“I shouldn’t have stayed away so long,” he said, more to himself than anything else. “I don’t know how it happened. Time just goes, you know?”
“I do know.” Those heartfelt words, in his dad’s gruff voice, felt like an arrow straight to the heart. “Gotta wonder what took you so long, and what’s different now.”
Now that was another kind of arrow—more like a poison dart. His entire body tensed and a knot formed in his gut. “Maybe we shouldn’t rehash all that yet. I made a promise, did you catch that? No battles.”
Max rumbled with laughter. Kai had to admit that he seemed a lot more mellow now. Maybe Nicole did deserve some credit.
He couldn’t shake the memory of that indignant look in her eyes when she’d caught him mocking the “Max-Whisperer.” He was such a jackass. Maybe he’d spent too much time in the backcountry to behave right.
“No battles,” Max agreed. “Doctor said no stress, but that’s a helluva prescription for a guy like me. I tried ramping down. Skeleton staff, minimal bookings. I don’t want to burden Gracie with too much. If she had to run this place, she’d never leave. She’d be buried here forever.”
Kai ducked to avoid a sweeping spruce branch. “We agree there. I’ve tried to get her out to see other places in the world.”
“And I’m glad for it. I worry about her.”
Max had definitely mellowed; he’d never spoken this honestly with Kai before. Either that, or he was really worried about the future. “There’s something else, Kai. A while ago some real estate type came sniffing around and I scared him off. But now I’m thinking different. Something’s gotta change or the lodge won’t survive.”
“Real estate type?” Kai’s stomach roiled, and not just from the bouncy ride of the four-wheeler. Was Max thinking about selling?
“Worth thinking about, no?”
No. Or was it? Kai took a turn onto one of his favorite trails, the one that looped through a meadow that filled with lupines in the spring.
“Look, Max. I know I don’t have the right to get in the middle of this. It’s your decision to make. I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing.”
Max bristled at his phrasing.
“Scratch that,” Kai said quickly. “I just want to make sure you’ve done your due diligence. This lodge has been in our family since great-grandad.”
“It’s your legacy. I’m aware.” Max shot him an ironic sidelong glance. “Didn’t think you were. You want to come back and run things? Is that it?”
“No,” Kai said quickly. “No, I’m just watching out for you.”
They’d reached a juncture between two trails, one that headed uphill onto a ridge, the other back toward the lodge. A glance at his father told him that he’d probably had enough jostling. Carefully, he maneuvered the four-wheeler so it pointed back toward Rocky Peak.
Max spat out the blade of grass he’d been chewing. “Ever since Nicole showed up, all full of ideas, I’ve been thinking maybe the lodge is due for a change.”
“But you barely know her.”
“Not the point. She’s got good ideas. Fresh-air camps for city kids in the summer, foreign exchange student interns, weddings in the spring. She made me see all the possibilities. She’s good people, Kai. Good energy. You should give her a chance.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. A chance to what? Tell him all the ways she wanted to overhaul his childhood home? And where would the money for all that come from?
Don’t fight with Max.
“Sure,” he managed. “Sounds good. I’d like to get to know her.” A plan of attack occurred to him. “How about if I stay for a month. I’ll get to know Nicole, listen to her ideas, and we’ll leave things status quo for now. No big decisions about anything for the next month.”
“Deal,” said Max, so promptly that Kai wondered if he’d played right into his father’s hands. “We’ll give it one month.”
The four-wheeler rattled down the trail, bouncing over roots and rocks. As he navigated obstacles, Kai had a quick memory flash of Griffin, who’d first driven a four-wheeler at the age of five. Then he’d moved onto dirt bikes at the age of ten. A speed demon on a mission from day one. Instead of lashing out at their dad, Griffin had kept his head down and lost himself in the joy of going fast.
Speaking of which …
“One month without fighting,” Kai said. “Think we can do it?”
Max grunted and grabbed onto his leather cowboy hat as they hit another bump. “I doubt we can last a day. But that’s okay. No one has to know.” He grinned over at Kai, who laughed and held out his hand for a high-five.
How come he never used to laugh with Max, instead of fighting?
As they left the forest into the cleared expanse of lawn that surrounded the lodge, they caught a glimpse of a small figure jogging out from the entrance of the ridge trail. A woman in leggings and sports bra, her hair held back in a ponytail.
Nicole. Looking sexier than Kai was comfortable with. She was still the enemy, after all, or at least a potential enemy.
Their paths converged near the barn where the four-wheelers and other vehicles were housed. Nicole waved at them, slowing to a light cool-down jog. Her skin glowed with perspiration and a touch of pink from the sun.
Kai slowed the four-wheeler as they approached her. She bent over, hands on knees, panting to catch her breath. “Good run?”
“No, I hate jogging, it was torture,” she managed, with a rueful grimace. “The only good part was the scenery.”
“I know what you mean.”
Realizing that his comment could be taken wrong—as if she was the scenery—he added quickly, “I used to cross-train on those trails. Running in the summer, skiing in the winter.”
“There’s a box of trophies somewhere,” Max rumbled.
Kai gave him a sideways look—when he left, those trophies had been proudly displayed on the shelf where Mom had put them. “Did you mothball my trophies?”
“Sorry,” Max muttered. “I was ticked off.”
Kai shook his head and turned back to Nicole. “Well, Nurse Nicole, I’d offer you a ride to the front door, but you’d have to sit on Max’s lap, and—” Oh hell, that sounded bad too. As if he was making the same kind of insinuation as before. “I mean, there’s no room.”
Her lips twitched as if she was trying to hold back the laughter. And why was he looking at her lips, exactly? Face it, he liked this version of Nurse Nicole. Sweaty and relaxed, not righteously angry at him.
“Did you guys have a nice ride?” she asked them.
“Nope,” said Max. “With this guy at the wheel, every joint in my body got shook up. Might have dislodged a vertebra or two. Or maybe that shrapnel’s finally working its way out. Who taught you to drive, son?”
“You don’t have shrapnel.” Kai shook his head at his dad, who’d been telling that tall tale all his life. “He got in the path of an exploding car once. Not exactly a war zone injury.”
“A wound’s a wound. Don’t fact-check your father,” Max grumbled.
Kai gritted his teeth and reminded himself of his promise.
“Kai and I came to an understanding about the future of the lodge,” Max told Nicole.
“About that—” Nicole said. Still breathing fast, she put her hands on her hips, which drew his gaze to the waist, and the tempting curve of her damp flesh there.
He pulled his attention away. Attraction was not on the agenda. Not one little bit.
“I was giving it a lot of thought during my run,” she continued. “I know what a big deal it is to have your son home again, Max. I’d never want to make any kind of trouble with a family reunion like that. I think I should leave, at least for a little while. I can train Gracie how to take your blood—”
“No,” Kai cut her off. “There’s no need for that.”
If she left, he wouldn’t be able to properly check up on her. Also, Max definitely was mellower than in the past, and if she had anything to do
with that, she needed to stay.
“You’re taking good care of Max and that’s the most important thing. Just because we got off on the wrong foot doesn’t mean we have to stay that way. We’re adults. We can work around it.”
“The wrong foot?” She tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear. “Is that another of those clichés you like throwing around?”
He laughed, finding her funny this time instead of irritating. Maybe the sports bra had something to do with that. Those things were hazardous to a man’s health. “I’m going to stay for one month. That’s it. I’m going to work on trail clearing, chimney cleaning, maintenance, whatever else needs doing.”
“Nurse monitoring?” she said wryly.
“Future discussing,” he corrected. “No monitoring. I promise not to interfere with your work. Max needs you. Think you can handle a month with me around?”
She gazed at him thoughtfully with those clear blue eyes. He remembered the offended expression they’d held in the lounge, when he’d been such a jackass.
“In case it needs to be said again, I’m sorry about the way I behaved earlier.”
She waved him off. “No no, please don’t apologize any more. That’s over and done with. I said some things I regret too. I’m here to reduce Max’s stress, not the opposite. I take that very seriously, I hope you both know that. I promise to behave like a proper adult for the next month.” She tossed them both a vague, embarrassed smile, then shivered, rubbing her bare arms. “I’d better go take a shower before I turn into a sweat-sicle.”
She set off at a slow jog toward the lodge entrance.
Kai touched the accelerator and the four-wheeler rumbled toward the barn. In a month, he could find out everything he needed to know about Nicole Davidson.
Also, maybe it was the rebel in him, but he intended to take that “behave like a proper adult” thing as a personal challenge.
7
One month.
It didn’t sound like a long time, but it was all relative. A month with a selfish jerk like Roger could last forever. Whereas a month of summer vacation in high school could go in a flash. Where would a month with Kai wind up in the spectrum?
Not with Kai, Nicole reminded herself. They’d simply be inhabiting the same lodge—which was enormous.
Felicity wanted her to play spy, but first she needed to do some reconnaissance—away from the disturbingly attractive oldest Rockwell son.
Luckily, Kai plunged right into trail clearing, which kept him out in the woods. Each morning, he headed out early with a chainsaw and a four-wheeler and didn’t come back until dinnertime. For a few days, Nicole barely saw him.
The cook’s assistant had recently quit, so Nicole jumped at the chance to help Renata in the restaurant kitchen. She loved the old family-style restaurant, even though now it only served lodge guests, of whom there were very few. Nicole could easily imagine the old days when every table was filled with diners ravenous from their day’s adventures. That little piano in the corner must have played so many dance tunes. How many couples had gotten engaged in the soft glow of the gas lanterns?
Renata, the gray-haired chainsmoker from the Bronx who’d been cooking for the lodge for thirty years, loved to chat. A session of chopping venison and vegetables for chili was the perfect opportunity to find out more about Max’s rebellious oldest son.
Renata didn’t disappoint.
“Kai was in the car with Amanda when she died, you know. He got airlifted out and had emergency surgery on his spleen. They said he was screaming the whole time, out of his mind to get to his mother. Had to sedate him.”
“That’s terrible.” From what she’d seen of Kai’s intensity, she could easily imagine a scene like that. Poor guy.
“Kai was always a force of nature, just like Amanda. She was a real free spirit, wonderful photographer. He’s the one most like her, if you ask me. Max went into a black funk after she died. He’s better now, but damn, it took some time.”
Nicole dumped a bowlful of green pepper chunks in the soup pot. “And, um, Kai?”
“A mess. Started getting into trouble everywhere he went. And the battles he had with Max, hoo-boy.” She whistled. “A year and a half later he left. It’s good to see him back, I’ll say that. No one appreciated my chili like Kai. He could eat five servings and ask for more. He’s a good kid. Lotta heart.”
“Is that what it takes to get on your good side, Renata?” Nicole teased her. “Eat up all your food?”
“Yes, and you’ve been slacking.” Renata shoved a cloverleaf roll her way. “Eat that. Plenty of butter.”
“I’m not exactly underweight,” Nicole pointed out. Hence all the jogging, which still wasn’t really working. She took the roll anyway, since she was never one to say no to carbs.
“This is the mountains, and it’s almost fall. You need a good fat layer.”
Nicole nibbled on the roll, torn between sadness and bliss. The bliss was because Renata’s homemade rolls tasted so incredibly good. The sadness came from the fact that if she did her job, she wouldn’t be here for the fall. Back home, fat layers were more problematic.
“Why hasn’t he come back before now?” Nicole asked through her mouthful of buttery roll. She set herself to her next task, peeling carrots.
“Stubborn,” Renata said. “Pig-headed. Obstinate.”
“Sounds like a peach.”
“I always told Max to lighten up on him. He was so hard on Kai after the accident. No one could understand why. I sure wasn’t surprised when Kai left.” She sighed as she grabbed the cleaver and set a big cutting board on the counter to cut up slabs of venison. “I wish you could have seen this place when Amanda ran it. It was alive, you know? It had life. It had people. It had fun.”
Nicole nodded, long strips of carrot furling off her peeler. Renata was a goldmine of information, but she wished they could get back to talking about Kai.
“Amanda put on dances and brought in musicians to play at the restaurant. We had a May Day dance one year. There was always a huge party on New Year’s Eve, with all the town invited. She really knew how to make sure people had fun.” Renata stuck an unlit cigarette in her mouth, which was her way of preparing for a smoke.
“She sounds like an amazing woman.”
“Like I said, she was a free spirit. After she died, I thought we’d shut down for sure, the way Max acted. Like he wanted to die along with her. But then he threw himself into keeping the lodge going. It was like an escape for him. Ignored his kids in the process, but at least he kept a roof over their heads. You can add those carrots now. Be right back.” She whisked herself out back for a smoke.
From her apron pocket, Nicole’s phone buzzed.
Damn it. Felicity was calling.
She dumped the carrots in the big cast iron stewpot and turned the burner to low. The kitchen was huge and old-fashioned, with deep enamel sinks and a big six-burner Wolf cast iron stove that must weigh half a ton.
A screen door led to a kitchen garden out back. Renata grew green beans and herbs and a mesclun mix for side salads out there. Peering out, Nicole saw that she was busy talking to the kid who came up to mow every week, gesturing with her cigarette.
She extracted the phone.
“Nicole, where’ve you been?”
“Where do you think? I haven’t left this place in weeks.” Irritated, Nicole took the cutting board to the sink to rinse it off.
“I get nervous when I don’t hear anything from you.” Felicity’s tone relaxed. “Spying is dangerous work. Also, my bosses are getting antsy.”
“Sorry. Nothing new to report, really. What’s up?”
“We have a problem. There’s interest from a potential buyer. He and his fifth wife are looking for a property to turn into a high-end spa, but his wife’s a vegan. I was flipping through all the photos you’ve sent me, and half of them have dead animals in them.”
Nicole’s gaze flew to the big chili pot filled with chopped venison. “What are you talk
ing about?”
“Those freaky-ass deer heads. Who wants to come to a spa where Rudolf the Reindeer’s beheaded ghost is staring you down? Vegan Trophy Wife might have a panic attack if she saw that.”
Nicole had gotten used to the stuffed and mounted deer heads displayed in the lounge, but she could see why a vegan might not be crazy about them. “Tell her it’s called ambiance. Those deer are long dead. She doesn’t have to eat them.”
“No. Ambiance is jasmine room fragrance, not the remains of a butchered animal. They have to go. I need some pictures without deer heads. Can you do it?”
Nicole checked again on Renata. The cook was now kneeling next to the bed of oregano, weeding. Past her, the craggy cliffs of Wolf Peak reflected tangerine light from the afternoon sun. The sheer beauty took Nicole’s breath away.
“I don’t know, Felicity. It’s the decor they chose. I can’t just change it for no reason.”
“Then find a reason. Or do it quickly, take the shot, and put them back up. One photo, that’s all I need.”
“Are you adding onto my bonus for this?”
“Sure. Mark it down. Birdie will thank you.”
“I wish you wouldn’t do that.” A movement from outside caught her attention. Renata was coming back in. “I have to go. But don’t talk about Birdie like that, it makes me feel emotionally manipulated.”
“That’s because you are, Nico.” She blew a kiss over the phone. “Just kidding. Talk later.”
8
Nicole decided her best window of opportunity was at night, after everyone had gone to bed. She set up a ladder next to a perfectly preserved, bright-eyed red-tailed deer head. Blocking out the creature, she focused on the polished plaque on which it was mounted. Six screws fastened it to the wall. She gripped her screw gun and got to work.
“Sorry,” she murmured to the head as she brushed against it. “You’re actually quite beautiful, and I hope you had a wonderful life dashing through the snow and the forests. But I’m afraid I have to put you away for a while.”
The Rebel Page 5