“Brenna, wait.” Kayla hurried across to her, her laptop bag banging against her hip, her blond hair sliding over her stylish berry-red coat. Like Christy, her hair was smooth and perfect. Like Christy, she could have walked into any boardroom in New York and not looked out of place.
“Everything all right?”
“Yes, but I haven’t seen you for a couple of days. It’s been crazy. Are you using the gym tomorrow?” Kayla’s phone beeped, and she checked it quickly. “Text from my ex-boss in New York, offering me a promotion if I go back. Hilarious. He’s sending me one a week at the moment. They’ve won a big account, and they’re desperate for staff.”
“Would you go back?”
“Not in a million years. Manhattan at Christmas is my nightmare. Give me fir trees and forest every time. I’d rather hug a moose than visit Santa.”
“And most of all, you’d rather hug Jackson.”
Kayla gave a wicked smile. “True enough. That man makes it hard to get up in the morning, that’s for sure.” She slipped her phone back into her pocket. “I love it here. And this winter I’m determined to get better at skiing so I’m not left behind. I’m done with Tyler’s derogatory comments about my lack of ability.” She followed Brenna’s gaze and saw him striding away. “He doesn’t hang around, does he? I wanted to persuade him to run a master class for advanced skiers, but he ran off before we’d finished.”
“I suspect the prospect of coaching the high school team and guiding was enough of a challenge for one meeting.”
“I don’t get the problem. He loves skiing. He finds it fun. What’s wrong with skiing with guests?”
“Because he’s the best. And fun for him is skiing places that would give any other person a heart attack.”
“All of it gives me a heart attack. The idea of launching myself down a vertical slope is terrifying.”
“That’s because this is only your second season.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m always going to find it terrifying. I’m a coward, and it isn’t natural to put myself in a position where I could kill myself. How do you do it? I mean, you hurl yourself down slopes that would make me cry. Jackson said the other day he thought you could have made the U.S. ski team if you’d had more encouragement from your parents.”
It was something Brenna didn’t let herself think about. “They wanted me to get a proper job.”
“You run the Outdoor Center. That isn’t a proper job?”
“Not to them.” Brenna tilted her face and felt flakes of snow flutter onto her cheeks. “I guess I’m a disappointment.”
“How can you be a disappointment? You’re such a talented teacher, equally good with wimps and daredevils.” Kayla’s eyes gleamed. “Hey, that is a great idea. We should name a class daredevils.”
“Not if you want me to take it. Kids don’t need any encouragement to act crazy on the slopes.” Brenna pulled her hat out of her pocket. “I’ll catch him up. See if I can persuade him to do your master class.”
“Perfect. Then he can kill you and not me. All we need now is snow.” Kayla turned as Jackson joined them. “Ready for dinner? Your mom texted. She’s made pot roast. Although what her text actually said was pit rot, so you might want to order takeout.”
“I’m not sure I’m in the mood for a family gathering. How does pizza in bed sound?” Jackson slid his arm around her shoulder. “Are you joining us, Brenna?”
“For pizza in bed? I don’t think so.” She pulled her hat onto her head and smoothed her hair away from her face. “I have to finish working on plans for the race series.”
“We can’t have pizza in bed,” Kayla murmured. “I promised Elizabeth we’d be there. It’s family night. Sean and Élise are coming, too, and Jess is already there.”
“I love my family, but there are days when I could happily move to California.” Jackson lowered his head, kissed her and then gave Brenna an apologetic look. “Everything all right in Forest Lodge? You’re comfortable?”
“It’s perfect. I love it. Forest Lodge is my dream home. And it’s convenient. Thanks for letting me stay again this season.”
“It helps us out having you here on-site, and we have empty cabins so it makes sense. Good night, Brenna.”
“Good night.” She watched as the two of them walked toward the main house, their arms looped around each other as they picked their way over the snow. She felt a pang of envy and stood for a moment, her emotions tangled. She was pleased for them. Happy they were happy, but somehow their happiness and what they shared made her conscious of what was missing in her own life.
Feeling tired and cross with herself, she made her way down the snowy path that led from the Outdoor Center to the lakeside trail and Forest Lodge. It was one of the first log cabins Jackson had built when he’d taken over the running of Snow Crystal, and Brenna loved it. All the cabins were beautiful, but Forest was special.
The resort had been in the O’Neil family for four generations, but it wasn’t until Jackson’s father had died that the truth had emerged. The business had been at risk, and it was Jackson who had walked away from a successful ski business in Europe to come home and run the family business, helped by Tyler, whose own career had crashed and burned in spectacular fashion.
She walked along the path, breathing in the smell of pine and the crisp night air. The sounds of the forest calmed her. The snow cover was still thin, but they were all hoping that was about to change.
She was so deep in thought, she almost walked straight into Tyler, who was waiting for her.
In her flat snow boots she barely reached his shoulder. “I thought you were long gone.”
“There is only so much corporate boredom I can take at a time.”
“So why are you still here?”
“You were upset in that meeting. Why do you never speak up?” He reached out and pulled her hat farther down over her ears. “You should have told my brother no when he asked you to coach the high school team.”
He’d always been able to read her, which made his apparent lack of awareness about her feelings for him all the more surprising. Over the years she’d come to the conclusion that the fact he knew her so well was the very reason he hadn’t guessed the truth. They’d been best friends for so long it hadn’t ever occurred to him to question that relationship or see her in any way other than the girl he’d grown up with.
And she preferred it that way.
It was easier for both of them if he didn’t know.
She didn’t want the awkwardness that would inevitably come should such an imbalance in the relationship be revealed.
“I was going to do it, until you volunteered.”
The silence of the forest wrapped itself around them. They stood on the intersection between the path that led to the Outdoor Center and the path that led through the forest to the lake.
“Someone had to do it, and I didn’t want it to be you.” The collar of his jacket brushed against the dark shadow of his jaw, and his eyes glittered impatiently. “You should have said no.”
“This is my job. Jackson asked me to do it.”
“And he shouldn’t have, but when it comes to Snow Crystal, my brother has tunnel vision.”
“I guess that happens when you’re fighting to save a business. You didn’t have to volunteer. I would have done it.”
“But only because doing it was preferable to having a difficult conversation.”
“Excuse