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There was no response. “Your grandfather is coming just to see you.” Still no reaction. “Do you think it would make your uncle happy to know you quit at the last minute?” Maybe that argument would help since nothing else had worked.
She was looking at him through the rearview mirror. He put his head down. “No.”
“Uncle Bernard’s going to be taking movies. That means your uncle Raoul will be able to watch them after he gets home.”
“What if he died like Daddy?” Out of the mouth of a child. Philippe had just voiced the fear lurking in her heart ever since Raoul had phoned about the emergency. With two deaths already in the family, it wasn’t hard to make the leap to a place too awful to contemplate.
“That’s not going to happen,” she said matter-of-factly. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel. “It’s his job to help people. He’ll be back as soon as he can, so cheer up. Today’s a happy day. I can’t wait to see you in the Christmas program. Just think. Now that you and Albert will be out of school, you can play together all the time.”
She pulled into the parking lot. With all the visitors arriving, it was filling up fast. Crystal turned off the motor. “Look—there’s your grandmother’s car and Uncle Bernard’s! That means everyone is here. Come on. Let’s hurry inside so you can get into your costume.”
“I don’t see Uncle Raoul’s car.”
“Tell you what. When we get inside your room to put on your costume, I’ll phone him and see if he answers.” Finally she’d said something to strike a chord because he undid his seat belt and got out of the car.
Together they walked inside the building and headed for his class. The boys’ teacher had put the costumes out on the tables. Their angel outfits were white with gold trim and a gold halo. He and Albert looked adorable in them, but a certain six-year-old wasn’t acting that way.
“Did you call him again?”
“Yes, but he’s not answering. He will when he can.”
Vivige knew what was happening and flashed her a commiserating glance as she fastened up the backs of their costumes.
“Attention. It’s time for the parents to go to the auditorium.”
At the sound of the teacher’s voice, Philippe’s face started to crumble. “I don’t want to sing.”
Crystal couldn’t force him. Her son’s heart was breaking for fear something had happened to Raoul. Those feelings ran deep in his psyche.
She got down on her haunches and smoothed the tears from his cheeks. “All right, honey. You don’t have to be in the program. Will you at least come with me so we can watch it together?”
“Yes,” he croaked.
“That’s good because Fleur and Lise are going to be singing with their classes, too.”
She stood up and caught Madame Fillou’s eye. The teacher could see something was wrong and nodded.
Clasping his hand, Crystal started walking them behind Vivige. When her sister-in-law opened the door into the hall, Philippe’s cry rang throughout the room. “Hey—you’re back!” He let go of Crystal’s hand and literally flew into Raoul’s arms.
One of the mothers smiled at Crystal. “Your son is certainly crazy about his good-looking father. I never saw anything like it. Lucky you.” She winked.
Crystal smiled back, but her emotions were in chaos. She’d never seen anything like it, either, as she watched the two of them hug. It wasn’t the normal hug a nephew gave an uncle coming and going. This was her son who’d been suffering trauma since discovering his uncle had gone on a rescue mission—the uncle Philippe had known from birth and had turned to whenever Eric hadn’t been there.
Through the years a bond had been forged and another truth had to be faced. All the time Eric had been a part-time father, Raoul had done the heavy-duty round-the-clock parenting. Somewhere along the way he’d become the daddy.
If Suzanne had lived and they’d had children, things would have been different. But, the reality was, Philippe had drawn close to Raoul and her little boy thrived on the love he gave him.
“Philippe, honey—your teacher wants you to get in line.”
“Okay.” His uncle’s appearance had turned him back into a sweet angel.
Raoul put him down. “We’ll be out in front watching you.”
Crystal blew him a kiss, then hurried to join Vivige.
They made their way into the auditorium where the rest of the family were saving seats. Crystal sat next to Jules with Vivige on her other side. Bernard had the camera ready.
Out of the corner of her eye Crystal saw Raoul sit next to his mother. Jules wore a permanent smile. For the next hour they were treated to a wonderful Christmas program. All the cousins performed beautifully, and it was as if Philippe had been in the school all year.
When they got to the part where they sang “Silent Night,” the carol mocked the turmoil going on inside of Crystal. Even though Raoul had returned, the fear that something had happened to him had upset her so much, it had caused havoc with her stomach. A minute before the program was over, she turned to Vivige.
“I suddenly need a restroom. Will you see to Philippe? I’ll meet you all at the house.”
“You poor thing. Of course.”
She rushed past the crowd and was the first one to leave the auditorium. Because she was so fast, she beat the others exiting the parking lot and raced home. Once upstairs, she thought she’d lose her lunch; but, by that time, the nausea had subsided.
Once she’d freshened up, she planned to go back downstairs and hug her son, but there was a knock on the door. Surprised Philippe didn’t just burst in, she opened it and met a grim-faced Raoul in the entry. He came inside, nudging the door shut behind him with his foot.
“What happened to make you bolt like that after the program?”
“I had a hard time with Philippe before you came to his schoolroom. My stomach cramped up because of delayed stress, but I’m fine now.”
“The hell you are. It’s something else.”
She could never hide anything from him. “No, Raoul. I—I was just so thankful you came when you did,” she said, her voice faltering.
“So thankful it made you sick?”
Crystal struggled for breath. “Before you showed up, Philippe was afraid you’d died.”
A ring of white appeared around his compelling mouth. “Is that what you thought, too?” When she didn’t say anything because she was afraid to admit it, he held her upper arms, shaking her gently. “Tell me the truth.”
“I didn’t want to think it because—because I couldn’t bear the thought.”
“Of what?” he demanded.
“Of you being gone—” She averted her eyes. “The family couldn’t handle another tragedy.”
His sudden intake of breath sounded like a volcanic fissure erupting. “So it wasn’t personal?” He’d brought her body right up against his.
“Raoul—” she cried in torment, but that was the only word to escape her lips before he lowered his dark head and found her mouth. Her body quivered as he closed his mouth over hers in a man’s kiss so hot with desire it began melting her bones.
Crystal had already caught flame and opened up to him, giving in to her terrible hunger for him. She heard his unmistakable moan of longing before he deepened their kiss. The kind of rapture she’d never known sent out voluptuous heat, encasing them in a fire too marvelous to describe.
To be tasting and loving him like this when she’d dreamed about it for so long had her soaring. When he unexpectedly wrenched his mouth from hers, leaving her reeling, she gasped in the aftershock and took a step away from his arms.
What had she done?
“You—you shouldn’t have done that, Raoul,” she said, her voice shaking while she wobbled in place. The feel of him still held her in its grip.
His eyes glittered dangerously. “Hate me all you want, but you’d be lying if you told me you didn’t enjoy that.”
Her cheeks burned as if she had a fever. “Yes, I enjoyed it,” she admitted. “No man has kissed me since Eric. I’d forgotten how pleasurable it could be.”
“Kind of like the same way you forgot how much you loved to ski,” he persisted. “Look what happened when you gave yourself permission to embrace life again.”
Fighting for her life she said, “Yes, and that’s because of the offer you made me. I’ve done nothing but think about it, so I might as well give you my answer now.”
Raoul’s body broke out in a cold sweat. This was it, the answer he’d been waiting for since the other night at his house.
He watched her brace her legs against the end of the bed, as if she needed support. “This won’t take long.” He could hear her rapid breathing.
“Go on,” he said, moving toward her.
“I’ve considered it from every angle. Your offer was so incredibly generous, I’m still overwhelmed by it.”
His lungs froze. If his theory was wrong and she took him up on it, then it meant she didn’t have the feelings for him he had for her.
“I happen to know it’s unprecedented,” she continued, “which makes what I have to tell you sound like I’m the most ungrateful wretch who ever lived. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to turn it down because I’ve decided to make a new life for myself and Philippe in Breckenridge.”
The blood pounded in his ears.
“After we return, I’m going to start a ski school. I’m also going to buy Philippe and I a house of our own and get him enrolled in some activities like karate. At some point I’m also going to rent a piano in the hope he might take to it. Raising a well-rounded child is important to me. Though I didn’t like piano lessons when I was younger, it taught me music and I think it’s important.”
Crystal could talk all she wanted, but Raoul was too elated to listen and didn’t buy a word of it.
“I know you told me to think about it and give you my answer when I was ready. Well the truth is, I wanted to tell you ‘no’ when you first made the offer, but that would have seemed unconscionably rude of me.”
He shifted his weight, struggling to contain emotions that were spilling out in every direction. “You don’t know how to be rude, Crystal. If you don’t feel that establishing a ski school here is for you, then I won’t bring it up again. My concern was to be of help to you and Philippe any way I could.”
“You’ve always been there for us. There’ve been times when I don’t know what I … we would have done without you.”
The betraying choice of words wasn’t wasted on him. “I’ll always be here for you. You know that.”
It was fascinating to watch the way her hands rubbed against womanly hips in an unconscious gesture. The sister-in-law he’d once known had never betrayed her nervousness around him like this. He was seeing a new phenomenon she’d only started to display since he’d flown to Colorado.
“I’ll never forget your offer. Thank you for all you’ve done for Philippe. He’s the most fortunate little boy I know to have you for his uncle.”
“You know how I feel about him. In fact, one of the reasons I came upstairs was to tell you I’ve arranged for a sleigh ride for everyone who wants to go. It’s my treat to the children for putting on such a wonderful performance. See you downstairs? Be sure to dress warmly.”
He purposely held himself back from touching her again because he couldn’t trust himself within ten feet of her right now. After he left the room, he stopped at the stair landing to send Des a text.
She turned me down flat. Joy to the world.
CHAPTER SIX (#ubd062ee4-959f-5056-91b3-21bed7dcb1e1)
HATE ME ALL YOU WANT, but you’d be lying if you told me you didn’t enjoy that.
Crystal stood there for a long time, taking in shallow breaths while the ramifications of what he’d done began to set in. With that soul-destroying kiss he’d crossed over the line and broken all the rules. What was it Eric had once told her about his elder brother?
Raoul makes up his own rules as he goes along. That’s why he’s the best of the best at what he does.
He was the best. Seconds ago she’d turned down an offer no other champion skier in her right mind would do. Yet, all the while she’d been giving him her reasons, she’d had the feeling he wasn’t listening because he knew Philippe wasn’t on board with any of it.
She’d kept waiting for him to raise objections. In a way, she’d been anticipating a fight. Not the cat-and-dog kind, naturally. Raoul knew how to put up arguments couched with logic and reason that made it difficult for her to ever come out the winner. But just a little while ago when she’d been frank with him, he’d said nothing to dissuade her. By not bringing any pressure to bear, it had thrown her off balance.
With that kiss, it meant all those growing feelings she’d tried to deny before leaving for Colorado had been visible to Raoul on some sensory level. Otherwise he wouldn’t have done what he did with the kind of mastery he’d shown.
While she wrestled with what she planned to do about it for the rest of the holidays, Philippe came bursting into her room.
“Mommy? Were you sick?”
All her child needed was more worry. She hugged him hard. “I had a little tummy ache, but it’s all better. Do you know you were the best angel in the whole program? I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks. Uncle Raoul said so, too. Now we’ve got to hurry ‘cause he’s taking us for a long sleigh ride!”
“I know. We need to get our parkas and boots on.”
The last thing she wanted to do was face anyone, but she had to put on a happy front for Philippe. Once they’d gathered their things, they left her bedroom. On the way down she gave herself a talk about getting control of her life. She’d taken charge once before and had left Chamonix. She could do it again. It was time to act like a mother in charge of her son and do what was best for both of them.
From here on out she needed to play her role as the happy aunt to the hilt. No one would be able to see the crack in her defense put there by Raoul himself. Her brother-in-law had become her greatest adversary, but no one else knew it.
Maybe it was better he’d drawn the fragile curtain aside to expose what had been the elephant in the room for so long she couldn’t bear it anymore. Now that she’d reached flash point and had given in to her desires for that brief moment, she had no choice but to set up a counterstrategy to end the conflict for good. You fought fire with fire. That’s what she intended to do.
“Are you feeling all right now?”
Avoiding Raoul’s shuttered gaze, Crystal turned to Arlette. “Much. I think maybe I’ve been eating too many pieces of marzipan, so I’m going to stay away from it.”
“Oh, dear. I’m sorry.”
“It’s my fault for being a glutton. When I used to race, I’d eat tons of it for the calories and burn them off. But I’ve found I can’t do that anymore. It’s been sitting in my tummy like a pile of rocks.”
Everyone broke into gales of laughter except Raoul. He knew the truth, but went along with her performance. That was good. She’d come down to the salon armed with a plan that was now set in stone.
Everyone hugged the grandparents goodbye and left the house in two cars. Crystal got in the front seat of Raoul’s car. The boys climbed in back.
“Where are we going, Uncle Raoul?”
“To the same farm where I took you before, Albert.”
“Did you bring the sleigh bells?” Philippe cried out excitedly.
“I did. They’re in the back of my car.”
“Goody!”
The boys waved to the girls riding in Bernard’s car. Before long they reached the farm on one of the lower hillsides. A large sleigh and a small one, each with two horses, sat waiting for them along the snow packed lane. Their drivers, two older Savoyards, waved to them. With an overcast sky and the Alps in the background, the whole alpine winter scene didn’t look quite real and could have graced a Christmas card.
