She’d told him how excited she was to be part of the renowned hotel’s team. She’d told him how she couldn’t wait to learn if her baby was a boy or girl. She’d told him that for the first time in her entire life, she didn’t wake up each morning with her stomach knotted from dread. She’d shared all that, yet in some sense, nothing at all—at least, none of the important stuff. Such as how she felt about him.
Oh, he got it that she liked him, but he liked peanut butter. That didn’t mean he’d restrict himself to a steady diet of the gooey treat.
So what did it mean? Was he admitting in the privacy of his own chaotic mind that somehow, over a long weekend, he’d found a woman he could actually envision spending every day of the rest of his life with?
She moaned, rolling slightly in her sleep. Her clean, feminine scent drifted to him and he was lost.
If what he felt for her truly was in the realm of love, then, after having heard her sad life’s story, he owed it to her to let her get on with the business of living happily ever after. Silver Cliff was the perfect place to raise a family.
Yeah, but it’ll just be her and her baby….
And Margaret, Emily, Joanie and Larry, Stephie, Earl and Mo. Give her a couple weeks, and with her irresistible personality and smile, she’d be friends with everyone in the whole blessed town. Which left him where?
Out of sight, out of mind.
Resigned to the fact that India wasn’t some souvenir he could take home to show off to his friends, family and, most important, Jake, Graydon nudged her awake. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Time to rise and shine.”
“Already?” she asked with another moan, opening only one gorgeous blue eye.
“Sorry, but yep. Party’s officially over.” For him, the simple statement held a much deeper meaning. He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been until India had reminded him how to laugh—live.
Grinning up at him, she said, “I do feel as if, over the past few days, we’ve been at a super-fun party.”
“Sorry for it to end?”
“Of course,” she said, pushing herself upright for a stretch. “But as much as I can’t wait to start my new job, I seriously don’t want you to go.” Head bowed, she sighed. “Why is it that whenever I find one happy thing in my life, I always seem to lose another? How come, just once, I can’t have it all?”
His fingers under her chin, he urged her to face him. Silent tears streamed silvery down her cheeks.
“Hey,” he said, pulling her close. “None of that. You do have it all. A great house, thanks to me. A great baby—” which a part of him wished were thanks to him. “ A great job, thanks to your own brilliant brain. What more could a girl want?”
Though a selfish part of him craved her desiring him, another part was relieved when she didn’t. It only would have made letting go that much harder.
“You’re right,” she said with a messy sniffle, easing away, wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands. “Pregnancy hormones have me overemotional.”
“It’s not as if we won’t ever meet again. In fact, I’ve got a couple boarders scheduled to compete here in January.”
Ugh. Six months. Might as well be a year. By then, her cute belly would be huge. The town was loaded with bachelors. No doubt one of them would have long since claimed her as his own.
“Sure,” she said, standing, then heading for the fridge. “January. That’s not long at all. The time will fly by.”
“Right.” He held back a sarcastic snort. Donkeys were more likely to fly than time spent without her.
Chapter Nine
“Goodbye,” India said, giving Graydon a final hug beside her SUV. She wanted so badly to go with him to the airport, but also wanted to make a good impression on her first day of work. Even more than staying with this man, whom you’ve quite possibly grown to love, for the final few minutes he’s in town? She swiped her eyes. The baby had turned her into a drama queen. Every emotion was amplified. That was why she’d seemed to have been so wildly happy whenever Graydon was near—not because he was the man she’d secretly hoped to be hers for the rest of her life. The very notion was ridiculous. They were essentially strangers. Plus, she had to get her own head on straight before jumping right into another affair.
“I’ve always preferred see you later. Has a much less final ring.”
She clutched him tighter. “Thanks—for everything.”
“I just helped you find a place to stay.”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. Her tears started again, and no matter how hard she tried being strong, they wouldn’t stop. “Th-thanks for sh-showing me there are a few h-heroes left in the world.”
“I’m no hero,” he said, voice hoarse as if he might be close to tears himself.
“Y-yes,” she said. “To me, that’s exactly what you’ve been.” On her tiptoes she kissed him once, twice, fiercely on his lips, then cheek. “I’ve got to go. Don’t take this wrong, but I love you.”
“How could I take that wrong?” he asked, his eyes also welling. “It’s beautiful. I love you, too.”
“You do?”
He nodded.
“But you’ve got Jake,” she said.
“You’ve got your new job.”
“We just weren’t meant to be.” She daubed her eyes and nose with her sleeve.
“I know.”
“Me, too.” She half laughed. “But that doesn’t make it easier.”
“Duh.”
“I’ll always remember you, Graydon.”
“Likewise, gorgeous.”
“Call me? Just to let me know you got home in one piece?”
“Of course.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded, gave him one last kiss and hug, then climbed into her car, fastened her seat belt somehow, hands trembling, and slid her key into the ignition.
At this altitude, the morning was chilly. Light frost dusted the front window. From nowhere—maybe his own car—Graydon produced an ice scraper, and in thirty seconds had her windshield cleared.
She blew him a kiss.
He pressed splayed fingers against the driver’s-side window. She touched his hand, imagining his heat.
“Get going,” he said, voice muffled, breath fogging outside the car.
She nodded.
“I’ll call.”
She nodded.
“Go, okay? I don’t want you to be late. And truthfully, this hurts too damn bad.”
Feeling the same, India blew him one last kiss, then drove away.
*
CRAMMED IN SEAT 9A of the puddle jumper that would get him across the Rockies to Denver International, Graydon stared out the window. But instead of seeing the majestic snowcapped mountains he’d always loved, he saw India. Laughing and smiling this morning while brushing her hair. For a woman to be so beautiful should be a crime. If it wasn’t illegal, how else could he have become addicted so fast?
She’d drawn things out of him no one ever had. For the first time in years, she made him really think about where he was going and where he wanted to be.
Turbulence jolted the plane, and a bit of the ginger ale he’d ordered splashed onto his jeans. He was dabbing it with a napkin, when he glanced at the couple beside him, holding hands, playfully kissing while the guy acted the hero, promising to keep his girl safe.
On the ground, let alone up here, he had no right making her that kind of promise. He couldn’t keep her safe any more than Graydon had been able to keep his marriage intact.
It was a good thing he’d left India when he had; otherwise, he might not’ve been able to leave. Better yet, he might’ve somehow, someway, poured on every ounce of his once-patented Graydon charm to woo her into heading to Lake Placid with him. No promises, just the hope of maybe a shared bright future. He wanted her to meet Jake and his parents…a few of the kids he coached. He wanted to show her his new world, introduce her to his new friends. Even better, he wanted to show her a few of his old snowboarding moves. A few fresh ones he’d
come up with, planning to teach them to his kids.
You’re too young to retire.
Phillip’s condemnation rang through his head.
Was he? Too young? And if that was true, could he have been as wrong about retirement as he’d been about other things? Like being a bad father—which he now realized he wasn’t.
India haunted him, as well. When are you going to forgive yourself, give yourself permission for a fresh start?
Ten minutes’ brooding later, it occurred to Graydon that his whole life had been about trekking the road less traveled. Snowboarding was hardly the most conventional of sports, and granted, he’d made some rash mistakes in his youth. But now that he was older, and hopefully wiser, why not follow another unexpected path by taking a chance not only on India but on himself?
Wondering if India would be on board with his plan, Graydon waved over the leggy, redheaded flight attendant, his heart racing.
“Yes, sir?”
“When’s the next return flight to Silver Cliff?”
“We’ll be in Denver an hour before turning around. Forget something?” She smiled.
He smiled back.
If she’ll have me, yeah. I forgot to grab hold of my future wife.
*
“LONG TIME NO SEE,” the Silver Cliff car-rental agent called out as Graydon approached her desk. He’d known Dawn since she’d been a kid. His first girlfriend, Heidi, had babysat for her. “Thought you just flew out.”
“I did, but now I’m back—” Ready to toss his cookies from nerves. He and India had just been up all night, deciding that the two of them as a couple would never work. She carried another man’s baby. He still carried demons from his first marriage. Then there was Jake. What if he didn’t like India? Graydon shook his head and grinned. What wasn’t there to like about India?
“You okay?” the recent Silver Cliff High graduate asked. “You don’t look so hot.”
“I’m good,” he said. “At least, I will be if you still have my car.”
Frowning, checking a computer screen, she said, “Sorry. The model you had is already checked out. I do have one compact left. Yellow, okay?”
As long as India didn’t laugh him out of her office for being crazy, moonbeam purple would be okay. She had to say yes. Had to. Otherwise…
Well, he wasn’t sure what he’d do, seeing as how there was no plan B.
Which was why, being the dork-in-love that he was, he planned on making the entire trip to the hotel with his fingers crossed.
On the way out to his car, he eyed a girlie-pink display window in the airport’s only gift shop. In it, along with fluffy pink feather boas and glittering tiaras, was an array of jewels. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, but, most important—rings. Lots of them with huge, gaudy stones. After debating between the at least twenty-carat emerald or diamond, he instead went with the sapphire toy ring, figuring it matched India’s eyes.
“Who’s the lucky lady?” elderly Maxine Paulson, a notorious snoop, asked while ringing up his purchase.
“Nice try,” he said, “but I never kiss and tell.” He winked, then snatched his bag.
*
“THESE ARE PAST-CLIENT files,” Emily patiently explained. “We get a lot of repeat business, so it’s always a good idea to keep every scrap of info you compile on any given job. Say, for example—You okay?”
“Huh?” India glanced up from wringing her hands. “Oh—I’m good—great. Where were you? Files? Repeat customers, right?”
“Right, but why do I get the feeling you’d rather be somewhere else?”
Because I would? Why, India lamented, when she’d waited her entire life for this day, a day when she’d been gifted with a fresh start, couldn’t she focus on anything but the pain of that lonely see you later remark from a man she hardly knew?
“India?” Emily nudged her shoulder. “This wouldn’t have something to do with a certain hunky graduate you were reported dancing with, would it?”
“I don’t know,” India said with a shrug. Outside, there was another flawless mountain day. Bright blue sky. Cotton-ball clouds. Storybook perfection, and yet here she stood with a lump in her throat the size of Montana. “I guess. Maybe.”
“Maybe?” The boss raised her eyebrows. “Either you like the guy or you don’t. What’s it going to be?”
“Of course I like him. I mean, who wouldn’t? He’s gorgeous, funny, warm, caring, compassionate…”
Rolling her eyes, Emily teased, “Where do I get one of those all for myself?”
“That’s the problem. This particular model happens to reside in Lake Placid.”
“As in New York?”
“Yep.”
“Oh.” Landing in her desk chair with a thud, Emily said, “I didn’t realize he’d moved that far. I see where that could be troublesome if you invited him to stop by for video night and pizza. Sorry.” She gave India’s arm a sympathetic rub. “On the bright side, Silver Cliff’s loaded with hot guys.”
“That’s what he said.”
“He thinks it best you date other guys?”
“Well…” Dropping into her own cream leather desk chair, India scratched her head. “He said he did, but I didn’t for a second believe him.”
“Yeah. Guys are funny that way. Mark asked me to marry him three times.”
“Because you turned him down?”
“Heck no. He kept assuming I’d change my mind. Considering his habits of leaving his dirty clothes and dishes all over the house, maybe I should’ve taken him up on his offer, huh?”
After sharing a laugh, India sighed. “How long have you been married?”
“It’ll be eighteen years in May. Hard to believe,” she added with a wistful smile.
“So would you?”
“What?”
“Go back if you had the chance?” Because suddenly India was consumed with the notion that maybe if she hadn’t been so determined to set down roots in Silver Cliff, there might’ve been a chance for her and Graydon. Or was the thought as much a fantasy as the entire weekend had been? Just a lovely dream that— “Knock, knock.”
India glanced up, only to have her heart skip a beat. Standing at the office door was Graydon in all his rugged glory. “Did you miss your flight?”
“Nope,” he said, handing her a bouquet of red and black roses. A trio of silver eagles had been affixed with silver picks. “I caught my first flight, then had time to take another. Sorry about those,” he said, gesturing to the black roses. “On my cell, I asked Stephie to make them school colors—you know, an inside joke about how you and I met. But these didn’t turn out quite the way I’d expected.”
Emily coughed. “Would you two like a moment alone?”
“Oh, hey,” Graydon said, extending his hand to hers. “Nice to meet up with you again. And if you wouldn’t mind, some one-on-one time would be great.”
Alone, India had to remind herself to breathe.
What did this mean? Graydon showing up like this, when by now he could’ve been most of the way home.
“Wow,” Graydon said, wiping his palms on his jeans. “This seemed a lot easier in the planning stages.”
“It might help if you let me in on what you were planning,” she said, thankful her voice had worked past the knot of hope in her throat. He loved this town. Had he decided to move back? Raise his son where he’d grown up?
“Right. Good tip.” Parking on the edge of Emily’s desk, he cleared his throat. “On the first leg of my flight, I did some thinking.”
“About us?”
He nodded. “But plenty of soul-searching about me, as well.”
“And?” She was almost afraid to ask.
His faint smile didn’t indicate much. But then he reached for her hands and gave her a reassuring squeeze. His stare met hers, quickening her pulse all the more. “I found that for the past few years I’ve done a lot of acting.”
“Oh?”
“Dropping out of everything I love, in what I now re
cognize as a futile attempt to be some kind of superdad. Perfect stable job and home and—” he shrugged “—I don’t know what I’m saying. I guess maybe that this crazy hurricane of a relationship of ours has shown me there’s no such thing as predictability when it comes to love. Be it my love for Jake, or my love for you.”
India’s pulse raged. Where, where was this going? Where did she want it to go?
“Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to get at in a not-so-understandable way is that my whole life, I’ve followed the path less chosen and made out like a bandit. For a while, before Tiffany told me otherwise, I was happy. Looking back on it, I realize I’ve always been a damn good father to Jake—best I could be. Love isn’t contingent upon a place but upon the people you’re with. And… This might be presumptuous, but it occurred to me that in your own quest for love, you kind of got the same screwed-up message I did. You know, that kids have to grow up in some picket-fence-enclosed house in the same town going to the same school, with the same friends forever. And while I’m not knocking that, I’m just saying there are alternative ways to live. That as long as we have each other—”
“Graydon?” She nudged him. “Out with it. What are you really trying to say?”
“God’s honest truth?” he asked, ducking his head, bringing the tips of her fingers to his mouth for a tender kiss. “That I want to return to competitive snowboarding. I want to feel alive again, instead of just going through the motions of life. I want to laugh and have fun and ditch this horrible feeling that if I’m not always uptight and focused on responsibility, I’m somehow doing things wrong. Most of all, I want to be with you. And Jake and the little boy or girl inside you. I want to have my cake and eat it and lounge in it, too—or however the hell that expression goes. I don’t know how I fell for you so fast, but I did. And if you feel even a fraction of what I’m feeling, then I say let’s go for it. Let’s throw caution to the wind and—”
“What are you saying? That you want me to come live with you? Or are you and Jake moving in with me?”
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