Holiday Heat: The Men of Starlight Bend

by Ashley Jennifer

  Dr. Hoffman also flew in a chart-topping band to perform after the feast had been served and the dancing had ensued.

  Starlight Bend had never seen such glitz and glitter. Though from what Anna had recently heard on the grapevine, the upcoming winter carnival was rumored to potentially rival the over-the-top twinkle lights and even the fireworks display at Nick’s party, since it was reclusive billionaire Noah Elliott who was orchestrating this year’s festival.

  Word on Main Street regarding the impending holiday jubilee told Anna that Jake would probably get a huge kick out of Christmas in Starlight Bend.

  Whoa!

  She practically heard the sound effect of a needle rasping across a vinyl record, and it made the hair on her arms stand on end.

  Anna shook her head.

  Where had that thought of Jake come from?

  First, Christmas was days off. She doubted Nick would stick around that long.

  Second, what was her rule about not getting involved?

  Oh, yeah. The not part!

  But a voice in the dark recesses of her mind told her she just might have already crossed that line…

  Darla pulled Anna from her errant ruminations once more, asking, “So why are you apprehensive when it comes to this particular date? Old flame sounds like a promising prospect.”

  Anna remained trapped in those last few moments with Nick, the day following the party. Recalled him slipping from his bed while she was still snuggled in it, showering, dressing and then perching himself on the edge of the mattress as she’d woken. And had done everything in her power to will away the tears.

  She’d vowed to herself that she wouldn’t cry in front of him. That she’d save it for later, for her own private hell. She’d known it was killing him to walk away—she didn’t want to add to his misery.

  A plane awaited him in Kalispell. As it always had. As it always would.

  And Anna had had no choice but to let him go. She hadn’t begged or pleaded for him to stay. She’d sat up, the sheet pressed to her bare chest with one hand, and had kissed him softly.

  Then she’d said, “We can be as perfect as morning dew on freshly cut, late-spring grass when we’re in our own little world together. And as wrecked as the hillside after an avalanche in winter when your father reminds you of your last name.”

  “Is that some sort of haiku?” he’d lightly jested.

  “Hardly.”

  “Mm.” Nick had swept strands of flaxen hair from her temple and told her, “Someday, I’ll have more control over all of this. Right now, a summer of conferences and interning as my father’s research assistant are in store for me. The price I have to pay for a trust fund that will see me through eight years at Harvard and my internship, residency and fellowship.”

  “I get exhausted just thinking of the years you’ll put in before you have ‘more control over this.’”

  Nick had said, “It’ll be worth it in the long run. Have faith.” He’d kissed her. Sweetly. Sexily. Stirring her soul.

  Then he’d let a driver take him to the airport. Dr. Hoffman had met him there, having spent the night at a hotel in Kalispell, noting Starlight Bend’s travelers’ accommodations left much to be desired. Nick would likely feel the same nowadays.

  All of this led Anna to tell her tech, “Old flame as a promising prospect is far, far from a possibility. This’ll be more like a brief catch-up with a childhood friend before he’s off to parts unknown. As much as Nick might wish he had an ‘off’ switch, he doesn’t. He’d always said that once he established his medical career, he’d take charge of it in the fashion he felt most comfortable. Yet it’s obvious he’s as embroiled in family obligations as he’s ever been. Maybe even more so now...”

  He did have a son, after all.

  “Then why are you going out with him?”

  Anna stared at Darla, the answer coming to her in a flash, solidifying her commitment to see the date through.

  She very simply and very honestly said, “Because I love him.”

  ~~*~~

  Later that evening, Nick herded Jake and Ruby into his grandmother’s Jeep Cherokee, which she’d left with her mechanic to maintain while she was in New York. The house had been looked after by a professional cleaning staff Nick had hired and everything appeared exactly as it had when Nick had left following his high school graduation.

  Well, with the exception of Anna not being in his bed when he’d woken up this morning.

  He drove up the hill and pulled alongside her home, his adrenaline pumping. Nick shifted into park, left the SUV running and climbed out. He rounded the front end and ascended the short flight of steps that led to a covered porch running the width of the house. He rang the bell, anticipation over seeing Anna mounting.

  His pulse pounded a bit more fiercely as he heard her footsteps on the hardwood floor on the other side of the decorative doors. She freed the latch and pulled one door open. Nick’s blood turned to magma and his cock sprang to life.

  “Damn,” he murmured as she stood before him. “There you go again, taking my breath away.”

  She gave him a beguiling smile, her eyes glowing warmly under the golden illumination from the large chandelier hanging above the foyer table. She wore black ankle boots and leggings and a long, shimmery pale-gold sweater. The wide, folded-over neckline caused the right side to slip from her shoulder, baring it. Her hair was down, the silky spirals loose about her neck and cascading along her back. Her long bangs were flipped over to one side in a provocative way that spiked his testosterone and made him want to reach for her, pull her to him and kiss her until she was as breathless as he was.

  “Always a vision,” he told her in a tone filled with admiration—and lust, because his body instantly burned for her.

  She nibbled her glossy bottom lip a moment, then said, “I suppose I got a little carried away with the hair and makeup. I don’t have much cause in everyday life to get so girly.”

  “You know I’m crazy about you whether your hair’s up, you’ve got mud patches on your cheeks or you just got caught in the rain. Or you look like this. Sheer perfection.”

  She flattened a palm against his abs and gazed up at him. “Stop putting me on a pedestal, Nick. I don’t belong there.” She stretched on tiptoes, despite her three-inch heels and brushed her lips over his. “I’m very much flesh and blood with enough mistakes under my belt to not be idolized.”

  His chest pulled tight. “Guess you never see what I see when I look at you.”

  A tear pooled in her eye.

  “Hey,” he whispered as the drop fell and he quickly whisked it away with his thumb. “No tears. We’re going to have fun tonight at dinner, okay? Drive Jake batty with our tales of the glory days and let Ruby go on and on about our misadventures. Of which there were plenty.”

  Anna laughed, bucking up. Regardless of how inherently emotional their reunion was. “You remember that time we went searching for the wounded beaver Keifer Denton had seen while kayaking along the south shore of the lake? I wanted to capture it and take it to Doc Harding to fix up.”

  Nick playfully groaned. “And what’d we get for our efforts?”

  “Arms and legs covered in poison ivy. We were slathered in calamine and miserable for weeks.”

  “Had to wear our ski gloves in late spring to keep from scratching.”

  “Made for difficult times when doing our homework.”

  “Yeah, but it got you out of gym class.”

  With an emphatic nod, she said, “Let me just say, there wasn’t a day after the rash cleared that I didn’t consider going back to that patch to roll in it. No more basketball and volleyball for the rest of the school year. I swear I had the hand/eye coordination of a two-year-old back then.”

  “Just when it came to traditional sports. You were damn good with a bow and arrow.”

  “Couldn’t best you at target practice, though.”

  “So true.” He chuckled.

  Nick could breathe a little easie
r now. She was always good at lightening the mood. He crossed to her coatrack and selected a three-quarter length winter-white overcoat and helped her into it. She locked up and he held her arm as they made their way down the steps and to the Cherokee, since a fresh dusting of powder covered her recently cleared walkway.

  She asked, “What happened to the Escalade?”

  “I sent it and the driver back to Kalispell. I know this area better than he does, and Jake wanted the grand tour this afternoon. Called Starlight Bend a winter wonderland.”

  “Indeed it is. But…do you even have a license, Nick?”

  He smirked at her. “I do. No, I don’t require it often, but I do drive from time to time.”

  “Yet you prefer chauffeurs. And you have a private plane?”

  “A Gulfstream. Does that offend you?”

  “Expected it all along.”

  Now, he scowled. “You think I’m like my father.”

  Her brow crooked, but there was nothing accusatory in her eyes as she asked, “Are you?”

  She was curious. Wondering where the rebellious boy she’d known—who’d said he’d forge his own path once he was through his residency—had gone?

  Nick told her, “I’ll admit I’ve been working on a new surgical procedure with my father and that’s why I’ve been traveling so much. I’ve taken Jake with me because Ruby was in recovery with plenty of people to look after her, but I didn’t want her feeling as though she should be tending to Jake. I have nannies; however, I did intend to devote more time to him on this last series of trips. It just hasn’t worked out exactly as planned.”

  “I’m sure it’s a lot to manage. And I get the sense he’s just restless, not pissed off. Hardly a new world order for a ten-year-old boy, from what I’ve heard. Especially one who seems more interested in real-life interactions than hand-held games.”

  “A very astute observation, Dr. Voss.”

  As they approached the vehicle, the front passenger door opened and Ruby stepped out. Nick’s grandmother was a sturdy woman with a bohemian sense of style.

  Anna gave her a lengthy hug, then said, “This town is not the same without you. You know that, right?”

  Ruby laughed. “The Canasta ladies I always collected the kitty from would say differently. Not sure they’ll even invite me back to their tournaments if there’s a bounty at stake.”

  “Think again,” Anna told her. “Not more than a couple of weeks ago, Meline Carpenter was saying at Andy’s when I was picking up some things he’d tinkered with that she’d give her gold tooth to get you back as a partner. I think you’re a shoo-in.” Anna winked.

  “That’d be nice to hear if Meline actually did have a gold tooth. But, no. Perfect porcelains, courtesy of our favorite dentist. Well, he’s the only dentist in Starlight Bend.” She waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Anyway, I could use a rousing game. This one over here has been insisting I take it easy since the surgery.” Ruby inclined her head toward Nick.

  “Well, he does have a medical degree from Harvard,” Anna said, a hint of teasing in her voice.

  Nick took the ribbing. Anna was due. He suggested, “How about we all get into the Cherokee so we don’t freeze to death.”

  Ruby made a move for the backseat, but Anna maneuvered around her. “Not on your life. Take the front. I’ll hang out with the kid.” She opened the door and said to Jake, “I’ll teach you rock-paper-scissors on the way over to the restaurant because something tells me no one else has.”

  “I like Hearts,” Jake informed her.

  “Oh, you do, do you?” She wagged a brow as though to add: I smell fresh blood.

  Nick grinned. “Be forewarned, buddy. She’s the one who taught me.”

  “And Dad taught me,” Jake said.

  Anna slid onto the seat and asked, “How good are you?”

  “The best.”

  She rubbed her gloved hands together. “So you say now. But I am the queen of shooting the moon.”

  “And I’m the king,” Jake declared.

  Nick cleared his throat.

  “Okay, okay,” Jake mockingly complained. “Dad’s awesome at it. That makes me the prince. Whatever.”

  Nick closed the door and helped Ruby back into the Cherokee, though she tsked at him to indicate she didn’t need the assistance.

  Nick slid behind the wheel and drove them all to The Pinnacle, where he’d made a reservation for seven o’clock. The snow-covered peaks were lit by a large moon casting silvery rays, making the pristine white drifts glisten and the falling flakes glitter. The whisper-thin cloud cover overhead was tinged pink, indicating the flurries would continue throughout the evening. A moderate dropping—the heavy stuff wasn’t scheduled to hit for a few more days. Nick and Jake would be gone by then.

  Though that wasn’t something Nick wanted to think about at the moment.

  He gave his name at the hostess stand and his party was escorted to a table with a phenomenal view at the tall windows and the fireplace close by with a low blaze for ambience.

  Nick pulled a chair out for Anna as Jake did the same for Ruby. Nick’s gaze slid over the other diners in the restaurant and he asked, “What’s with the snazzy duds on a weeknight?”

  Anna said, “That’s Kari Dale’s doing. She’s new to town. Trying to class the place up, I guess. She’s got the Starlight Bend High School hockey team parading around town in fancy clothes. You’ll fit right in.”

  Nick chuckled at her sassy smile. “Thanks.” He wore a pewter-colored suit with a lighter gray shirt, opened at the neck in lieu of a tie. It was Starlight Bend, after all. The classing up only went so far in these parts.

  Beside him, Jake marveled over the scenery and talked about the mountains, saying, “Bet there are some great ski runs up there.”

  Nick told Anna, “We’re flying to Aspen after this. For Christmas. I’m going to teach Jake how to ski.”

  “I really want to snowboard,” Jake announced.

  Nick’s brow dipped. “Since when?”

  “Well…” Jake fidgeted with his napkin in his lap. “For a while now.”

  “You didn’t say anything.”

  “Because you want to teach me how to ski. And I really want to learn,” he eagerly said. “It’s just that I’d also like to board.”

  “And what?” Nick said, a bit taken aback. “You thought I’d disapprove?”

  “You do tend to be overprotective of the child,” Ruby chimed in.

  “He could break some bones,” Nick pointed out.

  Next to him Anna snickered. “Precisely what your father said when you wanted to play football. He was worried something horrible would happen to you on the field and you’d need a hand or arm amputated and wouldn’t become a surgeon.”

  Nick sat back in his chair. Didn’t say anything until the server came and he ordered champagne—and an old-fashioned root beer for Jake. The absolute best blend Nick had ever tasted, so he told his son, “Trust me on this one.”

  The waitress moved off and everyone studied their menus.

  Once they’d all decided on their entrées, Nick continued. “I suppose I could hire a snowboarding instructor when we’re in Aspen.”

  “Too cool!” Excitement flashed in his Jake’s eyes.

  “You know,” Anna told Jake, “I have hills on my property that would be good for some initial practicing. You could rent the equipment in town. One of my techs used to be a competitive boarder and he could show you the basics. If it’s okay with your dad.” Her challenging gaze shifted to Nick.

  “Dad?” Jake stared up at him imploringly.

  He was as defenseless against the kid’s persuasiveness as he was Anna’s. Besides…what argument did Nick have on this topic? None, really. Anna had been right about the football discussion he’d had with his own father.

  “Sure,” he conceded. “That’d be fine.”

  “Excellent.” Jake high-fived Anna. “Thanks for backing me up.”

  “I just point out the obvious. That�
��s all.”

  Nick held his laugh in check. Right… That’s all.

  Christ, before this trip was through, Jake and Anna would have Nick convinced that getting a dog was the most brilliant fucking idea he’d ever heard.

  And maybe that was one more thing about the woman that he adored.

  Dinner was a lively affair. Jake had always been a great conversationalist and spent enough time at the “adult’s table” to be courteously and intelligently engaging, but could always be counted on for a zinger or two from his quick wit.

  Nick was proud of him. Had been from the very beginning. He was wholly attached to his son and that was why he brought him along when Nick was on the lecture circuit or consulting on a case.

  Typically, he and Jake traveled well together. It was just of late that they were struggling with Nick’s overly booked schedule. And for as much as Jake was feeling cagey…so was Nick.

  Though that wasn’t anything he could address at present. His focus was on getting through the end of the year…then they’d reevaluate their state of affairs.

  And, honestly, all he currently wanted was to enjoy every minute with his family—which included Anna.

  They dragged out dinner and followed it up with a decadent round of desserts. Until Ruby tried to hide a yawn and Nick knew it was time to get her to bed. He drove his grandmother and son back to the house and then took Anna to her ranch.

  He walked her to the door, emotions instantly warring within him.

  On the one hand, to simply kiss her on the cheek and return to Ruby’s was the smart and sane way to go.

  On the other hand, to be back in town, unexpectedly, and this damn close to her…

  How the hell could he not ask her to invite him in?

  Chapter Four