Colorado Skies

Chapter 21 {New Years}

1 Week Later

New Years Eve is always a big deal and this year the whole towns invited to a new years eve party at the bar. I was at the bar working but I could still have some fun.. right? Right now it's 8:00 and there's already a bunch of people here. Charlotte could have the baby any day now, so her and Krew weren't here. I heard the bell that's on the door ring and Riley walked in with Reese and Parker. "Hey babe." "Hey!" I leaned over the counter and gave him a kiss. "All the boxes in the house?" "Everything's there, but nothing's unpacked." Riley answered my question. Him and I had decided to move in together, since Reese started renting out a house two weeks ago. "I also made sure to put all your clothes into our bedroom." "Great! Now, what do you want to drink?" "A beer is fine." "Coming up." I grabbed him his beer, and then started waiting on other customers.

An Hour Later

"Bryn!" Reese came running out of the bar, catching me on my break. "What?" "First I wanna give you these." She handed me a crown with the year on it, and a blue feather boa. "Thanks." I said laughing while putting them on. "Second, Colton is back in town, and he's coming here." I looked up from my phone like a deer in headlights. "How do you know that?" "Because Carla called me and told me he showed up looking for you, and I guess Mary told him you quit to come work at the bar." "Shit! I gotta get inside before he pulls up. Text me if you see him." Colton was my boyfriend for a big part of my life, I could even say he was my first love. We dated from freshman year when I was 14 until I was 18. He was there for me when my mom died, amongst other things. In a way I would say he saved me from falling into a deep dark hole after my moms death. After him and I broke up was when I started dating Cash. We dated for a month and I fully believe Cash was a rebound. Now almost a year later, I'm the happiest I've been in a while, and that was because of Riley, but I still didn't know if I was ready to see Colton. I just went back to work and hoped he would get lost or something, because in a lot of ways it was my fault we broke up.

"Thank God your back, the smell of the alcohol is making me nauseas." Brooke, who was filling in for me said. "Go ahead, I got this." She laughed and grabbed a bag of chips before going to talk to some of the people at the party. I pulled my phone out to text Cody, who was at a New Years Eve party that didn't involve alcohol.
Brynlee: Hey, Colton is back in town, stalk his socials for me and find out everything you can. It took her 5 minutes to respond, but boy did she figure everything out.
Cody: Him and some blonde broke up like 3 months ago. He lives in Montana by himself, and he put on his facebook that he's looking into moving closer to his family, also he's a police officer.
Brynlee: Alright thanks Cody, love you
Cody: Anytime, love you too
I put my phone down and went back to work.

Two hours later, we were getting closer to midnight and right now I was sitting on Riley's lap while he talked to his friends. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna run to the bathroom." I got off the stool and walked into the ladies restroom. Where Parker and Reese were making out against the wall. They jumped away from each other when they heard the door open. "No fucking way!" I exclaimed, clearly amused. "So the mystery guy you've been dating was Parker?" I laughed harder as they both grew red from embarrassment. "That's great! Does Riley know?" "No, and I'd prefer to keep it that way so don't tell him." "Fine, but don't get pregnant." I laughed and left them alone in the bathroom. I walked out, not paying attention to who was there until I heard "There she is." I looked up and Blake was showing Colton where I was. He said a quick thanks before turning to me.

"Hey." "What's up?" I say avoiding eye contact. "I was hoping we could catch up, as friends? I mean I am moving back out here, it's good to have someone you know." "Yeah of course, I'm gonna get something to drink, want anything?" "Do you have beer?" "Wouldn't be a bar without it." I joked, grabbing two beers off Blake. "Thanks" He said as I handed him one. "Of course. So, what brings you back to Colorado?" "I don't have anyone I really know in Montana, I know a whole bunch of people here, and I wanted to be close to my family." "Make's sense." He nodded.
"So why didn't you leave, I know you had a lot of big dreams." "I did, but then life kind of happened." I said referring to my mom. That's how me and Colton actually met. My mom first got diagnosed with cancer when I was 7, and it just so happened that she made a friend out of his mom who was also battling cancer. I decided to go with her one day to their house and we just had so much in common that we became friends really quickly.

"How's your mom?" "She's doing better, she's 9 years into remission next week actually." He said, a smile on his face. "That's great." "Yeah, and Mackenzie's graduating next year." He said referring to his sister who was 2 years younger than me. "I remember when she was a little kid." "What about you, how's your family?" "Uhh Krew's married, with a baby on the way." "He's what, 21 now?" I nodded. "That's crazy, good for him." "Yeah, uhh Cody's in her sophomore year, she wants to be a nurse." "Really?" I nodded. "How's your dad?" He asked noticing I didn't mention him. "He uh, actually passed away a couple months ago." "Oh wow, I'm sorry Brynlee." "Thank you, it was a heart attack." "I really am sorry Brynlee, he was a great guy. He was like a second father to me." I knew that was true. Hell my parents loved his family and him. They were best friends. When my mom got diagnosed a second time when I was 12, his family was always there, through everything. Him and I grew up together, and my parents loved the idea of us being together. They even thought we were gonna get married.. but one big fight changed everything.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see Riley. "Hey." I said with a smile on my face. "Hey, you wanna go on a walk with me, I have something to tell you." I nodded. "It was great catching up with you Colton I'll see you around town." "You too Brynlee." I smiled before getting up and following Riley out of the bar. "So what's up?" "I just got notice that I'm being deployed in two weeks." "Oh, for how long?" "I don't know yet." "Well, what do you wanna do? Do you wanna see other people?" "No, of course not. I love you Bryn, and if your up for it I wanna stay with you." "Of course I'm up for it." I stepped in front of him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Your gonna make one hell of a soldier." Our minute was interrupted when Brooke came out saying she needed my help behind the bar, so I followed her and left Riley by himself.

Riley's Pov

After Brynlee left, I went searching for the guy she was talking too. He was sitting at the same table on his phone. "Hey man." I said sitting down. "What's up?" "Why were you talking to my girlfriend?" I asked, I had to admit I was jealous. "Oh I'm her ex." "Your Colton?" "So you've heard of me." "Not from Brynlee. Krew told me about you." He nodded. "Well, while we're on the topic of Brynlee, I might as well warn you about her." "What do you mean warn me?" "How long have you guys been dating?" "Since July, but we broke up twice." "That's what I mean, she's scared of commitment. I proposed to her, and it started a huge fight between us. She promised to move to Montana with me, then she bailed a week before the trip. You can't tie her down, no matter what you do. I've tried." I looked over at Brynlee laughing with my aunt and sister. "She moved in with me recently, but I'm being deployed pretty soon." "Military?" I nodded. "That's probably why she agreed to it. She knows you won't be in the house long." Just as he finished saying that Brynlee came over. "Come on Riley! Come countdown with us!" She dragged me away from him and over near the bar. "6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Years!" Everyone in the bar screamed in unison. I kissed Brynlee as the clock struck 12. "Happy New Year, I love you." "Yeah, I love you too Bryn."