A Last Resort

by Brenda Sinclair

  The emerald velvet jacket and little black dress she’d chosen to wear would be stunning with her auburn hair, and she wore it down and gently brushing her shoulders. After applying her makeup and dressing in the brand-new holiday outfit, she carefully donned the mandatory Santa hat which Rachael provided. Black heels over the dark tights followed before she took one final peek in the floor-length mirror on the closet door.

  “Time to go.”

  She was looking forward to the evening and the eggnog and appetizers were calling her name as she vacated her guest room, destined for the family room and the Christmas Eve celebrations. Laughter met her ears as she walked down the hallway and she recalled the shared merriment during their afternoon of sledding on a nearby hill. Afterward, Mike had built a fire in the backyard firepit where everyone enjoyed hot chocolate and built s’mores. The teenaged girls instigated a snowball fight and Mike and Walter were drawn into the fun. Diane played tag with Jake in the snow while Emma and Rachael ducked for cover behind the stone planter, and then raced into the cabin the minute the coast had cleared.

  Emma strode into the family room, expecting to be greeted by Shelley handing her a glass of what she’d promised would be ‘the best eggnog you’ve ever had’. Instead, Emma almost tripped over her own feet. Beside the fireplace, smiling and laughing with Mike and Walter, stood Lyndon Reynolds looking very sexy in his Santa hat. She paused, speechless, admiring how good he looked in the charcoal trousers and sweater and light gray sports coat. His hair seemed shorter, or maybe it appeared so because of the hat, but there was no mistaking that smile and those twinkling blue eyes.

  She glanced at the sofa where Jake was snuggled up on his favorite plush blanket. The black spaniel wore a red plaid Christmas sweater and a tiny Santa hat on his head. His stubby tail wagged furiously while his gaze was glued to her. “Hi, Jake,” she whispered, smiling. She walked over and kissed the dog on his nose. “You look adorable.”

  Suddenly, the conversation quieted and Lyndon turned around, finally spotting her.

  “You’re here!” he exclaimed.

  “What are you doing here?” she blurted at the same time.

  Lyndon burst into laughter and Emma’s face heated.

  Not exactly the reunion she’d envisioned. Being a romance author, she’d dreamed of something a little more romantic. All right, a lot more romantic. “I had no idea you’d be here. What I meant to say was… it’s really good to see you again,” Emma offered, recovering her composure first.

  “Exactly what I should have said,” Lyndon added, chuckling.

  Rachael moved closer to Emma and whispered, “Surprise.”

  Mike poked Lyndon in the ribs. “I told you it wouldn’t feel right without Emma with us for the holidays. Not after the enjoyable time we shared together in November.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. And you did mention Rachael was thinking about inviting her.” Lyndon crossed the floor and kissed Emma’s cheek. “Merry Christmas. I can’t get over how good you look.”

  “Thank you and Merry Christmas.” Emma smiled and glanced down at herself. “Obviously, those dreaded extra holiday pounds haven’t appeared yet.”

  “They’d look good on you anyway.” Lyndon finished his drink.

  Shelley held out a large silver serving tray filled with glasses of eggnog. She wore a sweater and dress pants in a matching red color with her favorite faded jean jacket over them and the obligatory Santa hat, smiling and looking happy. “I see you and Lyndon noticed each other. What a great surprise, right? I nearly fainted when he walked in.”

  “Be honest. You spotted me and burst into tears,” Lyndon said, tattling on her.

  Shelley giggled. “That, too.”

  Emma reached for one of the glasses. “I was certainly surprised. In a good way.”

  “The best. It’s wonderful seeing both of you again.” Lyndon exchanged his empty glass for another. When the teen moved on, he turned his undivided attention to Emma. “Did you finish the edits on your book?”

  “A week ago. It’s in Rachael’s hands now. And the cover is amazing!” Emma sipped her drink, comfortable talking to Lyndon like they’d never been apart for three weeks. “What have you been up to?”

  “Completely moved into the resort house and most of the renovations are finished. One of these days, I might remove a couple more walls to open it up even more. But it’s fine for now and Jake loves it there. He spends hours exploring and comes back with snow up to his chin, half frozen, and flops down in front of the woodstove to sleep for two hours.”

  Emma chuckled. “So about the same thing he did here?”

  “Except he doesn’t have Shelley to spoil him. He’s stuck with me and following the rules.”

  “I suppose it’s ‘to your bed, Jake’ at mealtime and ‘no sleeping on my bed’ at night.” Emma gazed into his eyes and her breath caught. He couldn’t look more handsome and she still couldn’t love him more.

  “Read my mind. Rules are rules. And he’s such a good dog.” Lyndon sipped his eggnog. “I don’t know what that kid put in here, but this is really good.”

  Emma whispered, “I taste caramel of some kind and I need this recipe.”

  “Caramel. That’s what I’m tasting. Get me a copy, too, please.” He smiled and winked at her.

  Shelley stopped beside them, obviously having overhead their comments. “The secret ingredient is caramel syrup,” she whispered. “And I put caramel-flavored Baileys into the adult version as well.” She beamed from ear to ear. “Aunt Rachael said I could use it. But if you hear Uncle Mike questioning what happened to his Baileys Caramel, you have no idea.”

  Emma glanced about and whispered, “What Baileys Caramel?”

  “No idea what you’re talking about, Shelley,” Lyndon added, grinning, and then he winked at her.

  “I love you guys,” Shelley said with a sigh, and then wandered away again.

  Lyndon took another sip of his eggnog. “I don’t taste caramel. Do you taste caramel? Nah, nothing caramel in here.”

  “You’re a hoot.” Emma chuckled. “And Mike probably has another two bottles of Baileys Caramel among the rest of his stash.”

  “A hoot?” Lyndon frowned. “First time I’ve been accused of that, but I suppose I could be called worse. How long are you staying?”

  “Through the new year. I have a planning meeting in Calgary on the third of January for a book signing Rachael is working on, centered around Valentine’s Day with a romance and hearts theme and all that ties in with the special day. But she insists I stay for New Year’s Eve.”

  “Great. While you’re here, we’ll have to drive down to the resort for another tour. You won’t recognize the place. I’ve torn the store and office apart and I’ve completely renovated the building, making better use of the space. More storage now and easier foot traffic flow. Several of my former tradespeople helped and we finished the work in record time. They appreciated the extra cash for Christmas, and the bonus that I added for completing the job so quickly. Only a few details left, restock the store shelves, and it’s totally done. Then I’ll be working on a few other changes until the snow melts and I can get outside and work on the campsites. I ordered all new washers and dryers for the laundry building to be delivered the first of April.”

  “Wow, you have been busy. And those machines were ancient.”

  “Tell me about it. I’m surprised a couple of them worked at all.”

  Emma wondered if there was a particular reason he’d been sprucing up the resort. And had he renovated his parents’ home in case someone decided to share it with him? Or was she reading something into his excitement about this new direction his life had taken, that wasn’t there at all?

  Shelley happened by again with a platter of appetizers, and her sister, Carla, handed them each a small plate and holiday-patterned napkin. Lyndon and Emma chose a few to sample. “Enjoy but hurry up and eat them. We’ll going to start playing Christmas charades soon,” Shelley warned.

>   Lyndon frowned.

  “I love charades,” Emma said. “It’ll be fun.”

  “And you guys are on the same team,” Carla added before the girls left them alone again.

  Emma smiled. This would definitely be entertaining.

  Chapter 27

  Lyndon groaned after the first two hors d’oeuvres. His expression probably confirmed he’d fallen into total bliss. The teen hadn’t lost her touch. “This food is exceptional. Maybe I should reconsider that proposal business?” He winked at Emma.

  “Yeah, right. Her father’s here, remember? But these are really good.” Emma sighed, standing at his side. “You can eat the bacon off this one. I only want the asparagus.”

  He eyed the bacon-wrapped asparagus with carnivore-brain anticipation of the taste of that bacon. “All right, I’m not touching those veggie things.”

  Emma chuckled. “Those veggie things cost a fortune this time of year. And they are delicious.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” His fingers grasped the bacon while she held onto one end of the asparagus. Her eyes watched as he slowly slid the bacon off, then dropped it into his mouth, chewing it as he went. “Mmm… can’t beat bacon.”

  Emma nibbled daintily on the disgusting asparagus, smiling at him. He couldn’t pry his eyes off that mouth and those delectable lips, recalling the evening she’d sampled his steak. She couldn’t be any more sensuous if she tried.

  “What?”

  He offered her a smile. “Admit it. You like that bacon flavor on your portion.”

  She paused for a moment and then nodded. “I suppose. Flavor without actually eating the stuff.”

  “I knew it.” He kissed her lips without concern for who might be watching them. “We make a great team. Sharing this bacon and veggie appie. And with other things also.”

  She grinned and polished off the last bite of her appetizers. “Like sharing a cabin without killing each other, no matter how often we disagree. And looking after a teenager without strangling her, no matter what caper she pulls, like cracking a laptop password.”

  “We’ve got this, Em.” Lyndon chuckled and wiped his mouth on the napkin. “What were we talking about before? Oh right, renovations. The changes are mostly cosmetic to freshen up the place, but I’m working on a brand-new website which I’ll launch the first of March encouraging guests to start booking for spring. I’ll show it to you in the morning, and I’d love your opinion.”

  “Sounds good. Always happy to help.”

  Lyndon guided her over to the wall of built-in bookcases. He grabbed the paper off the middle shelf and handed it to her. “This is the resort’s new brochure. I kept the same name, Maskosis Resort, but added some new pictures Mom took this past summer. I inserted photos of the new office and the check-in areas. The store renovation wasn’t completed the day the design artist arrived, but the old picture suffices. And Mom put her Arizona art club skills to use by drawing this cute little bear as our new mascot or logo or whatever you want to consider him.”

  “This is great.”

  “Mom’s working on a wooden sign with the bear waving while she’s in Arizona. Then she’ll bring it home with her in spring for installation at the front entrance.”

  “Excellent idea. Thank goodness they drive down and don’t fly or it would cost a fortune to bring that sign back.”

  “True enough, but worth every penny.”

  “These fonts are easy to read and the captions on the photos are fun.” Emma chuckled at a couple of them. She turned the page. “This is the waterfall I found.”

  “Sure is. It’ll be part of the new nature hikes as well as the birding tours. I’m building picnic tables over the winter and the tour guides will be making a stop there for lunch breaks.” Lyndon pointed to the photo. “See. I included your favorite writing rock in the picture, too.”

  Emma smiled. “Oh, the memories! The stress and the fretting and the tears,” she added, laughing. “But it all turned into a winning story and Rachael claims this book will attract the most readers yet.”

  “I’ll be first in line to buy a copy at your signing.” Lyndon leaned in and kissed her lips. He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close. “Man, oh man, I missed you,” he whispered.

  Emma sighed and leaned against him. “I missed you so much.”

  “I almost called you a dozen times.”

  “I emailed you several times.” She chuckled and added, “I just didn’t click on SEND.”

  Lyndon shook his head and laughed. “We’re quite the pair. We really should have done a better job of settling things between us in November.”

  “I’m thankful Rachael and Mike invited us here for the holidays.”

  “And not only for tonight.” Lyndon leaned back. “I’m here for several days. Dropped my bags in my room when I arrived. Mike, Walter and I plan on sharing some time together in that new workshop.”

  “Oh, no! We’ll never hear from you guys again once you’re in there.” Emma shrugged. “I might as well forget any hopes of time alone with you. Maybe Jake will accompany me on a walk. Or come sledding. If Shelley doesn’t lay claim to him first.”

  Lyndon shook his head. “No way. I’ll make plenty of time to spend with you.”

  “Come on, you guys.” Shelley grabbed their hands and tugged them down the hallway toward the door leading to the recreation room which contained pool tables and a large area for dancing where they’d set out chairs in groups for the charades competition.

  “Emma, you’re up first,” Rachael called.

  Emma groaned and stuck her hand into the jar filled with slips of paper. She extracted one, took a brief peek at the single word written on it, and burst out laughing. She turned to Lyndon seated nearby and shook her head. “If you don’t get this one…” She kicked off her heels, stuck her fingers up and held them to her head, and then pranced around the room.

  “Reindeer,” Lyndon shouted.

  “Right first guess.” Emma picked up her heels and took a seat on the chair beside him, laughing. “See what an unbeatable team we make?”

  He leaned over and kissed her lips. “Sweetheart, I couldn’t agree more,” he whispered, before kissing her again.

  “Stop that in front of the children,” Shelley teased. “Your turn, Lyndon.”

  He picked a slip of paper and grinned as he glanced around the room. He grabbed a piece of broccoli off the veggie tray on the side table holding platters of snacks and an assortment of refreshments. And then he returned to their chairs and held it over Emma’s head before kissing her.

  Emma laughed as he fed her the piece of broccoli. “Mistletoe?” she mumbled, with her mouth full.

  “Right! This game is too easy.” He grinned and winked at her. “But it’s a lot of fun. Especially the way I play it.”

  “That was sneaky,” Shelley accused. “But it worked. Who’s next, Aunt Rachael?”

  “My turn,” Walter piped up and leapt off his chair.

  Lyndon chuckled. “Watch this,” he whispered in Emma’s ear.

  Walter didn’t bother to pick a piece of paper. “All right, Shelley and Carla, guess this one.”

  Walter got down on all fours, then rolled over with his legs and arms waving in the air.

  The two girls looked at each other, stunned expressions on their faces.

  “Dad’s losing it,” Shelley whispered.

  “What the heck is he doing?” Carla added.

  Walter raised himself up on his knees, hands dangling in front of him.

  “You look like Jake when he’s begging for treats,” Shelley muttered.

  “You’re a dog,” Carla guessed.

  Emma gasped and looked into Lyndon’s eyes. “Am I correct in thinking…” she whispered.

  He smiled and bobbed an eyebrow. “Maybe.”

  “Not just any dog,” Walter clarified as he returned to his feet and motioned behind the girls.

  The teens turned and their jaws dropped. Diane stood in the doorway, holding
a small red-coated cocker spaniel puppy wearing a Christmas sweater that matched Jake’s and a tiny Santa hat.

  “Whose puppy is that?” Carla exclaimed.

  Shelley clasped her hands together. “He’s so cute. Can I hold him, Mom?”

  “Actually, Lyndon picked her up today. She’s been hiding out in the heated workshop. Her pregnant mother was found roaming three months ago and someone turned her in to the same local rescue shelter that Jake was adopted from. The mother birthed seven puppies the next day and they were ready to be homed a few weeks ago.” Diane handed over the puppy to Shelley. “Her name is Bella and she was the last puppy left. She’s yours now.”

  “She’s mine?” Shelley exclaimed, startling the small dog in her arms.

  “Yes. We were impressed with how well you helped with Jake,” her father explained. “We knew you’d love a pet of your own, and I’m confident you’ll take excellent care of her.”

  Just then a large tabby cat wandered into the room. “Aunt Rachael, did you get a cat?” Carla whispered.

  Diane wrapped her arm around her other daughter. “No, sweetheart. While Shelley loves dogs, we know how much you adore cats. When the puppy was the only one remaining in the litter and even her mother was adopted, this cat took a liking to Bella and they became very good friends. We thought it only right to adopt her, as well. She’s all yours.”

  Carla scurried across the floor and picked up the cat. “I love her! What’s her name?”

  “The people at the shelter were calling her Mischief since she kept escaping her cage,” Lyndon said. “You can rename her if you want.”

  Walter cleared his throat. “You both have another being to provide for. A pet counting on you to feed and care for them. So, if there’s any future family disagreements, no one is running away from home or their responsibilities ever again. Agreed?”

  “No way. Not with this cutie to care for,” Shelley piped up.

  “Never,” Carla added, hugging the cat. “This is the best present ever.”

  Lyndon and Emma gazed into each other’s eyes. “That was a nice surprise. And the girls deserve a pet. Every child does,” Emma whispered, clasping his hand in hers.