“Your family is lucky to have you. Thanks for walking me to the door. Good night.” She unlocked the door but couldn’t move, because he’d planted an arm on the door frame, trapping her. She stood there, locked in by muscle and hot man, staring into those knowing blue eyes.
“Tell me, Kayla. Tell me what happened in there.” The gentleness in his voice matched the look in his eyes.
“Why? Why would you even care?”
“Maybe I can fix it.”
She was willing to bet he did that a lot. Jackson O’Neil was a man who fixed things for other people. That was why he was here, fighting his family so that he could save their home.
And now he wanted to fix her.
A different type of woman might have been tempted. Maybe she was, too…a little.
But she knew some things couldn’t be fixed.
“Thanks, but I’ve been fixing myself since I was thirteen years old so I’ve had plenty of practice. Good night, Jackson.” She ducked under his arm and stomped over temptation into the warmth of the cabin.
I’VE BEEN FIXING myself since I was thirteen years old.
He wondered what she’d been fixing.
Whatever it was, something or someone had upset her tonight.
Jackson turned up his collar against the cold and took a long, last look at the closed door before crunching through the snow back to his car.
Maybe it was just being here.
Maybe it had finally hit her that in her eagerness for the business, she’d volunteered to give up her Christmas. Maybe seeing his family had made her think of hers. Maybe she was homesick.
It could have been any number of things, none of which were his business.
Ignoring the powerful urge to make it his business, Jackson reversed out of the parking spot and drove back down the track that led to the main lodge. He was guessing his brother would be there, and he was right.
Tyler was seated at the bar, entertaining a group of guests with stories of bear encounters and downhill daring. Spying Jackson, he threw a remark at the group that had them laughing, then made his excuses and joined his brother.
“You look as if you need a drink, and I guess I owe you one.”
“One? You owe me at least a hundred.”
Tyler reached across the bar and snagged a couple of beers. “So did you drive her back to the airport?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because when she stumbled out of the kitchen she didn’t look like she was planning on staying around.”
Jackson closed his hand around the beer. “Does she seem like a quitter to you?”
“No. Anyone who can still be talking business while Mom is forcing food on them and Grams is trying to wrap them in lurid green is definitely not a quitter. But she seemed serious about her job and anyone like that isn’t going to last five minutes in this place.”
“Thanks.”
“You don’t count. You’re tied here by blood and a guilty conscience.” Tyler glanced over his shoulder as the door swung open letting in freezing air, a flurry of snow and another group of tourists. “So if she isn’t on her way back to New York, where is she? The least you could have done was invite her for a drink. God knows, if she’s working for this family she’s going to need one.”
Jackson wondered how his brother knew about the guilty conscience. It wasn’t something he’d talked about. “I offered. She wanted to go back to the cabin and do some work. Talking of which…” He leaned across to the bar and called Pete over. “Can you send a pizza over to cabin ten please?”
“Toppings?”
Jackson glanced at Tyler for inspiration. “What do Brits like on their pizza?”
“How do I know? Stick to cheese. She might be vegetarian. She looked stressed enough to be one. Although, come to think of it she looked the way we all look after an evening with the O’Neils. My advice? Hold the pizza and send over whiskey.”
“Cheese and tomato.” Jackson dug out his wallet and handed over a note.
“Why are you paying when you own the place?”
“Because I want the books to balance.”
“Fat chance of that. So she didn’t want to eat dinner with you.” Tyler shook his head sympathetically. “You’re losing your touch, bro.”
“Unless you like your eyes black and your jaw broken, I suggest you keep your thoughts on that subject to yourself.” The door opened again, letting in more cold air and a young woman with a bright smile.
“Hi, Jackson!”
“Brenna—”
“Good to see you.” Chocolate-brown hair peeped out from under a fur-lined hood. The pretty smile dimmed when she saw his drinking companion. “Tyler.” She gave a brief nod and slipped her hood back. “Glad I caught you. I’m two instructors down. They’re forecasting a foot of fresh snow and I’ve got a couple wanting to do Sunrise and Powder and no guide—you can take them.”
Tyler choked on his beer. “Me?”
“It would make their day to be escorted by an exmember of the U.S. ski team.” She levered herself onto the bar stool and charmed Pete with a smile. “Coke, no ice, thanks. Are you a daddy yet? How’s Lynn?”
“Big enough to be having twins. She can barely move, or that’s the excuse she gives me when she asks me to make tea.” Pete handed her a Coke. “Doctor thinks it will be here before Christmas.” He looked dazed at the thought, and Brenna beamed as she unwrapped her scarf.
“Best gift of all. Text me the minute you have news. I cannot wait for our Snow Crystal baby to arrive.” Sipping her Coke, Brenna turned back to Tyler, her gaze a fraction cooler. “About tomorrow—”
“Are they experienced? Last time I took a group into deep powder they were clueless. The woman thought powder was something she put on her face.”
“These are experienced, but it’s their first time skiing the East Coast.” She tugged off her gloves and pushed them into the pocket of her jacket. “They don’t want an instructor, just a guide, and you know this area better than anyone.”
“Why can’t you take them?”
“I’m teaching a ‘bumps ’n’ trees’ class.”
Tyler lifted his beer to his lips and drank, and Jackson wondered how two people who knew each other so well could turn every conversation into a combat zone.
They’d grown up together. Played together as children and skied together as teenagers. They’d been fiercely competitive and inseparable until the day Tyler had announced he’d gotten Janet Carpenter pregnant.
Soon after, Brenna had announced she was leaving New England to train as a ski instructor in Colorado. She could have done that here, of course, but she’d picked a place where there was less risk of bumping into Tyler. When she’d graduated, Jackson had offered her a job with his company running the kids program in Switzerland. She’d never once asked about his brother.
Jackson hoped it wasn’t going to be a problem now that Tyler was back home.
The last thing he needed was to lose Brenna.
As if to prove that, she pulled out her phone and checked her calendar. “I’m running the teen course and taking ‘bumps ’n’ trees’. Then I’m filling in for Todd, who is taking his wife for a checkup. The only person without commitments is