“Jason, snap out of it, dude! I’m freezing my nuts off here. Open the doors!”
Connor’s irritation cut through Jason’s musing and he fumbled his keys out of his pocket, popping the doors. “Sorry, man.”
“Yeah, whatever. Your mind is miles away.”
The trio got into the car and Jason pulled his beanie off, tossing the hat up on the dash. “Yeah, it is. Sorry about that.”
Beth clicked her seatbelt and turned on the seat heaters. “Are you pining about Lisa?”
“Pining?” Jason snorted, starting up the truck and pulling up out of the lot. “I’m a guy. We don’t pine.”
Beth blew her bangs up out of her face, tapping her fingers on the dash. “Okay, okay, no pining. But you’re thinking about her, given you love her and everything.”
Jason glanced between Beth and Connor, who was stretched out across the back seat. He was technically seat belted in, but not in any way that the manufacturer would have approved of. “What have you two been talking about?”
“Who, us?” Connor leaned his head back against the window, his eyes shadowed by his beanie hat. “Nothing much. I might have confirmed that Beth was right about you mooning over Lisa and that I lost my bet. $50, man.”
“Mooning is no better than pining.”
Beth snorted, arranging the heaters so they worked to her best advantage. “The point is that you love her. And I couldn’t be happier about the whole thing! I always knew you two would be good together if you’d just give it a chance.”
“I guess.”
“That doesn’t sound like you’re happy about it.” She paused and eyed him with that look of disdain only younger sisters could manage. “You haven’t told her!”
“I haven’t had a chance. I can’t just call and leave a message, ‘hey I think I love you’ can I? And, we missed breakfast yesterday. And…she’s made it obvious we’re friends. How do I know she wants out of the friend zone even if I do? It’s NOT that easy.”
“Huh. I guess not, but it should be!”
They entered into the lower part of the canyon where phone service returned. Jason’s phone started buzzing, and Beth grabbed it out of the cup holder before he could reach for it.
“You’re not supposed to text and drive.” She grinned and glanced down at the phone. “Text messages, ahoy! Work, work, Stacey, Work, Mom, Lisa.”
“Stop that. I’ll check the messages once we’re down the canyon.”
“Uh huh.” She poked at his phone. “What if there’s something important in here?”
“Then I’m gonna check it, not you.”
Beth snickered, bouncing a little in her seat. “Oh come on. My phone is broken. I have to get my vicarious texting somewhere.”
Jason rolled his eyes, pulling the truck into one of the many side dips in the canyon. He plucked the phone from Beth’s hands and opened the messages, scanning them. There was a paycheck waiting for him. That was nice. The boss wanted to talk about that job opportunity; something was being posted. Also good. Stacey was inviting him to a St. Patrick’s Day party at the lodge. Not his speed today. Lance’s mother had signed the boy up for private lessons and work wanted to know if he was interested. He saved that one to reply to later. “Hrm…Mom says she’s making corned beef with cabbage, carrots, and potatoes and there will be plenty for you and Connor if you both want to come home with me.”
“Ooh. I love corned beef, that’s a definite yes.”
Jason looked in the back where Connor was snoring. “I’ll tell her we’ll all be there.”
“You should invite Lisa too. Mom’s cooking shouldn’t be missed if there’s an opportunity.”
That wasn’t a bad idea. Lisa had met his parents before, and it was a much more fun way to spend the holiday than dodging people who didn’t know their limits. “Hang on.” He flicked Lisa’s message open last. He expected another message scolding him for missing class and most likely some attached notes, but that wasn’t what he got.
*Jason, I got the packet back from the U of D. I got in…*
The message was short, unlike most of Lisa’s texts where she tended to babble. The phone felt heavy in his hands. She got in. She was leaving. His ability to put off doing something about his newly defined emotions had just reached an end. He had to decide what he truly wanted and what he was willing to risk to find out if she felt as strongly as he did.
Beth poked him, and he got the feeling it wasn’t the first time. “Jason…are you okay?”
Lisa had pressed him since the first time they’d met that he needed to be more driven. That he needed to have some idea of what he wanted and fight to get it. In that moment Jason knew what she meant, and he knew exactly what he wanted.
“Yeah. I’m okay. But I’m going to need your help in the next few days.”
“My help?”
“Yeah.”
“Does this have to do with telling Lisa you’re crazy about her?”
Jason smiled, setting his phone in the cupholder. His head was spinning with the list of things he needed to do. Lisa was going to have no question about what he wanted. “Yeah. Yeah it does.”
25
Lisa stomped across campus, her mood foul despite the beauty of the day. In less than a week, spring had decided to showcase all its glorious possibilities. The temperature was up by a solid fifteen degrees and, at least for now, the snow in the city was all melted away, leaving behind yellow grasses that would green up with more time and sun. Students and hired workers were clearing out the school flower beds, except for the ones where crocuses already were unfurling blooms and daffodils pushed up through the soil, their shoots dark green and abundant.
Even in the mountains the snow banks were receding, but none of it really took hold. She hadn’t heard a word from Jason or any of his family members as the week had gone on. It was Saturday now, and he’d missed all three astronomy classes this week. No one at Snow Boulder had anything to say either. He’d taken the week off and that was all they knew, or at least all they were telling anyone.
She’d even tried calling Jason’s mom, but no one was answering there either. She remembered Jason saying his parents were taking a cruise, so maybe they weren’t there to answer. Everything she didn’t know was driving her crazy, and it was killing her schoolwork, which was just pissing her off. If this was how Jason was going to react to the fact she was leaving, then maybe it was just as well she hadn’t tried to talk to him about her feelings. And maybe if she got mad enough it would help cover the hurt.
The worst part was that she’d trusted him, and that she wanted him to approve of her choices and this new venture. He’d been the one to help her make the choice to try for the position. If he didn’t want to talk to her about it, he could at least tell her.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead, trying to chase away an impending headache. Spring Break was next week and Lisa planned to go home for the whole week and just leave everything about Colorado behind. The idea of the warm Arizona sun and some peace and quiet was alluring. And she had star charts she could map out while she was there, so at least she’d get something done. Extra credit was extra credit.
The thought of home was soothing, and by the time she reached the Campus Tower she was almost calm again. Right until she saw Beth standing out by her truck, wearing sunglasses and a short sleeved shirt. She seemed to be enjoying every bit of the springy weather. Lisa gritted her teeth, both annoyed and relieved to see her friend. She considered ignoring Beth and going to her dorm, but she didn’t want to play the ignorance game. She wanted to know what the hell was going on, and she was going to find out.
Lisa marched over to the truck and came to a stop a few feet away from Beth. She glared, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’d better start explaining where you’ve been, and it’d better be good.”
Beth pulled her sunglasses off and held up her hands in surrender, smiling. “My phone was busted, woman. I just got it back today.” She held up the offending device wh
ich was now bright pink instead of purple. “You sent 153 messages in 5 days!”
“Yeah, well, I thought you might be dead somewhere! You have a truck! You could have come and told me you were okay! I couldn’t even get a copy of your class schedule because I’m not a family member, and I couldn’t convince them you were in some kind of danger.” She tapped her fingers on the opposite arm. “I’m really mad at you.”
Beth’s smile dimmed as Lisa kept speaking and by the end Beth was staring at her shoes, looking like a puppy that had been yelled at. If her ears could have drooped, they would have. “I am so, so sorry. I just didn’t think. There was a skunk that got caught inside the lodge and I had some time in my schedule so I’ve been helping out all week. I totally should have told you.”
“Yes! Yes, you should have.” Lisa saw Beth flinch and she sighed, the anger draining away. Something wrong up at the lodge would explain why most of the family had been out of communication, and somehow it helped to have a rational explanation. “But…I can get over it.” She relaxed and let her arms drop. “I was just really worried, Beth. You’re not allowed to drop off the face of the planet like that. It’s not like we live in the 1980s when no one had a cell phone.”
Beth looked up, raising her eyebrows hopefully. “I am very sorry. Believe me I didn’t want to clean up skunk smell. It’s really, really bad.”
Lisa smiled slightly. “I expect that cleaning up after a skunk was enough of a punishment. I guess it just surprised me that neither you or Jason thought to say anything. I thought we were…closer than that.”
“We are. And he had his phone. He totally should have told you what was going on.” Beth wiggled her eyebrows, mischief in her gaze. “I know where he is today. I think we should totally go find him, and you can chew him out and I can watch.”
Lisa considered the offer. Did she want to see Jason again before she went home for the week? Did she need to confront him about not being there for her if he’d been helping his family? The fact he took care of his family was something she liked about him. But, dammit, he should have told her what was going on. He could have spared a few minutes to text her. She wanted to remind him of that, and she wanted to see him.
That decided she nodded. “Let me go ditch my bag and grab a few things and we can go.” She paused and then threw her arms around Beth, giving her a quick hug. “I’m seriously glad that you’re okay.”
Beth returned the hug, then pushed Lisa toward the building. “Go, go. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”
26
Jason paced around the front of the lodge, rocks and mud squishing under the soles of his hiking boots. March in the canyon was always an interesting time of year. There was mud in abundance, and little pink and purple flowers were starting to appear side-by-side with the snow which still clung to shadowed surfaces. While it meant skiing season would come to an end in another month to six weeks, it also meant the best hikes would open up in about the same time period.
He looked up as he heard the sound of a truck, but it was too distant and passed by without pulling into the lot. When he’d made arrangements for Beth to get Lisa here he hadn’t thought about how much waiting there would be.
He’d thought about dressing up—and discarded that idea. He wanted to make a romantic gesture, but he didn’t want it to be stupid. If Lisa saw him all dressed up she’d either panic or laugh at him. That just wasn’t who they were. Not that he didn’t want to see her in a sexy little red dress one of these days, maybe with some come-hither heels, but that wasn’t important right now.
He’d thought about making a big meal—and decided that would take more help and planning than he had in mind. Simple would be better. So lasagna for two was in the oven and a chocolate cake with an orange marmalade filling was on the counter. He thought it would taste something like a chocolate orange, which Lisa had admitted was her favorite chocolate treat.
He’d thought about all the things he wanted to say to her—and decided to just play it by ear. No one wanted to hear a rehearsed speech about their emotions, but it didn’t stop him from trying different approaches in his head.
Jason stopped by one of the big posts that held up the veranda, staring at the nicks and carvings the posts had gained over the years, mostly put there by enthusiastic grandkids. Where in the hell were they? The anticipation was killing him.
The sound of another engine caught his attention, this one with a familiar cough that meant Beth needed to get the air filter in the truck changed again. He straightened and walked part way up the path to the lot, reaching the opening just as Lisa climbed out of the car. She had her hair gathered up in a pony tail again and was dressed in her traditional college student combination of jeans and a thick jacket over a T-shirt. It was perfectly her and beautiful.
Beth came around the truck, catching his eye and winking. “See? I told you he was still up here.”
Lisa followed Beth’s gaze and her brows arched. “Looks like it.”
She started his way, not noticing that Beth wasn’t coming along. “I hear you’ve been wrangling a skunk.” She came to a stop in front of him, her expression touched with a bemused irritation. “I’m trying to decide if that’s enough punishment for missing three days of class and not bothering to text me and tell me you were okay.”
Jason grinned, knowing she would have something to say about him missing class. “I figured I could look off your notes. Actually, I thought you might insist.”
“You’re graduating in April. I’m not going to let you miss that over one astronomy class!”
“I wouldn’t expect you too.” He took a quick breath as though he could breath in courage and snagged her hand, tucking her cold fingers between his. Lisa blinked, whatever rant she’d been building up to derailing. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you, but I was working some things out this week. Things I didn’t want to talk about in messages.”
Behind them Beth’s truck roared to life and Lisa half turned toward the sound, though she didn’t pull her hand away. Beth waved and blew a kiss through the window, driving off before anyone could protest.
“I…” Lisa turned back to him. “Okay, what’s going on? I’m getting the impression I’ve been set up.”
As much as Jason loved Beth, having her drive off was a relief. “Maybe just a little bit.” He drew Lisa down the path toward the lodge. “Let’s walk up by the lake and we can talk.”
“Uh huh.” Lisa glanced at the path. “You’re just trying to get me to come hiking in the mud with you.”
Jason laughed and nodded. “Curses! You’ve discovered my evil plan. Though you have to ask yourself if you can afford not to fall into it given that your ride took off and I have the only other way out of here.”
She didn’t resist as he turned their path toward the lake. Her fingers twining naturally with his, her palm pressed against his in a way he found delightful even as he was surprised she wasn’t wearing her gloves. “I’d threaten to hotwire your truck and take off with it, but I have no idea how to do that. So I guess I’m stuck with your nefarious dealings.”
“That you are.”
A million things to say rolled through Jason’s head, but he didn’t say any of them, just enjoying the companionable silence as they walked. A squirrel, early out of hibernation, darted across their path and scrub jays scolded them fiercely. It felt like nature was giving him a perfect moment.
He drew her out onto the dock to the exact point where he’d asked her out for the first time, months ago. “So, I know you’re mad at me for the last week, but I had a good reason.”
“Mmmhmm. I’m listening.” She turned toward him, their bodies almost touching as she looked up at him. Standing like this, the height difference between them was perfect and it took an extreme act of willpower not to kiss her. He couldn’t until he’d said the things in his heart. He wanted her to know.
“Most of my adult life I thought that I knew what I wanted in a woman. Someone who was funny and sexy. Som
eone that wanted to go on ski runs and extreme hiking grades. Someone who accepted me for who I was, with bonus points for overlap in taste in music or movies or books.”
Lisa didn’t speak, but her lips twitched at a couple of points, and she watched his every move, her thumb rubbing along his fingers in a way that was delightfully distracting.
“I’ve dated a lot of women. I’ve dated some who had one quality or another, and some who should have checked every box on the ‘I want’ list. But, you know, none of those ever worked out for very long, and I never could figure out why. Not until now.” He met her gaze, his voice growing softer. “Not until I found you. When I found you, I found me too. I don’t care about all of those things I listed anymore…” He paused and laughed. “Okay, funny and sexy are still important, but what I think is funny isn’t what it used to be.” He became more serious and drew her closer, until their bodies touched. “But I learned that I want more. I want someone who is whip smart. I want someone who challenges me to be better and do more with who I am. I want someone I can share my fried onions with and who will come with me on my extreme trips, even if she spends the entire time drinking hot chocolate at base camp.”
“Sounds like you want a lot of things, Jason.”
His fingers slipped from hers and he touched her cheek, running his fingertips down to her jaw with a light touch that made her shiver. Her skin was every bit as soft as it looked. “I want you.” His hand slid to rest on the back of her neck, tangling in her hair.
Lisa closed her eyes, and he hoped he’d said the right things.
“You’re not the only one who thought they had it all figured out and were totally wrong.” She opened her eyes again, looking up at him. “I thought I needed drive and lofty goals, but there was never any joy in being with a man chasing those. Not like there is in tiny marshmallows and someone to lean on while I’m reading. Someone who has my back no matter what.” She laughed softly, the sound sending warmth surging through it. He’d listen to her laugh forever if he could. “Someone who can drive in all this blasted snow.”
Discovering You (Miller Lodge Romance Book 1) Page 12