“Ah, wedded bliss!” Chad nodded toward his friends as they began to banter back and forth good-naturedly. He was glad they had broken the ice for him. He hoped it hadn’t seemed odd that he had invited Tiffany and Judith to dinner. The last thing he wanted was for Tiffany to think he was desperate, even if his reality dictated otherwise.
After the waiter brought their menus, Chad noticed a frown form on Tiffany’s face.
“Can’t find anything you like?” he inquired.
“No, your selection is wonderful. I think I’ll order the herring salad.”
“The herring is delivered fresh almost daily,” Chad bragged.
Tiffany leaned close and whispered, “But my grandmother is a vegetarian, so I’m not sure what she’ll—”
“Are we ready to order?” The waiter suddenly showed up.
Chad noticed Judith was quick to pipe up, “Yes. I think I’ll have your fried Walleye and Wild Rice Cakes.”
“Grandma!” Tiffany’s eyes widened in surprise. “Since when do you eat fish or any fried food for that matter?”
“I am here to re-visit my past, so I might as well go all out. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I’ll even try a burger.” Judith shut her menu decisively and handed it to the waiter.
Tiffany quickly gave her order as well before turning to Chad. “If it seems like I’m in shock, well, it’s because I am. My grandmother normally doesn’t eat any meat, fish included.”
“Did you eat fish when you lived here?” Chad leaned over to look at Judith.
“Of course. It was practically the law back then. Heck, it probably still is.”
“So when did you give it up?” He hoped this wasn’t a loaded question.
“After I moved to San Francisco, it was the in thing to be in touch with nature, and that included animals. Everything was supposed to be organic and vegan.” Judith took a sip of water before continuing. “When I lived at the commune—”
“What? You lived in a commune?” Chad’s mouth opened in surprise.
“Oh no...here we go.” Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll.”
Chad wondered if this made Tiffany uncomfortable. It certainly didn’t seem to bother Judith to talk about it. “I don’t mean to be nosy, of course. It’s just that I find it fascinating...” he began.
“It’s only natural to be curious.” Judith sat up a little straighter before continuing. “After my late husband and I married, we moved to a commune in Oregon for a few years. There were quite a few of them back then. Practically everything we ate we grew ourselves. We even ground our own wheat. The commune’s goal was to be self-sustainable. After we moved back to San Francisco, we bought a health food store, and I’ve continued with that way of eating ever since.”
“My mom swears that the food you fed her was awful when she was growing up.” Tiffany shook her head.
“Oh, it was not! Harmony always had a flare for the dramatic, but just look how healthy she is now!” Judith scowled.
“That may be, but she fed me plenty of soft drinks and sugar-coated cereal when I was a kid. She said she didn’t want me to be deprived the way she was,” Tiffany teased.
“Well, when you lose all your teeth, at least you can blame your mother and not me.” Judith turned to Chad and smiled. “What do nice-looking young men like yourself think when they see a perfectly charming girl...who has no teeth?”
Chad quickly came to Tiffany’s defense. “Well, if I do say so, I ate enough candy bars as a kid to sink a ship, so I’ll probably need my fair share of dental work someday, too. Meanwhile, I think Tiffany’s smile looks perfect.” He hoped he didn’t sound too corny, but in all honesty, she had the most perfect smile of any woman he had ever laid eyes on.
Looking across the table he saw Brian mouth the word, what? Then Brian shook his head and gave him a thumbs down sign. Chad quickly looked away. Yep, this explains why Brian’s married, and I’m not. Why am I such a dweeb around attractive women? I’m complimenting her teeth? What’s the matter with me? How far am I going to get with that?
Chad turned toward Judith, forcefully pushing those thoughts from his mind. “Harmony? Is that your daughter’s name?” He quickly reminded himself not to appear too amused by this. But it wasn’t every day that one got to meet an honest to goodness throwback hippie from the sixties.
Tiffany was quick to answer for her grandmother. “Yep. Harmony Flowers Sebastian. It was the perfect name for a female child born in San Francisco during the Summer of Love. Of course, now her name is Harmony Flowers Collins.”
“So do your parents live in San Francisco?” Danielle joined in.
“When they’re not out on assignment they do. My father works for the state department, and my mom teaches English. Right now they’re living in Berlin.”
“Will they be home for Christmas?” Chad couldn’t help but wonder what Tiffany would do if they weren’t.
“No. Not this year. But perhaps next year they’ll move back to the states.” Then she sighed heavily. “But who knows, if I don’t find a better paying job soon, I may decide to join them in Germany.”
“I think it would be good for her to get out of San Francisco for a while. Change can do wonders for a person. Don’t you agree?” Judith leaned back in her seat as she looked at Chad.
What’s with this woman? How does she know I need a change? Is she psychic or what?
“I suppose for some people it can,” he agreed hospitably before asking Tiffany, “What is it you do for a living?” He hadn’t thought to even ask her this until now.
“I’m a waitress. I’d hoped to get a promotion to the kitchen. I finished culinary school over a year ago, but so far, no luck.” She shook her head with disappointment.
“Well, there you go!” Brian banged his hand down on the table. “There’s our answer!”
Tiffany looked back and forth at Brian and Chad. “What was the question?”
“We need another chef here. I’ve wanted to help lighten the load of our employees, but we just haven’t found the right candidate for the job. You’d be perfect!” Brian sounded delighted, but Chad noticed that Tiffany looked confused.
“Brian is my assistant here.” Chad nodded toward his friend. “He’s in charge of employee relations and payroll.”
“So what’s your area of expertise?” Brian excitedly interrupted.
“I’m a pastry chef actually, but I can prepare just about anything. However, I didn’t come here looking for a job,” Tiffany stammered.
“Of course she didn’t,” Chad said through clenched teeth as he glared at Brian. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off before he even got a chance to know her. He didn’t want her to think that the only reason he was interested in her was for her job skills. Thankfully, the waiter appeared with a bottle of wine.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered some wine for us before you arrived,” Chad explained as the waiter began to serve it. He decided that now would be the perfect time to change the subject. “So how was your shopping trip today? Did you buy a coat? Or see a moose?”
“Shopping was nice. The town is lovely. And the answer to your questions is a double negative. No coat. No moose.” Tiffany blushed at how silly it was to be talking about a moose during such an elegant meal.
“I’m lending her a coat to wear while she’s here. It seems wasteful for her to spend the money for such a short visit. I can’t do much about a moose sighting though, especially when we hardly ever see them ourselves.” Danielle gave her shoulders a shrug.
“But if we hired her, and she stayed...” Brian began.
Chad gave his friend a quick kick in the shins under the table.
“Oh don’t be silly, Brian! Tiffany came to visit Minnesota with her grandmother, not to job hunt.” Danielle waved her hand dismissively before looking over at Tiffany. “I must apologize for my husband. He always acts like this when he drinks wine. I should probably order him some scotch, so he’ll shut up.”
“S
cotch makes me fall asleep,” Brian protested.
“My point exactly.” She gave him an affectionate smile, then blew him a kiss.
When dinner arrived, Chad was grateful that both Judith and Tiffany raved about how wonderful the food was. He knew that catering to an elderly, organic vegetarian wasn’t always an easy task. He was also thankful that Brian didn’t bring up the vacancy for a chef again. That was never the intention of inviting them to dinner, and he wanted to keep it that way. For the next hour, the conversation stayed light and breezy.
When they finally got up to leave, Danielle stopped Tiffany. “You and your grandmother simply must join us in the hot tub tonight. Go back to your room, and get your suits on. We’ll see you both there in say, fifteen minutes or so, okay?”
“Uhm, I’m not so sure that my being around water here is all that safe. I was rather clumsy last night, and besides, it’s freezing outside.” Tiffany nodded toward the frost-covered window.
“Are you kidding? This weather is perfect! And it’s not freezing, I promise. You can’t go back to San Francisco without telling people you went in an outdoor hot tub in northern Minnesota! Besides, it’s supposed to snow tomorrow night. Really, the weather doesn’t get any better than this, especially for a dip in the tub.”
“Danielle is right,” Judith agreed before turning to Tiffany. “I didn’t ask you to bring your suit for nothing. Let’s go.” She motioned for her granddaughter to follow.
Once back in their room, Tiffany quickly changed out of her dress. Turning to her grandmother, she announced flatly, “I’m white as a ghost.”
“Well, of course, you are. It is December now, isn’t it? I don’t suppose you’ll see too many people with tans running around this place.” Judith tossed Tiffany an extra towel. “Take this with you. I won’t need it.”
“Aren’t you coming? We’re both invited, you know.” Tiffany wrapped herself in one of the resort’s luxurious robes.
“Of course not. My days of lounging in hot tubs are long over. You go along, and have fun. And please be sure to thank Chad for the dinner. Tell him I had a lovely time, but now I’d rather cuddle up by this wonderful fire here and read.”
“Are you sure?” Tiffany picked up the room key to leave.
“Absolutely. Don’t worry about me. I’m doing exactly what I want to do tonight,” she insisted.
Chad was already submerged in the water when Tiffany arrived. Even through the thick steam rising off the water, he could see her approach. As soon as she caught sight of him, she smiled and hurried over.
“This is a hot tub? This looks more like a pool!” Her eyes grew wide as she saw just how large it was. There were several other people in it as well. She let the robe slide off her shoulders. Chad couldn’t help himself; he just had to stare at her for a moment. She looked even better in a swimsuit than he ever could have possibly imagined.
“In a way, it’s kind of like a heated outdoor pool.” Chad reached out to offer her his hand, which she took.
“Oh, this feels nice,” she sighed as he helped her submerge into the swirling hot water.
“Where are the others?” Tiffany glanced around.
“Brian didn’t bring his suit, so they decided to go home.” Chad knew this was only halfway true. They knew he wanted some alone time with her, so they graciously left. “And your grandmother?”
“She’s not coming. She’s curled up with a book. That fireplace in our room is just too inviting, I guess. She said to tell you thank you for the wonderful evening though.”
Chad smiled. So Judith isn’t coming tonight either. This is working out better than I hoped.
“So, what do you think of the view from here?” Chad nodded toward the canopy of the clear star-filled sky stretched out over the lake.
“It’s breathtaking...and I don’t mean from the cold. I had no idea that winter could be so lovely. It’s kind of foggy where I’m from.”
“It’s nice here in the summers as well. Especially if you have a boat or like to fish.”
“Well, I don’t own a boat. In fact, I don’t even own a car since I live in the city. But I do like to fish once in a while.”
“Have you ever been ice-fishing?”
“No. We don’t get much ice in San Francisco, remember?” she teased.
Chad playfully hit his forehead with his hand. “Duh!”
“Have you ever been to California?”
“Once, but it was a long time ago. My parents took my older brother and me to Disneyland.”
“You have a brother? Does he live here, too?” Tiffany couldn’t recall meeting him. She wondered if he was as good looking as Chad.
“He’s an attorney. He never had much interest in the hospitality industry. He lives down in the Twin Cities. He loves to golf, so he visits us more up here during the summer.”
“Summer? Golf courses? It’s hard to believe it actually gets that warm here. The next thing you’ll be telling me is that you surf as well!”
“Uh, actually, we do.” He tipped his head.
“You’re joking, right? Isn’t it cold?” Her eyes grew wide.
“No, I’m not joking, and yes, it’s cold. Trust me, we wear wet suits!”
“So do you actually surf?” Was he crazy or what?
“I do.” He gave her a nod. “And so does Danielle. That’s how I met her. I introduced her to Brian.”
Time seemed to slip away as they continued to talk. Finally, Tiffany stood up. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m really hot.” She fanned her face with her hands.
Chad put his arms behind his head as he looked at her. “Yes, I’d have to agree. You are most definitely hot and in more ways than one.”
Tiffany blushed beet red. “I guess I set myself up for that one, huh?”
“Yes ma’am, you did.” Then his tone got serious. “But you’re right. We’ve been in here a long time.” He stood and followed her onto the deck.
“The air doesn’t feel so bad when your body is warmed up, huh?” Tiffany quickly wrapped up in her robe.
“That’s the general idea. Plus, using a hot tub is a great way to show old man winter he can be defeated.” He wrapped a towel around his waist and led her inside.
“Well, I know it’s not that late, but I suppose my grandmother will be up at the crack of dawn again, so in the interest of getting at least a little sleep—”
“What are you doing tomorrow?” he interrupted.
“I thought I’d do something with Grandma that she might have done as a child, so I was thinking I might book one of your horse drawn sleigh rides for us. There was a brochure in our room.”
Chad nodded. “She’d probably like that. There’s just one problem. With Christmas approaching, I know for a fact that our Sundays are all booked up.”
“Oh. I hadn’t considered that.” Chad noticed the disappointment on Tiffany’s face.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll hook up my dad’s old sleigh to one of the horses and take you myself.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that!”
“Why not? It’d be fun. I need some time off, anyway, and I’d enjoy a quiet ride in the woods. Plus, I’d like to be there when you see your first moose.”
“Oh yeah...the moose...I...” She seemed embarrassed he remembered that.
“I’ll get everything ready in the morning, and we’ll go out around eleven. You can meet me in the parking lot. I’ll be the elf driving the sleigh. What do you say?” Chad couldn’t remember the last time he felt so excited about something. Did she have any idea how much he didn’t want this weekend with her to end?
Tiffany smiled slowly. “Okay. So, I guess I’ll see you then.” She gave him a shy smile. He reached for her hand. “Goodnight, Tiffany. Sleep well.” He lifted it to his lips and gently kissed it before turning to leave.
* * * *
“So you’re sure your grandmother didn’t want to join us today?” Chad climbed into the sleigh beside Tiffany.
�
�Nope. Her cousin picked her up early this morning, and they took off somewhere. She was happy I had something to do today, though. She was worried I’d be bored if I spent the day with them. I am, however, supposed to have dinner with them later on tonight.”
Chad tucked the wool blanket snugly around Tiffany’s lap. The scent of his cologne reminded her of their first encounter at the lake when she’d slipped on the icy rocks.
“Warm enough?” he asked, as he picked up the horse’s reins.
“I’m good. This is a pretty decent coat Danielle lent me.” Tiffany looked down at her borrowed finery. “Grandma’s snow boots are a little ancient, but they’re keeping my feet warm, so no worries there.”
“Well, since your grandmother is a no-show, then I’ve decided to make an executive decision and change our plans.” He gave the reins a toss, and the horse began to trot out of the parking lot and onto a snow-covered path that led into the trees.
“So what do you intend to do with me today, Mr. Watson?” The brisk air that surrounded them gave her a feeling of unexplainable confidence.
“We are going on a moose-hunting expedition. I do not want you to leave Minnesota disappointed,” he announced with confidence.
I will only be disappointed that I’m leaving tomorrow without you. “I’m sure I won’t be. I mean, if I don’t see a moose, well, it’s no big deal,” she stumbled with her words.
“Here.” He reached under the blanket and handed her a piece of paper.
“What’s this?” She squinted as she looked at it.
“It’s an animal tracking chart. We can look at tracks in the snow and tell if a moose has been around lately.”
“You can do that? Really?”
“Every good Boy Scout in northern Minnesota learns how to track animals, trust me,” he assured her.
As the day progressed, Chad stopped frequently when he saw animal tracks in the untouched snow. Although they found no moose tracks, the thrill of actually being in the north woods, as well as Tiffany’s close proximity to him in the sleigh, made her pulse quicken. The simple serenity of the crisp air, mixed with the scent of pine trees, felt oddly natural to her, even though it was something she had never experienced before. Maybe this was what her grandmother meant when she described the experience of being close to nature.
Frozen: A Winter Romance Anthology Page 26