The waiter came back with their drink order, and a second waiter came with the food. For the next few minutes they ate. The food was amazing, as it always seemed to be at Mountain Springs Lodge, and Jen listened as Belle asked Renata questions about Seb and gently teased her about her ability to make men fall in love with her.
“What about you?” Angelina asked, turning to Jen. “How are the renovations going? Tell me everything!”
“I had to get a tree—I mean, I wanted to get one. And while I was looking at some sensible five-or six-foot trees, I realized that it would just be swallowed up in that house! I ended up getting an eight-foot tree, and it’s the right size for the space, but I have to say, I could add another two trees in that front room, and it wouldn’t be too much...”
“You hired Nick, right?” Angelina asked. “How’s his work? A good contractor should make this easier on you, not harder. In my experience with Nick, he’s a good one, but if he isn’t the right fit—”
“He’s great.” Jen felt some heat hit her cheeks, and if Angelina noticed, she didn’t let on. “He’s very skilled. I have no complaints. I guess I’m just realizing how big of a project this is—money-wise, work-wise...”
“I got like that with this place.” Angelina looked up, her gaze moving over the ceiling and toward the window. Then she shrugged. “But one step at a time, it comes together. And when you can see what you imagined come to life in front of you, it’s pretty amazing.”
“I think it would be,” Jen agreed. “But I’ve got a habit of jumping in enthusiastically before I’ve thought things through. I did it with Sam—I should have seen that we wouldn’t work from the start. I did it with this mansion—I mean, it came on the market, and I offered a low price on instinct, nothing else! I hadn’t even had an inspection done yet! They took my offer, and here I am.”
“At least you’re willing to take a leap,” Angelina said. “That was one of the things Gayle mentioned about you more than once—you don’t let life pass you by.”
But she might have been able to avoid a few heartbreaks if she’d leaped a little less enthusiastically.
“Look,” Angelina said, lowering her voice. “If you decide you want out of this purchase, I’ll buy the mansion from you for fifteen percent more than you paid. That should cover the cost of renovations right now.”
Jen’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“This is not pressure for you to sell. There’s no time limit to the offer,” Angelina qualified. “I’m just saying, if you decide you do want to sell the place, don’t sell it to someone else. I want to buy it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jen said. But she didn’t want to sell. She wanted to make a success of the place, and she still thought she could do that.
“I think we need to talk about Belle’s neighbor,” Renata said, drawing Jen’s attention back to the table conversation.
Belle blushed, and the women laughed.
“We need a bottle of wine first,” Belle said. “And I also need you all to promise you aren’t going to make fun of me. I have no skill whatsoever in dating! I’m horrible at it, and I don’t tend to have Renata’s artless way with making men fall in love with me, either, or her ample bust, might I add.”
They all laughed.
“I require a guy to ask me out,” Belle went on, “because if the tables turn, I make a fool of myself...”
Jen couldn’t help but chuckle as Belle launched into tales of her dating woes. Jen wasn’t alone—dating, starting over, taking risks both financial and personal...it was scary. But tonight they could buoy each other up in the knowledge that every last one of them was intimidated by something. And that was comforting.
* * *
NICK STOOD BESIDE his Christmas tree, looking over the ornaments he’d collected over the years. This year there were the new color-coordinated ones his daughter had picked up for him, and he fingered a delicate glass snowflake. He had to admit, he liked them. Amelia had good taste, even if he fought it.
But looking at his own Christmas tree sparked more recent memories with Jen in front of her tree. He’d meant that kiss—every heart-pounding second of it. He might not be able to offer a future, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to. Jen was extraordinary, but she’d need a different guy, someone who could keep up with her, match her in the part of life that mattered most to her. And he needed to stop falling for the wrong woman. Because he was jeopardizing everything by kissing her—his reputation, his chance at working with Jen Taylor on any other project in the future... All for a moment that had felt too perfect.
But now, standing in front of his tree—a fake one, no real spruce tree in his living room—he couldn’t let himself off the hook. What did a perfect moment matter if it wasn’t going to be more than that? His feelings had gotten entangled with this woman, and he had nothing to offer! What did that make him? He couldn’t toy with a newly divorced woman’s emotions, and he felt like a bad guy for having kissed her. Sure, in the moment, it had been about giving in to his feelings, but in the long-term? He didn’t come out of this looking very good.
“What’s the matter, Dad?”
Nick turned to see Amelia coming down the stairs.
“Nothing. Why?”
Amelia came up next to him and gave him a curious look.
“You look grim. Do you hate the new ornaments that much? If you let me dispose of a few things in here—”
“No disposing,” he said. “And I don’t hate them. They’re nice. You chose them.”
Amelia gave him an apologetic look. “I’m not going to be able to stay for Christmas, Dad.”
Her words sank in and he looked at her uncertainly. “What?”
“I was talking to Ben—and his family asked if I’d join them in Aspen for Christmas and the week following, and... I said I would.”
Nick felt a flood of disappointment. “But you were supposed to spend Christmas with me.”
“This is important. This is...my future. Ben’s ready for me to meet his family and get to know them a little bit. It’s a big step forward for us, and I said I’d go.”
“So this Ben—” Nick swallowed. “He’s willing to commit more permanently now?”
“Maybe. I think we’re getting there,” she replied. “We want the same thing. We want to build something together, make a name for ourselves.”
“A power couple,” he said.
“The only way to go.” Amelia smiled softly.
“So what changed his mind about spending Christmas with you?” Nick asked.
“The thought of losing me, I think,” she said.
“And it never occurred to him to come here and meet your family?” he asked.
Amelia didn’t answer, and the pink in her cheeks suggested that option hadn’t occurred to her, either.
“So you’ve got to go win his family over first,” Nick concluded. He didn’t like that. This guy was already asking Amelia to jump through hoops.
“I’m not worried about that. I’m smart, I’m getting a Harvard pre-law degree, mothers like me. Come on, Dad,” she said. “I’m sure they’re very nice. Besides, I’m only getting in the way with you and Jen across the street.”
“You aren’t in the way of anything,” he countered.
“You sure about that?” Amelia shot him a grin. “She’d be good for you. She’d also be good for me, if you decided to settle down with her—if that factors in at all.”
Amelia was teasing now, softening him up the way she used to years ago, but he knew that there was a hint of truth in the joke. Jen would fit in with his daughter very well, and that didn’t give him the reassurance that Amelia intended.
“No, it doesn’t,” he said with a small smile. “I guess you’ve made your plans. When do you leave?”
“I’ll take a bus there—it’s the most direct way. They aren’t arrivi
ng until Christmas Eve, so I thought I’d leave Christmas Eve morning,” she said. “It gives you and me a little more time together anyway. Right?”
His daughter was throwing him a bone, much like the one Drew’s dad had tossed to him. But what could Nick say? His daughter was a grown woman, and she had every right to choose where she spent her Christmas. Maybe she’d end up marrying this guy, after all.
“Then do me a favor,” he said. Since she was willing to make this up to him a little bit.
“Sure, Dad.”
“Come with me to work on the house tomorrow. I want to show you what I do. Give you a feel for it, before you start a career in law and marry into finance and never touch a hammer again.”
Amelia chuckled. “All right. It might be fun. Besides, it’s another chance to see inside the mansion. Twist my arm.”
This would be good for both of them. Nick was tired of apologizing for who he was and what he did for a living. He was tired of not feeling like he was enough for his own daughter. It was time to show her what he did—up close and personal.
“We’re getting up early, then,” Nick said with a grin. “Set an alarm, or Goldie will stick a cold nose on your face.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
JEN STOOD IN the bus station, her coat tugged around her as she watched for Drew’s bus from Denver. It was running late, no surprise at this time of year with the snow in the mountains.
The station wasn’t heated well. With the constantly opening doors to the platform outside, cold air kept whipping through. She took a sip of the coffee she’d bought at the little kiosk in the corner. It wasn’t great, but it was hot. She’d picked up a hot chocolate for Drew, too.
That morning Nick had arrived at eight as usual, but this time he brought his daughter with him. That had made it a whole lot easier to keep their chemistry under control. Amelia had wanted another tour of the mansion, and Jen had obliged. They’d gone all the way up to the attic, which wasn’t heated at all. Freezing though it was, Jen had enjoyed looking around at a few old items that had been abandoned there—an old, beaten-up gramophone, a couple of antique traveling trunks that were empty and a few crates of local newspapers from the thirties and forties. The entire house was a historical gold mine, and she deeply hoped her son would appreciate it.
She’d been noticing how Nick related to his daughter that morning. There was a bit of a distance between them, but he was trying. He’d been putting her to work with some sanding—nothing too strenuous—and Jen had overheard him pointing out some of his previous work, the new counters, the new sink, and explaining how making the improvements blend into the original style was more important than doing something modern and new.
He seemed like a good dad...except she knew he’d parented from a distance. His daughter had done most of her growing up with her mom in Denver, and he didn’t seem like the kind of father who preferred it that way. That distance between Denver and Mountain Springs seemed to be difficult for split parenting—for the parents and the kid. Amelia had missed out on her father’s influence in her life.
A bus pulled up to the platform—180 from Denver. She moved forward to the window so she could watch for Drew. She was excited to see him. It had been two weeks now, and that felt like too long.
Drew was the third person off the bus, right behind an elderly couple, and he paused, looking around with a slightly nervous expression. She waved through the window and then went to the door. Drew visibly relaxed when he saw her and grabbed the suitcase the bus driver hauled out for him.
Drew looked taller, and just a little bit older—or was she only imagining that?
“Hi, sweetie,” she said, handing him the takeout cup and leaning in to give him a squeeze. “I missed you. I brought you hot chocolate. Thought you might like it.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” Drew took the hot chocolate, and she took his suitcase so that he could drink it.
“When was the last time you were in Mountain Springs?” Jen asked him. “I think it was when Bram was born, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Drew took a sip of the hot chocolate. “I didn’t like it much.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked. “I took you skiing.”
“I still didn’t like it here,” he replied.
So he was determined to have a bad attitude already. She gave her son a sidelong look, then led the way to the SUV. Once they were inside and she started the vehicle, she looked over at Drew.
“You’re upset,” she said.
“No.”
“Of course you are,” she said. “You were really looking forward to Christmas with your dad, and having him change his mind on you probably really hurt your feelings.”
“Tiffany could have gone to see her grandma without us,” Drew said. “Or I could have gone along.”
“That’s true,” she agreed. “But Tiffany is just a girlfriend, sweetie. She’s not...permanent.”
“They were talking about her moving in,” Drew said. “She’s permanent.”
“Okay, but she’s not moved in yet, is she?” And Sam was moving on that quickly? Did Jen even want to know this? Maybe it was easier for men, especially someone of his reputation. And what was she expecting? He’d been nearly divorced from his first wife when she met him. Sam wasn’t the kind of man who stayed single long.
“No, she’s not moved in yet. But she’s got some clothes and stuff there. And she stays the night a lot.”
“Okay, so the moving in is still in the talking stages. It’s complicated when people are starting new relationships. It’s not like being married and settled.”
And kids were a big complication, whether they deserved to be or not.
“I’m his son!” Drew said, staring angrily out the window. “I’m supposed to be part of stuff. And Dad just dumped me. He’s busy with Tiffany now, and I’m supposed to be okay with that. He said I’m being a baby about it, and you’ll do the same thing when you meet someone.”
“That isn’t true,” she said. But a boyfriend would complicate things, divide her attention. “And I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I’ve got friends at school who have stepparents,” he said. “I’m not an idiot. I know how this works.”
“You’re twelve, and you know very little of how the world works,” she retorted.
“Well, Dad said that this was grown-up stuff, and that I needed to come back to be with you, like I’m some kind of baby,” Drew said.
Jen winced. “Spending time with your mom doesn’t make you a baby. I’m your mother. I take care of you. We’re a family.”
“Yeah, and Dad’s my father. He’s supposed to do that, too,” Drew shot back.
What could she say? Should she defend Sam for acting like his son didn’t matter? Or was she supposed to tell Drew how she really felt about the situation? That didn’t seem healthy. Drew needed parental support, not to be stuck in the middle of an argument. Drew hadn’t chosen this divorce, but he was the one splitting his time between parents and feeling like he’d just been punted out of his father’s Christmas.
“Drew, we get to have Christmas together,” she said, reaching over to pat his knee. “And I, for one, am happy about that. So let’s just enjoy it!”
Drew didn’t answer, and Jen pulled out of the parking spot and headed back to the road.
“You’re going to love the house,” she said as she pulled into traffic. “It’s this beautiful old mansion that’s almost a hundred years old. The videos you saw just don’t do it justice. You’ll see what I mean. And that’s where we’re going to be living.”
“What’s my room like?” he asked.
“It’s on the third floor. There’s a bathroom between my bedroom and yours, so you get a bit of privacy. It’s not a very big room, but it has a great view out over the front yard. It makes you feel like you could be some fancy person from the n
ineteen twenties.”
“But we aren’t rich,” he said.
“No, we aren’t,” she agreed. “I’m just saying—” Jen sighed. He wasn’t willing to be cajoled, either.
“Did your dad let you open your presents early?” she asked instead.
“Yeah. He got me a laptop for school, and an Xbox.”
Sam hadn’t mentioned the new Xbox to her, and she felt a wave of annoyance. She didn’t want Drew burying himself in video games. He was the kind of kid who could just sink into it and forget talking about his feelings all together.
“That’s nice,” she said, trying to sound brighter than she felt.
“Can I set the Xbox up when we get home?” he asked.
“Not right away,” she replied. “I want to show you around first. Besides, we’re going to have some time limits for that Xbox. Heads up.”
Drew went silent again, and she glanced over at him, noting the irritable look on his face. The snow crunched under her tires as she pulled to a stop at an intersection, then eased forward again.
“You know, when I was a little girl, your Aunt Lisa and I used to love when we drove past that old mansion—”
“Yeah, you told me this story before,” Drew said, then glanced toward her with a sliver of caution. “No offense.”
“You know what, Drew?” Jen said, her patience at an end. “I’m going to need you to drop the attitude, okay? This isn’t easy for me, either, but I’m doing my best! You’re right—things are different. Your dad and I are divorced. We live in different cities. Dad is moving on with some twenty-two-year-old who could just about be your sibling—”
“I like Tiffany fine!” Drew retorted.
“Well, great. I’m glad,” she snapped. “But this is going to be your life here in Mountain Springs. You’re going to be attending school here. I’m here! So maybe you could stop being so negative and look at the bright side!”
Because he certainly seemed capable of doing that with Tiffany.
Drew sank into a sullen silence for the rest of the drive back to the house, and a certain heaviness swelled in Jen’s chest. She’d been so looking forward to seeing her son today, but he obviously wasn’t happy about being here with her. Sam had already warned her that if Drew wasn’t content in Mountain Springs, then he’d go for custody.
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