Sweet Christmas Kisses (15 page)

Ashley raised her brow. “Yeah, that will be cool.”

Carol pulled Ashley’s pajamas from a drawer and the girl reluctantly removed her clothes and tugged them on.

She lightly patted her daughter’s head. “Now, go on. Hop into bed.”

Ashley scurried to the huge bear bed and scooted down under the covers. Carol gave her a kiss and switched off the light, but not before catching the glimmer of something in the window. Something bright beamed from the deep woods for a flash of a second, and then it was gone. Now Carol was extra glad she’d stopped at that second glass of wine. Next, she’d be seeing reindeers!

Carol was halfway to the landing when she ran into Paul. “Everything all right up there?” he asked.

“Oh yes, just fine.” She heaved a sigh. “It’s just been a long day for all of us. For Ashley too, it seems.”

Paul raised his brow, questioning.

“She’s had this fixation all along about some kind of Christmas moose…”

“We do have moose here, you know.”

“Not the kind she’s looking for.”

Paul gave her a knowing smile. “She’s mixed in a bit of magic?”

“More than a bit,” Carol said with a laugh.

Paul’s eyes brimmed with understanding. “She’s just a girl.”

“Yes, and straddling that line between real and make-believe.”

“Some of us never outgrow it.” By the way he said it, Carol had the notion he was talking more about himself than Ashley. He looked deep in her eyes as if trying to discern something, and Carol felt weak from his perusal. “It’s not so bad to believe in fun stuff, Carol. Once in a while.”

They were standing very close now, closer than Carol had realized in the small space on the landing. She was near enough to breathe him in, the manly scent of sawdust and pine. Even in his dinner jacket and tie, the words
rugged outdoorsman
seemed etched in his handsome face.

“Paul?” a soft, feminine voice asked from above them. “Can I trouble you for a soda?”

Carol stared up the steps to find the beautiful blonde dressed in a robe. Paul had told the others she wasn’t feeling well, and, judging from the paleness of her skin, she hadn’t much improved.

“Beth,” he said, turning toward her in surprise. “Of course.”

Carol made her way down the stairs in front of him, awkward in her gait. What had she been thinking? That Paul might feel attracted to her too? She grabbed hold of the railing, nearly stumbling.

Paul caught her by the elbow to steady her. “Watch your step!”

Carol collected herself, determining that was just what she would do. Watch her step every step of the way here, lest she make an utter fool of herself in front of the innkeeper.

Carol’s skis splayed out sideways as she fought to stabilize herself on the slick snow. Paul couldn’t help but be captivated by her apparent winter sports naiveté. Her kids seemed much more confident on the slopes and were already passing high above her in a chairlift, complete with hoots and hollers. “Hey, Mom!” Will called before his sister added, “Come on up, the weather’s fine!”

Carol hunched forward with a death grip on her poles. “I don’t know if I can do this,” she said, her breath coming out all puffy with morning cold.

Paul smiled encouragingly. “Sure, you can.”

Beth adjusted her dark goggles beside him. “Just like riding a bike.”

“But I’ve never skied before,” she said, inching forward.

Paul drew closer to help her along. “Always a first time.”

Was it his imagination, or did Beth seem to stiffen at his lending Carol assistance? It was clearly his duty as her host, as well as her skiing instructor. Beth, on the other hand, needed no instruction whatsoever. She was practically pro level, exceedingly at home on the slopes.

Beth slid into the chairlift, then seemed disappointed Paul hoped to position Carol between them. Well, he certainly couldn’t leave Carol standing out here on her own while he climbed in ahead. Who knew where she’d wind up. Likely at the base of the Bunny Hill.

 Paul clambered aboard and brought the gate down in front of them.

“This thing goes up pretty high, huh?” Carol asked with a worried look.

“If I were you, I’d be more concerned about coming down,” Beth said in a tone that was slightly… What? Catty? Beth? His Beth? No. That didn’t seem right. Beth was somebody who’d always been one hundred percent sure of herself. It wasn’t like her to dig at other people. Unless… Paul felt his neck warm as he thought about what a fool he’d been.
Jealous? Beth is jealous? Of a guest?

Paul’s gaze fell on Carol, and she stared back at him. “You’ll do just fine.”

“Yeah, right,” she said, her voice cracking.

 Paul’s mind reeled. Beth couldn’t possibly be jealous of Carol, a woman he barely knew. Never mind that she was smart, spunky, and funny… And had the most beautiful brown eyes he’d ever seen. They were mesmerizing, really, in a way that could hold any man in their spell.

She peered down the slope at two figures whizzing by, laughing and shouting. “Hey, are those my kids?”

“Looks like,” Paul said.

“Wow, they’re good!”

“When you’re a kid, you don’t worry about the danger,” Beth chimed in.

“Danger?”

Beth adjusted her grip on her poles. “Normal stuff. There are always a few accidents every year. Some are worse than others.”

“Thanks, Beth,” Paul said tightly.

Carol’s eyes widened as they approached the top of the slope. She obviously wasn’t prepared for the fact that she had to ski out of her chair.

“You mean, just like
that
?” she asked with a gasp, surveying the others ahead of them easily dismounting and skiing downhill. Her gaze trailed the empty lift chairs in horror, noting the seats had dropped out of them and dangled freely during their descent to release collected snow. “You’re kidding me, right?” Carol asked in a panic. She turned to Paul and then to Beth. “Please tell me that you’re kidding me?”

“Take it nice and easy,” Paul said, slipping out ahead of her and then pulling off to the side at the top of a steep precipice.

Since she was frozen in place, Beth gave her a little shove. “Take care with your exit!”

Suddenly, Carol’s whole life flashed before her, and it was all coated in white. “Oh! Whoa!” She yelped as Beth whizzed past her in a puff of powder, and her skis took on a mind of their own. Carol held on to the sidebar of the chairlift for dear life, not wanting to let go. But the beast was dragging her along, threatening to pull her straight off a cliff!

“Carol!” Paul called. “Look out!”

She pivoted in time to see the next seat full of passengers swinging toward her, its skiers preparing to dismount. “Arghh!” she cried, skis scrambling beneath her. Paul darted toward her as Beth halted quickly and turned their way.

“Let go!” he shouted, seconds before she was dragged off the edge.

Then, with a thunk, Carol’s back hit the ice, and she slid under a small brown shack.
Tell me I did not just do that
, she thought, staring up at the slats of the ski-patrol hut.

Paul raced to the building and peered underneath. “Are you all right?” he asked with a worried frown.

Beth’s blue-eyed gaze studied her with concern a few seconds later. “What happened?”

Carol covered her face with her hands, believing this scored as one of her most mortifying moments. “I’ll live,” she said, inchworming her way out into the open.

Paul sent Beth down ahead to check on the kids while he stayed at the top of the slope with Carol. The ski-patrol guy had just checked her out, and she appeared to be okay, merely frightened by her unnerving experience.

“I’m really sorry that happened,” Paul said as the other man resumed his post. “Nothing like that has ever—”

“It’s okay,” Carol said, stopping him. “It wasn’t really your fault.”

He heaved a breath. “I don’t know… Maybe it was. If I’d truly understood how unsteady you were—”

“Wait a minute!” Her eyes flashed. “I’m not unsteady!”

“On the slopes, I meant.”

“I think I can handle those too.” She drew a deep breath. “It’s just that before, I wasn’t ready.” Carol was so embarrassed by all the trouble she’d caused, she couldn’t have things getting worse. The best thing to do would be to forge right ahead with the rest of this day, as if this horrifying episode had never happened.

“Maybe I should go back to the hut and have him arrange a transport down.”

Carol straightened herself on her skis. “I wouldn’t hear of it.”

He stared at her, clearly perplexed.

“I just got off to a false start. That’s all. Now I’m ready.”

“If you’re sure?”

“Sure I’m sure.” She beamed at him with what she hoped was a bright, confident smile. The truth was, Carol was tired of people telling her what she couldn’t do. Jim had thought it was ridiculous she was taking her kids skiing in Maine, had he? Well, she could show him and his little beach bunny too. Not only that, she could show herself! After all, how hard could it be? She edged toward the top of the steep slope and looked down, praying she wouldn’t faint from the altitude.

“How high up are we?” she asked as little lights darted before her eyes.

“I’m calling for backup.”

“Oh no, you don’t!” she said. And then quite decisively, she thought, she took off. Suddenly, she was going—really going—so much faster than she ever could have imagined.
“Oh my Gawd!”
she wailed in terror as bright flashes of white tore past her along with dark patches of trees and tiny spots she took to be other people.

“Carol!” Paul called, chasing after her. “Hoe plow!”

Hoe plow?
She had no clue what that was, but it sounded dirty. How dare Paul think of pole dancing right now when his guest’s life—
her life—
was on the line!

He skied up beside her, somehow magically in control of his own rapid descent. “Snow plow, Carol! Push your heels out sideways!”

Snow plow!
Of course, she knew all along what he’d meant. She did it at once, and it seemed to work too. At least a tad in slowing her down. But wait! What was that? Paul had somehow gotten past her and was now directly in front of her. What on earth was he doing? He slowed himself further, but she couldn’t break her speed any more than she already had.

“Coming through!” she cried with a wail, beelining straight for his back. The next thing she knew, she’d slammed into his broad, solid frame with a
thwunk
and dropped her poles. He reached back to steady her against him with one arm as he continued to stabilize their descent with the other.

“Just hang on to me!” he ordered as wind, snow and nature swirled about them.

Carol looked down to find her skis had nestled inside both of his and that they were now somehow locked together.

“Don’t look now,” he shouted. “Here comes a mogul!”

“
What?
”

“Hold tight!” he commanded, seconds before they went airborne.

Carol shrieked as her skis left the slope and dangled in midair. In a flash, they were down again and careening toward the base of the hill, her arms laced firmly around him as her heart beat wildly.

Once they were clearly out of harm’s way and slowing to a halt at the bottom, he called over his shoulder with a grin. “Having fun yet?”

“Uh-huh,” she said lamely, exhilarated yet depleted at once. “Just don’t make me do that again.”

He gave a hearty laugh, then dragged them to stop, where the crowd that had gathered burst into applause. “Sorry folks,” he told them, holding up a pole. “No encores today!”

Paul brought Carol a mug of coffee as she sat wrapped in a blanket by the fire. “I can’t believe it,” she said, still a tad ashen. “I was flying! Up in the air, like a bird!”

Beth settled herself in a nearby chair and studied Carol sympathetically. “Some people take longer to get the hang of it than others.”

Paul sat beside Carol on the sofa. “It was an adventure,” he said with a grin. “Frankly, the best one I’ve had…in a long time.”

“Really?” Carol asked with surprise.

She looked so sweet bundled up that way, Paul had to fight the urge to reach out and hug her. But that would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? Hugging one of the guests? Even if it had been an unexpected treat being linked together on the slopes, there was no indication Carol would be eager to repeat it. And just because it had felt like heaven having her arms around him, that didn’t mean he longed for her to do it again. Besides, she’d been in a fit of panic, desperation, and he’d merely been her appointed protector. There clearly had been nothing romantic about their exchange. Not that Paul was courting romance at the moment. Far from it. Beth eyed him in an odd sort of way that made him wonder if she’d guessed what he’d been thinking.

Velma entered, dressed for outdoors. “Did you kids have fun on the slopes?” she asked as Zach trailed her in a heavy down parka and boots.

“Mom only went down once,” Ashley proclaimed, arriving from the kitchen with her cocoa.

Will joined the group with his own steaming mug. “But it was once to remember.”

Zach and Velma exchanged puzzled glances.

“Where are you two headed?” Paul asked his mom.

“We thought we’d go into town,” Zach offered.

Velma smiled brightly. “Rent a couple of snowmobiles.”

“Sounds great,” Beth said.

“The lake is really ripe for riding,” Paul agreed.

“You two have fun!” Carol called after them.

The next few days passed with more fun, yet less harrowing, family adventures. Carol and her kids explored the small town, taking in its quaint shops and eateries, and they’d even gone ice skating—and built a snowman or two. Little by little, they’d all become more acquainted with the others, especially Paul. He was always around with a helpful tidbit or the offer of some small comfort. He was a kind and considerate man, the sort Carol could find herself getting used to. He was exceedingly competent too, and appeared to have a really good relationship with Daniel. Carol’s heart felt heavy from wishing her son could have that sort of relationship with his own dad. Sadly, she realized that was unlikely to happen. Particularly if Jim continued on his course of mostly looking after himself.