The Renegade

by Jennifer Bernard

  Renata carried the pile of freshly crushed herbs to the bowl where she was mixing the stuffing. “I don’t know about that kind of thing. I know she loved Max. She loved you kids. But sometimes the stress got to her. The lodge, the isolation, raising kids out here, Max’s moods. She did pretty good, considering.”

  “Right. That’s true.” Isabelle hesitated before asking the next question. “Did she ever talk about some kind of … secret? Something she didn’t want us to know?”

  “If you’re talking about an affair, I really don’t think so,” Renata said staunchly. “I know some are saying she did, but I don’t believe it.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Renata.” There was an easy way to find that out, of course. Mom could have written about it in her journals. But she still wasn’t ready for her mother’s undiluted words. Or for how it might feel to learn something she didn’t want to know.

  Just then Kai stuck his head in the door. “Izzy, there you are. Ready for the Christmas tree hunt?”

  “Depends. Can I run the chainsaw?”

  “You can pull the toboggan.“

  “Close enough.” Relieved, ready to forget the conversation, she blew Renata a kiss and ran off to join her siblings on one of their very favorite Christmas traditions.

  Someone had invited Lyle on the Christmas Tree Hunt.

  Of course, why wouldn’t they? No one had any idea he’d sort-of proposed to her, and that they were supposed to be pretending it had never happened, and that it would be a lot easier to do that if he wasn’t everywhere she turned.

  Isabelle fastened the toggles on her parka and adjusted her wool cap so it covered her ears, then skied to join the group gathering on the snow-covered field in front of the lodge.

  Kai was loading up a toboggan with a chainsaw, a hacksaw, and a giant urn of hot chocolate. Griffin was helping Serena with her ski poles; even though Izzy had been giving her lessons, she was still a newbie. Their new Great Dane puppy capered around them, nipping at the snow. They’d named him Rogue, Griffin’s old motocross nickname, which definitely suited the rascally dog.

  Isabelle stole a glance at Lyle. He wore a cable knit sweater over a gray hoodie, along with ski pants and a wool hat with ear flaps. His cheeks held extra color and a light stubble covered the lower half of his face. It suited him, made him look less distant and daunting. He looked sexy and scruffy and yummy.

  He was busy showing Gracie something on a fancy digital camera. As if nothing had changed. As if it was totally normal to just propose to someone out of the blue, for no understandable reason, then move on as if nothing had happened.

  Nicole, bundled into a plaid wool jacket, was blowing clouds of mist into the air. She wore only snow boots, no skis, which reminded Isabelle that she’d already announced that she had no intention of learning to ski and that everyone would just have to deal with that. “This might be the coldest temperature I’ve ever experienced,” Nicole said as Isabelle skied to her side.

  “And it’s only December. Just wait until the real deep freeze sets in. You might ditch the lodge and move into a tanning booth instead.”

  “Are you kidding? This is so beautiful.” She swung an arm to include the sky, the lodge, the dark spruce trees with their sparkling white toppings, like cake icing. “I’ve been dreaming of the winter ever since I first came here.”

  Her excitement made Isabelle look at the familiar scenery with new eyes. Nicole was right. Everywhere she looked, there was beauty. The weather was perfect for a tree-cutting—crystal clear, no hint of a cloud, fresh sparkling snow as far as the eye could see. Each breath of crystalline air coursed through her lungs and filled her with exhilaration.

  She caught Lyle’s eye, and saw that he too felt the joy of the crisp, glorious morning. She smiled, unable to do anything else on this spectacular day. He answered her smile with a touch of ruefulness.

  Pretend that proposal never happened? Not likely.

  Kai banged a ski pole against the thermos to grab everyone’s attention. “Welcome to the Great Rockwell Christmas Tree Hunt, a twisted holiday tradition that really ought to be tossed in the dust bin of history, but since we’re Rockwells, twisted is how we roll.”

  Serena raised her gloved hand. Her dark red hair, which she’d left loose for warmth, glowed like fire against the snowy backdrop of the field. “For us non-Rockwells, can you give us a clue about how this works?”

  “Absolutely not. That would be too easy. Just play along and no one will get hurt.”

  Lyle shot a look toward Isabelle. “What exactly am I getting into?”

  She shrugged and grinned. “We didn’t have cable or Internet growing up. We had to entertain ourselves out here. We got pretty creative sometimes.”

  His nervous expression made her laugh.

  Yeah, this was going to be fun.

  They all skied into the woods, heading for a valley where the spruce trees were more sheltered and less battered by winter storms. It was a fifteen minute ski, easy but far enough to get their heart rates up. Isabelle held back, conserving her energy, then surged ahead at the last minute, racing neck and neck with Kai to the tall spruce that marked the entrance to the valley.

  She raised her ski pole with a whoop of triumph as she inched past him for first place. Panting, Kai rested his hands on his knees. “Damn, Izzy. I thought all those years in the desert would make you easier to beat.”

  “Not a chance. Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Now we get to the good stuff. Off with your skis.”

  Everyone undid their bindings and stuck their skis in a snowbank formed by a grove of closely growing spruce.

  When they were all down to ski boots, she continued. “For the first Tree Hunt challenge, I dare you to rub a handful of snow onto the face of the person to your right. And … go!”

  Laughter and chaos ensued, as all the Rockwells filled their hands with snow and went after whoever was to their right, while dodging the person coming after them. Serena got right into the spirit of it, since Griffin was her victim. She hooted with glee as she got a hand on him, smashing snow against his cheek. Their puppy Rogue jumped in excited circles around them.

  Lyle, on the other hand, devoted all his energy to dodging Gracie, who wasn’t quite tall enough to easily reach his face. She kept jumping up, then spilling her snow before it reached him. By the end she gave up and plopped into the snow on her butt.

  Lyle was laughing so hard his face turned red. It was actually kind of adorable.

  “Time!” Isabelle shouted. Everyone froze, as the rules stated, although it took Serena and Lyle an extra moment to catch on. She surveyed each member of the group. “Based on the amount of snow on each of your faces, the winner is…Kai.”

  Kai reached his arms into the air in triumph. “Yesss!” He took Isabelle’s spot in the center of the ring, while she stepped back next to Lyle.

  “Kai has one point now. Whoever gets to three points first chooses the tree,” she explained in a whisper.

  He blinked at her. “Why don’t you just pick the best one? Or pick a random tree? They all look good to me.”

  “Are you crazy? What’s the fun in that?” She shook her head at him. “Best to get into the spirit of this thing. Whoever has the least amount of points has to drag the toboggan back. With the tree on it.”

  “Oh shit.”

  She laughed at his expression, then turned her attention to Kai, who was announcing the next game.

  “For challenge number two, I dare you to do the chicken dance around the toboggan. Best chicken dance wins!”

  Immediately everyone broke out their best and goofiest version of a waddle and “cluck-clucked” in a circle around the toboggan. Even Rogue joined in, barking with joy. The hardest part was not laughing the entire time.

  Especially at Lyle, who looked so ridiculous with his arms flapping and his head jutting in and out like a rooster’s that her stomach hurt from laughing.

  “It’s a close call,” said Kai after everyone had circled the toboggan. “E
xcellent chicken dances, one and all. But I have to go with Jake.”

  “Nepotism,” shouted Serena. “I vote Lyle.”

  “Lyle was good, I admit. Damn good.”

  Lyle grinned, looking more carefree than Isabelle had ever seen him.

  “But he’s still new around here and that’s just the way it goes. Tough luck, big guy. Jake, get on up here.”

  Jake hopped into the middle of the ring. Doing his absentminded professor routine, he folded his arms across his chest and tapped his finger on his chin.

  “Dare,” some people shouted. “Truth,” shouted others.

  “Shhhh,” he said, holding up a hand. “The master is thinking.”

  Everyone jeered at him, but he drew the moment out. “I’m going with truth,” he finally said. “The question you must answer to win this challenge is this. If you were a dessert, what dessert would you be? Best answer wins the point. Gracie, you first, then around the circle.”

  Gracie twisted her face in thought, then brought her hands together in prayer position. “I would be an angel food cake, because I’m such a little angel.”

  When the jeering and laughter died down, Serena went next. “Strawberry-rhubarb pie. A little sweet, but mostly tart. And very red.”

  Griffin shook his head and pulled her against his side, burying his head in her long red hair. “You’re all sweet to me, baby.”

  Isabelle smiled, loving the sight of her brother so happy. It was wild how all her brothers were getting married off.

  At least she still had Jake.

  Except that she and Jake didn’t talk the way they used to, and she was a hundred percent sure he wasn’t telling her everything.

  “I would be chocolate covered espresso beans, because I’m so fast,” said Griffin. “Boom.”

  That definitely suited a former motocross racer. Isabelle exchanged a high-five with Griff. “Nice.”

  He nudged Lyle, who was standing next to him. “You’re next. What kind of dessert is Lyle Guero?”

  Everyone turned to Lyle, just as curious as she was to hear his answer. The man was such an enigma, whether he intended to be or not.

  “Well.” He stroked his chin. “Jawbreaker? From my fighting days,” he explained.

  “A jawbreaker is not a proper dessert,” objected Gracie. “How about Double Fudge Cheesecake because you’re so rich.”

  “Cute. But no.”

  “No, you’re both way off,” Isabelle said. “Obviously the answer is Rum Balls.”

  “Because I’m a pirate?” Lyle lifted an eyebrow.

  “No, because it takes balls to join in this game.”

  Everyone laughed at that, and Lyle gave her a little salute, a “touche” kind of gesture. She grinned at him, glad he wasn’t offended. He could take a joke a lot better than she’d expected, which was a good quality for anyone hanging around the Rockwell family.

  Or marrying into it.

  Which he wasn’t doing, because that crazy proposal had been just that—crazy. Just a weird, off-the-wall, quickly retracted, never to be repeated, already forgotten—by him, anyway—mistake.

  Her phone buzzed, which was a surprise since she’d forgotten she’d brought it with her. She dug it out of her snow pants pocket and frowned at the screen, not recognizing the number.

  “Hello?”

  “Isabelle? It’s Beth. From high school. I…I need your help.”

  12

  Lyle caught the shift in Isabelle’s expression immediately. He’d been having so much fun with the Tree Hunt, the kind of goofy ridiculous fun that had never been part of his life before. That kind of loose, relaxed feeling was part of the charm of being with Isabelle, and the Rockwells in general.

  But he wasn’t constantly aware of every Rockwell, just the one with the dancing green eyes and the sexy curves.

  She stepped outside the circle, gesturing to everyone to continue without her. Since his turn in the “dessert” hot seat was over, he followed after her. His alarm grew as he noticed her alert expression and the way her hand tightened on her phone.

  “Okay, calm down. I’ll be there as soon as I can…yeah, right away. Can you tell where you are? No?”

  She paused to listen to whoever was on the other end. “Well, that helps a little, sure. It might take me a while to get down there, though. Are you safe for now? We should call the police right away.”

  Definitely an emergency. Lyle checked his own phone to make sure he had service out here. However he could help, he intended to.

  “Are you sure? I don’t know, Beth, I think you’re going to have to—okay, okay. One thing at a time. I’ll get there as quick as I can.” She ended the call and looked up at him. All the lighthearted fun in her expression had vanished, replaced by a mixture of shock and worry.

  “That was my friend Beth, from high school. She had a huge fight with her husband and he drove off with her baby. She stole someone’s car and went after him and they ended up at the coast and got in a crash. She’s a little sketchy on the details so I’m guessing it was partly her fault. Anyway, her husband just ran off at that point, left the baby with Beth. Beth says he’s breathing but won’t wake up, and his arm is injured and her car won’t start.”

  Every word sounded like a red flag to Lyle. This sounded like the kind of crazy drama he remembered from foster families four through seven. “What does she want from you?”

  “She wants a doctor. I’m the only one she knows on a personal level, besides her ob/gyn, who wouldn’t be any help. She doesn’t want to call the police because she’s afraid they’ll arrest her and take her baby. I…” She balled up the glove that she’d removed to talk on the phone. “I need to go. It’s going to take me hours to get to the coast. This is crazy. She needs to call 911 and get herself to the ER, but she won’t listen to me. What should I do? Should I call the police? She’ll be furious, but at least she won’t be sitting there for hours waiting for me. But if they take her baby and it’s my fault…” She put both hands to her cheeks, eyes bright with distress.

  He squeezed her shoulder, just briefly, then opened the contacts on his phone. “Let’s go,” he said simply. “I’ll make a call on the way.”

  “Oh no, you don’t have to come,” she said quickly. She stuffed her phone in her pocket and strode over to the skis that she’d stuck in a snowbank and pulled them out. “You should stay here and finish the Tree Hunt. I’ll be rooting for you. Haha, get it? Tree, root? Don’t laugh, it’s not even marginally funny.”

  Ignoring her attempt to brush him off, Lyle clicked the contact number he’d been looking for. Jim Draper, the helicopter pilot he kept on monthly retainer.

  “Hello?” Laconic, relaxed, great in a crisis, Draper was perfect for this situation.

  “It’s Lyle Guero. I need an emergency pickup. How soon can you mobilize?”

  “Pretty fast, considering I’m already in the air. Where are you?”

  “Place called Rocky Peak Lodge—”

  “Sure, I know it. You’re a lucky guy, I’m only twenty minutes away. Where we headed, in case I need to fuel up?”

  “Somewhere on the Washington coast, I’ll get the exact location asap.”

  “Sounds good. See you in a few.”

  When he hung up, Isabelle was staring at him, open-mouthed. “Did you just—”

  “I did. That was my helicopter pilot, good guy. He can pick us up in twenty minutes. Can you get Beth’s exact location? Sounds like she was at a beach, right? We should be able to land on a beach.”

  She grabbed her ski poles and slid her hands through the loops. “You don’t have to do this, Lyle.”

  “I’m doing it. It’s done. He’s already headed this way. Come on, we don’t want to be late.” He stepped into his own skis, clicking the bindings.

  “I can handle this myself,” she said tensely. “I don’t need someone with their own private helicopter stepping in.”

  “First of all, it’s not my helicopter, it’s Jim Draper’s. Second, I pay hi
m monthly and only use him occasionally. This qualifies as that occasion. Third, this isn’t about you, it’s about a baby who needs your help.”

  Her face flushed, but she couldn’t deny all that logic. “Fine. You have a point.” Without meeting his eyes, she glided across the snow to the rest of the group. “Lyle and I had something come up, so you’ll have to carry on without us. Come back with a good one!”

  Kai jogged across the snow, awkward in his ski boots. “What’s going on? Anything I can help with?”

  “Unless you have a magic carpet, I think we’re covered. Have fun, don’t worry about us.” Isabelle blew everyone a kiss, then used her ski poles to propel herself into a glide, heading down the trail toward the lodge.

  “Will you be back for the eggnog challenge?” called Gracie.

  “Hope so. Save some for me.”

  Lyle followed after her, once again humbled by how fast she was on her skis. Even though he was getting better on the damn things, he’d never be a natural like her. “Eggnog challenge? Do you guys make a game out of everything?”

  “Pretty much. I told you we had to entertain ourselves out here.”

  “And I thought my childhood was deprived,” he said lightly. “At least I had TV. Usually.”

  She ducked under an overhanging branch, which he was too tall to avoid. It hit him across the chest, like a blow to the heart. “I want you to know that I’m only accepting this helicopter ride because of Beth’s baby. Normally I am not interested in being the damsel in distress.”

  “Got it.”

  After that they didn’t say much until they reached the lodge. The helicopter was already visible, closing in like a giant airborne bug. They ran inside to exchange ski boots for shoes. Isabelle grabbed a medical bag and her purse, while Lyle explained the situation to Nicole and Max.

  When they came back out, the chopper was landing in a whirlwind of snow crystals. Jim Draper hopped down and came around to open the door for them. He wore a leather bomber jacket that looked out of place here in the mountains, but still it was good to see the man. He was one of the few people Lyle truly trusted.