by Bree Cariad
Laughing, a jarring sound that carried no humor whatsoever, she shoved her poles into the snow. “Well, he’s only seeing me now. Wait until he gets a look at me when I balloon up to a size sixteen,” she said, choking on a sob. “Nobody wants the fat girl, Xan. Nobody.”
“Dora, is that how you see yourself?” he asked gently.
“It’s the truth. There’s no reason to sugar coat it. I’m fat. I know I’m fat and no matter what I do, I can’t be skinny. And I’ve tried,” she said, closing her mouth when she felt the tears prick her eyes.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Ah, Dora,” he said quietly. “Don’t talk about yourself that way.”
“But it’s true.”
The girls in school used to tease her that at only five feet tall and with her rounded figure that she would make a good elf at the North Pole. Right now she wished she could go bury herself in some snow and disappear.
“Do you want to know what I see?” he asked in a gentle voice. “I see a girl who isn’t sure of herself. She’s open-hearted, gives to others, takes practically nothing for herself, and who is used to being overlooked. Dora, I think you’ve spent so much time trying to disappear that you have convinced yourself that you have. Maybe it’s time to cast off the girl you think you are to become the girl you really are.”
His seeing through her was unsettling. “But what if this is who I am?”
The deep rumbling chuckle in his chest made her smile. “Nice try. Think about it, Dora. You have a lot to offer. Don’t shut Gaelic out just because you’ve been overlooked by the men of Hyacinth.” He grunted lightly. “I think you should be grateful those nimrods have overlooked you. They weren’t worthy of you.” There was a pause before he continued. “He might not look it, but when it comes to relationships, Gale’s shy too.”
“Really?” His cousin seemed sure of himself.
“Very. He can handle himself in any business context but when faced with a pretty girl, he becomes very self-conscious. I think if you give him a chance, he’ll tell you why.” He hugged her tightly before releasing her. “What do you say to one more trip down the hill and then some hot cider?”
“Sounds good.”
They met Kathy and Gaelic at the bottom of the hill and went to the chalet to get some cider. It wasn’t until the warmth slid through her that Dora realized how cold she actually was. After their third cup and a little relaxation, Kathy was ready to hit a real hill.
“I hope I am,” Dora said, grimacing. “I was doing pretty good there on the last run.”
“You’ll be great,” Gaelic assured her. “If you want, I’ll stick with you so if you run into any difficulty I can help.”
“Thanks.”
She was glad he was with her on the chair lift to tell her what she needed to do and there was a comfort to having him nearby. He wasn’t as nerve-wracking as Xan was. Cami’s brother always carried with him a certain energy level that was hard to keep up with. In comparison, Gaelic was calm and easy going, easy to laugh with and a good companion. Plus, he had a good sense of humor.
“You should have seen me,” he grunted, pulling her up from where she had tumbled down the hill a little ways, “my first time skiing. I-I had on a new pure white ski outfit I had gotten for Christmas. I looked like a snow monster. The only thing that set me off from the snow was my bright green hat.”
Giggling, she almost fell over at the image that came to mind. “If you had gotten a mask with a carrot nose, people would have wondered about the snowman skiing down the hill.”
Spluttering, he nodded and his choking turned into a full-blown laugh. Bending over from the force of it, his skis began to slide backward and when she reached out to stop him, she fell forward, knocking him into the snowbank. “Oops,” she said, pulling back and looking at him in surprise. His roar of laughter made her start to laugh as well. In the end, when they got to the bottom of the hill, they decided enough was enough, turned in her rentals and went into the chalet for some food and warmth.
“So where is the most adventurous place you’ve been?” she asked as he brought back two steaming cups of cider and two hot dogs.
“Depends on your sense of adventure, I guess. I went sled dogging in Canada once. That was fun, though my nose got wind burnt. Myanmar’s one of my favorite places I’ve visited.”
“You’ve been there?” she asked in awe, about to take a bite of her hot dog, but putting it down. “I’ve always wanted to visit Burma.”
“You have to watch where you go when you’re in countries like that, but yeah, the countryside is amazing.”
“Where else?” she asked, her eyes lighting up.
“I’ve been to Nepal a few times. The people there are amazing. Pakistan, Istanbul, Saudi Arabia. All beautiful places but I’ll admit I wouldn’t suggest going.”
“Why?”
“A beautiful woman like you?” He shook his head as she felt her cheeks heat up at his compliment. “The people over there are different. They both love and hate western culture and western women especially. I highly suggest Africa, though. The Philippines, Malaysia – when they aren’t suffering from political unrest. Australia’s gorgeous. New Zealand. And, of course, Europe’s amazing. A person could travel Europe for years and never get tired.”
His passion for the places he had visited was invigorating. “What’s your favorite place in Europe?”
“Corsica, hands down. It’s an island between France and Italy. Absolutely gorgeous. And the food there?” He moaned. “To die for. Seriously. I’ve considered trying to buy a house there and living there at least half the year due to how much time I work in Europe, but haven’t done it yet.”
“Wow.”
“Liechtenstein’s beautiful too.” He gave her an awkward smile. “I love mountains and would love to end up in a mountainous region at some point. I grew up near the Rocky Mountains. Probably why.”
“Is that where you live now?” Dora realized she didn’t even know where he lived.
“I don’t really live anywhere,” he admitted. “I use my parents’ house in Denver as my address, but I literally travel three hundred days a year. It makes settling some place difficult.”
“Do you enjoy what you do?”
Pausing, he finished eating his hot dog as he thought about it. “I enjoy the challenge and working with different types of people, but the constant travel does wear on you after a while. What about you?”
His turning the tables on her made her grimace. “I haven’t really been anywhere.”
“Doesn’t matter. What do you like doing?”
“My favorite pastime is reading.”
“Exciting places?” he guessed, “with characters who are living an exciting life?”
Surprised, she nodded. “How did you know?”
“Just a guess. I tend to read books about people living normal everyday lives doing everyday things. It’s a grass-is-greener scenario. Always thinking the other side has the better life.”
Laughing softly, she finished off her meal. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re probably right.”
“What do you enjoy doing when it’s not raining or snowing?”
“Walk. Hike. There’s a wonderful path that goes from Hyacinth to Hins Creek that I walk a lot in the summer. It takes over an hour to get to the lake but it’s always worth it.”
“Hins Creek is a lake?”
Giggling, she shook her head. “I don’t know how the town got its name to be honest. But the Hins Creek Lake is beautiful. Good fishing, too. Just ask Drake or Jerod. When Cami, Stephie, and I were younger, we used to hate the whole fishing thing, but eating fresh trout makes it worth it.”
“Oh, my gosh I’m tired,” Kathy said, pulling out a chair and collapsing into it. “I have muscles that are not happy with me.”
The interruption was a surprise as Dora had almost forgotten they were with others, but she covered it quickly, smiling at her friend. “You can get Xan to give
you a massage tonight.”
“That sounds good,” Kathy agreed. “A long, hot bath, too.”
“Where’s Alexander?” Gaelic asked.
“Putting his skis and yours in the truck. Then he planned to find Drake and get him off the mountain.”
“I’ll go help him. Would you like anything, Kathy? Hot cider? Chocolate?”
“Hot chocolate would be wonderful.” He was gone barely five minutes before returning with two hot mugs, one he placed in front of Kathy and the other in front of Dora. Without a word, he turned and left. After taking a long sip, Kathy raised an eyebrow. “How’s it going?”
“How’s what going?” Dora asked, hoping to skirt the subject.
“Oh, please. Look who you’re talking to. We both know this outing was devised so Gale could date you without getting Hyacinth in an uproar and threatening your rep. So…did it work?” Kathy winked at her and Dora had to smile.
“We’ve had a great time.”
“Good.” Kathy nodded and Dora knew she wouldn’t bring it up again.
When Gaelic came back, both Xan and Drake were with him, all three with red cheeks from the cool air. “Who wants what?” Xan asked. He and Drake went to get some food and the five of them chatted and ate until they needed to leave. On the ride home, Drake sat up front with Xan and Kathy and even though they didn’t talk, Dora found herself catching Gaelic’s eye every once in a while. He smiled each time it happened and by the time they reached her house, she felt rather giddy. Waving as they drove off, she realized that was the first time she hadn’t thought of the inn once for a whole day since it opened. Chris would be so proud.
Chapter 3
After taking a long bath because just like Kathy, Dora found that skiing brought muscles to life that must not have gotten much use in a while, she heated up some soup and curled up in the living room. Her phone ringing surprised her and she struggled up out of the afghan she had wrapped herself in and ran for the phone. “Don’t hang up!” she yelled as she reached it. “Hello?” she said in a rather breathless tone.
“Dora? It’s Gaelic.”
“Hi.” The word slipped out and she had absolutely no idea what to follow it up with. “Did I forget something?” was the only lame thing that jumped to mind and out of her mouth.
“Not at all. My parents elected to spend the evening with my aunt and uncle and I decided to stay at the inn. Drake gave me your number before they left and I elected to use it.”
“Oh.”
“Are you busy? If so, I-I can call back another time.”
“No, no. I’m not busy. I was just about to read, actually.” She pulled a kitchen chair over and sat down. This was the phone her parents had had for years and she had never seen the use in updating it. She might have to now. It would be far more comfortable to talk to him on the couch. “Thanks for taking me skiing today. I had a great time.”
“I’m glad. You did really well for someone who had never skied before. I hope your body isn’t too angry at you.”
Laughing, she shook her head. “Nothing a hot bath and some ibuprofen won’t fix.”
“Was that your house we dropped you off at?”
“Sort of. I grew up here. Dad passed away a few years ago and Mom got remarried. I was lucky to have a friend who was willing to move in with me at the time and since then she’s gotten married and so I have two roommates. Which probably sounds strange, but it isn’t.”
He chuckled. “Do you enjoy your roommates?”
“Oh, very much. Stephanie has been a friend for years and her husband Chris…well, I never had a big brother and he’s kind of become that for me.” Talking to Gaelic was easy, far easier than talking to any other man except for Chris.
“How did you come to work at the inn?”
“Oh, now that’s a story,” she giggled. “Are you sure you want to hear it?”
“Please.”
They talked for over three hours before she realized. She told him about Chris and the inn and he told her about the newest job he would be setting out for early the next morning. When it came time for her to go to bed, it was difficult to get off the phone.
“I hope it will be all right if I call again?” he said as they ended their call.
“I’d like that.”
After they hung up, she felt like she floated up to bed. This had been a very good day.
“Of course, we hope to see you on your next visit to Hyacinth.” Dora smiled and waved to the couple as they left. The vast amount of their guests were wonderful people she hoped to see for years to come.
Her eyes darted to the door every once and awhile. Chris and Stephanie were due back today and she couldn’t wait to find out about their trip. There was also a part of her that wanted to tell them about Gaelic, though she hadn’t quite decided whether she would or not. She still wasn’t sure about the whole thing and didn’t want to get her hopes up. Stretching out her calves, the one residual pain that lingered from her ski trip, she sat down on the stool she rarely used.
“Kicking back while I’m gone?” Chris teased.
Squealing, Dora hopped off the stool, wincing as her muscles tightened and hugged him. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks. Are you all right?” he asked, releasing her and looking at her leg which she was stretching.
“Fine. I went skiing a few days ago and my legs are complaining.”
“You went skiing? Good for you. Anything happen while I was gone?”
“No, we had great guests. No complainers at all.”
He flashed a grin. “So you saved them for me? How thoughtful.”
“Hmm,” she said thoughtfully, cocking her head to the side. “Maybe it’s the food that makes them grouchy.”
“Ouch,” he said, starting to laugh. “That hurt.”
Giggling, she hopped back up on the stool. “How’s Stephie?”
“Good. We had a great time. Almost didn’t want to come home.” Pausing, he looked over at her. And then his eyes narrowed. “What happened while we were gone?”
“Nothing?” She felt the pink tinge her cheeks and his eyebrows rose.
“Uh-huh. Want to tell me here? Or at home where Stephanie can bug you about it?”
“Meanie.”
“Yep. Blab now.”
Glancing around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear, she whispered, “Gaelic Covington took me skiing.”
His mouth dropped open. “You went skiing with…”
“Well, Xan, Kathy, and Drake were there too, but they admitted it was because Gaelic wanted to take me out.”
There was a pause as he digested the information. “And what’s Gaelic like?”
“He’s a Covington.”
Spluttering, he nodded. “Yeah, that does say a lot. I didn’t think he was from here.”
“He’s not. He came and spent three nights at the inn.”
Clearing his throat, Chris looked torn between giving her a lecture and congratulating her. “Did you have fun?”
Without her conscious intent, her mouth spread into a wide smile.
“Ah, you did.” One of the maids came down the stairs and he leaned in. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“Wow,” she said dryly, “Hyacinth is really rubbing off on you.”
He froze and an expression akin to horror crossed his face making her grin. “Wow. I did sound a bit Hyacinthian, didn’t I?”
“You did.”
“I wonder if I left here if it would go away.”
“I doubt it. You came with the aptitude for it, the water just made it worse.”
Snorting, he raised an eyebrow. “The water?”
“There must be something to make the men so good at being authoritarian.”
Shaking his head as if doing so would make her words make more sense, they let their off-the-wall conversation pause as Mitsi walked up to them. “Room seventeen’s toilet’s stopped up. I think there’s a shoe down there.”
“A shoe,” Chris said, groaning.
“Can I go back on vacation?”
“No,” Mitsi and Dora said at the same time.
“Ugh. Okay, I’ll go see if it can be easily extracted. If not, call the plumber.”
After he went upstairs, Dora pulled out the important numbers, thumbing through for the plumber. “How are things going?” she asked, as she searched for it.
“Fine,” Mitzi said, plopping on the stool Dora had just vacated. “Had my first dinner last night.”
“Oh, really?” Dora turned and smiled, her smile dimming as she saw the expression on Mitzi’s dace. “It didn’t turn out well?”
“It was Gregory Knills. Eww.”
“He seems like a nice guy.”
“Do you know what he does for a living?” she asked caustically, reminding Dora just how young she actually was. While she might be eighteen, she always came across as a very immature eighteen. Not that Cami’s response had been much better when he paid her a visit. Dealing in manure wasn’t the most pleasant job in the world. She felt sorry for the man if every girl reacted to his attentions like this.
“Well, I’m sure it’s your first of many,” she assured the girl, turning back to the numbers. It reminded her that she had never had one caller but she wasn’t about to bring that up.
“I told Dad I wanted the new Covington.”
“Pardon?” Dora asked, startled, turning around to stare at her.
“Covington? The guy that stayed here over Christmas? Dad says he might be moving here and if so, I want him.” Mitsi smiled and pushed out her small chest which was perfect for her miniscule, size two body.
“Good luck,” she whispered, turning back to the numbers even as she felt stupid tears prick her eyes. Gaelic might have liked her over the holiday but once he saw the other girls available, he would probably forget she existed.
“Dora, call the plumber,” Chris said, bounding down the stairs. “Mitsi, have you finished the other rooms?”