by Sabrina York
“What does any of this have to do with me taking over the Mistletoe Lodge and you and Dad moving south?”
“So, now you’re not denying there was something between you and Flynn.”
Colton pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d always been a private man. What little love life he had, he didn’t boast about it. Hell, he’d never brought home a girl to meet his parents since his senior year, and they hated her. “We had a nice week, and then I was deployed. We walked away friends.”
“Why have the two of you been lying to us then?”
“Again, I can’t speak for Flynn, but I saw no point because it wasn’t going to go anywhere. I mean, I didn’t call you up and tell you all about Shelly.”
“Who’s she?”
“A woman I dated when I was in Germany.”
“You were only there for a month,” his mother said with a scoff.
“Exactly. And I was in New York even less than that. I don’t think you and Dad want a rundown of every woman I’ve had sex with.”
His mother gasped. “You’re making yourself sound like some sort of man whore.”
He laughed.
“It’s not funny.”
“But you see my point, right?” he asked, taking his mother’s hand. “I’m not cut out to be in a long-term relationship.”
“I’m calling that bullshit.”
“Call it whatever you want, but Flynn isn’t either. Truth is, I wanted more. I left New York wanting to, at the very least, see her on my next liberty call. I cared about—care about her, but she made it clear that it was a short fling. Nothing more, nothing less. And before you say anything more, we didn’t want to hurt you or her mom, which is why we never said anything. We’re just not meant for each other, and you’re going to have to accept that.”
“How did she make it clear?”
“Mom, I’m not going to answer that. It’s private,” he said, trying to keep his frustration in check.
“Make me understand, because seeing the two of you here last night, it’s painfully obvious to both me and your father that there is some unfinished business between you and Flynn.”
“Renee,” his father’s deep voice boomed across the room. “Don’t bring me into this conversation.” His father’s limp had lessoned, and he gained strength every day, but Colton still worried that his father wouldn’t slow down if he stayed in Alaska.
“Are you going to backpedal now? You’re the one who said you thought Flynn and Colton had deep feelings for one another,” his mother said with a deadly glare.
“The fact that the two of you are even having that conversation is mind-boggling.” Colton stood and made his way around the counter and poured his father a cup of coffee. He glanced out the window. The lights from his cabin glowed in the darkening sky. He could see Flynn’s silhouette through the picture window. She paced behind the sofa in the family room. A fire roared in the background.
“Since we’re having it, please fill me in on what I missed.” His father took the hot mug and sat next to his mother, looping his arm over the back of her chair.
They had the kind of love that most people only dreamt about. They had met in the second grade when his father’s family moved to Denali from Seward. They became an item in middle school. Dated all through high school and then went off to college together in California. Once they graduated, they came home, got married, and took over the Mistletoe Lodge. Nine months later, they had Colton.
“Your son finally admitted he and Flynn had a short romance.”
He so didn’t want to toss Flynn under the bus, but he had to get his parents off his back. “It wasn’t a romance. It was a fling between two consenting adults. Now, can we stop this and get back to the issue at hand?” He made his way back to the table. “Do I need to sign something to take ownership?” He took the folder and flipped it open, examining the documents. All pretty standard stuff and the sale price was exactly what they had discussed. He appreciated that they would be the bank, but he knew he would be able to handle all while putting some money aside to ensure his parents had the best in their later years. “Have you put an offer in for a place?”
“No,” his father said with a stern tone. “And we’re not going to until you do us one favor.”
“And what is that?”
“You tell Flynn how you really feel about her,” his father said.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” He tossed the folder on the counter. “Are you forgetting she lives in New York, and I live here?”
“But you don’t have to live here. Not if you don’t want to. You know there are a couple of people who want to buy this place. We can get a good price, and we can all walk away,” his father said. “I’ve had two offers in the last month. And while we’d like to keep it in the family, our family ends with you. One day, you won’t be able to handle this place, and it will be sold to someone else. So, what difference would it make if we did it now?”
“Because I want to run the lodge; that’s the difference.”
“We’re not saying you don’t. All we’ve ever wanted for you is to be happy,” his mother said. “When we came to your boot camp graduation, we saw how utterly thrilled and proud you were. Because of that, we never said another word about your choice. But since you’ve been home, you’ve lost that feisty spirit of yours.”
“Until Flynn showed up yesterday. Now you’ve got that spark back in your eye.” His father raised his mug. “If you don’t ask her, you’ll never know how she really feels.”
“Or how you really feel,” his mother added.
“This conversation is over. I’m nearly forty years old. I’m not sixteen anymore. I don’t need you two meddling in my love life.”
His mother raised her mug and sipped slowly. “What are you afraid of?”
He rubbed his temples. A slow ache rose from his toes. It crawled up his body like a boa, wrapping around his muscles and squeezing so tight he could barely manage to take in a breath. Flynn had cut him off at the pass three years ago, and he didn’t think his ego, or his heart, could take that again. “I won’t give up the Mistletoe Lodge. Not for anyone.”
His mother rose with style and grace. She pressed her hand against his chest. “All we’re asking of you is to be open-minded. You’ve risked your life time and time again, and you never once thought twice about it. Now it’s time to risk your heart. If you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
He hated it when his mother backed him into a corner.
Worse, when she was right.
6
“What did Henry say?” Jessica, Flynn’s assistant, asked.
Flynn swiped at her cheeks. Crying over work had not been in her wheelhouse. Even when Ashlea had purposely inputted the wrong résumés a few years ago. Ashlea had been her assistant, and at first, they’d hit it off, or so Flynn had thought. Only, Ashlea had been after Flynn’s job, and she hadn’t figured that out until it was too late. The damage had been done. Ashlea got a promotion, and Flynn got a slap on the wrist with a hefty warning. Since then, she and Ashlea fought for a VP position that would be given out at the end of the year.
That should be Flynn’s promotion, not Ashlea’s.
But Ashlea had Henry’s ear, and Flynn did not.
“He didn’t take my call. Went straight to voicemail. I tried his secretary, and again, I had to leave a message. He sent me emails and texts demanding I get ahold of him, and here I am trying, and he’s blowing me off.” Although, what the hell was she going to say? She had no real answer for why the information wasn’t there, and that would just make her look stupid. “Jessica, are you sure you don’t have a copy of what I uploaded to the portal? I sent it to you last night.” Flynn rubbed her right temple. The building pressure in her head crawled down her throat and into her stomach, creating a tight knot.
Hannah whined, stretching out in front of the front door. Poor dog missed her master.
Flynn would not admit to missing him as well.
“I’m sorry, Flynn, but I see nothing in my inbox, or even my spam folder. Are you sure it’s not stuck in your outbox?”
“It’s not there, but neither is the email I sent to the client, or any of the ones I sent to Henry. Even the time-stamped confirmation email I got late last night is gone.” Flynn stood behind her laptop and stared at the screen. None of the works she’d done in the last week was anywhere to be found. Not a single résumé that she’d painstakingly gone through to make sure the applicant was as near a perfect fit for her client as possible. None of her notes. As a matter of fact, the folder she’d created in the Dropbox account was empty. “Did you have IT look at it?”
“I didn’t want to draw too much attention, so I called my ethical hacker brother. He’s still looking into it. He might want access to your computer. I will let you know what he finds out as soon as I hear from him.”
“Whatever he needs. But maybe call Rick down in IT. I’ve known him for as long as I’ve been with the company. He’ll be discreet, and I bet he’d even work with your brother.” There was no way Flynn’s files vanished into thin air. Someone was fucking with her, and she’d be damned if she let it continue.
“I’ll go down to the IT department myself and talk with him. It’s weird, because I know I saw that confirmation email. I’m always copied on it, but I don’t see it in my business account. I even checked my personal account, and nope, not there,” Jessica said. “You know, this has Ashlea written all over it. She’s been talking smack about you at the water cooler for days.”
“One of the reasons I wanted someone who knows technology to dig into the internal accounts, especially mine. I don’t trust that woman as far as I can spit.” Letting out a big sigh, Flynn started to pace around the table.
“Both Henry and Ashlea have basically been avoiding me since you left. I didn’t know this was a problem until I got your text messages. I’m sorry I didn’t see them sooner. I was with my daughter at the doctor’s.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation. You’ve always done your job better than I could have ever asked. This isn’t your fault.”
“No. I blame Ashlea,” Jessica said with disdain dripping from her words. “I bet she’s already ordered furniture for the VP office.”
Flynn didn’t doubt it. “Where’s the bitch right now?”
“She’s in Henry’s office. He called her in there about a half hour ago.”
“Wonderful. That means she knows about my screwup, and she’s probably in there talking Henry into firing me and giving her the promotion early.”
“I wish I could say I thought you were wrong, but ever since you left for Alaska, she’s been walking around this joint like she owns it,” Jessica said. “I think you should wait until I hear from my brother before calling Henry again. We need to prove she fucked with your data; otherwise, we don’t have a leg to stand on.”
“You mean, I don’t have a leg to stand on. But either way, I don’t want you taking the brunt of this.” Flynn didn’t want Jessica to be caught in the crossfire. There was no reason for Jessica to put her job on the line.
“There’s nothing to take. Whatever is going on, my brother will figure it out. So, instead of worrying about something you have no control over, tell me all about Alaska.”
Jessica was right. Flynn needed to stop agonizing over the situation at work. Either she’d prove Ashlea sabotaged her career, or she’d be fired.
A lightness overcame her mind. Her muscles suddenly relaxed.
Fired.
Hell, she should quit.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous up here. I’m shocked at how much I’m actually liking it. Today, Colton took me on a dog sled. Oh, my God. I had the time of my life.” A twinge of guilt squeezed her heart. “Sorry. I shouldn’t sound so excited when my job and maybe yours is on the line.”
“I’m so glad you’re so keyed up by the experience. You never just let your hair down and have fun, and really, as much as I love working for you, well, I haven’t told anyone yet, but I’m pregnant again, and I’m seriously considering becoming a stay-at-home mom. And by the way, who is Colton?”
“What? Another baby!? That’s great. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks. Now answer my question, because the last time I heard you mutter that name, it was some hot military man that you let walk right out of your life, and you’ve been pining for him ever since,” Jessica said in an animated voice.
“I never pined over him.”
“So, it’s the same man? What the hell is he doing in Alaska?”
The knot in Flynn’s stomach turned to butterflies. She flattened her hand over her belly. “He moved back home to help out his parents. I didn’t know he was going to be here.”
“Well, how is it going between the two of you? Things heating up again?” Jessica had been the only person that Flynn told about her short affair with Colton, but only because Jessica had seen them out in Central Park in a massive lip-lock.
“I’m not here to heat anything up,” Flynn said. “I should hop on the next plane back to New York and save my job,” Flynn said.
Or maybe quit it.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Do you love your job or are you using it to hide from something?” Jessica asked.
What the hell kind of question was that? Of course, she loved her job. “Hide from what?”
“You tell me, because for as long as I’ve known you, all you’ve ever had is this job, and to be frank, you don’t seem happy.”
Happy? She’d never really thought about whether or not she was happy. She didn’t have time to contemplate such things. She never aspired to be happy. She aimed to be successful, and her achievements inside her career was the yardstick she used to measure that success.
She swallowed a sarcastic laugh. Currently, when it came to work, she’d failed. For the last three years, she’d been trying to prove herself to Henry, and at every turn, Ashlea cut her off at the pass.
And Flynn had let her.
“How can anyone be happy with Ashlea around.” She stiffened her spine. Sure, Ashlea had done some pretty underhanded things, but the bottom line was that Flynn hadn’t been in the game since the first time she’d laid eyes on Colton. “She’s made it her life mission to destroy me, and it’s all I can do to stay above water.”
“It’s not about your career but about you as a whole person. You’re not—”
“Now you sound like my mother.” Flynn pinched the bridge of her nose. Her heart tightened. It hadn’t been very long since her mother’s passing, and all Flynn had been able to focus on had been securing this client. Her father had accused her of using work to avoid dealing with pain. Worse, he told Flynn that he believed she’d been using her career as a way to avert real human contact. “She always thought I was afraid of having my heart broken, and that’s why I spent so much time on my career,” Flynn admitted. Hearing the words tumble from her lips sent a shiver across her skin.
“I imagine your mother was a very smart woman,” Jessica said. Her voice echoed soft and sweet. “Is there a reason why she’d think that?”
“Anyone ever tell you that you should have been a shrink or something?”
“My mother every day of my life.” Jessica laughed. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re the master of avoiding questions?”
“Point taken.” Flynn stared at the flames crackling in the fireplace. Orange and red sparks flickered in the air. It had been nearly sixteen years since the tragic accident that took her boyfriend’s life. She might have only been sixteen, and he eighteen, and no one believed they were truly in love, but the day Matt died, a piece of her had died with him. Deep down, she knew his death was why she kept her heart closed.
And why she’d ended it with Colton.
Not only was his job dangerous, but he had admitted to being a bit of a thrill seeker.
Bright lights glistened through the picture window, showing off a few large
snowflakes. Colton’s pickup came into view as it rolled down the long street toward the cabin. Hannah’s ears perked up. Flynn glanced at her watch, totally amazed that at four in the afternoon, the color of the sky was nearly black except for the white moon and the gold stars hanging in the atmosphere. She clutched her chest. Her pulse raced as the essence of her mother filled her soul. Her mother had wanted her to slow down and smell the roses. Her last words had been: Flynn, you need to live a little. Work can’t be your everything. Open your heart and let love in. You can’t regret that.
Only, the last time she’d done that, her love died.
“I’ve got to go,” Flynn said. “Let me know when you hear from your brother.” She set her cell next to her computer. The cursor blinked under her browser icon. Quickly, she pulled back the chair and pulled up her airplane ticket.
Let love in.
Was Colton someone she could love? Someone who would love her for the rest of her days? Her parents had a marriage like no other. It was a romance for the storybooks. No other couple could measure up to her parents’ love for one another. She and Matt used to sit out on the terrace overlooking the Upper East Side and talk about how they wanted that kind of relationship. They romanticized their future right down to the kind of wedding they’d have.
No. She had no idea what her life would have looked like if Matt hadn’t been killed in a car accident driving home late on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving from college. He’d been pushing to get home to spend an extra day with Flynn.
As an adult, she knew his death hadn’t been her fault. But her sixteen-year-old self would forever blame her late-night text begging him to come home.
Love was not for Flynn.
She clicked the change flight button. Her father and Colton’s parents would just have to understand that if she didn’t get back, her career would go up in smoke. That meant letting her father know how bad things had gotten, but that was the least of her concerns. Since it would take four hours to get to Anchorage, she opted for a flight later in the evening the next day. She nearly choked on the four-hundred-dollar change fee, though it had to be done. If Jessica’s brother could prove someone hacked her system, then Flynn needed to be there to finish putting the nails in Ashlea’s coffin.