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

by Jillian Hart

  She had loved her dad. He’d had his faults, but she loved the man he had wanted to be.

  Nine years brought a lot of clarity to a situation. She breathed deeply to clear her mind, to push past the surge of pain that hit her as she stood in that room again and remembered. Her father had been an alcoholic long before Jake Wild fired him. The drinking had started during her mother’s illness and continued until he drove his car off the road six years ago.

  “I’ll order breakfast.” Jake picked up his phone, still watching her. “Omelet?”

  “Fine.” She walked to the double doors that led to a patio. In the distance she could see the small outdoor ice rink, empty at this time of the morning. At night, twinkling lights surrounded the ice and old-fashioned post lamps added more light.

  “Do you skate?” Jake walked up behind her.

  She didn’t turn to face him because he stood too close, and turning would put her in his arms. She remembered being held by him. She remembered how it had felt to have his lips on hers, his scent clinging to her.

  After midnight last year, the magic had ended. As everyone else took off masks, laughing and hugging, the two of them had released hands and stepped away from each other.

  “No. I don’t skate.”

  “You should learn.”

  She turned and stepped around him, back to the center of the room. “Jake, can we just take care of business and I’ll go.”

  “Of course.” Someone knocked on the door. “Come in.”

  A waiter pushed a cart into the room. The wonderful aromas made Jolie’s stomach forget that she didn’t usually eat breakfast.

  “Thank you, Ted.” Jake tipped the young waiter. “We’ll serve ourselves.”

  Ted nodded curtly after glancing in her direction, and then left them alone, closing the door behind him with a finality that sent a shiver down Jolie’s spine. She rubbed her arms. She’d forgotten her jacket in the convention hall.

  Jake noticed. He reached for a remote and seconds later a gas fire blazed in the fireplace. She smiled because it was cheesy and yet...

  “I promise, I know how to build a real fire.” Jake moved the food cart close to a small table and chairs in front of the fire.

  “Of course you do.” She laughed in spite of herself. “You don’t have a dimmer switch and music on that remote, do you?”

  He grinned. “No, I’m not that much of a player. I don’t have the time or inclination. And I think if I did, I’d be more old-fashioned.”

  “How?” She winced, wishing she hadn’t asked.

  Jake moved to her side. He pulled out her chair and motioned for her to sit. “Like this. I’d pull out your chair, open doors for you. I’d probably send you a dozen roses.”

  “I believe that. Only a true romantic could come up with a masked ball.”

  Jake lifted the domed top off the tray of food. “I hate to disappoint you, but I didn’t think it up. I have a marketing team headed up by my very unromantic cousin Tansy.”

  “I’m crushed.”

  “But if you wanted it to be my idea...”

  She shook her head. “No, I’m good. And really, we should get back to business.”

  He sat down across from her. She watched as he poured coffee. He really did have strong hands, she thought again, suntanned. No rings. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, exposing arms that matched the hands. Last year he’d held her in those hands.

  She accepted the cup of coffee, clutching it in both hands.

  “Jake, I don’t want your charity.”

  He drew back and looked at her. “It’s breakfast and business, Jolie.”

  “We’re talking about my art. I don’t know if you think I need this and you’re trying to make up for the past, but I don’t need it. Wildwood is a beautiful place and your buyer travels all over the world looking for suitable pieces for the rooms. I’ve talked to her and she isn’t interested in local art. ‘It doesn’t meet Wildwood standards,’ I believe were her words.”

  “She was wrong.” Jake pointed to the plate he’d set in front of her. “Eat your eggs and stop being so defensive. I’m a businessman, Jolie, not a charitable organization. I buy what works for this resort, and what you’re doing works. End of story.”

  She would like to believe that, but guilt could cause a man to do crazy things.

  So what was her excuse? Why was she sitting with him, about to enjoy a meal that smelled heavenly? She could get up, walk away. Instead, she remained seated and waited to see what would happen. Maybe because it was almost a new year and she wanted something in her life to change. She wanted the broken pieces to heal. She wanted the walls she’d built to crumble a little. She wanted light back in her life, not just in her art.

  * * *

  BREAKFAST AND BUSINESS, nothing more. Jake called that a success. As he walked Jolie to the car he’d had brought around for her, he started to ask if she would be at the ball. He stopped himself. Asking her would have been a mistake. She would see it as an invitation. Especially after she’d already told Cassie she wouldn’t be going.

  She thought his buying her artwork was a form of charity. He’d tried to let that slide off his back, but it bugged him. Or maybe it forced him to question his motives, to question himself.

  “Next week, after New Year’s is over, we’ll meet and I’ll look at your sketches.” He opened her door for her and she slid into the compact car.

  He wasn’t sure the car was the most suitable. True, the town of Snow Falls was at the base of the mountains, so she didn’t have to worry about climbing hills, but the roads could still get snow-covered fairly quickly.

  Wisely, he kept the comment to himself. She was a grown woman and he didn’t have a say in the decisions she made. Nothing had ever made her his responsibility.

  “Yes, next week. I have a few things to take care of, but I should be able to find an hour.”

  “Of course, an hour.” He nodded once, his hand on the car door. “Be careful, the snow is coming down pretty hard.”

  Yeah, he couldn’t help himself.

  She smiled and laughed. “Thank you, I’ll try to remember that.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I know, you’ve been driving these roads for years.”

  “Exactly, but it was very romantic of you to mention it.” She winked and reached to pull the door closed.

  Jake stepped back onto the sidewalk and watched as she drove away. That felt pretty crazy, standing there without a coat, watching as her car pulled out of the parking lot.

  He turned and walked back into the resort, brushing snow out of his hair and stomping it off his boots. His cousin Tansy stood in the doorway, watching him. She shook her head. His cousin, the only female he really trusted—other than his niece. She slid an arm around his waist and they went to his office together.

  “She’s a sweet woman.” Tansy sat at the table he’d recently left. She reached for the cinnamon roll he hadn’t touched. “You left a perfectly good pastry. She must be nice.”

  “I’m only interested in Jolie’s artwork.” When Tansy raised one well-defined eyebrow, he smiled. “For the new addition to the lodge.”

  “Oh, of course.” She picked up a fork and took a bite of the cinnamon roll. “Do you like her, or feel guilty?”

  “Take that and go. I don’t need internet-counseling sessions.”

  “I am so hurt by that. Yes, I learn a lot from the internet, but I happened to take an introduction to psychology class when I majored in business.”

  They both laughed and he sat down across from her, in the seat Jolie had sat in a short time before. “Maybe guilt. Maybe something else.”

  “Maybe you have a hard time believing there are people who aren’t out to use you. Not without reason. Exhibit A—your mother. Your stepfather. Your stepsister. That woma
n you dated a few years ago whose name we don’t mention.” She smiled and flipped her auburn hair back off her shoulder. “Have I missed anyone?”

  “No, you haven’t. And it could be that I’m too busy building a business to date. When I do date, I don’t want it to be a woman who thinks I’m buying her breakfast or her art out of guilt.”

  “Give yourself a break. Stop working and enjoy your life. Take out a pretty woman. Remember, you’re the most eligible bachelor in Colorado.”

  “My romance gene is unfortunately stifled. And that article just complicated my life. The crazies came out of the woodwork.”

  Tansy laughed, flipping her dark hair to the side. “There have been a few that could almost be described as stalkers.”

  “Exactly my point. I don’t have time for this.”

  “Send her flowers.” Tansy licked the fork clean and set it on the table. “She likes fall flowers, not roses.”

  “How do you know?”

  Tansy shrugged one shoulder. “I have my ways.”

  “Tansy?”

  “Do you think she became an overnight success on her own? I know your lack of a romance gene, and your unfortunate guilt gene, so I took care of things.”

  “What the...”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I do have a few connections in the hotel and resort business, so I spread the word.”

  “And people think you’re heartless.” He shook his head but he smiled. “Tansy, you restore my faith in humanity.”

  “Not everyone is out to use you, Jake.”

  “Only ninety percent of them?”

  “You need to learn to trust a few people. Make that your New Year’s resolution. Must trust people. Start easy, with someone like Jolie Godwin.” She got up and walked to the door. “Remember, you offered to give her the money. She paid it back.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Good boy. Now, go get Anna. She’s ready to go to town. It’s New Year’s Eve and you can’t always be in control. And Jake, remember that Anna’s a victim, too.” She paused, a hand on the doorknob. “Introduce her to Jolie. Anna’s only artistic outlet is a coloring book and markers, but the two of them might hit it off.”

  “Go.”

  At his command she saluted and walked out. Jake leaned back in his chair and watched the fire licking at the gas logs in the fireplace. Thoughts rolled through his mind. The new addition to the lodge, New Year’s Eve, his stepsister’s child and a kiss. It all came back to the kiss.

  If he let Tansy deal with Jolie and the art purchases, he could move on. He could keep his focus on business. The plan made perfect sense.

  And it was the last thing he wanted.

  CHAPTER THREE

  JOLIE WENT HOME AFTER the meeting with Jake. She didn’t have a lot of time. So much for a nice leisurely pace on New Year’s Eve. She had promised to meet Cassie at the Ice Castle Café and then she had offered to do face painting at the library, where they were having several events.

  She would much rather stay home, even if it meant missing a workshop by illustrator Brody Kincaid. She wanted to support a local artist, but staying home was tempting beyond belief. A hermit, that’s what Cassie called her. She had her little house, her studio and a great coffeemaker. What more could she want out of life?

  If she’d asked her best friend that question, Cassie would have had an answer. Cassie lived in a world where men were there to pick up the pieces, to hold things together. Jolie had held things together for her dad. After her mother’s death she’d made sure he ate, that he had clean clothes and that he sometimes got up and went to work. She couldn’t remember ever having a man to lean on, to count on.

  So when asked what more she wanted out of life, a man was not at the top of the list. She’d love to make more money with her art. She didn’t need to be rich, she just wanted to pay her bills and have something left over at the end of the month. She would like to be able to go on vacation. She’d love to have a fashion sense, but mostly she threw on whatever she pulled out of her closet.

  As she drove to the Ice Castle restaurant, she thought about all the times her dad hadn’t gone to work. She remembered how happy he’d been when he landed the job at the Wildwood and how he’d presented her with money for college. She’d been naive enough to believe he’d saved up enough to pay for her tuition for a semester.

  She’d worked two years and two jobs to pay back what her dad had stolen and to keep the electricity on. Mac Godwin had stayed drunk. Most of the time he’d been passed out on the small sofa in their travel trailer.

  Through it all, she had loved her dad. Sometimes she’d resented him, resented taking care of him, but she’d loved him.

  Cassie waved from inside the Ice Castle. She had her niece and nephew with her today, which explained why they were eating here. The restaurant had an amazing play area for children. Later in the day they would have an ice sculptor.

  Jolie slipped a little on the packed snow right outside the entrance. She shivered as she stomped her snow-covered boots and walked through the door that Cassie pushed open for her.

  “It’s about time.” Cassie hugged her tight. “Where have you been?”

  “I had to run home. And then I had trouble getting out of my driveway.”

  “You need a truck, not that little car of yours.”

  “It’s what I have, Cass.” Jolie smiled at the two children behind Cassie. “Are you guys having fun?”

  “Are you going to paint our faces?” Lana asked, her blond hair parted on the side and curling around her face. “Aunt Cassie said you would.”

  “Later.”

  “I want a fairy princess.” Lana touched her cheek.

  Jolie groaned, then muttered, “A fairy princess...”

  Cassie laughed and took her niece and nephew by the hand. “We have a table at the back. I ordered already. Did you want something?”

  “I had a late breakfast.”

  Cassie shot her a look, but Jolie ignored her and followed the children through the restaurant. She smiled because Cassie’s niece and nephew, like Cassie, were blond and pretty, even Jason. At seven, he didn’t want to be called pretty. They were getting situated at their table when the front door opened again.

  “Hmm, imagine that.” Cassie glanced from the door to Jolie. “Jake Wild and the adorable Anna.”

  “Who is Anna?”

  “You need to get out more often.” Cassie looked up from the menu to Jolie. “She’s the niece he got custody of a few months ago.”

  “What? I...I hadn’t heard.”

  “That’s because you stay in that studio of yours and I always forget to tell you what’s going on in the real world. And I usually avoid the topic of Jake.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate your sensitivity.” Jolie forced the dry tone, but she wanted to smile. She wouldn’t let herself look at Jake Wild or the precious little girl, maybe four or five years old, standing next to him in a picture-perfect red wool coat, black stockings, mittens and a cap.

  Okay, maybe she did look.

  But she didn’t look at Jake. She wouldn’t think about how cozy it had felt to sit in his office. She wouldn’t think about hands that were strong...or a smile that...

  Cassie waved. “Jake, join us.”

  “Cassie—you’re impossible.”

  Jolie started to leave, but Cassie grabbed her by the arm. “He’s a nice guy and a family friend. Relax.”

  “Right, relax. He’s going to think this is a setup.”

  Jake held the child’s hand as he threaded his way through the tables. A few people called out to him. He waved, but he looked tense. She wondered why. She’d always thought of him as the guy who took life for granted and never had a bad day. Why would he have bad days? He was Jake Wild.

  “
Are you sure you have room?” he asked when he reached them.

  “Of course. We have the entire back wall.” Cassie still held Jolie’s arm.

  Jake shrugged out of a heavy canvas coat and then leaned to help the little girl standing next to him. He pulled off her stocking cap and shoved it in the pocket of his coat. He said something quiet and she shook her head and then raised her hands, flashing words at him in sign language. Jolie caught her breath. She saw Cassie glance her way, head cocked knowingly. Because, of course, Cassie knew.

  “Ice cream it is.” Jake lifted Anna off the ground and held her close as he took a seat. The girl was tiny but her expression seemed more mature than her size. She had big, dark eyes, an elfin face and long, dark hair.

  “Hi, Anna.” Cassie touched the child’s hands. “Remember me?”

  Anna nodded. She looked at Jolie. Cassie squeezed Jolie’s arm. “This is my friend Jolie.”

  Anna signed to Jake and leaned close to him. He laughed and hugged the child as he translated. “She says you’re pretty.”

  “Thank you.” Jolie smiled at her.

  “She thinks you look like Cinderella.”

  Jolie nearly choked on her cola.

  “Thank you.”

  Jake Wild, a nice guy who understood sign language and had custody of his stepsister’s child. Jolie had been judged a lot in her life, and as she watched Jake she realized she’d been doing some judging of her own.

  * * *

  AFTER EATING BURGERS, probably too quickly, the kids ran off to play. Cassie cleared the table and made the excuse that she had to go supervise. As she walked away she smiled, very sly. Jake gave her credit, she could occasionally do almost subtle. The kids probably did need to be supervised. Not that Anna would go far.

  “She’s a beautiful child.” Jolie nodded toward Anna, who wandered through the play area watching the other children. She occasionally looked back, searching for him as if he might disappear.