Snow Crystal Trilogy: Sleigh Bells in the Snow / Suddenly Last Summer / Maybe This Christmas

She stared at him. “How much of a horror story?”

“Stephen King crossed with Hitchcock?” The corner of his mouth flickered, and she felt a rush of admiration that he could retain his sense of humor in the face of so much pressure.

She felt an inexplicable urge to reach out and offer comfort, and the urge shocked her because she wasn’t a tactile person. She’d trained herself to keep her distance. She didn’t form bonds.

To make sure she didn’t do something impulsive like touch him, she clutched her laptop bag. “You didn’t suspect?”

“I had no reason to. Whenever I asked how things were, I was told they were fine. I didn’t question it. Why would I? The business has been going forever.”

“Do you know what went wrong?”

“My father made some bad decisions. And then there were the decisions he should have made but didn’t. And the ramifications of that weakness on his part are huge.”

Kayla thought of Alice knitting at the same table all her life. Of Elizabeth who had come here and never left.

An old wound ached deep inside her. “Do they know?”

“They know things are bad. They don’t know how bad, or maybe they do know and just can’t face the truth. They’re scared. Afraid to make changes in case the whole thing comes tumbling down. My grandfather is looking for someone to blame, and right now he blames me for building the spa and the log cabins. Throwing away money when we needed every dollar.”

“Those are the things that make Snow Crystal special.”

“You know that. I know that. But they don’t know that because right now we don’t have heads on beds, so it looks as if I was wrong. I tell my grandfather they were a good investment, and he asks me to show him the bookings.”

“If they’re not booked it’s because people don’t know about them.”

“So tell me how to make that happen.” His tone was urgent. “Tell me what we need to do to get the sort of exposure you got for Adventure Travel. If this goes south, I lose everything my family built. And I’m not going to let that happen, so don’t sit there and tell me you’re leaving.”

Pressure added to stress. Kayla felt as if she were swimming through thick mud. “I—I’m not experienced with family businesses.”

“But you know how to get your message out there in a noisy media world, so do it.” His gaze held hers. “I need you to do what you do best, Kayla.”

Despite the mess she’d made, he still wanted her help.

Kayla clenched her hands in her lap. Her fingers were so cold she could no longer feel them.

It would mean staying.

It would mean getting to know his family. This job couldn’t be done without getting close to them. Without understanding them. Without winning them over.

How the hell was she going to do that?

The thought of walking back into that kitchen and being confronted by the O’Neils made her want to run. “If I stay, I’d need to talk to them individually. It might be easier to win them round that way.”

“That makes sense. One on one. And you need to know more about Snow Crystal. Spend time as a tourist.”

“Fine.” She closed her eyes. This was madness. She should be handing the account over to someone else. Someone who loved Christmas and families. She wasn’t the right person for the job, but Jackson already had his phone in his hand and was texting someone.

“We’ll start first thing tomorrow. I’ll pick you up at nine.”

“I’m awake at five.” She spoke without thinking and saw his eyebrows lift. “I’m a morning person. I never sleep late. I don’t like lying in bed.”

His brief glance changed the atmosphere in the car.

Kayla turned her head away quickly, wondering how chemistry could exist in the middle of so much tension.

He was the sexiest man she’d ever met, and the fact that she kept noticing scared her. When it came to her heart, her instincts were as sophisticated as any virus software, detecting a possible threat and deleting it before it could threaten her or do damage.

Right now those instincts were flashing up red warning lights in her head.

“It’s still dark at five.” His voice was husky. “We’ll make it eight, and I’ll buy you breakfast in the forest. The Chocolate Shack serves the best hot chocolate and maple waffles in Vermont.”

It sounded more like a date than a business meeting, and she felt a dangerous curl of heat low in her belly.

She sat still as Jackson eased the car forward and drove up the snow-covered track that led to the far end of the frozen lake and her cabin. Then he pulled in and switched off the engine.

“Thanks for the lift.” Desperate to escape, she reached for the door handle, but his hand closed over her shoulder.

“Wait. You haven’t eaten. Get rid of your laptop and I’ll buy you dinner.”

“No, thank you. I’d rather go back to the cabin. I have work to do.”

The thought of eating dinner with this man terrified her.

And he knew.

She could see it in his eyes. Knew he could see right through the layers of protection she’d spun between herself and the world.

She was about to open the door and escape when he lifted his hand and touched her cheek. “You still haven’t told me what happened back there.” His voice was soft, all trace of anger gone. “Why did you run? You could have slipped and broken something.”

She could have told him she was already broken. She could have told him that Kayla Green had shattered into a million tiny pieces at the age of thirteen, and when she’d stuck herself back together she hadn’t looked anything like the original version.

She could have told him that, but she didn’t, because she knew that when a person bought something, they didn’t want to know it was damaged. She looked good as new on the outside, and that was what mattered.

He wasn’t interested in the real Kayla Green.

“I thought it best to leave. Thanks for the lift. I can walk from here. I’ll see you in the morning.” She slid out of the car, keen to put as much distance between herself and Jackson as possible. The moment her feet touched the snow she felt the cold ooze through her already-soaked shoes, but she knew the icy feeling inside her didn’t come from the freezing temperatures or the thick layer of snow that blanketed the forest around her. The source was much deeper than that.

Pressed up against feelings she normally avoided, Kayla felt a flash of panic.

Who would have thought that a sleepy little resort in Vermont could have ripped at her like this?

Jackson appeared in front of her, his powerful shoulders blocking her escape. “Surely you’re not planning to walk this path alone after what happened last time?”

“I’ll be fine.”

His muscular physique formed a sold barrier between her and her forest sanctuary. “You’ve suffered enough punishment for one day. I’ll walk you to the door.” He took her hand, and Kayla felt the warmth and strength of his fingers as they closed over hers.

“This is definitely breaking the client-agency code.”

“There’s a code? Damn. You probably should have mentioned that earlier.” His tone was light and he tightened his grip. “On the other hand, I’ve never been big on rules and codes.”

It was all too easy to believe that. He was a man who knew what he wanted, his toughness concealed under layers of velvety charm. She’d seen it in her offices that day in New York, and she’d seen it a moment ago when he’d refused to let her leave.

Desperate, she looked up at him. His jaw was strong and darkened by a day of stubble, his mouth a sensual curve in a face that made her want to revisit her own rules and codes. Never before had she been remotely tempted to kiss one of her clients, but neither had she ever walked out of a meeting. Apparently it was a day of firsts.

She rarely thought about sex, didn’t have time to think about it, let alone do it, but she was thinking about it now. Hot sex, with no ties or promises, no past or future, just a moment of raw physical passion. And with Jackson O’Neil you just knew that moment would be good.

Heat rushed across her skin And desire uncurled inside her.

“I’m pretty big on rules and codes. And tomorrow I’m buying all the gear in the store. Any ice-walking-shoe-boot things That might help keep me upright.” For the rest of her stay, she was going to be professional. No more falling on her back in snowdrifts. No more falling apart in meetings. That was a one-off lapse that wasn’t going to happen again.

“We have some gear we can probably lend you. A decent coat and some ski pants. And some ice-walking-shoe-boot things.” That mouth flickered at the corners and then he reached across and opened the gate.

The cabin glowed warm and welcoming in the darkness. The trees by the front door were studded with twinkling lights and the same tiny lights were twisted around the windows.

The cold numbed her face and seared her lungs. Her toes were freezing through her soaked shoes. She knew it was nothing that a hot shower wouldn’t cure. The cold inside her? That was going to be harder to fix.

As they reached the door, she pulled out her keys. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She tried to tug her hand away from his but he tightened his grip, hauling her against him.

“Are you going to tell me what happened tonight? Because I sense it was personal.”

The fact that he’d noticed her reaction made her feel as if she’d been caught sleepwalking naked.

“I’d like to forget about tonight and start again.”

“Yeah, I get that. But starting again might be easier if you tell me what went wrong in the first place. You were in a panic.”

There was a soft thud as snow slid from the roof behind her and landed on the deck. “I’m allergic to gingerbread.” She kept her tone light. “It always has that effect on me.”

He reached up and brushed flakes of snow from her hair. “Me, too. I can only eat a ton of the stuff before I want to resign.”

Kayla relaxed slightly, relieved he’d backed down so easily. “Do you feel like resigning?”

“Every damn day.” He smiled. A slow, sexy smile that made her want to strip him naked and do bad things to him.

Oh, shit, she was in trouble.

“But you don’t resign.”

“The one thing a person can’t resign from is their family.”

Oh, yes They could. She knew that for a fact. And knowing it created the distance she’d been struggling desperately to find. They were on opposite sides of an enormous chasm. This man, wrapped in the big warm blanket of O’Neil love and affection, had no idea what it was like to be shivering in the cold by yourself.

The words snapped her back to her own lonely reality.

“Your family is lucky to have you. Thanks for walking me to the door. Good night.” She unlocked the door but couldn’t move, because he’d planted an arm on the door frame, trapping her. She stood there, locked in by muscle and hot man, staring into those knowing blue eyes.

“Tell me, Kayla. Tell me what happened in there.” The gentleness in his voice matched the look in his eyes.

“Why? Why would you even care?”

“Maybe I can fix it.”

She was willing to bet he did that a lot. Jackson O’Neil was a man who fixed things for other people. That was why he was here, fighting his family so that he could save their home.

And now he wanted to fix her.

A different type of woman might have been tempted. Maybe she was, too…a little.

But she knew some things couldn’t be fixed.

“Thanks, but I’ve been fixing myself since I was thirteen years old so I’ve had plenty of practice. Good night, Jackson.” She ducked under his arm and stomped over temptation into the warmth of the cabin.

I’VE BEEN FIXING myself since I was thirteen years old.

He wondered what she’d been fixing.

Whatever it was, something or someone had upset her tonight.

Jackson turned up his collar against the cold and took a long, last look at the closed door before crunching through the snow back to his car.

Maybe it was just being here.

Maybe it had finally hit her that in her eagerness for the business, she’d volunteered to give up her Christmas. Maybe seeing his family had made her think of hers. Maybe she was homesick.

It could have been any number of things, none of which were his business.

Ignoring the powerful urge to make it his business, Jackson reversed out of the parking spot and drove back down the track that led to the main lodge. He was guessing his brother would be there, and he was right.

Tyler was seated at the bar, entertaining a group of guests with stories of bear encounters and downhill daring. Spying Jackson, he threw a remark at the group that had them laughing, then made his excuses and joined his brother.

“You look as if you need a drink, and I guess I owe you one.”

“One? You owe me at least a hundred.”

Tyler reached across the bar and snagged a couple of beers. “So did you drive her back to the airport?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because when she stumbled out of the kitchen she didn’t look like she was planning on staying around.”

Jackson closed his hand around the beer. “Does she seem like a quitter to you?”

“No. Anyone who can still be talking business while Mom is forcing food on them and Grams is trying to wrap them in lurid green is definitely not a quitter. But she seemed serious about her job and anyone like that isn’t going to last five minutes in this place.”

“Thanks.”

“You don’t count. You’re tied here by blood and a guilty conscience.” Tyler glanced over his shoulder as the door swung open letting in freezing air, a flurry of snow and another group of tourists. “So if she isn’t on her way back to New York, where is she? The least you could have done was invite her for a drink. God knows, if she’s working for this family she’s going to need one.”

Jackson wondered how his brother knew about the guilty conscience. It wasn’t something he’d talked about. “I offered. She wanted to go back to the cabin and do some work. Talking of which…” He leaned across to the bar and called Pete over. “Can you send a pizza over to cabin ten please?”

“Toppings?”

Jackson glanced at Tyler for inspiration. “What do Brits like on their pizza?”

“How do I know? Stick to cheese. She might be vegetarian. She looked stressed enough to be one. Although, come to think of it she looked the way we all look after an evening with the O’Neils. My advice? Hold the pizza and send over whiskey.”

“Cheese and tomato.” Jackson dug out his wallet and handed over a note.

“Why are you paying when you own the place?”

“Because I want the books to balance.”

“Fat chance of that. So she didn’t want to eat dinner with you.” Tyler shook his head sympathetically. “You’re losing your touch, bro.”

“Unless you like your eyes black and your jaw broken, I suggest you keep your thoughts on that subject to yourself.” The door opened again, letting in more cold air and a young woman with a bright smile.

“Hi, Jackson!”

“Brenna—”

“Good to see you.” Chocolate-brown hair peeped out from under a fur-lined hood. The pretty smile dimmed when she saw his drinking companion. “Tyler.” She gave a brief nod and slipped her hood back. “Glad I caught you. I’m two instructors down. They’re forecasting a foot of fresh snow and I’ve got a couple wanting to do Sunrise and Powder and no guide—you can take them.”

Tyler choked on his beer. “Me?”

“It would make their day to be escorted by an exmember of the U.S. ski team.” She levered herself onto the bar stool and charmed Pete with a smile. “Coke, no ice, thanks. Are you a daddy yet? How’s Lynn?”

“Big enough to be having twins. She can barely move, or that’s the excuse she gives me when she asks me to make tea.” Pete handed her a Coke. “Doctor thinks it will be here before Christmas.” He looked dazed at the thought, and Brenna beamed as she unwrapped her scarf.

“Best gift of all. Text me the minute you have news. I cannot wait for our Snow Crystal baby to arrive.” Sipping her Coke, Brenna turned back to Tyler, her gaze a fraction cooler. “About tomorrow—”

“Are they experienced? Last time I took a group into deep powder they were clueless. The woman thought powder was something she put on her face.”

“These are experienced, but it’s their first time skiing the East Coast.” She tugged off her gloves and pushed them into the pocket of her jacket. “They don’t want an instructor, just a guide, and you know this area better than anyone.”

“Why can’t you take them?”

“I’m teaching a ‘bumps ’n’ trees’ class.”

Tyler lifted his beer to his lips and drank, and Jackson wondered how two people who knew each other so well could turn every conversation into a combat zone.

They’d grown up together. Played together as children and skied together as teenagers. They’d been fiercely competitive and inseparable until the day Tyler had announced he’d gotten Janet Carpenter pregnant.

Soon after, Brenna had announced she was leaving New England to train as a ski instructor in Colorado. She could have done that here, of course, but she’d picked a place where there was less risk of bumping into Tyler. When she’d graduated, Jackson had offered her a job with his company running the kids program in Switzerland. She’d never once asked about his brother.

Jackson hoped it wasn’t going to be a problem now that Tyler was back home.

The last thing he needed was to lose Brenna.

As if to prove that, she pulled out her phone and checked her calendar. “I’m running the teen course and taking ‘bumps ’n’ trees’. Then I’m filling in for Todd, who is taking his wife for a checkup. The only person without commitments is you. We can’t afford to turn away the business. They’re willing to pay good money for the privilege of leaving ski tracks in fresh snow. All they want is a cheerful guide. Think you can manage to hold the sarcasm for a few hours, O’Neil?”

“I’m not the only one with that name around here.” Tyler glanced at Jackson, who shook his head.

“I have plans tomorrow.”

“Fine, I’ll do it. At least, I can do the guide part. Not so sure about cheerful if they want an early start. Smiles are extra at that hour of the morning.”

“They’re paying us extra, so you’ll smile.” Brenna slipped her phone into her pocket and picked up her drink. “By the way, Jess asked if I’d ski Devil’s Gully with her someday this week. Says you banned her from doing that run.”

“I banned her for a reason.” Tyler’s fingers tightened on the bottle and his eyes glittered dangerously. “And that reason is she’s way too young and inexperienced.”

Brenna lifted her brows. “You and I skied that run when we were half her age.”

“And were grounded for a week as a result.” Tyler gave a laugh and then remembered he was trying to be a responsible father and glared at her. “That’s different. You and I skied more than we walked. Jess has been living in a city. Nearest she’s been to mountains is a picture on her wall.”

“She’s your daughter,” Brenna said softly. “She’s inherited your natural aptitude.”

“She’s twelve.”

“It isn’t about age, it’s about ability, and she’s got it, Tyler. Talent. She feels the slope. She knows the mountain. Call it whatever you will, you need to let her do this.”

“Kill herself?” Stubborn, Tyler shook his head. “Not on my watch.”

Remembering their conversation earlier, Jackson felt a twinge of sympathy for his brother. It had taken long enough for him to have the opportunity to prove he could be a good father to Jess. He didn’t want to blow it in the first month.

Tyler was frowning at Brenna. “How come you know so much about what she wants anyway? I can’t get more than five words out of the girl.”

“She often stops by my cabin.” Brenna took a sip of her drink. “Yesterday we had lunch.”

“Lunch? Why don’t I know any of this?”

“Maybe she’s afraid you’d say no. For a guy who never understood the meaning of the word, you sure as hell use it a lot now.” Brenna slid off the stool. “I see our chief of police enjoying a quiet few minutes. Think I’ll just interrupt that. I need to talk to him about our Emergency Response Plan.”

“Wait, Brenna—” Jackson caught her arm before she could walk away, “don’t you keep a supply of spare ski clothes in case someone needs them?”

“What size?”

“About your size. Maybe a little smaller. Not that I’m saying you’re big,” he added hastily, “but you’re strong because of the skiing and—”

“You pick up many women with that line, Jackson?”

He cursed himself and then saw that her eyes were bright with laughter. “Brenna—”

“Shut up, before you fall into that hole you just dug for yourself. What do you need? Apart from a spade to dig your foot out of your mouth?”

“Whatever you’ve got.”

“I assume this is for the woman from New York? Is she going to be able to help us?” Anxiety shadowed her eyes, and Jackson wondered how many of the Snow Crystal team were worrying about their jobs.

“She’ll help us.”

“In that case I’ll drop off what I have at her cabin on my way to the slopes tomorrow morning. If any of it fits, she’s welcome to it.” Ignoring Tyler, she flashed Jackson a smile and then turned and walked across the room, unzipping her coat as she went.

“How come she smiles at you and not me?” Tyler watched her. “If I’d made that remark about her being strong, she would have felled me, and not just to prove me right. And what is up with Jess? Why didn’t she just ask me again if she could ski Devil’s Gully?”

“Would you have changed your mind?”

“No.”

“Probably why she didn’t ask you.”

“That makes no sense.”

Jackson sighed. “When you were twelve, if there was something you wanted to do and Dad said no, what did you do?”

“I did it anyway. Most of the time I didn’t bother asking.”

“Right. And Jess is your daughter, so I’m guessing that, along with your ski talent, she also inherited a dose of the stubborn. Just saying.” Jackson eased himself away from the bar. “At least she’s crazy about skiing. In my book that’s better than drugs or boys.”

“Talking of boys, have you noticed Brenna’s hair is longer than it used to be?” Tyler watched as Brenna slid into a booth next to Josh, the chief of police.

“I assume you know Brenna isn’t a boy?”

“Can’t help thinking of her that way. Back when we were growing up she hung out and did what we did. She was a fourth brother to us.”

Jackson wondered whether decking his brother would bring him to his senses or just add to his problems. “I never saw her that way.”

Tyler wasn’t listening. “Think I should warn her about Josh? Guy’s got a reputation.”

“And you haven’t?”

“I’m not the one looking at Brenna as if I’d like to strip her naked.”

Jackson was fairly sure if he did then Brenna wouldn’t object, but he decided that was something Tyler had to work out for himself. “Brenna can handle herself.”

“So when the two of you went out—” Tyler’s voice was casual “—it was like a guy’s night, yes? You shared a few beers. Shot a few rounds of pool?”

Jackson decided this definitely wasn’t the moment to mention that Brenna had worn a tight black dress and they’d shared a candlelit dinner. “She drank beer, yes.”

“Maybe I’ll see if she wants to spend a day skiing sometime, like we used to.” Taylor scowled across the room. “She’s smiling. What the hell is funny about an emergency response plan? Is she seeing Josh?”

Jackson glanced over his shoulder to where Brenna was laughing with the chief of police. “Looks like she’s seeing him now.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

“I know. But I don’t insist on knowing the detail of the love life of my employees.”

“Maybe you should. The last thing we need is the law hanging around Snow Crystal. Folks will think we’ve got trouble here.”

“We went to school with Josh. He drinks here. Skis here. He’s a member of the mountain rescue team.”