Home For The Holidays

by Elena Aitken

  Cole cleared his throat. Fran didn’t seem quite herself and Sunshine didn’t look at all happy. “Um… Fran, this is my fiancée, Sunshine Patterson. Sunshine, meet Fran. We knew each other as kids.”

  “In the biblical sense.” Fran elbowed Cole. “He’s a humdinger, isn’t he? Whew, he used to ride me hard and put me up wet.” She laughed long and hard at her joke, then seemed to notice she was the only one who did. “Fiancée, did you say? Lord, here I am making an ass out of myself. I’ve had my pre-flight drink already. Hate airplanes, you know? They scare me stiff. Please ignore everything I just said.” She leaned around Cole to shake Sunshine’s hand. “Besides, if you’re his fiancée, you know exactly what I mean.”

  Sunshine snatched her hand back. Cole stood up. “Sunshine, how about me and you go get a snack?”

  “They’re going to call our flight in a minute.”

  “Oh, we won’t be going anywhere for ages,” Fran said. “Look at that snow. We’ll be lucky to fly out tonight. Heck, I’ll probably sober up and need to get drunk all over again. You all can join me.”

  “I don’t think so.” Sunshine’s normally bubbly demeanor was as cold as ice.

  But Fran didn’t seem to notice. “Do you remember that camping trip we took?” She laughed as Cole slowly sat down again, a braying sound that had more heads turning. She leaned forward to catch Sunshine’s eye. “He promised my parents it was a group trip and that the girls would sleep in one tent and the boys in another. Had me fooled. We got out into the wilderness and guess what? There was me and him and a single sleeping bag. I’m not sure we left the tent the whole weekend.”

  “Fran, do you mind?” Cole couldn’t believe what she was saying.

  “Shit, am I doing it again? I’ll be good, I promise.” She pretended to zip her mouth closed, then immediately laughed her braying laugh again. “Don’t worry, Cole. A girl like Sunshine knows that a guy like you comes with a past. Right, honey? I mean, Cole’s no boy scout. Anyone could see that.”

  Cole scanned the waiting area, looking for any seats to shift to, but it was standing room only. Just as he turned to Sunshine again, the loudspeaker crackled and a flight attendant came on.

  “If I may have your attention, this announcement is in reference to flight one zero one nine to New York City. I’m sorry to tell you that our departure time has been delayed until seven-thirty. Our approximate boarding time will be an hour from now.”

  Groans followed the announcement and Cole’s shoulders tightened. “We need to eat.” He cut off Fran before she could start in again.

  Sunshine nodded. “We still can’t leave the chairs, though.”

  Cole thought fast. Normally, he’d volunteer to go and fetch something, but there was no way he’d leave Sunshine with Fran. “I’ll fight off anyone who tries to sit down.”

  Sunshine looked like she wanted to object, but instead she nodded. “Fine. What would you like?”

  Cole nearly asked for a burger, but remembered just in time that might be the final straw for his vegan fiancée. “Whatever you can find.” He tried to grab her hand and give it a commiserating squeeze, but she stood up and he missed. She left without another word, winding through the crowd. Cole plunked his carry-on bag into her vacant seat and glared at a man who’d immediately started toward it.

  “She’s pretty. You always did have good taste.” Fran put a hand on Cole’s knee. Cole swatted it away.

  He wished that was true.

  Sunshine steadied herself against a wave of dizziness. She must have stood up too fast. Or else it was the anger which had flooded her body since Fran had opened her mouth. Sunshine knew Cole had slept with other women before her; he’d been twenty-nine when she’d met him, and like Fran said, he was no boy scout. That didn’t mean she enjoyed meeting his former conquests. Certainly not someone like Fran who wanted to share all the details.

  Had Cole really slept with a woman like that?

  She consoled herself that he’d probably been a randy teenager at the time, getting away with whatever he could. It must not have meant much if they hadn’t stayed together.

  Or had Fran left Cole in the dust? Her suit, heels, and slick carry-on bag proclaimed she was a frequent traveler, despite her evident fear of flying. Maybe she’d outgrown Cole and figured Sunshine was a country bumpkin ripe for teasing.

  The idea left her seething.

  So did the fact Cole had decided to stay in his seat and send her to fetch the food. Hardly the gentleman-like thing to do.

  On the other hand, she knew he’d wanted to spare her more of Fran’s stories. Was that gentlemanly? Possibly. He’d regain some lost ground if Fran wasn’t there when Sunshine got back.

  She stalked through the terminal until she reached a food court. It would be difficult to find anything truly vegan here, and in the end she settled for a fruit cup and a muffin that had seen better days. She knew Cole wanted a burger, but she wouldn’t pander to his murderous proclivities. Not today. She got him a vegetable wrap and a peach smoothie.

  That oughta teach him.

  By the time she made it back to the gate, she was starving and lightheaded. Deciding she was probably dehydrated, she made a U-turn and picked up several bottles of water at a kiosk.

  Fran must have left by now, she consoled herself, but when she approached the gate, she saw Cole and Fran deep in conversation. Fran’s hand rested on Cole’s knee and he was doing nothing to move it. Instead, he listened to what she had to say with rapt attention.

  Sunshine stopped in her tracks.

  Unsure whether to continue or backtrack, she could only watch as Fran reached up with her other hand and brushed something from Cole’s cheek. The gesture was so intimate it shocked Sunshine to the core.

  Cole turned, caught sight of her and pulled back from Fran in alarm. “Sunshine.” He stood up.

  There was nothing for it but to continue forward. Fran smirked as she approached and fury swept through Sunshine again. The woman knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to cause trouble.

  “Your dinner.” She shoved the veggie wrap and smoothie into Cole’s hands and took her seat, ignoring Fran.

  “Looks… good,” Cole said.

  “Well, I’m going to try to get some shut-eye, seeing as we aren’t leaving for three hours,” Fran said.

  “Three hours?” Sunshine couldn’t believe it. “I thought they said one.”

  “It got delayed again,” Cole informed her.

  “Great.”

  “It was wonderful talking over old times with you, Cole. Can’t wait to have you over for dinner,” Fran said and curled up in her chair, giving Sunshine a wink before she closed her eyes.

  “It’s not what you think,” Cole mumbled, leaning close.

  “Are you sure?” She took a bite of her muffin and nearly spit it out again. It tasted like cardboard. Cole looked about as unhappy as she felt as he examined his wrap.

  “We dated in high school. That’s it. She was telling me about her parents. Sounds like her dad isn’t doing too well—”

  “Whatever.”

  She couldn’t wait to get on the plane and get out of here.

  Chapter 2

  Cole didn’t think he’d ever been so happy to arrive at a cheap motel. The Big Sky was about as nondescript as they came. A two-story building, its parking lot was plowed, with mounds of snow circling it like a stockade. It felt so familiar—and at the same time so foreign, like something he’d seen in another life. He guessed he’d been away too long.

  The sun was fading away behind bleak, gray clouds, the sky echoing the leaden feeling that had lodged in his heart. In the end, their flight hadn’t taken off until seven o’clock in the morning. Fran had woken up again all too soon in her uncomfortable seat at the gate, and hadn’t shut up about their high school days for hours.

  Sunshine had grown silent, simmering with what looked like rage. He hadn’t seen her so angry since the first few days of their acquaintance. He wanted to muzzle Fra
n, and considered raising his voice at her, but with the waiting room so crowded he didn’t want to make a scene—or worse, get them kicked out of the airport. He also felt sorry for the woman; Fran’s father had received bad news and Fran was masking her fear and sorrow with alcohol. Her dad, who’d been treated for stage-two colon cancer, had found out he would need to undergo another operation, followed by chemotherapy. Fran had been telling him about the prognosis when Sunshine reappeared from buying them dinner. He’d also gleaned that Fran had gone through a divorce a year and a half ago. She wasn’t in a good place.

  He wanted to explain all of that to Sunshine, but she’d been too put off by Fran’s behavior to listen. He couldn’t blame her. Fran was acting out and making a nuisance of herself, and worse—she kept touching him. He was more than a little relieved when their flight finally took off and Fran was seated nowhere near them.

  They’d boarded different planes in New York and they hadn’t seen Fran again. Cole had finally relaxed, but Sunshine hadn’t lightened up, even when he tried to make a joke about the whole thing. When he ventured forth on another explanation, she turned her back on him and told him she didn’t want to hear it.

  What a way to arrive home, Cole thought with a sigh. But home they were—at last.

  He certainly felt like a world traveler now. He could boast that he’d set foot on six out of the seven continents and Sunshine could say she’d cooked on them, too. Cole had been impressed with the way Sunshine adapted to sleeping in huts in the Andes, on pontoon boats in Southeast Asia, and in yurts in Mongolia. Her stamina put his to the test as they explored the furthest nooks and crannies of the world.

  But Sunshine had tired of rustic living after the first year. A city girl born and bred, she then took Cole on an expansive tour of the cities of Europe and Asia. A tour that lasted nearly two years.

  When their trip stretched on and on, Cole ached for the open skies and broad expanses of the country, but Sunshine became more citified with each metropolis they visited. As her heels grew higher and her makeup more expensive, she exchanged the handwoven leather and bead bracelets she’d been given by villagers for diamond earrings and necklaces bought on the main shopping strips of Paris and Rome. Cole began to wonder if he’d ever known Sunshine at all.

  But she’d remained cheerful and excited through it all.

  Until now.

  Cole glanced at her again. She’d sat in an exhausted stupor through the last flight. Cole had found it equally hard to sleep, and even when he dozed he had woken frequently when the plane encountered turbulence.

  Now it was almost dinner time again. She leaned back against the seat with her eyes closed, but he couldn’t tell if she was sleeping. He reached over and put a hand on Sunshine’s shoulder. “We’re here.”

  She opened her eyes, took in the drab facade of the motel and nodded. Without a word she undid her seatbelt, gathered her purse and stepped out. Cole joined her, taking in her ridiculous but beautiful high-heeled leather boots. She’d likely break her neck on the ice before they reached the front entrance. When he went to take her arm, Sunshine smiled at him, but that didn’t dispel the tiredness that etched her face. He needed to get her to their room, fast.

  They walked in silence to the lobby where a woman greeted them with a frown. “Sorry, folks. We’re full up, just like the sign says.”

  “We have a reservation,” Cole said. “Under the name Linden.”

  The woman was already shaking her head. “Like I said, we’re full up. Everyone’s already checked in.”

  “We have a reservation.” He couldn’t keep the steel from his tone. “Look it up.”

  “Okay, Mr. Linden.” She typed into her computer and shrugged. “I’m sorry. Just like I said.”

  Cole braced his hands on the counter. “We have to be in there. We’re a little late, but—”

  She pursed her lips and typed some more. “You’re more than a little late, Mr. Linden. Your reservation started last night.”

  “We got held up at the airport.”

  “It’s a shame you didn’t let us know. We could have held your room. Instead we gave it to someone else.”

  Anger boiled up inside Cole. “Like hell. I reserved that room for two weeks!”

  “And you didn’t show up or notify us of your change in plans. We didn’t charge you.” The woman shrugged again.

  “I don’t care if you didn’t! I need a room—now!”

  “Cole.” Sunshine’s voice held a warning.

  The woman folded her arms over her chest. “We’re fully booked, Mr. Linden. I think you’ll find most places are. You might try Billings—”

  “I’m not driving two hours to find a motel.”

  “Cole,” Sunshine said again. “You’re not helping.”

  He clamped down on the urge to swear. She was right. Guilt swamped him again at the unhappy expression on his fiancée’s face.

  “Isn’t there someone you know?” she asked.

  He’d never seen her so pale and drained, even in the deepest jungle or on the most forbidding mountain. Maybe Sunshine was getting ill. If so, he couldn’t waste time arguing.

  “Take a seat,” he told her and waved at the armchairs positioned by the window. “I’ll find us somewhere to go.”

  If she had to wait another minute to go to bed, she was going to be sick, Sunshine thought. This pregnancy stuff wasn’t for the faint at heart. Not after hours and hours of listening to another woman flirt with her fiancé.

  She couldn’t believe Cole hadn’t shut Fran down. She understood he didn’t want to make a scene, but surely there was something he could have said to make her stop. On some level, Cole must have enjoyed being flanked by two women, one his fiancée, the other obviously wanting some kind of relationship. She couldn’t believe he’d promised to stop by and say hello to Fran’s folks. Didn’t he know he was encouraging her?

  Or was that his plan?

  She watched Cole pace the small lobby with his phone pressed to his ear and prayed he’d find them a place to go. She had to get out of these stupid high-heeled boots.

  She tried to distract herself by making lists of all the things she’d need to do at the ranch before she showed it to Cole, but the fun had gone out of the game. Every time she thought about Christmas morning, she thought about Fran saying, “We’d love to have you join us for dinner some night.” If he actually tried to go she’d have to slug him.

  And she didn’t believe in violence.

  Fran certainly wasn’t the first woman to make a play for Cole since Sunshine had dated him. It used to be funny, but now she was pregnant, it took things to a whole new level. Maybe she’d feel differently if she and Cole were already married. As it was, she felt too vulnerable. It was one thing to decide to put her career on hold while she raised a child with Cole. It was another thing altogether to end up a single mother while Cole reunited with his childhood love.

  Sunshine sighed. She didn’t really think Cole would leave her. She was letting her imagination run away with her because she was worried about the future. Given the circumstances, it was easy to feel like her choices had been taken away from her. She hadn’t ever made concrete plans around parenthood, mostly because she’d never seen herself as a full-time stay-at-home mom. On the other hand, Cole had made it very clear during this last portion of their trip he thought children belonged with their parents, rather than with the nannies that seemed ever-present in London. All the questions that swirled in her mind only served to make her feel worse.

  “You won’t believe this,” Cole said, slipping his phone back into his pants pocket. “Ethan Cruz is married.”

  “To Lacey?” Sunshine had never actually spoken to the woman, but she remembered all the talk that swirled around Ethan’s spoiled-rotten fiancée.

  “No. Apparently Lacey broke off their engagement, got engaged to someone else, broke that off too and now she’s gone back to college to get her degree.”

  “Wow. Busy girl.”

&
nbsp; “Anyway, Ethan met someone new. Her name’s Autumn. She helped him turn his parents’ house into a Bed and Breakfast, so they actually have a guest room for us.”

  Sunshine brightened a little. That sounded promising. “Does it have a private bath?”

  “It does.”

  “Thank God. I need a hot soak more than anything.”

  “I’ll get you there in a jiffy.”

  Sunshine softened. Cole always looked out for her. Surely together they’d find a way so she could balance motherhood with her career. It was time to put Fran out of her mind, too. She knew Cole; he was polite to a fault with most women. He probably just didn’t know how to get her to stop when she’d rambled on and on back at the airport. Standing up, she swayed for a moment. Cole put out a hand to steady her. His touch was gentle, and Sunshine relaxed into it. “Lead the way.”

  Cole did so. They drove in silence the short distance to the Cruz ranch and Sunshine was more relieved than she could say to arrive. Autumn Cruz, a petite woman with light brown hair and blue eyes, threw open the front door and invited them in. Ethan appeared behind her as they entered and pulled Cole into a rough hug.

  “I thought you’d never come home!”

  “I thought I might never get the chance.” Cole shot Sunshine a look and backtracked. “I mean, we were having a good time…”

  Sunshine frowned. She’d known Cole was anxious to get home these last few months, but he’d never complained about seeing the trip through. To her way of thinking it had made no sense to cut it short; they’d had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel and they might as well make the best of it.

  Still, perhaps three years was excessive.

  “Let me show you your room. You have to be exhausted,” Autumn said, leading the way into a great room with floor-to-ceiling windows that made the most of the view. Upstairs were a number of bedrooms, including one whose door was propped open. They entered to find a queen-sized bed, dresser and desk, an en suite bathroom with an enormous soaker tub, and more views out of the windows.