“Anyway,” Sammy continued when Campbell didn’t respond, “I just wondered when she was coming home.”
Home? Was this home to Parker? Campbell wasn’t about to let herself assume that, as much as she liked the idea. “I don’t know exactly when she’ll be back.” We were too busy making out to talk about that before she left.
“Before New Year’s Eve, though, for sure, right?” They had arrived at their house and were removing their outer layers of clothing at the door.
“Yeah, she’ll be here for that whole weekend, I’m sure.” Campbell regarded him suspiciously. “Why?”
“I was just wondering if you were going to go to the party together.”
“Sammy, are you trying to play matchmaker again?”
“I’m just saying, it is New Year’s Eve, you don’t have a date, she doesn’t have a date—”
“You don’t have a date.”
Sammy laughed. “Hey, if I thought I was her type, I’d ask her myself, believe me, but since you’re the Carson with the equipment she prefers, you might as well make the most of it.”
“Come on, Sam.” The phone rang.
Sammy picked up the cordless receiver. “Hello?” A big grin spread across his face. “Merry Christmas, Parker,” he said with exaggerated enthusiasm, “Campbell and I were just talking about you.”
“Give me that.” Campbell lunged for the phone, but Sammy moved swiftly to the opposite side of the couch. “Oh, we were discussing which one of us you would rather go out with on New Year’s Eve.”
“Sammy, I swear if you don’t hand it over right now…” she said through gritted teeth.
Sammy threw back his head and laughed at Parker’s response, and Campbell lunged again. “I sure am glad you called. I haven’t seen my big sister’s face this red since she was fourteen and I caught her and Linda Watson down by the—”
“Samuel Michael Carson,” Campbell said sternly, stopping him in mid-sentence.
“Oh, hey, Parker, I think Cam wants to talk to you,” he stammered as he stared at her. “Enjoy the rest of your Christmas.”
Campbell snatched the phone from him. “Hi,” she said into the handset, still glowering at Sammy, who wisely left the room.
Parker’s laughter came across the line, rich and clear, and Campbell’s anger immediately dissipated. “Sorry about that. Sammy still behaves like he’s twelve years old sometimes.”
“He’s your younger brother,” Parker said, her laughter subsiding. “He’s supposed to tease you about the Linda Watsons in your life.”
“Yeah.” Campbell grinned. “I guess I did make his life pretty hard when I caught him and her little sister doing the same thing.”
Parker chuckled. “See, it goes both ways.”
“I guess so.” Campbell felt awkward. She wasn’t sure where she stood with Parker after their kiss, but she was too nervous to broach the subject. “Are you having a good trip?”
“It’s been nice,” Parker answered, but she sounded ambivalent. “I’ve spent some time with Alexis, I got to hang out with my brother and his wife a little bit, and now I’m at my parents’ house.”
“That sounds like fun.” Campbell flopped down onto the couch and drew her knees up to her chest. Parker’s voice was comforting, even if it did remind her how much she missed having her there.
“It really isn’t,” Parker said. “All their colleagues are over. It’s a pretty stuffy crowd, and my father’s business partner has had too many cocktails and is pretending to be interested in talking about my job so he can keep staring at my chest. Ugh, I don’t know how I ever managed to attend events like these several times a week. It all seems so contrived now. I can’t wait to get out of here. I just hope I can before any of the guys try to get handsy.”
Campbell cringed at the image of Parker dodging their attention. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m just realizing that I don’t care for holidays with my family nearly as much as I enjoy spending time with you.”
Campbell’s breath caught at the sincerity of the statement. Again Parker had gotten her to let down her guard, and without thinking she said, “I missed you today.”
“I’ve missed you all weekend.”
A shudder ran through Campbell’s body at the intimacy in Parker’s tone. “When are you coming back?”
“Two more days.”
“Can I see you?” Campbell held her breath, afraid she sounded desperate.
“I’d like that very much. I should be around the office in the afternoon.”
“I have lessons.” Campbell rubbed her forehead as she tried to think of a way to see Parker immediately. She didn’t want to wait any longer than she had to. “We’ll be swamped since the schools are all out, but I could try to come in between classes.”
“No, just stay on the slopes,” Parker said. “I’ll find you this time.”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
Campbell hung up and headed upstairs, smiling. Neither of them had mentioned their kiss, and she still wasn’t sure where she and Parker were headed, but she had to admit she was enjoying the ride.
Chapter Sixteen
Parker stopped at her condo only long enough to change and pick up her new skis before she headed to Bear Run. It didn’t matter that she got on the road at six o’clock that morning, or that she hadn’t checked her e-mail or voice mail. She didn’t even go to her office, but headed directly for the beginners’ lift. Campbell was most likely conducting lessons on the bunny trails. Parker didn’t make any excuses for being on the slopes. She was there to see Campbell, and admitting that made the trip seem that much sweeter.
The day was stunning, and while the snow was more manufactured than natural, she didn’t mind. In fact, she was proud to be able to tell the difference between the thicker base that the snowguns cranked out and the lighter top coating that blew in on its own. She shuffled her skis back and forth for a few seconds, then rocked from side to side in her bindings to get a feel for her new equipment. Not surprisingly, everything felt wonderful. Campbell had tuned and sized every piece to perfection, knowing her needs better than Parker knew them herself. She smiled and wondered briefly if the same would hold true in other areas.
Slow down, Parker. Let’s take this one step of at a time, she admonished herself gently as she boarded the lift.
When she exited the chair she turned right and spotted one skier in a red coat standing at least a foot taller than anyone else around, which was probably Campbell with a class of kids. As she got closer, she realized the kids were winding through an obstacle course of traffic cones and plastic flags. Campbell still had her back to her, calling out instructions as her students progressed.
Feeling like an exuberant child, Parker slid into line behind the last student and followed him around the obstacles.
“What’s this?” Campbell said loudly. “That has got to be the tallest ten-year-old I’ve ever seen.”
The kids all laughed as Parker stopped and grinned. “Come on, Coach. I wanna be on the ski team.”
“Well, then,” Campbell motioned for her to continue, “let’s see what you’ve got.”
Parker wound slowly around one of the cones, then made the turn toward the farthest flag. She moved her skis parallel to one another and moved faster through the last two turns and across the finish line, where everyone waited for her.
She flopped down into the snow with all the children, pretending to be exhausted, and asked, “Well, Coach, how did I do?”
“I don’t know. What do you guys think? Can Parker come ski with us from now on?” The kids all shouted out a course of yeses, giggling. “All right, then,” Campbell said. “We’ll do this all again tomorrow, and Parker can come too if she wants.”
The group erupted again, and Parker gave several of them high fives.
Campbell dismissed the class and watched them ski over to the deck, where her mother waited to lead them back into the daycare room. When she was certain they were a
ll accounted for and supervised by another adult, she turned to Parker, who still sat on the ground.
Parker grinned at the amusement and pleasure on her face, and when Campbell offered her hand to help her up, she gladly took it. She allowed herself to be pulled back onto her skis but didn’t have time to dig in and establish her balance fully before she began to slide downhill. Without thinking, she latched on to Campbell, throwing one arm around her neck and the other around her waist. Campbell held steady, every bit as grounded on skis as she was when standing flat-footed. She merely placed her hands on Parker’s hips to stabilize her.
“Thanks,” Parker said, staring up into those crystal blue eyes, and didn’t move immediately to break their contact. She wouldn’t have thought it possible to get turned on with so many layers of clothing between them, but she grew warm and knew she had to be blushing. However, she also detected the slightest hint of pink creep into Campbell’s already cold cheeks.
“Uh, how was your vacation?” Campbell asked, clearly thrown off guard by the unexpected embrace.
“Not nearly as enjoyable or relaxing as being here,” Parker answered, and realized that was true. She had always liked what she did for a living and found her work fulfilling, even exhilarating, but she would never have called it fun, and certainly not relaxing. “It was good to see my family and Alexis, but I’m glad to be back.”
“I’m glad you’re back, too.” Campbell lightly kissed Parker’s lips.
“Ahem.” Someone coughed and a snowboard ground to a slow stop beside them. Parker broke her contact with Campbell and pushed off clumsily on her skis, putting a respectable distance between them.
“Don’t mind me,” Sammy continued, making a big show of pretending not to look at them, “but I thought Campbell might like to know her one o’clock lesson group is suiting up.”
“Right.” Campbell exhaled slowly. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, then added, “glad you’re back, Parker.”
“Thanks, Sammy,” she said through her embarrassment.
“I take it you don’t need a date on New Year’s Eve after all, huh?” Sammy teased.
“We actually hadn’t gotten that far.” Leave it to Sammy to keep things moving.
“Well, sis, you’d better get to asking, or somebody might just beat you to it.”
“I’m working on it, Sam.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” With that he pointed his snowboard downhill and left them alone.
“So, I know we’ll all kind of be working on New Year’s Eve,” Campbell started, then paused, as if searching for the right words.
Parker nodded. She knew what Campbell was getting at, and she was giddy.
“Well, if you get a free minute or two at the party could you spend them with me?”
Parker hadn’t been asked out on a date in years and didn’t think she’d ever received such a sweet invitation. “Campbell, there isn’t anyone I’d rather bring in the new year with.”
*
Campbell stood in front of her closet, pushing the hangers back and forth, glancing at each item of clothing only briefly before she dismissed it and moved on to the next.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she told Badger, who lay on the end of her bed watching her. Perhaps more accurately, she had nothing appropriate to wear. She had several pairs of jeans, even a few without holes in them, but they didn’t seem appropriate for a date, and the pair of nice slacks that went with a suit coat she’d bought to wear to formal events in college seemed too stuffy for an event at a ski lodge. That left her one pair of khakis, so she settled on them. All her shirts were dull. She had a few button-downs and some sweaters, but nothing seemed worthy of her first official night out with Parker. When she finally got tired of trying to choose, she grabbed one of each and pulled on a navy blue V-neck sweater over a starched white long-sleeve shirt.
“What do you think?” she asked the pup, who yipped in support. She glanced in the mirror one more time to survey the outfit. It wasn’t terribly formal, but hopefully it was nice enough for their first date.
A date? Am I really going on a date? The idea seemed daunting. The only woman she’d ever dated was Lynn, and then she’d been so inexperienced and unaware of the risk that she hadn’t given much thought to what was happening. She had let herself be swept away completely in the moment, so drunk on being in love she hadn’t been able to imagine the devastation she was opening herself up to.
That thought made her a little queasy, so she tried to push it from her mind. She wasn’t nineteen anymore. She’d learned from her mistakes, hadn’t she? Though that’s what she wanted to believe, she couldn’t shake the suspicion that she was headed down a similar path again. Parker was exactly the type of woman she had always been drawn to—smart, self-possessed, driven, and devastatingly good-looking. The kind of woman who could have or do anything she wanted in life. The sort of woman who was ultimately bound for bigger things in life than Campbell could offer her at Bear Run. Parker didn’t want to live on the mountain forever, she didn’t care for the big family events Campbell relished so much, and while she was learning not to be so uptight all the time, she still wasn’t likely to be content with the easygoing way of life Campbell strove for.
“Stop that. It’s just one date. I’m not asking her to marry me, right?” Campbell mumbled, and Badger to perked up his ears. She smiled at his attentiveness and patted his head before she headed out the door.
She continued to talk to herself as she drove toward the lodge. They were two adults who enjoyed each other’s company very much, she reasoned, two grown women with a mutual attraction who had both been alone for far too many months. There was nothing wrong with spending time together and exploring some possibilities. She didn’t have to go overboard. She could take it slow and just have a pleasant evening with Parker. By the time Campbell got to the main lounge of the lodge, she had herself talked into believing she was in complete control of her emotions.
Then, across the large room, she saw Parker.
She wore a simple black evening dress and her long hair spilled down her back. She spotted Campbell at the same time and flashed a brilliantly unguarded smile, her eyes shimmering with delight. That look, that smile sent Campbell over the drop-off, and without making the conscious effort to move, she was drawn to her.
All the memories of past mistakes disappeared. The fear and the pain faded, replaced by the image of Parker watching her like she was the only other person in the room. The sound of her own rapidly beating heart drowned out all her self-warnings about not getting carried away. As she moved helplessly toward Parker, all she could think was, Here I go again.
*
Their date wasn’t conventional. The party was an all-hands-on-deck event for the Bear Run staff, so whenever the snacks needed refreshing or the fire needed stoking, Parker and Campbell were on duty. Emery, Greg, and Sammy performed miscellaneous tasks necessary to keep things running smoothly, and Janelle and Irene kept the child-care kids entertained with games and movies in a nearby room. Not many couples had their first date where they worked and with their entire extended family in the room, but Campbell thought it seemed fitting. This was her life, the life she chose to return to, and Parker had chosen it, too, at least for now.
Parker was stunning and gracious, and even when they weren’t together, Campbell couldn’t take her eyes off her. Campbell loved the way she moved around the room talking to staff and guests. She could make everyone feel welcome and important, and must have been amazing on the campaign trail. The men and a few of the women blatantly appraised her physical features, several asking for dances or offering to buy her drinks. Parker declined each one with such charm that the admirer hardly noticed the rebuff.
In between social chores and hostess duties, Parker always returned to Campbell’s side, even if only for a few minutes. A smile or a brief caress constantly reminded Campbell that tonight wasn’t just another social function at work. Tonight
they weren’t just colleagues. They weren’t just friends. They were a couple, and while it wasn’t clear when they crossed that line, evidently they had.
Where were all the warnings she had given herself? Wasn’t Parker still destined to break her heart? Wasn’t Campbell still dedicated to a life Parker wanted little part of? Were they both headed down a dead end? The answer was still yes, so why couldn’t Campbell stop feeling awestruck every time Parker looked at her with those big brown eyes?
As midnight approached, Campbell stood pouring flutes of champagne when her uncle Emery tapped her on the shoulder. “What can I do for you?” she asked, opening a bottle of sparkling wine.
“Let me do that while you go ask that young lady to dance.” He nodded toward Parker, who was just leaving the kitchen.
Campbell paused, listening to the slow song pouring through the DJ’s speakers. “I don’t know if our clientele is ready to see two girls slow-dance.”
Emery regarded her seriously. “This isn’t just a business, Cam. This is the Carsons’ family home. Last time I checked, your last name was Carson, and unless I’ve misread the way you two have been making eyes at each other all night, you and Parker are headed in a direction that I, for one, am very happy about.”
Campbell nodded and glanced over at Parker, who returned her attention with one of those brilliant smiles.
“Thanks, Uncle Emery,” she said before she strolled over to Parker. “Would you like to dance with me?” She felt a little awkward and hoped she didn’t sound too much like an eighth grader at her first school dance.
Parker nodded. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t ask.”
Campbell took her hand and led her a few feet to the dance floor. Still holding Parker’s hand in her palm, she slipped her other arm around Parker’s waist and gently pulled her near. Campbell was only slightly taller than Parker, who looked up into her eyes, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. “You feel good,” she whispered.
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