The Rebel

by Jennifer Bernard

  “What are you—” Nicole struggled to sit up, then surrendered at the first stab of pain.

  “Bruised spleen,” Felicity explained as she came closer. “Also, fractured tibia. You’ll be on crutches for a while, but they’re just going to let the spleen heal on its own.”

  “You went to Rocky Peak. You—”

  “I drank too much and let the cat out of the bag. I think it was my guilty conscience talking.”

  Nicole looked over at Birdie, who had wheeled her chair over to the window to watch the pigeon. “I didn’t think you had one anymore.”

  “I didn’t either. But I’ll tell you something. Visiting Birdie twice a week made me slow down and think about things. And then this happened.” Felicity sat down on the foot of the hospital bed and gestured at Nicole’s cast.

  Her cast.

  Finally it sank in that she was seriously injured. She felt tears gather at the back of her eyes. Kai had saved her life even though she’d deceived him. He’d taken her to this hospital, located Birdie and brought her here. Then left. He must despise her.

  “I’m sorry for everything, Nico.” Felicity had dark shadows under her eyes and wore no makeup. Quite honestly, she looked terrible. “I pushed it too far. I got carried away with the whole partnership dream and it blew up in my face.”

  “What happened?”

  “It’s over. I went to see Max after your accident. I presented our proposal. He blew his top at first, threw a few things. Broke some kind of vintage snowshoe. Then he told me to get off his property.”

  Nicole cringed, easily imagining his fury. “He must hate me so much now. I was about to tell him everything, you know.”

  “He doesn’t hate you. He’s worried about you. He said—and I quote—” She flipped through the notes on her phone. “I actually wrote it down so I could get it exactly right.” She read aloud. “Nicole’s got a good heart. Besides, ain’t none of us angels. Me especially. Tell her to get her skinny butt back here asap.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh Max. He’s such a big grouch, but then he says something amazing.”

  “Yeah well, not to me. No sale. I lost my potential partnership. So I quit. I’ll find another firm, I’m not worried. Oh, and I sold my Jaguar.”

  “Oh no! Sorry, Felicity. That sucks.” She probably sounded insincere, because her first thought was that maybe the old Felicity would come back now.

  Her friend was shaking her head. “I sold it for you, Nico. For you and Birdie. It’s partly my fault you’re in this situation.”

  “You mean, unemployed, injured and unable to work?”

  Cringing, Felicity nodded.

  “Yeah, it kind of is. You manipulated me. You know that Birdie is my soft spot and you totally took advantage of that.”

  “I know.” Felicity screwed up her face in abject apology. “I’m sorry.”

  “No job is worth doing that to someone, especially a friend.”

  “You’re right. A hundred percent right. Wait, you said ‘friend.’ Does that mean we’re still friends? I did sell my Jag—”

  Nicole flung up her hand. “However, I made that choice, so you’re right, it’s only partly your fault. And I will never, ever do that again. Want to know why?” Her tone made it crystal clear that Felicity had no choice but to listen.

  “Why?”

  “Because hurting someone else to get what you want sucks.”

  “Sucks!” Birdie echoed gleefully as she wheeled herself back over to them. “It sucks!”

  Nicole laughed at her sister’s fondness for strong words. “Besides, in some ways I have to thank you, Felicity. I now know that I’m an epically crappy spy, a pretty good home health aide, and an outstanding idea person. I’ll figure out something for me and Birdie. Right, Birdie?”

  “Right!”

  “Amen to that.” Felicity leaned forward to give them both a high-five. “I’m a hundred percent behind you both.” She adjusted the sunglasses on her head, which had flopped forward. “And at least you won’t starve. That Jag was practically brand new. It’s a big chunk of change for you guys.”

  “Thank you, that’s…really nice,” Nicole said. She wished she could say no to that offer, but she had to be realistic.

  She yawned so widely her eyes teared up. “I should sleep.”

  “Yeah. I’ll take Birdie back to the hotel.” Felicity got up and took hold of Birdie’s wheelchair.

  “The hotel? Where are we?” She looked out the window, but could only see an overcast sky.

  “Mount Vernon. Skagit Valley Hospital. Birdie and I are staying at the hotel next door until they release you.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You drove with Kai all the way from Seattle, Birdie?”

  “Yes! Road trips are so fun!”

  Dumbfounded, Nicole looked over at Felicity.

  “I helped, but it was his idea,” her friend explained. “After they Medevaced you here, he came and got me at that sweet little Inn in Rocky Peak. He told me what happened, and how worried you were about Birdie. I was all hungover, God, I felt like crap. But we both flew to Seattle and worked it out with Sunny Grove. Birdie liked Kai right away and wanted to come see you. So I flew back here and Kai and Birdie drove.”

  Wow. This was all so…earthshaking she could barely grasp it. Kai and Birdie on a road trip. Kai’s incredible thoughtfulness. Felicity’s turnaround.

  “Kai waited as long as he could, by the way.” Felicity steered the chair toward the exit. “Good guy, and super-hot, for a mountain man. He said the lodge needed him and he had to get back.”

  “Yeah. It’s okay.” The lodge did need him. She was one hundred percent sure of that. With him in charge, maybe Rocky Peak had a chance of getting back on its feet.

  From the doorway, Birdie looked back and gave her an incandescent smile. “Get better, Nico! I love you!”

  “I love you too, Birdie. See you soon.”

  As soon as they left, she allowed the tears to stream down her face. She wasn’t completely sure where they came from. Trauma from the accident. Release of the tension from months of deception. Missing Kai.

  Loving Kai.

  She pulled the envelope from under her pillow and opened it.

  * * *

  Dear Nicole,

  I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I had to get back home. There’s so much to say, I’m not sure where to start. The moment I met Birdie, I understood why you did what you did. I hold no hard feelings over it. I wish you’d told me, but then I wish a lot of things. Mostly, I wish we could start again. I wish we were back in that hunter’s lodge together. Back in that “box” you made for us. But that’s not how things work, is it?

  I want to say more, so much more, but the most important thing is for you to heal. Please focus on that. We’ll talk soon.

  Love, Kai.

  * * *

  There it was. That word again, love. She remembered that he’d called her that while he was extracting her from the car. But it didn’t mean anything, did it? Because he’d left her with nothing but a letter.

  He has a lodge to save, she told herself. His hands are full. And I’m not there to help.

  Feeling lower than she ever had in her life, she tucked the letter back in its envelope. Even if Max forgave her, even if Kai held no hard feelings, she hadn’t forgiven herself yet.

  There was only one way she could accomplish that.

  29

  Kai called a family meeting a few days after he got back to Rocky Peak. Griffin and Isabelle participated via Skype, while the rest of them sat around the round glass-topped table in the solarium, Mom’s favorite spot.

  They’d stopped using it after her death, but now, it felt right.

  “An offer is on the table from the Summit Group,” Kai told them. “They want to purchase the lodge and all the surrounding land. It’s a substantial offer. Max and I have talked about it, and decided everyone should get a chance to chime in before we give a final answer.”

  “
I thought Max rejected the offer,” said Gracie. “It was that woman from the bar who made it, right? Felicity Chin?”

  “He did reject it. But then he thought about it again.”

  “I’ll be dead, so it won’t matter much to me,” Max rumbled. “You kids’ll be the one stuck with it. I decided you all should have your say. I’m keeping my opinion to myself, for once.”

  “Wow, Dad, how’s that working out for you? Tough to pull off?” Isabelle teased. In the video feed from the desert, she looked tan and windblown.

  “Hell yes. It’s unnatural.”

  “He screams into a pillow at night. I hear him.” Kai put a hand on his father’s shoulder and squeezed affectionately.

  The two of them had bonded even more lately because they both missed Nicole. Without her, the place felt empty. No wildflowers in the guest rooms. No one easing the way for new arrivals. No one helping Renata in the kitchen. No one keeping Max’s spirits up. No one smiling brightly over the coffee urn, or showing up at his door in nothing but a parka.

  Okay, that last one was just on Kai’s end. Max probably had his own memories.

  “So, anyone have any thoughts about this offer? Have you looked at the email I sent? It’s very generous, to say the least. We’d all be rich, unless Dad keeps it all to himself.” Kai slanted a grin at his father.

  “I take what I need, divide up the rest,” Max said. “I already decided.”

  Isabelle spoke up. “Do we have any idea what they want to do with the lodge?”

  “Nope. They won’t say. They’re an investment company, so they could turn around and resell it, or tear it down and build something else. There’s no way to know.”

  “What about the wildlife and so forth? Protecting the land?” Griffin was Skyping by way of his phone, and he appeared to be flat on his back on a hammock somewhere. Kai still hadn’t had a chance to talk to him about the race, and whether something was wrong. He looked fine now, sipping from a large tumbler as he rocked in the hammock. Occasionally a bikini-clad woman flitted in and out of the background.

  “They won’t make any commitments other than to follow all laws and local ordinances.” Kai tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible so as not to affect the others’ opinion. But that part really set him on edge. Did the Summit Group have something in mind that they weren’t revealing, or were they just leaving their options open?

  “And who are these people? Do we know anything about them?” Griffin asked.

  “Jake got to know Felicity a little bit. She was the driving force behind the offer.”

  “She doesn’t work there anymore,” Jake corrected. “But based on what I’ve seen and picked up, it’s a very competitive and cutthroat company. Speaking as a Rocky Peak business owner, probably not the best neighbors.”

  “So you’re a ‘no’?” Kai asked him.

  “I want to see what everyone else says first,” said Jake. “But I’m leaning toward no.”

  “But what would we do with it if we don’t sell it?” Isabelle asked. “Who’s going to run it? How’s it going to make money? Aren’t we practically broke?”

  Kai cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I’m going to stay and do what I can. I have some savings. I’ll sell my place in Colorado. That should be enough to keep us afloat through the winter.”

  “What?” Gracie, who’d been quiet up until now, jumped to her feet. “Why didn’t you say that earlier?”

  “Because I don’t want it to affect your opinion. You might want a big chunk of cash to go explore the world or something. That’s perfectly fair. Just because I’m willing to stay here and give it a shot doesn’t mean you have to. We can all decide right now to let it go. We need to be real about this.”

  The seriousness of his tone made everyone fall quiet. Then Griffin said softly, “I have money. Too much money. You can have that too. And maybe…yeah, maybe I’ll come back for a while. Just to give you a hand, Kai.”

  Max made a choking sound that might have been joy. Or crabbiness. Hard to tell. He banged his cane on the floor. “Is that a ‘no sale’ from you, Griffin?”

  “Yeah, I guess it is. I don’t really need the money. If any of you wants to sell, I can buy out your share. I’d rather lose money than lose our legacy.”

  Kai’s eyebrows lifted in amazement. Griffin really had that much money? He sure kept that fact under wraps. “Okay, let’s hear it. Who wants to sell?”

  They were all quiet.

  “Who wants to see if we can make this lodge profitable again?”

  “But how would we do that, Kai?” On the screen, Isabelle held her hair back from her face as a desert wind whipped at her. “Do you have some brilliant idea to turn things around?”

  He grinned. “Have you ever heard of raindrop therapy?”

  All joking aside, the first order of business was getting ready for winter. The roof of the fire station outpost needed repairing or it might collapse under the snow load. Kai used his own funds for that.

  A colony of squirrels had built an entire community in the insulation of one of their best guesthouses. That took another chunk of his savings.

  The more he worked over the next week or so, the more problems he encountered. If only he’d focused on the lodge structure itself when he first got back, instead of working on the trails. He’d done it that way so he and Max didn’t blow up at each other too soon.

  They should have just gotten it out of the way and moved on. Now time was running out fast.

  Funny how time worked. He’d known Nicole for barely two months. In that time, everything had changed. He was home where he belonged. He was back on good terms with his father. Back in his beloved Rocky Peak.

  But now there was a big hole in his life where Nicole used to be.

  He called her several times, but gotten no answer. She must be busy with physical therapy or hanging out with Birdie.

  Or trying to find a new job.

  Felicity had explained everything to him on their flight to LA. Nicole’s “spy mission.” How she’d talked Nicole into it by dangling a huge “bonus for Birdie” before her. It all made sense. But a residue of hurt still lingered as he’d written that letter to her.

  Had he screwed up that letter? Was that why Nicole didn’t answer his calls? He should have poured out his heart instead. I love you. I don’t care about the silly spy mission. Please come back. I need you.

  But getting up at dawn and working until late at night left him no chance to track her down. As he worked, he rewrote that stupid letter a thousand times in his head.

  I’m sorry I thought the worst. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to clear things up. I’m sorry I let you drive that road while you were upset. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I love you as soon as I figured it out.

  Two weeks after the accident, he called another family meeting with Max and Gracie. They gathered around the big stone fireplace in the lounge, where he’d built a crackling fire to take the chill off. It made him think of Nicole, and the first time he’d seen her.

  Then again, most things made him think of Nicole.

  “I don’t want to call in the others yet,” he told them. “We have some big financial decisions to make, and I know Griffin will just want to hand over all his money. Jake’s swamped at the bar right now and Izzy’s traveling.”

  Max tapped his cane against the stone hearth. “What’s on your mind, son?”

  “I’ve been replacing the insulation in one of the suites. I found three layers of moldy wallpaper and the sheetrock was soaked through. I decided to check a few other suites, and it’s bad.”

  “How bad? Health department bad?” asked Max.

  “I never liked that cheesy wallpaper,” said Gracie. “I think we should redo all of it.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m wondering. We’ve been limping along at such a low occupancy rate. Maybe we ought to shut down for the winter and do some major renovations.”

  “Major,” repeated Max. “How maj
or?”

  “Is that code for unbelievably expensive?” Gracie asked.

  “Probably. I haven’t looked into it yet. But yeah, we can count on a hefty bill.”

  Max shook ashes off the tip of his cane. “Well. I leave it to you, Kai. What do you think?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, you. You got the big picture. You’ll make the right call.” He sat back as if his part was done.

  Kai glanced at Gracie, who shot him an irrepressible smile. “Big responsibility, huh? Are you up for it?” she teased.

  “You know I’ve saved dozens of people from certain death, right?”

  She made a talking gesture with her hand. “Blah blah blah. What’s rescue work compared to renovations?”

  He laughed wryly. “You might have a point there.” He wiped his hands on his thighs. Maybe he was a little nervous about making a decision like this. “Okay then. I think we should go forward with a major overhaul. I think we have to. It’s long overdue and this is the perfect time to do it, when we have so few guests. I’ll get some quotes right away. We’ll probably have to take out a line of credit on the lodge, or lean on Griff, or some combination.”

  “There’s no need for that.”

  Kai’s head jerked up at the sound of Nicole’s voice. She stood in the doorway, exactly where he’d first laid eyes on her, except now she was on crutches. She beamed a wide smile at the three of them.

  He lurched to his feet. “What are you doing here? How’d you get here? Did you drive? Are you crazy? You shouldn’t be driving yet. You’re supposed to be resting and rehabbing and—” He was already at her side, wrapping an arm around her. He hadn’t known he could move that fast. “You should sit down. What the hell were you thinking, Nicole?”

  “I was thinking that I had a brilliant idea that I needed to share with you all immediately. And that I missed you. And that I wanted to apologize in person.” Her glance landed on Max. “Especially to you, Max.”

  “Pffft.” He waved her off. “We all make mistakes. This one ain’t fatal, so let’s be happy about that. Welcome back, kid.”