Lucille patted her shoulder and walked her to the door. “Moss Creek was around a hundred years ago, and it will be around in a hundred more. We’ve never been a community who liked outside influence.”
“I’m not an outsider.”
She raised a brow and smiled. “Of course not.”
The words were right, but the tone said something different. She was an outsider. All those years away wouldn’t go unpunished.
Lauren walked out of her meeting with Lucille even more disheartened. She glanced around the streets of Moss Creek, wondering what had happened to the town she’d grown up in; this place which had been a refuge for her parents from the harried life of the cities back east. It had been a place where family and old-fashioned values ruled. Now, all she could see was a spreading virus of selfishness and disinterest.
For the first time, she felt more sadness than terror over the loss of her father. Moss Creek didn’t seem the same place they’d come to, the place where they’d brought their dreams to fruition. Now it was a place where the residents spoke of me and forgot about we.
There was no snowstorm coming to return the town to its former, powdery glory. No miracle from above to bring back the tourists and make the lodge the winter wonderland we had intended it to be.
Thankfully, Max had arrived to change the landscape of her life. He was the one who would receive her without objection. He was the love of her life, and she was grateful to have him at last.
I don’t want to fight anyone or justify my need to save the lodge. I just want to go home, fall into Max’s arms, close my eyes, and wait for everything to make sense.
It wouldn’t be that easy. She’d find comfort in Max’s arms, but the answers to her problems would have to come from somewhere else, or she’d have to seek them out, and the time for that was fading fast. Her world was slipping out from under her.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lauren
Speckles, the mare, was in good shape and ready to run. Lauren had become so used to her chores around the lodge, especially after her father’s death, that the simple joy of a nice ride had escaped her. Like so many things, it took Max to step in and reintroduce her to those pleasures.
Riding with Max was peaceful, and the fate of the town’s future—her future—seemed miles away. Up on that mountain, with those two magnificent horses, she knew how her mother and father had felt coming to Colorado so many years before. She took a deep breath of clean mountain air and stared at the blue sky. She realized then they were looking at what others had seen hundreds of years ago. Before them lay endless possibilities.
No one could have known how the progress of the previous two hundred years would change things and threaten the landscape. The land was beautiful, craggy and rustic, and expansive. It was cold and fresh and new.
“I loved growing up here,” she said, the breeze blowing her hair back. “So beautiful.”
Max looked directly at her when he repeated, “Yes, so beautiful.” He looked out over the landscape; the Rockies rose to the skies in front of them. “Not as beautiful as the smile of the woman I love.”
The words caused warmth to spread in her heart. To look at him on that horse, tall and assured, back straight and shoulders broad, she felt she was looking at a dream, a fantasy of the man she’d always loved. But he was no dream, Max was the man he appeared to be, and she had no lingering doubt of that.
He’d reminded her that there was still beauty on that mountain, at the lodge, and in her life.
She glanced his way. “You handle her pretty well.”
Max shrugged. “It’s just about getting along. I’ve always felt that in life, there’s a natural flow of energy. A person can either go with it or fight against it. My father never understood that.”
“Well,” she said with a sassy little smirk, “your father’s not here now.” She looked at him again, eyes scanning those long, powerful legs, splayed over the magnificent animal’s back. “Race?”
“Excuse me?”
“Scared to get beat by a girl?”
She didn’t give him a chance to answer and shook her reins; the mare jumped forward into a quick, spirited gait. The horse ran hard while Lauren’s heart beat faster in her chest. Her hair bounced behind her like flames chasing her.
Speckles ran with purpose, her muscles flexing and stretching with natural power and raw energy. She could feel her horse’s relief to be out running again, to be where nature intended her to be, and doing what she was made to do.
Lauren glanced over to see Max riding alongside her, the long brown mane of his horse flowing in the cool breeze. His handsome face wore an expression of calm, and the slight upward curve of his lips lifted his cheeks. He seemed less like a man and more like some great American legend with the soul of a poet and the body of a warrior.
They rode on, side by side, neither edging in front of the other. Mischief rose in her blood, and the desire to impress him grew even stronger than her desire to possess him. Lauren nudged the mare harder, and she responded, their combined efforts pulling her faster and farther, nudging her ahead of Max by a nose. The speed and momentum carried her down the mountain slope.
With Max beside her, Lauren was renewed and revived, stronger, and more capable than she’d ever felt before.
Despite the tenuous circumstances, the sun still rose, the moon still set, and life would go on.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Max
Max had enjoyed his time with Lauren, but it only gave him more opportunity to think about his father, about his own family and how important it was that he not abandon it. There were troubling developments, and he had to do whatever he could to protect his father from Jane. So, he left the lodge and went home.
“There’s an enemy in our midst.”
Pops shook his head, shrugging from behind the desk in his study. He seemed completely confused, but that only increased Max’s scrutiny. His father wasn’t a man who was easily charmed.
“Max, take it easy.”
“I’m trying, Pop, and I know you’re trying too. At least, I hope you are.”
“Max, really, just try to relax. You’re getting what you want—who you want.”
“I’m not worried about myself, or about Lauren. Well, I am worried about her, but we have to talk about Jane. I know what you’re up to, Pop.”
His father’s face took on a stern expression. “I’m not about to answer to anybody about that, least of all you.”
“True, I am only your son, but I’m also your business partner, or at least I was for many years during your affair with this woman. I don’t care about that, Pop, I never did. I always felt you could do better. She’s a gold digger, there’s no room for doubt.”
His father shook his head. “Don’t you think I know that? I’ve been bedding women since way before you were born. I know what I’m doing. You know what I like about Jane?”
There were plenty of things to like. She was pretty and willing, but there were things to be cautious of. She wasn’t after his father’s heart but his money.
“Tell me.”
“She’s exactly like me. She goes after what she wants and won’t stop until she gets it. I’m what she wants. I know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t doubt that. What worries me is that I don’t know what you’re doing. About anything. Not about Jane, and not about the lodge.”
“You don’t think I’m serious about giving you and that girl my blessings?”
He hated the way he called her “that girl.”
“Her name is Lauren.” A long, tense silence passed before Max said, “I want to believe you.” His father pulled his top desk drawer open and took out the manila folder, laying it flat on the desktop. He opened it, raised the letter, and tore it down the middle, pairing the scraps and tearing them again.
“Does that make it clear?”
Max sat in a quiet shame for not believing him. “Thank you.” His father nodded, and Max went on, “What abo
ut Jane? She’s got her sights set on marrying you. She says she’ll come between us if you don’t propose by the end of the year.”
Pops cracked a wry smile. “You just let me worry about Jane, son. You go back and get that winter village thing happening at the lodge, I’ll handle things here. Haven’t I always?”
Max couldn’t disagree, but it still left him with a sense of worry he couldn’t escape.
He drove back to the lodge, thinking about the winter village and the future of the beleaguered ski lodge. It wouldn’t survive in the coming economic and ecological climate.
That’s why the old man changed his tune. He knows I’m right about taking a kinder approach, but he also knows what’s coming.
It was better to stand back and let the economic realities take their toll and then come in and sweep up after the place came tumbling down.
It made Max’s heart feel hollow, but it was more complex than merely feeling betrayed by his father. He’d always known what kind of man he was, so he couldn’t be surprised. His greater challenge was not feeling guilty for whatever part he’d played in Lauren’s ultimate downfall.
They’d fail. Max had to admit to himself, they were just spinning their wheels. Had his father gotten to the store owners, to the pastor even, paying them off to shut them out so he could stand back and watch them fall flat on their asses? He could stand there and pretend to be Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning while the lodge continued its death march into bankruptcy.
What happened when he finally came in and made an offer? Lauren would think he’d been lying to her, playing her, siding up to her as part of his father’s campaign, but what if he was wrong, what if his father really was on the level?
Had he become so jaded, so hard-hearted, that he couldn’t welcome legitimate goodwill from his own dad?
There were no clear answers and little time to reason it out. He pulled up to the lodge where construction workers had arrived and begun building the faux cottages and lampposts that were key to the lodge’s transformation.
Lauren stepped out to welcome him, a sweet smile on her pretty face.
“It’s happening, look at what we’re creating.” She swept her arm out like she was offering him the world, and she was. She was offering him her world.
“It’s amazing. You’re amazing.” He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.
In that moment, he could see her as his wife, stepping out to greet her husband. The kiss deepened, and he felt as if he was home. He pulled away and looked up at that rustic lodge and sighed. It was a special place, and he couldn’t think about what would happen to it, and what part he might have played in its fate.
He had to believe it wasn’t too late. Though the puzzle was getting more complicated, Christmas was coming, and they were still together. As long as they were in love, everything else would fall into place. Of that, he was certain. Almost certain.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lauren
Only a few guests lingered around the lodge, which had become the center of an expanding construction project assembling the winter village. It took shape quickly, and Lauren was happy that it was coming together.
The perfect reward for a day of hard work was for her and Max to slip into the lodge’s jacuzzi, overlooking the town of Moss Creek below. The hot, bubbly water was especially soothing against the cold, brisk air. They were the only two people in the tub enjoying the heat as the steam rose around them.
The lights of Moss Creek sparkled beneath them like grounded stars. The sky was a sheet of inky black with glistening diamonds dancing about. It seemed as if they were the only people in the world, and nothing could hurt them.
Max’s eyes found hers, and she knew what he was wanting, what he was feeling. The same impulses were streaming through her body too; the desire to be closer, as close as any two bodies can be, and then closer still. She wanted to pull him to her there and then, to throw her arms and legs around him and take him in completely and totally with wild abandon. Sadly, there were still a few guests at the lodge, and Ruthie’s judgmental eyes were never far away.
It was sweet enough to sit in that percolating froth, releasing a sigh that seemed to take with it all the stress and worry building since her father’s death. Max had brought a new perspective, a new aspect to her life and to the life of the lodge. He was destined to lead the Sunshine Lodge into the future.
“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked.
Max chuckled. “I suppose that’s all they’re worth.” After a pause, he went on, “It’s my father, and the future, and there’s a lot to think about.”
Lauren nodded. “My parents would probably say there was a lot to pray about.”
“Not mine.” They shared another laugh. “My father says hope trumps faith every time.”
“Hope? I didn’t know your father was so tenderhearted.”
“He’s a good man deep down, but he’s tough because he’s had to be, at least that’s how he saw it.”
“You’ve always played it a different way.”
He nodded. “I have hope. Hope for a better life for the people here; hope that my father has finally come around on so many things. I guess I always felt that a person could lose faith, but they can still have hope.”
She nodded. It seemed such a sweet and simple notion.
“Hope and faith,” she said, “to me, they seem like two sides of the same coin.” Max broke a little smile, and her eyes locked on his lips. “But love always wins out.”
“It does,” he said.
Their faces neared, and she cleared her throat. “I mean, isn’t that what the romantics would say?”
“The rock band?” he joked.
They shared a laugh. “Two souls with but a single thought; two hearts that beat as one.”
“Keats?”
“Yes.”
Their faces neared for a kiss, lips pressing together, hands sliding under the bubbling surface. Passion rose in her blood, nerves prickling her skin. She wouldn’t be able to withstand the temptation much longer, though she could hardly dare move from the hot water, cuddling and nuzzling him.
It was a dream come true, and the rest of the night would hold more promise and satisfaction.
Each night they spent together was perfection.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Max
He and Lauren sat in the great room of the lodge, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace. The question of how much to say consumed him. He had grown too close to Lauren to be less than honest with her, and what was going on involved her and her future. Protecting her meant being open and truthful, though not so honest that he’d be committing romantic suicide.
“We need to talk.”
Her eyes grew wide. “That sounds ominous. Should I worry?”
He hated being so cagey, but everything was at stake for the two of them, and the lessons he’d learned from his father echoed in the back of his brain. “She’s up to something, that nurse Jane, I know it.”
Lauren said, eyes wide with her surprise, “Really? It’s like a soap opera over there.”
“Nothing so amusing, I’m afraid. My father says he’s got a handle on things, and what worries me is that he just might. All this, his change of heart, I want to believe him, but I’m not sure I can.” The greatest show of sincerity was Pops tearing up the document. Once that had been destroyed, so was his father’s hold on his and Lauren’s future.
There was no reason to mention it, he told himself; it was gone, and bringing it up would only make things unnecessarily complicated.
“I guess this is where you have to lean on faith or maybe hope.”
“I suppose as long as you know I love you, and we’re standing together, there’s nothing she can do to us. As far as my father’s concerned, he’s formidable. No one goes against him and wins.” He chuckled. “Not true, because I did.”
“Yes, you did,” she said with a sexy wisp in her voice. “You did it for me. You can’
t know what that means to me, Max.”
Walking away from the woman of his dreams, the girl he’d loved all his life, made the thought of submitting to his father’s business schemes impossible. The vision of himself seated with his father in that smoke-filled study was a sickening sight compared to walking into that lodge each day to see Lauren.
They kissed, and Max could feel the power of her gratitude, and the urgency of her growing need for him. Their love was swelling to consume them both. Whatever else they were facing, their strength grew within them and between them to make them stronger. Though the mountains were still barren, the ski lifts long closed, there was a sense of possibility at the lodge—the possibility of them.
A scream shot through the air and through Max’s body, making the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He and Lauren shared a frightened expression before they turned to bolt across the room.
They ran out to the backyard of the property just as Patrick and Cindy came running from the stables.
“Cougar,” Patrick said, “big one, coming at the horses.”
There was no time to go back to the house. Max realized that if there were guns at the lodge, he had no idea where they were. The horses were at risk, and word of such an attack would be the final nail in the lodge’s coffin.
He shouted, “Wait here,” before running toward the stable, already knowing that Lauren would be fast on his heels.
He ran up to see the horses bucking, and a big cougar hissing and swiping its extended claws. It flashed white fangs, and pink gums, and turned its attention to Max and Lauren. Patrick and Cindy stood in fear behind them.
Lauren ducked to a corner of the stable, grabbing a pitchfork and called to Max. He turned just as she tossed him the tool. Caught in the air, he spun it around as the cat lunged. He forced it back with those four sharp prongs. He wasn’t trying to kill the beast, but he had no choice but to repel it and prevent it from attacking Lauren and her staff.
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