She pulled her lips between her teeth to keep them from trembling. Alex was right. She had to face it. Her family had a right to be involved.
Yet, even knowing all that, she eyed him with resentment before she faced her family. “Okay, here it is in a nutshell. The inn doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Alex. I was tricked by a con artist. The crook was good, but that's no excuse. I've lost everythingâyour investments, my inn...”
Nausea swept over her, and she had to choke back bile. “Mr. D'Amour is tearing down the inn to make room for his golf course, and I have to be out of here by the end of January. I kept it from you because I was fighting his claim, but tonight I got the bad news.” Peering sideways at Alex, she cried brokenly, “Are you happy now?”
Though his face remained solemn, he winked in answer, and she had the most bizarre feeling that he was proud of her.
The room went as quiet as a tomb. Elissa watched her family stare at her.
“Then you and Alex aren'tâclose?” Helen asked.
“No,” Elissa growled. “We pretended to be friends so your vacation wouldn't be ruined.”
“Ohâoh, Elissa, I'mâwe're so sorry!” Lucy's blue eyes glimmered with tears.
There was a scraping of chair legs, and Elissa caught movement as Jack stood. His expression was closed but not angry. He seemed more unhappy than outraged. “Alex,” he said quietly, “I think, under the circumstances, it would be best if you stayed in a hotel until Elissa vacates the property, don't you?”
Elissa peeked at the man beside her as he nodded in acquiescence. “I'll send for my bags.” With that, he turned away, but stopped, his glance resting on Elissa's face. “Your family is a gift, Elissa.” His smile was rueful. “Don't squander it.”
Seconds later, he was gone.
Â
January 5 was a dismal day for Elissa, though the sun shone brightly, melting the snow. She hated watching her family bustle about getting ready to leave. Elissa intended to stay at the inn through January, honoring reservations she'd booked through the end of the month. She had notified the staff of the inn's imminent closing, and their usual happy mood dimmed.
Elissa assured her employees that with Alex opening his resort, there would be places for them all. It galled her to think that her employees would go over to the enemy, but she couldn't let her resentment for Alex stand in the way of their employment.
Both Jule and Bella had come to her privately, insisting they wouldn't apply for work with Alex if it would upset her. She'd assured them she was fine with it. She knew they were loyal enough to her, that if she asked them not to, they would never work for him. But that wouldn't be fair to them, since she didn't know if she would ever open another inn, herself.
“Okay.” Jack came up behind her and slung a brotherly arm around her shoulders. “I've contacted my real estate man, and he's going to bring over a list of properties for you to start considering.” He kissed her cheek. “There'll be a Crosby Inn in Branson, again. And remember, I get first dibs as an investor.”
“Wait a minute,” Damien said as he came down the stairs carrying two suitcases. “I'm the man she wants as her partner in this deal.” Elissa shifted to face him as he added with a grin, “Aren't I, Red?”
She shook her head at both men. “I don't deserve you two, considering what I did.”
Damien put down the bags. “That's true. We're hurt as hell.” He walked over and curled a finger under her chin, tilting her face up to deposit a goodbye kiss on her jaw. “Keep us informed. And remember, we'd love to have you visit us for a while. Heaven knows Helen has enough animal projects going on. We can always use warm bodies to help feed something or bathe something or set bones orâ”
“You silver-tongued devil,” Elissa said with a laugh. “How can I refuse such an exciting offer. I'll just get my veterinarian degree and rush right up.”
Helen came in from outside. “I've got the twins strapped in their car seats. Is everybody ready to get this show on the road?”
Damien chuckled. “That reminds me, Elissa. We also have a few nieces who'd love to have their aunt 'Lissa visit.”
With deep affection she touched his scarred cheek. “When you put it like that, it's a deal.”
“Whatever you need,” Lucy added, hugging her sister. “And don't
ever
keep secrets again, do you hear?”
Elissa started at Lucy's stern tone. “Yes, ma'am.” She smirked, but when Lucy didn't grin back, she grew serious. “Okay, okay. No secrets.”
As the Lords and Gallaghers loaded up the luxury rental car, Elissa felt very fortunate. She was touched by her family's offers of help. Alex had been on target about this, too. Her family didn't need her to be their mother, just their sister. She should have included them earlier. Their loving concern helped blunt her feelings of pain and loss.
It was interesting how Alex D'Amour's name was never mentioned after he left that night nearly a week ago. Her family had been supportive there, too. Somehow they seemed to understand that she not only needed to have him out of her inn, but also out of her thoughts. She wondered if her sisters suspected that she hadn't been able to scrub him from her heart.
She flinched, not wanting to admit the feeling. What did it matter now? He was gone, and with any luck, she wouldn't see him again.
She waved goodbye to her family, managing a real smile. With their help, she would get a new start. If she wanted to open another bed-and-breakfast in Branson, her family would aid her in every way possible. What a relief it was to know she didn't have to depend wholly on herself.
That's what Alex had meant about her family being a gift She truly had squandered that gift for too many years. Ironically it had been due to Alex's interference into her lifeâand her heartâthat she'd found out what she'd been missing. She'd never felt so free, so unburdenedâat least in most areas of her life.
Yet, in one small place, deep in her heart, she was weighted down with a sadness she didn't think she would ever be free ofâthe heartbreak of foolishly loving the man who took away her dream.
Â
With a bleakness in her soul, Elissa decided to take a walk. Snow fluttered down across the hills and valleys of the Ozarks, a peaceful sight. She loved a soft snowfall, and hoped that ambling in the pure loveliness would lift her spirits.
It was January 31 and the inn was officially closed. An hour ago, she bid her small staff a tearful farewell. Suddenly the place had been too quiet to bear. Tomorrow the movers would come to put her things in storage. With her future so unsure, she had decided to stay with Bella for a couple of weeks so that she could continue to check out properties, then take an extended visit to Helens and Damien's home.
Though her real estate agent had been helpful, showing her a number of excellent locations, Elissa's heart wasn't in the search, and she hadn't been able to make any decisions. She hoped she would become enthusiastic, soon. She needed to get on with her life.
Wandering along a woodland path, she tried to think of nothing more substantial than the dancing snowflakes. It was cold for midafternoon, and the snow was fluttering down at a fast clip. At least two inches of pristine whiteness covered the land and adorned the winter boughs. The Ozark mountains were enchanting in every season, but her favorite was deep winter. She took a long, slow turn around, gazing at the undulating landscape. Then she stopped. Where was she?
It came to her in a flash. The sledding hillâon Alex's property. With a spasmodic swallow, she made another slow turn, her mind drifting back to the last time it had snowed. To the time she had lain on her back, beneath Alex, kissing him with all the unbridled passion in her soul.
“Oh dear...” she breathed, reliving with painful clarity, the wonder of Alex's lovemaking. How could it be that her longing for him hadn't dimmed one iota? “You
fool,”
she cried.
“Did you say something to me?”
Astonished to hear a human voiceâespecially that voiceâshe almost fell as she spun around. Searching the white expanse, she saw movement as Alex strode into her line of vision from behind the lofty oak at the top of the rise.
Shocked by the impact of his appearance, she froze. He was so compelling, his magnetism so powerful, the mere sight of him was an erotic adventure. Light-headed, she inhaled to regain herself.
Though too far away to feel the heat of his body, she still found herself suddenly warm. Her rational mind told her to turn and run, but her love for him held her to the spot.
He began to walk her way, and she stopped breathing, her gaze gobbling him up. In his parka, jeans and work boots, he strode down the hillside like the conqueror he was. Plunging his hands into his coat pockets, he scanned her, his eyes assessing.
When he was within three feet, he came to a halt, his features enigmatic. “Were you?” he asked.
Confused, she frowned. “What?” Her mind had gone to mush, and now that she could detect his aftershave, she was afraid she wasn't going to get much more lucid.
“Didn't you call me a fool?”
She remembered and her cheeks burned. “I was talking to myself,” she blurted, then wished she could cut out her tongue.
His lips quirked.
Defensively she sputtered, “I, er, people have a right toâit doesn't mean you're crazy if you talk to yourself!”
“I hope not.” His grin was wry. “I've been doing it a lot lately.”
That melancholy smile did horrible things to her insides and she gulped. She knew she should hate this man, and she had tried!
Hard!
But she couldn't seem to find it in her. Looking at him standing there, so tall and powerful, yet somehow vulnerable, she had to blink several times to hold back forlorn tears.
“Don't you want to know why I've been talking to myself?” he asked, his features serious.
Unable to trust her voice, she shook her head, wishing she really didn't want to know.
He dropped his gaze to the snow, looking strangely defeated. The uncharacteristic stance touched something inside her. And even though he was responsible for her current plight, she felt a need to thank him for the important lesson he'd forced her to learn. “About my family,” she murmured, “you were right, and I owe you for that Thank you.”
When he lifted his gaze to hers again, she was stunned at what she saw. His magnificent eyes shimmered with emotion. “I know that was hard for you, but it means a lot to me that you said it.”
She felt a blow to her heart for the little boy who had never known the gift of a loving family. With difficulty, she squashed it. This was the end of their brief relationship, and she needed to cut the bond she felt for him before she did something stupid. Not knowing what else to say, she took a step away. “Goodbye, Alex, I hopeâ”
“You can have your inn, Elissa.”
She stumbled to a halt and stared, positive she hadn't heard him right.
His features grave, he added, “I'll draw up the papers.”
He turned to go, and had taken several paces before she found her voice. “Butâbut
why?”
With no more answer than the shake of his head, he kept trudging away from her.
Unable to believe he meant it, she ran after him, grabbing his wrist “IâI can't accept this!”
When he turned his gaze on her, it was intense and sad. “You're backsliding. I thought you'd learned to accept help.”
“From my family! People who love me!”
“I love you, Elissa.” His tone was so solemn it sounded like an apology.
Her lips formed a stunned “oh” as his declaration echoed in her brain.
I love you
,
Elissa. I love you, Elissa. I love you, Elissa.
She shook her head to clear the mental fog. “What?” she breathed in a whisper.
He swallowed, looking charmingly defenseless, for the first time not in control of his world. “I know you hate me, but I needed to say it.”
She was so shocked, she couldn't move. Yet his gaze, roving over her face, was so stunningly honest, she knew he spoke the truth.
Atex D'Amour loved her.
“But I thought you didn't believe inâ”
“Selfish people make selfish love, Elissa.” He tenderly scanned her face. “I'll always regret the way my parents hoarded their love. But after knowing you, I've grown to understand love's powerâand I've made my peace with my mother and father.”
His smile was brief and sad, but the beauty of it wrapped around her like a warm blanket. “Because of you, I know I could be a different kind of parent. You see, in the last few weeks, I've missed having my sweaters dribbled on by baby girls. I found out I like children, and I want some of my own.”