by Sandy Loyd
Kate had been evasive when he’d asked a second time about last weekend with Paul, claiming to have met someone who changed her life. Somehow, he sensed that was a smoke screen. Was she not going because of this new guy or some other reason? Like Paul’s presence? Maybe he was the someone who changed her life. As crazy as it sounded, the possibility did fit with Paul’s actions.
He’d called earlier to inform James that he’d be joining them.
Interesting way of wording it…joining them. Paul had obviously known that Kate was invited. Of course, she was friends with Judith, who was friends with Paul, so he saw the connection. But there’d been something in his voice, a steely resolve that said he was gearing up for a fight.
Even more intriguing. Why is Paul gearing up for a fight?
No reason, unless there was more to their weekend than both let on. Yep! There was something up between his brother and Kate and he planned to find out exactly what.
Had they slept together? No! He couldn’t see either doing that. But what if they’d wanted to sleep together? He shook his head at the absurdity of that thought. They were always at each other’s throats. Still, it had to be something.
He stood and moved to his drafting table, shoving the problem aside for now. Designing the entrance to Kirkland’s office building was a priority.
Twenty minutes later, James swore under his breath and tossed his pencil aside. He rubbed his eyes, giving up all pretense of work, as one thought that tenaciously kept creeping back into his consciousness wouldn’t allow him to concentrate. Kate and Paul had feelings for each other.
He had to admit the idea explained a lot, mainly Kate’s sudden decision to break up. A total reversal on her earlier stance. Since her sister’s engagement, she’d been determined to receive a marriage proposal.
There was also Paul’s attitude during those phone conversations over the past week, which piqued his curiosity in the first place. One thing he knew for sure. If those two were suddenly attracted to each other, something—or rather, someone—was keeping them apart.
Judith Reid—the ice queen—an apt nickname earned in college. She had a cool demeanor and more than one good man felt her chill while trying to melt some of the frost coating her heart.
They shared a family connection, yet he rarely came into contact with her. When he did, mutual dislike aided his avoidance. In other words, she’d always kept her distance, which had been fine by him.
Thinking of her brought back memories from college—one in particular. A party during his last week in grad school when Judith’s icy glare had frozen Devon McAllister on the spot. His good friend and fraternity brother swore it was a forgettable incident, but James had always wondered what had happened that night. Mac was a man women flocked to and gushed over. Few ever turned him away. But Judith did, and he suspected Mac had never really forgotten it.
Paul had been after Judith, too, for years with no real success.
James never understood either man’s attraction to her. Maybe the desire for something unattainable was the lure. It really didn’t matter. Besides, how could he judge someone else’s life, when his own was such a mess? He was no hypocrite, but he had always wondered if Paul really loved Judith. Perhaps he was in love with the idea of being in love, just as Kate had been.
How in the hell had all their love lives gotten so messed up?
He shook his head and picked up his pencil. Well, he planned to do something about it. In the meantime, he could have a little fun with Paul.
Smiling at the thought, he was finally able to focus on work.
Chapter 16
Paul arrived at the house in Tahoe first, after stopping at the store along the way. He quickly turned on both the water and the heat, then went back to unload the car.
Done unpacking and emptying the groceries, he noted the clock on the stove.
Close to six.
He opened a bottle of water and downed half, wondering when Kate and James would be arriving.
He headed for the master bedroom, intending to light a fire. As he positioned the logs into place, memories of Kate and their shared time together sprang forth and in response, an intense longing engulfed him. Damn, he missed her.
A fire suddenly didn’t seem such a great idea.
He wandered to the living room and sat on the sofa, then grabbed his laptop. Adjusting the Wicks portfolio would keep him occupied until he could confront his brother and Kate.
Absorbed in reading a stock report, Paul didn’t realize anyone had arrived until the front door opened. He glanced up to see James saunter inside, carrying his bags. Alone.
“Hey, Paul.” James slowed, a big grin settling over his face. “How long have you been here?”
He frowned, slightly confused. “About an hour.”
Still grinning, James continued past him toward the hallway and the bedroom he usually used.
Before he was completely out of sight, Paul couldn’t resist blurting out, “Where’s Kate?”
“San Francisco, I presume.” James slowed and looked over his shoulder. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” Paul adopted a nonchalant tone and forced his attention back to his laptop. “When Judith mentioned you’d invited her, I just assumed you two would come up together.”
“Obviously, she had a change of plans.” James rounded the hallway and was soon out of his peripheral vision.
His eyes narrowed. Totally baffled, he tried to make sense of it all. What was going on? Why hadn’t Kate driven up with James? Though curious, he had to tread lightly. James was sharp enough to latch on to the least little clue and figure out his interest in her.
His shoulders slumped forward as some of the adrenaline drained from him. Without Kate’s presence, his original plan of confronting them was out. Oh well, he thought, refocusing on work. Maybe it was for the better. Look on the bright side. She wasn’t here, which had to mean something. Kate was tenacious. If she’d still been interested in James, nothing would have kept her away this weekend.
Suddenly, Paul’s confidence returned full force. He had all evening to glean some information about their date the other night.
His brother stepped into the room just then, drawing his attention. He looked up from his laptop, his nod indicating the kitchen. “There’s wine on the counter.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll have a beer.”
“I stocked up on the way here.”
James returned with a bottle of Samuel Adams and sat across from him, still wearing a canary-eating-cat’s grin that told him something was up. “I see that’s not all you stocked up on.”
Nodding, he concentrated on the screen in front of him, trying to figure out what that something was.
James then muttered a comment that sounded suspiciously like, “This is going to be too easy.”
“What?” Paul glanced up and met his brother’s eyes.
“The drive was easy,” he replied. With raised eyebrows, he held his gaze and took a swig, as if daring him to disagree.
Paul cleared his throat. “Glad to hear it.” He studied James for long seconds before standing. “I think I’ll have a beer too.” He started for the kitchen, wondering the best way to broach the subject of that last date.
Finally, he opted to just ask a few leading questions. Considering their relationship, his curiosity wouldn’t be out of line. “So why’d Kate decide to stay home, especially after Judith said you specifically invited her? And that brings up another interesting point. Why’d you invite her? I thought you were in your avoidance mode again, dodging the marriage bullet.”
James sobered and shrugged his shoulders. “I’d rather not discuss it.”
Paul blinked back his surprise. James was always complaining about Kate’s aggressiveness. Intrigued, he asked, “Why, what’s the problem?”
“Look, you have your screwed-up relationship with Judith, and I have mine with Kate,” he snapped. “Why don’t we drop the subject of relationships for tonight, okay?�
� Then he leaned back and took another sip. “You want to go out for dinner? I’m hungry.”
“I bought food to cook here if you want,” Paul said, as his curiosity flared brighter.
“No, I prefer to go out.” After taking a long drink, he set the bottle on the table. “You joining me?”
Paul closed down his laptop and set it aside. “Sure, why not,” he said, praying more would slip out at dinner.
“You doing okay?” James stared closely at Paul’s face. “How’s work going? Those dark circles say you’ve been burning the midnight oil.”
“Work’s fine,” he shot back, not wanting to talk about work or why he looked like he did. “I’m a little behind. I’ll catch up this weekend when we’re not skiing.”
James nodded. “So last weekend must have been pretty miserable. I really feel for both of you. I know Kate was dreading it. She hates your guts, you know.”
Paul’s eyes narrowed and he mentally scoured his brother’s choice of words, looking for a hidden meaning, while noting James’ mildly amused expression. The thought of Kate hating his guts didn’t sit well. Neither did the fact that she and James spent Tuesday night together. “We survived,” he murmured. “But I don’t think we hate each other quite so much.”
“I’ll bet.”
Aside from that comment, something in his brother’s voice alerted him. He scrutinized his expression, searching for some hint, but James only grinned and added, “And it’s a good thing because your barbs were sure getting monotonous.”
Paul remained silent, now completely certain something wasn’t quite right. First, James said he didn’t want to talk about her, and then he brought her back up again. Time to withdraw.
James chugged the last of his beer. “I’m ready to go. Are you? That way we can beat the crowd.”
There usually wasn’t a crowd on Thursdays, but Paul nodded. “Let me grab my coat. Where do you want to eat?”
“How about the Lakehouse?”
Two hours later, Paul pulled into the garage and switched off the ignition. Dinner had been a total bust. He wasn’t able to learn anything more about what happened between Kate and James because whenever he tried to steer the conversation in that direction, his brother deflected his attempts. Finally, he’d given up and enjoyed James’ company for the rest of the night.
“I’m turning in,” James said, as they got out of the car. “I plan on being up bright and early for skiing tomorrow.”
Paul nodded. “I’ll be ready.” He headed for his bedroom. After slipping inside and closing the door, he glanced at the fireplace. Tamping down his frustration, he grabbed the Bic and lit the newspaper he was using as kindling. As the flames built, Paul thought back on his evening. Did his brother suspect that there was more to last weekend? He didn’t see how.
No, something else must have happened. He only hoped for the patience to wait until James told him about it, because no amount of prodding or finagling was going to get James to open up sooner.
~
“The skiing is great,” James said, coming up behind Paul in the lift line.
Paul glanced around. “Yeah, we’re lucky.” It was a beautiful, cloudless day where the sun was shining brightly, adding warmth to the brisk, clear air. As a bonus, it wasn’t crowded. Weekdays were dead, so this was as good as it got without more snow. The multitude of skiers who took to the slopes after a storm usually caused the mountain conditions to deteriorate—bumping it up and making the runs more treacherous. “I bet there’s still plenty of fresh powder to find if we look hard enough.”
At the top of Squaw One Express, James raced past him. Not to be outdone, Paul took fewer turns and quickly caught up. Having skied together all their lives, both worked to outdo the other in their typical rivalry.
Nearing the bottom, they were neck and neck until Paul edged ahead for the win.
“Damn, you’re tough to beat.” James laughed good-naturedly and glided to the lift.
“That’s because I’ve been up here most weekends and you’ve been buried in work all winter.”
On the next lift, he and James ran into a couple of friends and became a team against the other two. Kevin Barker and Stephen Walters, bankers from the city, were weekend fixtures at Squaw, so trouncing them was challenging. The foursome worked the mountain to find places to race, sometimes hiking up a ways to seek the fresh powder that beckoned.
They eventually broke for lunch, finding a spot on the deck outside to eat. All four wore mirrored sunglasses—Paul used his for the glare, but he’d noticed while going through the deli line, the others had kept theirs on indoors. He smiled, remembering Judith’s depiction of the ‘good-looking gods of the mountain,’ as she’d called them. According to her, the glasses were part of their uniform and made it easier to scope out the terrain without being too obvious.
Stephen and Kevin fit the profile and were eying a couple of women a few tables over. The two were dressed in ski outfits that looked like they’d been molded to their bodies. Neither showed signs of skiing. Their boots were dry and their hair and makeup were fresh, as if they’d just stepped out of a salon.
Paul noted James’ interest. “You thinking about chasing snow bunnies?” he asked, nodding in their direction.
James glanced at him, tipping his glasses down to make eye contact. “I’m thinking about it. Why? What’s it to you?”
“Nothing. I’m just wondering about Kate is all,” Paul said cautiously.
“Oh? What’re you? Her guardian angel? Must’ve been some weekend for you to go from tearing her down to protecting her,” James retorted.
“It’s nothing like that.” He cleared his throat. “I just never thought you’d cheat on her. No one deserves that.”
James smiled. “Well, here’s a news flash, little brother. She dumped me.” He stretched out his legs, pushed his glasses back in place and moved his eyes back to their original position, on the two women. “So, I’m free to cheat,” he said, using his crooked forefingers for emphasis.
Paul almost choked on the beer he’d been drinking. Elation surged through him. He quickly schooled his emotions after looking up and catching James’ scrutinizing stare. He took a deep breath along with another sip, forcing himself to remain calm. When he could speak without giving himself away, he said, “Really?” He hesitated for a heartbeat. “When did this happen?”
James shrugged. “Last week—at dinner. I still can’t believe she did it. But I’m glad she did.”
“That’s tough,” Paul said in his most consoling voice. He waited a few minutes and then asked, “What do you mean, you’re glad she did?”
“She deserved better than me.” James winced, and even more astonishing, his voice held a twinge of regret. “Considering she wants marriage and I don’t. She needs a man who’s ready to commit, y’know? I’d been seriously thinking about ending thing so that she could move on. It only seemed right. But Kate pulled the plug on us before I even knew what hit me. I should’ve manned up long before now. In my own defense, she could be a little hard to deal with at times and it was easier just to let things ride.”
Nodding, Paul silently studied his brother and mulled over the bombshell he’d just dropped. At the same time, James attention never wavered. Awkward seconds ticked by as they stared at each other.
Eventually, James offered a wry smile and looked away, sighing. “Turns out she met some guy up here last weekend.” He chuckled and bent to loosen his ski boot. “Funny, I thought maybe something happened between you two, but I was wrong. She skied with…” He thought for a moment. “Mike…yeah, that’s his name. Anyway, he gave her a ride back to San Francisco. I gather she had a date with him after our breakup. I figured he’s the reason she broke up with me so fast and without warning. Said she needed to put us behind her—so she could start something new.”
Paul’s jaw tightened, as his thoughts went haywire. It took a tremendous amount of effort to rein them in. Even still, he couldn’t keep his shock from showing,
nor could he keep the hurt out of his words. “So, she’s dating someone new?”
How could she?
“I’m not sure.” James eyed Paul carefully for a long moment. He cleared his throat. “But according to her, she met someone who changed her life.” He shrugged. “I assumed it was this new guy. I mean, who else could it be? Something happened. Kate was too set in her pursuit of marriage and nothing was going to stop her. Hence the need to put things right. It was past time.”
The rigid line of Paul’s shoulders relaxed immediately as he absorbed the information.
James settled back and resumed scoping out the bunnies.
After a while, they decided to head back to the slopes, but not before James and Kevin made a little side trip to talk to the bunnies. When Paul stepped into his skis, James sauntered up with a wide smile on his face. He grabbed his skis and poles, which had been leaning against the rack. He dropped them on the ground, and proceeded to step into his bindings and lock them in place with a final snap.
He glanced at Paul and nodded. “I’m ready whenever you are, bro!”
“So, I take it you got lucky?” Paul said, noting his pleased look.
James flashed his signature grin, pushing his sunglasses higher on his nose. “Luck had nothing to do with it.”
Paul laughed at his audacity, realizing he was probably right. When his brother smiled, the ladies always reacted favorably. “Well, come on, Don Juan. We’re burning daylight.”
Once in the locker room, after skiing all afternoon, Paul sat as James said, “You’re on your own for dinner. I have plans.”
“Little Miss Bunny, I take it?”
“You got that right.” He sported a wide smile.
“I thought you’d go for the more active type. She’s obviously not a skier.”
James shrugged. “Dinner doesn’t require supreme physical fitness, just a willingness to have fun.”
Paul’s annoyance flared. “God, James, how could you go so quickly from Kate to her?” He couldn’t keep the disgust out of his tone.