Love on the Lifts (6 page)

J
oe surprised the heck out of me by not heading out the door as soon as it was clear of customers stampeding inside. Instead he shucked off his ski jacket, hung it on the coat rack in the corner, shoved up the sleeves on his sweatshirt, revealing those amazing forearms, and said, “Tell me what to do.”

The task that required the least amount of instruction was taking orders, so I gave him a pad of paper and a pencil and set him off to find out what kind of brew the people wanted. Aunt Sue and Paige joined us.

I was mixing chocolate with warm milk—Aunt Sue's
secret
ingredient. Real whole milk, which was a total surprise coming from someone who thought nothing of tossing freshly squeezed
asparagus juice into her morning shake. I'd have thought she'd go with skim milk, but nope—whole all the way. And she definitely doesn't believe in using those hot chocolate mixes that require water.

“Hot chocolate should be sinful, and I don't believe in sinning in half measures.” Her words, not mine.

So I stood at the back of the counter adding two scoops of chocolate powder and eight ounces of whole milk—warmed on a burner, not in a microwave. I stirred until the powder was dissolved—hand-stirring was another secret—dropped in mini-marshmallows, and set the mug on the proper tile that identified the type of hot chocolate inside. A section of the back counter was comprised of rows of blue tiles, etched with the name of the chocolate that went there. Aunt Sue had efficiency down to an art form.

Joe grabbed the mugs and took them to the appropriate customers. Clockwork. We were in complete sync. I was amazed.

During one brief lull, he leaned over to me and whispered, “I meant to ask you earlier.
Paige Turner? That can't be her real name.”

I peered over my shoulder at Paige before looking back at Joe and shaking my head. “No. My theory is that she's in the witness protection program. Maybe she got to pick her own name and said, ‘I want to be Paige Turner working in a bookstore at a small ski resort.'”

Joe chuckled. “I guess that's a better explanation than having parents with a wicked sense of humor.”

“It's only wicked if they'd known she was going to work in a bookstore.”

“Good point.” He grabbed the mug of Delightful Decadence and walked away. No, it wasn't exactly a walk. It was more of a swagger, brimming with confidence.

And confident was surely what he was. He'd never worked here before, but the customers couldn't tell from looking at him. He smiled and chatted and took their orders as though he'd been doing it all his life.

I was impressed. He was really quite charming, and I thought his ability to fit in would probably serve him well if he did ever go to work for the FBI or the CIA. Watch out, bad
guys. Joe would have their number, charming them into confessing their illegal activities.

Twilight had arrived by the time the crowd diminished enough so that Joe and I could leave.

“Don't forget about the party,” Paige called out as Joe and I were walking out the door.

I waved back at her. “We won't. See you soon.”

“Both of you!”

I looked back at her and gave her a thumbs-up sign. When Joe and I were on the sidewalk, walking up the hill toward the condo, I said, “Paige has the hots for you.”

Joe stopped walking. I stopped as well and looked at him.

“You're kidding.”

I shook my head and smiled. “Nope. She told me.”

I wasn't sure if he was blushing or if it was the cold breeze chapping his cheeks.

“Maybe I'll skip the party.”

“Why?”

“You think I want to get involved with someone in the witness protection program?”

I laughed. “That's just my theory. Besides, if you get close to her, maybe you can learn the truth about her name.”

“What's it worth to you?”

I stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

“For me to go undercover, to get the information you want.”

I rolled my eyes and gave him an impatient look. “Don't do it for me. Do it for yourself, because you're interested in her.”

“Only I'm not. So I guess we'll never learn the truth about her past.”

He started walking again and I fell into step beside him.

“How can you not be interested in her?”

“How can you be interested in Brad?”

Okay. I wasn't expecting that. Now
I
was the one to stop walking, my heart pounding hard enough to start an avalanche. Joe stopped as well, turned slowly, an eyebrow raised as though he actually expected me to answer his nosy question. I won't even go into why his question was nosy and mine wasn't, but it had something to do with my heart being involved and his not.

“My interests are none of your business,” I finally managed through the lump of emotion that had settled in my throat.

“And my lack of interest in Paige is none of yours.”

“You don't have to get so touchy. I wasn't trying to butt into your business. I just thought you might want to know that someone thinks you're hot.”

“Well, I don't need you doing any matchmaking for me. I happen to be very interested in someone else around here.”

“Then you should have asked her to the movie.”

“I did.”

“And she said no?”

Sighing, he shook his head. “Forget it.”

He started trudging up the hill again.

I hurried after him. “Did you meet her on the slopes?”

“None of your business.”

“Does Sam know about her?”

“None of your business.”

“If you point her out to me tomorrow, I'll put in a good word for you.”

“I don't need you putting in a good word for me.”

He was walking so fast that I was having a difficult time keeping up. He really was in good shape. He had to do aerobic workouts in addition to the weights or whatever it was he did to keep those firm muscles.

“Oh, wait, maybe she'll be at the party tonight,” I said. Wouldn't that be interesting? I wondered if I needed to warn Paige so she wouldn't get her heart broken.

“She will be,” Joe said.

“How do you know?”

“I just know.”

“You sure ‘just know' a lot of stuff.”

“Yep.”

“Maybe you can make a move on her at the party.”

“I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“She's not interested in me.”

“How can she not be interested?”

He spun around. I came up short, almost barreling into him.

“You tell me,” he demanded.

“Tell you what?”

“How she cannot be interested? Or better yet, why
would
she be interested?”

“You're nice.”

He grimaced. “So is my grandmother.”

“You're hardly a grandmother. Dress up tonight. That's what I'm doing. Then pour on the charm.”

“That's your plan for the night? To pour on the charm?”

I heaved a sigh. “I'm going to try.” Make a last ditch effort to win Brad over.

Joe slowly shook his head. “You don't have to try, Kate. Or dress up. You're terrific just the way you are.”

I couldn't believe I was going to say this, but it wasn't as though I was revealing anything he didn't already know. “Then why doesn't Brad notice me?”

“He's an idiot.”

I barked out a bit of laughter. “So is the girl you met on the slopes.”

“I didn't say I met her on the slopes.”

“Then where did you meet her?”

“How come I can't get it through your head—
none of your business!” He reached down, grabbed a handful of snow, and tossed it at me.

“Hey!”

I rushed past him. Felt snow hit my back. Without stopping, I reached down and scooped up my own handful, packed it together as I ran into the front yard of the condo, then spun around—

And went flying as Joe tackled me to the snow-laden ground. When I tried to gather up snow to toss at him, he grabbed my wrists and held them in place beside my head. He was heavy on top of me, straddling me, but it didn't hurt.

His face was so close to mine that I got a real good look at the color hazel. I was intrigued—by the color and the way he was studying me.

“Don't try to hook me up with anyone, Kate,” he finally said.

I nodded slowly, my breath not having found me yet. “Okay.”

We stayed there, just staring at each other. I was barely aware of the cold beneath me, because I was so aware of the guy on top of me.

“Are you going to let me up?” I eventually asked.

“Is there going to be dancing at that party tonight?”

Where did that question come from? I shrugged as much as I was able. “I don't know.”

“Will you dance with me if there is?”

“Sure.”

He grinned. “Then I'll let you up.”

But he just stayed there, smiling and looking at me, until he finally shook his head and muttered, “Brad really is an idiot.”

Then he rolled off me, got to his feet, and pulled me to mine. As we walked up the steps to the condo, I couldn't help wondering if maybe I was an idiot as well.

“H
ot dogs?” Sam asked. “That's your idea of cooking a meal? Hot dogs?”

We were sitting at the dining room table. I glowered at Sam. “We're short on time because we have a party to get ready for. Besides, there's bound to be food there. Consider this a snack.”

“I love hot dogs,” Brad said. He'd come back from Cynthia's shortly after we got home.

“Clean-up should be a breeze,” Joe said.

“Absolutely.” I smiled at Sam. “So there.”

“What are we going to have tomorrow?”

“We were thinking stew,” Allie said.

Sam looked over at her, and I thought she was actually blushing.

“We could put all the ingredients in the crock pot before we leave in the morning, and they'd
simmer all day. If you like stew,” she said.

“Yeah, I like stew,” he said.

“Since when?” I asked.

He glared at me. “It's got meat and potatoes in it, doesn't it?”

“And vegetables.”

“I can pick them out.”

“We don't have to put vegetables in there,” Allie said.

“Yeah, we do,” I said. “Otherwise, it'll be boring.”

“Maybe we should take a vote,” she said.

“I don't think we want our menus determined by a committee.”

“Kate's right,” Leah said. “There's always going to be something that someone doesn't like.”

Allie shrugged. “I just wanted to be fair.”

“Whatever y'all cook will be fine,” Sam said, looking at Allie again.

Whoa! Was this my brother talking?

He looked over at me. “Except for hot dogs.”

“Whatever. Like I said, we were short on time.”

“Just make sure you fix a lot of whatever it
is, because we'll be hungry after skiing all day.”

“We'll take care of it, Sam.”

“Speaking of taking care of things, your aunt sure is taking good care of us,” Leah said. “The pantry, the freezer, they're full of food. I don't think we'll have to do much shopping while we're here.”

“She likes taking care of us,” I told her.

“She's always been like that,” Sam confirmed. “I think because the first time Mom and Dad left us here, Kate cried the entire time.”

“I didn't cry the
entire
time,” I said. “Besides, I was six.”

“Remember the year we sneaked down to the store after she'd gone to sleep and ate all the marshmallows?”

Nodding, I laughed. “I was what? Eight?”

“Yeah. I've never been so sick in my life.”

“I couldn't stand the sight of a marshmallow for the longest time,” I admitted.

“Good times,” Sam said. “We've had lots of good times here. And more to come, starting tonight.”

I shoved back my chair, stood, and grinned at him. “Not until after you clean up.”

 

“What do you think?” I asked. “Is this too much?”

Allie, Leah, and I were all in my bedroom getting ready for the party. We'd decided that was the best way to do it. We'd hog one bathroom and let the guys get ready downstairs.

Leah smiled. “You look great!”

I was wearing a green cowl-necked sweater. The sleeves hugged my arms and went down to my knuckles. I loved the way they covered my hands, leaving only my fingers visible. The sweater itself wasn't too bulky, so my figure wasn't hidden away. I was wearing jeans. It was absolutely too cold to wear a skirt. There wasn't a lot of parking in the heart of the village, so it was impossible to know how far we might have to walk.

Leah and Allie agreed with my assessment of wearing a skirt. They were in jeans, too. And sweaters. Leah wore a red turtleneck sweater, and Allie wore a pink one with fluffy white fur at the collar. Leah with her short, dark hair looked mysterious; Allie with her blonde hair draped around her shoulders looked delicate.

I was somewhere in the middle, not too mysterious, not too delicate. The three of us could be a bedtime story.

I'd applied a hot iron to my hair to try to straighten out some of the natural curl. And I'd used some light green shadow to highlight my eyes.

“I don't look like I'm trolling for guys, do I?” I asked, a little unsure about the makeup, worried that it was a bit too much.

“You mean like Cynthia next door?”

I grimaced. “Yeah.”

“You gotta fight fire with fire,” Leah said.

“So I look like a skank?”

“No,” my friends both assured me at the same time.

“You look like you want guys to notice you,” Leah said. “But we all do, right? That's the whole point of going to a party. To hook up with guys.”

“Right.”

“And tonight is all about getting you with Brad.”

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Was it?

“Right?” Allie asked, as though reading my mind.

“Right.”

“So what's up with you and Joe?” she asked.

“Why would you think there was anything?” I picked up my brush and started dragging it through my hair. It created static electricity, causing the strands to start flying around my head like Medusa's snakes. I should have left well enough alone.

“Maybe the fact that you came in with him before supper and you were both laughing and breathless.”

“Laughing leaves you breathless.”

“Your cheeks were flushed.”

“They were cold. Besides, I told you. He stayed and helped during the rush at the hot chocolate counter.”

“I think he likes you,” Allie said.

“He likes someone, but I don't think it's me. He kinda mentioned her today.” I spun around. “Speaking of kinda liking someone, this morning Aunt Sue told me that she was once in love.”

Leah and Allie smiled as though I'd shared the secret of the century, their eyes huge. “Really? Who is he?”

“I don't know. She wouldn't say. She thought
she was going to marry him.”

“What happened?” Allie asked.

“I don't know. Like I said. She wouldn't say. She was her usual mysterious self.”

“I'll bet there's a picture of him hanging somewhere in her store.”

I stared at Allie. I hadn't thought of that. A lot of the photos did have guys in them. “I'll bet you're right. I've looked at all of them, but not that closely.”

“Tomorrow we'll have to go on a hunt through the shop, study all the photos, and see if we can figure out who he was,” Leah said.

“I'll bet he was hot,” Allie said. “He had to be hot.”

“Maybe he was an artic explorer,” Leah said.

“In which case he'd be cold,” I said.

“Lame, Kate!” Leah shouted.

We were still laughing when we stepped into the living room, ready to go.

And came up short.

Had my stupid brother actually styled his dark hair? And what was this? A button-up shirt? Guess he was hoping to hook up with someone at the party as well. Whoever he ended
up with would have my deepest sympathy.

“What's that stink?” I asked.

“It's some fancy aftershave,” Sam said, jerking his head to the side.

That's when I noticed Joe standing there, grimacing. I grimaced, too. I thought I'd been insulting Sam. Apparently another miscalculation on my part.

“Moves, by Adidas,” Joe mumbled.

“And we're all planning to make some moves tonight,” Sam said. “Let's go.”

“What about Brad?” I asked.

“He already went to get Cyn. They'll meet us there.”

I did my best to hide my disappointment, but since Brad had joined us for supper, I'd mistakenly thought he was back over playing with us. Why didn't he just move next door already?

We all grabbed our jackets and stuffed our bodies into them while heading to the door.

“Are you driving?” I asked Sam.

“Nope. I plan to do some drinking,” Sam said.

“You're not old enough,” I reminded him.

“Never stopped me before.”

“Sam!”

He halted and glared at me. “What? You gonna tattle to Mom and Dad?”

Was I? No. But he didn't know that. Besides, as irritating as my brother was, he was good for one thing: blackmail. And it was payback time for the snowball he'd hit me with yesterday.

“Not if you make a contribution to the Kate-have-a-good-time fund.”

“Ah, Kate, come on. I'm not hurting anyone. I'm a responsible drinker.”

“How can you be responsible if you're breaking the law?”

“I don't drive when I drink. No one gets hurt except me, if I happen to fall flat on my face.”

“You get that drunk?”

“I've got better things to do than discuss my life with you.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “How much?”

“Twenty should do it.”

“Five.”

“Ten.”

He held out the bill that had one of my favorite presidents on it. “You know, Kate, no one likes a snitch.”

I snatched it from his fingers, folded it up, and shoved it into the front pocket of my jeans. “Payback's a bitch, Brother.”

“What?”

“I wouldn't have tattled. But I didn't like getting hit with a snowball yesterday, either. So now we're even.”

He snapped his fingers. “Give it back.”

“Nope. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

“You don't even know what that means.”

“And I suppose you do.”

“Hey, y'all, can we go?” Leah asked. “The cute guys are gonna be taken by the time we get there.”

“No, they won't be,” Sam said. “Because you'll be arriving with them.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please, give us a break!”

Sam jerked open the door. “Let's go.”

We all filed past. He closed and locked the door, and we were on our way. Somehow Sam took the lead with Allie and Leah flanking him, leaving me and Joe trudging along behind them.

I glanced over at Joe. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater and a leather jacket. He
didn't even have the jacket buttoned up. His hands were shoved in the front pockets of his jeans, and he was staring at the sidewalk like he expected it to disappear at any second and he wanted to be prepared. I think he'd styled his hair, too.

“Aren't you cold?” I asked.

“Nope.”

Eyes straight ahead. Jaw clenched. I didn't think the tight muscles in his jaw were because of the cold. Although I could have been wrong.

“Your aftershave doesn't stink. I thought Sam was wearing it. I was just giving him a hard time. It actually smells good.”

He smelled really good, as a matter of fact.

He sliced his gaze over to me. If I'd been a snowman, the heat in his eyes would have turned me into a puddle of melted snow.

“The bottle slipped and splashed too much on me. I didn't want to take time for another shower. If I'd known you and Sam were going to go at it for so long, I would have taken the time.”

“Don't you and your sisters ever pester each other?”

“Sure, but you and Sam are at it constantly.
You should cut the guy some slack.”

“That works two ways you know.”

“Yeah, I know. Your brother's not such a bad guy.”

“You're just saying that because you're his friend.”

“I guess. So since I tossed snow at you earlier, am I going to have to make a contribution to the Kate-have-a-good-time fund?” he asked.

I angled my chin haughtily. “You might. It'll cost you more, though, since you also tackled me to the ground.”

“I'm strapped for cash. We might have to work it out in trade.”

“What kind of trade?”

He gave me a grin that made me think I was in deep trouble.

“We'll work something out. Maybe it'll end up being a good time for us both.”