena’s coming too, but she’ll be sitting all alone if you don’t come.”

  The smile in her voice tipped him off. She was playing matchmaker. And thought she was being subtle. But that made him reconsider the automatic no that he almost gave Megan. Elena had gone on that surf trip at the beginning of the summer too. They’d been the only two not part of a couple, so they’d ended up spending a large amount of time together. He almost hadn’t gone on the trip, actually, since Hannah would be there with Matt. Daniel had been afraid things would be awkward. He’d tried to date Hannah while she and Matt had been broken up, and gone to Megan’s art show as her date since they’d modeled for a painting together. Matt had shown up and made Hannah cry. At first Daniel had thought Matt had upset her by being a dick, but he’d apologized for his role in their breakup, and Matt and Hannah had gotten back together after that. She’d taken the time to explain to Daniel that she was still in love with Matt, and that she wasn’t interested in anyone else.

  So when Chris had texted him to ask if he wanted to take a trip with them and learn to surf, he’d been surprised. Even more so when he’d found out that Matt would be the teacher. But he’d talked to Matt and there were no hard feelings. When he’d seen Elena, with her long, dark brown hair, bronze skin, and curves that were made for large hands like his, the attraction he’d felt to Hannah had paled. Honestly, if he’d met Elena first, he never would’ve asked Hannah out.

  After that trip, he’d gone back home to Portland for the summer. He’d texted Elena a few times, but after about a week she’d said she was really busy with family stuff and didn’t respond to any other attempts he’d made to contact her.

  But when Megan had asked, the prospect of seeing her again had been too much to resist. “Yeah, okay. I can make it.”

  He stepped through the opening in the hedges, rows of roses spread out before him. Not as big as the Portland Rose Garden, but it was still nice. A small group of people gathered at the top of a gentle slope in front of an archway, a few rows of white folding chairs set up facing it. That must be where the wedding would take place. As he made his way toward the group, the August sun beat down on his dark brown skin, the temperature rising still at ten thirty in the morning. At least he could get away with khakis and a white button-down shirt that he’d left open at the collar and cuffed at his elbows because
of the heat. Normally he’d be in full pads by this time of day and been running drills for hours. Since he wasn’t in the wedding party, he didn’t have to worry about a suit, though he had trimmed his hair with his clippers and shaved his usual scruff. He had more of a baby face without it, but he wanted to look respectable for the wedding.

  He scanned the group of people, assuming the older man and woman he didn’t recognize were Lance’s parents. A few other people milled around, chatting and fanning themselves with folded papers. Another middle-aged man stood near the archway talking to Megan, who then spoke to someone else before she darted away, probably to wherever Abby was hiding.

  Spotting Elena standing by herself off to one side of the chairs, he made his way in her direction. She had her hair down today, loose curls falling around her shoulders and down her back, her simple pink tank dress clinging to her curves in all the right ways, nipping in at her waist, and flowing past her hips. As he approached, she glanced up, her chin tilting up as her eyes skated over him before coming to rest on his face. The last time he’d seen her, those brown eyes flared with heat and desire. But today her face remained impassive, not giving anything away, a solemness to her that hadn’t been there while they were in Westport.

  “Hey,” she said, her dark red lips parting only enough to let out that small word of greeting.

  “Hey.” He stopped next to her, not quite close enough to touch, standing side by side and looking around, taking everything in. Her head came up to his shoulder since she had on heels today. “Weddings not your thing?”

  He glanced at her to find her giving him a strange look, her eyebrows raised. “Why do you ask that?”

  Lifting one shoulder in a careless shrug, he glanced back at the group of people still milling around near the arch while he stood with Elena off to one side. “Well, you’re by yourself, and you don’t look very happy to be here.”