Exes and Oh's: Part 3

MARLEY

A week had passed since Gabe's funeral and it amazed me how he could still be a pain in the ass even though he was buried six feet under ground. It was Friday and it was just passed two in the afternoon when my secretary told me Danny was waiting for me downstairs so we could head up to the cabin for the weekend. I hadn't planned on starting this morbid witch hunt so soon but the sooner we got this started, the sooner we'd get it over with.

Danny had surprisingly offered to carpool us all up to the cabin since he had the biggest truck with plenty of room for all of us, and I hesitantly agreed. My car wouldn't survive the mountain terrain and Serena's mustang was in the shop so she's been stuck driving a rental all week. What did surprise me was that Danny hadn't picked her up first since she worked closer to his welding factory.

I left my second in command in charge for the rest of the day and grabbed the bag full of clothes and camping gear I'd need for the weekend and headed out of the building. I looked up towards the small store with pride as I stared at my company name and thought back to all the blood and sweat it took to make this southern magazine thrive as successfully as it did and hoped it wouldn't all go to shit while I dealt with this murder mystery this weekend.

Danny's truck was parked a block down and he offered to help bring the bags into his truck. I let him and watched him struggle when one of the handles hit his rib cage by accident. I'd heard about his bar fight from Michael, who'd stopped by my office earlier that week and mentioned his concerns about Danny's behavior. Of course everyone grieved differently but Danny was spiraling and I had a feeling it wasn't just about Gabe's sudden death. He tended to act out to get the attention of a certain interior designer he still had the hots for. That much was confirmed at the will reading a few days ago.

"I'm guessing you haven't been to the hospital to get those ribs checked?" I asked as we both shut the trunk door closed and headed towards the passengers side.

"I don't want to talk about it," he answered, which only made me roll my eyes as he helped me up onto the truck and closed the door behind me. I had no idea Michael had moved into the country until Danny had arrived at his ranch house twenty minutes later. It looked well-kept and the landscaping was breathtaking. I wondered how much time he had on his hands being an EMT and all. This three acre property looked like a lot for a bachelor like himself to handle on his own.

"This place is beautiful," I mentioned, admiring the green pastures as Danny honked his horn and we waited for Michael to meet us.

"Yeah, it is. Mind telling your friend to meet us downstairs in about thirty minutes? She changed her number again." Danny changed the subject, and I raised an eyebrow at how he referred to Serena in such a cold way. I already knew this was going to be a long weekend.

"No problem." I fired back with sarcasm and reached for my phone to shoot her a text. This explained why she decided to change her number so suddenly. Danny must've gotten a hold of it somehow and she wanted to keep her distance. She responded right away, mentioning that her and Freddy were already on their way to Michael's, which meant they would meet us halfway, saving us another long trip.

"She's meeting us here with Freddy. They're on their way," I informed him just as Michael entered the back seat and threw his camping gear in the back, closing the door behind him. His beard had grown in nicely and I couldn't help but notice the smirk he threw my way as he buckled up. He was always the biggest flirt of the group and I haven't had sex in a while. I needed to get it together if I was going to survive the next two days with two extremely hot ex-boyfriends of mine.

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It took us about three hours to get to the cabin and I noticed on our way up here, there wouldn't be any emergency resources for miles if something happened. I'm almost certain Serena noticed the same because she was starting to get a panic attack the moment we all stepped inside the cabin. Michael and Danny both went to her aid her while Freddy and I were left to haul the luggage into the musty cabin. As I looked around, I noticed this place wasn't as well-maintained as Gabe always was. It seemed so opposite of who I knew him to be and it took a moment for me to realize maybe that was the point.

"Is she always that dramatic?" Freddy asked as he headed over to the kitchen while Michael and Danny carried Serena over to the sofa. I chuckled as she started to pray, knowing she was a devoted atheist.

"Absolutely. Are you fixin' to cook us something?" I asked and found it unnerving how easy it felt to talk to him after our bad breakup a couple years back. It shouldn't have been this easy, considering we had trouble communicating when we were together.

"I have a few things in mind I'd like to try. Mind helping out an old boyfriend, chaparra?" he tempted, and I was about to say no when I looked up into those hypnotic hazel eyes of his after he took off his sunglasses. I was in so much trouble. And I needed backup.

"She's helping me set up the barbeque pit outside first," Michael interrupted, sending me a wink as he headed towards the patio door and walked through. Freddy's smile faded as he watched me pull away once again, reminding me of why we had left things in such a bad place, so we'd make sure we wouldn't go there again.

"Maybe some other time?" I lied and stepped away before he answered and joined Michael outside in the patio.

"You're welcome," Michael said, gesturing towards Freddy who seemed to be slamming cabinet doors shut inside while Michael and I cleaned off the pit with a couple of rags.

"Yeah, yeah. I loved your place by the way," I complimented and he smiled in returned, throwing a twig at me playfully as I stepped away before it reached me.

"You're welcomed to visit any time," he proposed as he licked his lips while he spoke, using his usual irresistible swag to get his way.

"I might just do that," I shot back and watched him laugh as we continued catching up. It wasn't until we heard the yelling that we realized we'd been talking for hours. We glanced at each other before we hurried back into the house and ran into an episode of divorce court.

"I can't believe you ate all the snacks. You know I don't eat cabin food!" Serena fired her complaints towards an exasperated Danny, who was standing before her with his arms crossed and his foot tapping against the wooden floor beneath him. He was losing his patience and if anyone could make him explode, it was Serena.

"Not my fault your taste in food sucks."

"And it's not my fault you drink and eat your feelings away. Damn it Daniel, grow up!" Serena made her final grievance known before she heatedly headed upstairs to her private room. Making us go to a place where we all had separate rooms was the smartest thing Gabe had ever done.

"Thanks for leaving me here with those two grenades," Freddy mentioned as he shook his head while he stirred something in a pot and Daniel started looking for aspirin.

"Let's just get this over with so we can all go back to ignoring each other," Danny replied angrily as he slammed the refrigerator door shut and headed upstairs to his room.

"This is your fault," Freddy added to the lets-hate-Marley-parade and I threw my hands up, not even willing to stoop down to his level. But Michael had no problem stepping up to the plate to do so.

"How is this her fault that those two still have unresolved issues? Don't we all?" Michael countered and Freddy rolled his eyes as he muttered something incoherent underneath his breath. Probably damning me to hell like he always did when I got under his skin.

"Dinner is ready. Who's going up there to tell them?" Freddy asked as he washed his hands in the sink and dried them with a piece of paper towel.

"I don't think either of them are in the mood to eat."

"You got that right."