“I can’t thank you enough. I was beside myself with worry,” Stephanie said, then stopped. “I know you don’t have children, so you probably haven’t a clue what it feels like knowing you might not see them again, so thanks, Patrick. You can’t imagine how much this means to me.”
“As long as you don’t get any funny ideas about the future,” he said.
Shock at his remark yielded quickly to anger. Not caring that he was her boss, and not caring that he was the man who’d just saved her daughters from being stuck out in a blizzard, Stephanie found she was practically breathless with rage. How dare he? And in front of her daughters, Candy Lee, and Melanie! She swallowed the vile words she wanted to sling at him before she made a fool of herself. Taking a breath, as much as she was able to, Stephanie spoke, letting her eyes convey the outrage and fury she felt. “Mr. O’Brien, trust me, any ‘funny ideas’ I may have had about you have been completely erased from my memory. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take my girls home so they can change their clothes, then we’re going to the Christmas tree lighting.” She walked to the front of the store, where she flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED.
“You can’t do that! We’ve got two more hours before it’s time to close up shop. In spite of what you may think, there are people still out there who might want to visit the shop before they call it a day. You can’t just leave. There is money to be made, and I expect you to stay here and do your job. Or else,” he added.
Knowing Patrick had about as much tact as a rattlesnake didn’t excuse his smart-ass comments, and for once in her life, Stephanie refused to allow a man to browbeat her into submitting to his demands. Without giving it another thought, she shot back, “Or else what?”
She knew her remark caught him off guard just by looking at him. His nostrils flared like those of an angry stallion. She was familiar with Patrick’s reputation as a tough and demanding boss, but that didn’t prepare her for the words that spewed from his mouth.
He rubbed the dark stubble on his chin and lowered his voice. Standing as close to her as possible, he said, “Or else this. How about you take the next four weeks off work. Spend some quality time with your children.”
Stephanie felt the blood rush to her head, settling in her temples only to pound like a jackhammer.
Before she even had a chance to respond, Patrick leaned next to her, and whispered in her ear, “Without pay.”
Chapter Seven
As though she were on autopilot, Stephanie hastily took her daughters’ hands and practically pulled them off the stools they were sitting on as she raced to her office. Rage consumed her, then the feeling left as quickly as it came, humiliation coming in its stead. She’d lost all her wind, all of her spark, in less than a few seconds. Like a deflating hot air balloon, every emotion, every word, every thought drifted out with each exhalation.
She removed her purse from a bottom drawer and grabbed her car keys from a hook on the wall. She quickly scanned the small space, searching for anything of value she might be leaving behind. Fortunately, her pride was visible only to her.
“What just happened out there?” Melanie whispered. Stephanie shook her head. “Not now. I have to get out of here.”
“You want me to take the girls?” Melanie asked. Realizing the enormity behind the innocent comment, Melanie swallowed. “I mean I can take them to the Christmas tree lighting with you, help out.”
“Thanks, but I’d like to spend the evening with just the girls. I’m sorry, it’s not you, it’s . . .” She looked down the hall at the front of the store, where Patrick could be seen bossing Candy Lee around.
Melanie followed her gaze. “I see. Then I’ll just go on. You call if you need me for anything, no matter what, okay?”
Melanie’s words jolted her back to reality, the reality that she really did need a friend right now. “No, don’t, I mean don’t go off by yourself. Come with us to the Christmas tree lighting. I think I might need a friend tonight.” There, she’d said it. She’d actually taken Grace’s advice. When you need help, a friend, a hug, ask for it.
Melanie instantly brightened. “I was hoping you’d say that. I don’t want you and the girls to be all alone tonight.”
Stephanie nodded, then walked to the employee exit, Amanda and Ashley trailing behind. “You want to ride with us?” Stephanie asked as she stepped out into the frigid evening air. Snowflakes swirled in the bluish glow beneath the lights in the parking lot. Icy wind whipped the ends of her hair as she walked across the almost empty lot to her car, a car in such pitiful condition, it almost made her smile. She’d scrimped and saved for three long months so that she could have a car of her own. She and the girls used the public bus system, but the buses didn’t take them through the drive-thru at McDonald’s, nor would a bus be there when they had the sudden urge to go out for ice cream. She’d been so proud of herself when she bought the car, her first major purchase with money she’d earned on her own. But as she fumbled through her pockets for the keys she’d placed there minutes ago, she saw the vehicle for what it really was. An almost-twenty-year-old hunk of junk just barely making it. Sort of like me, she thought as she unlocked the back door for the girls.
Surprisingly, neither girl had uttered a word since they’d witnessed Patrick whisper those harsh words to her. Then it hit her! They weren’t talking because they were afraid! Even though they hadn’t actually heard his words, they knew their import from the way in which she was behaving. How could she be so blind? They’d spent so many years living on pins and needles with their father that it was second nature for them to behave this way when they saw a man and a woman together who didn’t appear to be on the best of terms!
For this, she was mad. Madder than she’d been in a very, very long time. Anger pulsed through her veins, throbbing with each thought that raced through her head. Thankful no one could read her mind, she took another deep breath before getting behind the wheel. It wouldn’t do for her to be distracted in this weather, especially with the girls in the car. She looked in her rearview mirror. “Are your seat belts fastened?”
They nodded.
Melanie slid into the passenger seat, and Stephanie was glad she’d invited her, or rather that she’d accepted Melanie’s offer to come along. The younger woman reached across the seat and clasped Stephanie’s cold hand with her gloved hand. “We can talk later,” Melanie said.
Stephanie gave a slight nod.
“Let’s get these future veterinarians home so they can change clothes. Then I think we should all go out for pizza after the Christmas tree lighting.” Stephanie glanced in the rearview mirror again. Both girls were smiling, and in that very second all was right in her world.
As she pulled out of the parking lot, Stephanie’s thoughts drifted to the enormity of what had just taken place at Snow Zone. This was the worst time in the world for it to happen, but she’d try and put it out of her mind for the rest of the evening. She owed it to the girls to at least try to act as though everything were normal. It wouldn’t be hard, as she was an expert at that type of behavior.
Amanda was the one who broke the silence. “Mommy, can we go to Burger King instead of having pizza?”
Kids, Stephanie thought as she carefully guided her old Ford down the narrow road that led off the mountain. “I think you should ask your sister.”
“So do ya?” Amanda asked Ashley.
“Mommy, tell her she needs to speak in complete sentences. When you’re in fourth grade, Mrs. Yost won’t allow you to speak that way if you’re in her class. Right, Mom?”
“I suppose that’s true. But you didn’t answer Amanda’s question,” Stephanie said in a teasing tone, amazed that she could still banter back and forth with her girls given the dire situation Patrick O’Brien had just put her in.
“Burger King is fine, but the only reason Amanda wants to go there is so she can get that Dora the Explorer toy they’re putting in the kids’ meals,” Ashley explained. “She’s too big for that stuff.”
“And you’re too big to sleep with that crummy old rabbit that you’ve had forever. Right, Mommy?” Amanda asked. She was at the age where she needed her mother’s approval for almost everything she said. Most of the time, it was funny, but at that moment, Stephanie was trying to drive carefully in near-blizzard conditions, and it wasn’t funny.
Melanie leaned over the front seat. “Let’s allow your mom to concentrate on her driving. Okay, girls? The roads are very slippery right now.”
“Is that right, Mommy?” Amanda asked.
Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, Melanie is right. How about we play the quiet game until we get home. Whoever wins gets a double-dipped chocolate-covered ice-cream cone.”
She was met with silence. She smiled at Melanie. “Both of them always win this game,” Stephanie explained.
She knew the girls wanted to talk, but they were also very competitive. They’d bite their tongues if they had to.
The rest of the drive to the garage apartment was made in silence. Stephanie wanted to enjoy her night with the girls because, from the look of things, it might be a while before she had a free night. Since she was out of a job, she would have to hustle to find something so late in the season. While she had her savings for her down payment on the house, she didn’t want to dip into them unless she absolutely had to. She still had high hopes of giving the girls a home of their own for Christmas. She might have to sacrifice the white canopied bed, but that would be okay, as long as they had a home of their own.
Stephanie parked the Ford Taurus next to the outside stairs that led up to their apartment. The girls knew the rules of the quiet game. Once they were inside the house, they could talk all they wanted. Both shot up the stairs like bolts of lightning.
“I think the quiet game is about to officially end,” Melanie said as she waited for Stephanie to unlock the door. Both girls barreled through the door.
“I am not too big to sleep with my bunny rabbit. Mommy said she slept with a stuffed Tasmanian Devil until she was fourteen, so there!” Ashley said in a huff.
“Well, then, it’s okay if I want the Dora Explorer prize in the kids’ meal.”
In response, Ashley rubbed Amanda’s shoulder. “I guess it’s okay. I was just teasin’ with you anyway. I like Dora, too, just don’t tell anyone at school. Pinkie promise?” Ashley asked.
Both girls locked their pinkies together, then shook their hands. “Okay, so let’s go change. I want to see the tree, but first I want something to eat. We never had lunch today,” Ashley explained to her mother.
“I’m sorry. We’ll make up for it at dinner, now both of you change into something warm and brush your teeth and comb your hair before we leave. You’ve got ten minutes, or we’ll miss the Christmas tree lighting.”
They ran inside their bedroom, slamming the door behind them.
Out in the galley kitchen Stephanie poured glasses of Coke for her and Melanie.
“Want to tell me what sent you racing out of Snow Zone today? I know that conceited idiot said something to anger you,” Melanie said before taking a sip of her Coke.
Stephanie debated not telling her, but she needed a friend. Even though the girls had managed to get away from her today, she trusted Melanie to the nth degree. “He told me to take the next four weeks off. Said I needed to spend the time with my kids. Then he added that my extended leave of absence would be without pay.”
Melanie’s mouth opened and closed several times before she was actually able to form words. “That sneaky, low-life creep! How could he?”
“He’s the boss, something he seems to like to remind me of all the time, that’s how.” Stephanie took a long pull from her glass of Coke. “I used to think he was a really nice guy, just a little rough around the edges. Now I think he’s a mean, hateful SOB who needs to get a life.”
“I can’t believe he would do that to you, especially this time of year. Not only is the Snow Zone going to be swamped, but you have two children to buy Christmas gifts for.”
“Yes, your thoughts mirror my own. But you know what angered me more than anything?”
“You’re gonna tell me,” Melanie stated.
“The girls were afraid. They knew that I was upset after speaking to that self-important jackass. It was like old times. When their father started ranting and raving, they would always clam up, hoping not to anger him. That’s the exact way they acted today when Mr. Patrick O’Brien got up on his high horse and gave me the boot. He can fire me, give me a leave of absence, whatever he wants. He’s the boss. But what he can’t do is frighten my girls! I won’t allow it, and I don’t care if he fires me for leaving early today. They’ve seen enough already.”
“Do you think you should bring Max in on this? After all, he is your real boss, and Patrick’s, too. He owns Maximum Glide, and I bet Grace would have a thing or two to say about Patrick’s pissy managerial skills, not to mention his treatment of you.”
“No, I don’t want to do that. Besides, I think this is personal. You know Patrick and I went out a few times; it didn’t work out for whatever reason, and it’s as though he’s had it in for me ever since. I don’t want to involve Max, and certainly not Grace, in her condition. I will handle this, but thanks for offering. It’s nice to have a friend go to bat for me.” Stephanie put a finger to her lips, stopping further conversation. The girls were waiting at the front door.
“We brushed our teeth and our hair just like you said,” Amanda informed her.
Stephanie bent over to give each of the girls a kiss on top of their shiny brown, nicely combed hair. “You’re good girls,” she added. And they were. Other than an occasional disagreement over something inconsequential, the girls got along remarkably well.
“Then I say it’s time we go to see that giant evergreen that is going to light up Maximum Glide. Are you two ready?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Ashley cried as she stomped down the stairs.
“Be careful, those steps are slick,” Melanie said, then took Amanda by the hand and walked with her to the bottom of the stairs before she slipped and fell. That was the last thing Stephanie needed at this stage of the game.
Once they were loaded back in the Taurus and the girls were safely buckled in their seats, Stephanie relaxed. She knew how much the girls had been looking forward to that night. No matter what issues she had to deal with after the day’s events, she was a mother first. A fun night out with the girls would make what she knew she had to do much easier.
Chapter Eight
Patrick sent Candy Lee on her way along with the rest of the Maximum Glide employees. He’d already been there for over an hour, and from the looks of things, it appeared that the weather had driven away whatever onslaught of customers he had expected. Stephanie had been right about closing Snow Zone even though her reasons for doing so weren’t. She couldn’t just take off whenever she felt like it. She had a responsibility to Maximum Glide and to him. While it wasn’t he who signed her paychecks, without him she wouldn’t have such a cushy position at the resort. It usually took an employee years to be promoted to a management position. And because she was good at her job, he’d given her the benefit of the doubt, and after last year’s screwup, he hadn’t demoted her. She was loyal to a fault, always on time, and never complained when he asked her to do things that normally a stock boy or girl would do. She did an excellent job no matter what he asked of her. She even cleaned the employee bathrooms every evening before she left.
He was still kicking his own rear end for the comment he’d made about her getting any “funny ideas” about their future. Where the hell that had come from, he didn’t know, but he’d kick his own butt a hundred times if he could take back those words. Stephanie hadn’t even hinted that she wanted anything to do with him after their last movie date. It was he who’d decided she wasn’t top-quality pickings on the meat market. Patrick sighed. If his mother or his three sisters even had an inkling that he’d referred to a woman as meat on the market, all fo
ur of them would string him up like cattle, then use a cattle prod on him. He didn’t really think of women as “meat.” It was just something the guys said when they were trying to be macho. And he always wanted to blend in when he was with the guys. Max was the only one who really knew him, knew that he was more than the image he presented to the world. He was educated and quite brilliant, but that didn’t always work on the slopes, though he had to admit it had been a blessing dealing with suppliers and a few angry guests. He knew what worked financially and what didn’t. Max trusted his judgment, but he knew Max would be mad as a hatter if word of how Patrick had treated Stephanie got back to him. As much as he hated to eat crow, he was going to have to serve himself a very large portion and swallow every bite as though it were the rarest of caviar.
He hadn’t planned on attending the Christmas tree lighting, but knowing that Max and Grace would be there, not to mention Stephanie and her two kids, he figured it wouldn’t look good if the manager of the resort didn’t put in an appearance for what was widely billed as the kickoff to the Christmas season at Telluride. Plus, he didn’t want to give Stephanie the opportunity to corner Max and Grace, not before he had a chance to explain to them what had happened.
Knowing another hour wouldn’t make or break the day’s sales, he quickly went about the business of closing the shop. Candy Lee had restocked all the shelves before she left, telling him that someone had to do it if Stephanie wasn’t there. She went on to tell him what a great manager Stephanie was and that she wouldn’t blame her one little bit if she just up and quit. Someday he was going to tell that kid to keep her thoughts to herself. But he liked her, she reminded him of Shannon back in the day. Candy Lee had . . . moxie, and he liked that about her. He secretly wished some of it would rub off on the store’s manager. She was just a little too compliant at times. Not that he would admit it, but today she’d really surprised him when she walked out in the middle of her shift. Took a lot of guts for her to do that. He probably would’ve done the same thing had he been in her position. Which he reminded himself he wasn’t. He’d had a job to do, and he did it. He could’ve left out that part about the future, but it had just rolled off his tongue. Why it had rolled off his tongue was something he did not want to think about. No how, no way. He liked his life as it was. No complications, no children to complicate the complications, certainly no children to break his heart into a million tiny pieces the way Shannon’s death had left Colleen, Mark, and Abby. That was just too much pain for one man to tolerate.
Coming Home for Christmas Page 21