Christmas at Mistletoe Lodge: New Holiday Romances to Benefit St. Jude Hospital

by Sabrina York

  “I’m sure they are warm enough, but it’s the heel that’s going to kill you.” He yanked her suitcase from the back seat. “Jesus. What the hell do you have in here?”

  “There are two more suitcases in the back.” She held out her hand. “Key please.”

  He just grunted and stomped up the front porch. “The code to get in this door is 8956. Then you use the key to get into your room, which is on the first floor, second door on the right off the family room.”

  “Thank you.” Carefully, she climbed the porch and entered the rustic cabin. Her finger shook as she punched in the keycode. Warm air hit her face, making her smile. The contrast delighted her senses in a way she couldn’t have expected.

  Colton dropped her suitcase by the stairs, startling her. He pulled his ski mask down and rubbed his scruffy face. His wavy hair flowed to his collar. Last time she saw him, he had a buzz cut.

  She liked this rugged look, but not better than his clean-shaven, smooth face with a buzz cut.

  She pushed that thought to the side.

  “You have your own private bathroom.” He pointed toward a closed door just past the staircase. “Kitchen is straight back, and I stocked it this morning, so help yourself to whatever you need.”

  “Are there other guests staying in this cabin?” she asked, noticing two other locked doors. She didn’t want to come off as ungrateful, but with the amount of work she needed to get done, sharing space would only make things more difficult.

  He grumbled. “Just me.”

  “What?” Her lungs deflated. He’d be the worst kind of distraction.

  “I live upstairs.”

  She blinked. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope. We use this cabin for overflow during the summer months or as an Airbnb during the winter since we shut down half the hotel, and it’s costly to open up the other cabins.”

  “Do your parents know about us? Is that why I’m staying here? Because they have some weird idea that you and I are some hot item?” Flynn’s mother had pressed her about Colton for months after his visit, and she hated lying to her, but

  “Us? There was never an us—just a one-night stand. Well, more like an entire week. But why would I tell them about it? My personal life isn’t anyone’s business but my own. That said, our parents have been trying to get us together since you were born.”

  If she could reach to the heavens and strangle her mother, she would. Even in death, she was playing matchmaker. The only topic that Flynn didn’t like discussing with her mom. It wasn’t that she didn’t necessarily want a steady man in her life, but she didn’t have the time to cultivate that kind of relationship. She had yet to meet a man she wanted to come home to.

  Except maybe one.

  But mind-blowing sex didn’t make a lifelong love affair.

  She laced her fingers around the handle of her carry-on. “When you came to visit three years ago, my mom kept asking if I considered our dinner more than a date. She had no idea that date lasted a week or that you even came back a month later.”

  “We never went to dinner that first night,” he said with amusement laced in his words. “My folks asked me a lot of questions about that visit, but I never said anything about what happened or didn’t happen between us, and they eventually dropped it.”

  “Or not. Because here we are, in the same living space, and our mothers are still trying to get us together.”

  “Well, no offense. When my mother takes a look at your boots, that frilly hat that can’t keep your ears warm, and…” he reached out, snagging her zipper between his thumb and forefinger, giving it a good yank, “hmmm, that’s impressive. That sweater is a good choice. But are you wearing long underwear underneath?”

  She jerked back, smacking his hand away. “It’s a North Face, and what’s under it is none of your business. Now will you please help me get my other bags, and what about Wi-Fi? I have a few work things I need to take care of.”

  “Wi-Fi password is on a card on the desk in your room, but it’s slow and spotty during the winter.”

  “Of course it is.”

  “I’ll let my mom know we’ll be up to the main house in a half hour. You might want to bundle up a little more. We’ll be taking the snowmobile. It’s faster.” He turned on a dime and disappeared into the darkness, not giving her a chance to respond.

  She glanced to the ceiling. “Mom. When I join you up there, I’m going to let you have it for this one.”

  2

  Nothing rattled Colton.

  Except a dark-haired beauty that still took his breath away.

  It had taken months in the desert in a foreign hostile country to get over her; only the second he felt her warm body in his arms again, he knew he’d never be able to purge her completely from his mind.

  In one week, she’d managed to strip away all his defenses, making him want to be a better man. The kind of man that could love one woman for the rest of his life. And then, in a snap of her fingers, she took it all away, leaving him spinning out of control, crashing and burning at every corner. For months, he couldn’t think straight. At first, he believed all he needed was to bed a few women, and that would erase her from his brain. However, all that did was remind him of the intense nights and carefree days he’d experienced with Flynn.

  It was just sex.

  Right.

  He splashed cold water on his face. “Hey Siri, call Mom, home.” He tapped the button on his phone so it would go to speaker.

  “Colton, honey. What’s up?” she asked as if she were as innocent as peach pie.

  He growled. “Your little surprise arrived a few minutes ago. You should have told me she was coming.”

  “Don’t take that tone with me,” his mother said as if he were twelve and not thirty-eight. “I hope you’re being a gentleman. Her mother just passed, and I’m sure she’s having a tough time.”

  “I’m always a gentleman.” He slathered on the shaving cream, wishing he’d listened to his mother about getting a proper haircut. Christ. Why did he care? Flynn made herself clear in her text three years ago.

  Tapping the cell screen, he located the text.

  Flynn: I have to cancel tonight. Sorry. It’s been fun. Really. But I can’t start a relationship with someone who is about to be deployed for six months. Besides, neither one of us is the commitment type, and we’d only be hurting our mothers by teasing them with the possibility. If you’re ever in NYC, please, look me up. Take care and be safe.

  He’d never responded, and he never heard from her again.

  Sure, he could have reached out. But what would have been the point. Three days after that text, he was on the back of a C-130 transport plane on his way to the Middle East for another tour. He had no reason to be upset with Flynn, and she was right, on all accounts.

  Or at least he wanted her to be right.

  He had to remind himself that she was no different from any other woman he’d met during his years in the military.

  Only she was nothing like those ladies because she was everything he didn’t want in a woman. She didn’t bike or kayak or run or ski or any other outdoor activity. Her idea of a picnic had been Chinese takeout in Central Park at a table. God forbid she plop her ass down on the grass.

  Yet, she was perfect for him in every way. That was something he couldn’t explain.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that our special guest was going to be Flynn?”

  “Same reason I didn’t tell her that you had retired from the military,” his mother said with that all-knowing tone that made him want to hide under a boulder. “What happened between the two of you? Alice and I thought you’d hit it off and then bam, nothing. She went back to working a million hours, and you went back to trying to get yourself killed.”

  “Shit.” He jerked back as his razor sliced into his skin.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Sorry. I just cut myself shaving, and for the record, I’ve never had a death wish.” But he would admit to ha
ving a taste for all those things that kicked his adrenaline into high gear. He enjoyed pushing the envelope, but he didn’t particularly care for broken bones or open wounds, to which he’d had more than his fair share.

  “Right, and your father isn’t stubborn. How does Flynn look? Is she settling in okay? If she’s too tired to come over tonight, you two can have a quiet dinner at your place. Catch up. Maybe rekindle things.”

  He’d have to nip this in the bud before his mother started sending flowers and chocolate on his behalf. “We went to dinner a couple of times. She showed me around the city, and that was it,” he said. “There was never a romance. Never anything but being friends.” And not very good ones.

  “So, you keep telling me, but Alice always thought—”

  “Mom. You and Mrs. Wagner have always wanted Flynn and me to get together. You both want to see things that aren’t there.”

  His mother cleared her throat. “I never got to see the two of you together, and frankly, neither one of you gave each other a chance.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I had one week of leave and trust me, Flynn and I have nothing in common. We both did as you and her mom asked. We met. We had dinner. We went our separate ways.”

  “If that’s true, I don’t get why you’re so snippy with me about not telling you she was going to be our guest for a week.” His mother had a point, and he saw no reason in arguing with her anymore. What was done was done. Besides, he knew he was being ridiculous.

  “We’ll be up at the house in about ten, okay?”

  “When you get here, can you put salt in the hot water tank before your father does it? That man doesn’t have a clue how to relax, and if he’s not careful, he’s going to have another heart attack.”

  “Just make me a list of everything you want done, and I’ll take care of it, and if you get him talking about college days with Flynn, he won’t notice what I’m doing.” His father constantly grumbled that he wasn’t an invalid, but after quadruple bypass surgery and a mild stroke, the man had aged fifty years in the last couple of months. Colton understood his father’s need to be useful, but he had one foot in the grave and the other one he could barely stand on. “And, Mom, please consider the offer on the table. I know you’ve lived here your entire life, but it’s hard living, and maybe moving to Southern California might be just what the doctor ordered for you and Dad.”

  “You’re one to lecture me on hard living, taking one dangerous assignment after the other. You’ve nearly died five times. You have marks all over your back from being tortured.” His mother coughed on a sob.

  He wiped off the rest of the shaving cream and ran a hand down his chest, fingering some of the scars left behind from his last deployment. The world believed he came home because of his father, but that was simply the catalyst that forced Colton to make the decision to leave the military.

  For good.

  All he wanted now was for his parents to live out their days comfortably with their toes in the sand, a cocktail in their hands, and not a care in the world, especially over this place. He would take care of it and run it for them.

  It was the least he could do.

  “Just promise me you’ll discuss my proposal with Dad, and soon.”

  “We just got you back here, and now you want us to leave?”

  “Mom. Stop. You know it’s not that. I understand what this place means to you and Dad, and I’m offering you the best of both worlds. This has to be your last winter. It has to be because I don’t think Dad will survive another one.” For months, he’d been slowly putting the bug in his parents’ ears, but it was time to stop being so soft and push them to do what they knew deep down would be the right thing. “Mom?”

  His mother exhaled loudly. “I hear you. I do. But let’s wait until after Christmas to do this, okay?”

  That was two weeks away. He supposed that would be fine. “See you in a bit.” He snagged his cell and shoved it in his side pocket of his snow pants. Pulling his bedroom door closed, he glanced over the balcony. Flynn sat at the kitchen table with her laptop open, still wearing those damn stupid boots over skin-tight jeans.

  Anywhere other than Alaska, he’d find the look sexy as hell. Just because he liked athletic women didn’t mean he didn’t like them to be feminine, and Flynn was all woman with her shapely hips and round curves. She didn’t need a stitch of makeup over her flawless bronzed skin. He could stare at her for hours and not get bored.

  “Henry, I’ve tried. Three times now, but the system times me out.” Flynn tapped her perfectly manicured fingernails on the wood table. “The internet is shit, and even when I connect with my phone hotspot, it’s getting hung up too. Tomorrow, I’ll go buy an extender or find an internet café.” Her knee rattled, shaking the floor. “I warned you that the system was antiquated and needed updates.”

  Colton knew her to be relatively high-strung when it came to work, which was more important to her than anything, other than her family.

  Something he could respect.

  But like him, she wanted more than what her parents had. Or at least he thought he’d wanted something different. Now that he’d returned to his native land, he realized just how much he’d missed it.

  “I’ve never let you down. I don’t plan on starting this week, but if I could just email it to—” She glanced to the ceiling and squeezed her eyes tight. “Yes. I understand. Tonight. You will have information tonight.” She set her phone down. “Dickhead,” she mumbled as she dropped her head, smacking her forehead against the table.

  When Colton had last been with Flynn, she’d bitched about how her boss rode her ass constantly, expecting her to perform miracles in minutes. Even though she said she loved her job, he suspected she hated her boss. She might enjoy the hunt, but she resented the kill.

  Something else he could relate to. “I hope you have snow pants,” he said.

  She turned her head. “I think I’d rather drive and not take your stupid snow machine. Besides, I’d like to go into town and do some shopping.”

  Laughing, he jogged down the stairs. “Nothing will be open after five; other than a grocery store and a few tourist shops, there isn’t any place to go shopping.”

  “How far away is the closest mall?”

  He raised his hand and smacked his forehead. “Back in Anchorage. What do you need? Maybe I can find a place tomorrow, although it appears you packed everything but your kitchen sink.” No reason to let her know he heard any part of her conversation, but he’d make sure he checked into the internet connection so she could get some work done. Now that her mother was gone, it was basically all she had left, and he understood better than anyone how diving into a career would ease any emotional loneliness one had.

  Only he would never admit he’d been lonely at all.

  Until now.

  Seeing her again made him realize that he wanted something other than the rush of putting himself in life-threatening situations day in and day out.

  He wanted to be grounded.

  She slammed her laptop closed. “Not everyone is a minimalist. Now please tell me how to get to the main house.”

  “You won’t be able to handle the drive, so we’ll take my truck.” It didn’t go unnoticed that she hadn’t answered his original question. That made him wonder how bad things had gotten at work.

  “You haven’t changed.” She tucked her thick raven hair behind her ears. “Still controlling as hell.”

  “That’s rich. I remember when we did manage to go out to eat all you did was complain about the food, and you’re the one who picked the restaurant.” Of course, based on her personality, he figured her boss was just like her, and they simply clashed.

  She poked his chest. “You gave me a choice of three, and when I suggested somewhere else—”

  “Why don’t we agree that the second time I came to visit, sucked.” He took her chin in his hand. “But the first one, which lasted a week, well, that’s one for the memory books.”

  “Pig.�
� Once again, she batted his hand away, but her slight smile told him she remembered it as fondly as he did.

  “Come on. Let’s go.” He laced his fingers through hers and tugged. “My mom’s excited to see you.”

  “You know, I’ve never met your mother or your father before, but I’ve heard so much about them I feel like I know them.”

  “I barely remember meeting your folks when I was six but felt the same way about you and your parents when I came to New York. Now, maybe I know you a little too well.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “I know how to make your toes curl, and when that happens, you make this cute little noise—”

  “Can we stop with the trip down sexual lane. We had sex. Once.”

  “Um, I think it was closer to a dozen or more, but who’s counting.”

  “You are,” she mumbled. “And I need you to stop. This visit is all about my mom and her memory, not what happened between us.”

  He was going straight to hell. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m being an asshole.”

  “And look at that. We agree on something.”

  This was going to be a long week.

  “You’re so much prettier in person.”

  Renee Granger pulled Flynn in for a bear hug before she had the chance to close the door behind her. Flynn hadn’t even had a chance to glance around the massive foyer of the Granger family home that she’d heard so much about.

  “I’ve waited forever to meet you. I was so jealous that I couldn’t come to New York City when my boy was there. You know, the last time I saw your mom was when she and your dad came here for their honeymoon. They stayed in the very cabin you’re staying in now. We’re certain you were conceived in that very cabin.” Alice spoke so fast that Flynn could barely keep up. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. Your mom was such a special person.” Renee took a step back. “How is Justin holding up?”

  “Dad’s hanging tough. He keeps busy between work and his writing.” Flynn stared into Renee’s deep-blue eyes. They were a little darker than Colton’s, but they were kind and expressed great love and admiration. Growing up, Flynn’s mother had described Renee as the motherly type. Not to mention, the voice of reason between the two of them. Whenever they went out and Flynn’s mother went a little on the wild side, Renee would pull her back to earth. “He sends his best and wanted me to thank you personally for the support you showed them during my mom’s illness.”