Elkin Brothers Christmas: The Complete Series

by Leslie North

  “All done. Change them to Alpine Luxury, and I’ll let Gabe know that the system did something weird.”

  “Thank you.” A smile crept back over her face. He couldn’t remember where she’d worked before, but it had obviously been somewhere that made it harder to recover from mistakes like that. Jonas didn’t want to run that kind of business.

  He brought Scott out from behind the counter, and as he rounded the corner, Jonas spotted his grandmother. She was standing at the foot of the Christmas tree, the light gently reflected on her face. They’d have to cross in front of her to get to the gift shop.

  Jonas took a deep breath and reminded himself not to hunch his shoulders. He wasn’t hiding. As they approached, he noticed her eyes were closed as if deep in thought. She must have sensed his presence, her eyes opening, and going wide when she noticed Scott in his arms.

  “Well, hello, you two,” she said, her eyes flicking back and forth between his face and Scott’s. She smiled, but her expression was one of confusion. “Is this where you snuck off to? Who is this sweet boy?”

  What? Didn’t she recognize him as the boy from the room upstairs? Clearly not, and in the next moment, he registered the dark circles under her eyes. His grandmother looked tired—more tired than she’d looked in recent weeks.

  “His mother is staying at the hotel.” A technical truth, though it felt wrong to say it. “She wanted to take some photos, so I offered to look after him for a while.” He was hedging. The question was, why? It would have been the perfect opportunity to fess up. They were alone, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

  His grandmother laughed. “You’ll do anything for the resort.” She patted Scott’s arm. “What’s your name, honey?”

  “Cott,” he answered, looking up at Jonas for approval.

  “Great job, Scott,” he said, both correcting the name for his grandmother and sending a stamp of approval to his son. “His mother will be back soon.”

  “Lovely,” his grandmother murmured absently. “I just came downstairs to see the tree for a few minutes. I’m going to retire to my apartment. I’m plumb wore out.”

  “Do you need anything?” He desperately wanted to help her—more than he wanted to help the resort. Who cared about the business if his grandmother needed him more? “I could bring some dinner—”

  “I’ll call down,” she told him and rose on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “You’re too good to me, Jonas.”

  I am not. “You’ve always been there for me. Always.” The conversation had turned heavy, but then Scott made a burbling sound.

  They both laughed, lightening the mood all around. His grandmother swept away, stopping to look at the decorations as she went.

  When she was out of sight, Jonas let out a deep breath. “Okay, kiddo, let’s go up to my office. No more run-ins for now.”

  “Okay,” Scott mimicked. “Okay. Okay.” The kid had a new word, and Jonas couldn’t wait for Rachel to hear him say it.

  Chasing after Scott in a place this size was daunting. He sent a quick text message to Rachel to let her know he was going to take Scott to his place and directions on how to find it, and then sent a message to the manager of the gift shop. Toys were definitely on the agenda and not something he’d have at the cabin.

  By the time they arrived, the man was waiting with an armload of toys and a stuffed elk that was as big as Scott. Jonas went inside, letting the man put the delivery in the living room. He dropped the diaper bag on the floor, setting Scott down on his feet.

  “Okay, kiddo. It’s playtime.”

  Scott crouched down among the toys, content with the plan. “Okay. Okay. Okay.”

  Maybe novel words weren’t so great. A few of the toys were wrapped in crinkly cellophane, which attracted Scott’s attention. Score. “You see that? It’s called cellophane,” Jonas explained.

  It had been awkward out in the lobby, without a doubt, but now? He felt a thousand times more awkward. Out of his depth. What was he supposed to do with a two-year-old? Jonas settled in on the carpet next to the things from the gift shop to watch his son play.

  An odd feeling settled in his chest, a sense of satisfaction. Scott seemed equally content, especially after Jonas discovered a cookie sealed in a plastic bag in the side pouch of the diaper bag. His son ate it contentedly, leaving half of it in the form of crumbs on the carpet. Once finished, he started running around the room in circles.

  Scott stopped running around the room and burst into tears, throwing his upper body onto the sofa. Instinct drove Jonas to pick him up, and Scott dropped his head onto Jonas’s shoulder, his hand up by his face. Jonas decided he liked having him around. It was the unpredictability that made him nervous.

  Scott fidgeted a little, then relaxed, his little body melting into Jonas’s chest. One thing he hadn’t thought of was a crib, and by the looks of things, he needed one. And he didn’t want to call over to the lodge and have one delivered, afraid it might wake Scott when they arrived to set it up. Not to mention, it would be gossip-worthy.

  Jonas stood by the window, swaying back and forth for a long while. Scott’s breathing evened out and got deeper, his hand dropping away from his face. Jonas briefly wished he’d thought to change out of his shirt and tie, but he hadn’t.

  His arms started to go numb. Jonas eased himself toward the sofa, still swaying. Was Scott deeply asleep enough to stay sleeping if he laid him on the sofa? He had no way of knowing what to expect, his experience zero. The one thing he did know was that his son was safe in his arms and that it would have to do for now—numb arms or not.

  Scott stayed sleeping as he lowered himself onto the sofa, shifting his body a little to readjust to Jonas’s new position.

  Sitting there, Jonas started to drift off. He was tired. Had been for weeks. Months. Maybe years. It was all catching up to him now. Jonas put his legs up on the sofa, trying to stretch out a bit without waking his son. He couldn’t keep his eyes open.

  It was peaceful here, with the faint sound of air moving through his heater and the rest of the resort blocked out by the walls. In his cabin, nobody was calling him for help with reservations. Nobody was taking second glances at his son and drawing conclusions that he’d have to explain. There might be work that needed doing at his office, but he couldn’t do it—he was busy holding a sleeping toddler. Surely that was the most important job he could do.

  Just a few minutes, he’d rest his eyes. And then he’d wait for Scott to wake or Rachel to show up. The sunlight on his face told him it was late afternoon. Perhaps if Rachel finished for the day, they could take another tour of the property, and she could get more photos. It sounded nice. Just the three of them.

  He pictured her laughing, stretching out on the bed beneath him, whispering something in his ear that didn’t quite make sense. The image was from the past, and Jonas let himself drift into it. It was a warm and welcome memory as he drifted off to sleep, unable to fight the urge to give in any longer.

  6

  The candid photoshoot earlier today had slipped in and out of a posed session, with Rachel backing away as much as she could to capture the small moments between the family members. Portraits of Elin seemed especially important to the family.

  They’d spent the lunch hour walking to Elin’s favorite parts of the resort, and Rachel let her be in the places she loved. They would be priceless photos. She knew it already. Plus, anything she didn’t get today, she’d be able to get at the more formal session tomorrow. Traditional portraits—one of Rachel’s favorites.

  Recently, she’d mostly shot weddings, but families were a big part of weddings. She loved photos that included everyone, holding hands and smiling and enjoying each other’s company.

  The Elkin family had gradually gotten used to Rachel’s quiet presence at the edge of the room and settled in to enjoy each other’s company. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d invested early in her career in good camera lenses. It also helped that the Elk Lodge was full of natural light,
and the blue skies provided the rest.

  Eventually, Elin had excused herself to rest, and they’d called it quits for the day. After putting away her equipment, she couldn’t resist scrolling through the photos. Glancing at her watch, she realized another hour had slipped away, and so had the day. There were still landscape shots that needed to be taken. Jonas hadn’t returned or called, and Rachel took it as a good sign.

  She tamped down the temptation to go find him, knowing if he needed her, he’d find her. It gave her a sense of fulfillment to think of Jonas and Scott spending time together. She headed outside, taking advantage of her freedom.

  Not surprisingly, she missed having Scott with her, watching and listening to him play in the snow. She made her way through the woods, and up one of the trails next to the ski hills. At the top, she turned back to take a photo of the lodge, lovely in the afternoon light. Snow fell gently, the whole scene looking like something from a vacation brochure. She hoped her photos would end up on a brochure, even if people wouldn’t pay much attention to the photographer’s name.

  Don’t fall in love with the place. It’s just a job. She snapped a few more frames. Don’t fall in love with him, either.

  It was one thing to let Jonas develop a relationship with Scott. It was another thing to let her feelings get away from her and start expecting life to suddenly go the happily-ever-after route. The holidays were always an emotional time. They reminded her of Christmases with her family before life had gotten fast and complicated. It wouldn’t do them any good to get into an entanglement, especially now, when Jonas’s family was going through their own intense time.

  Except Rachel wanted to be near him.

  She took in a deep breath and then let it out, before putting her lens cap back in place. Their relationship needed to remain professional. It was the only way.

  She followed the instructions Jonas had sent earlier today and made her way to Jonas’s cabin. Cabin being an understated word for his place. With snow on the peaked roof and lights wrapped around the balustrade on the wide front porch, the place looked as if it was right out of a fairytale.

  Rachel patted her camera at her side. As she climbed the steps, her heart lightened. Time to get her son, go back to the lodge, and grab some dinner. Then the evening would be hers to look through the photos more closely and start getting the scrapbook planned and assembled. She didn’t often get orders that included full albums like this one. It was the perfect chance to show off her skills with winter scenes.

  A peal of laughter met her at the door. Rachel stopped, her hand poised to knock as she listened.

  “Giddy up,” she heard Jonas call out. “Want to keep riding?”

  Scott laughed again, and it lit her up from the inside out. She tried the door and found it unlocked. With a burst of courage, she entered the pristine cabin in search of the fun and laughter just as they disappeared around the corner.

  Jonas’s modern bachelor living room had been transformed. Toys were scattered from one end to the other, and the two of them were playing together on the cream-colored rug. Was that a stuffed elk? It was big enough for Scott to ride, and Jonas was at the helm, supplying the power as he pulled him around. Complete with sound effects.

  A pang shot through her like an arrow, so strong she put a hand over her heart. This wasn’t Jonas, the perfect businessman she’d met years before and met again when they first arrived at the resort. There was no buttoned shirt, no crisp slacks. He wore jeans and a heather gray t-shirt, both of which set off his mussed hair, and he was crawling on the floor, playing with Scott.

  Their son.

  It took him a minute to notice her, and when he did, his face changed—brightened. “Hey,” he said. “How did it go today?”

  “It was perfect.” Rachel had the strangest feeling of déjà vu, only they had never been together like this. It felt shockingly natural. Like a family. “I got so many impressive shots. The scrapbook should turn out really well.”

  Rachel searched for the perfect, casual way to ask Jonas to help pack up Scott’s things so they could head out. There was no uncomplicated way to end the scene she’d walked into.

  “One more time?” Jonas grinned down at Scott. Her son reached up to touch Jonas’s face, then whipped around and grabbed the neck of the elk. Jonas swept them both up in his arms and trotted the pair around the rug, Scott squealing the whole time. When they’d completed the round, Jonas looked up at her, a laugh on his lips. “Stay for dinner?”

  Jonas wanted to spend more time with his son. He wanted it despite the fact that he was tired. Even the luxury of an afternoon nap hadn’t washed away his weariness. But still, he wanted his son to stay. And he wanted Rachel right there with them. It seemed like the natural progression of their day together. It would give him a chance to start over with her after they’d gotten off on the wrong foot.

  She hesitated, and Jonas could practically see the thoughts whirling in her head. Rachel obviously had a plan that didn’t involve dinner with him, but she was already inside, looking like she belonged.

  “Please,” he added. “I’d love it if you would stay.”

  It felt odd to be so vulnerable. Admitting that he wanted her to stay—that wasn’t something he was in the habit of doing. Maybe he should have been, earlier on. Well, he could only start with the present. Jonas stood and picked Scott up in his arms. If Rachel didn’t want to join him for dinner, he wouldn’t press the issue, but if she did—

  “I’d like that too.” Her shoulders relaxed, and a pleasant pink flush worked over her cheeks. Rachel laid her camera on the table nearby, shrugged out of her jacket and removed her boots, carrying them to the foyer. She returned seconds later looking right at home. “What are you having?”

  “Well...” He went through his mental list of what he had in the fridge. He’d been spending a lot of extra time at the lodge for the holidays, so it wasn’t much, but there was enough to make a decent meal. “I’ve got pasta sauce and ground beef for meatballs. Does Scott like spaghetti?”

  “He does.” Rachel smiled, huge and genuine. “You have to see him covered in spaghetti. It’s priceless.”

  He laughed. “Sounds like a winner.”

  “Come here, snuggle bug.” Rachel reached for Scott, and he went to her happily, cuddling down on her shoulder. The three of them headed for the kitchen.

  For the first time in a long time, Jonas felt relaxed. He knew his way around the kitchen, unlike the unfamiliar territory of fatherhood. He was good at cooking, too. Rachel and Scott looked over his shoulder as he rolled out the meatballs and coated them in breading, then stuck a tray’s worth in the oven while the noodles boiled.

  “Who knew?” Rachel said, leaning in to place a kiss on Scott’s cheek.

  “Who knew what?”

  “Who knew that men like you could cook?”

  Jonas huffed a laugh. “I don’t always use the resort chef. I like to go through the motions, as sometimes, it’s the only release I get from the lodge business.”

  “I know about that.” She gestured toward her camera. “There are times when I’m out there, and the rest of the world falls away.” Rachel met his eyes, and he saw a determination there that spoke to something at the core of him. She was tougher now than she had been when they first met.

  Every part of him was in tune with Rachel, and with a curl of shock at the back of his neck, he registered how deeply attracted he was to her. It felt like fire. Like—lightning. This latest version of Rachel—this independent, mature, tough Rachel—was intoxicating.

  He shook his head, reminding himself that he was stirring the spaghetti.

  “What was that?” Rachel swayed back and forth, Scott on her hip. “Did something cross your mind?”

  “You crossed my mind,” he admitted. “Just in a general way.”

  She laughed, flicking her eyes to the ceiling.

  Jonas focused on the food, trying to push away his desirous thoughts. He couldn’t ask her to move into the cab
in. And he couldn’t suggest that they explore this new configuration of their relationship. They didn’t really have a relationship, for one thing, and for another, she was still on the defensive. And a few plates of spaghetti weren’t going to get them past that. He had to take it slow. Like cooking. Food preparation couldn’t be rushed. Neither could trust between two people.

  The timer rang for the meatballs, and he grabbed an oven mitt, pulling them out. Jonas tipped them into a pot of sauce and stirred.

  Rachel leaned in and took a deep breath. “It smells so good. Where did you learn to make meatballs like this?”

  “The internet,” he retorted.

  She tipped her head back and laughed.

  “No, really. Trial and error. I went through a few mediocre batches before I found this recipe. You’re looking at the winner.” He grinned.

  Their eyes caught and held. He’d been talking about meatballs, not about finding the right person in life, but it fit.

  “All right, Scott.” Rachel looked away, breaking the spell. “Let’s set the table for daddy.”

  Daddy.

  One word that managed to hook his heart, tugging him as close as he could get to the two of them. Jonas cleared his throat. “Plates are next to the fridge,” he said, trying to regain composure.

  Rachel reached the cupboard as easily as if she’d lived there for months. Or years. “Silverware down below. And cups—”

  “Found them,” Rachel sang out, holding one up.

  She and Scott went back and forth to the table until there were three place settings, one nudged closer to Rachel’s so she could feed the kid from her lap. A highchair and a crib would be the next items on his shopping list. But for tonight, they could take turns helping Scott, so they could both eat. It would be their first meal together, just the three of them.