That Old Emerald Mountain Magic

by Cara Malone

  It seemed unnecessary to go into every last detail about how she and Joy met, and Carmen still felt a little bit guilty about how important she had become in the midst of a family vacation.

  “Okay honey,” Mom said. “We’re going to bed, but I’ll leave a light on for you. Don’t be long.”

  Carmen hung up, then told Joy she had to go back to the cabin. She resolved that tomorrow she’d do whatever it was her family had planned, including whatever was on her dad’s detailed itinerary. Joy drove her back to the resort, and it turned out to be rather difficult to get out of her car – Carmen wanted nothing more than to snuggle up and fall asleep next to Joy. Between her busy shifts at the resort and Dad’s itinerary, Carmen wasn’t sure when she’d get to see Joy again. They shared a lingering kiss and then she went inside.

  The cabin was quiet, the kitchen light left on just like her mom had promised, and Carmen went straight into her room and collapsed into bed, letting out a contented sigh and thinking of Joy as she closed her eyes.

  December 20

  Fifteen

  Carmen

  Carmen woke up the next morning feeling more invigorated and energized than she had since arriving at the resort. That was the point of a vacation, and fresh mountain air, but Carmen supposed that Joy had even more to do with her soaring spirits.

  She got out of bed and noticed that her ankle was feeling a lot better, too. It was nearly back to its normal size and it didn’t hurt to put pressure on it anymore. She went into the bathroom and took a hot shower, got dressed, and then waited for the rest of her family to get up and seize the day with her.

  They all trickled out to the kitchen in their own time, getting mugs of coffee or hot cocoa and then sitting around the island to drink them. They’d finished off the scones after dinner last night, so once everyone was dressed, Carmen suggested they go into Emerald Hill for breakfast.

  “I saw a cute little café on Main Street last night,” she said. “I bet they have a good breakfast menu.”

  Dad raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “You went into Emerald Hill?”

  “Yeah,” Carmen said, a little bit of color coming into her cheeks. Her parents weren’t the type that she felt the need to hide things from, but that didn’t mean it would be anything less than awkward to explain her fledgling relationship with Joy while the whole family sat around the kitchen island and stared at her. Besides, she’d been hoping to avoid admitting to Dad that instead of participating in his itinerary items, she’d ended up spending that time with a girl. She tried to play dumb, asking, “Didn’t Mom tell you?”

  “She said you were hanging out with someone,” he said. “I assumed you meant in the lodge.”

  “No, she lives in town,” Carmen said. There was no getting out of this now, so she explained “Do you remember the girl that brought us to the cabin on the first day? Her name’s Joy. We did some volunteer work in the local food pantry last night, then hung out at her apartment for a while.”

  “Carmen has a girlfriend,” Marisol teased, unable to contain herself, but her mom wore a more puzzled expression.

  “You snuck out to volunteer at a food pantry?” she asked. “Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?”

  “I’m sorry,” Carmen said, but Mom was laughing.

  “Obviously, none of us begrudges you a little volunteer work,” Dad said. “But if you’re well enough to be running all over Emerald Hill, then you’re well enough to follow my itinerary. No more crying wolf - you’re spending the rest of the week with your family.”

  “I wasn’t crying wolf,” Carmen said. “But my ankle does feel better today, thanks for asking.”

  “Good,” Dad said. “So tell me more about this breakfast place.”

  The Castillo clan went into Emerald Hill and ate at The Powder Hill Cafe, where Carmen had one of the best omelets of her life. Then because Mom and the twins had begun salivating the moment they drove through town and saw all the boutiques lining the main road, Dad found some room in the itinerary for a little bit of shopping.

  “Are you healed enough to walk around a bit?” Mom asked Carmen.

  “Yeah,” she said. “My ankle’s still a little stiff, but walking around will probably help loosen it up.”

  “There’s my trooper,” Dad said, patting Carmen on the back as they headed out of the café.

  Their first stop was to a little dress shop right next to the café, where Mom bought the twins a pair of matching plaid dresses to wear on Christmas Day, and Carmen found a crushed velvet dress in a pretty maroon color. When Mom caught her running her hand down the soft fabric, she said, “We’re going ice skating this afternoon. You should get that – it would be perfect with a pair of skates and some fuzzy ear muffs.”

  Carmen laughed and pointed out the impracticality of wearing a dress that came down to mid-thigh in the middle of a Colorado winter, but her mom talked her into it.

  “Come on,” she said. “I can tell you like it. We’ll call it a Christmas present.”

  Once they left the store, with Dad already starting to be weighed down by everyone’s shopping bags, Carmen spotted a phone store on the other side of the street. She asked, “Could we go in there for a minute? I could get a replacement phone and stop hogging Mom’s.”

  “It would be nice to get my phone back,” Mom teased, so they went in and Carmen bought herself a new phone.

  It took almost half an hour to get it set up, but that was pretty fast compared to New York standards. If she’d walked into an electronics store in the city without an appointment, she’d probably still be waiting for her new phone at closing time – especially with only five days until Christmas. Carmen was able to load a backed-up version of the phone she lost on the Outer Limits onto her new one, and by the time they walked out of the store, she was back to her old, hyper-connected self. There were a few dozen emails waiting for her, a few of them from work that she’d have to find a few minutes to answer, and her social media accounts had been blowing up without her checking on them compulsively. There were over a hundred notifications on Facebook alone, and a quick scroll through them told Carmen that the majority were humble brags from Cancun.

  And there was the photograph that Joy had taken on the mountain. Carmen was smiling in it, her eyes pointing just a little bit higher than the camera lens, looking at Joy behind it. She’d done a pretty good job of making it look like a selfie, and the mountain really was impressive in the background. Carmen’s finger hovered over it, about to share it for Brigid and Bentley to see, but then her Dad said, “Do we have everything we need here?”

  “Yeah,” Carmen answered, putting the phone in her pocket.

  They went back outside and explored a couple more shops, and Carmen was surprised when Mom dragged them into a ski apparel shop.

  “Are you serious?” Carmen asked as Mom made a bee line for a wall of women’s ski jackets. “You’re going to ski?”

  Lucia Castillo had not willingly gone outside more than a handful of times in the last ten years, and even though Dad had tried to convince her to join the rest of the family when he penciled ski lessons into the itinerary, she’d given him a firm rejection. Now, though, with all eyes on her, she said, “Maybe.”

  “No way,” Dad said, a smile forming. “Really?”

  “I don’t know,” Mom said, getting a little irritated by the fuss they were making over her. She called a salesman over and pointed to one of the coats hanging on the wall, a silver and white one with a large, fur-lined hood. He retrieved the right size for her and she put it on, stepping in front of a large mirror to admire it. “I saw a woman at the dog sledding excursion who had a similar coat, and she looked so warm and fashionable.”

  “How much is it?” Dad asked, going over and reading the tag that hung from the sleeve. His eyes widened and he said, “Oh, Lucia. Really?”

  She glanced at the tag, then said, “Well, it’s a little more than I’d normally spend, but honey, it’s so warm.”


  “Mom, when are you ever going to wear that again?” Carmen asked. It was a pretty coat, but her parents didn’t normally make a fuss about money so whatever the price, it must have been extravagant.

  “It gets cold in New York, too,” Mom said, and asked the salesman to ring it up.

  Dad said with a smirk, “You better come skiing with us now.”

  Sixteen

  Joy

  It was another long day at the lodge for Joy. Things had a way of getting more frantic the closer the holidays came, and Joy was having a hard time focusing on her work. She knew she should be thinking about the mentorship her boss offered her – it was a chance to advance her career after five years at the resort – but all she could think about was Carmen.

  Carmen’s soft skin. The way she tasted against Joy’s lips. The sparkle in her eyes. The curves of her hips as she walked naked across Joy’s apartment last night when they’d finished making love to get them each a glass of water from the kitchen. The way her voice never failed to send little tingles of pleasure into the back of Joy’s head.

  It had been so unexpected and so nice to look up from her work at the shelter last night and see Carmen standing in the doorway, and even nicer to bring her back to the apartment after. Joy spent most of the morning daydreaming about the next time they would meet, so when her phone started vibrating in her pocket, it felt like a fantasy to see Carmen’s name on the screen.

  “Hello?” Joy answered, ducking into an empty staff-only hallway to take the call.

  “Hey, it’s me,” Carmen said, and a smile spread involuntarily over Joy’s lips.

  “I know,” she said. Then she observed, “You got a new phone.”

  “Yeah,” Carmen said. “We went into town this morning and had breakfast, then did a little shopping.”

  “Oh yeah?” Joy asked. “And what are you up to now? Still checking things off your dad’s itinerary?”

  “Yeah,” Carmen said. “We just got to the resort’s skating rink. My dad’s waiting in line to rent us some skates right now. I was just wondering when your shift ends.”

  “Not for a while,” Joy said with a sigh. “We’re slammed with preparing for all the activities this week – the skating rink, sleigh rides, Santa’s coming tomorrow for photographs, and of course all the last-minute check-ins. I might not be free until late this evening.”

  Joy’s heart was aching to throw aside all of those obligations and just be with Carmen, but of course she couldn’t do that, and she couldn’t monopolize all of Carmen’s time as much as she wanted to. She was here to spend Christmas with her family.

  “Okay,” Carmen said. “Well, I’ve got a phone now so just let me know when you’re free and I’ll see if I can slip away. I want to see you again.”

  The words ignited the desire in Joy’s chest and rang in her ears even after they hung up. She tried to go back to her work – she was in the middle of setting up the ballroom for a tea party that would take place that evening – but it only took a few minutes before curiosity got the best of her and she snuck away again. She was due for a break, anyway.

  She grabbed her coat and went outside to the skating rink that had been set up at the far end of the ski area. It was pretty popular this morning, with about a hundred people skating in lazy circles on the ice, and it took Joy a couple of minutes before she spotted Carmen standing on the edge of the rink, watching her parents help her sisters get used to their skates on the far side of the rink. She wore a velvet dress beneath her plush coat, and a pair of fuzzy ear muffs that completed the look. Joy had to resist the urge to slide her arm around Carmen’s waist as she went over and stood next to her.

  “Hey,” Carmen said, her eyes lighting up when she saw her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Break time,” Joy said, glancing at the rest of the Castillos. They were all a bit unsteady on the ice, and all completely absorbed in the task of not falling down, so she leaned in and gave Carmen a quick kiss. Then she asked, “You’re not skating?”

  “I thought about it,” Carmen said. “But I didn’t want to risk hurting my ankle again. I’m having fun watching my dad try desperately to stay on his feet, though. My sisters and mom are doing pretty well, though.”

  “Well, these are adorable in any case,” Joy said, plucking at Carmen’s ear muffs.

  “I bought a few things this morning,” she explained, pulling them off. They collapsed into a tight ball, and she folded and unfolded them a couple of times as she said, “We went into a vintage shop and I couldn’t resist these because I used to have a pair just like them when I was a kid.”

  “I did, too,” Joy said, then added with a laugh, “Only I hated mine. I was never the faux fur kind of girl. They look great on you, though.”

  She took them out of Carmen’s hands and unfolded them, sliding them gently back over her ears. They watched Mr. and Mrs. Castillo and the twins making their way slowly around the perimeter of the skating rink for a few minutes. The girls caught on pretty quickly, gaining speed and leaving their parents behind, and when Carmen’s parents finally made their way past the side of the rink that Carmen and Joy stood on, Mr. Castillo gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up, then nearly lost his balance and had to cling to his wife to steady himself.

  Carmen laughed, then she turned to Joy and said, “I had an idea.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “What does the homeless shelter normally do on Christmas Day?”

  “Not a lot until evening,” Joy said. “We don’t have a huge budget so Tyler decided that it’s best spent on making the dinner meal as nice as possible – every year there’s ham and mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and a few of the volunteers bring in pies for dessert. It’s modest but nice. Why do you ask?”

  “For Christmas, my parents usually give my sisters and I an allowance,” Carmen said. “The twins love to shop so they’re more than happy to buy their own presents, but I was thinking that I’d like to do something different with my Christmas money this year. I keep remembering all the expired stuff we had to throw away last night, and I haven’t thought about my family using the food pantry when I was a kid in a long time. I’d like to help.”

  “You don’t have to-” Joy objected, but Carmen didn’t let her continue.

  “I don’t want to be another rich tourist who comes to Emerald Hill and takes from the mountain without giving back,” she said. “I’d like to donate my Christmas money to the shelter, to be used however it’ll be the most help.”

  “You should spend it on something you’ll get to enjoy,” Joy said.

  “I’ll enjoy helping the shelter more than owning yet another sweater, or whatever,” Carmen insisted, slipping her hand into Joy’s, and Joy thought that she might just lose it if this girl got any better. She was only here for a short time, and she was doing her darnedest to make Joy fall for her.

  “Okay,” Joy said. “If you’re sure, then I know Tyler and all the visitors to the shelter will be very grateful.”

  “Can we go when you get done with work tonight?” Carmen asked.

  “Sure,” Joy said. “But I better get back to work now. I’ll call you.”

  “Okay,” Carmen said, and Joy squeezed her hand tighter for a moment, then let go. She had to get back into the ballroom to finish setting up tea cups on all the tables and making sure that everything was in place for the event, but her mind was only on Carmen.

  Seventeen

  Carmen

  Carmen’s mom eventually coaxed her onto the ice skating rink, looping her arm around Carmen’s to hold her steady and protect her ankle from wobbling. She made a few turns around the rink, and when all their noses were red and their breath came out in dense clouds, they went back to the cabin. It had started to snow and they warmed up by the fire, sipping hot cocoa and watching the big white flakes come down outside.

  It was about seven-thirty by the time Joy called to let Carmen know she’d finished all her responsibilities at the resort, and Carmen told her parents
that she was going out for a couple of hours.

  “Better not get attached,” Mom warned, but Dad just nudged her with his elbow and smiled.

  “Let her have a little Christmas romance,” he said. “She’s been working hard all year – she earned it.”

  “Don’t stay out too late,” Mom said, and then Joy’s car pulled up in front of the cabin to pick Carmen up and she ran outside with a huge grin on her face. In the back of her mind she knew it was foolish to be so eager to see someone who would only be in her life for five more days, but she couldn’t help the way her heart rose into her throat every time she saw Joy.

  They drove into Emerald Hill and went to the shelter, where Tyler was busy getting cots and blankets out and setting them up in the shelter’s great room for the people who would soon be coming in out of the cold and looking for a warm place to sleep. Joy brought him up to speed on Carmen’s Christmas wish, and he asked, “Not to be blunt, but how much money are we talking about?”

  “A thousand dollars,” Carmen said. It felt strange and embarrassing to tell a stranger what her annual Christmas budget was, particularly with the shelter as the backdrop to this conversation, but he needed to know and she felt a little better knowing that the money would go to a worthy cause this year.

  Tyler’s eyes widened a little bit, although he struggled to keep his expression neutral, and Carmen pointedly avoided looking at Joy through this exchange. Their hands were linked, Joy’s fingers warm in Carmen’s, but she didn’t want to look into Joy’s eyes and see judgment or, worse, alienation.

  Tyler said, “And what did you have in mind?”

  “Whatever the shelter needs,” Carmen said. “I was thinking it might be nice to do something special on Christmas Day, maybe give out blankets or warm clothing, but if you need the money for something else, please do what you think is best.”