Sleigh Bells in the Snow (23 page)

“Anytime you need puppy sitting, I’m a willing volunteer.” She couldn’t believe she’d said that. Puppy sitting? It was something she wouldn’t have thought of a few days earlier.

She felt a stab of guilt. She wondered if Elizabeth would have been so warm and supportive had she known how Kayla had spent the night.

“So—” As the door closed behind Elizabeth, Brenna planted a fresh mug of coffee in front of Kayla and folded her arms. “Tell us everything. Is he alive, or have you left him naked and unconscious?”

Kayla stared at her.

“Of course he is alive.” Élise snorted. “Any woman with eyes can see Jackson is a man of strength and stamina. It is why she has black circles under her eyes. I am guessing that right now he is lying there, wondering why she ran out on him. Why
did
you run out on him? Me, I prefer to wake up slowly. But I like morning sex very much.”

Kayla felt her face heat. “I really don’t—”

Brenna planted herself in the chair across from her. “Élise and I covered for you. The least you can do is give us the details.”

“I don’t want details. I am not a voyeur.” Élise put the bowl to one side to rest. “Or maybe I do want details. Jackson has so much sex appeal. He would be an exceptional lover, I think. Mmm. Give us details.”

Kayla clutched her mug, feeling more vulnerable than she had when she was talking about her mother.

She didn’t do details. She didn’t do
this.
Have sex with a man, all night, and wake next to him in the morning. She hadn’t had time to think it through or rationalize it. She certainly wasn’t ready to talk about it with anyone.

“I don’t know what makes you think—”

“Two things...” Élise lifted a heavy based pan from the cupboard. “First, the look of panic in your eyes when Elizabeth asked you what time Jackson left, and second, the slight redness on your neck, caused by the scrape of stubble over sensitive flesh.”

“Jackson came round to pick up Maple—”

“But he stayed for you. And judging by the fact you slunk up to the door with Maple this morning, I am guessing you crept out before he woke.”

“I didn’t slink.” Kayla caught the look they gave her and rolled her eyes. “Okay, yes, I left! I— It was just one night. I didn’t know what I was going to say when he woke up. I still don’t know.”

Élise looked confused. “Why is that so difficult to find something to say? You say ‘Great sex, Jackson.’ Unless it wasn’t great sex, in which case you say ‘Boring sex, Jackson, next time just leave the pizza and I’ll eat it by myself.” She oiled the pan. “But I’m sure it was great sex. If it weren’t for the fact we work together, I might have been tempted myself. Except for the complication of Sean.”

“Sean?” Brenna stared at her. “What does Sean have to do with anything? He hasn’t been home in months.”

“No.” Élise tilted the pan. “I hope that isn’t because of what we did.”

“Because of—” Brenna was gaping. “What did you do?”

“Last time he was home we had a crazy night of satisfying sex—” Élise increased the heat under the pan “—which is another reason why Jackson is off-limits.”

Brenna put her mug down slowly. “You had sex with Sean? Jackson’s brother?”

“Why are you using that tone? It was not a big deal. Just one night. In the meadow next to the lake. Normally I think outdoor sex is overrated— Brenna, watch that pan for a moment.” Élise sped across the kitchen and pulled a tub of berries out of the fridge. “But with Sean it was not the case. He is very sexy and he has good hands. I suppose because he’s a surgeon. And he is sophisticated. He enjoys food and knows as much about wine as any Frenchman. I also like that he can talk intelligently about European politics, but of course Jackson can do that, too.”

Brenna lifted her eyebrows. “You talk about politics during sex?”

“Of course not, but I expect conversation afterward.” She gave Kayla a pointed look. “I do not run off.” She pushed the fridge shut with an elegant movement of her shoulder and Brenna shook her head.

“Are you and Sean in touch?”

“No. It was just a onetime thing for both of us and it was a very good one time. He has expert knowledge of anatomy.”

Kayla exchanged glances with Brenna. “But when he comes home for Christmas—won’t that be awkward?”

“Why?” Apparently bemused by the question, Élise emptied the berries into a bowl. “I don’t really understand why it would feel awkward if you both chose to do it.”

“In my case because I slept with a client! Oh, God—” Kayla groaned and dropped her head onto her hands “—how could I have been so unprofessional?”

“He already was your client so what is the problem?” Élise gave a Gallic shrug. “Maybe it would be different if you had sex with him to persuade him to give you the business. Although maybe not. Jackson is so hot I think any woman could be forgiven—” She thought about it for a moment and Brenna laughed.

“You’re an alley cat, Élise.”

“Sex is a normal part of life. Not something to be embarrassed about. Unless the sex is bad, of course. From the dark rings around your eyes I’m assuming the sex wasn’t bad.”

Bad? It had been exceptional. The first time, the second time, the third time...

Kayla dug her hands in her hair. “It was just the one night. Like you and Sean. That’s it. I’m—I’m just going to carry on as if nothing happened.” And she knew the real reason for her panic had nothing to do with being unprofessional and everything to do with the way she felt about Jackson.

Brenna sipped her coffee. “You think he’s going to go along with that?”

She had no idea. She didn’t want to think about it, and she certainly didn’t want to talk about it. She wasn’t used to confiding in other women. She wasn’t used to waking up in a man’s bed.

She wasn’t used to feeling this way.

Élise poured a small amount of pancake mixture onto the center of the pan and spread it until it formed a thin, even layer. “Jackson will do what suits him. He is a man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. He is very strong. I like that about him.”

She liked that about him, too. Along with many other things.

A crepe appeared on the plate in front of her.

“Voila!”
Élise dusted it with sugar and folded it with a flourish. “
Crepe au sucre.
Eat. After a night of sex, you need food.”

She ate, and of course it was delicious because she was fast learning that Élise was incapable of producing anything that wasn’t delicious. To make sure the subject didn’t return to Jackson, she revealed to them her initial ideas for Snow Crystal.

“There are lots of angles I’m going to try with the media, but the biggest one is you—” She looked at Élise. “Female French chef transforming the restaurant experience in this little corner of Vermont—the press will love you.”

“Vraiment?”
Élise’s face brightened. “This is promotion from ‘the French Bitch,’ I think. From bitch to babe. I will be a celebrity, perhaps. I will be rich.”

“You can open your own restaurant in Paris.”

“I wouldn’t want to do that.” Élise turned her back to them and something in her voice and the set of her shoulders made Kayla wonder if there was more to that declaration than a simple statement of future plans.

She remembered how quiet Élise had been when Brenna had suggested a girls’ weekend in Paris.

She remembered what Jackson had said to Darren.

Elise has a home and a job here for as long as she wants.

“I’m glad you’re not going back to Paris,” Brenna muttered, her mouth full, her fork already loaded. “You’re a pain in the butt, but you can cook like no one I’ve ever met. This is delicious, although it kind of cancels out the hour I put in on the treadmill this morning. How can you cook like this and stay so slim?”

“Because I do not eat everything I cook,
imbecile.
”

Kayla decided that Élise’s secrets, whatever they were, belonged to Élise. “I think Walter would also interest the press. A man who was born here, raised here and still runs the place.” She sampled the maple syrup. “I’m a little worried about what he’d say to them. It could backfire in a spectacular fashion. Then there’s Tyler, of course—ex-downhill champion now working here. I need to think how I can use that. It’s got to be a draw for experienced skiers. I think we should put together packages that would appeal to the expert. Ski master class. We could offer a ‘powder date with Tyler O’Neil.’”

“Except that this is Vermont, so the powder is about as predictable as Tyler, which isn’t saying much.” Brenna nursed her coffee and Élise looked thoughtful.

“Tyler is hurt, I think. I don’t mean his leg, I mean his whole self. He loved ski racing. It was his everything. Like my cooking. If I could no longer cook, I would want to boil myself in oil.”

“I want to boil you in oil most of the time.” Brenna picked up her fork. “And Tyler can still ski.”

“But he can’t race and he is so competitive. It would be like me no longer cooking for appreciative guests, just people like you.”

“Thanks. He was the same when we were kids. Had to be first down the mountain.” Brenna took a mouthful of pancake. “Trouble was, Jackson and I wanted to be first down the mountain, too.”

Kayla cleared her plate. “What about Sean?”

“He’s a good skier, but not like Tyler. Sean treats the mountain the way he treats everything else in life—as an intellectual challenge. He waited for us to fall and then picked up the pieces. The family drives him crazy. He doesn’t have Jackson’s patience. And talking of the family, have you talked to Walter about your idea?”

“Not since the meeting on the night I arrived here, which was an unmitigated disaster.” Remembering made her insides quail. But she also knew she needed his support. Kayla stood up. “I’m going to go and do it right now. I’ve been putting it off.”

“Walter can seem fearsome, but underneath he is a pussycat. I love him very much. I will give you pancakes for him. That will put him in an instant good mood.” Élise pulled open a drawer and found a container. “Wait for him to eat exactly two mouthfuls and then hit him with whatever you want to say.”

“Thanks. This was—” Kayla pulled on her coat “—it was fun.”

Brenna waved her fork. “When you’re ready to give us part two, send a text.”

“Part two is me going back to New York. I bought some gear yesterday by the way, so I’ll drop yours back to you soon, Brenna.”

“No hurry.”

It was still early and most of the occupants of Snow Crystal were asleep or occupied with breakfast. Her feet sank into new snow and she thought how peaceful it was, how restful. The cold froze her cheeks. Her breath clouded the air. The sky was a perfect winter blue. The only sounds were the occasional snap of a twig and the whispery rush of snow falling from branches onto the forest floor.

She followed the path to the old sugarhouse that was home to Walter and Alice, grateful for her new boots and jacket. Both were warm and fitted perfectly. As she rounded a bend in the trail she smelled wood smoke and heard the steady thump of an ax connecting with a log. There, in a covered area next to the house, was Walter with a pile of freshly cut logs stacked next to him.

Nerves fluttered in her belly. Everything she was hoping to do for Snow Crystal depended on this man’s support. “Am I disturbing you?”

That fierce blue gaze reminded her so much of Jackson. “So you haven’t gone back to New York then?”

“No.” She stamped her feet to keep warm. “I’m here for a week. Élise sent you pancakes and blueberries.”

“These aren’t real pancakes.” But he removed them carefully from the container and ate them with the little fork Élise had packed, one eye on Kayla. “Thought you might have run out.”

“I’ve never run away from a job.”

“You’ve been talking to people.” Walter pushed the log with his foot. “Asking a lot of questions. Heard you’ve been skiing, too.”

Kayla thought about the amount of time she’d spent horizontal in the snow. “I’m not sure you’d call it skiing. Other people seemed to be on their feet. I was mostly on my face.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “You were out there. That’s what counts.”

“I hope so.”

“So did you learn anything useful?”

She glanced around her. Saw pretty curtains in the windows of the house and a whisper of smoke rising from the chimney. “I learned I didn’t know much about the place when I arrived a few days ago. I talked when I should have listened.”

“So now you’re an expert?”

“An interested beginner. Jackson took me on a snowmobile.”

Walter grunted. “When I was a boy we used cross-country skis and hauled sleds. Back in those days we didn’t have ski lifts or fancy machinery to smooth the snow. If you wanted to go up a slope, you attached skins to your skis and you walked there.” He pushed the log with the toe of his boot. “It was all backcountry, and when I say backcountry I mean backcountry. We’d be out there in the wilds and the forest and not see another soul all day.”

“You skied, too?”

“We all skied. Had Jackson on skis before his second birthday. Same with Sean and Tyler. Tyler was only interested in going fast, but Jackson—” He paused, smiling as he remembered. “Jackson didn’t just love going fast, he loved the mountains and he wanted to know everything from what makes a slope likely to avalanche to how to check that the ice on the pond is thick enough for skating. If he found something difficult, he’d try harder. Every time he fell, he was up on his feet again. Didn’t matter if he was bleeding, he’d keep going until a job was done.”

Kayla heard the pride in his voice and something else that made her stomach knot tight.
Love.
She wondered why he persisted in fighting Jackson when he clearly loved him so much.

“Snow Crystal means a lot to him.”

“The place is in his blood. Even when he was young he understood the importance of protecting the habitat. You can’t own nature...you’re just a guest. He and I used to spend days together in the forest.” Walter shifted the ax in his hand. “I was the one who taught him to recognize claw marks on beech trees. A black bear will mark a tree—” He followed Kayla’s nervous glance with a shake of his head. “They won’t bother you this time of year. Jackson taken you walking in the forest yet?”