“Wait here.” Tyler took the bill from her and walked into the store. If he could ski Austria’s notorious Hahnenkamm at a speed of 90 mph, he could buy girl stuff.
TEN MINUTES LATER, Brenna Daniels walked into the store, relieved to be out of the bitter cold.
Ellen Kelly came out from the room behind the counter, carrying three large boxes. “Brenna! Your mother was in here earlier today. Told me she hadn’t seen you for a month.”
“I’ve been busy. Can I help you with those, Ellen?” Brenna took the boxes from her and stacked them on the floor. “You shouldn’t carry so many at once. The doctor told you to be careful lifting.”
“I’m careful. Storm’s coming, and people like to stock up in case they’re snowed in for a month. We’re all hoping it’s not going to be as bad as 2007. Remember Valentine’s Day?”
“I was in Europe, Ellen.”
“That’s right, you were. I forgot. No snow at all in January, and then three feet in twenty-four hours. Ned Morris lost some of his cows when the barn roof fell in.” Ellen rubbed her back. “By the way, you just missed him.”
“Ned Morris?”
“Tyler.” Ellen bent and opened one of the boxes. “And he had Jess with him. I swear she’s grown a foot over the summer.”
“Tyler was here?” Brenna’s heart pounded a little harder. “We have a meeting back at the resort in an hour.”
“I’m guessing they had an emergency. Jess stayed in the car, and he came in and bought everything she needed. And I do mean everything.” Ellen Kelly winked knowingly and started unpacking the boxes and transferring the contents to the shelves. “I never thought I’d see Tyler O’Neil in here shopping for a teenage girl. I remember people had nothing but bad to say about him when Janet Carpenter announced she was pregnant, but he’s proved them all wrong. That Janet is as cold as a Vermont winter, but Tyler—” she arranged cans on the shelf “—he may be a bad boy with the women, but no one can say he hasn’t done right by that child.”
“She’s almost fourteen.”
“And looking like a different person from the one who arrived here last winter, all skinny and pale. Can you imagine? What sort of mother sends a child away like that?” Ellen clucked her disapproval and bent to open another box, this one packed with Christmas decorations. “Disgraceful.”
Brenna was careful to keep her opinion on that to herself. “Janet had a new baby.”
“So she gave up the old one? All the more reason to keep Jess close, in my opinion.” Ellen hung long garlands of tinsel on hooks. “She could have been scarred for life. Lucky she has Tyler and the rest of the O’Neils. Would you like decorations, honey? I have a big selection this year.”
“No thanks, Ellen. I don’t decorate. And Jess isn’t scarred. She’s a lovely girl.” Loyal and discreet, Brenna tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. She didn’t mention the insecurities or any of the problems she knew Jess had suffered settling in. “Did you know she made the school ski team? She has real talent.”
“She’s her father’s daughter all right. I still remember that winter when Tyler skied down old Mitch Sommerville’s roof.” Smiling, Ellen sat an oversize smiling Santa on a shelf. “He was arrested of course, but my George always said he’d never seen a person so fearless on the mountain. Except you, perhaps. The two of you were inseparable. Used to watch you sneaking out when you should have been in class.”
“Me? You’ve got the wrong person, Ellen.” Brenna grinned at her. “I never sneaked out of school in my life.”
“Must be a real blow for Tyler, losing his career like that. Especially when he was right at the top.”
Brenna, who would rather jump naked into a freezing lake than talk about another person’s private business, made a desperate attempt to change the subject. “There’s plenty to keep him busy up at Snow Crystal. Bookings are up. Looks like it might be a busy winter.”
“That’s good to hear. That family deserves it. No one was more shocked than me to hear the place was in trouble. The O’Neils have lived at Snow Crystal since before I was born. Still, Jackson seems to have turned it around. There were people around here who thought he’d made a mistake when he spent all that money building fancy log cabins with hot tubs, but turns out he knew what he was doing.”
“Yes.” Brenna picked up the few things she needed, wondering if there was such a thing as private business living in a small town. “He’s a clever businessman.”
“He’s always known his own mind. And that girl of his—”
“Kayla?”
“Her heart is in the right place even if she does walk in here with those shiny shoes looking all New York City.”
Brenna added milk to her basket. “She’s British.”
“You wouldn’t know it until she opens her mouth. Take some of those chocolate cookies while you’re there. They’re delicious. Not that you’re short of good things to eat at Snow Crystal, with Élise in charge of the kitchen. Now that Jackson and Sean are settled, it will be Tyler’s turn next.”
Brenna dropped the jar she was holding, and it smashed, spreading the contents across the floor. Crap. “Oh, Ellen, I’m so sorry. I’ll clean it up. Do you have a mop?” Annoyed with herself, she stooped to pick up the pieces, but Ellen waved her aside.
“Leave it. I don’t want you cutting your fingers. There was a time when I thought the two of you might end up together. You couldn’t be separated.”
Double crap.
“We were friends, Ellen.” This conversation was the last thing she needed. “And we’re still friends.”
By the time she left the store, she was exhausted from dodging gossip and thinking about Tyler.
She drove straight back to Snow Crystal and parked outside the Outdoor Center next to Sean’s flashy red sports car. The snow was falling steadily, the path already covered with half a foot of white powder. The temperature had dropped, and there was the promise of more snow in the air, which was good news for Snow Crystal because snow cover was directly related to the number of Christmas bookings.
And they needed those bookings.
Despite what she’d said to Ellen, she knew the resort was still struggling to stay afloat. The log cabins, each with its own hot tub and private view of the lake and forest, had been expensive to build. For the past two years they’d had more cabins empty than occupied. Things were slowly improving, but they still had too many vacancies.
Brenna stamped the snow off her boots, pushed open the door and was enveloped by a welcome rush of warm air. She walked through to the peace and tranquility of the spa. The lighting was muted, the walls a soothing shade of ocean-blue. Soft music played in the background, and the air was filled with the scent of aromatherapy oils. It tickled her nose, but then she’d never been one to lie around and let someone she didn’t know rub oil into her skin. It seemed intimate to her. Something a lover might do, not a stranger.
Not that lovers played much of a part in her life.
Christy, who had joined them in the summer to run the spa, glanced up from behind the desk. A mini Christmas tree twinkled from the corner of her desk. “Still snowing out there?” She was a cool blonde, a qualified physiotherapist who had added massage and aromatherapy to her already impressive list of qualifications. “You’ve had a long day. Is it always as crazy as this at the beginning of a winter season?”
“There’s a lot of planning and preparation, that’s for sure.” Brenna pulled her hat off her head, sending another flurry of snowflakes to the floor. “Is everyone here already?”