Last Place in the Chalet

by Sue Brown

  “How’s the patient?” he asked.

  “He’s fine. He just wants to sleep off the bruises,” Noel said.

  “I’m not surprised. He took a hell of a tumble, from what my friend said.”

  Noel raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  Charlie’s lips twitched. “I have spies everywhere. The cop who checked him over?”

  “Oh right, the cute redhead,” Noel said without thinking.

  Charlie burst out laughing. “I’m so going to tell him you said that.”

  “It was Angel’s comment, not mine,” Noel protested, throwing Angel under the bus because he wasn’t there.

  “Sure it was,” Charlie said, deadpan.

  “Please tell me he’s gay and not going to hunt me down forever for calling him cute.”

  “Sorry. James is straight and happily married with three kids. And his wife is more likely the one to hunt you down… to agree with you. She thinks he’s edible, and she’s always embarrassing him by saying it to his friends.”

  “I like this woman already. James was great. He laid into the skier who caused the accident. The guy nearly wet himself when James talked about arresting him.”

  “James can be scary.”

  Noel nodded. “That idiot ought to be grateful the cop was there, or I’d have skied him to the top of the mountain and thrown him off. He hurt Angel.”

  Charlie raised an eyebrow. “You’re getting quite possessive about him.”

  It didn’t sound like a question.

  “Yes.”

  He waited for Charlie to lecture him, but he just said, “Good,” and wandered out of the room.

  Good? What did that mean? Noel spent a long time staring into the flames until the wise guys shuffled into the room, dressed smartly for dinner in dress shirts and pants.

  Marv rushed over to sit next to him. “How’s Angel? Charlie said he’d been in an accident. Is he in the hospital?”

  Noel shook his head. “He’s sleeping in the bedroom. I’ve just got to keep an eye on him. He decided to sleep it off. You know what Angel’s like. Nothing keeps him down.”

  “I’m sure Charlie will make a plate for him,” Frankie said as he joined them.

  Goldie kept his distance. There was something going on. Noel didn’t know what it was, but he could feel the pain. He got the feeling Goldie was hurting and the other two were worried about him. It seemed to have been a day for pain all around, but Noel hoped for a quiet evening for everyone. Maria shuffled in a minute later, looking much better than she had been earlier in the day, and she had big smiles for everyone until she caught sight of Goldie’s face. Then she pressed her lips together, looked at the other two men, and seemed to come to the same conclusion that Noel had. She walked over to where Goldie was sitting, took his hands in hers, and started to speak quietly to him.

  Marv got up, maybe to protest, but Frankie put a hand on his arm, and Marv sat down again with a huff. “It should be us,” he said to Frankie.

  “Maybe it can’t be us this time. He’s not listening to us. Maybe he’ll listen to someone else.”

  Frankie glanced at Noel. “Family issues.”

  Noel nodded, and they appeared relieved he was going to leave it there.

  Don appeared and offered drinks to everyone. Feeling he deserved it after the day he’d had, Noel took a whiskey, and the other men did the same. Noel tossed back one drink and asked for another.

  Don left the bottle. “Help yourself guys. It’s on the house.”

  “You won’t make a profit that way,” Marv said.

  “Sometimes it’s not about making a profit,” Don murmured. Then he disappeared back into the kitchen.

  Marv kept quiet, and Noel felt that Don’s comment had struck home.

  Dinner was sloppy joes, which was one of Noel’s all-time favorite foods. No one made sloppy joes like his Maw-Maw, but Charlie came pretty close.

  “Angel’s really missing out tonight,” he said to Charlie.

  “I’ve got a plate for Angel when he’s ready.”

  “Thanks,” Noel said. “You really have looked after us.”

  “Damn right,” Maria agreed, and then everyone raised a glass to Charlie, who blushed bright red. Don offered his own toast, and Charlie melted against him. It was sweet, and for the first time, Noel wasn’t reminded of the love he’d lost. Instead he thought of the sweet man asleep in their bedroom.

  Dinner ended with the best apple pie Noel had ever tasted, and then Don set up the room for a movie.

  “It has to have explosions,” Maria explained.

  Noel didn’t care what he watched. Explosions were fine with him, and they ended up with John Wick, followed by Deadpool. Noel watched with half his attention while he continued to worry about Angel. He poked his head round the bedroom door several times to check, but Angel hadn’t moved other than to hug Noel’s pillow. Although the doctor at the hospital had assured them that Angel didn’t have a concussion and that even people who did have concussions didn’t necessarily need to be awakened and checked on, Noel couldn’t help himself. Out of an excess of caution, he roused him a couple of times to make sure he was still conscious. Angel blinked sleepily at him, told him he was fine and to fuck off and went back to sleep. Noel grinned. His words were clear, and his eyes were fine. Noel left him in peace.

  After the movies, Noel, who had eaten and drunk possibly more than was good for him, took a few minutes on the porch to get some fresh air. The temperature had plummeted, and the first snowflakes had started to fall. They were expecting heavy snowfall for the few days before Christmas, and Noel hoped it didn’t interfere with skiing too much. Aside from today’s incident, he was really enjoying this resort.

  He was about to go back into his bedroom when the door opened, and Angel stepped out, blinking sleepily.

  Angel shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. “I wondered where you were. I can’t believe I slept so long.”

  “You’re going to get hypothermia,” Noel said.

  “Do you ever stop worrying?”

  Noel ignored the question. “I was just about to come to bed.”

  “I’m hungry. Did Charlie leave any dinner for me?” Angel looked hopeful.

  “We ate it all.”

  Angel pouted. “What was it?”

  “Sloppy joes.”

  Angel looked crestfallen. “That’s my favorite. Do you think he’d let me make a sandwich?”

  Noel relented in the face of his obvious disappointment. “There’s a plate for you in the kitchen.”

  “You bastard.” His growl was very cute and Noel snickered.

  He gave Angel a sweeping bow. “At your service. This is Charlie we’re talking about. Do you think he’d let you go hungry?”

  “If I didn’t hurt so much, I’d smack you right now.”

  “If you didn’t hurt so much, I’d give you the opportunity.”

  He led the way into the kitchen. Charlie and Don had gone to bed, but according to a note on the table, the plate was in the fridge and they were welcome to make drinks as long as they didn’t touch the Dr Pepper or Don would eviscerate them.

  “Nice,” Noel said.

  “As long as it’s not chamomile tea,” Angel said. “It tastes like dishwater.”

  “I like chamomile tea,” Noel said mildly as he put the plate of sloppy joes in the microwave.

  Angel made a face. “Dishwater,” he repeated. “I don’t mind peppermint, but that’s about it for herbal tea. I prefer black tea or coffee.”

  To keep him happy, Noel made Angel coffee, although he kept it fairly weak, and he sat with him while Angel shoveled the plate of sloppy joes as though it were his last meal.

  Angel sat back with a contented belch after he swallowed the last mouthful. “That was good.”

  “Did you chew any of it?”

  “You sound like my nonna,” Angel said.

  “There might be apple pie left over.”

  “Apple pie? Please tell me there’s still
apple pie.” Angel’s eyes went wide.

  “I’ll check.” Noel looked in the refrigerator and chuckled.

  “Why are you laughing?” Angel asked.

  Noel pulled out the plate and put it in front of Angel, who leaned forward to read him the note taped to the cover.

  “This is for Angel. Anybody else touches it, they die by order of the management. That means you too, Don.”

  “Charlie likes me,” Angel said smugly.

  Noel rolled his eyes. “Charlie likes everyone.”

  “That’s probably true,” Angel agreed. “He’s the right person to be a host.”

  “I couldn’t see myself doing Charlie’s job,” Noel said. “After a couple of days, I’d go find somewhere to hide.”

  “I look after people all day but only take care of them for a short time. I can’t imagine having to feed them three times a day and make their beds. Charlie never stops working. I see people for a couple of hours max.”

  “You see them at the worst times in their life. I bet they remember the gorgeous EMT who took care of them.”

  “When they’re throwing up over my shoes, they don’t care what I look like.”

  Noel didn’t believe that for a second. “You’re the right person for that job. You’re very calm in a crisis.”

  There was a bitter twist to Angel’s lips. “Not always.”

  Noel remembered the desperate pleading for him not to die the first couple of nights. “You don’t care about confrontational assholes like Josie’s son or strangers like me weeping over you.”

  “I see that sort of anger every day. People are always threatening to sue me for something I’m supposed to have done. It doesn’t matter to me or make any difference to the job I do. I like taking care of people. As for you, I like you.”

  There was a wealth of meaning behind the last three words, but Noel wasn’t ready to unpack it yet. “You’re a very special person, Angel Marinelli.”

  Angel blushed and reached out to hold Noel’s hand. “And you have a soft heart.”

  “Me?” Noel blinked.

  “You,” Angel insisted. “Take Josie today. You could have laughed at her, but instead you bought her hot chocolate.”

  “You were there too,” Noel pointed out.

  “So we’ve both got soft hearts.”

  “I wanted to laugh at Josie, but I knew how mortified she must be feeling.” He gave a wry snort. “I was feeling just as miserable a few days ago.”

  “And that’s why you’re a lovely man, Noel,” Angel said. “You didn’t laugh. You knew she would feel bad and made an effort to help her.”

  “We did,” Noel said, conscious Angel was deflecting his own part in looking after Josie. “And you growled at her son.”

  “Yeah, well he was a dick,” Angel muttered.

  Noel agreed with him there.

  NOEL MADE another coffee and they talked generalities until they discovered a mutual love of ice hockey, although Angel confessed it was more a love of the players than the sport.

  “I should introduce you to Adam,” Noel said without thinking. “I think he can give the stats on every guy in the league, but he wouldn’t have a clue about the games.”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to take them back. Angel’s face shut down, and he wanted to apologize, but Angel got up, put his plates in the dishwasher, and walked out of the kitchen.

  Noel knocked his head against the table. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

  “You’ve had that sort of evening too, huh?”

  He looked up to see Goldie standing in the doorway. Noel forced a smile. “I’m an idiot.”

  “It’s the night for it.”

  Not sure how to answer that, Noel made an effort to be polite, although he really wanted to run after Angel. “How are you?”

  Goldie shrugged, his expression guarded. “I’ve been better. Is there any coffee?”

  “It’s probably cold. Do you want me to make a fresh pot?”

  “I’ll do it,” Goldie said. “It’ll give me something to do.”

  “And give you a chance to hide away?” Noel asked shrewdly.

  Goldie gave a wry smile. “That obvious?”

  Noel nodded.

  “Family issues,” Goldie said. “My kids are angry at me for not being home for Christmas.”

  “You’ve got a family?”

  Goldie sighed. “I had a family. It’s a long story. You’d better get after your boy.”

  “He’s not my boy,” Noel said.

  “Does he know that?”

  That was harsh, but Noel knew Goldie meant well. “I’d better find him. See you in the morning. I hope it gets better for you.”

  “Me too.” Goldie’s voice was so low Noel could barely hear it.

  Noel left him in the kitchen nursing his hurt.

  Back in the bedroom, there was no sign of Angel. The rumpled bedcovers and the dim light of the lamp were the only indication that he’d been there. Noel knocked on the bathroom door, but he wasn’t there either. His wallet and phone were still on the nightstand, so he hadn’t gone to find a new place to stay.

  Noel stood in the middle of the room, not sure what to do. He knew he’d upset Angel by mentioning Adam’s name, but it had been a throwaway comment. Thoughtless maybe, but Adam was still part of Noel’s life.

  He sat down on his bed with a huff. The last thing he wanted was to upset Angel. He was supposed to be looking after him, not making him distressed. Should he try to find him? He could knock on everyone’s door, but that would look a bit odd.

  Noel was still trying to decide what to do when the porch door opened, and Angel walked in. “Where have you been?” he snapped.

  Angel’s eyes narrowed. “I just needed to clear my head.”

  “I didn’t know where you’d gone. I was worried about you.”

  “I didn’t think you cared,” Angel snapped.

  It was unfair and it stung and Noel sucked in a breath. “You know I care.”

  That seemed to disarm Angel, and he walked over to sit down next to Noel.

  Noel could feel the chill pouring off him. “We’ve already had a discussion about hypothermia.”

  “I was wearing my sweater, Mama.”

  Noel huffed because he was no one’s mom, but then he caught Angel’s smile and smiled in return. “I’m sorry for being a dick.”

  Angel laced his fingers through Noel’s without hesitation, evidently not worried that Noel would reject him. “It should be me who apologizes to you. I know Adam is an important part of your life, and there’s no reason why I should get upset just because you mention his name. We’ve only known each other for a few days.”

  “How about we accept we were both wrong and get over it,” Noel suggested.

  Angel’s smile lit up the room. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”

  “Do you want to go to bed now?”

  At Angel’s smirk, Noel stammered, “I mean…. That’s not what I meant. Oh hell, I’m going to shut up.”

  Angel giggled and Noel’s flush grew even deeper. “I know what you meant,” Angel assured him. “And to be honest, the answer is no. I slept most of the afternoon and evening, and I’m wide-awake now. If you want to go to sleep, that’s fine. I’ll go and read in the great room.”

  “I’m not that tired. We could do something together,” Noel suggested. Then he groaned. That sounded even worse.

  “I’m sure we can think of plenty of things to do together,” Angel agreed with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. “What do you have in mind?”

  Noel couldn’t decide whether to throttle Angel or run off screaming into the woods. “Before I say something else stupid, we could play cards,” he finally managed.

  “As long as it’s not poker. You’ll never be able to bluff me with that pretty face.”

  Noel spluttered. He was not the one with the pretty face. “That sounds like a plan. The deck of cards is in the great room. Do you want to play in there? You’ve pro
bably had enough of being in the bedroom.”

  “I have,” Angel agreed. He stood and held out his hand. “Come on, then.”

  Noel took his hand but didn’t let Angel haul him up, conscious of the injuries he’d suffered.

  There was no sign of life in the chalet as they walked through. Noel poked at the fire to get it going again, and Angel searched for the deck of cards. Then they sat at the large table, and Angel expertly shuffled the cards. “What are we going to play?”

  “How about Go Fish?” It was the first game that popped into Noel’s head.

  They played a few rounds of Go Fish once they had established the rules—because they played entirely different games—and then they played a few hands of gin rummy.

  “Is there room for one more?” Maria asked tiredly. “I can’t sleep. The baby’s playing roller derby inside my stomach.”

  Noel looked up to see Maria dressed in a purple robe and holding a mug of something steaming. “Sure,” he said, a little disappointed to lose his alone time with Angel. But playing cards was always better with more than two.

  Angel raised one eyebrow. “What do you want to play?”

  “How about five card stud?” she suggested.

  “I’m going to lose all the time,” Noel muttered.

  “Yes. Yes you are,” Angel agreed smugly and dealt the cards.

  Three hands later—Noel lost—and Don appeared dressed in unicorn foot pajamas. It was a surreal vision.

  Maria raised an eyebrow. “How the hell did you find foot pajamas to fit you?”

  “Charlie made it,” he said. “He’s very good with his hands.”

  “I’m quite sure he is,” she drawled.

  Don’s mouth quirked. “Is there room for one more?”

  “Sure is.” Angel shuffled up to give Don space.

  “What are you playing?” Don asked.

  “Five card stud.”

  Don cracked his knuckles. “Who’s winning?”

  Noel and Angel pointed at Maria. She said nothing because she had wiped the table with them.