“I feel like I failed a test. I could have been brave. But instead, I ran.” She hugged herself and rubbed her upper arms.
“I’d say that you’ll probably do better next time.”
“I hope so.”
“I’d count on it.” Wyatt dropped his hand. “Is that all you wanted?”
“Tell Harper I’m sorry?”
“Why don’t you tell her yourself?”
“Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
“That’s a great idea. Dad will probably want me out on the slopes with guests most of the day. Harper doesn’t need to be entertained, but she probably wouldn’t mind a friendly conversation.”
“Okay.” She turned to go, but looked back. “Thanks.”
Wyatt turned on one foot, eager to go back to Harper. Did she feel the way he did? How should he act? Like nothing happened—which was a lie? Like everything happened—which was what it felt like and so much more.
He stopped short.
His dad stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets. “Do you have a minute, son?”
Wyatt’s heart dropped like a downhill skier coming out of the gate. “Sure, Dad.” He swiped a banana off the counter and followed David to the living room.
“Want a drink?” his dad asked, getting himself a glass of water from the wet bar in the corner and taking a sip.
“I’m good for now.” Wyatt slowly peeled the banana. Even after the events of the day, he wasn’t tired, but he didn’t feel up to having a conversation with his dad.
“What happened tonight?”
He swallowed and shrugged. “We were racing home from the hot spring and I almost ran smack into the crevice along the trail.”
His dad didn’t seem overly alarmed. Wyatt would have been shocked if he had. After all, the danger was long past.
His dad nodded. “Wow. That’s not like you. Was that girl with you?” It seemed like a passive-aggressive thing that his dad wouldn’t use Harper’s name. “Name’s Harper, Dad.” Wyatt held his dad’s gaze. “She was. But she wasn’t the reason I almost hit the crevice.”
“Really?” The tone of that one word indicated his dad didn’t believe it for a second.
Wyatt couldn’t exonerate Harper without implicating Kayla. He stopped the words from coming out of his mouth.
“Yes. Really.” That was the best he could do.
“I wanted to thank you for helping me today.”
Wyatt finished chewing a mouthful of banana and was able to keep his mouth from falling open. His dad didn’t usually thank him.
“No problem.” He leaned one shoulder against the wall.
His dad paced to the window and looked out at the snow-covered landscape bathed in moonlight. “I’m really looking forward to you coming down full-time.”
Wyatt took another bite and nodded, even though his dad couldn’t see him.
His dad didn’t turn around. “Sophia told me that girl helped her in the kitchen.”
“Yeah.” He squelched back his irritation at his dad’s use of “that girl.”
“Hmm.” His dad drew the sound out. “She’s a doctor?”
Harper got that all the time. “Her degree is in nutrition. She’s not a medical doctor.”
“I see.” David took a drink of his water. “I wasn’t too sure about her. She isn’t the kind of girl I thought you would choose.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, I’d hoped for a number of years that you would take a fancy to Kayla.”
“She’s great as a sister,” Wyatt said cautiously. He hadn’t expected the conversation to take that turn.
“Yeah, well, I certainly know love doesn’t always flow the way we want it to.”
Maybe his dad was thinking about his mom or possibly Sophia. Wyatt shrugged again. “True.”
“We’re having a reception tomorrow night.”
“I know.” Wyatt bit off the last of the banana.
“We’ve made it in honor of your engagement.”
Nerves detonated in Wyatt’s stomach, curdling the banana. “Really?”
His dad turned around and paced to the middle of the room, staring at the big fireplace beside Wyatt. “Yes. Sophia and I are committed to making Harper feel like she belongs here. We want her to feel welcomed. And our friends and employees will help us do that. There will probably be a hundred people here.” His dad looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “I’m hoping we can convince you to have the wedding here. Soon.”
Wyatt choked on his spit.
His dad paused for a second as though gathering his thoughts, then he plunged in again. “I want to offer her a job. We need someone to be in charge of the food down here and it seems like that girl is perfect.”
“Harper.”
“Right.” His dad ran a hand over his bald head. “She can come back down with you in four weeks and start right away. Planning menus, cooking, taking care of special menu requests for allergies and diets and so on. We get a lot of that now. No need to wait until the wedding to start, although I assume you’re not going to drag it out? The peak season guests would love to observe your wedding. Some of them come every year and are all but family.”
Wyatt hadn’t been expecting this and really didn’t know what to say. A part of him wanted to be flattered, wanted to believe his dad wanted Harper and him down here because he liked them. But the other, more realistic part, he was afraid, whispered that his dad was angling for the business, as always. Trust his dad to turn his wedding into a marketing opportunity. Or at least keep from having to take any time off. Which was the least of his worries right now. This farce had morphed into something Wyatt wasn’t sure he could handle.
He needed to tell his dad the truth. Panic curled in his chest, sharp and stinging.
But maybe he didn’t. Maybe that kiss had changed things with Harper. Even as he thought that, he knew it couldn’t have. It might have changed their friendship forever, but it hadn’t changed the basis of what Harper was, which was a homebody. Someone who would never be happy away from her beloved farm and mountains, yet alone in a different country.
Before he could open his mouth, his dad said, “I’ve closed the lift down for tomorrow night.”
Wyatt’s mouth dropped. His dad never closed the lift.
“Sophia and I talked about it this afternoon, and I posted signs so everyone would know. I also personally visited every guest. She has been working frantically to line up a caterer and has all housekeeping staff working overtime tomorrow to have the lodge cleaned and decorated. We knew we were working with time constraints.”
Wyatt needed to stop this. He willed his mouth to open.
“I’ve invited everyone by personal phone call.” His dad lowered his gaze. “Son, I’d like to celebrate your engagement and announce your wedding date tomorrow. I’d also like to announce that you and that girl will be coming down to stay.”
“Dad, I really don’t know. Harper and I haven’t talked about what we’re going to do.”
“You told me you were coming down.”
“Right. I’m planning on it. I just don’t know…”
“You’re extremely popular here. Especially with the younger crowd. The parents are getting older; we need to keep the young people interested. You help with that. People come here just to see you. Because of your snowboarding championships. Your reputation on the slopes and with extreme sports also helps.”
Wyatt fingered his banana peel. His dad always talked in terms of the resort and what could be accomplished. He never said how he felt. How he felt about the son he didn’t raise. In conversations like this, Wyatt could never shake the feeling that it wasn’t him his dad loved so much, but rather it was the idea of his son working in his business, bringing in business.
He supposed it shouldn’t matter. But somehow, it did.
“When you’re here, business increases by fifty percent. I can tap into that tomorrow night, give people the heads up that you’re going to be back, and that you’ll be getting married here. Word
will spread fast and we won’t be able to contain the additional business.”
“Well, Dad, there’s something I should probably tell you…”
“Okay. But make it quick. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day. My sister is flying down from Texas. I don’t think you’ve ever met her and her husband.”
Wyatt hadn’t. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped. He was going to meet family. His mom and he had spent plenty of time here when he was growing up, but his dad had never been very interested in him. Not until he’d started winning those championships.
“All of our associates from the village are coming up. I did put it on Facebook, so some of your ski buddies might show up. I got a call from a couple who are down here to climb Aconcagua. And a group that spent the winter with you in Colorado, who are now in Europe, called.” His dad tilted his head. “They were surprised to hear it. I guess you’ve been keeping it to yourself?”
Wyatt’s chest seemed to cave in and he slumped into a chair. What in the world was he going to do? He’d lied to try to win the favor of his dad. He hadn’t considered how difficult it was going to be when he told the truth. If he told the truth now, after his dad had gone through all this work, and talked to all these people, it would make his dad, and himself, look ridiculous.
He sighed. “Yeah. Something like that.”
His dad stood. “Talk to that girl and see if you can’t come up with a plan before tomorrow evening.” He started to walk out of the room. “You are helping on the slopes tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“Great. I’ll give you the advanced class. They’ll be here around ten. Starts at 10:30. Four hours.” He glanced at his watch. “Two private snowboarding lessons after that. An hour each. I cancelled everything else. You can handle it?”
He’d wanted to spend a little time on the slopes with Harper. He supposed they could get up early and head out. Harper usually woke early anyway, but it was almost two a.m. And it sounded like tomorrow was going to be a long day. Unless he could talk to his dad…
“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Um, Dad?”
His dad had set his water on the counter in the kitchen and had started down the hall. He stopped.
“Yes? Make it quick, son. It’s late.”
“I, well, Harper and I, our engagement…” Wyatt lapsed into silence, searching for words.
“We can talk about that tomorrow. I just need a date to give everyone.” His dad turned and disappeared down the hall.
Frustrated with himself—why did it even matter what his dad thought, anyway—Wyatt threw his banana peel away, turned out the lights, and went to find Harper.
Tonight their easy friendship had become a lot more complicated. He didn’t know what that meant, but he couldn’t…no, he wouldn’t, ask Harper to move to Chile for him. He’d have to figure out something to tell his dad. But he could ask her if those kisses had rocked her world the way it had rocked his. Right now.
Wyatt knocked lightly on their door. When he didn’t hear anything, he tiptoed in. Harper had left the bathroom light on and the door cracked. In the faint light, the big blue and red square quilt he’d used since childhood lay smooth and flat over the pillows.
He cocked his head. No sound came from the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he walked lightly to the other side of the bed.
Sure enough, Harper lay on the floor, snuggled up in the old olive green and puke yellow sleeping bag he’d loved and used all the time as a kid. He didn’t even know where she’d found it.
“Harper?” he whispered softly. No answer.
In one tug, he pulled the blankets on the bed down, then scooted up between Harper and the bed.
There wasn’t much room, but he managed to get his arms around her without waking her. He lifted her, turning and laying her on the bed. He tugged the comforter out from around her and had just started pulling up the covers when she said, “I thought if I pretended to be asleep, you’d let me have the floor.”
He laughed softly. “It’s a good thing I didn’t strip down to my skivvies or prance around the room buck naked.”
“I’d have closed my eyes,” Harper said primly.
“I just bet you would have, Pickles.”
A little smile teased her lips. He swallowed at the tightening of his throat. Man, he didn’t want to lose this. But he needed to know.
“I wanted to talk to you about earlier.”
“A lot of things happened earlier.”
He couldn’t read her face.
He supposed almost dying should have been top on his list, but somehow that had been eclipsed by kissing Harper. Maybe he ought to inquire about her physical welfare before he asked what he really wanted to know.
“Are you okay?”
“You’ve been asking me that all day. I said if I’m not okay, I’ll tell you.”
“So that’s a yes?”
She grunted.
He put his hands in his pockets, but resisted the urge to pace. “I wanted to apologize about the crevice thing.” His stomach bottomed out every time he thought about it. Man, he couldn’t believe how close he’d been to killing Harper.
“I think you already did.” There wasn’t a trace of anger or malice in her tone. Like she’d expected him to pull through all along. Like they hadn’t almost died. Guilt weighed heavy on him. She gave him way more credit than he deserved.
“Well, when you almost kill someone, I guess it doesn’t hurt to apologize more than once.”
“I guess.” Her voice dropped.
“Are you tired?”
“Tired, but not sleepy.” She sighed and shifted, adjusting the pillow under her head.
“Well, I kinda wanted to talk to you about something.”
Man, he hated this. First his dad. Now Harper. He needed to just spit it out. This just proved that the kiss had changed things. At least for him. Before this, he could tell Harper anything.
“About Kayla?” Harper asked softly.
He’d forgotten she’d left the kitchen when Kayla came in.
“Nah. She just wanted to say she was sorry. She wanted me to apologize to you for her, too. But I told her to tell her yourself.”
“Oh. The way you are carrying on, I thought it was something serious, like she did it on purpose or something.”
“No. Nothing like that.”
Harper was acting just like herself. Like they hadn’t even kissed. Maybe she was not affected like he was.
“Well, what is it, then? You’re acting odd, Wyatt.”
“I’m just a little nervous.” He couldn’t keep his knees from shaking, his heart raced, and his voice kept wanting to go soprano on him. A little nervous. Ha. He couldn’t remember being more nervous in his life.
“To talk to me?”
“No, about the subject matter.” He willed himself to just come out and say it, but the words tangled on his tongue.
“What could possibly be making you this nervous?” Harper shifted on the bed, seeming to strain to see him better.
“Well, um…” Obviously, she wasn’t affected.
“Yeah?”
“My parents are having a big party tomorrow. You know that. But I didn’t realize how big. And they’re making it an engagement announcement party. My dad’s sister from Texas, whom I’ve never even met, is coming down for it. He said he was having over a hundred people here. He wants us to set a date, so he can announce that, too. I can’t believe how far out of control this has gotten.”
“Did you think about telling him the truth?”
“Constantly. But all I could think of was how upset he was going to be. Then, when I heard how many people he’d invited, and how much effort they’re putting into this, well, I just couldn’t. I tried. But I couldn’t.”
“I know what your dad thinks of you is important, but have you ever thought that maybe…”
“It’s too important?” he finished for her. As always, Harper was right. “It’s so hard to let go of that hope. I�
��ve had it since childhood.”
“So you’re nervous because you wanted to ask me to keep up the charade through the engagement party? Why? I already agreed to the pretend engagement.” A tone of confusion ringed her voice.
He cleared his throat and sat on the bed next to her. “Well, this is going to be a big deal.”
She slid over to make room for him. “I’m with you, Wyatt. If you want to admit the truth, if you want to keep up the pretense. Whatever.”
Heaviness settled in his chest. He hated confrontations. Every trip with his mother back to the resort had ended with a middle-of-the-night screaming match between her and his dad. Like clockwork, the next morning, they’d pack and leave.
Because of his determination to keep life running smoothly, he’d messed things up with his dad, and he’d allowed this discussion with Harper to go off the rails. He needed to stop trying to keep the peace and start standing up for what he wanted. Unfortunately, what he wanted most was for everyone to get along. “I should just tell dad the truth, first thing in the morning.”
Harper was silent. Her hands slipped out and found his in the darkness. Somehow that filled the silence between them so full of words he didn’t know how to speak.
Finally, she said, “I know that would be hard. You don’t want to disappoint him.”
He stroked her fingers with his, loving how different they were. Soft. Small. Cool. “Yeah, and he’s got the rest of our lives planned out.”
Her hand tensed. “Huh?”
He breathed out, holding her hand like a lifeline. “He wants a wedding date, preferably for some time this ski season. He wants to offer you a job in the kitchen planning menus and stuff, and have you come down here to live when I move down. I mean, he was going on and on, and I just…”
“I get it. It feels like we’re in too deep to get out.”
“Exactly.” And, part of the problem had to be that he really didn’t want out.
He wanted it to be real.
Harper had been ecstatic when Wyatt had wanted to talk to her. She thought they were going to talk about The Kiss. That he was going to maybe even suggest they make their relationship real. More than friends. Like she had any idea of how they could work that out, but surely it was worth a try.
Better Together Page 17