Sunny's Christmas: A Colorado Billionaires story

by Regina Duke

  Sunny took the card and read, “Jason and Victoria Darby.” Their phone numbers were the only other items on the card. The paper was expensive. “Thanks,” said Sunny. “I’ll be sure to call.” She smiled at Vicky. “I’m going to give Peanut a treat and let him rest in his crate.”

  Vicky’s gaze moved from Sunny to Brady. She pointed back and forth with an index finger. “You two are old friends?”

  Brady nodded, and Sunny shrugged.

  “Uh-oh,” said Vicky. She touched Peanut’s cheek in a friendly gesture and said, “We blonds have to stick together, Sunny. So whatever’s going on, I’m on your side. Thanks for helping me with Mr. Lopes.”

  “Hey,” Brady objected. “Unfair.”

  Vicky laughed and landed a playful punch on his shoulder. “Complain to Jason,” she teased, using her husband’s name as a shield. A moment later, she added sincerely, “Thanks, Brady.”

  “No problem. Let me know if you need anything else.” He turned and followed Sunny back to her seat.

  Sunny held Peanut on her lap for a few minutes, feeding him pieces of shredded chicken. The scenery outside did not help pass the time. It was white, white, white.

  At last, Brady took his usual spot perched on the arm of the seat across the aisle. “That is one amazing dog. You trained him yourself, huh?”

  Sunny nodded. “It’s what I do.” She glanced up at him. “Mother is mortified.”

  Brady shook his head. “Why? It takes a special knack to train service dogs.”

  “It’s my passion. Dogs, I mean. And training. The petsitting fills in the gaps and helps pay the bills. Mother treats me like I’ve been taken over by bodysnatchers.”

  “You didn’t go to college?”

  “Dad wanted to send me to vet school, but mother was furious. I didn’t want to cause problems for my father, so I moved out and took night classes and studied online. I did a degree in Animal Science. But I haven’t been able to go to vet school.”

  “Is that your ultimate goal?”

  Sunny kissed Peanut on the nose and lifted him into his crate. “I’m not sure. I love working with dogs, and I love all animals, so I’m a great petsitter. But veterinarians have to work with the pet’s owner, not just the pet. I’m not too sure about that.”

  Brady scratched his chin. “I would have thought that Christmas was prime petsitting season. I’m surprised you’re traveling at this time of year.”

  “Me, too.” Sunny’s expression soured. She glanced up at him. “It’s a long, sad story. I may need to move out of Los Alamos.”

  “Really? Well, Eagle’s Toe could really use someone with your talents. And if you decide to go to vet school, Denver is a lot closer to Eagle’s Toe than it is to Los Alamos.”

  “They do have a great vet school,” Sunny said thoughtfully.

  Brady grinned. “Now, about that night at the Prom….”

  Sunny stiffened. “I suppose I should just let it go. I don’t seem to have very good luck with men. No reason for high school to be any different.”

  Brady looked concerned. “Are you in a bad relationship?”

  “It ended weeks ago. Or so I thought.” She caught herself before she could prattle on and tell him everything. What was it about Brady that made her want to share everything? Was that what had turned him off in high school? She turned and looked out at the falling snow. “It’s over,” she said flatly.

  But Brady wouldn’t leave it alone. “You said your mother never told you about my phone call and she never gave you my letters. I wrote to you for months. You never saw a single one?”

  Sunny sagged in her seat. “No, never. How could she do that?”

  “I think I know,” said Brady.

  Tony activated his microphone again. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are two minutes from The Cattleman’s Inn in Eagle’s Toe, Colorado. Dancer and Prancer will be happy to know that I didn’t have to call them down from the North Pole. You can wait for your rides in the comfort of the hotel. Ho, ho, ho!”

  The mention of flying reindeer sent the six small ones in the rear squealing with delight.

  Brady patted Sunny’s arm. “I have to get to work, but we will continue this conversation as soon as these people and their luggage are sorted out. Trust me. I’ll explain everything.” He stepped to the door of the little bus and pulled the handle.

  Sunny muttered, “This better be good.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SUNNY PUT ON HER JACKET AND let everyone else exit the bus before she lifted Peanut’s crate and settled her purse on her shoulder. Her first order of business was a potty break for Peanut, and her second chore would be calling her cousin. The snow was still falling and her hopes for further travel were not looking good.

  She stopped next to the open luggage compartment. It was empty. Puzzled, she looked all around. The covered portico protected her from the snow, but it was wet and very cold out there. She didn’t see Brady or Tony anywhere. She knew her suitcase got on the bus, mainly because when she looked out the window at her little car by the side of the road, it wasn’t sitting on the pavement.

  Peanut barked and brought her back to Earth.

  “Sorry, little guy. I’ll get you out of there in just a second.” She took one last look around, then entered the lobby.

  The floor was marble. Non-skid rubber mats had been laid from the entrance to the check-in desk, and more stretched toward the Il Vaccaro restaurant. In the middle of the open space stood a nine-foot Christmas tree, giving off a heavenly pine scent. The decorations made Sunny think of a squad of drunken elves. No branch was unhung, no gap was untinseled, no bulb was unlit. At first glance the tree seemed to be a three-dimensional painting of a Christmas tree. If not for the lovely pine scent, she would not have known it was real.

  A chubby middle-aged man with a gap-toothed smile, apple cheeks, and bushy eyebrows spread his arms in welcome as the Washburns tottered toward the registration desk. The pocket of his burgundy jacket bore an embroidered patch that read The Cattleman’s. He was joined by a comfortable-looking woman wearing a long black velvet skirt and a cheerful green blouse with a Christmas corsage. She rushed to hug the Washburns, and Sunny was pretty sure she was looking at the hotel owner and his wife.

  All the benches in the lobby were occupied. She spotted Vicky and Mr. Lopes on one of them. Vicky was speaking to someone on her cell phone. Signs overhead announced shops and refreshments farther inside, beyond the tree. But she wanted to walk Peanut. She wasn’t ready to explore. Her dog came first.

  Beneath the tree, boxes had been wrapped in shiny paper and bows. She decided that would be a good spot to stash Peanut’s crate for a few minutes while she took him outside. She opened the crate door and he leaped into her arms, wriggling with delight. She wished she’d brought one of his coats along. She hadn’t expected to be walking him in a snow storm. Peanut whimpered. She needed to take him out soon. She’d worry about warming him up after he did his business.

  The portico stretched from the entrance to the far side of the drive. Even the sidewalk benefitted from the eaves of the portico. She carried Peanut across the wet pavement to the sidewalk. A narrow bed of plantings separated the hotel driveway from the sidewalk. It had clearly been shoveled recently, but the fresh snow was already an inch deep. Snow at the edges piled five or six inches high.

  Peanut did his business in the bed of plantings, taking his time to sniff at the foot of each shrub. Sunny shivered a bit inside her jacket, but Peanut had only a single coat of long silky fur, so she knew he wouldn’t be long. She kept an eye on him at the end of his leash and allowed herself to enjoy the pristine crispness of the new snow. The silence soothed her like a balm.

  The silence. Her brows knit together and she shifted her gaze to the street. For one unsettling second, she was completely lost. Then she realized it was snowing so heavily that she couldn’t see beyond the edge of the sidewalk. Sound waves could not make their way through the thick curtain of snow. She flashed on horror stories a
bout early settlers who went to the barn to feed the cows and came out to a snowstorm like this one. Caught off guard, the rancher would lose his bearings between the barn and the house and be found frozen to death after the storm cleared.

  Sunny whirled to find the hotel entrance, then laughed silently at herself. The portico meant no one would get lost or freeze to death between the sidewalk and the hotel lobby. She glanced down. Peanut was now shivering uncontrollably.

  “That’s enough, baby dog.” She scooped him up, unzipped her jacket, and tucked him inside. Together they returned to the entrance. As she stepped through the sliding doors, Sunny found the crowd staring silently out at what could only be called a blizzard. She turned for another look. The day was fading. Behind all that white, the sun was setting. And now the wind was picking up. Instead of falling straight down, the flakes were being pushed at an angle.

  The hum of conversation returned with a vengeance.

  Sunny saw Tony and Brady in conversation near the restaurant entrance. Tony was saying, “Lucky timing. Thirty minutes later and we would have been out in the middle of this between Pueblo and Eagle’s Toe. I’d better call my wife.”

  Brady nodded. “If you have to stay here tonight, it’s on me,” he said. He looked up to catch Sunny watching him. She shifted her gaze at once to the Christmas tree. Peanut’s crate was still there, but she had no desire to put him back in. He’d been in his crate for over five hours, except for brief breaks. She still needed to call her cousin. Donna would be worried about her, especially when this storm showed up on the Weather Channel.

  But more than anything else, she wanted some privacy and the security of knowing she had a room for the night. She had just decided to get in the line at Registration when Brady spoke in her ear.

  “I hope you don’t mind, I already booked you a room.”

  Sunny jumped at his unexpected nearness, but she took it as a good sign that Peanut hadn’t protested. “My luggage?”

  “Already in your room.” He pulled a paper packet out of his pocket. It had a lovely picture of The Cattleman’s on it, taken in mid-summer, and inside was a plastic key card.

  Sunny frowned. “I’m not going to let you pay for my lodging.”

  Brady feigned horror. “God forbid. I just got you the room.” He smiled. “Reese McAvoy, the owner, is a friend of mine. This is kind of an emergency, so if the unexpected expense is a problem—”

  Sunny tipped her nose in the air. “Don’t be insulting. I have a credit card.” Then she softened. “Sorry. I’m not used to favors. Thank you for this.” She took the key.

  Brady grinned. “I have a few things to deal with down here. My passengers were expecting relatives to pick them up. I’m not sure how that will work out. I need to make sure everyone is taken care of. But once that’s done, will you let me buy you dinner?”

  Sunny caught herself before she could snap at him again. She was tired. And she hadn’t eaten since her cookie and her chocolates.

  Brady continued, “It’s the least I can do, since you’ll have a car repair to handle.”

  Sunny sagged and hugged Peanut for comfort. “Well, since you put it that way, yes, you may buy me dinner.”

  Brady rubbed his hands together. “Great! Go on upstairs and get settled. Come back down in about an hour? I’ll make sure we have a table at Il Vaccaro. Best Italian food in the state.”

  “Okay. But on one condition.”

  Brady raised his brows expectantly.

  “You have to finish your explanation about prom night.”

  “Deal. Gotta go.”

  Sunny watched him move quickly away, headed for Teresa and her six little ones, who were begging to go out and make a snowman.

  “Better him than me,” she muttered to Peanut. “Let’s go upstairs.” She paused at the Christmas tree to pick up Peanut’s crate, then headed for the elevators.

  The room was a pleasant surprise. Sunny opened the drapes to watch the blizzard blow past the window. The heater was on and the room was comfy. She freshened up and found herself laughing at Peanut, who celebrated being out of his crate by racing madly around the room. He zoomed over the bed, under the table, bounced off the back of the upholstered chair, leaped off the ottoman, landed on the bed, and started all over again.

  Sunny opened her luggage and selected fresh clothes. She wondered for a moment what people without pets did with all the extra space in their suitcase. Hers was half clothes, half dog supplies. Traveling all day had made her feel gummy. She would take a quick shower and change her clothes before dinner. The small Christmas gift from her father, tucked in with the dog supplies, reminded her of how alone she was feeling this year. Her mother considered her gift to be the long-distance phone call from Malaysia, ten whole minutes of their precious vacation spent telling Sunny how lovely it was in that part of the world, and urging her to check on their house every day. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. But it wasn’t as if they had pets. Sunny was pretty sure the house wasn’t going to stand up and walk away. It would still be there when her parents returned in January.

  Her fingers lingered on the gift. It was a square box, six inches high, wrapped in shiny Christmas paper with a manufactured bow stuck to the top. She knew her father had wrapped it. Her mother believed Christmas wrappings were a waste of money. Why buy colored paper for the express purpose of ripping it apart and throwing it away? Maybe she would open it tonight. A little early, but no one would know. It would cheer her up. She took it out of the suitcase and set it on the highboy next to the TV. It made the room look more festive.

  She hadn’t had time to shop for her cousin. She’d been expecting to arrive in Denver this evening, then shop on Christmas Eve. It was time to call Donna and tell her what was going on.

  “So don’t worry,” she finished up. “I’m safe and sound in Eagle’s Toe. I don’t know if I’ll get to Denver by Christmas or not, but I’ll keep you posted.”

  Donna spent five minutes telling her what a wise decision she’d made, how bad the storm was according to the TV, and reminding her that she was welcome whenever she got there.

  By the time Sunny hung up, she felt totally drained. Peanut was exploring every inch of the room, filled with the energy of an active little dog forced to nap all day. He made Sunny smile.

  Her cell rang. Thinking it was her cousin, she answered, “What did I forget, Donna?”

  Silence for a heartbeat. Then came the familiar voice of Trudy, one of her long-time customers.

  “Sunny? This is Trudy. I was wondering if you were still taking bookings for Christmas. I have an emergency.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  SUNNY FROWNED. “TRUDY, I’m not in town.” She kept her voice light and chose her words carefully. “When you told me you had another petsitter lined up for less money, I decided to take Christmas off.”

  “Oh, dear.” Trudy sighed. “It’s my own fault. Well, I won’t make that mistake again. The new guy cancelled at the last minute.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Sunny neutrally, “but I’m stuck in a snowstorm in Colorado.”

  Trudy half-heartedly wished her a merry Christmas before hanging up.

  Sunny shook her head. Part of her wanted to jump up and down and celebrate John’s failure. But she couldn’t be happy about it. One of her favorite customers had learned a hard lesson. She dragged herself into the shower, hoping the hot water would transfer some energy into her bones and wash away the regret she was feeling. If she’d stayed home, she’d be there to help her customers and make some money.

  As she dressed after her shower, her phone rang three more times. More customers complaining that the new guy had let them down. Unable to bear the thought of all those pets going uncared for, Sunny recommended they call her summertime assistant, Tina, an eager young college girl with a dependable history. She even called Trudy back and gave her the number as well. And finally she called Tina to let her know the situation.

  “Yes, thank you,” said Tina, nearly squea
ling with excitement. “One lady already called!”

  Feeling like she’d done her good deed for the day, Sunny finally blew her hair dry and checked herself in the mirror. She wore the best outfit in her suitcase, black leggings and flats under a shimmering red tunic. It was the only Christmasy item in her limited wardrobe.

  Brady was buying her dinner, so Peanut would have to wait in the room, but she couldn’t bear the thought of confining him yet again to his crate. She filled his water dish and opened a small can of chicken for him. She spread puppy pee pads on the bathroom floor and made sure he knew where they were. Before she left, she turned the TV on so he wouldn’t be tempted to bark at people walking by in the hall.

  Downstairs in the lobby, Brady was easy to spot. Several people were clamoring for his attention. Sunny approached so that he could see her, but held back, waiting for him to finish his business.

  “Yes, we have snowmobiles, but in good conscience I can’t ask my employee to drive one over here in a blizzard. All vehicle rentals will have to wait until after the storm. Check with me in the morning.” He passed out business cards.

  One by one, people took his card and dispersed. At last, he was free.

  “What was that all about?” asked Sunny. “They couldn’t seriously be in such a hurry that they would try to navigate in the snow storm.”

  “Crazy, huh? They’re all stranded business travelers. Too profit driven for my taste. It’s almost Christmas!” He looked her up and down. “Speaking of which, this is very seasonal, and very pretty.”

  Sunny swooped into a bow. “Why thank you, sir.”

  “Isn’t that my move?”

  Sunny shrugged. “A curtsy doesn’t go with leggings.” She bowed her knees outward and crossed her eyes at the same time, pulling the edges of her tunic out as if it were a hoop skirt. “How’s that?”

  Brady laughed. “Awful. You could always make me laugh.” He put his arm lightly around her back and guided her toward the restaurant. “Remember that time in algebra when you gave the answer to a quadratic equation in interpretive dance? The whole class went nuts.”