Copyright © 2020 Jadelynn Asher
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any way whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by Melissa Proffitt
Cover images © Mshake | Depositphotos.com
© sun emotion | Depositphotos.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
About the Author
To Bryan and Melissa
We never could have done this without you.
1
Lisa stretched and turned in her seat, adjusting her book to catch the rays of dappled sunlight that played through the windows of the battered Toyota truck. It wasn’t easy to read as they bounced down the last few feet of a long dirt and gravel drive, but they were almost at their destination and she wanted to get to the end of the chapter before they stopped.
Beth, Lisa’s roommate and best friend, belted the lyrics in time with the country song blaring from her playlist. Something about pickup trucks and sunrise; Lisa hadn’t been paying attention. Beth took the last turn on the road faster than Lisa was comfortable with, pulling her out of the book to hang on to the door handle as she was jostled around the cab. The brakes squealed, and the truck skidded to a stop, spraying rocks and grey dust.
Beth hit the last note with the song before flicking the music off, and Lisa pried her fingers free of the door. “And this is why I use Uber.”
Beth giggled, pushing her hair out of her face and retying her ponytail. “It wasn’t that bad. I can’t believe you read the whole way. Did you get to the sexy part yet?”
“What? Who says there’s a sexy part?” Lisa arched both eyebrows, glancing at the cover of the book which showed a thorny silhouette against a blue field. It didn’t scream sexy novel to her.
Beth turned the truck off and released her seatbelt. “It’s one of those modern fantasy things isn’t it? Don’t they always have big hunky heroes and a lot of sex in them?”
“Not always.”
Beth snorted, pushing her door open. “Just the good ones, huh? Is there a hunk in that one? ”
Lisa laughed, pulling her bookmark, a thin piece of linen fabric her mother had embroidered her initials on, from the back of the book and putting it in place. “Yes.”
“And are there sexytimes?”
“Maybe.”
Beth grinned and jumped out of the truck. “Good for you. You’ve been neck deep in midterms for like two weeks. About time you read something that wasn’t boring.”
Lisa shook her head, though she was still smiling, and tucked her book away in her backpack. Beth was right that it was nice to read something that didn’t contain chemical equations or 206 bone names she had to memorize. Sinking into a mystical version of Portland and making guesses about what was going to happen next was much more fun. She couldn’t get a degree in it, but it was more fun.
She climbed out of her side of the truck, pulling her backpack up onto her shoulder before pushing the door closed. They weren’t the only truck parked in the big gravel lot, but the powder blue Toyota was the smallest and probably the oldest truck there, tucked between two shiny black Ford 250s. It was the obvious winner in the game of ‘spot the student car.’
Beth stretched, shaking the kinks of an hour on the road out before turning toward a narrow path shaded by tall quaking aspen trees. “I’ll go find us a Sherpa or two. Someone has to be around to help carry stuff! Then you can see the lodge. You’re gonna love it up here!” She didn’t give Lisa much chance to reply, already disappearing between the trees.
Lisa leaned against the truck, taking in the cool fall air and the scenery. This time of the afternoon, the parking lot was in the shadow of a nearby mountain. It was cool, but still pleasant, and made Lisa grateful she’d packed sweatshirts and flannel. The surrounding maples and oaks had already put on their fall foliage in oranges and reds, and the aspens were a shimmering golden contrast to the evergreens. Everything smelled crisp and earthy, underlined by the faintest hint of motor oil and burnt brake pads, but that was fading as the truck engine clicked and cooled.
A big family gathering wasn’t Lisa’s first choice for how to spend Fall Break, and Beth had family in spades. Her own family was small, just her and her parents with a couple of distant relatives they never saw except in Christmas cards. Beth had been absolutely determined that Lisa couldn’t spend Fall Break alone on campus and had wheedled and demanded and almost begged for a week, promising Lisa that the food and the scenery would be worth the extra peopling for a few days. Lisa had her doubts, but she could admit that she needed a break from campus. It’d been a tough semester, between breaking up with her boyfriend at the end of summer and taking on twenty-one credit hours worth of classes with the tuition fee that brought on. But, she really wanted to push through and get her degree on track, and some of these classes were only taught once a year.
The sound of approaching voices pulled Lisa out of her scenery gazing. She recognized Beth’s voice, but not the low rumble that answered her. Given Beth had four brothers and who knew how many cousins, Lisa had no idea who she might have found to help carry the big cooler full of ice cream. She was just glad she didn’t have to do it.
She pushed away from the truck as Beth and the mystery man cleared the cover of the trail. The man was taller than Beth, but not that much older, and the family resemblance was obvious. The same brown hair—without Beth’s fire engine red highlights—and easygoing stride, but where Beth’s features were prim and adorable, his were filled in with wide cheeks and a strong jaw. He was laughing at something she’d said, which showed a dimple under his faint stubble. He was built like an athlete with broad shoulders and narrow hips, but the dimple was instantly Lisa’s favorite feature.
They approached the truck and, without waiting for an introduction, he offered his hand to Lisa. She took his hand, though it felt a little weird. Was handshaking a thing at family events? At least it hadn’t been a hug, which would have felt really weird.
“Hi, Lisa. I’m Jason, Beth’s older, and obviously better looking, brother. I hear you’re the poor soul putting up with her this semester. I’m so sorry about that. We really did try to civilize her before we sent her off to college.”
“Hey!” Beth pulled her duffle bag out of the front of the truck, her indignant shout interrupting him. “Be nice to me! Or I’m gonna tell Aunt Margie that you want to MC the kids’ costume parade again. And you know she’ll make you wear the fangs.”
“I already volunteered you, so suck it up, buttercup.” Jason squeezed Lisa’s hand and winked before he released her. “We’ve been
looking forward to meeting you. Beth only says nice things about you, when she’ll tell us anything at all. You’re a woman of mystery and harder classes than hers.”
Lisa took in the obvious, bickering affection between the two and couldn’t help but smile. She appreciated sibling affection, if only because she’d never experienced it. “It’s just an aggressive schedule.”
“What are you majoring in?”
“Biotechnology with a Math minor.”
Jason blinked, his eyebrows raising. “Woah. Super genius.” He grinned. “And I thought I was doing good in computer science.”
Beth pulled another bag out of the truck cab, piling things against the wheel. “Hey you two. Less talky more worky. I saw snack leftovers inside and I’m starving.”
Jason shook his head, but he pushed off the truck and popped the tailgate. “What she means is that she saw our mother’s famous chocolate no-bake cookies cooling on the counter and intends to sweet talk her way into a handful of them before dinner.” He removed the cargo webbing and pulled the cooler forward, lowering it to the ground before stacking another box on top of it. Lisa had been surprised by the amount of stuff Beth had insisted they pack and she knew the cooler was heavy, it was full of ice cream and dry ice.
He nodded to the last box still in the truck. “If you grab that one, I think we can do this all in one trip.”
“Are you sure? The cooler is really heavy. We can take these and do make second trip for the rest.”
Jason stared at her then grinned and flexed, the effect heightened by the pull of the dark T-shirt under his plaid flannel. “As all men of my age know: only the ancient, like those over 40, and those not being watched by beautiful women resort to two trips.”
Lisa laughed, grabbing the last box. It was the lightest of the load, filled with feather boas, cheap Zorro-style masks, a Groucho Marks pair of glasses and nose, and plastic beads for some event Beth hadn’t fully explained. “It’s your funeral. Don’t strain anything.”
Jason spun the box around, half lifted the cooler and put it back down. Beth walked by, carrying bags on both shoulders and a smaller box in her hands. “You guys got all of that?”
There was challenge in her voice, and Jason waved her on. “We’re good. Lead the way.” She kept going toward the path, leaving Jason and Lisa behind.
Lisa pushed the tailgate back up, glancing at Jason, who was still messing with the cooler. It had wheels on it, but they locked in place and it was a bit of a trick to get them free. Lisa wondered if he’d ask for help, or if masculine pride would dictate he carry the heavy cooler over requesting assistance.
He scowled at the cooler, then looked at Lisa, his expression lightening. “Okay. Time to ask for help. I’m strong, but I’m not dumb enough to carry what I can pull. How do the wheels work?”
Lisa grinned, balanced her box on one hip, and flipped the lever on the side of the cooler to unlock the drag handle and let the wheels spin free. “I’m impressed you asked instead of just muscling the load.”
Jason extended the handle and rebalanced the box on top of the cooler, gesturing for her to go in front of him. “My mother is a big proponent of not letting your pride get in the way of getting things done. I agree with her as long as it doesn’t mean losing my pride to my baby sister.”
“You two really enjoy egging each other on, don’t you?”
Jason nodded, the cooler rumbling over the gravel and kicking up pebbles behind it. “Every chance we get. It’s the nature of family. We’re the closest in age, and Beth is the only girl. My job is to protect her while making sure she doesn’t get a big head until some lucky guy sweeps her off her feet.”
“Hey, Loser!” Beth’s voice drifted down the path from the lodge. “Last one to the lodge has to do dinner dishes!”
“Is she serious?” Lisa asked, ducking around a tree branch.
“Probably. Beth hates doing dishes with an unholy passion.”
She looked at him and judged the distance to the lodge. Lisa wasn’t big on running. She thought it was an activity best saved for dramatic rescues, or when you were being chased by a bear, but in the name of not doing the dishes, she took off down the path.
Jason’s laughter followed her all the way to the lodge.
2
Encumbered by his load—the wheels only worked if all four were on solid ground and the trail wasn’t exactly level—and the fact it hadn’t exactly been a fair start, Jason came in a distant third to the two women, but he didn’t mind. He’d been looking forward to meeting Beth’s latest roommate despite, or maybe because of, Beth’s descriptions of Lisa being a ‘raging book nerd’. While the outdoors were his passion, he saw nothing wrong with bringing a book—or three—along. He even had a special charging cord for his pocket ebook reader that attached to a solar panel on his backpack. There was no reason not to keep up battery power when he was hiking, and reading in the woods was restful.
He lifted the cooler—how much ice cream did Beth bring, anyway?—up the wide stairs and rolled it into the lodge. Beth and Lisa were standing just inside, and he grinned as he watched Lisa spin in a slow circle, staring up at the huge center piece of the atrium—a chandelier made out of hundreds of small antlers and glittering lights which were actually LED, but sat in carvings that made them looked like flickering candles.
He had to admit she was prettier than he’d expected. He knew it was a little shallow, but Beth really hadn’t given him much to go on besides all the commentary on how nice Lisa was and that she studied a lot and didn’t date much, which set up all kinds of negative expectations. But she was cute, with long brown hair, a killer figure, and a smile he couldn’t get enough of.
“The antlers are real,” he offered, even though no one had asked and Beth already knew. “There’s a guy up here who makes these for lodges and cabins and restaurants and stuff. He pays the hunters for shed antlers or any they don’t want to keep if they get a buck. I think we have something like six of his lights here, though that’s the biggest one. Grandpa was a fan.”
Beth shook her head. “Well, I’m not. I think it’s creepy. I can’t help but wonder if one of them might come crashing down and just take someone out.”
Lisa raised her eyebrows and took two steps so she wasn’t directly under the fixture anymore. “Well, there’s a cheery thought.”
Jason chuckled and stepped to one side of the atrium, where there were racks for hanging coats and a long plastic shelf meant for muddy shoes. He unlaced his hiking boots enough that he could toe them off and added them to the half dozen pairs of shoes and boots already on the shelf. “Socks, bare feet, or slippers are the rule of the day inside.”
Lisa gave him a quizzical look, though she joined Beth in stepping out of her shoes. “Treated floors?”
Jason opened his mouth to answer but Beth beat him to it.
“Naw. The Aunties just got tired of cleaning up all the crap that got dragged in on people’s shoes. This way leads to less sweeping.”
“She’s not wrong.” Jason pushed open the double doors leading to what he always thought of as the grand hall of the lodge. It reminded him of the descriptions of Viking drinking halls, just one huge open room that went up a full three stories and would fit a horde of relatives. Doors branched off of it on all three levels leading to bedrooms and bathrooms and closets with the master kitchen at the back. Folding tables and chairs were tucked into the closets, but could be brought out at a moment’s notice for meals, board games, and card games where things were said you couldn’t take back.
The mutter of voices greeted them as they stepped into the room, and Jason glanced upward, spotting his brother, Daniel, and his two young kids up on the second level. Jason was glad to see him. Daniel’s wife had died last year, and he wasn’t sure if he could get the time off to come to Christmas, much less the Fall gathering, but it was good to see him.
The crash of pool balls from Jason’s left meant some of the teens had found the billiard table and were ge
tting in a game or three before their fathers took over later. Singing was coming from the kitchen along with the clatter of dishes and pans. These were all the sounds of family, comforting and familiar.
He caught sight of the bemused expression on Lisa’s face as he led the way to the kitchen. “I know. It’s quite the place, isn’t it?”
“It is. How many people are going to be here?”
“Well, it’s our family’s turn to stay on site this year, so there’ll be the five of us, our folks, Grandma and the kids. Some of the cousins are here already too. Tomorrow the rest of the family who are coming will descend for Aunt Marge’s Halloween Bash. We usually get about…” He thought for a moment, counting up families in his head. “Umm…sixty? Ish?”
“Sixty? Sixty people all right here?”
“Yeah. It could be a little more or less than that, and about a third of those are kids.”
Jason glanced at her, expecting to see shock or that little bit of fear that a lot of people got when faced with sixty family members all in one place. She just looked like she was going to laugh.
“Well…at least I can honestly tell my parents that I didn’t spend my fall break alone. They’d approve of all of this.”
Jason grinned and pushed open the doors to the kitchen. If the rest of the lodge had the space and potential activities to house a small army, the kitchen was certainly suited to feed one. One whole wall was taken up with eight foot tall freezers and refrigerators, humming along quietly in the background. Tall cabinetry wrapped around the bulk of the room, the coloring precisely the same golden shade as the hardwood floors, buffed to a beautiful glow. Wide industrial sinks held a place of honor along another wall, and a huge island complete with cupboards and drawer on every side ran down the center of the room. Many surfaces bore brightly colored Post-it notes covered in black words all written in the same hand, detailing the contents of the cupboards, drawers, nooks, and crannies for the organized…or the curious.
Discovering You (Miller Lodge Romance Book 1) Page 1