Authors: Heidi Hutchinson
“
Okay,
but I may have to question the young man on his intentions with my
sister.”
Lenny hit his coat
with her mittened hand. “Stop it! You will not!”
Nathan
was laughing, delighted that he gotten her so riled up. “Oh,
now I
have
to.” He was dodging more smacks from her. Pretty soon Lenny
picked up a snowball and hurled it square in Nathan’s face.
“
Snowball
fight!” One of the little boys yelled and it was instantly a
free-for-all. The air was filled with volleying balls of snow and
excited yells. Lenny and Nathan were ducking and trying to ward off
the sudden onslaught. It was the adults against the kids, they were
completely outnumbered.
***
They clamored into
the mud room off the back of the house, Lenny instructing the little
boys to take off all wet clothes before going through grandma’s
kitchen. They happily obeyed, satisfied that they had won the
snowball fight against their aunt and uncle.
“
I
don’t know how you do it, Fe.” Lenny said to her sister
in-law as she got herself another cup of hot cider off the stove.
Felicity laughed,
“Neither do I!”
Lenny leaned her
back against the warm stove and breathed in the amazing scents in the
kitchen.
“
You
ladies sure have been cooking up a storm in here. It smells so good!”
“
Thanks,
Lenna! Would you mind checking the table to see if Scott needs
anything?” Her mom asked as she scurried down from a step stool
with an enormous turkey baster held like a weapon as she headed for
the oven.
Lenny nodded and
walked onto the dining room. “Mom, wants to know if you need
anything else.” She addressed Scott who was pushing the kids
table into the corner.
“
No,
I think I have it all.”
“
Kay.”
She sipped her cider, studying her tall, older brother. “Where
is Simone?” She asked about Scott’s longtime girlfriend
who was always at every holiday. The photographer he had met in New
York a few years ago was tall and willowy with vibrant red hair and a
smattering of freckles. She was noticeably absent this year and no
one had mentioned her. In fact, Lenny hadn't spoken to her since the
night before her interview with Carl.
“
We
decided to take a break.” Scott didn’t look up from his
task.
“
What
does that mean?”
Scott straightened
up and put his hands on his hips. “She wants something I’m
not ready for yet. We decided to take a break and see how we feel
after the holidays.”
“
That’s
stupid.” Lenny couldn’t stop herself from declaring her
view point.
“
That’s
your opinion.”
“
Whatever.
She’s too good for you anyway, I can’t believe you won’t
just marry her already. It’s been what, five years of dating?”
Scott frowned at his
sister’s reprimand. “That’s interesting, coming
from you.”
“
What’s
that supposed to mean?” Lenny could feel her neck heating up.
“
You’ve
had one boyfriend your whole life and now this thing with the rock
star that we all know won’t last, and you think you should give
relationship advice?”
Lenny knew he had a
point but it irritated her. “I liked Simone, that’s all.”
Scott grunted and
went upstairs to get more chairs. Lenny took her cup back to the
kitchen and checked to see if they needed her help. They were fine
and sent her out to the den to see her father and other brother,
David.
Lenny curled her
legs under her and sat on the big leather sofa in front of the fire
while her father and David played chess. What Scott had said about
Luke bugged her. He didn’t know if it would last. How could
he? It was still brand new. Lenny wasn’t even sure where it
was going. Maybe that was the problem.
She leaned her head
against the arm rest and stared into the fire. She thought about the
guys and the road and how exciting going to Europe would be. She also
thought about Duke and the Lodge and the whole life she had waiting
for her here, whenever she decided to rejoin it. Was there even the
possibility of a future with Luke? Wouldn’t he just move on to
the next girl when the tour was over? Yes, more than likely, that’s
what made the most sense. She could just enjoy what little time they
had left. New Year's would be fun. And Europe would be great too.
But Lenny decided that after Europe she would come home to the Lodge.
She may never snowboard again but she could be close to see her
nephews grow and be around if her parents needed her.
It was time to make
grownup decisions.
“
You
okay, kiddo?” Her father broke into her thoughts. “You
look like you're thinking about something pretty hard.”
Lenny twisted her
head so her chin was on the armrest and she was looking at her dad.
“Yeah, just thinking about New Year's.”
“
Your
mom and I are leaving for the Caymans tomorrow, you need us to stay?”
“
No,
I think Nathan and I have it pretty much handled.” Lenny gave
him a small smile.
“
How
is Duke?” David asked, making a move on the chess board that
caused her father to grunt.
“
He's
the same.” Lenny replied. Duke really was the same. Nothing
with him ever changed. She smiled to herself as she thought of him.
Christmas Day and he was out on a run. This was the first one in a
long time where she wasn't sharing it with him and wishing she was.
***
Duke slowly peeled
off his sweater, being careful to not tug on his left shoulder. He
rotated that arm a few times, trying to loosen the tightness that had
built up.
“
You
tweak your shoulder again?”
Lenny's voice
startled him. He hadn't seen her sitting at the bar when he'd come
in the backdoor.
“
Aren't
you supposed to be in town?” He ignored her question,
continuing to strip out of his wet clothes without grimacing from the
pain running through his arm.
“
Ma
sent home some leftovers. And an entire pie.” Lenny wasn't
being fooled. He saw her watching him closely and irritation shot
down his spine. The last thing he needed was for her to be worried
about him.
“
Can
I help you with that?” She jumped off the stool and started
towards him.
“
I
got it.” Duke didn't mean to snap but that's what had
happened. Lenny wasn't even fazed. She rolled her eyes and smacked
his hand out of the way as she grabbed the bottom of his shirt and
tugged it over his head. Duke didn't have the coordination to fight
back even though he knew what would happen next and he wasn't
disappointed. As Lenny dropped his shirt into the pile on the floor,
she gasped.
“
Oh,
stop.” Duke growled. He tried to push past her with the
intent of going to his room and closing the door. But Lenny wasn't
having it.
“
Holy
crap, Duke.” Her eyes were wide as they took in the bruises
that adorned his torso. It must have been worse than he had expected
by the shocked look on her face. “What the hell happened out
there today?”
“
I
took a spill,” his mouth crooked up on the side, “maybe
a few.”
“
Well,”
Lenny scrutinized his wounds and he had to fight off the
self-conscience feeling washing over him from her careful gaze. “You
look terrible.” She leveled at him. “But,” she
turned him around and gingerly touched some of the marks, feeling for
cracked ribs, “I don't think anything is broken.” She
gently rubbed his sore shoulder and gauged his reaction. “I
don't like that you keep messing this up, you might need to see a
doctor one of these days.” She raised her eyebrows at him and
her sweet concern made is heart melt.
“
I'll
be fine.” Duke reassured her. “It's not like I've never
wrecked before.” He grinned as he hobbled towards the stairs,
this time she let him pass. “How about I put some clothes on
and you heat me up some of that food you were talking about.”
He didn't turn around to see if she would comply, he knew she'd do
it.
In
his room, Duke surveyed his body in the mirror.
Yep,
I do look terrible.
He slipped his arms in a loose button up flannel, only bothering
with half the buttons. His skin still burned from where her fingers
had touched him and he silently scolded his anatomy for letting her
still affect him like that. He put on some baggy pajama pants and
stood before the mirror again.
He
gave himself a stern look and let out all the air in his lungs.
Get
it together, dumb ass.
He took a few more
minutes to clear his head before he made his way back to the kitchen.
Lenny had an impressive spread set out for him on the bar; turkey,
sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, biscuits and green beans. She was
sitting on the counter top across from the bar, her legs dangling.
“
I
thought you said there would be pie.” Duke grumbled as he took
his seat.
“
You
can have pie if you finish all of that.” Lenny laughed and
Duke relished that sound that had been missing for way too long. And
he knew the credit belonged to someone else. Not that he hadn't
tried, they'd all tried to snap her out of her funk after the wreck
but no one could reach her. Now, she seemed closer than she'd been
in ages.
“
How
was the family?” He asked between forkfuls.
“
Good,
everyone's happy and healthy.”
“
Scott?”
Duke looked up in time to see her scrunch her nose.
“
The
usual.”
Duke nodded
knowingly. Scott was always harder on Lenny than Duke felt she
deserved. One of the many reasons he couldn't get along with that
guy.
“
What's
the plan for New Year's?”
“
Nathan
will move up here tomorrow to help me set up. He has mom's gift for
decorating.” She smiled at him crookedly. “I'd really
like it if you were here for it. I really want you to meet all the
guys.”
“
I'll
be around.” Duke nodded as he took a drink of water. He knew
what she was really asking. She wanted his approval of the new guy.
He had never approved of Shane and he suspected that was one of the
reason's she had stopped talking to him about the important stuff.
Now that things with Shane were over, Duke was back in Lenny's
confidence...for the most part.
***
Lenny went through
her closet and packed what she would need for Aspen and then packed a
separate suitcase for Europe. She was glad she would be able to
bring some fresh clothes for the second leg of the tour. No hasty
packing this time around.
Duke had been out on
the mountain daily since she'd come home. Every night before he went
to bed he asked Lenny if she wanted to come with him in the morning.
She always said no. She wasn't ready for that. She might not ever
be.
She busied herself
preparing for her guests. The upstairs had several single bedrooms
and one large room with six bunks in it. She made sure all the
sheets were clean and all the bathrooms were fully stocked. It was
weirdly similar to her job on the road.
Every night, she and
Duke would sit by the fire and visit. She didn't get personal and
neither did he. But it was soothing and Lenny enjoyed the knowledge
that no matter how far away she went or how long she was gone, she
would be able to come home to Duke's solid presence. His loyalty
never wavered.