Remember This (Virgin River)

Jack and Jill

Phone buzzing, a notification popped up from my calendar to remind me to help my brother at the Lumberjack games, what this town liked to call Jack and Jill. With everything that happened last night, I didn't think he would expect me to be there this morning. I had an excuse to skip but instead, I rolled out of bed, showered, and put on a mustard-colored dress, my white coat, and a black and white scarf that could hide me if I didn't want to talk to anyone.

The thought of walking around with my head wrapped in my scarf was enough to make me laugh as I grabbed my keys and wallet and walked down the stairs. I took off in the direction of the back door and hopped into my car a few minutes later. The volume was still up from the other night. A song I had never heard before was playing on the radio.

You will never stop fighting for me

When I can't fight for myself.

Every word is a promise you keep

'Cause you love me like nobody else.

Winding through the road lined with towering pine trees and what overlooked the water, the houses were more spaced out than in town, finally nothing for what seemed like miles. If Jack hadn't asked me to come a while back, I would have never witnessed this beautiful scenic route, although I was still at a loss what these games entailed besides logs and sawing.

When my faith is weak

You're still by my side.

You will never stop fighting for me.

You will never stop fighting for me.

Pulling into the parking lot, I stepped out to a sea of plaid. I thought Jack was bad with his clothing choices, but this seemed far worse being surrounded by it. Now if I could find someone to help me find Jack. Better yet, if I could find Mel I would love to explain some things about last night.

"Oh, hi dear." The older woman was one I recognized as sitting around the table at Jack's bar. "You're Jack's sister. Oh, remind me of your name again."

"Brie."

"That's right. You look lost." She cocked her head to the side, her smile warm and bright smile only a mother could give."If you're looking for your brother, I think I just saw him setting up for sawing." She pointed a bony finger up the hill where huge logs sat on stands way in the distance.

"Thank you." She began to walk away, as I remembered I still needed to find Mel. "Sorry, you wouldn't have seen Mel anywhere?"

"Mel Monroe? First aid station about halfway down." Stepping in front of me, she pointed to the middle row of tents and games among the many that were here.

"Thanks."

"Of course, dear. Glad I could help." She disappeared back towards the other ladies who were gathered in a circle near the food truck. I did my best to hold my head high as I walked away, finally hearing Mel's voice as I neared the first aid tent.

"Okay, so the next time you work with chainsaws, might I suggest putting on some pants?" I peered around the corner to see Mel wrapping the shin of a man in his late forties with what I guessed was some kind of chainsaw injury. "You're good to go."

"Thank you." He hobbled up and I did everything to keep myself from laughing right then and there.

"Yeah." Pushing the first aid bag to the side, she finally looked up and seemed quite pleased with seeing me standing there. "Hey, you came!"

"Yeah, but I, uh, apparently missed the dress code memo." Looking behind me, it wasn't hard to see I was pretty much the only one who didn't look like a lumberjack, besides Jo Ellen and some of the other ladies.

"Ah, well, you know, they're selling fake beards over at the log-rolling tent, so we could get you one of those."

"Ha. Now I would pay to see that."

"I'm really glad you came."

"I promised Jack I'd help out. You know, in my thirty years of being alive, I don't think I've ever been to a lumberjack game."

"I arrived before the other one so I've had a little practice. Well, that and I promised to help out at first aid and I told Jack I would saw through a tree trunk with him."

"You really must love my brother."

"I do."

"I am starving. What is good around here?"

"Um." Mel thought about it for a second, her eyes growing wide along with a mischievous grin as she got an idea of where we could go. I was definitely glad I only had to use so many words and she was in to talk about things. At least it was a good start to leading that way. "Ooh, we could raid the bakery tent."

"I am in."

"Ah, yes." She put on her coat and we started to follow the direction of sugar and cinnamon.

"By the way, I am sorry about last night."

"Oh my gosh, no. I'm just glad I was there."

"I think I just ate something that didn't agree with me." I still couldn't tell her the direct truth, but even the lie sounded lame to my own ears. I was a district attorney and I hated when people lied to me. It made my job much harder than it had to be, even if I was good at uncovering the truth.

"Brie, um, I saw the Xanax."

"You went through my purse?"

"No, I didn't. You knocked it over when you fainted, and then Jack picked them up."

"So, Jack knows." Suddenly it was getting harder to breathe again. I almost wanted to reach into my purse and pull out a pill to take away the anxiety I was feeling. What was the point of hiding it if they already knew?

"Yes."

"Great."

"How much are you taking?" This is what I didn't want. Telling other people about the pills would lead to other questions. Pretty soon my life wouldn't be a secret anymore, and I would have to explain everything. Right now, I wasn't sure I could answer their inquiries without wanting to run away.

"One isn't enough for me, so I take more when I need to keep my anxiety at bay."

"Did you mix them with wine? 'Cause I saw an empty glass."

"Sometimes I need them to work faster." We continued to walk at a snail's pace and I wondered if we would actually make it to the bakery tent. "Look, it was a mistake. Definitely won't happen again."