Snowmen In Paradise (Book 2 Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries) (9 page)

Jenna sat down in an empty chair at the table
and took off one of her high heels to rub her foot. “Dennis just called to let me know we shouldn’t count on either him or Dylan to make it back for several hours at least. The accident everyone was called to respond to was actually a fire in the Angel Mountain administration offices. Someone left some of the dynamite they use for avalanche control in the storeroom behind the office and the whole thing blew up.”

“Blew up
? Was anyone hurt?”

“I’m not sure
. Dennis didn’t have time to go into detail. He just called so I wouldn’t worry. When he left, he thought he’d be back in time to share a dance. He figured since he’s not technically on call, his would be the first engine released. It turns out, though, that no one is going anywhere for a while.”

“I’ll put in a call to the hospital,” Jake offered
. “If anyone was hurt, they’d know about it.” Jake had founded Serenity Community Hospital in 1950, and while he’d retired years ago, turning the administration of the enterprise over to Hunter’s dad, Charles, he still had a direct line to anyone he wanted to talk to.

“Tj
, there you are,” Maude said as she walked up, with Millie, Abe, and Andy trailing behind her. “We wanted to thank you again for the beautiful day you provided for us. We don’t know how we can ever thank you.”

“And you too
, Jenna,” Millie added. “Everything was just perfect.”

“It was our pleasure,” Jenna answered for both of them.

“And the service,” Andy said, directing his comment to Judge Harper. “It was truly something special.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it
. It’s not often I get the chance to do a double wedding.”

“Are you going on a honeymoon?”
Ben asked.

“We’re switching up cabins a bit,” Millie blushed
, “but we plan to stay for the winter carnival.”

“Andy and I are entering the ice
-fishing competition,” Abe told them. “I don’t suppose you know where we can rent a warming hut?”

“I’m sure we have an extra one at the resort we’d be happy to lend you,” Ben offered
. “I’ll have the crew take it over to the lake with the others. Are you all set for poles and bait?”

“We figured we’d stop at the sporting goods store in town and get what
we need,” Andy answered. “Your lovely activities director gave us a list of suggested supplies right down to a portable ice chest for the fish we catch. She’s one organized little gal.”

“Yeah, she’s great
.” Ben smiled.

“She gave us a list of all the events taking place over the weekend,” Andy
added. “There are three or four things we might try our hands at.”

“And don’t forget about teaching us to ice skate
.” Maude leaned her head against her tall husband’s shoulder.

“We’ll need skates,” Millie
said.

“We have plenty of rentals in the sun and ski shop,” Tj informed them
. “I’m sure our staff can hook you up with everything you need.”

“I think this is our song.”
Millie blushed as Abe kissed her gently on the lips.

Tj felt a joy that had been missing during the last week fill her heart as she watched the happy couples
. She’d almost let her anger with Travis rob her of the happiness brought about by witnessing the very special union of four people so much in love. It was Sunday. The winter carnival would be nothing but a fading memory by this time next week, and the usually peaceful community of Serenity would be rid of the likes of Travis Davidson, hopefully for good this time.

“
Two maintenance workers were injured in the explosion, but so far it looks like there wasn’t any loss of life,” Jake said after hanging up his phone. “The fire started about an hour before anyone had called it in. One of the maintenance workers was setting up tables in the lodge, and he’s the one who saw smoke coming from the office and went to investigate. When he realized the building was on fire, he called another maintenance employee to come to help. They tried to use hoses to put out the flames while they waited for the fire department to arrive. It seems both men suffered from smoke inhalation, and one of them received some pretty bad burns when the building exploded. It’s amazing they both weren’t killed.”

“I wonder how the fire started
,” Tj said.

“
That’s a question for the investigators,” Jake responded as Kyle walked toward them.

“Beautiful service
.” Kyle shook Judge Harper’s hand before sitting down at the table.

“Thank you
, son. I enjoyed your speech as well.”

“I can’t believe how many hours I agonized over finding the perfect words to convey my feelings
, but in the end I just said what was in my heart.”

“It really was beautiful,” Tj added.
“Where’s Carmen?”

“She has an early flight out of Sacramento in the morning
, so she decided to go back to the house. I think she’s feeling sad to be leaving Newton behind and wanted to spend some time with him while she could.”

“How’s he settling in?” Tj asked.

“He seems to be having the time of his life playing with Trooper,” Kyle said, referring to his black lab. “I’m sure Newton will miss Carmen, but I’m guessing he’ll do fine.”

“
Puppies are adaptable.” Tj nodded her head.

“Have you thought any mor
e about what we talked about?” Jake asked Kyle as Tj turned to wave to one of the guests who had just come in.

“A bit
. I have to admit the idea is intriguing, but I’m just not sure.”

“What idea is that?”
Tj asked, rejoining the conversation.

“Don Portman is resigning from the town council after this year
,” Jake answered. “I thought Kyle here would be an excellent choice to replace him.”

“Jake is right,” Tj agreed
. “You would be good. You’re open-minded and fair. I’ve never known you to have a personal agenda. You’re richer than Midas, so I doubt you’ll be swayed by bribery. I love the idea.”

“You think
? I mean, I’ve only lived here for a few months. I’m pretty sure no one even knows who I am.”

“People know you,” Jenna assured him
. “In fact, there’s not a person in town who doesn’t know you after the whole scandal surrounding Zachary’s death.”

“The election isn’t for nine months,
” Jake informed him. “You’ll want to start campaigning three months out or so, but you still have time to consider it.”

“Bookman’s on the council,” Tj
mentioned. Kyle was a huge fan of the popular mystery writer. When he’d first come to Serenity and met the man who was family to Tj, he’d been completely starstruck. Since then, he’d gotten to know the man behind the hype, but Tj was fairly certain he was still one of Bookman’s biggest fans.

“It’s a good group,” Judge Harper assured him
. “I’m sure you’d fit right in.”

“Okay, I’ll seriously consider it,” Kyle promised
. “I’ll make up my mind in the next few weeks.”

“Hey
, Kyle, wanna dance?” Julie Sorenson, Maggie’s Hideaway’s activities director asked. Julie had helped Kyle put together the reception and Tj knew he was grateful.

“I’d love to.”
Kyle and Julie strolled onto the dance floor hand in hand.

“I think I’ll head over to the dessert table and grab a piece of cake
. Would anyone else like some?” Jenna asked.

“I’ll take a piece,” Ben answered.

“Thanks for asking, but I’ll stick to coffee,” Jake informed her.

“Judge?” she asked.

“Cake would be nice.”

“I’ll go with you,” Tj offered.

“Rita did a nice job with the flowers,” Jenna commented. Rita Halliwell owned Rita’s Roses, half of the local establishment fondly referred to as Guns and Roses. When Rita’s father passed away, leaving his guns-and-ammo store to Rita and her brother Brandon, she’d decided she wanted to use her half of the store to open a flower shop, and thus the unusual pairing was born.

“She really did,” Tj agreed
. “Maude and Millie had some pretty specific ideas about what they wanted, and it looks like Rita pulled it off to a T. I especially love the centerpiece she made for the head table. Somehow, when I look at it, I can’t help but think of Maude and Millie. And the cake you made is gorgeous. It must have taken you hours to decorate it.”

“It took a while,” Jenna admitted
. “But I wanted something really special for such special brides and grooms. Each layer is a different flavor of cake. Would you like white, chocolate, lemon, or carrot?”

“Just bring one of each and I’ll take whatever is left after the others choose
. They all sound delicious to me.”

Jenna picked up paper plates with the slices of cake requested and then turned back toward the table where the others were waiting
. “I’ll meet you back at the table.”

“I’ll walk back with you,” Tj replied.

Jenna smiled at something over Tj’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you a piece for when you’re done.”

“Done?”

“Care for a dance?” Hunter had walked up behind her.

Tj smiled as she watched Jenna juggle the plates as she returned to the table
. When Hunter had first broken Tj’s heart, Jenna had wanted nothing to do with the guy. She couldn’t understand why Tj would want to retain a friendship with a man who had hurt her so deeply. But as time went by, Jenna had begun to realize that sometimes there are people in your life who simply aren’t disposable, despite the pain they may have caused.

“Aren’t you supposed to be playin
g a guitar right about now?” Tj asked.

“Kyle wanted to cut in
. He has a couple of songs he wants to sing for his new aunts, and I saw this as an opportunity to dance with the most beautiful girl in the room.”

Tj hesitated
, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew this was a horrible idea. She’d had a couple of glasses of wine, which had lowered her inhibitions, and Hunter looked good enough to eat in his James Bond tuxedo. “Uh, yeah. Okay.”

Taking her hand in his
, Hunter led her out onto the dance floor just as the music slowed and Kyle’s deep voice filled the room. Tj could feel Hunter’s heart pounding against her ear as he pulled her close. He smelled so good, just the way she remembered. Their bodies swayed effortlessly, the rhythm and movement of the other seeming as familiar as their own. Tj closed her eyes and let the memories she’d buried filter to the surface. The first time she’d kissed Hunter; the first time they’d danced; the first time they’d made love. She knew she was playing with fire, but in that moment she didn’t care. The dance had no future and didn’t change the past. Still, it seemed to provide a perfect ending to what had, surprisingly, turned into a perfect day.

Tj looked at the scoreboard and smiled. After a week of focused drills, her team looked better than ever. If they had a good showing during carnival, they might actually go into regionals with a lead. The competition slated for Thursday consisted of four men’s events and four women’s. The competitors were given individual scores and the teams were ranked based on the total number of points earned by the members of the group.

“Anyone seen Sarah and Eric?”
Tj wondered. She hated to start her wrap-up until everyone was present.

“They had a fight and took off,” Brittany shared
.

“Dare I
ask what the fight was about?” Tj had learned a long time ago that part of being a successful coach was to be a good mediator.

“Sarah’s been hanging with Travis
all week and Eric is jealous,” Jilli informed her.

“Travis
Davidson?” Tj asked. “Isn’t he a little old for her?”

Jilli shrugged
. “I guess. All I know is that Sarah ran into Travis while we were walking over from the locker room, and he invited her to go for a drink. She accepted and Eric went nuts. Sarah left with Travis and Eric stormed off in the opposite direction. I’m pretty sure Sarah is in the bar at the Inn, if you want me to get her.”

“Thanks
, but I’ll stop by to check on her after we finish here. Chances are the bartender kicked her out anyway. She
is
only seventeen.”

Jilli shrugged
. “She got served last night. Guess Travis has enough clout that the guy looked the other way.”

“Terrific.”
Not only was Tj worried that Sarah was much too young and inexperienced to take up with the likes of Travis Davidson, but she was equally concerned that a few illegal drinks could make the difference in her race times. “Okay, let’s go ahead and get started. First of all, I’d like to congratulate each and every one of you on your effort today. You were all awesome. Connor and Brittany set personal bests, Jilli tore it up in spite of her knee, and Gary shaved enough time off of his runs to kick us up in the overall standings if he can duplicate the effort on Thursday.

“Tomorrow
is our final practice before the qualifying heats scheduled for Wednesday,” Tj continued. “We start off with the giant slalom, so I figured we’d focus on that tomorrow. I think with a strong showing we can edge into first place with overall points. The guys take the slopes first, but the girls will have their chance in the afternoon.”

“I wish we were going earlier,” Brittany complained
. “I hate all the waiting around.”

“Yeah
, it sucks,” Tj agreed. “But if we do well on Wednesday, we’ll be seeded higher for the actual competition on Thursday. It’s important that we stay focused. I want everyone to get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll meet back here after school tomorrow.”

“I have a chem test to study for,” Conn
or said. “I’ll probably be up most of the night.”

Tj frowned
. School was closed for the winter carnival on Thursday and Friday, and Wednesday was a minimum day so Greg had excused the members of the downhill team because they’d be busy with qualifying heats. Her downhill team was expected to attend classes on Monday and Tuesday of carnival week, but Serenity was a ski town, and everyone knew how important it was to score well in the regional competition, so most teachers gave the kids a break and didn’t assign important tests during those two days. The chemistry teacher was new to the area, so Tj gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“I’ll talk to your teacher
,” Tj promised Connor. “He might not be aware of carnival-week protocol. If I can’t get him to change the test date for everyone, I’ll at least see if I can get him to let you take the exam next week.”

“Thanks
, Coach.”

“Okay, I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Tj
said, excusing her group.

The bar at the Angel Mountain Inn was packed. Tj waved to Albert Pitman, the Inn’s owner, who was talking to Sean Wright. Sean was sitting at a table near the back, with his coach, Roger Long, Barney Johnson, and local downhill coach Steve Parker. Tj looked around the room until she spotted Sarah, who was sitting at a table with Travis and a couple of the girls from the Aspen Grove team. At least she appeared to be drinking soda. Tj was considering whether or not to head over and remind her that she’d missed the team meeting when Kyle walked in.

“Hey
, Kyle. I didn’t know you were here.”

“I wasn’t until just a little while ago
. I wanted to come by to watch the kids practice. Everyone did really well, especially Connor.”

“He did awesome
, didn’t he?”

“He really did
. I couldn’t be more proud if he were my own son.”

“I’m afraid that’s one of the benefits as well as one of the liabilities of working so closely with the kids
. You form meaningful relationships that you cherish while they’re with you, but then they graduate and move on. I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m pretty used to it, but I remember how devastated I was when my first group of seniors graduated.”

“Yeah, I can see that
. I’ve only been working with Connor for a little over a week and I already feel like a proud papa. I guess I never stopped to think about what it’s going to be like when all these kids leave for college. Has Connor mentioned where he might be attending?”

“I think he
’s considering several . . .” Tj stopped talking in midsentence. She frowned as she looked toward a group of patrons sitting around the floor-to-ceiling fireplace.

“Something wrong?” 

“See that woman sitting on the sofa reading?”

“The
one dressed like Dolly Parton?”

“I keep seeing her
at the resort, although she isn’t a guest,” Tj told Kyle. “The first time was on Friday. I’ve seen her twice since then, and each time she’s wearing an outlandish outfit while sitting alone reading a book.”

“And you find that
. . . strange?”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s not just that she’s dressed like a ski bunny
, it’s that everything about her is so over the top. And every time I see her, she’s alone and reading. Her behavior and outward appearance really don’t match.”

“Why don’t you go talk to her
to see what she’s up to?”

“I would
, but I’m actually here to check up on Sarah and probably shouldn’t let myself get distracted.” Tj looked back toward the table where Sarah sat with Travis. “She skipped out on the team meeting, and Jilli says she’s been spending a lot of time with Travis. She’s much too young to be hanging out with someone like that.”

“Someone like
what?”

“A player.”

“I hear what you’re saying and I don’t disagree, but do you think embarrassing her in front of her crush will do any good? When you were her age, what would you have done if one of your teachers interfered with your date?”

“I probably would have told
him to mind his own business. Of course, most of my teachers would have just gone straight to my dad, who would have killed me, effectively eliminating the middleman.”

“I guess you could talk to Sarah’s pare
nts,” Kyle suggested.

“Yeah
, maybe. Her dad isn’t in the picture, but her mom seems like an attentive if somewhat busy parent.”

Tj watched as Chelsea Hanson stormed in through the front door of the bar
. She looked around and then made a beeline toward Travis, who she soundly slapped before calling him every derogatory name in the book. Travis started to get up, but Chelsea slapped him again before leaning in and saying something Tj couldn’t hear and then turning to leave the same way she’d come in. Travis said something to Sarah, got up, and followed her out.

“This might be your chance,” Kyle whispered.

“Wait here.”

Tj walked across the room and sat down in the chair Travis had just vacated
. Sarah was in tears by this point, so Tj holstered the lecture she’d been prepared to deliver and hugged her instead. This wasn’t the first time Tj had held one of her girls while she cried, and it wouldn’t be the last. If there was one thing you could count on in life, it was the fact that teenage girls filled with teenage hormones were more often than not in a state of crisis.

After
the other girls at the table left and Sarah finished crying, Tj handed her a napkin to wipe her face. “I missed you at the team meeting today.”

“I know.”
Sarah hiccupped. “I’m sorry. I ran into Travis and he invited me for a drink. I thought we were going to talk about last night.”

“Last night?”

Sarah blushed.

Oh
.
Suddenly, Tj realized how far Sarah’s infatuation had gone.

“I thought he cared about
me.” Sarah started sobbing again. “He seemed so nice, and he really seemed interested in what I had to say. Everything was great until . . .” Sarah hesitated. “He wanted to . . . well, you know. I got scared, and things didn’t go all that well. When I saw him today, I thought he wanted to apologize, but then his old girlfriend showed up, and suddenly he’s dumping me to take off after her.”

Tj sat quietly while she considered what to say
. Part of her wanted to ask the poor girl how she could have been such an idiot. Not only was Travis six years older than her, but he had a reputation for being a player of the sleaziest kind. But one look at the emotional turmoil the poor girl was suffering was enough to convince her to take a different approach.

“How about we get out of here
? My car is out front; I’ll drive you home and we can talk on the way.”

“No, that’s okay
. I have my mom’s car. I’m sorry I skipped out on the meeting. Was Eric mad?”

“Eric wasn’t there
. It seems he took off after you when you left with Travis.”

“I guess I really blew it
. He’s never going to speak to me again.”

“Maybe
, but maybe not. Eric cares for you. Maybe if you have an honest conversation with him, you can work it out.”

“I doubt it
. I . . . well, I did that thing with Travis, and Eric and I, well, we never . . . It was so stupid. I love Eric; he should have been my first, not stupid old Travis. What am I going to do?”

Tj wrapped her arms around Sarah in a long
, supportive hug. “I don’t know, sweetie. Sometimes we close doors we never wanted to. We can work to open them again, but in the end we all have to live with the consequences of our choices.”

“I guess.”

“I’m supposed to meet my choir kids in a little over an hour. Will you be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be
fine. I’m going to get my stuff and go home.”

Tj hugged Sarah one more time before standing up and heading back to the ba
r, where she’d left her backpack with Kyle.

“So how’d it go?”
Kyle wondered.

Tj hesitated
. “I’m not sure.” She looked toward the lounge, where “Dolly” had been sitting, but she was gone. “I’ll see you at dress rehearsal.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the
world,” Kyle confirmed. “I have a couple of stops to make first, but I’ll meet you there.”

The auditorium at the community center was dressed out for the upcoming
winter carnival. Dozens of volunteers had spent most of the afternoon hanging plastic snowflakes and blue and white streamers from the ceiling. The walls were papered with large posters painted by Missy Carlson’s preschool kids, depicting the various events offered at this year’s carnival. Most of the posters were funny, a few were sweet, and several were so endearing they brought tears to Tj’s eyes.

Kyle had suggested that Tj sit in the area
that would be occupied by the audience on the night of the actual event. She’d initially argued that she should be backstage with the kids, but Kyle had pointed out that they needed feedback about the performance from the audience’s perspective. Tj, exhausted after a long day that had followed an even longer weekend, agreed in the end, taking a hard metal chair at the back of the room.

She
held her breath as the black curtain covering the raised stage began to part. In the three months since the choir had first been formed, she’d endured many a sleepless night stressing about this very moment. She’d never wanted to work with the choir, and she was certain that several of the kids hadn’t been thrilled to work with her, but in the end they’d become a family, and she prayed with every molecule of her being that the kids would be wonderful and all her fears would be for naught.

Tj cla
pped as the entire choir began the first number, a medley of songs depicting a winter theme. Tj hadn’t realized how many songs there were about snow, ice, and cozy fires until she assigned the group the task of coming up with wintery songs that didn’t deal with Christmas. The choir had been divided into small groups, and each one had been tasked with performing its wintery number for the larger group. From the songs presented to the class, the kids had chosen four to work into the opening number.