Christmas Blackout

by Maggie K. Black

  Please, don’t make me have this conversation.

  She forced a smile across her lips and nodded. “Just give me a few minutes, and then we’ll go get your truck.”

  While he went to pack his bag she pulled The Downs credit card out of her wallet and picked up the phone to book luxury hotel suites for her guests.

  Forty minutes later, Piper sat on the front steps of The Downs. She looked down the road where Benjamin had gone to give Harry one final walk. Ice seemed to coat the whole world. A thin layer enveloped every twig, pine needle and stone like glass. Fresh snow danced from the sky. The great irony of winter was that the world kept getting more beautiful the more dangerous it became.

  She twisted her hair behind her head and tied it into a knot. Finding new accommodations for her guests had been easier than expected. A high-priced spa near Niagara, with an indoor pool and gourmet buffet, had a couple of one-bedroom suites available on short notice at a steep markup. But considering the amount of eye rolling, complaining and protest it took to get the irritating lawyer, his withdrawn wife and the middle-aged author to take the very generous trade and leave, it almost made the money she’d be losing worth it just to have some peace.

  Almost.

  Between paying out refunds and booking the last-minute rooms at a higher cost, The Downs restoration fund had just lost over a thousand dollars.

  Harry’s wet, furry body bounded around the corner, followed by Benjamin at less than half the speed. “Careful. It’s insanely slippery. I’ve already fallen down twice. They’re all gone?”

  “Yeah.” She stood. “Wasn’t easy. Gavin was still threatening to throw the full weight of their law firm behind suing us as they drove away. If he makes good on his threat there’s no telling the damage he could do.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that.” Benjamin shook his head. “I’m pretty sure Gavin won’t sue. In fact, I’m pretty sure I caught him out on a lie this morning. I didn’t really put two and two together at first. But you know how he said that he and Trisha own a law firm? Well, he also told me that he had to sit through that horrid documentary about my accident, every winter in school, starting since grade seven. Well, I can tell you for a fact that documentary came out when I was eighteen. Which means he’s only about twenty-five. He may very well have already passed the bar, but that’s a bit young to have already built your own successful law firm.”

  But not too young to be Alpha though, she realized. But was Alpha brazen enough to book a room in the very hotel he was getting Blondie to break into?

  “In fact, the more I think about it the less I think his bluster is anything you need to worry about,” Benjamin added. “The lawsuit would be terrible publicity for a small firm. Also, for what it’s worth, Tobias seemed to think that Trisha was still in university. But he thought both you and I were university students, too.”

  “Although, I’m not sure Tobias listens very well.” She walked over to Harry and ran her hand through his fur. “It’s like he’s not all there. I could never tell if he was eccentric, self-absorbed or slightly off his rocker. At least it’s one less thing I’ll have to worry about now.”

  “Are you sure?” The tone of Benjamin’s voice was so serious that her feet paused on the ice.

  “Of course.” Of all the heavy things weighing on her mind right now, the ramblings of an overweight, middle-aged author didn’t even budge the needle. “Tobias should be settling into a beautiful suite in a rather expensive spa right now surrounded by all sorts of people happy to hear his rambling stories.”

  “Not him—Gavin.” Concern filled the depths of his eyes. “As far as lies go, it’s an odd one for Gavin to tell. I don’t like coincidences and here you have a young man telling stories and throwing his weight around at the exact same time you’ve got people breaking in and threatening you. We still don’t know what Kodiak and Blondie were even after. And might I add Gavin isn’t too young to either be Alpha or to be mixed up in this some other way.”

  “You’re right.” What else could she say, exactly? “But Gavin doesn’t have the right build to be either Kodiak or Blondie.”

  “Well, I don’t like uncertainty.” Benjamin’s voice sounded so deep in this throat it was nearly a growl. “There’s something seriously wrong going on here. We don’t know exactly what, let alone why and you’re altogether too casual about it. There has to be something we can do.”

  She shook her head and crossed her arms. Did he miss the fact she’d just shut down the bed-and-breakfast, kicked out her guests and lost a huge chunk of money? What did he expect her to do? Start crying, fall into his arms and stay curled up there until the danger disappeared? “There are things that I can do, and I am doing them. You have a truck to pick up and a wedding rehearsal to get to.”

  But now he’d picked up such a verbal steam it was as if he hadn’t heard her. “You told me that your uncle saw Charlotte kissing someone in the woods the night before she robbed you. What did he say he looked like again?”

  Why was he pushing this? She appreciated the effort, but this wasn’t the kind of problem that could be solved in five minutes before he took off.

  “Tall, broad shoulders, young.” She opened the door and whistled for Harry to come inside. The dog raced in. “But while Gavin is definitely young and tall, I wouldn’t consider him to have broad shoulders.”

  “Clothes can do a lot to disguise someone’s build—”

  A horn honked, cutting off his words. She looked up to see a small red hatchback inch off the road and down into her driveway. A dark-haired man with a dazzling smile waved one hand out the window. She recognized him immediately. The back of the car was so overflowing with boxes and bags it looked as if it was starting its own garage sale.

  “Dominic!” She skidded down the driveway toward him. “What are you doing here? And what’s going on in the back of your car?”

  “Hey, Pips!” Dominic unfolded his six-foot frame from the driver’s seat. “My mom packed up my stuff when I was working out west. These are the remains of my misspent youth. It was taking up too much space at my sister’s, so I moved it out to the car.” He paused only for a second before he went on. “Just saw your aunt when I was visiting my grandma. She told me about the problems you were having. Suggested I swing by and see if you needed a hand.”

  “Oh, she did, did she?” Why was she not surprised?

  “Please, don’t send me away, Pips.” He slapped a gloved hand over his heart. “It’s a nonstop noise machine over at my sister’s. She has five little kids under the age of seven. Five! I love them more than life itself, but I’m not cut out for that much noise and chaos. I haven’t had five minutes of quiet to myself to study, and the police exam is in three weeks.”

  She glanced back at the empty house. Yeah, having a big, strong man sitting in her living room deterring trespassers while she was visiting her uncle and aunt probably wasn’t the worst idea. She reached into her pockets and handed him the keys. “Go ahead. There’s a dog in there somewhere, too. His name is Harry.”

  Benjamin frowned slightly.

  She took a step back. “Oh, I’m sorry, I should do introductions. Dominic Bravo meet Benjamin Duff.”

  Benjamin reached for Dominic’s hand and shook it firmly. His eyes darted down to their hands for barely a second. “Nice to meet you.”

  “No way!” Dominic’s smile grew wider. “Piper, you’re friends with Benji Duff? The Benji Duff, the extreme sports guy from Manitoulin Island?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Dude!” Dominic clasped Benjamin’s arm firmly and slapped him on the back. “I heard you speak last year. Went and downloaded one of your talks after that. Even gave Pip’s Uncle Des a copy. You were incredible!” Dominic crossed his arms and looked at Piper. “This guy is the absolute best. Made me realize I had to quit mucking about and get s
erious about my life. Please tell me you’re getting him to stick around and give a talk tomorrow night at your Christmas Eve shindig. I’ll call around to all the neighboring youth groups. You will totally pack the place.”

  Pack the place? She was just barely hanging on to the hope she’d still be able to pull off a halfway decent carol night without worrying about pulling in extra mouths to feed.

  “No, thank you.” Benjamin held up a hand. “That’s really kind, but I’m actually about to hit the road.”

  “Merry Christmas, then.” Dominic gave him one more thump on the shoulder. “Give me a shout next time you’re down this way.”

  “Won’t be for a while, I’m afraid. I sold my business. Bought myself a boat. Real beauty. I’m picking it up in Australia the day after Christmas. Going to sail around the world for charity and then start up a charter business.”

  “Of course you are.” Dominic chuckled. “Wow. Stuff like that is why you are the man.”

  The image of Benjamin’s sundrenched boat floated in the back of Piper’s mind as they slid down the sidewalk into town. Had there been that much joy in his eyes this summer when he’d first told her of his dreams to buy a boat? Or had she been too caught up in her own foolish fantasy of somehow shoehorning this big, strong, adventurous man into her tiny little life?

  “How well do you know Dominic?” Benjamin asked. “I mean, you’re sure he’s a good guy? You can vouch for him?”

  Was that why Benjamin was looking down during their handshake? He was trying to check Dominic’s wrists for a bear tattoo?

  “Yes, I’m sure Dominic is a good guy!” Her eyes rolled to the thick clouds now filling the sky above. “He’s the guy who found me when—”

  Her words froze in her mouth as Benjamin’s eyebrow rose. “He found you when?”

  When I was hit over the head and locked in the kindling box. Only I never told you about that.

  “Listen to me,” she said. “I’ve known Dominic since we were kids. We went to the same church. He was a year behind me in school. Yeah, he was always a bit awkward and got into a few scrapes as a kid. But he has a good heart. He’d do anything for his family. Anything.”

  “All right, then.”

  Did that mean he believed her? Or just that he was done arguing about it?

  Well, there was nothing to stop Benjamin from contacting the police and telling them all his suspicions about Dominic, Gavin or anybody. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

  “Dominic treated you like some kind of celebrity,” she said. “Do you get that a lot?”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes. People tend to think they know me. Either because of the talks I’ve done or that awful documentary on winter safety that schools keep showing. Most people are curious more than anything. But there’ve been plenty, like Gavin this morning, who’ve been downright rude and practically mocked me about it.”

  They walked slowly. The sidewalk was unevenly shoveled and only a few of the stores had sanded. Her eyes ran over the old familiar buildings of her childhood. The small independent grocery store had been bought out by a chain franchise a few years ago. The gift-and-flower shop seemed to change ownership once a year or so. But most of the street was the same as it had been since she was younger. She’d been desperate to escape The Downs as a teenager thinking adventures and excitement lay somewhere else.

  Was that why she was so bothered by Benjamin’s dreams to travel the world and live a carefree life?

  A man with shaggy blond hair was slouched in front of the town’s one bar puffing on a cigarette. A dirty red tuque was pulled down low on his scarred face. She nodded at him as they passed. He didn’t look up so they kept walking. This dingy bar was the closest thing the town had to danger or excitement. When she’d realized Charlotte had been sneaking out, it’s where Piper thought she’d been going.

  Benjamin waited until they’d passed the bar then started talking again.

  “Three years ago, a friend of mine was starting this white-water rafting business. I wanted to come in as an investor. I was really excited about it.” He ran one hand across his head and adjusted his tuque. “But the rest of the team took a vote and decided they didn’t want me. They were afraid it might lead to bad publicity and unwanted attention. Thought it might tarnish what they were trying to do.”

  “You can’t be serious!” An icy breath caught in her throat. “You’re such an incredible person! You’re so good at what you do!”

  He stopped walking and looked at her square on. The smile faded from his face. “Thank you. But think of it from their perspective. Imagine you’re running a small, financially strapped business, and there’s someone on your staff who’s capable of bringing all sorts of unwanted drama and chaos through your door at any moment. Stupid teenagers are going to crank call you every single winter because that old documentary’s running again. People are going to walk in and demand a selfie with the guy, or tell you to fire him because he’s an example of everything that’s wrong with the world. Every time helmet laws, snowmobile licenses, or tragic winter accidents are in the news—or the calendar rolls around to the middle of February—you might wake up to see a news camera outside.”

  Was he still talking about his friend’s business? Or hers?

  No. As much as part of her would be willing to take all that on if it meant being near Benjamin, she also couldn’t imagine bringing that much chaos into The Downs. Her uncle and aunt deserved far better than that.

  His blue eyes focused on hers. “See, I chose to see my accident as a mantle. I accepted it and did my best to turn it into something awesome. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy or that I’d wish it on anyone. With my sister getting married tomorrow, it’s time to start a new chapter in my life. I’m almost thirty-one, and I can’t remember the last time I went two weeks without having to talk to someone somewhere about that day. I’m really looking forward to being where I can be anonymous, far enough away from Ontario that people don’t know that story.” He emitted a wry chuckle. “Also, I really, really don’t like snow.”

  She looked past him. They were steps away from the mechanic’s garage.

  Guess this was where they said goodbye.

  “Travel safe, Benjamin.” She reached out to hug him. But he took her shoulders and gently held her out at arm’s length.

  “Wait. There’s something else I need to say.” His eyes were still fixed on her face, with such a raw unrelenting gaze that it made her heart tighten in her chest. “I want you to be happy, Piper.”

  “I am happy.”

  “No, I don’t think you are. I respect that you want to renovate The Downs for your uncle and aunt—although you still haven’t told me the details of their health problems, so I don’t quite understand why you’re as stressed-out about that as you are. But I know a thing or two about existing versus living. The Piper I met this summer on the island was so very alive. You were so excited you practically sparkled. Now that light is gone.”

  “You’re right. You don’t know the whole situation with my uncle and aunt.” She dug her heels into the slippery snow. “But anybody can be happy swimming and hiking or floating off into the sunset. Now I’m at work.”

  “But your whole life is your work. Christmas Eve is work. Your home is your work—”

  “Because I’m helping my uncle and aunt keep their home and only source of income!” She heard her voice rise, despite the cold air rushing into her lungs. “What else am I supposed to do? Let them lose their only source of income while I travel the world? They have no retirement savings. Their only asset is The Downs and it’s mortgaged. They took me in when my dad left and my mom had one foot out the door. I’m not going to abandon them now.”

  Benjamin ran his hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry, I’m saying this all wrong and I didn’t want to say goodbye this way. I just think you s
hould try to find a compromise between the life you want and the one you’re currently trapped in.”

  Trapped. There that word was again. Life here, with her at The Downs, was just some trap to escape. Benjamin’s words to his sister flickered in the back of her mind. “Being trapped here does not and will not make me happy.”

  The blond smoker pushed off the wall and started sauntering their way. She didn’t recognize him, but she couldn’t know everyone, even in a town this size. She looked back at Benjamin. This wasn’t the kind of conversation she wanted to have on a public street in front of an audience.

  Better this conversation ended right now, before either of them said anything they regretted.

  “Thanks for caring so much about my happiness. Thank you for everything.” She gave Benjamin a quick hug and her lips brushed his cheek. “Safe voyage and merry Christmas.”

  Then she slipped into the alleyway beside the mechanic shop and hurried along the back route to Silver Halls before Benjamin could follow.

  * * *

  Piper disappeared around the corner leaving the scent of maple and cinnamon in her wake.

  Was that goodbye?

  He stared at the empty patch of snowy air where the tenacious brunette had been standing just moments ago. All the while he’d been packing his bag and walking Harry, he’d been practicing this great goodbye speech in his head. Probably for the best he never got to give it. If he was honest, he’d have probably just rambled on far too much about what a wonderful person he thought she was.

  He pushed open the door to the mechanic’s shop.

  A tall, smiling young man in grease-stained overalls looked up at him from behind the counter.

  The smoking blond man brushed past him, so close their shoulders almost bumped. He glanced back to see the man disappear into the alley behind Piper.

  Benjamin froze in the doorway, with one foot on either side of the threshold and his hand still on the knob. Every warning signal in the back of his skull was clanging.