Stephanie, it’s Jessica Rollins. I have some good news. I’m pretty sure the owners on the Placerville property are going to accept your offer. If Lady Luck stays on your back, I might be able to close this deal before the end of the year. Call me as soon as you can. I think you and your daughters just might have a Merry Christmas after all. Oh, before I forget, the bank wants to verify your employment. Talk s—”
The machine stopped.
Patrick flicked the light switch back on. He opened a drawer in search of something to write on when he was completely taken by surprise. In the top drawer was a pile of gold ribbon, and a movie ticket stub. He picked it up to read the title of the movie. He let the soft gold silk run between his fingers, then dropped the two items back in the drawer where they belonged. This wasn’t good at all. Really it wasn’t. Though he broke out into a grin as wide as the bunny run. She’d kept the ribbon from the box of candy he’d bought her, and the tickets from the movie they’d attended on their last date. It was that movie that sent him running for cover. She’d probably put these things in the drawer the next day and forgotten about them. Women did that. Saved things that had no meaning or value whatsoever. Stephanie must have forgotten she’d left them there. Should he take them to her, or should he just leave well enough alone? He didn’t want her to think he’d been prying through her desk drawers, but he’d needed something to write on so he could remember Jessica Rollins’s message. He found a blank Post-it. He played the message once more, wrote it down as best he could, then crammed the paper in his pocket. This Jessica hadn’t left a number, but Patrick figured if Stephanie had been dealing with her, then she already knew her phone number. He closed the drawer again, turned off the light, and left through the employee exit.
He’d left his jacket in the Snow Cat; hopefully, one of the guys would remember it belonged to him and return it. Those Spyder jackets cost big bucks. The parking lot was completely covered in snow. What he wouldn’t give for a snow tube just right then. He’d sail across the parking lot like a bat out of hell. He had a quick flash of two little girls in bright yellow ski jackets and wondered if they’d ever experienced the pure joy of sliding in a parking lot on fresh-fallen snow. Something told him they hadn’t had much fun in their lives. It caused a lump to form in the back of his throat. Damn! I’m not cut out for this.
Yeah, those girls were as sweet as hot cocoa laced with the finest whipped cream. When he’d heard they were missing, he about jumped out of his skin though he didn’t tell that to anyone. Riding the lift up to where the Snow Cats were stored had been his first priority. He knew if he took a Snow Cat out, first he would be in an all-terrain vehicle that would take him to any part of the mountain, double black diamonds and all. Also, it was equipped with bright lights and had a kick-ass heater. Lucky for him and the girls, and the dogs—he couldn’t forget the mother and her pups—he hadn’t had to go far. And now it seemed all was as it should be.
He jumped into the Hummer, cranked the heat up as high as it would go, then carefully made his way out of the parking lot. The snow was still falling, but it wasn’t nearly as thick as it had been earlier that afternoon. He needed to go home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. He’d make sure to give Stephanie the message from her realtor friend, then he would apologize, tell her how sorry he was for being such an…a dope, then he’d tell her she could come back to work first thing in the morning. Once that was out of the way, he could breathe freely again. Hell, he might even ask Stephanie and the girls out to a movie. There were all kinds of G-rated movies out at Christmas. Maybe he would take Megan’s boys along. One big happy family.
He shook his head as he traveled down the salt-covered road.
One big happy family!
He couldn’t believe a thought like that had even entered his head! What the heck is going on here? It must be the holidays. Maybe he was supposed to enjoy them this year. It was just so hard without Shannon. When his family was together, it was so obvious a link was missing. Shannon was the first grandchild, the first niece. She was just the first. And, sadly, she was the first to die.
Tears filled Patrick’s eyes, blurring the road in front of him. Damn! He wanted to be happy; he just didn’t want all the pain that came with it. Knowing he couldn’t have one without the other, Patrick figured he would always be the uncle, the good friend of a friend. He didn’t have what it took to be a father figure. To anyone’s child. He didn’t know a diaper bag from a baby bottle. Well, yes he did, but it wasn’t something he wanted in his daily life. That was all. Or was it? And was he just afraid to take the leap?
Chapter 9
The crowd gathered smack-dab in the middle of Maximum Glide. Hundreds of people had faced the cold weather to attend the Christmas tree lighting. A thirty-foot evergreen was placed directly in front of the main offices, the site of most of the day’s comings and goings. Ski lessons could be arranged in the building to the right of the giant tree. To the left, children under the age of three could be left in the capable hands of Bunnies and Babies, the day care offered by the resort. North of the tree was The Lodge, where one could eat breakfast or lunch, or simply sit by the raging fire that never seemed to burn out in the giant fireplace. South of the tree were the ski lifts that took men, women, and children to the other forty-six lifts that covered the mountain. Tonight was like a scene from a Charles Dickens novel. Snow twirled like tiny ballerinas in the chilled night air. Mock gaslights wearing bright red bows flanked the main street on both sides. The shops stayed open, all displaying brightly colored lights and Christmas trees decked out in all the finery of the holiday season. The odor of mulled cider emanated from several of the shops, along with the earthy smell of burning wood.
Stephanie held her daughters’ hands in hers as the three of them walked through the festive village that made up Maximum Glide. Melanie walked alongside them. The four were silent as each took in the fairy-tale-like images that lit up the resort like something right out of a magical storybook.
As expected, it was Amanda who spoke first. “Mommy, this is the most beautiful place in the whole wide world! I never want to leave here. I bet when Santa comes here, he doesn’t want to leave either, right?”
They all laughed.
“I’m sure he doesn’t, but he has many places to go all over the world. Still, I’m sure it hurts him just a tiny bit to leave this very special place,” Stephanie said, as they continued their leisurely stroll down the main street, taking in all the brightly decorated windows and people dressed in their warmest, most colorful outdoor wear. It really was beautiful, Stephanie thought. It would be equally beautiful in its raw form, too. No lights, no flashy decorations, just the tall trees with the scent of evergreen perfuming the air, along with the clean freshly falling snow. Yes, she mused, that would be just as beautiful.
“What time do they light the tree?” Ashley asked excitedly. “I can’t wait. I know it’s just a tree, but it’s so big!”
Stephanie and Melanie looked at one another over the girls’ toboggan cap-covered heads. They laughed. “Seven o’clock, right on the dot. And it’s ten minutes till, so we’d best hurry over so we can get in as close as possible. I don’t want you two to miss anything.”
“We don’t want to either, Mommy. Right, Ashley?” Amanda singsonged.
“Right, Amanda. You know what I’m going to wish for when they light up the tree?” Ashley asked in a firm voice.
“I haven’t the first clue,” Stephanie said. “Why don’t you tell us.”
“I’m going to wish that Amanda would stop saying, ‘right, Mommy,’ ‘right, Ashley,’ ‘right, Melanie’ all the time.”
Stephanie looked at Melanie, who could barely contain her laughter. Amanda, on the other hand, looked as if she was about to cry.
“It’s okay, honey. Your sister is just doing what big sisters do.” Stephanie fluffed the ball on top of her toboggan cap, hoping this wouldn’t turn into an all-out verbal war between the two.
“Santa Claus doesn’t tell me what to say, right, Mommy?” Amanda asked in her squeaky-I’m-about-to-cry-voice.