Max shook his head. “As long as she likes you. If she doesn’t, I’d watch what you eat and drink.”
His father picked up his fork and set it aside.
“Oh,” Lauren said. “You have nothing to worry about unless you find chicken bones in your bed.”
She was teasing, but it was funny to watch his father’s eyes go from shock to concern, to lit up with humor.
“I could use her on the payroll. There’s a few people I’d like to get rid of.”
Jane cleared her throat. “That was the old you,” she said.
His father would yield in many ways, across the dinner table and across the negotiating desk. He’d be taking a kinder, gentler approach. The old ways were gone, a new year was dawning for their family.
“Yes,” his father lowered his head. “I’m truly sorry about the loss of your father, Lauren.”
Max glanced at Lauren and could see the flash of sorrow in her expression. She’d lost her father only a few weeks before, and the meal they were sharing was the final realization of Frank’s efforts to heal the rift between him and his old friend and onetime business partner.
Lauren would be grateful, just as he was grateful. It was bittersweet that her father couldn’t be there to shake his old friend’s hand, to seal their peaceful pact.
Max thought of his own mother, along with Lauren’s. The two women had been close, but after the news broke, Max’s mom was never the same, and it was Lauren’s mother who came offering friendship and love and support.
The memory of his father’s bellowing, casting her out and separating the friends forever, separating their children forever, was long forgotten.
“It’s nice we can find balance again. No need to tip the scales any longer,” Max said.
“Balance is good,” Lauren held his hand underneath the table.
No life could mean anything without its balance, its equal, or its other. If his father found a worthy match in Jane, he was happy for it.
He offered her a little smile from across the table. Jane nodded humbly and turned her eyes down to her plate. She seemed especially quiet, though she rarely spoke when she didn’t seem compelled to.
Max wasn’t sure if her feelings were born of humility, gratitude, or perhaps even duplicity, but it hardly mattered. His father’s feelings were what mattered between them as far as he was concerned.
Lauren’s feelings were what mattered to Max. The rest would take care of itself with a little care, a dash of hope, and a mustard seed of faith.
Faith, Max couldn’t help but think. He’d long understood love. His study of the romantics had stoked his instinctive insight into the ways of the human heart and mind. He had hoped for a better family, a better life, and that hope seemed poised to come to fruition.
They finished dinner, and Max kissed his grandmother’s cheek before helping take her to the SUV. Once settled, he walked around to the driver’s side and held out his hand to his father.
“Thank you for coming.”
His father took his hand and shook it, looking into Max’s eyes. “It’s important to know when to stand down to get what you want.” He squeezed his hand. “Love you, son.”
As the taillights faded into the distance, he thought about the evening and how everything had turned out the way they wanted. He couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.
In the back of his brain, his unconscious self said, “Be careful what you ask for.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lauren
Lauren woke up early the next day and got right to work finishing the costumes, which had to be tailored at the lodge.
Cindy stood on a stepstool while Lauren sewed the hem of her big, Bavarian skirt. She was pretty in her peasant blouse, a charming old-world maiden to help transport their guests to a different place and time, a land of magic and lore.
Cindy said, “So, you and Max? You’re together?”
Lauren nodded. “Yes, we were childhood friends, and now we’re together.”
“That’s so sweet.” After a tentative pause, she asked, “How did you know for sure that your guy was the guy?”
“Max,” Lauren said with a smile, “was always the guy for me. Not that I wasn’t surprised that it worked out, I still can hardly believe it, but I guess when it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. No reason to overthink it or overwork the details. Even when we faced things that seemed insurmountable, it came together because we didn’t care about those things, we didn’t worry about those distractions. We love each other, we’re meant to be together, and we’re lucky enough to know it, and have a second chance to make it work.”
Cindy nodded, but she didn’t smile the way Lauren might have expected, and she had a good inkling as to why.
“Are you having doubts about Patrick?”
Her eyes grew wide. “You know?”
Lauren coughed up an amused little huff. “I had a hunch,” was all she felt she needed to say. “He’s a good guy. Was there an argument or a disagreement? Nothing to do with the lodge, I hope.”
“No, it’s just …” Cindy reached up and set her hand flat against her belly; her miserable expression told Lauren everything she needed to know. Lauren would stand by Cindy, not as an employer, but a friend, and a fellow human being.
“Does he know?”
Cindy shook his head. “I’m afraid to tell him.”
“Do you love him?”
“I do, Lauren, I really do, but I mean, we both work here. Will we be able to keep working here?” She looked around the room. “We’ll have expenses, and I won’t be able to work after some time. There’s so much to think and worry about.”
“I understand,” Lauren was quick to say, “I really do. Does he love you?”
“He says he does, and I believe him, but I want to believe him, especially now. Patrick is getting his electrician’s license, and if we both keep working here, we’ll be able to make ends meet, but with how things are going …”
“I know.” She hung her head. “We’re doing everything we can to keep the lodge going.”
She nodded. “I’ve told all my friends about the festival, but once the winter comes and goes, and this whole thing blows over, then what?”
Lauren sighed; heart heavy and head shaking. “Honestly, I don’t know. We’re trying to be hopeful and have faith, but I know that won’t be so easy for you with another mouth to feed on the way.”
“What if he leaves me?” Cindy asked. “I couldn’t do it alone.”
“You could do it on your own if you had to.” Reading the fear on her face, Lauren was quick to add, “But you won’t have to.” She looked around the lodge, already knowing what she could and could not promise. “You’ll always have me, as a friend and as family. You won’t be alone whatever Patrick says or does, but you have to tell him soon.”
“But—”
“It’s your choice about when to tell him but do it soon.”
“You’re right. I’m just afraid. What if he’s not happy?”
Lauren laughed. “He was probably happy during the process of making that little one. If he’s not excited at first, it’s okay. He’ll come around.”
Cindy seemed like she was trying to smile, but she didn’t succeed and let her lips go slack.
Lauren went on, “Whatever you choose and whatever happens, I’ll support you, but you have to give Patrick a chance to step up to the plate.”
Cindy seemed to think about it before nodding with a sigh.
“Congratulations.” Lauren wrapped her arms around her young friend. “Hope, faith, and love; that’s all anybody really needs, and it’s all anybody ever really has.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Max
Max hammered the boards together, trying to catch up, and was glad for Patrick’s help, but the young man was obviously nervous about something, more than just the bleak changes they were all facing.
“Are you okay?”
“I dunno,” Patrick said, “I h
ave a bad feeling about things, that’s all.”
“Join the club, but really, that’s life. It’s not a fairy tale, it’s one challenge after the next. It’s the rising to the challenge that makes life worthwhile.”
“Is that the secret of your success?” After a moment to second-guess himself, Patrick added, “I could use all the advice I can get. Cindy is acting strange, I’m afraid she will leave me for someone better. I mean, I haven’t even gotten my electrician’s license, yet. Thank God we’ve had this place to keep us going. I don’t mean to be a downer about things, but it’s less and less every year, which means fewer hours. It’s hard to make a living much less a life.”
“Don’t underestimate her, Patrick. If she loves you, if she really loves you, she’ll stick by you. You’ve got a future if you believe in it and want it bad enough. Stick with your studies, the license will come soon enough.”
Max walked into the house to visit the bathroom and passed Ruthie on the way out. He gave her a nod and a smile as they met in the hall.
Ruthie fisted her hips and turned to him to say, “Mistah Max Hunter,” in that thick Jamaican accent.
He stood calmly, already knowing the robust woman’s disposition toward him. She deserved to speak her mind, and he was happy to let her express her distrust.
“Ruthie,” he said before waiting for her to go on.
“I owe you an apology. When you came around, I was afraid you’d be hurtin’ my child.”
“That was never my intention.”
“You are a fine man, I know dat now. I was wrong.”
Max cracked a smile. “That’s good of you to say, Ruthie.” He gave her a little kiss on the cheek and walked into the lobby.
He saw Lauren walking across the backyard of the lodge, a place she’d called home for most of her life, a place she wanted to call home for the rest of her life.
It scared her, but it was the fear that gave her courage. Looking at her, as she took the reins of the lodge’s future, he thought about her parents and how they must have been gazing down on her with pride and joy.
What they would have thought about him, he didn’t know. His arrival at the lodge had been unexpected. Sometimes, life was uncertain, but the one thing he was steadfast about was his love for Lauren and their future together.
Time had tried to keep them apart, but somehow, they’d found their way back to one another. If Lauren could sustain a smile in the face of her losses, he was determined he would stand beside her and build their future together.
Whether they would have it at the lodge was another issue but it didn’t matter where, as long as they were together.
Something grabbed Max’s attention, a sedan pulling up to the front of the property. He didn’t recognize the black-haired man pulling a briefcase from the car before slamming the door. The way he was approaching the lodge, Max knew it wasn’t a social call. He had news, bad news, and that caused a cold stone to turn in Max’s gut.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lauren
Lauren opened the door for Sam, who stepped in with a solemn air. “Lauren,” he said. Max walked over and extended his hand to shake, but Sam didn’t take it, a gesture not lost on any of them.
“We haven’t met,” Sam said, “I’m Sam Horn, the Matthews’ accountant and business manager.”
“Max Hunter.”
“What’s going on?” Lauren asked.
“That’s an excellent question.” Sam walked past them and deeper into the lobby, approaching a couch and coffee table under the big antler chandelier. He set his briefcase on the table, flipped it open, and handed a letter to Lauren. At the top of the letter was the name Hunter Properties. At the bottom was a signature she recognized; her father's. As well as one she wasn't familiar with; Eaton Hunter's. Her heart started beating faster as she read the letter, the legal phrasing bringing a sour taste to the back of her mouth. The terminology was intimidating and confusing, with words like herewith, sole possession, and fair and reasonable compensation.
She turned to Max, whose expression told her it wasn’t the first he was seeing of the letter. “Max, what is this?”
“It’s a promissory note,” Sam answered for Max. “It gives his father ownership of the lodge if the debt wasn’t paid by the time your father died. I just received this to my office by a personal messenger because I manage the financial end of this business.”
“Max, did you know about this?”
“Well, um, actually, the subject had come up between my father and me.”
Sam shook his head, and Lauren could feel the blood drain from her face.
Max was quick to explain. “He told me about this thing just a short while ago.”
“Before you suddenly started coming around?” Sam asked.
Max had to nod. “My father had wanted to bring the document after the funeral, but I couldn’t let him do that.”
Sam asked, “Thought you’d slide in for a little something before you brought the hammer down?”
“You stay out of this,” Max said, refocusing his attention on Lauren.
She could barely stand to look him in the eyes.
“I was stalling him,” Max said. “I figured I could turn things around, get him to drop the whole matter.”
“You didn’t come here gearing up to con me out of my lodge?”
“No, Lauren, just the opposite. I was letting my father think we were making a shrewd business move, but the idea was to get him to back off entirely and leave us alone.”
“And if that didn’t work out?” she asked.
“I would think of something. We would think of something.” He gripped the roots of his hair and pulled. “I don’t know, my father must have been lying about giving us his blessings.”
“You think?” Sam asked sarcastically.
Max pointed an angry finger at Sam. “Not one more word, pal, I’m not in the mood!”
“Enough of this,” Lauren shouted, “just get out, Max.”
“No, Lauren, this isn’t how it seems.”
“The lady made herself clear,” Sam said. “Don’t make me take this to the next level.”
Max looked at Sam and then at Lauren, and he seemed to know there was nothing he could say or do. Resignation was clear on his face.
“This isn’t over.” He pointed to her. “We’re not over.”
“Yes, you are,” Sam said, pointing to the door.
Max hung his head and walked out.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Max
He flung open the door of his father’s office and stomped inside. “How could you?” he screamed.
Max was past trying to keep his temper. He’d usually been smart when dealing with his father, who always wielded the power between them, but he no longer had control over Max.
“You left me no choice.”
“How can you blame me? First, you tore up that contract!”
“It was a copy. Use your head, Max. I swear, when it comes to that girl, your intellect goes right out the window.”
“Oh, Pop, how could you be so heartless? You sent me in there as a dupe, a puppet?”
“No, Max, I was on the level until you betrayed me.”
“Betrayed? That blood feud of yours is your own business. Lauren and I love each other, and you will have to accept it.”
“And I did. I turned my back on everything I believed in, everything I knew to be true, and I did that for you.” Eaton shook his head and huffed. “I taught you too well; that was my only problem.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“My water park!” His father shouted. The red of his anger rose to the top of his head. “You came to me, playing on my heartstrings, hoping to turn me against Jane, of all people, and I discovered you’re talking up plans to convert that crappy old lodge into a water park—my water park!”
“No, that’s not what’s happening.”
“It’s not true?”
Max reviewed the fac
ts, his attention distracted by who might have told him such a thing, but there was no time to reason that out. “Who told you?”
“Is it true or not?”
“Well, yeah, I was talking to Lauren about our Yule Village, and we both agreed that the weather was changing, and was probably only going to get worse.”
“That’s just what I said to you. You stole my ideas and gave them to her.”
“No, it’s different.”
“How? Because you’d have owned it? You’d marry the girl and swipe the lodge right out from under me.”
“I was putting the idea out there. It’s not like she will do it.”
“You’re damn right she’s not! She might have been able to twist you around her little finger, but not me! Watch, she’ll dump you, build the water park herself, and we’ll both be screwed.”
“She already dumped me because of this—because of you.”
“Because of you,” Pops said. “She’s not fooling me, not again. I should have known better than to trust anybody in that family. Her father was a snake and a sneak, and so is she.”
“That’s not even close to being true. What happened years ago was your fault, but it’s over with now.”
“Got that right.” He chomped down on his cigar. “It’s over with now.”
Max walked out of his father’s office and down the stairs, but he didn’t make it to the door before Jane spoke his name. He turned to see her standing there, blood rushing hot in his veins. His brain flashed with angry words, but if he started with a single one, he was unlikely to control the others that followed.
He pulled the front door open and stomped toward his SUV, but Jane followed him outside. “Max, wait, listen to me.” He stopped and turned. “I’m sorry about what happened. I tried to get him to go along, I really did.”
“And all that talk about threatening my relationship with Lauren?”
Up to Snow Good: A Small Town Holiday Romance Page 11
