Lakeshore Chronicles [10] Candlelight Christmas

by Susan Wiggs

  He hadn’t taken a day—or even more than a few hours—off since the ribbon had been cut by the town mayor at the base of the main chairlift. This day was special, though. In a kind of terrible way. Maya Martin was bringing her kids to stay with him for the next two months.

  The cold bit at his earlobes. He tugged his hat down lower and paced a little faster, stimulated by nerves as well as the temperature. He couldn’t imagine what Maya must be feeling right now. How did you tell your kids goodbye for two whole months? Sure, he had a similar challenge with Charlie every time he sent him to his mom’s, but the circumstances were never as extreme as Maya faced.

  They would not be allowed to visit her. She had insisted on this. She didn’t want her children brought to the concrete-and-razor-wire-surrounded facility to be frisked and questioned and then ushered into some cheerless, monitored holding room where they would undoubtedly watch her fall apart, only to be escorted away in tears.

  After agreeing to take the kids, Logan had gone down to the city a couple of times to see André and to meet Angelica, his younger sister, so she wouldn’t feel so completely foisted off on a stranger. He’d submitted to screening questions and a background check by social services, intrusive but understandable. He couldn’t imagine what the children were feeling right now.

  He checked his phone, scrolling through the photos on the screen to a shot of the little girl. She was aptly named, completely angelic, as beautiful as her mother, though in a tiny, seven-year-old-missing-two-front-teeth way.

  The first time he’d met her, she had sung a song to him—her own rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” Little kids singing and smiling never failed to tug at the heartstrings. Little kids who had to be taken away from their mothers at Christmas didn’t just tug at the heart. They yanked until that fragile organ broke.

  The train arrived, lumbering into the station with a steamy hiss and screech of brakes. Logan’s heart sped up. He wanted this to go well. He prayed the kids wouldn’t cry or worse, burst into hysterics.

  He and Maya had a plan. They would drive together up to his new place on the mountain, get the kids settled in and then she’d say goodbye to them there. It seemed the least traumatic way to handle the situation.

  The passenger car disgorged an eclectic mix of people—tourists and travelers, everyone bundled up for the cold. He was gratified to see a good number of skiers and snowboarders heading up to Saddle Mountain. The chalet was booked solid through the holidays.

  Logan was determined to make not just a success of the resort, but a major success. He wanted to do it for the sake of accomplishing something, and to build something for the future. For Charlie. And yes, he could admit this—to prove to his father that it could be done.

  “Well, well,” said a bright, cheery voice. “Now I feel like a VIP. It’s really nice of you to meet my train.”

  Logan was amazed to see Darcy Fitzgerald, of all people, pulling a roll-aboard along the platform toward him. What the hell was she doing here?

  His heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him. In the space of that one missed heartbeat, everything came back to him—the laughter and fun they’d had last time they were together. Surfing in the Florida sunshine. The beach. The kiss. He had thought about that kiss for days.

  He should have called her. But he’d let himself get busy. First there was the process of getting Charlie on his flight to his mom’s. Then there was the return to Avalon to oversee the opening of the resort. He also had to work with Maya on the plan to take care of her children. Time had gotten away from him, and eventually, it just seemed awkward to chase Darcy down. She probably didn’t want to hear from him, anyway.

  And yet here she was, appearing without notice, like a surprise delivery.

  She gave him a quick hug, her breath warm on his frozen cheek. Even through the layers of their jackets, he could feel her taut, athletic body. What the hell—? He tried to figure out the meaning of the hug. Was it the hug of his sister’s friend...or of a girl who was interested in him?

  “I guess India told you I was coming.” She spoke rapidly, as if she was nervous. Or maybe just excited.

  “Actually, I—” He stopped himself. Okay, this was crazy. She seemed to think he was here at the station for her. Trying to explain the situation with Maya’s kids would take more time than he had.

  “This week turned out to be perfect timing for one of the firm’s clients.” Darcy definitely sounded excited now. “We’re going to shoot some video and photos of their snowboard gear with a holiday theme. I took your suggestion and organized everyone to come here instead of Gore or Whiteface. You were right about this place being perfect at the holidays.” Her eyes sparkled as she pushed back the hood of her parka and looked around the station. It was decked with swags of fresh greenery, lights and shiny ornaments. Carols streamed from hidden speakers.

  “Anyway,” she said, “the photo crew we’ve booked is the best. They’ll make Saddle Mountain look like a dream, I swear. Everyone else drove up yesterday to get organized for the shoot, but I had some work stuff to take care of. We’re all going to rendezvous at the resort. Your assistant’s been really helpful in coordinating all this.”

  Finally Logan put the pieces together. He had extended the invitation to Darcy, never dreaming she’d take him up on it. His assistant, the superefficient Brandi, had one mission—to deal with everything he didn’t have time to deal with, including public relations, which was probably why he hadn’t heard anything about Darcy’s project.

  Suddenly he found himself getting very excited about this new wrinkle. Christmas was coming early this year, it seemed.

  “That’s great,” he said.

  “Which way is your car?” She looked toward the exit.

  Oh shit. She was expecting him to offer her a ride.

  “Uh, yeah. I’m actually meeting someone else today,” he said, supremely uncomfortable. “I didn’t realize—”

  “Oh!” Her cheeks turned red—even redder than they were from the cold. “Oh my gosh, that was totally presumptuous of me, to assume you’d come to give me a ride.”

  “Any other time, I’d love to offer you a lift.” He cast about, trying to figure out when he could get together with her. With the arrival of Maya’s kids, it was going to be hard to carve out time to do anything. “It’s just that today, someone special is coming.”

  “Oh.” The smile left her eyes, yet stayed frozen on her lips.

  Those delicious ripe lips. He knew how soft they were, he knew they tasted like berry lip gloss; the memory had haunted him since he’d kissed her. He was an idiot. “I mean, not that you aren’t special, but, I mean—”

  “Logan,” called Maya, waving from down the platform. She came walking toward him, towing her kids along behind her. Her face taut with nervousness, she put her arms around him and gave him a hug. He knew why she clung; he could feel her shuddering intake of breath and sensed she was about to shatter.

  “Hey,” he said, stepping back. In the realm of awkward moments, this one definitely ranked.

  “So,” said Maya with forced cheerfulness, “are we going straight to your place or—”

  “My place,” he said, then stepped farther away from her. It was too late, though. His foot was already planted deep in his mouth. “Er...Maya, this is Darcy.”

  “Hi,” said Darcy; then she shifted her glance at Logan. “Sorry, I’d better be on my way. I’ve got...you know, that work stuff going on.”

  “Sure. Of course.”

  “Good to meet you,” she murmured, and hurried away, practically running as she followed signs to the taxi stand.

  Logan suppressed a groan of frustration. He couldn’t let himself worry about her for the moment. Shifting gears, he focused on the kids, trying to figure out how in God’s name to make this easier for them. He couldn’t. No one could. “Okay, gang. To the mountaintop. You’re going to love it there.”

  “I’ve been to your house,” said André. “Last summer.
Remember? I got to have a sleepover with Charlie before camp started.”

  “You’re right. But that was a different house. The one in town. I sold that house and moved.”

  “Where do you live now?” asked Angelica.

  “On the mountaintop, like I said. There’s a big old house up there that will hold everybody who’s coming for the holidays. You get to sleep in a bunk room with Charlie and his cousins.”

  “Cool,” said André. “I get the top bunk.”

  Logan opened the back door of the Jeep and loaded in their luggage. “Buckle up. It takes about half an hour to get to the new place. Even Charlie hasn’t seen it yet. He doesn’t arrive for two more days.”

  The kids chattered nonstop on the drive up the mountain. They seemed excited and, to Logan’s relief, not terrified that their mother was about to leave them.

  “Mama has to go away for a job,” said Angelica.

  Logan glanced at her in the rearview mirror. The little girl looked guileless. He didn’t blame Maya for fudging the details. No point in scaring the kids by telling them their mom was headed for a frightening place. A quick scan of André’s face revealed a different story. Logan suspected the boy wasn’t fooled for a minute. André’s skin was stretched taut across his cheekbones, and his eyes were narrowed as he watched out the window.

  “So, Charlie is really excited about having Christmas with you guys,” Logan said. “He can’t wait to see you. He’s coming all the way from Oklahoma.”

  “He’s moving to Japan,” said André. “He wrote me an email about it.”

  “That’s cool that you guys email each other.” Logan was glad to hear it. He received regular emails from his son, too, filled with briefly stated facts—the world according to Charlie. “I got a haircut today.” “There was a field trip to the Vehicle Operations Center.” “Sushi was invented in Japan. I ate one sushi roll and it was yucky. When I move to Japan I will not eat sushi.”

  Logan always wrote back promptly. It was not the same as being with his son, but with the emails and daily video phone calls, they managed to stay connected.

  “Why did you move to the mountaintop?” asked André. He kept staring at the winter woods out the window. The black lines of the bare trees etched the hillside.

  “It’s not exactly the top,” said Logan, “but close enough. I live there because it’s near my work, a resort called Saddle Mountain.”

  “What kind of resort?” asked Angelica.

  “In winter, it’s a place to go skiing or snowboarding, or sledding. You can also take a nature hike if you bundle up and stick to the trails. We can put on the snowshoes.”

  “That sounds like fun,” said Maya. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

  “How will Santa Claus know where we are?” asked the little girl.

  “Kids always wonder that,” Logan said. “He just does, that’s all. It’s one of the special things about Christmas.”

  “Really?”

  “When I was your age, my parents took me to Florida at Christmas. And Santa always found me, and I always found what I was wishing for under the tree.”

  “I don’t get how that works,” said Angelica.

  “It just works,” said Maya.

  “Your mother is right. Sometimes it takes a miracle. What do you want from Santa?” Logan asked.

  “I’m not telling,” André said. “I’ll only tell Santa.”

  “Good plan,” he said.

  “I’ve heard if you tell too many people, it might not come true,” André pointed out.

  Logan carefully navigated his way up the winding mountain road. The town fell away, yielding to the fantastic scenery of the winter woods with sunshine peeking through. “Tell you what. We’ll put up a special light display to give Santa a landing indicator. Just in case.”

  “If we live with you while Mom is away, who will take care of us?” asked Angelica.

  “I will,” said Logan.

  “But who’ll be the mom?”

  “I can do everything a mom can do, except I’m a little better at certain things.”

  “What things?”

  “Singing, for one. Snowboarding.”

  “Really? What else?”

  “Cooking, for sure. Wait until you taste my homemade hot chocolate. You’ll be like, Logan, you should make this for everybody on earth. Then there would be world peace. And global warming would end.”

  A giggle erupted from the backseat. “What else?”

  “Armpit farting. I’ll teach you how.” As they drove past the resort on the way to the house, he pointed out the highlights. “That’s the main lodge, where you can get a mean bowl of chili and the best French fries known to man. The ski school is on the end there. All the instructors wear neon lime-green parkas so you can find them. The chalet is like a hotel, and it’s got an outdoor pool and two hot tubs.”

  “Can we use the pool?” asked André.

  “Sure. We get special privileges because we run the place,” said Logan.

  “Sweet.”

  Logan liked having the kids with him, even though they reminded him of how very much he missed Charlie.

  Pulling up in front of the garage of his place, he looked at it as a stranger might, and was struck by how large the residence was. It had been the original resort lodge, later repurposed for the owner’s family and a number of resident workers. In recent years, it had served as a rustic B and B. It had the same old-world vibe as the rest of the resort, with shutters on the windows and brown painted railings all around, a chimney on each end of the building and lights glowing in the windows. When he was by himself in the big old place, he felt like a marble in a pinball machine, rolling around aimlessly. Having the kids with him was going to fill a void, for sure.

  “Here we are,” he said, getting out and gathering their bags. “Come on in, and I’ll show you around.”

  “Who’ll look after us when you’re at work?” asked Angelica.

  “Her name’s Chelsea,” said Logan. “She’s coming up to meet you later this afternoon. You’re going to love her.” Chelsea was a friend left over from his married days. After the divorce, the friends tended to divvy themselves up: Friends of the ex-bride, friends of the ex-groom. Chelsea was one of the few who straddled the line, staying in touch with both Logan and his ex.

  “Your house is really big,” said Angelica, stepping through the front door. She glanced up at her mother, who nodded reassuringly.

  “Lots of room for everybody,” Maya said.

  Logan gave them a quick tour—the kitchen and great room, TV lounge and boardinghouse-sized dining room with a long table lined with seating for sixteen. He had never eaten at that table, not once. It made him feel ridiculous, one guy in all this space. The second and third stories featured bedrooms and bathrooms of all sizes, including a bunk room for eight.

  “Here’s where you’ll sleep. When Charlie and his cousins get here, there’ll be seven kids.”

  “Cool,” said André, climbing like a monkey to a top bunk.

  “That’s a houseful,” said Maya.

  “I’m up for it,” Logan told her.

  She kept checking the screen of her phone. As they walked through the rest of the house, exploring nooks and crannies, dormer windows with views of the snowy woods, she seemed to grow more and more tense. He then gave them a quick tour of the resort.

  In the main lodge, he spied Darcy Fitzgerald from afar, but she seemed busy with her friends or work associates, so he steered clear of them. Maya was clearly unraveling, and he needed to focus on getting the kids settled in. He led the way back to the house.

  “Doing all right?” he murmured, holding the door for Maya.

  “Freaking out,” she said. “My doctor gave me something for anxiety, but the pill I took this morning is wearing off.”

  “Who’s hungry?” he asked, turning to the kids.

  “Starving,” André said.

  “Let’s go make some sandwiches.”

  While the kids
debated PB&J versus grilled cheese, Maya watched them with her heart in her eyes. Logan hurt for her. He ached all over, imagining how hard this was going to be. “Eye on the prize,” he said to her in a low voice. “Keep that February release date in mind.”

  “It’s the only thing keeping me sane,” she said, and checked her phone again. “My ride back to the station should be here by now.”

  Adam Bellamy had volunteered to drive her back down to the station.

  “He’ll be here soon,” Logan assured her.

  “I almost want to get it over with.”

  Logan nodded. “The sooner you get going, the sooner you’ll be back.”

  “Yes. Oh my God, how could I have been so stupid?” she asked, moving to the foyer, where the kids were out of earshot. “So, so stupid?”

  “Hey, take it easy. You’re only human.”

  “I thought I loved him. I kept thinking...I wasn’t thinking. Love makes us do such stupid things. Why is that?”

  “No clue. I’ve made my share of mistakes.” He noticed her watching her kids, devouring them with her eyes. “I swear on my life, I’ll take good care of them,” he told her.

  “I know, Logan. I can’t thank you enough.”

  When her ride pulled up in front of the house, she wobbled a little on her feet, and Logan took her gently by the arm to steady her. “Easy,” he murmured. “It’s going to be all right.”

  “Hey, guys,” she called to her kids, “I gotta go. Come give me hugs and kisses.” Her face was stiff with the battle against tears as she sank down on one knee and opened her arms to them.

  Logan’s heart felt ripped in two as he watched her tell them goodbye, breathing deeply as though to inhale their essence. The kids clung, but relinquished their hold readily enough, innocent of her true destination.

  “Be strong,” he told her. “You’re going to get through this.”

  She practically fled to Adam’s truck, and she didn’t look back. The kids stared after her, stricken.