The Rebel

by Jennifer Bernard

  “You’re driving into town?” Kai asked.

  “Yes. If anyone needs anything, let me know.” She cast a general smile around the table at all the Rockwells.

  “You need something,” grumbled Max. “You need a chauffeur. You freeway drivers don’t belong out here.”

  “Oh stop. Just because I’m a city girl doesn’t mean I can’t adapt.”

  And they shifted into one of those Rockwell joke-fests that she loved so much.

  Afterwards, she drove her Jetta into town. Despite the family’s teasing, she loved the drive down the mountain road. It was so beautiful, winding through birch and spruce. She routed her phone through her speakers and called Felicity to pass on the news about Kai being made a signatory on Rocky Peak’s accounts.

  “We need to make a move,” Felicity said right away. “We’re way past that month mark. We have to make our offer before Kai gets his hooks too far into this.”

  “His hooks? Felicity, it’s his lodge. He has a lot more stake in it than you do.”

  “Not true. I’ve invested a lot in this project. I told you my partnership in the firm is on the line. If I don’t come through, I’m pretty sure they’ll fire me. ”

  Nicole heard the fear in her voice. “I know how important this is for you, Felicity. I get it.”

  “Not just for me,” she said, her voice rising. “For you and Birdie.”

  Was the bonus really worth it? Maybe there was another way to provide for Birdie that didn’t involve taking away Kai’s legacy.

  “I don’t know, Felicity. It feels more sleazy every day.”

  “Oh pooh, would you grow up? People do sleazy things all the time. Sleaze sleaze sleaze. It’s like sleep and easy put together. How can that be bad?”

  “Are you okay, Felicity?”

  “You can stop asking me that, it’s fucking annoying.”

  Nicole shook her head as she took one of the sharp curves in the road. Where was her friend, the Felicity from before she’d turned into such a damn shark?

  She changed the subject. “Have you seen Birdie this week?”

  “Yesterday. I promised I’d visit her twice a week, and I have.” Felicity’s irritated tone softened. “She’s fine, but she doesn’t like her private room.”

  “I don’t like it either. It’s frickin’ expensive. Any chance you can get her to make up with her roommate?”

  “Do I seem like a relationship counselor?”

  Nicole laughed. Felicity was many things—a loyal friend, a cutthroat competitor, a sharp businesswoman—but personal relationships were definitely not her forte. “Okay, never mind. I’ll check in soon, Felicity. Promise you won’t do anything without warning me.”

  “Sweetie, you’re getting much too attached up there in the mountains. What’s going on with you and Kai? Are you keeping something from me?”

  “You don’t have to worry about me and Kai.”

  That much was true. No need to worry, because there was no possible way it could end well.

  23

  After she’d made her purchases, on impulse she stopped in at the Last Chance. She wanted to talk to Jake, to confirm that he wanted nothing to do with running the lodge. To assuage her guilt, to be honest.

  But Jake wasn’t there. Instead a curvy redhead who introduced herself as Serena brought her a bar menu.

  “I was actually hoping to talk to Jake.”

  Serena rolled her eyes. “You and every other woman in this town. He’s training with the fire department right now.”

  “Oh, not like that!” she said with such indignation that Serena laughed.

  “My bad. Well, would you like a drink of water at least?”

  “Sure.” She slid onto the stool and gratefully received the water Serena poured for her. They chatted for a while, discovering that they were both new in town, both transplanted city girls. Both working for Rockwells.

  “It’s a good thing they’re good-looking,” Serena joked. “Makes up for the my-way-or-the-highway attitude.”

  “Jake? He seems so easygoing.”

  “You’d think so, right?” Serena refused to say more than that, and they segued to a conversation about Netflix shows and small town culture shock. They exchanged numbers and decided that two new girls in town ought to stick together.

  And now it would be even harder to leave—she had a friend. A friend who wasn’t a shark.

  When she got back to the lodge, Kai, Max and Gracie were hovering over Kai’s phone, which was planted in the middle of the table.

  “Come here,” Gracie hissed as Nicole walked in. “It’s Isabelle.”

  “Am I on speaker?” came a female voice from the phone. “That’s supremely irritating, but I’ll try to act normal anyway. Normal being relative, of course, so don’t bother saying it, Kai.”

  Kai pulled an innocent, ‘who, me?’ face, then winked at Nicole.

  “I hope you have good news, Isabelle,” Max shouted. He never understood that it wasn’t necessary, that the phone could pick up his voice just fine.

  “You don’t have to yell, Dad. Anyway, it is good news, at least I think it is. I’m coming back for Christmas. Kai promised me a ski race. You know it’s the one thing I can’t resist.”

  Nicole swung toward Kai. “A ski race?”

  More importantly—did that mean he was staying into winter? She celebrated internally with a silent whoop.

  Wait, no—it was bad news. It put a huge wrench in the Summit Group’s timeline. Felicity would freak out. Crap.

  She schooled her expression so as not to reveal all her conflicting emotions.

  “Isabelle is a phenomenal cross-country ski babe,” Kai said. “We used to put on a race every winter against the Majestic Lodge crew. I talked to the people over there and they agreed it’s time to bring the tradition back.”

  On the phone, Isabelle gave a hoot of excitement. “I’ve been stuck here in the desert with no skis, so I’ll have to come back a little early and get my groove back.”

  “The race is set for the end of January, so if you came back for Christmas, you’ll have plenty of time. I’ll get your skis tuned up for you.”

  Kai was staying. Until January. What did this mean?

  “You let me know when you’re getting in and I’ll pick you up at the airport, Izz,” he told the phone.

  “I can’t wait! Now we have to talk Griffin into coming back too. Are you guys going to watch his race?”

  “Yup. Jake’s holding a watch party down at the bar.”

  “We have a perfectly good TV right here at the lodge,” Max grumbled. “No need to drive down the mountain just for that.”

  Nicole’s heart sank. She’d been looking forward to the watch party— to a night out with Kai. But if Max wasn’t going, she shouldn’t either. She couldn’t allow him to get overexcited unless she was standing by.

  “Well, my plan is to drive thirty miles across the desert to the one café with a black-and-white TV from the fifties and beg them to turn it to ESPN, which they probably haven’t even heard of. Wish me luck. See you all in a few months. Gotta go now, someone just came in with an infected knife wound oozing pus and—”

  Kai ended the call before it got too graphic. “That’s how Isabelle gets people to hang up,” he explained. “It’s her way of saying goodbye.”

  “Is every member of the Rockwell family so…”

  “Weird?” Kai winked at her. “Yes. Thanks for noticing. So, Dad, what you think? Ski racing returning to the lodge. A big family Christmas. Pretty exciting, huh?”

  Even growly old Max had to agree that it was pretty damn exciting.

  But after her first thrilled reaction, Nicole plummeted back to reality. By Christmas, she’d be back in Seattle. She always spent Christmas with Birdie. She brought her a pile of gifts and a much-inferior version of Mom’s German chocolate cake. Sunny Grove always had a Christmas tree and one of the orderlies dressed up in a Santa suit. They did their absolute best to make the holidays fun for the res
idents, and Nicole was so grateful for that.

  But going home at the end of the day, back to her quiet apartment, would suck. She had her own personal Christmas tradition that involved a hot bath, lots of bubbles, a TiVo full of an entire season of Scandal and a bottle of sherry.

  “Don’t look so down in the mouth, girl.” Max nudged her with his cane. “We’ll give you a few hours off for Christmas.”

  “Don’t get carried away, Dad,” said Kai dryly. “Maybe an hour, no more than that.” The two of them grinned at each other.

  A sharp pang twisted her heart. She wouldn’t be here to take any hours off. By Christmas, she’d be permanently off.

  Everything was slipping away. Not just her purpose here, her secret mission. Not just the bonus that would be so helpful for Birdie. But also—the lodge itself. Her life here. Felicity was right. Even though she’d always known it would be temporary, she’d become deeply attached to Rocky Peak, to the quiet forests and forbidding peaks.

  But she couldn’t stay. After the Summit Group made their offer, she had to get back to Birdie. If the Rockwells remembered her, it would be as that girl who’d infiltrated the lodge as a kind of double agent home health aide.

  Kai might remember more—he might remember hot nights tumbling around in his bed. But it would be a bitter memory once he knew the whole story.

  Try as she might, she couldn’t figure out a way to get through this without revealing the truth about her role here—except to take the coward’s way out and simply disappear. Hop in her car in the middle of the night, while a blanket of darkness cast a spell of peace over the lodge, and drive down that winding road one last time.

  It was tempting. But she wouldn’t do it. She wanted every last second of Kai, of the lodge, of the Rockwells.

  In the guesthouse, Kai stared at the numbers flying across the computer screen and took another swig of bourbon. Ever since Max had given him access to the lodge’s bank accounts, he’d put off the moment where he actually looked at the bottom line. He was no accountant, but he managed his own finances well enough. It was easy. Earn money, don’t spend too much. Invest here and there. It seemed to add up just fine. He was able to be as generous as he wanted with his money, and that was what mattered most to him.

  But these numbers…ouch. As far as he could tell, the lodge had been running at a loss for a few years. Could that be true? Why hadn’t anyone told him?

  He dug up the phone number of the lodge’s longtime accountant, Greg Sanders.

  “Hey there, Kai Rockwell. Great to hear from you.”

  “Not too late to call?”

  “No. I’m mostly retired now, and I stay up as late as I want.”

  “You still handling the lodge’s accounts?”

  “Yes, I am. I’ve been hoping you’d call. I told Max he needed to loop one of you kids in. Stubborn bastard didn’t want to listen to me.”

  Kai’s heart sank. “How bad is it? Just hit me. No sugarcoating.”

  “It’s bad, kid. The lodge has been losing money for the past six years. Max has covered the bills by dipping into his personal savings. I told him to contact you, but you know how proud he is. He kept insisting he had a handle on things. He made me promise not to reach out to any of his children or I would have by now.”

  “He finally gave me access to the accounts and they sure look grim.”

  “Grim but not hopeless. It’s a sad situation because the lodge itself—buildings and land included—is worth multiple millions of dollars. It’s the very last viable piece of property in this area. Everything else has contingencies. The day Max—or any of you—decide to sell is the day you’ll become very very rich.”

  Kai took another throat-scalding swallow of bourbon.

  Sell the lodge.

  A month ago, he would have shrugged and said “why not?” Now that he was back … the thought made his stomach twist in revulsion.

  But his feelings weren’t the important thing. He had to think logically.

  Was it time to cash in on the Rockwell family’s investment?

  He had enough money already. He didn’t need more millions. Griffin had plenty of funds as well—all his endorsements and prize winnings added up. Jake’s bar was finally operating in the black, all debts repaid. Isabelle, with her medical degree and wanderlust, never talked about a need for more cash. And Gracie—what did Gracie want? That was still a bit mysterious to him. Maybe selling the lodge and becoming a millionaire would be at the top of her list.

  What about Max? He’d be taken care of for the rest of his life if he sold the lodge. On the other hand, the lodge was his passion and the only place he’d ever lived. He even hated going on vacations. That had been one of Mom’s complaints, that she never got to see the ocean because Max refused to travel anywhere. These days, he even hated going into town.

  He cleared his throat. “Thanks, Sanders. If we decided to sell…”

  “No one would blame you. The Rockwells have been part of this community since the beginning. But that doesn’t mean you need to stay. You all have your own lives to live. Even Max understands that.”

  “Do you think it’s possible to turn it around? Get the lodge profitable again?”

  “Oh well, I guess anything’s possible. It’d take some serious investment, not to mention time and energy. ”

  On that note of doubt, Kai ended the call. Not even another swig of bourbon could wash the bad taste out of his mouth. If he’d come back six years ago, ten years ago, would the lodge be in this position today?

  Had his own anger and hurt destroyed the Rockwell legacy forever?

  Or was there another way?

  He closed his eyes, images from the lodge’s glory days flitting through his mind. Epic snowball fights on the snow-covered lawn. Snowshoeing though the silent winter forests. Families pushing tables together in the dining room for one big chili-fest.

  That was it. Families.

  Nicole was right. They had to find ways to bring in more business. But he didn’t see why it had to be wealthy women who wanted pampering. To him, the real beauty of the lodge was the opportunities it offered for families and for kids. Nicole kept talking about camps for kids, and that was something he could get behind one hundred percent.

  Why did he and Nicole have to be opponents? Why couldn’t they work together? Why not implement some of her ideas—the good ones—no raindrop therapy—but keep the lodge in Rockwell hands?

  Added bonus—working with Nicole. Another bonus—being with Nicole. Not just in bed, but in every way. In his workaholic, adventurous, footloose life, he’d never spent this kind of time with a woman. He loved their verbal sparring almost as much as their bedroom adventures. He enjoyed her inventive brain, the way she kept coming up with new ideas. He really appreciated her kindness to Max, and the way she cared for him. Her teasing manner was exactly what Max needed.

  He liked the way she interacted with the guests. She listened and paid attention, and found ways to make them feel special. She welcomed guests with a vase of wildflowers in their rooms. She’d talked Gracie into offering every kid a gift coupon for a free double scoop cone. In the evenings, while parents were enjoying a drink in the lounge, she organized games of freeze tag for the kids on the lawn.

  She was doing so many little things like that, and it wasn’t even her job. She was Max’s nurse. Whatever she did beyond that was due to her generous nature…and to her desire to convince Max to implement her ideas.

  Last night, after dinner, Max had pulled him aside and told him that as long as Kai was at Rocky Peak Lodge, he wasn’t going to make any major changes without his agreement.

  “Don’t tell Nicole yet,” he’d insisted. “I want to break it to her myself. She’s got a vision, but as long as you’re around, you’ve got final say.”

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be—”

  “Doesn’t matter. If you leave, you leave. If you’re here, I want you weighing in.”

  The trust on his father’s face w
as something new and freaking sweet to him. Man, had things changed since he’d come back.

  But what about Nicole? What about her quirky, ultra-feminine ideas for Rocky Peak?

  He shut down his laptop and sent her a quick text. You still up? Got an idea to run by you.

  When she sent back a “thumbs up,” his heart lifted. He knew she was going to love his idea. It made perfect sense. It would make everyone happy. He couldn’t wait to see her face when he proposed it.

  He also couldn’t wait to see her face when he made her shatter into her umpteenth orgasm after they’d worked out all the details.

  24

  It took him some time to present his plan. First they fell into bed like a couple of ravenous beasts. Then they took a long hot shower together. Soap bubbles never felt so good as when they were sliding across Nicole’s naked body.

  Finally, with their lust temporarily satisfied, he got down to business. He sat next to Nicole on her couch, where she was drying her hair with a fluffy towel.

  “You’re right about the lodge’s finances. Things are pretty bad. But not so dire that we can’t fix it.”

  “Oh?” She briskly rubbed her long hair, hiding her face from him.

  “I’ve decided to stay on for a while, until we can get the lodge back on its feet.” Her face was still hidden by the towel, but he assumed she was eager to hear his proposal.

  “Oh. Well, that’s great. Good for you. That’s a lot to take on. Are you sure?”

  He hesitated, since she didn’t seem nearly as excited as he’d expected. “For now. Yes. I think I can make a difference here. But it’s not just about me. This can be good for you too. I want you to stay on as lodge manager.”

  “As what?” she mumbled from behind her towel.

  “Manager. Max likes your ideas, and I think only some of them are crazy. I think we can work well together.”