Christmas on the Last Frontier (Last Frontier Lodge #1)

by J. H. Croix

  “Fuck you.”

  Gage could imagine Aidan’s wry smile when he replied. “Whatever, man. Let me be your friend. Don’t be stupid. You’ve got plenty to work on at the ski lodge. Focus on that, and I’ll call you as soon as I have more news.”

  “Fine. Don’t sit on this though.”

  “It’s at the top of my priorities. I’ll call you soon,” Aidan said before ending the call.

  Gage sat there, staring blindly at the floor, as he tried to process what he felt. He didn’t like waiting on this. His mind volleyed through an internal debate. He wanted to be driving this. Yeah and if you weren’t in so deep with Marley, you’d be running this exactly how Aidan is. He’s waiting to make a move until the timing is right. You can’t see straight because all you can think of is Marley. Her green eyes flashed in his mind, and he took a gulp of air. His jaw clenched and unclenched. He stood and strode out of the office. He needed to be outside where the bracing air took his focus somewhere else.

  ***

  Marley’s breath misted in the cold air as she walked along the worn trail that ran from her cabin to her parents’ house. Snow crunched under her boots and occasionally fell in soft swirls when the wind blew through the trees. The trees opened onto the field beside her parents’ home. Lacey stood on the deck.

  “Hey Lacey!” Marley called as she began jogging to the house.

  Lacey whirled around and squealed. She met Marley with a hug at the stairs.

  “Hey sis! I caught the last flight out yesterday. How’s it going?” Lacey hooked her arm through Marley’s and pulled her along to the door.

  Marley glanced at her sister, her chest tightening. Though she’d visited regularly in her years away, she hadn’t realized how good it would feel to be home once and for all. Lacey’s cheeks were bright from the cold. Her chestnut hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. Lacey kept her grip on Marley all the way into the kitchen where she sat down at the kitchen table with flourish. The kitchen was scented with the familiar scents of Thanksgiving and warm from the oven.

  Bemused, Marley sat down across from her. Lacey grinned. “Well?”

  “Well, what?”

  “How’s it going?” Lacey repeated.

  “Pretty good.”

  Lacey stood and stepped to the counter. “Want some hot cider?”

  “Sure. Where’s Mom and Dad?”

  “Mom is upstairs changing and Dad went down to pick up Don, Delia and her son. Don’s truck battery froze up this morning, so Dad went to get them.”

  Marley nodded and took the steaming mug of hot cider Lacey carried over to her. Lacey slipped back into the chair across from her. “So, Mom says you’re seeing Gage,” she commented with a sly grin.

  Marley fought the flush that crept up her neck, but it was useless. She shook her head. “Should’ve known Mom would tell you. She keeps dropping hints about how wonderful he is.”

  “She hardly knows anything! Oh my God, Marley! You finally have major news on the man front, and you act like nothing’s happening.”

  Marley bit her lip to keep from laughing, but a laugh bubbled out anyway. “I’m not trying to hide anything, I just don’t know where things might be going.”

  Lacey brushed a loose lock of hair out of her eyes. “So, what’s the status with him?”

  Marley chewed her lip and considered Lacey’s question. The fact that she had to think about it made her uncomfortable. She toyed with the edge of a placemat and distracted herself with a sip of hot cider. Gage had been at her cabin every night straight for the last week. The nights were a blur of passion mingled with a deep comfort. It was as if she’d known Gage for far, far longer than she had. She’d come to crave the way she felt with him—alive, passionate, and deeply connected. All of this combined with the fact that he happened to be the sexiest, most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on resulted in her being in a befuddled daze about him when she tried to think about what they were to each other. She couldn’t quite believe a man like him could want a woman like her. And yet, his body made his attraction blatantly obvious.

  They didn’t talk about what was happening between them. Marley’s years of barely dating had been partly due to her relentless focus on work and partly due to the fact that she’d never been quite comfortable with the flirty banter that seemed to go along with making herself attractive to men. If she hadn’t gotten to know Gage and seen his kindness in action, she’d have pegged him as cool and reserved. He was anything but. Yet, he didn’t spell things out. He let his actions speak for themselves in every way. One of the things she loved about programming and coding was its simplicity. Once she found the path she wanted, she knew how to follow it and didn’t have to wonder about the intentions of others. In relationships, it was all about wonder and wondering. She stumbled from sheer amazement about what happened between them to questions and confusion about what it all meant. To Lacey’s question, she didn’t quite have an answer. She didn’t know if Gage considered what was happening between them serious or not. While for her, it was the deepest she’d ever gone in any relationship. She was in so far over her head, she couldn’t see where to look next.

  Marley took another sip of cider and met Lacey’s eyes. “That’s the thing. I’m not sure what our status is.”

  The teasing gleam faded from Lacey’s eyes. “Hmm. Well, how often do you see him?”

  “Every night and most days.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, he’d better be taking this seriously. He’s not some playboy, is he?”

  Marley shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m just…not used to dating, or whatever you want to call this.”

  “Mom seems to think he’s pretty awesome,” Lacey said with a soft smile.

  Marley chuckled. “Oh you don’t need to tell me that. Ever since she stopped by the lodge to meet him, she can’t stop asking about him every time we talk. I thought she was going to fall over when I told her I was seeing him.”

  Lacey giggled. “Let her be happy for you,” she said, her eyes sobering again. “When can I meet him? I want to make sure he’s a good guy. You don’t need someone who’s just having a little fun.”

  “He’s flew down to Bellingham for Thanksgiving. He’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. Maybe you can stop by the lodge soon. It’s pretty busy up there these days.”

  The kitchen door opened, a gust of icy air breezing through as their father, Stan, stepped through the door with Don, Delia and Nicholas right behind him. Marley stood to give her father a hug.

  “Hey girl,” Stan said, squeezing her shoulder briefly before stepping away. He kicked off his boots by the door and took coats from the others.

  Their mother, Holly, came downstairs into the fray and immediately got to work in the kitchen. Don sat down beside Marley and patted her shoulder.

  “Good to have you home,” he said softly, his voice almost drowned out by Nicholas who burst into shrieks and giggles when Stan swung him around in the air. Delia had immediately joined Holly in the kitchen, checking on the turkey and getting serving platters ready. Lacey stood up from the table and refilled her cider.

  Marley met Don’s eyes with a soft smile. “Good to be here. I’m glad you suggested Delia work up at the lodge. She’s doing a great job, and it seems like she likes it.”

  Don nodded, his return smile wide. “I thought it might work out. She’s been struggling with odd jobs. I’m glad Gage was willing to give her a chance.”

  Marley’s heart tightened. Though Gage perhaps didn’t know how much it meant to Don to have Last Frontier Lodge opening again and for Delia to be able to work in the place where she practically grew up, Gage’s easy willingness to include them in the process meant so much for them. Gage was just…good. And it terrified her.

  She forced herself off her cyclical worrying and replied to Don. “It’s mutually beneficial. It’s good work for Delia, and Gage doesn’t know the first thing about running a kitchen like that. We could hardly get him to even
look at the menus.”

  Don chuckled. “I thought it would be good for both of them.” He paused, his eyes assessing her. “Gage is a good man. I’m glad he found you.”

  Marley wasn’t sure she could have blushed much harder than she did. She didn’t know what Gage had said to Don. Questions filled her mind, wondering if Don had some idea of what she meant to Gage. She was too abashed to ask. Before she could reply, Don patted her on the shoulder again. “Don’t go worrying he said something to me, but I’ve been there, done that. All I have to do is see you two together, and it’s plain as day. He’s got it bad for you, darling, and it seems to be a two-way street. If you ask me, you two are great together. Don’t let a good thing pass you by.”

  She started to shake her head, and Don grinned. “Not saying you were, hon. I don’t hand out advice unless I think it’s worth it. All I’m saying is Gage is worth it. He’s on the quiet side though, so don’t let that get in your way.”

  Still blushing madly, Marley took a quick sip of cider and nodded. She was stunned at Don’s easy observation. Was it that obvious? That simple? In her mind and heart, she was tied up in knots. The only time she wasn’t obsessing over how she felt and what it all meant was when she was twined bare with Gage—living and breathing in the incandescence of the sparks flying between them.

  Don chuckled and changed the subject, moving on to ask her how many reservations they had for the lodge so far. She’d mentioned it to Gage a few times, but he didn’t seem to be grasping that they were heading into a pretty busy few weeks. She glanced to Don again. “It’s looking busy. I know you can handle it, but I’m not so sure Gage is ready for the madness.”

  Don nodded and shrugged. “I’ve got things almost ready to roll outside, and Delia will have things lined up inside. Gage just needs to keep doing what he’s doing. He’s damn handy around the place. He’ll be fine.”

  Marley grinned. “I know he will, but when I tell him we’re almost booked up, all he does is nod.”

  “And get back to work,” Don added. “He’s a damn hard worker. He wanted to make this happen, and I think he will. Far as I’m concerned, Last Frontier Lodge opening up again is a damn good thing for Diamond Creek. It’s personal for me, but it’s gonna be a blast.”

  Lacey stepped back to the table, resting her hip on the edge. “I can’t wait to blow down the slopes there again.”

  Marley glanced up at her. “You ski all the time. It’s not like you’ve been missing out.”

  “Last Frontier Lodge is where we learned to ski. It’s fun no matter where I go, but this’ll be like old times.”

  Don’s eyes teared up, and he stood to hug Lacey. Marley knew he’d been at loose ends to a degree since Sandy died, but Gage offering him his old job back had returned the glint to his eyes. Which made her heart clench. Gage just went about doing things that made her like him in too many ways. She batted the thought away and stood up.

  The next few hours passed in a warm, familiar blur. Thanksgiving dinner was an easygoing affair in her family. Don’s family had joined them off and on over the years, along with various other friends. Though they did actually sit down together at the table, the aftermath was a sprawl in the living room with a mix of sports on television, board games, and more.

  Hours later, Marley walked back to her cabin with the moonlight glittering on the snow and falling in silvery shafts through the trees. She let herself inside and locked the door. It was her first night without Gage in a week, and it felt strange. She couldn’t quite wrap her brain around the reality that after years of sleeping alone, a mere week with Gage and she missed his presence. He’d texted her earlier and left a message. During a brief call when it was clear he was surrounded by family based on the hum of voices in the background, her heart thrilled at his gravelly voice.

  “I’ll let you go. I just wanted to say good night,” Marley said.

  “Sorry about all the noise. My family’s kind of loud.”

  She smiled, trying to imagine Gage, with his tendency to be reserved and quiet, in the middle of a raucous family. “It’s okay. I’ll see you when you get back tomorrow.”

  “Marley?”

  “Yeah?”

  There was a long pause. Gage cleared his throat. “It’s just one night, but I miss you.”

  Marley’s heart squeezed and joy spread its wings inside. “Me too.”

  She sat with her phone in hand for many long moments after that and fell asleep with his words endlessly repeating in her brain.

  Chapter 13

  The following morning, Marley stood at her windows, savoring the view. An eagle called nearby. As she looked around to find it, the eagle lifted from its perch on a cottonwood tree, its wings spreading wide as it flew across the field behind her cabin. She tracked the eagle’s progress until it disappeared behind the trees, its shadow dark on the snow beneath it. The coffee maker beeped, and she strode into the kitchen. She stirred a dash of cream into her coffee and carried it over to her desk. She checked the fire in the woodstove and added a few logs before sitting down to get to work.

  Gage was due back early this afternoon, and she wanted to have her time free. She was picking him up at the airport in Homer. She paused to look out the window. She’d set her desk up so it faced the view. The morning sun was filtered through the haze from a foggy, cold morning. Shafts broke through and fell on the bay. The water was calm this morning. A raven called with magpies chattering in response. A stellar jay squawked and landed on the railing outside the window, it’s blue and black coloring bright in the foggy, gray morning.

  She took a breath and opened her laptop. She quickly got to work checking on the reservations for the lodge and then moving on to work on other projects. Her email beeped. When she pulled it up, another email from the unknown person in human resources sat there. It looked so innocuous, but her chest tightened and anxiety swirled in her belly. This email was still vague, again asking about the flash drive and reminding her she was obligated to return all company property. The only addition was a specific warning that she was required to respond.

  She immediately closed her laptop and pushed her chair back. She grabbed her mug of coffee and took a sip. The warmth anchored her, but she’d lost focus and knew trying to work would be a waste of time. The temptation to read and re-read the latest email would tug at her every second she was on the computer. She looked around for her phone. Spying it on the kitchen counter, she stood and snatched it up, immediately calling Ginger.

  A while later, she walked into Misty Mountain Café. She perused the chalkboard specials while she waited in line. Once she had a coffee and sandwich, she snagged a table in the corner. The café was bustling with a low hum of conversation and music. Ginger entered moments later and joined her.

  “Hey you!” Ginger exclaimed, giving Marley a quick hug before sitting down. She pushed her hood back and smoothed her glossy brown hair. “It’s freezing out! I wasn’t ready for winter yet.”

  “Technically, it’s not winter for another few weeks.”

  Ginger rolled her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s winter even if winter solstice hasn’t happened yet. It’s been below freezing every day all week and there’s snow on the ground.”

  Marley chuckled. “I know. I’m loving it, actually. Seattle weather was rainy all winter and never got cold enough for me to appreciate the contrast when it was warmer.”

  Ginger tilted her head. “Okay, whatever works. I like winter, but that doesn’t mean I won’t complain about the cold. Having Last Frontier Lodge open again will make winter so much more fun around here. Any word on the official opening date?”

  Marley shook her head. “Not a precise date. I set the booking dates to start the day after Christmas. I suggested to Gage that he maybe have a local opening day before the hotel has guests, but he hasn’t confirmed anything yet. Don told me to stop worrying about it.”

  Ginger giggled. “You’re a world class worrier. Speaking of that, you mentione
d you had another email. Have you talked to Gage about it?”

  “It just showed up this morning, and he’s flying back to Alaska as we speak. I’m not sure what he can do about it. I think maybe I’m making more if it than I should. Maybe I should just reply and tell them I don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.”

  Ginger shook her head forcefully, her hair swinging. “No, you shouldn’t. Gage said he asked his friend to look into them, so wait and see. When will he be back?”

  “This afternoon. I’m picking him up at the airport in Homer.”

  Ginger arched a brow, her blue eyes taking on a gleam. “So we’re at the ‘picking up from the airport’ stage then?”

  “That’s a stage?”

  Marley felt so out of her depth with relationships in general, and more so with Gage. Her last relationship that comprised more than a few dates was in college and wasn’t particularly memorable.

  Ginger’s eyes sobered. “I’m teasing, Marley. I can tell just by looking at you, you’re overthinking this thing with Gage. He’s a good guy, and he really likes you. How about you try to enjoy what’s happening?”

  “Easy for you to say,” Marley retorted.

  Ginger set her coffee down. “No, it’s not easy for me to say. While you’ve been busy with work, I married my college sweetheart and watched it fall apart. It was awful, and I never want to repeat the experience. But I’m not going to give up just because I’m scared to death. I’m the first person to be skeptical of a good thing, but I think Gage is a good guy, and he happens to like you. He can hardly keep his eyes off of you. I can’t say I know what will happen, but I don’t think he’s planning to screw you over.”

  Marley reached over and squeezed Ginger’s hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound dismissive. I know it was a nightmare when things blew up with Tony.”

  Ginger shook her head. “I know you do. I wasn’t bringing that up to make you feel bad, just to say that I get it. Letting go and trying to trust someone else can be terrifying, so I completely understand why it might be hard for you. But I don’t want you to get so worked up you don’t even give yourself a chance.”