Countdown to First Night: Winter's HeartSnowbound at New YearA Kiss at Midnight

by Jillian Hart

Then she craned her neck to see the road that ran out in front of Brody’s house. The snow still covered it. Where was the snowplow? When she checked her watch, she realized it wasn’t even dawn.

  With a sigh she decided to go downstairs and get some coffee. If they cleared the road soon, she wouldn’t have to try to rewrite her speech. She could get the one she had in her room at the lodge.

  The door to Abbey’s room was closed. The quiet in the house wouldn’t last long. Those two precious girls were a handful. Being with them the past day made her realize she wanted a husband and children even more. But the prospects weren’t promising. Writing was a lonely job. Then when she was on a book tour, she spent maybe a day in one town then moved to the next one. Certainly not conducive to meeting Mr. Right.

  When she thought about Mr. Right, Brody flashed into her mind. Laughing at something his daughters did. His smile reaching deep into his eyes. His head bent over his drawing board as he tried to come up with an illustration.

  But what was she thinking? Granted, she would be in Snow Falls several days—not one—but she would still be returning to South Carolina to finish her latest project.

  When she reached the first floor, she noticed a light on in the great room and made a detour to check it out. Brody sat on the couch with his drawing pad in his lap, working. Not wanting to disturb him, she started to back out. He glanced up.

  A smile lit his face. “You’re up early.”

  “So are you. I don’t want to interrupt your work. I certainly know how that can be.”

  “I think I’m through. Something was bothering me last night about the illustration. During the night I figured it out and came down here to finish it.”

  She bridged the distance between them and eased down beside him, his leg pressing against hers. He peered at her, his dark eyes luring her toward him. The atmosphere shifted. She wanted to see the illustration, but for the life of her she couldn’t look away from him. His attraction grew stronger, his lips so close she felt the whisper of his breath over hers.

  Kissing him wouldn’t change their circumstances. She managed to close her eyes, severing the link between them. When she reopened them, she saw the illustration in his lap and latched onto it to distract her from what she really wanted to do.

  “This is perfect!” She grabbed the pad and held it up. “Just what I wanted. The scene comes right off the page.” Swinging toward him, she didn’t realize how close he really was.

  Her lips inches from his, he took the drawing from her, then his hand delved into her hair, tugging her even nearer. His mouth captured hers, and any resistance to the idea of kissing him vanished, replaced with a deep need to connect. She’d been alone for so long. She wanted so much more than her career. She wanted it all—love, family and a career.

  Vaguely she heard the pad plopping onto the table in front of them, then Brody entwined his arms around her and plastered her against him. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure he felt its beat. As he deepened the kiss, she surrendered to the sensations bombarding her—the all-consuming touch of his lips on hers, his faint scent of lime, the rough texture of his thumbs framing her face.

  When he finally parted, his breathing labored like hers, she still swirled in an overload of senses. Everything seemed sharper, more vibrant, rich—like his illustration.

  Ellie looked into those dark eyes and couldn’t deny her feelings. “I’ve wanted you to do that since I saw you with Abbey and Alexa. Nothing is more appealing than a single father who cares so much for his children.”

  His art spoke of a man with a lot of passion, reined in but there beneath the surface. Leaning in, she wanted to feel that fiery connection again. Her lips tasted his while she brought her hands up to cradle his face.

  When his palms covered hers, he pulled back. “This isn’t a good idea. I should never have kissed you.”

  “Why?” she managed to say.

  “I’m not what you want—not really. My life is settled into a good routine. I have my girls and work I enjoy. I’m...”

  “Content? Resigned? Scared to commit?” She waved her hand toward the pad on the coffee table. “I think you’re afraid to feel. When you do finally let go, look what you’re capable of. Such beauty and passion. Full of emotions. Why are you scared to feel?”

  “Because it can be ripped from you in a second.” All the feelings he’d bottled up inside exploded out of him. He jerked to his feet, his arms rigid at his sides, his hands opening and closing.

  His wife died in childbirth. At a time when a couple should be elated and celebrating, he had to bury her. After six years, Ellie had thought he’d be ready to move on. “We can’t stop living because something bad might happen. Life is full of trials and tribulations. We don’t hide from them. We embrace them and learn from them.”

  He sucked in a deep breath. “You don’t couch your words in niceties.”

  “Part of the reason I write for children is to teach them ways to handle their problems. Each book has a lesson couched, as you say, in an entertaining story.” She pushed to her feet to be more at eye level with him. “You’ve essentially holed yourself up here on your mountain. You’ve all but admitted that to me. You should come down every once in a while and partake of real life. Yes, you may be hurt, but you could also enjoy yourself and get a new sense of rejuvenation. You owe that to your girls.” Her feelings flowed from her because she cared about Abbey and Alexa. But she also cared about Brody. Too much, if the stabbing pain in her heart was any indication.

  Anger marked deep lines into his face, his eyebrows slashing down. “My girls are fine.”

  “Then why do they need to find you a friend? You’ve been buried in your sorrow and haven’t realized they want more. Last night they kept telling me all about you. One story after another. They love you and they sense your sadness.” She realized she’d probably blown her chances of having Brody illustrate her books. She could still work with him, but she didn’t know if he could.

  “I was the one who wanted children. Irene wanted to wait. She died because of me.”

  “Is that what you’ve been telling yourself? Are you so sure about that? Did you force it on her? Or, did you two talk about it and decide the time was probably right? It was a tragedy. No one was at fault. Blame doesn’t have to be given here.”

  His scowl evened out into an unreadable expression. He stared at his illustration, probably trying to form the words to tell her he quit. She pulled herself up tall and prepared herself for his rejection.

  A high-pitched scream ripped through the house, coming from upstairs.

  CHAPTER SIX

  A CHILL FLASH-FROZE BRODY. The sound of one of his daughters crying out resonated through him, sending panic to every part of him. After a few seconds he leaped to his feet and raced for the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

  Abbey ran down the hallway, tears flowing from her eyes. Pointing back to her bedroom, she said, “Alexa hurt herself.”

  Alexa’s sobs coming from the room spurred his pace. Behind him he heard Abbey mumbling, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” and Ellie consoling her.

  When he saw Alexa, she was sitting on the floor, wet tracks streaking down her face. The overhead light was on. “Baby, what happened?”

  “It hurts, Daddy. Make it stop.”

  “What hurts?” He knelt down next to her.

  She touched her left ankle. “I can’t walk.”

  The area she indicated was already swelling. “How did you do this?”

  “Couldn’t see in the dark. I tripped over that.” Alexa gestured toward a box that held a game the girls loved to play.

  “The night-light went out?” He looked toward it and it wasn’t on.

  “I guess.”

  Ellie immediately came to Alexa on her other side while Abbey hung back. “I can get some
ice for the ankle.”

  “Thanks. That might help the swelling until we can get her to the hospital.”

  “Hospital!” Alexa screamed as Ellie left to get an ice pack. “I don’t want to go there.”

  “Daddy, you fix her. She’ll be okay,” Abbey said behind him, crying more than Alexa.

  “I can’t fix this. Alexa, I’m going to call Harold to see when he can get the road plowed. The snow has slowed down somewhat so he might be able to start now as a favor to me.” If he had to beg the man, he would. He couldn’t stand to see his child in pain. “You need to have X-rays taken of your foot and leg. You might have broken a bone.”

  “I’ll get a cast?”

  “Maybe, depending on what’s wrong. It could be a sprain. Either way, a doctor needs to look at it.”

  “I don’t like hospitals. I don’t want to go. I’m better now.” Alexa tried to stand.

  Brody held her down. “No. I don’t want you making it worse.”

  When Ellie returned with the ice, she placed it gently on the child’s ankle. “This will help, honey.”

  Brody stood. “Will you stay with her while I call about the snowplow?”

  Ellie nodded.

  As he strode into the hallway, Abbey ran after him. “Daddy, I didn’t mean for Alexa to get hurt.”

  He stopped and turned toward her. “I know. She’ll be all right. We’ll get her to the hospital and they’ll patch up her leg.”

  Abbey dropped her head and mumbled, “I turned the night-light off. It was bothering me last night, and I couldn’t sleep.” The words rushed out as her shoulders hunched more and more.

  “We’ll talk about this later. First, I need to see to your sister.”

  She lifted her head. “I’m sorry.”

  The pain in Abbey’s expression mirrored Alexa’s, but for a different reason. He knelt in front of her and clasped her arms. “I know you are. I also know you wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to Alexa. Later you can tell your sister you’re sorry.”

  “I’ll make it up to her. I promise.” She wiped her tears away. “I can do her chores while her foot is hurt.”

  “I think that’s a good suggestion. Now I need to call Harold and wake up Marta.” He rose and started for the staircase.

  That’s when the penny dropped. How different was he from Abbey? He hadn’t meant for Irene to get hurt. All he had wanted to do since Irene died was try to make it up to her.

  * * *

  AS BRODY DROVE HIS SUV on the snowplowed road down the mountain, Ellie sat in the backseat with Alexa and Marta while Abbey was in front. Snow still fell, covering the highway with another layer, making it slick.

  Harold was going to wait until it stopped, but he couldn’t refuse Brody’s plea. Luckily in Snow Falls the roads had been cleared and weren’t nearly as risky as the steep one coming off the mountain. The one they were on. Ellie kept her gaze on Alexa, who cuddled up next to her. When Ellie dared to look out the windshield, her heartbeat accelerated and sweat coated her forehead. It was one thing going up a mountain in the snow, but a totally different experience coming down one in the snow, especially with the treacherous curves Brody had to navigate.

  Brody hit a slick spot, and the car fishtailed. Her breath bottled in her lungs, Ellie pressed closer to the child as though that would make this trip go faster.

  Ellie smiled at the child between her and the housekeeper. “We’re nearing the highway into town. It won’t be long before you get to the hospital.”

  “I wanna go home.” Alexa buried her face against Ellie, who would love to bury hers in someone but was trying to present a brave front for the children.

  “How long?” Was that her voice that quavered?

  “Fifteen minutes,” Marta said, her expression not as harsh as it had been the past day.

  They’d already been in the car over an hour and a half—a trip that was normally only thirty minutes. “I think there’s a reason I live in South Carolina. I don’t think I’m a snow bunny.”

  Alexa and Abbey giggled, breaking some of the tension in the car.

  Abbey turned in the front seat and peered back at her. “Daddy is an expert at driving in bad weather.”

  At that moment the SUV slid toward the bank of snow the plow had created on the side of the road. Ellie tensed. Was this one of those trials and tribulations she’d told Brody was part of life? She hoped wrecking the car wasn’t one. Although Brody was going slow because it was downhill, he had to brake a lot—sending the car sometimes into a slide. She remembered her rented car still buried in a pile of snow at his house—not near a drop-off. A shiver ran down her spine as she stared at the next sheer drop only yards from the car.

  Alexa glanced up at her. “We’ll be all right.”

  A hurt child was comforting her. The gesture swelled Ellie’s throat. She swallowed several times and murmured, “I know.”

  “We’ve come through the worst part. It didn’t snow down here nearly as much as up the mountain.”

  The sound of Brody’s voice, full of assurance, eased the tight hold fear had on her. A little. The hard angles of his face, his white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel made her angst return full force. The road still looked steep, the incline at times a sixty-degree angle.

  “I don’t want to miss the celebration,” Alexa said, the ice pack sliding off as they went around another curve. “I want to see your play.”

  Ellie picked up the ice pack and placed it on Alexa’s propped-up foot again. “I’ll make sure you have a front-row seat. The doctor will fix you up. You might end up with crutches, but you’ll have all of us to help you get around.” She said that in confidence that Brody would want to have something to do with her once they reached Snow Falls. Why had she spoken her mind?

  Because I care. Because I want more.

  “Yeah, sweetheart. I know how much you’re looking forward to this afternoon and evening,” Brody said as he took an S-curve, a tight thread woven through the last part of the sentence.

  “Why wasn’t the night-light on?” Alexa asked.

  Quiet descended.

  Brody threw Abbey a look. Alexa saw and sat up. “You turned it off?” Alexa shrieked and punched the back of the seat Abbey was in. If it hadn’t been for her injured foot, Alexa would have probably gone over the seat to get to her sister.

  “I couldn’t sleep with it on and you were asleep. I’m sorry.”

  Alexa folded her arms over her chest and glared at Abbey. “I’m not speaking to you.”

  For the next ten minutes silence reigned while Ellie chewed on her lower lip. As Brody went around probably the twentieth curve in the road, a cliff on her side of the car caused her to clutch the door handle as though she was trying to make sure it stayed closed. Her heartbeat thundered in her head. What if he went into another slide—right off the mountain?

  “How do y’all do it? Unless it thaws a lot, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to drive my car back to town. Snow is fine for about an hour, then I’d like it to melt completely away.”

  “You get used to it.” Brody threw her a glance, which made her even more tense.

  “Keep your eyes on the road.” Ellie fisted her hands, her nails digging into her palms.

  “It’s like your humidity in South Carolina. When I’ve been in a place with a lot of humidity, I wonder how the people living there can stand it. I was in Florida last summer, and I sweat continuously. There were times it was oppressive. Same thing as snow in the winter in Colorado.”

  “You can have your snow. I’ll take my humidity over it any day.” Although, if Brody gave her a reason, she’d learn to get used to snow. The thought didn’t surprise her nearly as much as it would have a day before.

  “I don’t mind—humid-ity,” Abbey piped in. “I still want to come vis
it you in South Carolina and go to the beach. I’ve never seen the ocean.”

  “Honey, you don’t invite yourself to someone’s house.” Brody clipped each word as he spoke.

  Abbey looked at her dad then back at Alexa. The girls were smart. They could feel their father’s anger—directed at her.

  “What about Florida?” Ellie asked to cut through the sudden strain. Seeing the main highway up ahead, she forced her hands to relax. They were going to make it in one piece.

  “We went to Walt Disney World. There were a lot of lakes but no ocean.” Alexa uncrossed her arms and cuddled against Ellie again.

  “I love that place. I haven’t been in several years.”

  “We had so much fun.”

  The four of them began to talk about what they saw and did at Walt Disney World. As Ellie listened to them, obviously the fifth wheel, a heaviness settled in her chest. She wanted to do that with a family. When she’d visited the place, she’d been by herself and wouldn’t have even gone then, but her publisher had set up an event with her, promoting her new Barnyard Town book on the Disney property.

  The camaraderie among the others in the car confirmed what she wanted. A family—husband and children. For years she’d been writing for kids and yearning for them. When she returned home, she needed to connect with others—enter the dating game. At least this twenty-four hours with Brody made her realize that.

  She looked at Brody’s profile—strong, all male. If only things were different...

  “We’re here.” Brody drove into the parking lot of the small hospital. “The good thing about Snow Falls is that the doctors are used to broken bones and know what to do.”

  “Daddy, I think I’m much better now. I’ll be running around in no time. Let’s go to the Ice Castle for breakfast.”

  “We can do that after we see the doctor I drove the past two hours for you to see.”

  A couple of minutes later Brody strode into the E.R., carrying Alexa while the rest of them trailed behind. After telling the nurse at the counter why they were there, they took a corner of the waiting room. Only a few people were in front of Alexa. The twins huddled together on a small two-seat couch across from the adults, while Brody sat with Marta between Ellie and him, his arms folded over his chest.