A Very Crimson Christmas (Crimson, Colorado 4)

by Michelle Major

  “Then you’ll be here by yourself. I’m flying to Vermont after Christmas. That’s where LifeMap headquarters is going.”

  Tanner shook his head. “Since when?”

  “Since now.”

  “What happened between you and Natalie the other night?”

  Liam snapped shut the laptop. “Nothing. This has nothing to do with Natalie.”

  “Bull—”

  “Vermont is a better fit.”

  “Crimson is the perfect fit.” Tanner pointed a finger at him. “And not just for LifeMap.”

  “Don’t.” Liam got up, stalked to the counter and poured a third cup of coffee. It was only nine in the morning, but he hadn’t slept worth a damn the past few nights. Ever since Natalie had walked away from him. “Don’t act like you have some great insight into me. This is business, plain and simple.”

  “Your father called.”

  Coffee sloshed over the rim of Liam’s mug. “Why did he call you and not me?”

  “Because I’m more likely to answer.”

  “Does he know I’m in Colorado?”

  His assistant ignored the question, opening the Life is Sweet box and pulling out a pastry.

  “Tanner.”

  “He knows. He said something about you not being able to cut the apron strings from your nanny.”

  “Jackass,” Liam muttered, although his father’s comment still stung.

  “He also mentioned that he’s coming to Aspen for Christmas.”

  “I thought wife number five didn’t like cold weather since it means she has to cover up her assets?” With every marriage, his father picked women who were younger and more surgically enhanced. Liam was pretty sure his father’s latest wife was barely in her twenties. “Shouldn’t they be headed to Hawaii or the Bahamas?”

  Tanner didn’t answer, instead taking a big bite of bear claw.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I think he wants to spend Christmas with you,” he said when he’d finished chewing. He picked up a napkin and wiped it across his mouth, mumbling something else as he did.

  Liam couldn’t have heard him right. “Repeat that.”

  “Donovan Enterprises is interested in acquiring LifeMap.”

  The coffee he’d just swallowed turned to acid in Liam’s stomach. “No. Way.”

  “I told him you’d say that.” Tanner gave an almost apologetic shrug. “He wants to meet with you personally.”

  “The company is barely off the ground. The developer has a prototype, that’s all. He can’t be interested in the company. The whole mission is a stretch for Donovan Enterprises, not what they usually fund at all.”

  Tanner just looked at him.

  “It’s me,” Liam said, not disguising the bitterness in his tone. “He can’t stand to have me out on my own. He never believed I could be a success without his backing, so he wants to make sure I’m not.”

  “I don’t think he liked the Jerry Maguire way you resigned.”

  “It wasn’t a manifesto,” Liam muttered.

  “You wrote an open letter to the board detailing the ways Donovan Enterprises needed to improve its business dealings, everything you’d found lacking in the company. I believe ‘morally corrupt’ were the words you used to describe your father.”

  “That’s kind if you knew the words I was thinking in my head right now.” Liam gripped the edge of the counter, then turned. “It was the only way I could make a clean break. He would have never let me go if I hadn’t made everyone on the board so angry.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I worked hard for Donovan Enterprises, made every deal I touched there a success. It was time for me to try something different.”

  “Not arguing,” Tanner said, holding up his hands. “I followed you, remember?”

  “And it’s been good, right?” Liam realized how much the answer mattered and rushed on, “The work, I mean. Creating a company, a product from scratch. I know there aren’t as many five-star lunches and courtside seats from investors. The perks of working for LifeMap are pretty much—”

  “Wrapped up in a pink box?” Tanner lifted the lid, stepping forward to wave it under Liam’s nose. “This is as good as it gets as far as I’m concerned. We’ve been a team out of the gate, man. LifeMap is going to blow things out of the water and I’m stoked to be a part of it. You need to work out your issues with your father. There’s no doubt about that.”

  “He isn’t—”

  “And you need to work out whatever crap is going on with you and Natalie.”

  “She doesn’t—”

  “And your hang-ups about this town.”

  Liam narrowed his eyes and grabbed an apple turnover out of the box. “When did you become so damn insightful?” He bit into the flaky crust of the pastry and for a moment forgot about all his problems in the bliss of that perfect bite. Katie Garrity was a master baker, he knew that for sure.

  “I’ve always been insightful.” Tanner opened a bottle of water. “That’s why you pay me the big bucks.”

  “Stop talking now.” Liam closed his eyes. “You’re ruining my moment in sugar heaven.”

  “To think a few minutes ago you were ready to deny yourself that bliss. It makes me wonder...”

  Liam opened one eye, squinting at his longtime friend. “Spit it out.”

  “It’s like you are willing to write off Natalie and the whole town because things are a little more complicated than you’d expected.”

  “A little?” Liam asked, both eyes on Tanner now. “You know my history with her...with this town.”

  “I sure as hell hope you’re a different person than you were ten years ago. But if you keep running off in different directions every time things get hard, then you’re never going to move forward on the path you actually want to take.”

  “I’m not running.” Liam tossed the uneaten half of turnover back into the box, his appetite spoiled by the unbidden truth. “You’re forgetting that Crimson was the unwanted detour. I’m here because something is happening to the money I’ve put aside for Ruth. Something beyond her care, obviously, because other than the doctors, she still lives like it was twenty years ago.” He pressed his palms to the counter, letting the cool of the granite seep into his skin. “Do we have any more information on that?”

  “Unfortunately, no.” Tanner shook his head. “The manager at the bank has her signature on the withdrawal slip, but you say she has no memory of taking out the money.”

  “Not that she’ll tell me. But it’s difficult to know what she actually remembers at this point. The money came out in chunks, so either she’s got it hidden someplace or—”

  “Someone is forging her signature?”

  “It makes sense, but there aren’t many people who have that kind of access to her.”

  “Natalie does,” Tanner offered, almost reluctantly.

  Liam took a last drink of coffee and put the mug in the sink. “She says she didn’t take the money. But...” He paused, not wanting to say the thought out loud. “She’s hiding something. There’s more to the story than she’s sharing. What about the other nurse?”

  “Nothing suspicious there, but I’ll keep looking. Have you found out anything more from Ruth?”

  “I tried pushing her to give me better answers, just a bit, and she got very agitated.” Liam paced to the edge of the kitchen. “She told me if I don’t trust her with the money, to just take it back. Like that’s the point.”

  “We’ll figure it out. But don’t give up on this town yet for LifeMap. At least meet with your friend Jase and the other town council members. Locals may be more willing to help out if you keep things friendly.”

  “The story of my life,” Liam snapped. “People being nice because they want something from me.”

  “You�
��re the one who wanted to come here, Liam.”

  “I know. I thought it would be easier.” He held out a hand when Tanner’s brows shot up. “Not one more word about me walking away when things get difficult. Or I’ll fire you.”

  Tanner just laughed. “Good luck with that.”

  Liam grabbed the laptop off the counter and headed for the home’s office. Sunlight streamed through the floor to ceiling windows, reflecting off the gilded mirror on the far wall. The furniture in the house was formal and pretentious. He hated it. He hated how it felt impersonal, valuable but lacking any sort of character or substance. A lot like his life.

  He missed being at the farmhouse when he wasn’t there, the cozy warmth of it. The smell of the fireplace, the White Shoulders perfume Ruth had been wearing since he was a kid, the sound of Austin’s video games and Natalie humming as she went about her work. It felt like a home. Liam realized what he wanted more than anything was to experience that feeling of home while he was in Crimson.

  He had an idea of how he could gain more access to Ruth, to take a closer look around and see if he could find the start of a paper trail that might lead him to answers about the money he’d given her. Natalie wouldn’t like it, but he found that made the plan all the more appealing. He liked her off balance. Hell, he liked her any way he could get her. He was tired of fighting the connection between them, and it was past time she stopped fighting it, too.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was almost eleven when Natalie parked her car in front of the farmhouse, cursing the butterflies that flitted across her stomach at the sight of Liam’s big SUV in the driveway.

  She’d been asked to take on an extra shift at the senior center and had arranged for Olivia to stay with Austin and Ruth. She hated asking friends for favors, but right before Christmas she needed the money more than her pride. According to Olivia, Logan had gone to Crested Butte overnight, so she’d been happy to keep busy. But now Olivia’s car was gone, so she knew she’d be facing Liam alone.

  Natalie half expected him to lay into her for shirking her responsibilities with his former nanny. She couldn’t blame him for not quite trusting her since she hadn’t yet explained her whole situation to him. Guilt ate away at her even though she hadn’t taken the money. Natalie had tried to talk to Ruth about whether she’d paid off Brad. But Ruth continued to act as though she had no memory of Natalie telling her anything about the debt. She wanted to believe Ruth, but, other than speaking to her mother, Brad had left her alone for nearly three months. That was a record and Natalie was almost able to sleep through the night without waking up in a cold sweat, worried about her ex-husband’s next demands on her.

  She glanced at the barn’s workshop before walking toward the house. She had to finish up a few bracelets tonight, but first needed to check on Austin and Ruth and figure out why Liam was there instead of Olivia.

  The house was quiet as she walked in, peaceful in its silence and shadows. Natalie took a breath and walked into the den, where she could see the light of the television glowing blue in the darkness.

  She stopped short in the doorway at the sight of Liam stretched out on the couch, arms crossed over his chest, fast asleep. Her heart sped in rhythm as her body had its annoyingly familiar reaction to him. Stupid body with its heat and flush. She started to clear her throat then stopped, swept up in memories as she watched him.

  Asleep and unaware of her presence, he looked softer, younger. More like the boy she’d fallen in love with so many years ago. A lock of dark hair fell over a forehead smooth without lines from worry or anger. Worry about Ruth and anger at Natalie. She deserved it, she knew, for her fear and cowardice. And so much more. But it didn’t seem to matter now. Now that he wasn’t looking at her with so many tangled emotions, she could let go of her own regrets for a moment and just relish being with him.

  Because even asleep, Natalie could feel Liam’s energy and the connection between them that didn’t seem to break, no matter how she pushed and stretched it. She inched closer to the couch, glancing at the TV as she did. One of the Marvel Comics movies played, making her smile. Liam always had a thing for superheroes.

  Should she leave him there? Clearly he’d sent Olivia home and settled in to wait for her himself. Would Tanner worry if he didn’t come back to the house or would the assistant assume he’d gone into town and found some young snow bunny willing to invite him to share her bed for the night? She wished she could be that woman, casual and willing, but Natalie had always felt older than she was.

  Except when she’d been with Liam.

  Unable to help herself, she reached out a finger to brush away the stray hair. In an instant a strong hand gripped her wrist, tugging her so that she fell with a grunt onto the back cushions of the couch.

  “First you were checking out my butt in the attic. Then you’re sneaking up on me while I sleep.” His voice was rough, pitched low. It did wicked, hot things to her insides.

  “I like you when you’re asleep,” she muttered, trying not to breathe in the scent of him. Trying to keep her bones from melting right into the sofa. “Sometimes more than when you’re awake.”

  “Ahh, Natalie,” he said on a soft laugh. “You never give an inch.”

  “I’m not the one with only a few inches to give.” She shifted, letting her knee drive against him, wanting to make him as bothered as she felt in this moment.

  He laughed again, turning so that she sank onto the cushions and they faced each other. “Don’t make me prove you wrong,” he whispered.

  Her body burned at all the points it touched his. His face fell into shadows, but they were so close she could still see him clearly. He reached behind him toward the coffee table, and a moment later the television flicked off, leaving a thin strand of moonlight the only light in the room.

  His finger traced her skin, starting at her forehead and working its way down the side of her face to her neck and throat, stopping at the collar of her scrub shirt.

  “Working late,” he murmured.

  “The day isn’t over yet,” she answered, trying not to be carried away by his touch. “I have jewelry to finish tonight. Why are you here?”

  “I came to see Ruth.” A wisp of a smile played across his lips. “And you.” His finger brushed the tender flesh of her earlobe. “I can’t seem to stay away from you, Nat.”

  “You managed it for ten years.”

  “Do you think I ran away?” His voice was soft but there was steel in his tone.

  “I think you left.” Her voice sounded breathless to her own ears. It was hard to concentrate on anything with him so close, with his skin on hers. “Walking. Running. Does it really matter? The result was the same.”

  “After the accident that killed Beth, I didn’t think—”

  “Shh.” She placed her fingertip on his mouth, silencing him. “We both think too much, Liam. I’m tired of thinking, my brain on overdrive all the time. I’m sick of guilt and blame and regret. I just want...”

  “What?” He leaned closer, so close his breath feathered against her cheek. “What do you want, Natalie?”

  Where to start with a list of what she wanted? How to even begin? She’d buried her wants and needs for so long, ignored them until she barely remembered that she’d ever had dreams for herself. “I want to feel something,” she whispered, wiping her cheek on the sofa cushion to hide a stray tear that fell. “I want to feel again.”

  His gaze was at once tender and fierce, the dichotomy of Liam Donovan and what had always fascinated her. “I can help with that,” he answered with total confidence and gently pressed his lips to hers.

  She grasped at his shoulders and shifted closer. The kiss deepened, but not the pace. He sipped at her, nipped and licked, as if they had all the time in the world. As if he knew that her emotions in this moment were so brittle that she might break apart
if he pushed her. Leisurely, his hands traveled down her body, pulling up the hem of her shirt so that he could touch her back.

  Bit by bit, Natalie began to feel. She allowed herself to really enjoy what was happening, not the frenzied desire of when they were in the attic. She slipped into this passion as if it was a warm bath, enveloping her. It enveloped her tired muscles and weary bones, soothing her. This was true intimacy, the two of them without their defenses.

  For a moment, panic flared and she placed her hand on his chest, ready to push him back before she gave away too much. Before she let him fill all the secret, lonely places she cradled deep inside. But she could feel his heartbeat pounding, although his motions remained gentle.

  Another contrast and one that allowed her to believe she was safe, at least for the moment, in Liam’s arms. She savored the feeling that awakened inside of her—a pinprick at first. Then it was as if the dam broke and everything she’d denied herself for so long flooded through her in waves.

  She tugged at his long-sleeve Henley and he shrugged out of it before pulling her scrub top and the T-shirt she wore underneath it over her head. He lifted her, flipping onto his back and bringing her down against him, skin to skin. She’d forgotten the sensation of a man holding her, his hands roaming up her back and flicking open the clasp on her bra.

  “Lift up,” he whispered. “I want to see you, Nat.”

  She hesitated, again worried that the body she had now wouldn’t match his memories of the girl he’d known.

  “Who you are now?” he said, as if reading her mind. “Let me see you.”

  Because it was mostly dark in the room and his voice held such a note of reverence, she sat up. The bra straps slipped off her arms and he curled one finger under the lace edge and tossed it aside. His hands cupped the weight of her breasts and he lifted his head at the same time she bent forward, taking the hard tip of one in his mouth.

  Natalie groaned with pleasure, which turned into a self-conscious laugh as Liam whispered, “You are so beautiful,” against her skin.