The Rebel

by Jennifer Bernard

  Hell, it even doubled as a volunteer fire station, with an engine and rescue gear stored on the property. Kai had helped out there as a volunteer fireman and with the ski patrol from the age of fourteen onwards.

  And then there was the cozy, lantern-lit restaurant with its legendary venison chili and scoops of Rocky Peak Nugget ice cream. Guests used to drive miles up that winding mountain road just for a glass of wine by the fireplace.

  Of course that was in the old days. A lot had changed since Kai had left. He really had no idea how much.

  “You’re getting another text,” Chelsea called to him, rolling her eyes. “From Isabelle. Is that your girlfriend?”

  “Sister.” He reached for the phone, but the teenager kept her grip on it.

  She read the text out loud. “She says, ‘Someone has to check on Dad. I nominate you and everyone else seconds that.’”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Kai said, as if his siblings were actually in front of him. “I’m the last person who should check on him.”

  “Relax, mountain dude. I’m just reading the message.” Chelsea squinted at another text message coming in. “Isabelle sounds really worried, though.”

  “What else did she say?” God, now he was sounding like a middle school kid himself. Also, this was getting ridiculous. “You about done with my phone yet?”

  Another text buzzed.

  “If we didn’t keep getting interrupted…” This time Heather read the text out loud. “It’s Isabelle again. She says ‘why are you ignoring my texts? You can’t just bury your head in the sand.’ She’s right, Hottie Mountain Guide. Burying your head in the sand doesn’t work. When my so-called boyfriend was cheating on—”

  Kai threw up a hand to stop her. “Don’t need to know. Just wrap it up and give me back my phone.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair and took a long swallow from his water bottle. Some rescues—many—were literally life and death. This one was more like a wilderness version of Clueless. At least his two rescues were in good shape, already back to their sassy teenage selves.

  “You got another text from Jake,” called Chelsea. “He says to stop ignoring Isabelle’s texts. Want me to answer?”

  “Please don’t—“

  “Too late, I told him you don’t appreciate his attitude.”

  Kai called on his ‘first responder’ voice, the one that issued commands that people generally followed. “Phone, please.”

  The girl meekly handed over his phone. Another text had just come in. This one came from Gracie, the only sibling who still lived at the lodge.

  Is it true you’re coming home? Yay!!!! And then a string of happy-looking emojis.

  At that point, the two girls needed his attention—all the blisters and bickering were getting to them.

  Later, after he’d delivered Chelsea and Heather to their group leader, he changed out of his wet gear, sat in his truck in the trailhead parking lot and blasted the heater. What he wanted most right now was a giant cheeseburger with extra pickles and a beer, a hot shower and a good night’s sleep—in whatever order he could get them.

  But first he had to find out more about this Max situation.

  He initiated a group text with all of his siblings. Correcting rumors. Not coming back. If Max wants to pass the torch, that’s his right. He wouldn’t listen to me anyway. He’d probably do the opposite of what I say. He’d probably GIVE the lodge away just to spite me.

  From Gracie: How can Dad give the lodge away? It’s the Rockwell legacy!

  He’s supposed to avoid stress, Jake texted. No more coffee or alcohol.

  Good argument for me to stay away, Kai tapped out. If I showed up his blood pressure would go crazy.

  Isabelle joined in for the first time. He’ll have to have surgery unless he can change his lifestyle.

  Lifestyle or anger level? Kai texted.

  He could imagine each of them, in their various far-flung locations, wincing at that comment.

  That’s why Nicole is here, Gracie chimed in. She’s helping him work on his stress. He’s a lot calmer than he used to be.

  Griffin texted, I’d go back but I have the Lucas Pro coming up. Biggest race of my career. Then I can take a break.

  Wow. Maybe this really was serious, if Griff was considering a break from racing. He lived for motocross.

  I have a few weeks left on this contract, but I’m due for a vacation after that.

  Isabelle, take a vacation? Kai’s worry deepened. Isabelle was a fiercely dedicated workaholic surgeon who worked with Doctors Without Borders. If she was that concerned about Max, there must be good reason.

  What if this Nicole chick is a con artist going after the lodge? Maybe that sounded paranoid, but someone had to say it. Gracie was too naive. Jake too kind. Griffin and Isabelle too absent. Kai would have to take on the role of cynic. Hell, he was used to it.

  He waited for someone to tell him that was a dick thing to say, but none of them did.

  The next text came from Gracie. That’s silly. She’s very nice. But you can find out for yourself when you get here! Squeee!!!

  He’d walked right into that one.

  He gazed out his windshield—cracked from a rockfall—at the breathtaking view of Turnagain Pass. Snow still glistened in the cornices of the mountains. Alders and spruce blanketed the lower slopes. God, he loved the Chugach.

  But not as much as he loved the Cascades.

  The summer guiding season in Alaska would be over in a month or so. A ski patrol team in Montana was trying to recruit him for the winter. He hadn’t said ‘yes’ yet, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. He loved rescue work, it was incredibly satisfying. Last winter he’d helped save a high school ski group from an avalanche. He’d rescued skiers who’d broken bones, snowboarders who’d sprained their wrists, multiple concussion victims, kids who’d gotten lost on the cross-country trails.

  On the other hand, he was thirty-two now, and he’d spent his entire adult life roaming from one job to another. Short-term leases, short-term jobs, short-term relationships. Since the age of seventeen, he’d known exactly how to kick the dust off. He knew how to track, how to rescue, how to fight.

  One thing he didn’t know was how to go back. How many times had he thought about it? Wanted to? Longed to breathe Rocky Peak air again?

  Maybe this was the perfect opportunity. It would be short-term, of course. A check-in. A drop-in. No strings. No demands. No obligation.

  Geez, now it sounded like a credit card application.

  If he could handle an eighty mile per hour avalanche, he could handle a visit to Rocky Peak Lodge. To Mad Max Rockwell, who had a heart condition.

  A stab of real fear shot through him. He imagined his giant volcano of a father grabbing his chest. In pain. He imagined not seeing him again, ever. Fuck. He had to go back.

  There’s a Rocky Peak Nugget double scoop in it for me, right? he texted.

  Squeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! wrote Gracie.

  Double shot at the Last Chance too, texted Jake.

  Griffin said simply, Good.

  And Isabelle added, Don’t forget—no stress for Dad. No fights. No yelling. No arguments. Promise.

  Oh.

  Hell.

  3

  Nicole fastened the blood pressure cuff around Max Rockwell’s arm and pumped it until it was tight. As always, he grumbled at her. Max was nothing if not a grumbler.

  “All those brilliant doctor minds, they can’t invent a way to measure blood pressure that doesn’t pinch?”

  “Don’t you know that everyone in the medical profession is a sadist?” She winked at him. “Especially us home health aides. We live to torment.”

  In her experience, teasing Max was the best way to stop him from getting riled up.

  She watched the gauge. “Looking good. I think the new diet is working.”

  “Yeah, working to drive me nuts.”

  “Oh, come on. You loved the vegetarian chili I made last night.”

  “It was an insult
to beans, that chili. If you were just more honest and called it Flavorless Bean Mush, it might not be so bad.”

  Nicole rolled her eyes as she stowed the blood pressure cuff back in her bag. “Call it whatever you want, I don’t care. As long as you try it.”

  Max rolled down the sleeve of his flannel shirt so she could button the cuff for him. Max was a big bear of a man with a lion’s mane of pure white hair. With his wide barrel chest and booming voice, his hulking stature and charismatic presence, he was a dominating figure, even now that he was battling heart disease and arthritis.

  At first she’d found him intimidating. But she’d quickly figured out that Max was all bluster and thunderstorms. There was actually a soft heart behind all that grumbling. Well, soft-ish.

  “Are you ready for your visualization?” she asked him. It sounded goofy to some, but she liked trying out different methods of stress-relief. As soon as she’d arrived at Rocky Peak Lodge, she’d started fantasizing about things like healing retreats and spa days.

  Which totally wasn’t her job here.

  Either of her jobs.

  “If I threaten to rip my eyeballs out, will that get me out of it?”

  “You don’t need eyeballs for visualization, you big whiner.”

  He groaned and lumbered to his feet. “Give me a minute. Even torturers need a break.” He wandered over to the sky-high picture window that dominated the “great room,” as he called it.

  Nicole followed his gaze. Admiring the incredible scenery here at Rocky Peak was never a hardship. It was early August, and people were already talking about the change in seasons. She kept looking for signs of autumn, but Max had explained that evergreen forests didn’t change much from one season to the next.

  As a city girl, this was all news to her. Maybe she was imagining it, but she sensed the approach of fall in the air. The sky was a deeper blue, the night temperatures dipped lower, and visitors wore more bulky sweaters. She couldn’t wait for the snow to start falling. She’d never experienced winter in the mountains. Her hope was that the entire lodge would be blanketed with snowdrifts and she’d forget all the worries and stress of her regular life.

  She’d never fallen in love with a place as quickly and thoroughly as she had with Rocky Peak Lodge. It was almost a chemical thing. As soon as she’d driven her red Jetta into the wide gravel lot and laid eyes on the main lodge, with its steeply peaked roofs, rough-hewn log construction, and chalet-style trim, she’d exhaled a deep breath, as if something had settled into place inside her.

  It wasn’t just the crystal fresh air, or the deep peace of the surrounding forests, or the homey atmosphere of the lodge. She felt a sense of possibility here. If she did her job right, she’d walk away from here with enough money to take care of her sister for years.

  Not her Max job. Her other job.

  “All right, Nurse Nicole. What do you have for me today?” Max turned away from the window and settled his big body into his favorite leather armchair. “White light? Ocean waves? Shark attack?”

  “Ha ha.” She dug out her notebook in which she’d scribbled some ideas for visualizations. “How about a magic carpet?”

  “Ooh, that one sounds fun.” Gracie Rockwell skipped into the room, and as always, Max’s weathered face lit up. She came over to kiss him on the cheek. “I have big news, Daddy. Do you want it now or after the magic carpet ride?”

  Gracie was another reason Nicole had fallen in love with Rocky Peak Lodge. Max’s daughter was such a sweetheart of a girl. With her wispy light hair and luminous eyes, her perpetual quirky dimple and petite figure, she was the type of adorable that made boys fall in love with her at a glance.

  But she seemed mostly oblivious to that. Gracie rarely left the lodge, except to join friends for hikes on the lodge’s trails, or see a movie in town. Nicole would have worried about her, except that she always seemed happy as a bluebird. She kept plenty busy at the lodge, mostly with the restaurant. She scooped ice cream, took reservations, handled the website. On her off hours, she read, or filled sketchbook after sketchbook with her drawings. Maybe she had everything she wanted here at the lodge.

  “Sorry to interrupt, Nicole,” Gracie added, tossing a smile her way. No one could resist that smile, and Nicole didn’t even try.

  “No worries, we haven’t started yet. This is perfect timing. Max, do you want to chat with Gracie first? I can come back later.”

  He gave her a “stay here” gesture. “Let’s hear the big news, but you don’t have to leave for that. You know all about my bodily functions. Might as well know the rest.”

  “I agree, you should stay, Nicole. If Dad has a heart attack, I’ll need help.”

  “Sweet hell on a cracker, Gracie. What’s going on here? Are you pregnant?” Max asked.

  Gracie flushed a deep rose. “Of course not. How can you say such a thing?”

  Nicole knew the answer to that. Because Max had no sense of tact or delicacy. It wouldn’t surprise her if Gracie was still a virgin, judging by her shyness about that sort of thing.

  “Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Max grumbled. “It was just a joke. Why are people so sensitive?”

  “For heaven’s sake, Max. Just apologize and move on,” Nicole told him. “He’s sorry, Gracie. It was a rude comment and he knows it. He just can’t admit it.”

  Max muttered something that might have been agreement.

  “As a side note, that’s the best way to keep your blood pressure down,” she added. “Think of an apology as a pill. They’re scientifically proven to reduce stress.”

  “Is that true?” Gracie asked.

  “I think so.” In her experience, you could dig up a study to prove just about anything. Besides, preventing an argument was definitely good for Max’s blood pressure. “Anyway, back to your news, Gracie.”

  “Right.” She drew in a long breath and faced her father. She was wearing a summer outfit of cutoffs and a baby doll top and was barefoot. Gracie only wore shoes when she had to for health department reasons. “This is big, Dad. Brace yourself.”

  Nicole braced herself too, mentally running through the steps she should take in case of a heart attack.

  “Kai is coming home.”

  Max went still, as if those words had turned him into a statue during freeze tag. He stared at Gracie for a long, long time, while Nicole summoned every bit of knowledge she had about Kai.

  It wasn’t much. She knew he was the oldest son, that he’d left Rocky Peak as a teenager and never come back. She’d seen him in the old brochure photos. Tall, fit, stormy-eyed. He was the rebel who’d defied his father over everything, big and small. These days, he was a mountain guide, sometimes. Ski patrol, sometimes. He’d spent some time in the Army, even earned a medal. The closest thing he had to a home was a condo in Colorado, but he traveled a lot.

  She also knew the story of his name. Kai meant “ocean,” which was odd for a family that lived in the mountains. His mother had named him Kai as a link to the Pacific Ocean because she’d grown up on a sailboat. Marrying Max had meant leaving behind the open seas and embracing the mountains.

  Gracie didn’t say much about her deceased mother. Apparently she’d died when Gracie was small. Nicole didn’t like to pry, but she’d seen a few photos of her on the walls of the family wing of the lodge. There were photos of Griffin winning races, a photo of Isabelle graduating from medical school, Jake at the Last Chance.

  But not a single photo of Kai, other than in the old brochures.

  “When?” Max finally asked. “Why?”

  “Dad, don’t be rude. He probably wants to see us, that’s why. He’s coming soon. Today, actually.”

  “Today?”

  Max jerked forward.

  Nicole put a soothing hand on Max’s arm and shot Gracie a scolding look. “A little more notice would probably be helpful.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was absolutely sure it was happening. That would be like Christma
s getting canceled. But he’s really coming!” She gave a little skip of excitement. “Dad, don’t worry. Isabelle made him promise not to get into any fights with you.”

  Max’s arm trembled under Nicole’s hand. She squeezed it lightly and checked his color. A little heightened, but not too bad. She checked his pulse and found it slightly thready.

  He shook her off. “Good God, woman, can’t a man find out his prodigal son is coming home without a doctor’s exam?”

  “I don’t know, can he?” she answered tartly. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m O.K.” He dragged out the word sarcastically. “But if Kai is coming back for one of those damn apologies, he can turn right around.”

  “Dad, it’s nothing like that. He’s not looking for anything, especially not an apology. And you can’t get into a fight with him. Nicole, you’ll help, right? No fighting. Promise?”

  “Me? Why would I get into a fight with Kai? I don’t even know him.”

  She fiddled with her friendship bracelet. “Not you. I’m talking about Dad. You’re always so calm, I can’t even imagine you getting into a fight.”

  Calm? Try ‘careful.’ Nicole had to watch every word she said here at the lodge.

  Gracie clapped her hands, eyes gleaming. “Actually, that’s perfect. Maybe you can stay closer than usual to Dad just in case they start getting on each other’s nerves. Dad’s always more mellow when you’re around.”

  “Mellow?” Max snorted. Nicole could practically see the steam coming out of his nostrils. “If I’m ever ‘mellow,’ take me out and run me over with a four-wheeler.”

  Gracie pointedly ignored him and kept her gaze fixed on Nicole.

  “I don’t know, Gracie…” Nicole’s job here was essentially a grownup babysitter. Gracie sometimes called her the “Max-Whisperer,” although that seemed overboard to Nicole. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on a family reunion.”

  “Kai won’t mind. He’s cool, you’ll like him. Kai’s like…hmmm, what’s the best way to describe Kai? He’s like…that feeling when a cold front comes through and suddenly the wind is all brisk and blustery and you feel wide awake.”