Listen to Your Heart (17 page)

“Apparently it was touch and go for the
driver, but we checked just now when we came in and it looks like he’ll pull
through.”

She grasped Morgan’s hand. “Make sure
your father knows that, will you? I have a feeling that he thinks the other
driver died, and he’s been trying to avoid upsetting me.”

“Mom, will you worry about yourself for
once?” Dale smiled to soften her words. “Dad’s a big boy.”

“Yes, I know, but do this for me, will
you?” She smiled at them both. “I’m eager to hear all about Whistler, but let’s
wait until I get home. I was pushing to get out of here today, but they
wouldn’t hear of it.” She sighed, and lay back on the pillows. “Maybe
tomorrow.”

Boomer was pacing up and down the
hallway when they left the room.

“How is she?” he asked, his brow
furrowed. “What do you think?”

“Dad!” Dale laughed, hoping to ease his
tension. “You’ve been here almost all day. You know she’s much better.”

Morgan grasped his hand, forcing him to
be still. “We checked on the other driver when we came in and he didn’t die
after all. Mom senses that you’re worried about that, so make sure she knows
that you’re in the loop, okay?”

“That’s a relief.” Some of the tension
left his face. “My lawyer has already contacted me and he thinks we should sue,
but it’s a young chap with two young children; suing would only create
hardships for him.” He grinned. “As a matter of fact, I might give him a car
from the used car lot.”

“Great idea.” Dale gave him a hug. “He’s
bound to tell someone. You can’t pay for advertising like that.”

He pulled back. “Well, listen to you! A
businesswoman in the family.”

Dale gave him a shy grin. “A friend of
mine is looking into buying a business. We’ve been doing a lot of
brainstorming.”

“Good for you. And now, if you’ll both
excuse me, I want to get back to my better half.” He disappeared through the
door of the private room.

* * *

“Andrew, really. I can manage.” Cynthia
Dempsey only called her husband Andrew when he tested her patience, preferring
‘Drew’. She never called him ‘Boomer’.

“Just trying to help,” he said, opening
the front door with a flourish.

Morgan, Dale, and the three boys stood
by, waiting to catch their mother’s reaction.

“Oh, children,” she said, eyes gleaming
with tears. “It’s lovely.”

And it was. An eight-foot tree stood in
its usual corner, glittering with lights and ornaments that had been in the
family since Morgan could remember. Christmas-themed bowls that were brought
out once a year held an assortment of nuts and candies, and chunky candles were
placed strategically around the room, their flickering light glowing softly.

“We built a fire.” Grant and Gareth
spoke together. The entire family knew how Cynthia loved to sit in front of the
fire. She went there now, lowered herself into her favourite chair and put her
feet up on the ottoman.

“It’s good to be home,” she said,
meeting the eyes of each person in the room. “The doctor says that as far as he
can tell I’ll have no long-term effects and that the best thing for me right
now is rest. So I’d like you to get on with your own lives. You’ve all spent
enough time worrying about me.” She smiled up at Morgan. “But I really would
like a decent cup of tea. I don’t know what they use at the hospital, but it’s
never quite the same.”

Morgan’s brothers went downstairs to
their man cave. She’d heard the three of them murmuring earlier about dates
later on tonight. Her father wandered into his home office, no doubt checking
up on company business.

“Girls, I’d like to talk to you please.”
Cynthia gestured to both of them and they drew closer.

“You know that I appreciate your coming
home, but you both have jobs. This is the busy season, and I’m sure the hotel
needs both of you.” Her tone softened and she gripped the mug of tea in both
hands. “I love you both, but you need to go back now. It’s great of you to make
dinner, but if I know my neighbours, the freezer is already half full of
casseroles, right?”

Morgan and Dale looked at each other and
laughed.

“So, I won’t need to worry about meals
for a while, and believe it or not, the twins have learned how to use the
dishwasher.” She paused to catch her breath. “So I think you should go back
tomorrow.” They started to protest and she held up a hand. “I know how kind
your employer was to fly you out here. Well, now it’s your turn to repay his
kindness and get back to work.”

Dale nodded. “You’re right, I suppose.
The hotel’s occupancy rate is always high, but starting next week, I think
we’re at a hundred percent through the New Year.” She turned to Morgan. “Isn’t
that right?”

Morgan nodded, deep in thought. “Yes,
and Adrian can’t cover for me forever. The concierge desk is bound to be busy.”

Her mother watched her carefully. “Is
that the young man who got the position instead of you?”

“Yes, but it’s a long story.”

Cynthia Dempsey removed her feet from
the ottoman and tucked them up onto the chair. “Sit here and tell me about it.”

Morgan was aware of Dale drifting away
as she sat down.

“I know how disappointed you must be
about this, but I’m proud of the way you’ve handled yourself. You sound like
you don’t harbour any ill feelings toward this young man...Adrian did you say
his name is?”

Morgan looked down, trying to hide the
blush she could feel flooding her face, but her mother knew her too well.

“Tell me about him,” she said softly.

Morgan looked into her mother’s eyes.
“It’s complicated, Mom.” She heard her own words and recognized them for what
they were...an avoidance of the truth.

“He’s really nice. I met him the first
night I checked in.” A sigh escaped her lips. He’s tall, and good-looking
without being flashy. But most importantly, he’s what you would call an
old-fashioned gentleman.”

Her mother made a murmur of approval.
“But?”

“Okay, his last name is Zimmerman and
his family owns the hotel chain.”

Her mother looked at her steadily. “And
that makes a difference how?”

“You sound like Dale.”

“She’s a wise woman. Really, Morgan,
what possible difference does it make? When I met your father, I knew he was
going to be a wealthy man one day, but that didn’t stop me from getting to know
him. The only thing that would have made a difference was if he was involved
with someone else. Now that...” She stopped abruptly. “Is that it? He has
someone else?”

Morgan raised both hands, and then let
them drop. “I don’t know. I asked him, but he never really answered the
question.”
“What does your heart tell you?”

Morgan closed her eyes. “I don’t know.”

“I think you do.” Cynthia Dempsey
reached for her tea and regarded her daughter over the rim.

“What do you mean?”

“Give him time, Morgan. I’m not saying
you should be a doormat and wait for him to call, like we did when I was
young.” She took a sip of tea and set the mug down carefully. “Besides, you
work with him; it will be hard for you to avoid each other.”

“I just don’t want to fall in love with
him and then have him go back home to Switzerland.”

“And what would you do if that
happened?”

“I’d survive, I suppose.”

Her mother nodded. “Yes, you would.” She
stared into the fireplace for a moment. “And now I think I’d like to go to bed.
It’s been a long day.” She stood up; tall, erect and determined. Morgan
realized that she’d never really known her mother. “Now go and book your
flights.” She touched her daughter on the cheek. “And keep me informed, would
you?”

“Your Mother would like a cup of hot
chocolate.” Boomer burst into the kitchen and Dale looked up. “Can you show me
how?”

“I’ll do it. I’d like to talk to her for
a minute anyway.” Dale poured some milk into a measuring cup and popped it into
the microwave. “Dad.” She laid a hand on his arm. “Don’t tire her out by
hovering too much, okay?”

“I’m not...” He stopped. “I am, aren’t
I?” For the first time that she could remember, Boomer Dempsey actually looked
embarrassed.

Dale gave him a loving smile. “She’s
doing really great, but she worries when she thinks she’s not taking care of you.
So act relaxed, okay? Even if you’re not.”

“Relaxed.” Boomer nodded. “I can do
that.”

“Okay, good.” Dale hid a smile as she stirred
the hot milk into the chocolate mixture. “Now give me a few minutes with her
before you come busting in, okay?”

“You’re tough,” he said with a laugh.
“But okay.”

* * *

“Hi, Mom. I brought your hot chocolate.”

“Dale.” Cynthia set aside the book she’d
been attempting to read. “I was just thinking about you.” She patted the edge
of the bed and moved over a bit. “Sit down.”

She took a sip of the hot chocolate.
“Your Dad didn’t make this, did he?”

Dale chuckled. “No.”

Cynthia studied the young woman she
loved as much as her own daughter.

“Who is he?” she asked after a moment.
She set down the hot chocolate and reached for Dale’s hand. “I can see the
happiness shining in your eyes.”

Dale didn’t deny it. “His name is
Chance. Chance Larson.”

Cynthia nodded. “I like him already.”

“He’s twenty-eight, and he’s from Lake
Louise originally. He’s the manager of the ski shop that’s attached to the
hotel.”

“And you love him.”

Dale hesitated for a moment. “Yes, I do.
I know it seems awfully quick. He met me at the bus depot when I arrived, and
that was it.” She traced the pattern on the duvet with a finger. “Do you think
it’s possible to fall in love with someone that fast?”

Cynthia squeezed her hand. “I fell in
love with Drew the first moment I saw him.”

Dale spoke softly; almost to herself. “I
keep thinking that something is going to go wrong. That he’ll wake up one
morning and realize he doesn’t want me. But he’s always there, steady as a
rock.”

“I know this is personal, but has he
told you he loves you?”

“No, but I think he wants to.” Dale
lowered her eyes. “That first day, I told him I didn’t do relationships.”

“And what did he say?”

Dale laughed. “He said that was a good
thing. Less competition for him.”

“He sounds like my kind of guy.”

Dale looked up, her eyes luminous. “I
love him. A lot.”

“Then that’s all that matters. We can’t
undo the past, Dale, but this man sounds like your future. Listen to your
heart. I told Morgan the same thing. Don’t deny yourself this chance at
happiness.”

Dale gave her mother a gentle hug. “I
love you, Mom. You don’t know how much.”

Cynthia Dempsey’s eyes filled with tears
and she touched her heart. “Thank you, my dear. I love you, too.”

* * *

“They go on forever,” said Morgan,
looking out the window. The Rockies stretched into the distance, bold and
rugged, even when draped with a blanket of snow.

Dale looked up from her Kindle. “When I
was a kid, I thought that the Rockies were a string of mountains, one after the
other, that ran from the top of Alberta down into the States.”

“They’re beautiful.” Morgan’s voice was
wistful and Dale gave her a curious look.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You’ve been
quiet since last night.”

“I talked to Mom about Adrian. What she
said makes a lot of sense.” She turned in her seat. “You know, I’m looking at
her differently since all this happened. She has more backbone than I
realized.”

Dale raised her eyebrows. “You’ve always
thought she was a bit of a wimp. But you couldn’t have been farther from the
truth.” She turned off her Kindle and closed the cover.

“When we were young, you were a solid
sleeper. You’d fall asleep and not wake up until Mom called us to get ready for
school. But I wasn’t so lucky, and as a result, I overheard a lot of
conversations.” She downed the last of her coffee, then continued. “That’s the
nice way of putting it. Actually, I eavesdropped. I’d sit in the hallway by the
stairs and listen to what Mom and Dad were talking about.” Her attention
drifted for a moment, then she reeled herself back in.

 “Your mother fought like crazy to have
me live with you. Boomer was dead set against it. He was afraid I’d be a bad
influence. I can understand that; I was full of anger back then. But she was
adamant. As far as she was concerned, I was going to stay and...let’s see, what
was her favourite expression? ‘No two ways about it’.” She shot a quick
sideways glance at Morgan. “That’s why I refused to be adopted. For a long time
I thought he didn’t want me. Foolish, I realize that now. It wasn’t that he
didn’t want
me
, it was just that he was trying to protect you.” She was
silent for a moment. “So you see, your mother is a tough cookie, and she’s
smart, too.”