The Christmas Match: Castle Ridge Small Town Romance

by Burton, Allie

  “No.” His thoughts ran in a panicked circle of confusion, options, and obstacles. He couldn’t spit another word out of his mouth.

  “She’s never disappeared before. She was so angry at both of us. Luke, what should we do?”

  The inclusion of himself in her question melted the barriers he’d built around his heart since he’d left her house. She treated him like Bri’s father. And he liked it. And hated it at the same time. He didn’t enjoy being scared to death about another person. He probably wasn’t worthy.

  His daughter was missing. Fear for her escalated, as if he’d hiked a cliff to ski down. He was poised at the lip and staring into an abyss.

  “Let me check something out. I’ll call you back.” He clicked off the phone and shoved it in his pocket.

  “What’s going on?”

  He’d forgotten about Vivienne, about the contract. “Bri’s missing. I gotta go.” He ran out of the room.

  His daughter was missing. Her mother didn’t know where to search. She relied on him. Being needed for more than speed felt powerful and scary.

  Only one place came to mind. A place he’d go if he was upset and had nowhere to turn. A place he used to go in high school when things weren’t going his way.

  He took the stairs instead of the elevator. He ran through the hotel lobby and toward the back entrance. His heart beat as if he ran a mile, not a few hundred yards. His hand shook, inserting the key into the ski team’s locker room at the back of the hotel. He switched on the lights and held his breath.

  His worst fears confirmed. Bri’s old skis were missing.

  As if he held an entire bag of ski equipment, his entire body weighted. Nerves skittered across his skin, and the hairs on his entire body rose in protest. In his gut, he knew Bri was on the slopes during a snowstorm.

  She’d seek the solace of the mountain like he did.

  And in her anger she’d take on the biggest challenge. The Turret line.

  He held his head in his hands. “It’s my fault.”

  Torture stabbed every inch of his skin, the pain sinking deeper and sharper. He couldn’t wallow. He needed to take action. He needed to find Bri, and save her. He called Dani. “Call Parker Williamson and check and see if the lifts are still operating. I’ll call ski patrol. Bri’s on the mountain.”

  * * *

  The wind whipped Danielle’s hair. Sharp snowflakes pricked her face. The cold froze her skin. That was nothing compared to what she felt internally. A blizzard of emotions swirled in her chest, freezing her heart.

  She’d run to the base of the main chairlift to meet Luke. The lights cut through the snow blowing sideways. The empty chairs swung wildly in the wind moving up the mountain. The eerie sight sent a shiver across her skin.

  Luke was huddled into ski pants and jacket. He had a helmet and face mask in his hands, and he spoke with a member of the ski patrol team. His hands waved as he spoke. He appeared in command, not tossed by an emotional snowstorm of epic proportions. Yet, he was here. He’d figured out where Bri had gone.

  Gratefulness pumped through Danielle’s veins, combining with the ever-present fear. Fear Bri would get lost on the mountain in the blizzard. Fear she’d injure herself. Fear she’d take unnecessary risks.

  Danielle couldn’t hear what Luke and the ski patrol were saying. She stepped closer. “Luke, how do you know Bri went up there?”

  Danielle didn’t want to think about her baby being at the top of the steep mountain in the middle of a blizzard. She hoped he was wrong. Except if he was wrong, she wouldn’t know where else to search.

  “The lift operator confirmed she took one of the last chairs before the wind picked up and they shut the lift down.” His hard voice tried to mask his emotions, but she saw the flash of fear in his eyes. He only acted as if he was in control.

  His fear supercharged her terror. She couldn’t move. She glanced at the slope, barely visible through the whiteout conditions. “It’s a big mountain. There’s a blizzard. How are you going to find her?”

  Weather changed so quickly on the mountain. One minute sunny, then snowing, then whiteout conditions. No one had predicted the blizzard would come on this strong or this fast.

  “I’m guessing Bri headed for the Turret line.” The words tore from his mouth.

  Danielle’s terror shattered everything inside. The Turret line was dangerous on a good day. In the dark and in the middle of a storm? They’d be lucky to find her thawed body in the spring. “How did Bri find out about the Turret line?”

  “I told her how we rode it in high school. She seemed interested.” Luke didn’t glance away with guilt as she’d expected. He took the blame.

  And the punishment.

  Danielle fisted her hands in her mittens. She wanted to pummel them against him. “No one rides the Turret line since three kids were killed in an avalanche there, right after you left town. Most townspeople don’t even talk about it because it’s so dangerous.”

  His mouth dropped open in horror. “I didn’t know.”

  Her pulse slowed, as if she was in hibernation. If they didn’t find Bri, Dani never wanted to wake up. “Because you’re not around anymore.”

  “You’re right. I wasn’t.”

  “Luke, let’s go.” One of the ski patrol members signaled.

  Luke wasn’t a ski patrol member and he was injured.

  “You’re going up?”

  “Yes, I’m going up.” His hard determination brooked no argument.

  “Then, I’m going, too.” Nerves tap danced in her belly. She hadn’t skied in years. Thirteen years, to be exact.

  “You’ll only slow us down.” His green eyes changed to stone. He blamed himself. “It’s my fault she’s up there.”

  His agony struck a sympathetic chord in her. He was beating himself up with guilt. And he should. Except she shared the blame. They should’ve told Bri he was her father when Luke had first arrived in town.

  * * *

  The next several hours were the worst in Luke’s life. The chairlift had moved slower and slower. Standing at the bottom, Dani kept getting smaller and smaller. And their chance at grabbing happiness together got lesser and lesser.

  His last words ripped his midsection apart. Bri being gone was his fault and Dani hadn’t denied it. If something happened to Bri, he’d die.

  With the strong winds, the chairlift kept stopping and restarting. The metal seat dangling from a wire rocked in the blasts. At this rate, the slow-moving snowcat working on the other side of the mountain would beat them to the top.

  He guided the two ski patrol members to the area where the Turret line would dump out, knowing this was where Bri would go. He’d challenged her to take the risk. And she’d been mad enough at him to do just that. She would’ve taken off her skis and strapped them to her back for the hike up the rocky, slippery crag. If she’d survived the climb, she would’ve strapped her skis back on and made the initial twenty-foot drop.

  His stomach dropped, imagining her tiny body falling and smashing upon the rocks. He squeezed his eyes tight to stop the image.

  The temperature had dropped to zero. They were in the center of the blizzard. The wind whipped sending the snow sideways. The snow hit exposed skin and burned, as if flames instead of ice.

  The skin on Luke’s face tingled with frostbite. His toes stiffened from the cold. And agony radiated from his injured knee to his calf. He’d only been out in the storm for a few hours. What was Bri feeling?

  Paranoia gripped him, and he couldn’t move. Tears blurred his vision, and the water froze on his skin. He hoped she was feeling the pain because that meant she was alive.

  “We’re going to climb up the line.” The ski patrol member swung the beam of a high-powered flashlight against the rocks. “You stay here.”

  “No, I’m going with.” His knee protested, but his heart refused to stay behind. He had to be there when they found Brianna.

  “You’re injured.” The ski patrol member knew who he was. Th
at was the only reason they’d let him come this far.

  They didn’t realize his connection to Bri.

  Luke would risk his personal safety for her, he’d risk his injury and his career. She was his daughter.

  He popped out of his skis and propped them on his shoulders. The two ski patrol members had their skis tied into their backpacks and were already climbing the peak.

  The whiteout conditions blocked the view of the top. Occasionally, Luke saw the snow-covered peak through a break in the snow. Even if Luke hadn’t been here in over a dozen years, he knew this peak. He remembered every sharp crag and every thin culvert. He understood the risks and challenges.

  His ski boot slipped on a rock and he tumbled down several yards.

  One member of the ski patrol sent him a worried expression. “You can’t climb in ski boots.” The two patrol members had put spiked straps on the bottoms of their boots, and climbing was still awkward.

  “I’ve got to continue.” His equipment and his injury held him back. Desperation pushed him forward.

  Darkness had completely descended across the mountain. The blowing snow made it darker. The wind stirred the snow, blocking the view and making the rocks more slippery. One of the ski patrol members slipped and barely hung onto an outcropping.

  The other member said, “We need to call the search for tonight.”

  No! His head screamed. His muscles tightened in defeat. His gaze misted to the color purple.

  Purple?

  Bri’s ski coat was purple. The Castle Ridge ski team wore purple.

  “Shine your headlamp over there.” Luke let go of the rock he held, risking his balance, and raised a stiff finger. “The purple spot. That’s her. That’s got to be her.”

  The screaming in his head calmed. He knew in his heart the bundle of purple was his daughter. His! And he couldn’t let her go.

  He placed his hand back on the rock. His other hand stretched reaching higher. Reaching for Bri. He jammed his foot into a crevice and pushed up. His knee gave. He kept climbing. He had to see her face. Touch her. Know she was okay.

  The ski patrol members were younger and quicker and had better equipment. They got to her side and the man touched her neck. “She’s alive and she’s alert.”

  Adrenaline surged. Luke climbed the last few yards with additional energy. They’d found her and she was alive.

  He crawled to her. “Bri. It’s Luke. I’m here.”

  Her ski mask had slipped from her pale face. Her eyes flickered. “Mom?”

  “She’s waiting for you at the bottom.” He took her gloved hand into his. He might hold her hand, but she held his heart. “We’re going to bring you down. I’m not going to leave your side.”

  The ski patrol members went through their medical checks. Their actions were a blur behind his free-flowing tears. They put her in a basket, covered her with silvery blankets, and carried her off the crag. Their motions were slow, careful while his pulse raced. In his mind, he urged them to go faster, to get Bri out of the storm. He understood their actions were deliberate. They didn’t know the extent of her injuries.

  At the bottom of the crag, they strapped their skis back on and one of the patrol members radioed to the base. They’d have the ambulance waiting.

  Luke followed the ski patrol down the hill, making sure they took good care of Bri. He was her father and her guardian. He’d promised not to leave her side.

  They skidded to a stop at the bottom. Dani rushed to the basket, tripping in her haste. Her red-rimmed eyes glanced at him before focusing on Bri.

  His heart double-timed. The single look speared him with more guilt, guilt, guilt. He’d caused Dani worry and misery. Again.

  The team unconnected the basket and, together with the ambulance team, they lifted Bri onto a gurney.

  Luke snapped off his skis.

  The ambulance drivers loaded her into the vehicle. Dani climbed in the back with one of the EMTs. She huddled toward the front, bending to talk to Bri.

  Luke darted over, went to get inside.

  “Excuse me, sir.” The ambulance driver stopped him. “Family only.”

  The order stabbed through his ribs. He froze. He wasn’t recognized as family. Because he wasn’t. Not yet.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The antiseptic smells of the hospital twisted in Danielle’s stomach. Each beep of the monitor shocked, as if she were attached to the machine. The lowered voices of the medical staff added to her paranoia. What weren’t they telling her?

  Bri appeared tiny in the narrow hospital bed the staff had settled her into. Her face was so pale it was blueish, except for the red, chafed spots. Her lips were colored purple. An IV dripped. Sleeping peacefully, her breath came out in even puffs.

  The doctor had diagnosed hypothermia and a slight concussion. He’d stated she was lucky they’d found her so quickly during the brutally cold and snowy blizzard. He’d admitted Bri for observation overnight. She’d be home by Christmas Eve.

  A miracle.

  Nothing broken or pulled. No gashes or internal injuries.

  Danielle let weariness creep into her bones. She closed her eyes and let her head rest against the back of the chair. The terrified worry over the last few hours had taken its toll, and she wanted to sleep.

  The door squeaked open and she opened her eyes.

  Luke.

  Her body came alive, electrified by his presence.

  The skin on his face was a mottled white and red. He should be checked for frostbite. His blond hair stood in messy tufts. He wore the same ski pants and jacket he’d had on during the rescue. He looked as tired as she. Probably more. Assessing him, she couldn’t move from her spot on the chair beside the hospital bed. Conflict waged a war inside.

  This man she loved and hated saved her daughter. She’d heard the reports over the radio. He’d led the ski patrol to the Turret line and when they’d been about to give up, he’d insisted they keep searching. He’d spotted Bri’s coat. He was a hero.

  And yet, he was the cause of the threat.

  “How is Bri?” He hurried to the edge of the bed and picked up her hand. “They wouldn’t let me see her in emergency, and I just found out what room they’d assigned her to.”

  The reason he hadn’t been here sooner. Danielle had wondered. Worried. And then been mad at herself for thinking of him at all.

  “Sorry. My cell phone died, and things have been crazy talking to the doctors.”

  He flashed an expression of disbelief, as if he knew she was trying to cut him out of Bri’s life. “What’s the diagnosis?”

  If he’d been recognized as her father, he could have asked the hospital staff for information. She’d asked him to keep the secret, and he had even through the recent trauma. Very commendable of him.

  “Hypothermia and concussion. They’re keeping her for observation. She was lucky.” The terminology sounded so clinical. They were talking about her daughter, her baby.

  Luke trailed a trembling finger down Bri’s cheek. “She looks so much better here than on the side of the mountain.” His voice shook, too. He cared about Bri, worried about her.

  Insecurity quivered down Danielle’s spine at the realization. She’d been wrong to force him to keep the secret. She’d done it to protect Bri. And yet, it was his fault her daughter had been lost in a blizzard. The anger coiled into an iced ball of snow in her stomach.

  “Bri wouldn’t have been on the side of the mountain if it wasn’t for you.” Danielle hurled the accusation like a snowball hoping it found its mark. “I might be overprotective, but you don’t understand the responsibility of raising a child.”

  “Too true.” Luke’s shoulders rounded and caved. His knuckles turned white holding Bri’s hand. He kept his head down continuing to observe their daughter.

  Their daughter.

  Choking on a term Danielle knew she had to accept. That didn’t mean she had to accept him.

  “And Bri wouldn’t have been upset if you hadn’t shou
ted you were her father.” Remorse slashed the second the words were said. It hadn’t been all his fault. They’d both been shouting.

  He set down her hand and swung around to face Danielle. His tight expression with pinched lips and slitted eyes showed he controlled his temper. “I wanted to tell her I was her dad since the moment I learned. You wouldn’t let me.” He poked a finger of indictment.

  “Because you’d hurt her when you left town.” Like he’d done to her. The thought circled her mind in a never-ending fear.

  He leaned in, his stance threatening. His expression glowered with fiery eyes. “If I had something to stay for, I’d stay.”

  The insult slapped across her cheeks. Rawness radiated from the inside out, spreading pain across her chest and stabbing her heart. So she wasn’t important enough for him to stay around.

  “Oh!” She couldn’t stop the burn in her eyes. Refusing to let him see her cry, she pivoted away from him.

  The hospital room filled with tense silence. Only the beeping machines and the drip of the IV filling the space.

  The drip, drip, drip was like torture. Anguish and hurt exploded in her words. “I wish you’d never come back to Castle Ridge.” She’d been satisfied with her life. “Bri had been happy.”

  “With or without recognition as her father, I’d do anything for Bri.” Luke’s voice sounded raw, wounded, desperate.

  His hurt magnified Danielle’s own. But she couldn’t show weakness. She always had to be strong and independent and she wasn’t going to stop now.

  “Like buying her skis when I told you not to.” The sourness in her mouth came out bitter.

  “I didn’t buy her skis. The entire team got new equipment through a sponsorship I secured.” He slapped the wall with the palm of his hand.

  Danielle jumped. Guilt rolled over her like a snowplow. Luke had kept his promise and hadn’t gone against her wishes. They’d been fighting for no reason.

  All her bluster deflated. She sagged against the doorframe and turned to look at Luke.

  His red cheeks appeared hollow and drawn as if he’d aged in one day. “On the side of the mountain, when I saw Bri looking like death I swore I’d do anything to protect her. I’d give up a kidney or whatever organ she needed. Anything to keep her safe.”