“Holly?” said a male voice behind her.
A voice she knew as well as Alix’s. Brady Cornell. Speak of the devil. Her heart fluttered and her stomach tensed. Pasting a casual expression on her face, she turned toward him. “Hello, Brady,” she said, sounding breathless to her own ears.
“I tried to catch up with you earlier, but you disappeared.”
His deep baritone voice thrummed through her, and his espresso-brown eyes, which always affected her so, emptied her brain of thought. She forgot all about Alix wanting lunch and that soon she would lose her lease. She forgot everything. “Oh,” she said, wishing she could come up with a clever remark.
“You look good.” His eyes glinted as he looked her over appreciatively. “Really good.”
That he liked what he saw pleased her greatly and made the past few months’ diet and stationary-bike regimen worth the trouble. Inside, she glowed. Outside, she managed a cool smile. “I would hope so, since the last time we saw each other I was huge. Tell me, Brady, what’s the official date TYR takes over the lodge?”
The warmth faded from his eyes. “We’re still working out the details, but if things go as planned, sometime late this summer.”
“You do know that when that happens, I’m out on the street. So are some of my friends.”
He shifted his weight, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I’m sorry.”
The apologetic expression on his face matched the words and bolstered Holly’s hopes. “Then surely there’s something you can do.”
“TYR wants the lodge,” he said. “Without our offer it’ll close its doors. Wouldn’t you rather it stay open?”
Her mother had asked the same question earlier. “Of course I would. Call me a silly optimist, but I know there’s some other way to save the lodge and all the jobs that are going away.”
“If there is, I don’t see it.”
With a sinking feeling, Holly glanced at her family. To her dismay, her mother was watching her and Brady with interest. She groaned.
“What?” Brady followed her gaze. Her mother waved at him and he raised a hand to wave back.
“Don’t do that.” Holly grabbed his arm. His very muscular arm. Unwanted warmth flooded her. She dropped her hand.
“What’s the deal?” he asked, confused.
“Just don’t.”
“Okay.” He shrugged and smiled, instead. Then nodded at Alix, Kirby and Kelly. “Don’t tell me you have three kids now.”
Holly shook her head. “Two of them belong to Aileen and Bill. The girl in the pink dress is mine.”
“She’s cute.”
“Thanks. She turned four today.”
“An Independence Day baby, huh? I’ll bet she likes that.”
“She does. Nobody else gets fireworks on her birthday.” She bit her lip. “I’m trying to give her a good life, Brady.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “With tourism growing, your gift shop will thrive no matter where you move it.”
“Have you checked out the vacant retail spaces lately? There aren’t any.” The people in front of Holly and Brady inched forward, and so did they. “Even if I do find a place, the rents are unbelievably high.”
“Are they?” With a regretful expression he shifted his weight. “You’re a smart, resourceful woman, Holly. You’ll figure out something. Maybe a different line of work.”
“I majored in English,” she said, wishing she’d chosen a different field. “I suppose I could flip burgers or find a receptionist job. But I love running my own shop.”
They were almost at the tent. She glanced around for Aileen and Bill, and waved them over.
“There you are.” Aileen looked curiously from Holly to Brady, no doubt noting their somber faces. Loyal friend that she was, she frowned. “Well, well, if it isn’t the man in charge of the TYR-lodge deal. Hello, Brady.”
Bill, himself a businessman, gave his wife a be-nice look, then held out his hand. “It’s been a while.”
Suddenly the wind whipped up, as if Mother Nature, too, disapproved of the sale.
Holly at last reached the tent. She piled food onto three plates. “Well, I should take this to my family before it gets cold. Can you carry one of the plates, Bill?”
“No problem.” He nodded at Brady. “Glad I ran into you, bud. How long are you in town?”
“I leave Sunday afternoon, but I’ll be back and forth over the rest of the summer.”
“You staying at the lodge?”
“Yeah.” Brady rubbed the back of his neck and winced. “See you later.”
“Between the fireworks and reunion activities, no doubt,” Bill said.
Juggling two plates, Bill and Aileen beside her with five more, Holly started for the table.
Now that she’d talked to Brady, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see him again. He couldn’t help her, but her body didn’t seem to care.
Darned if she wasn’t as attracted to him as always.
*
LATER THAT NIGHT, while Alix, who had napped during the lull between the afternoon’s festivities and now, waved a sparkler in the twilight and squealed with delight, Holly and her mother sat nearby on a plaid wool blanket.
Dozens of children throughout the huge meadow surrounding Canyon Lake repeated the activity, and a haze of smoke floated through the air. In the distance, at the edge of the lake, a group of men worked to make sure the fireworks were ready. The mountain lake, which was a good twenty miles from town, drew families from Silver Cliff and several neighboring areas for an evening of spectacular fireworks.
Yet Holly had never seen such a crowd. Alumni and their families, in town for the reunion, she guessed. There were so many that the reunion committee had hired school buses to transport them.
Alix’s sparkler fizzled out. She tossed it onto a pile of used sparklers, then hugged herself. “Brrr, it’s cold.”
“Canyon Lake is always chilly at night,” Holly said, glad she’d convinced her daughter to trade her dress for a warm shirt and pants. “You need your jacket.” She rummaged through a bag and pulled out Alix’s quilted blue parka. “Put that on and zip up.” Alix did, and Holly added, “The fireworks won’t start for a while, so how about another sparkler?”
As she reached for the box, she glanced around. So many people. Who would Brady sit with tonight?
“He’ll be here,” her mother said.
“Who?”
“You know who—Brady Cornell.”
Her mother had mentioned his name several times since the picnic. Holly had shared their conversation about the lodge and had done a good job pretending she wasn’t attracted to him. She had no interest in repeating herself tonight. She had no interest in Brady, period. “Shall I light your sparkler?” she asked Alix.
Alix turned her attention to the clearing nearby, where dozens of kids twirled sparklers. “There’s Jason and Felicia and Kenisha. Can I do it with them?”
“Sure,” Holly said. “That’ll be fun.”
As she stood, her mother pointed straight ahead. “Oh, there he is. Yoo-hoo, Brady!”
Holly cringed. He was with two of the guys he’d played football with, Todd Roberts and Jeff Langston, both divorced. He said something to his friends, then left them and strode forward. For a large, solid man he moved with a fluid grace that made watching him a pleasure. Holly caught her breath. No man should look that good in jeans and a fleece vest.
“Come on, Mommy, let’s do the sparklers with Felicia and Jason and Kenisha,” Alix said, tugging her hand.
“In a minute.” She wasn’t about to leave her mother alone with Brady.
Looking a tad wary, he nodded at Holly, then at her mother. “Hello, Mrs. Stevens. It’s been a while. You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Thank you, Brady.” Though it was growing dark, Holly thought her mother flushed. “You have. You’re grown from a boy into a handsome man. Holly was just saying that she’d love it if you joined us for the fireworks.”
“I did not!” Holly said, sounding to her own ears like a petulant teen.
“Who are you?” Alix craned her head upward and stared.
“An old friend of your mom’s. Brady Cornell.” Brady hunkered down and held out his hand.
“Mommy?”
“You can shake his hand. It’s okay.”
With big eyes and a sober face, Alix shook. “Hello, Mr. Cornell.”
“Happy birthday. Is all this fun for you?”
At the mention of her big day, she brightened. “My cake and presents were. Mommy and Nana gave me an American Girl doll. I left her at home ’cause I don’t want her to get dirty. We’re also celebrating ’merica’s birthday.”
“Ah.”
“Why don’t I take Alix to do her sparklers,” Holly’s mother said.
Leaving Holly alone with Brady? She shook her head. “You don’t—”
“I want Nana to take me,” Alix said in a firm voice.
Holly’s mother looked pleased. “There isn’t much time before the fireworks start, so let’s hurry.” She flicked on a penlight, then aimed it at Brady. “We really would love for you to enjoy the fireworks with us. Say goodbye to Mr. Cornell, Alix.”
“Bye, Mr. Cornell.”
Holly’s mother and daughter hurried off, leaving her alone with Brady.
*
ALONE WITH HOLLY, Brady shifted his weight. In the growing darkness around them, families laughed and talked, but she didn’t say a word. She radiated tension, all of it directed at him.
Well, hell. He scratched his jaw and searched for something to say. “Your mother’s pretty obvious,” was all he could think of.
She responded with a tight smile. “It’s embarrassing.”
Then she glanced at the plaid blanket spread over the ground beside her. After several seconds Brady realized she wasn’t going to speak again. He hated that she was angry with him.
Normally he was a private man, but there was no place else to talk, and things needed to be said. “You’re gonna stay mad at me about the sale, aren’t you?”
Her eyes glittered. “I can’t help it, Brady. If things were reversed and you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you be upset?”
As he thought about that, he stared at his sneakers. “Yeah, I guess I would. But we’re going to see a lot of each other this weekend, and this is our last reunion at Silver Cliff High. For old times’ sake, we ought to agree to get along through Sunday.” For some reason that was important, and he didn’t hide his feelings as he looked at her straight on. “How about it, Holly?”
After a second of silence she sighed. “I’ll try, Brady. But come Monday morning…”
“Since I check out Sunday afternoon, okay.”
He let out a relieved breath. He could go now, find Todd and Jeff, who were someplace in the crowd. Instead he stayed right where he was. “Alix is a charmer, a real girlie girl.”
“Don’t I know it. I had to force her to wear pants tonight instead of a dress.” Holly smiled the way she used to in high school, a full-faced grin that crinkled the corners of her eyes.
Brady’s heart stuttered in his chest. He wanted to see that smile again, even if it was almost too dark to appreciate it. “So that’s how it all starts. Someday…” He shook his head and grinned. “Watch out, boys.”
This time she laughed. “Not if I can help it.”
He hadn’t heard that sound in years. His own grin widened. Any minute now, the first firework would explode over the lake, and it was time to meet up with his buddies. “It’s too dark to find Todd and Jeff. Is it okay if I watch the fireworks with you?”
He hadn’t meant to ask, half hoped she’d say no. And wished he could see her eyes.
“I suppose,” she said as she sat down on the edge of the blanket.
Brady knew where Todd’s car was. He’d meet his buds there after the show. “Will Alix mind?”
“No. You were good with her.”
“Was I?” Careful to keep his distance, he sat down on the opposite side of the blanket. “I don’t have much experience with kids.”
“You like them, though. That’s obvious.” She wrapped her arms around her knees and angled her head, her expression lost in shadow. “I’m surprised you don’t have any of your own.”
“I wouldn’t mind a kid or two, but first I’d need to get married again. Something I don’t see happening.”
“Why not?”
“Once was enough.”
“Was it that bad?”
“Worse.” Jan had married him for his status as a football pro, nothing more. But he wasn’t interested in hashing over old business. “What about you, Holly? If you don’t mind my asking, what happened to Alix’s father? All I know is what I heard at the last reunion, that he was a pro skier and out of the picture. Was he married or something?”
“I’d never get involved with a married man,” she chided, sounding insulted. “Vince was here on vacation, staying at the lodge. We didn’t know each other long enough to fall in love. By the time I discovered I was pregnant he was in Austria, skiing. He thought I should have an abortion, but I just couldn’t. He paid my medical bills, and that was that.”
“No child support?” The guy sounded like a first-class jerk to Brady.
Holly shook her head. “I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t want him barging into our lives later and demanding his rights. We signed a binding agreement stating that he waived his parental rights, and in return I waived my rights to support payments.”
“His loss. That’s some kid he’s missing out on.”
“Thank you.”
Her pleased tone warmed him. Damned if he didn’t want to put his arm around her and pull her close. But there were hundreds of people around, including her mother and daughter. Besides, underneath the pleasantries she was mad at him. And she wanted a husband. No, cozying up to Holly was a bad idea.
Alix and Holly’s mother came back. If Mrs. Stevens was surprised to find Brady sitting on the blanket, she didn’t act it. She glanced from Holly to Brady and beamed. He pretended not to notice.
Holly did the same, her gaze on Alix. “Did you have fun, sweetie?”
“Uh-huh. Nana let me do two sparklers at once!” The little girl flopped onto the blanket beside her mother. “Hi, Mr. Cornell. The fireworks are about to start,” she said as if his being there was natural.
At the moment, it did feel good. Brady hoped the warmth between him and Holly lasted through the weekend.
After that it was back to reality.
Chapter Three
As the fireworks wound down, Brady glanced at Holly. She was shooting tender looks at Alix, who had stretched out and fallen asleep sometime during the display. She was crazy about her daughter. Well, she was a neat kid.
Relaxing on the blanket, not close enough to touch but close enough to fuel some hot fantasies, was great. Brady couldn’t help thinking what his life would have been like if he and Holly had stayed together and Alix was theirs. But they’d broken up a week before the senior prom. Since then they rarely saw each other.
Now his company was about to take away her livelihood. Brady felt rotten about that. He wished he could figure out a way to change things, but he was a pawn in TYR’s frenzy to add hotels to their fast-growing chain. The endless acquisitions game was getting old and he was tired of feeling like pond scum. It’d be good to move up the ladder and be next in line as CEO, a position where he could work on changing the corporate policy of closing the shops that hotels often housed and laying off employees.
When the spectacular display ended, Holly looked his way and brushed her hands together, as if she was finished with the chore of acting nice. He didn’t blame her, but he hoped she’d honor their agreement and stay civil through the weekend.
“Best fireworks I’ve seen since I lived here,” he said.
“Spectacular.” Her mother yawned. “We enjoyed having you with us, Brady. You’re welcome anytime.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Stevens.
”
Holly began to pack their things into a bag. “You’d better go find Todd and Jeff,” she said, her attention on the bag.
“Holly!” her mother said. “Don’t be rude.”
Thank you, Mrs. Stevens. “Yeah, Holly. You need me to carry Alix to your car. Then I’ll meet my friends.”
“I wasn’t being rude.” Holly raised her head defensively. “I don’t want to keep you from your friends is all. Alix is heavy, but if you want to carry her, that’d be great. Then I won’t have to wake her up and make her walk.”
Brady lifted the little girl, then pushed to his feet. Holly was mistaken—Alex wasn’t heavy. Even in a dead sleep she weighed next to nothing. “Where’s your car?”
Holly shook out the blanket. “The row farthest away from the road, I’m afraid,” she replied as she and her mother folded and stuffed it into a second bag.
“No problem. Todd’s car isn’t far from there.”
As they made their way over the trampled meadow grass, men, women and children passed them, some talking in low voices, others laughing, others silent and sleepy.
Alix mumbled and snuggled against Brady’s chest. Strands of her hair tickled under his chin. His chest expanded with feeling. Was this what his friend Mickey meant about kids making a man feel protective and soft at the same time?
“It’s a long drive back,” Mrs. Stevens said. “I’d better visit the Porta-Potty. I’ll meet you at the car.”
“I really appreciate this,” Holly said as she and Brady reached the car. She unlocked the back door.
While Brady gently placed Alix on the seat, Holly stowed the bags in the trunk. Then she buckled in her daughter, straightened and closed the door.
“Thanks again, Brady, from both Alix and me.”
“My pleasure.” The urge to kiss Holly grabbed him. He touched her cheek. “I enjoyed myself tonight.”
Though it was dark in the makeshift parking area, headlights of departing cars lit her face. Her expression was open and warm. “Me, too.”
She tipped up her chin a fraction and he knew she’d let him kiss her, even if she was mad at him. But the night was full of nosy eyes, and her mom would be back soon…. He leaned down and brushed her lips, nothing hot, just a friendly good-night kiss.
A Baby On The Way Page 15
