They’d built this place from nothing, creating a chocolate world in the middle of a snow-white town. It was one of the most popular shops in Caribou, so popular that they now also ran an online store that sold almost more than they did in house. My sister, Zoe, ran that because my parents knew everything about chocolate and candy but nothing about technology.
I was proud of them. Not just for everything they’d accomplished, but of the people they were. I knew for a fact if they hadn’t been the people to raise me, then the ice inside me would have swallowed me whole and I’d be a completely different version of the man I was today.
The bell on the door jingled overhead as we stepped in, the familiar smells of chocolate, sugar, and vanilla tinting the air.
Dad was at the register, ringing up someone, and looked up.
“Hey!” he called out. “There’s my boy!”
My face split into a grin. “Hey, Dad.”
Beside me, Sabrina was quiet, but I could feel her soaking it all in like a sponge, taking in detail upon detail.
The man at the register turned with a large box of chocolates in his hand, wrapped in a red bow. “Sam,” I greeted.
“Alex, good to see you.”
“Hope Alice enjoys those.”
The man chuckled. “You know she will. Bringing my wife candy from this place every week is a tradition.” He turned toward my father. “Thanks, Reggie. See ya next week!”
My father called out a good-bye, but his eyes were already fixed on Sabrina. “Linda! Come see what the cat dragged in!” he called toward the back room.
The room in the back was bigger than this front one because that’s where my mother made all the chocolate. By hand.
“So,” I said, glancing down at Sabrina. “What do you think?”
Her eyes wandered everywhere, taking in the ornate wooden trim, old-style cabinetry, and long display counters on each side, encased in glass. Everything in here was light and bright. Cream-colored walls and trim, pale-blue accents, splashes of pale yellow here and there, and long, gleaming white marble counters.
The cash register was old school, looking like something you’d find in an antique shop, but it was in pristine working order. Like I said, my parents didn’t do technology. They much preferred pushing buttons and hearing the ding of the register every time it opened. Customers seemed to be enchanted by it, too.
“I feel like I’ve just stepped into another world,” Sabrina whispered, gazing up at the painted tin ceiling and large chandeliers my mom had insisted on.
“That’s what Bellamy said, too.”
“Well, she was right. This place is amazing. It’s old world meets small town with a level of sophisticated gourmet.”
My chest swelled a little hearing her talk about this place like that, seeing that she thought it was just as amazing as I did.
“Well, with a description like that, you’re my new favorite customer!” my mom announced.
We both turned. I’d actually forgotten we weren’t alone.
“Alex,” Mom cooed and came forward to hug me as she always did.
“Hey, Mom.”
She didn’t spend much more time with my greeting, practically pushing me aside so she could turn both eyes to Sabrina.
“Hi,” Sabrina said, her cheeks turning pink under the direct attention.
“Mom, this is Sabrina.” I introduced them. “Sabrina, this is my mom, Linda, and my dad, Reggie.”
Sabrina held out her hand, but I knew what was coming. I grabbed the cup and bag from her grip just before my mother yanked her in for one of her over-the-top hugs. “It’s so nice to meet you!” Mom pulled back, still holding on to her so she could look her over. “What a gorgeous thing you are. Isn’t she gorgeous, Reggie?”
“Not nearly as beautiful as you, dear,” Dad replied, winking at Sabrina behind Mom’s back.
I rolled my eyes.
Mom giggled. “He’s a handful, that one.”
I was worried how Sabrina would take them. She didn’t have any family that I knew of, just her brother, and he definitely was not like my parents. My parents were… over the top.
“I see where Alex gets it from,” she quipped, making Mom laugh.
Mom put her arm around Sabrina and ushered her into the store. “Now you’re going to have to try one of everything… I’ll want to know what your favorite— Oh!” She interrupted herself. “You can taste test the new flavor I’m developing for the resort. Tell me which one you like best.”
“Me?” Sabrina questioned.
My heart turned over watching her stare at my mother with wide, shy eyes. She hadn’t been expecting this kind of welcome, and I could tell she was overwhelmed.
“I hope you warned that poor girl,” Dad said, stepping into my line of sight and cutting off the image of Sabrina. “Your mother is already planning your wedding.”
I groaned. “We aren’t dating, Dad.”
“Mm-hmm,” he hummed.
“Reggie!” Mom called. “Come over here and help us. We have a guest. You can talk to Alex anytime.”
“Geez, Mom. I’m just your firstborn.”
A customer walked in, and Mom told me to take care of them.
Chopped liver. I’d become second rate in my own family within three seconds of Mom laying eyes on Sabrina. God. She probably was planning the wedding. Surprisingly, the thought didn’t make me break out into a cold sweat like it normally would.
If anything, I found myself gazing across the rectangular space at Brina and wondering what she would look like in a wedding gown with flowers in her hair.
“That will be everything,” the woman said.
I snapped back to the present and wrapped up the truffles, then rang her up. When the woman was gone, Mom waved me over to the hot chocolate bar.
“Come make your sweetie some hot cocoa, Alex.”
“We aren’t dating, Mom,” I said for the second time.
“Well, good heavens, why not?”
Sabrina nearly choked on the truffle Mom was feeding her.
I plastered a pathetic look on my face. “She won’t have me.”
“What!” Mom gasped, turning to stare at Sabrina.
“That’s not true.” Sabrina tried to assure her.
“So you do want to date my son?” Mom pressed.
“No. I mean, yes… I mean…” Sabrina stuttered, flustered and cute as hell.
Mom turned to me, hands on her round hips. “Alexander Hamilton Carter, what did you do to this poor girl to make her not want to date you?”
“Why would you think it’s my fault?” I demanded.
“Hamilton?” Sabrina noted, lifting an eyebrow.
“Don’t even think about it,” I growled.
A slow smile spread over her evil little mouth.
“Alex!” Mom gasped and turned back to Sabrina. “You’ll have to make allowances for him. He’s just like his father. Kinda rough around the edges.”
Sabrina laughed.
For the love of—
“So how did you two meet?” Mom went on.
I glanced at Dad for some help, but he gave me a you’re on your own look. “Sabrina’s brother was in the army with me. He had to deploy for an extended amount of time and didn’t want her to be alone, so she’s staying with me for a while.”
“You’re living together!” Mom exclaimed, excited.
I groaned.
“Well, honey, I hope you can convince him to do something with his place. It’s in need of some decoration. Zoe and I tried to spruce it up, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”
“You wanted to put pine tree wallpaper in the bathroom,” I said through gritted teeth.
“We live in the mountains,” she said, as if that were explanation enough.
“Let the boy keep his house the way he wants, Linda.” Dad finally chimed in.
Gee, thanks, Dad.
“I wanted to get some pumpkins for the deck,” Sabrina said, peaking at me.
In that moment
, I would have bought every pumpkin in Caribou if she looked at me like that again.
“Oh, that would be adorable!” Mom agreed. “Alex! The cocoa.”
Stepping close, I crowded Sabrina’s back, knowing she wouldn’t move away with my mother standing right beside her. I took advantage, reaching around her, making sure to brush against her arm and shoulder as I pulled a pale-blue paper cup off the stack.
I placed the cup in front of her, then repeated the same action to fetch a napkin. Sabrina shivered slightly the second time I touched her, and I felt a jolt of satisfaction.
Mom, being the eagle-eye stalker she was, noticed. “Heavens! Are you cold, dear?”
“Oh, no—”
“Alex, be a gentleman and give her your coat.”
“That’s not really necessary.”
“Posh.” Mom quieted Sabrina and gestured toward me.
The red fleece I had on slid over my arms, and once again, I stepped close behind her to drape it over her shoulders. Sabrina glanced over her shoulder out of the corner of her eye, and I had a sudden overwhelming urge to kiss her temple.
I resisted, instead whispering in her ear, “Better put it on.”
She sighed low and pushed her arms through the jacket. Just because I knew she wouldn’t say anything, I put both arms around her, stepping so close her back brushed my chest under the guise of pulling the coat all the way around her.
“Better?” Mom asked, beaming.
“Yes, thank you,” Sabrina mumbled, slightly breathless.
“This is the most famous hot chocolate in all of Caribou,” my dad said, thankfully drawing the attention away from the tension that seemed to crackle between me and Brina. “We got the idea from a place in Germany we read about many moons ago.”
Instead of stepping back, as I knew Brina wanted, I grabbed up the steel decanter of warm milk and poured it into the cup in front of her. Dad set a square of chocolate on the end of a wooden stick, sprinkled with flaked salt and a drizzle of caramel, in front of her.
Sabrina glanced at me, having to look over her shoulder again to do so.
Unable to stop myself, I reached around her, caging her body against mine, and unwrapped the chocolate. Holding it in front of her, I spoke into her ear. “You stir this into the hot cream, and when it melts, it makes the cocoa.”
“It’s divine!” Mom added.
“I’m pretty sure it’s why I can’t ever lose the twenty extra pounds I carry,” Dad added.
“You’re perfect the way you are, Reggie,” Mom told him.
Sabrina’s fingers brushed mine as she took the stick and dunked it into the milk. Instantly, the chocolate started to melt, the mixture turning a rich shade.
I moved back, and as I did, I caught the scent of me on her. I knew it was because she was wearing my jacket, but oh, the primal roar that erupted inside me. I liked having my scent on her.
Like she was marked.
Like she was claimed.
“I think this is even better than the cider from down the street,” Brina declared, smiling at Mom. “But don’t tell her I said that!”
Mom beamed and hugged her again, nearly sloshing the drink over the rim. Deftly, I took it and snapped a lid on the cup.
“So tell me your favorite part of Caribou so far,” Mom prompted. “What all has Alex already showed you?”
“Oh, um…” Sabrina paused. “We haven’t had the chance to see much yet. But the drive here from the resort was just beautiful. I’ve never seen so many colors in the trees before.”
Mom glanced to me. “You haven’t showed her around yet?”
Well, I was a little busy trying to keep her alive. But I couldn’t say that. “The resort’s been keeping me busy. It’s almost time for the first ski of the season,” I said instead.
“Come on. I’ll show you the back,” Mom said, gesturing for Sabrina to follow. “That’s where I make everything. I’ll show you some secrets, and you can test some of the flavors I’m working on. Did Alex tell you we’re opening a storefront at the resort? It was Liam’s idea. That boy, he’s just as ornery as my Alex.”
Sabrina cast me a glance as she followed along behind Mom. I thought I might see a plea for help in its depths, but all I saw was amusement and… joy.
I still loved her. After all these years, I was still in love with Sabrina.
I watched her even after she looked back to Mom. I stared at the spot she left even after she’d turned the corner.
I didn’t even glance away when I felt Dad pat me on the back and chuckle. “You got it bad, son.”
He was right.
Sabrina
Is this what it’s like to have parents?
Like parents who were present and acted like people who cared about the children they had? Did they ask a thousand too-personal questions, talk over you, and look at you like you hung the moon and stars?
Wow.
When I was younger, I’d considered many times what it would be like to have parents to love me and care for me, but then I got older and those thoughts seemed more like dreams or wishful thinking. Reality had a way of railroading over those thoughts. And I’d always had Daniel, who filled in so many gaps our absent father and uncaring mother left behind. After a while, I stopped thinking about what it would be like to have parents in my life.
Until today. Today, I was overwhelmed by the welcoming scents of chocolate and charmed by the penny candy bins Linda insisted I raid before we left. There was a sense of home inside The Confectionary that caught me off guard, and the all-encompassing warmth of his mother nearly railroaded me.
Before we walked in there, I’d been so incredibly pissed and hurt by Alex. Seeing him with that “bunny” on the street and listening to him try to explain her away caused pain inside me I never wanted to feel again. Pain I’d promised myself I would avoid at all costs.
Now here I was, sitting in the passenger seat of his Hummer, contemplating family and love and what it would be like to be part of his world.
He made me feel lonely.
I worked my whole life to not feel that way, but here I was. Lonelier than ever before.
“Was that too much?”
I glanced across the interior of his truck. His eyes were on the road heading out of Caribou and leading back up the mountain to the resort.
“What?” I asked almost as an afterthought once I realized he’d asked me a question and I hadn’t just been drawn to look his way.
He tossed a glance toward me before turning back to the road. “My parents. I know they are over the top, and my mom was definitely on her game today.” He smiled fondly at her behavior, and my chest tightened. “I should have told them I was bringing you by and to not to be so in your face. I shouldn’t have sprung it on you either.”
“Would they have listened?” I asked, amused that he was rambling like he was nervous. It was incredibly cute, and Alex was often everything but cute.
He barked a laugh. “Fuck no.”
I smiled.
I felt him glance at me again. “But I would have at least told them.”
“I like them,” I confessed. “You’re really lucky to have such great parents. Maybe next time I can meet your sister.” Zoe, his mom explained, was out of town on Confectionary business.
He must have heard something in my voice. I should have known he would pick up on it. There wasn’t much he missed when it came to me.
“Kitten…”
“Don’t call me that.”
His giant hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Why the hell not?”
“You know why,” I intoned darkly.
Alex sighed heavily. “Sabrina.”
“I miss my brother,” I blurted out. It was the truth. I did miss him. More than anything. And I would much rather confess that than any other feelings I might have.
“Fuck.”
Startled, I looked around. “What?”
“I should have thought about how that family time back there at the sho
p would have made you feel. I—” His voice cut off abruptly, and the heinous, horribly loud sound of groaning metal splinted through what had been a relatively quiet moment.
The sudden jarring of the large Hummer made me scream, and the flash of extremely bright lights blinded me before my center of gravity vanished.
I felt like a ragdoll being tossed into the air. My hair flew out around me in slow motion, and I knew I would have been in worse shape if the seat belt hadn’t tightened so taut across me that I screamed again.
Shattering glass burst inward. I felt the prickly shards sting my skin as it was sliced open. Dull pain throbbed in me, but I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Everything was upside down. Nausea rolled over me, and I felt myself gag.
Silence ensued as I blinked, trying center myself, trying to understand what just happened and why I felt so… unbalanced.
My head felt like it was in a vise. Unbearable pressure closed in around me, and I fought against it. Finally, I was able to focus, but everything was dark—no, my hair was in my face, falling all around my head like a drape.
I pushed at it, noting the way everything pulled me down.
I was upside down. Holy crap! The entire Hummer was upside down. I was only held in the seat because of the crushing tightness of the seatbelt. I groaned, swiping back my hair again, feeling the pressure I now knew was because all my blood was rushing to my head.
“Alex,” I croaked, trying to lift my head to see him. “Alex…”
He didn’t answer.
Grappling with the belt across my chest, I fought, trying to pull it free of my neck. “Hey,” I rasped, lifting my head to look in his direction. Dizziness washed over me again, but I refocused and stared across the seats.
He was still in the car, held in place by his seat belt. But he appeared unconscious and… hurt.
“Alex,” I whimpered, reaching for him. “Alex, wake up. Please. Please wake up.”
Please be okay.
His arms were cut from the glass, dark rivulets of blood streaming down his forearms.
Tears blurred my vision, and a metallic taste washed over my tongue.
What happened? What caused this accident? One minute, he was driving along and I thought we were alone on the road, and the next… the next, I was begging him to wake up and watching him bleed.
Subzero (BearPaw Resort Book 4) Page 12
