He had tried to grab what he wanted, without listening to what she’d told him, time and time again. Without facing the truth.
The doorbell rang, startling him. Probably some of her family, since he didn’t know anyone else in Snowflake Valley that well. Oddly enough, the thought didn’t bother him. Even more odd, he found himself looking forward to seeing any of the Barnetts again.
“I’ll get it,” Amber said, backing a step away from him. She met his gaze for a moment, then turned and hurried from the room.
After he’d watched her go, he took a seat and stared at the flowers in the Santa sleigh in the middle of the table.
He might not have realized what he’d done to Amber until now, but he’d told her the truth about himself last night. He was used to taking care of babies.
He had been comfortable holding Penny and unexpectedly pleased at knowing he had helped calm her down and get her to sleep. At knowing Amber had felt comfortable enough to drift off and trust him with her baby. He could…
He could care for both Amber and her child. But he’d watched his stepmother undercut everything his dad had tried to do for her kids. How would Amber act in the same situation?
He’d never know. Attempting a permanent relationship, having a family, and especially taking on the role of stepfather weren’t choices he was willing to make. He couldn’t.
The sound of male voices, then heavy footsteps approaching from the front entry, made him frown. The voices didn’t sound like Nick or either of Amber’s brothers. But who else would have dropped in this early in the morning at a secluded mountain lodge?
As Amber walked into the kitchen, he found his answer.
She was followed closely by three of the reasons he’d come to the lodge to be alone.
…
As she prepared breakfast, Amber discovered the least of her worries was whether or not there were enough sausages to go around.
When the three males standing on the front porch had introduced themselves as Michael’s brothers, she had been thrilled. At last, he would have the chance to spend a holiday with his family, to strengthen his bonds with them, as she had hoped.
Then she had walked into the kitchen with Michael’s brothers following her. The brief flash of emotion she had caught in his eyes made her hopes evaporate like the water drops she’d used to test the heat of the griddle.
She transferred the last stack of pancakes onto one of the waiting platters and turned toward the table.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, forcing a bright tone. “And there’s no worry at all about putting you up. All the rooms are ready for guests.” She glanced at Michael, waiting for him to second her welcome. Foolish hope. Yet, when the other three males turned to look at him, she raised her brows, sending him silent encouragement. Or maybe a plea.
To her relief, he nodded. “Yeah. Glad you could visit.”
“Right in time for Snowflake Valley’s Winter Festival, too,” she said. “Plus, there’s an auction opening today.” She set the platters of pancakes and sausages on the table and took her seat.
“Right,” Michael said. “Your arrival is…good timing.”
Derek, the one she had spoken to on the phone, speared a sausage with his fork and took a bite. “That’s the way you get ahead in life, taking advantage of things whenever you can.”
“One way,” Michael said with the faintest edge in his tone.
“So,” she said quickly, “where do you all fall in the family order?”
“I’m the fourth,” Derek announced. “I’ve got a different dad than these three guys. And I’m not related to Mike at all. Am I, Mike?”
“Only by marriage,” he answered.
Again, she heard that edge in his voice. She pushed away both guilt and relief. Not telling him about her phone conversation with Derek had been the right decision, after all.
She looked at the two boys seated across from her, who had introduced themselves as Raymond and Lee. They appeared to be in their late teens. “And how about you two in the family order?”
“We’re half-brothers with Michael,” Raymond said. “I’m after Derek and our two older stepbrothers.”
No wonder they hadn’t built relationships, if they all focused on the divisions in their family instead of possible connections.
Raymond tilted his head toward Lee. “This one’s the baby.”
“I’ll give you baby. I can outwrestle you any day.”
“Yeah, right.”
Recalling what Michael had told her the other day about flying fists and broken glasses at his family’s table, she jumped in. “Well, it’s great to meet you all. I’ll have to introduce you to my brothers and sisters later.”
“Are the girls as hot-looking as you?” Derek asked.
“Derek,” Michael said.
The other man shrugged. “Just calling it as I see it.”
“Just don’t. Amber’s your hostess.”
“I thought she was the housekeeper.”
She wanted to cry at yet another reminder of that fact. She wanted to get out of this situation before Michael found out she had gotten him into it. “I am the housekeeper. And right now, the cook.”
“A great cook,” Lee said with a grin that reminded her faintly of Michael’s. “The pancakes were awesome.”
“Thank you.” She smiled back at him.
Like the smell of breakfast sausage, a silence hung over the kitchen. It was broken only by the sounds of forks hitting plates and coffee mugs thumping against the tabletop. So different from mealtimes with her family, when two and three conversations went on at once.
Finally, she said, “I’m glad you arrived in time for breakfast. Michael and I will be leaving soon to help set up for the auction. You’re welcome to come, too, and give us a hand. Or just hang out at the festival. Or visit some of the sights in town. There’s plenty to see in Snowflake Valley. Isn’t there, Michael?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “You won’t want to miss a stop at the Candy Cane.”
Now his tone was edged with sarcasm. He was still mocking her hometown. And why did either of those things surprise her? They’d shared a few moments of closeness last night and again this morning. But when it came to their basic differences, nothing had changed.
She blinked to clear her suddenly blurry eyes and turned back to his brothers. She was only the housekeeper and cook, and she was going to act like it. “If you’ve brought bags with you and would like to get them from your car, I’ll take you upstairs to your rooms.”
The brothers showed their enthusiasm for her offer by the screech of chair legs on the floor and the stomp of boots across the kitchen. She reached for the empty dishes and rose from her seat.
Michael rested his hand on her arm. The warmth of his fingers nearly made her fumble one of the platters. His dark-eyed gaze, steady on her, made her feel even warmer.
“I apologize for Derek,” he said, “since he doesn’t have the manners to excuse himself.”
“What’s to excuse?” she asked flippantly. “What girl wouldn’t like being told she’s hot-looking?”
“Then I’ll tell you. You’re hot. You’re beautiful. And you’re—” He snapped his mouth shut and took his hand from her arm.
Her pulse thrummed. You’re…what? Off-limits? Taken? Mine?
“—you’re too good for him,” he finished.
Heartbroken, she forced herself to say evenly, “I don’t know about that. Lately, it seems I’m not good enough for anybody.”
“It’s not you at all, Amber. It’s—” He shook his head. “Forget it. Just don’t let my brothers get to you. And don’t fall for anything they tell you.”
“Then Derek doesn’t really think I’m hot-looking?”
He glared at her. “That’s not what I mean. Listen, the two younger boys aren’t as bad but Derek and his brothers are nothing but trouble.”
“Maybe that’s because you haven’t established a good relationship with them. But if y
ou tried—”
“I’m done trying.”
“But…they’re here. You’re not going to tell them to leave, are you?”
“No, I won’t do that. Especially with another storm front on the way. But don’t expect me to be as happy as you seem to feel to have them here. I told you once before, we’re a family of mutts. We never spent enough time together to develop relationships. And that’s fine by me. In case you haven’t picked up on it from what else I’ve said, I more or less raised myself—and the kids, too, in their earlier years.”
At the slamming of the front door and the sound of footsteps, he lowered his voice and spoke in a rush. “Relationships? Family? Forget it. They’re nothing but trouble. I’ve told you how I feel about them.”
“Yes, you have,” she said sadly, turning away with the empty platters.
Chapter Fifteen
Michael turned off the main street and parked the SUV in the elementary school’s lot. They had spent more time than he had expected on the road this morning.
After breakfast, he’d become the chauffer while Amber had acted as hostess and tour guide to his brothers. It was as if the Amber he knew was gone, as if the jacket she wore that turned her eyes so blue had become a uniform. She had given the guys an idea of the town’s layout, shown them the most popular tourist attractions, and pointed out the stores and restaurants on Icicle Lane.
As he climbed out of the SUV, he silently acknowledged she had given him an education, too. Despite her businesslike manner, with every word she’d spoken, he had heard the pride in her voice and seen it in her expressions. She loved this town.
He wished he had something in his life he loved even half as much. He wished she—
“Last man to the top of the heap wins,” Derek said suddenly, shoving past him and heading toward a pile of snow that had been plowed into one corner of the parking lot.
The other boys, always up to a challenge, hurried after Derek.
Amber was taking a twine-wrapped box out of the back of the SUV. When they had dropped Penny off at Amber’s parents’ house, Mrs. Barnett had given her a box of homemade sweet rolls to take to the school with them. The scent of cinnamon had filled the vehicle. So had the sound of Derek’s voice as he talked nonstop trying to impress Amber.
Michael had clamped his jaws tight to keep his mouth shut.
Too bad he hadn’t done that in the kitchen with Amber earlier.
She rounded the front end of the SUV. In the sunlight, her eyes sparkled and her hair shone.
She was hot. She was beautiful. He hadn’t lied.
But he’d been a real jerk during the rest of the conversation.
He ran his hand through his hair. “Amber, this morning I shouldn’t have let loose with some of the things I said to you. Or at least, I should have found a better way to say them.”
“But you still should have said them, is that what you mean?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. The general message stands. I’m not cut out for having a family. And now you’ve seen part of the reason for that yourself.”
They both stood watching his brothers. Across the lot, Derek had made a snowball. Now, he lobbed it toward Raymond, who ducked. The snowball struck one of the school windows with a jarring thunk.
“Hey, watch it!” Michael yelled. “Or are you planning to pay for your own damages this time around?”
“Got you for that, bro,” Derek called back, laughing.
Raymond and Lee jumped down from the mound of snow and headed toward the SUV.
“They’re just boys,” Amber murmured.
“They’re men,” he said harshly. “At least Derek’s supposed to be. The other two are younger. I’ll give them some slack. But even they don’t act the way they should, thanks to Derek and his brothers. You don’t see Josh and Drew pulling stunts like that, do you? They have more sense.”
“Maybe if you’d all spent more time together as they got older, Derek and the rest of them might have turned out differently.”
“You’re saying I’m at fault.”
“Not even close. I know you’ve been living away from home for a while now. I’m just saying it’s too bad that while you were there you didn’t have the chance to get closer. But I’m sure you’ve had more of a good influence on them than you think. I know you would have tried.” She paused, then added, “What was that about Derek paying for damages?”
“Something else I shouldn’t have said.”
She hesitated, as if she planned to push the issue. But Raymond and Lee ran up to them, and she turned to smile at his brothers.
He wished she had sent that smile in his direction first.
…
By late morning, they finished transferring all the donated items to the community center.
As much as she could, Amber had kept her eye on Michael’s brothers. Easy enough with Derek. He never left the room, just wandered around checking out the prizes. Raymond and Lee helped her brothers and some of the teachers carry boxes into the center.
With Michael, she had tried to do just the opposite—not pay attention to what he was doing. At that job, she failed. He and another group of teachers set up tables in the large main room. Watching him work all those muscles of his was a sight too good to miss.
Seeing him headed her way wasn’t bad, either. Quickly, she turned to the job that was supposed to hold her attention, hanging a display of snowflakes on a tabletop-sized Christmas tree. And she did love the snowflakes. Each one was prettier than the one before.
Michael stopped beside her. “Think anybody’s going to bid on these? They’re too much of a good thing, aren’t they? The tourists have an entire town filled with ornaments for sale.”
“People who live here normally outbid the tourists for these. They’re special. You remember Mrs. Anderson?”
“Of course. I never forget any woman who calls me handsome—”
“Oh, please.”
“—or who thinks I’ll make a great Snow Ball King.”
“Well…she might’ve gotten that part right. Anyway, Mrs. Anderson made these ornaments. She’s ninety-seven and the valley’s oldest resident. And she’s made snowflakes for the festival since she was six years old.”
He whistled. “Now, that’s a tradition.”
“It sure is. She crochets them and sprinkles them with glitter, then adds enough spray starch to make sure the glitter never falls off. When I was little, I always thought the sparkles were the elf equivalent of magic dust.”
“I’m betting you still think that.” He traced the edge of a snowflake with his fingertip, in the same gentle way he’d touched her face. “Christmas is over, and you’re still managing to get your fill of it, aren’t you?” She listened but couldn’t find any hint of judgment in his tone.
“I’ll never get my fill,” she said truthfully.
A few feet from them, Callie turned, surveying the room. “Not bad,” she said with satisfaction. “We should bring in quite a bit of money for the school.”
“Looks like you made a real killing,” Derek said. “You oughta hire me to keep the loot safe while everybody’s out having fun.”
Amber smiled. It sounded like he was trying to make up for the clowning around he had done this morning. She hoped Michael would take note.
Callie smiled, too. “Thanks for the offer, but we’ll lock up as we leave. I think we’ll be okay.” She turned to the crowd. “All right, gang, according to my watch, it’s almost lunchtime. I think you all deserve some time off. But first, can you two give me a hand?” She gestured toward the empty boxes piled in one corner of the room.
She had asked Josh and Drew, but Amber noticed Raymond and Lee followed.
Michael watched them for a moment before turning back to her. The smile he gave her lit his dark eyes, his face…and a special place in her heart.
That smile also left the rest of her heart aching.
Everything he had told her about his past proved he had given up on the idea of a h
appy future. She understood that. Not so long ago, she had felt the same. But only for a very brief time, because she’d had a baby on the way. A baby she had already loved. She’d had a family she loved and who loved her, too.
He seemed so alone.
If only she could go back to being a little girl who believed in magic elf dust. If only she had some of that special dust now.
Somehow, she had to make Michael believe in the magic of Snowflake Valley.
And before his visit here ended, she needed to make him believe in family.
…
For the second time in two days, Michael sat on a bench at the rink.
After a skating pageant put on by the school district, the town had held open competitions. Amber dared him to enter the speed-skating event. He’d signed up for it and walked away with a “silver medal.”
The foil-covered cardboard medallion dangled from a red ribbon hung around his neck. It entitled the bearer to two desserts at the Candy Cane. He knew who would share those with him.
He sat listening to Amber charm his brothers. Well, the two youngest ones. Halfway through the pageant, Derek had wandered off on his own somewhere.
“You’ve never eaten roasted chestnuts?” she asked in exaggerated amazement.
“Go easy on them,” Josh said. “These city boys can’t help it they’ve been deprived.”
“I’ll give you deprived,” Raymond said.
Michael tensed.
“And I’ll give you guys half my chestnuts,” Drew told Raymond. “But only if you’ll take that chip off your shoulder.”
“What chip?” Raymond demanded, but he grinned as he said it. He yanked Drew’s ski cap off his head, then held it out to him. “Fill ’er up.”
“Very funny.” Laughing, Drew replaced his cap. “Let’s go.”
The boys headed toward the row of concession stands. Near the stands, the chestnut vendor stood with his wheeled cart.
Finished changing into his boots, Michael took Amber’s hand. They followed the boys. The air around the cart was hazy from the heat and smelled like the roasted nuts.
“Have you been deprived, too?” she asked as they joined the line behind their brothers.
One Week to Win Her Boss (Snowflake Valley) Page 13
