SNOWFIRES (24 page)

She looked up at her grandfather. “I can’t
trust him with my future. If this thing with Veritex hadn’t worked
out, he would have lost everything, just like Dad did. We’d all
have lost everything.”

“
Now listen, there’s always gambles in
business. Why Walter Sr. and I almost lost every dime we had a time
or two. We were sweating blood, I can tell you, and that’s for
sure. Had to borrow money from Carl.” He pulled at his chin.
“Holly, I don’t want to criticize your father to you, but Trent
Macleod is ten times the man your father was.”

“
I—I don’t know what to think, Grandpa.
He just rushed out of the meeting and didn’t even speak to me. Not
even a ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘see you around.’”

“
Must have been a reason. I know he’s
hung up on you. Seen the way he looks at you. I’d have to deck him
if I didn’t think his intentions were honorable.” Grandpa cupped
her chin. “You love him?”

“
Yes. Yes, I love him in spite of the
gambling. I just don’t know if I could live that way after all we
went through with Dad. It’s a big decision.” She took a deep
breath. “Grandpa? Would it hurt your feelings if I don’t go to
Hawaii?”

He shook his head. “No, I reckon you got
things here need seeing to and thinking about. Let’s go break the
news to Nana.”

Holly drove her grandparents to the airport
and saw them through the security check. Throngs of people were
jostling to board or deplane. Others were saying goodbye or
welcoming arrivals. Walking through the crowd, a sense of total
loneliness descended on Holly. Everyone had someone it seemed.
Everyone but her.

“
Thanks for the lovely sweater and the
bonus.” Marnie hefted a suitcase. “You sure you’ll be okay here,
Holly?”

“
Sure, Marnie. I’ll probably go to the
lake.” And it looked as if she’d be alone.

“
If you’re sure, then I’ll go to my
daughter’s. It’s noisy there with all the kids, but I love seeing
them.”

“
Merry Christmas.” Holly hugged
Marnie.

After Marnie had left, Holly phoned Trent. No
answer. Darn, you’d think he’d at least have voice mail or an
answering machine. She phoned Laura and they decided to meet for
dinner at the country club. Laura was sure to cheer Holly up with
her zany stories.

When Holly entered the dining room, Laura
waved and motioned for Holly to hurry. No sooner had Holly slid
onto her chair than Laura started talking.

“
Guess what? I think Rob’s going to
give me a ring for Christmas.”

“
That’s wonderful. Does his mom know?”
Holly spread her napkin across her lap and reached for a
breadstick.

“
Maybe she suspects.” Laura laughed.
“The girl his mom had picked out just turned up
ex-pec-ting.”

Holly tried to picture Mrs. Vincent’s
reaction to that news. “Wow. Guess that takes her down several pegs
on the desired daughter-in-law list.”

“
Fast.” Laura nodded. “Turns out the
father is a mechanic who works for the girl’s uncle.”

“
Ought to up your appeal to Rob’s mom.”
Holly didn’t add that just because Rob’s mother was angry with the
other girl didn’t necessarily mean she had warmed to Laura.
Obviously that hadn’t occurred to her friend.

“
Right, and about time.” Laura slapped
her hand on the table.

The server, who apparently thought the whack
at the table was directed at him, appeared and took their
orders.

“
So, I thought you’d be on your way to
Hawaii with your grandparents.” Laura leaned forward and grinned.
“Did that hottie Macleod make you a better offer?”

Holly’s bottom lip quivered and she couldn’t
speak. She shrugged off the question.

Her friend reached across the table. “Holly?
This is me, remember? Tell me what happened.”

After a couple of deep breaths, Holly told
Laura the entire story, from the time they left her grandparents
the Sunday after Thanksgiving until Trent rushed out today. With
very few interruptions—well, few considering she was talking to
Laura—Holly finished.

Their food arrived and both women were silent
until the server left.

Laura patted Holly’s hand. “Oh, honey.
How do you feel about him now? I mean
really feel
about him?”

“
I love him, but I told you he’s a
gambler. You know how hard Dad’s gambling made life for my family.”
Holly shook her head. “I can’t go through that again. Never
knowing, never secure. It was a nightmare I don’t care to
relive.”

“
Holly, he’s not
that kind
of gambler. He didn’t take food out of
the mouths of his children or get them tossed out of their house.”
Laura’s face flushed. “Sorry, I know you loved your father, but he
was a rat to act the way he did. Trent Macleod would never do that
to you.”

“
Oh, yeah?” Holly made a vicious stab
at her dinner. “Trent could have done that very thing today if this
deal hadn’t worked out.” She met her friend’s gaze. “Laura, he
gambled every dime he had on his ability to secure a new fat
contract for Marvel. How can I trust a man who’d do
that?”

Laura leaned back. “Oh, and did he
succeed?”

“
Yes, this morning. But if he’d lost,
he’d have wasted almost twenty years of saving and investing, to
say nothing of what would have happened to the company.”

“
Well, duh. Clue phone, hello, it’s for
Holly.” She waved a hand. “Businessmen do that every day. How do
you think my dad makes his living? Corporate lawyers draw up deals
like that practically all the time.”

Laura looked embarrassed. “I know I told you
he was after you to use you, but once I’d met him I realized I’d
misjudged him. I saw how he looked at you, and that man is nuts
about you.” She pointed a fork at Holly. “You are making a big
mistake if you think Trent is anything like your father. While
you’re at the lake, you need to give yourself a good swift kick in
your rear and adjust your attitude.”

“
Dear Lord, what will I do with ten
days alone feeling like this? Nothing to do but worry and eat a ton
of chocolate.” Usually she was involved in a dozen activities
around the holidays that kept her busy nonstop.

“
Well, it was your choice. You wouldn’t
serve with me on any of my committees because of your father’s
death. Then you gave me that story about transition at work, yada,
yada, yada.” Laura shook her head. “You and your chocolate are on
your own, kiddo. Unless you want to help with the New Year’s Eve
bash here.”

“
Without a date?” She shuddered at the
thought of standing alone in a ballroom to welcome in the New Year
while around her couples embraced. “No, thanks.”

“
You can’t sit and pine for Trent for
ten days. As my grandfather used to say, ‘Fish, cut bait, or get
out of the boat.’ You better decide what you want from life and
from Trent. Then, let him in on it.”

Holly left the country club and went home.
She walked into the kitchen and straight to the phone. She dialed
Trent’s number.

“
Please answer.” She disconnected on
the tenth ring. “Grrr. Everyone but him in the civilized world has
an answering machine or voice mail.”

Maybe he’d gone somewhere else. What if he’d
left on a trip of his own? After all, he’d heard Grandpa talk about
the trip to Hawaii. Trent probably had his own plans.

A streak of jealousy shot through Holly. What
if he’d invited a woman with him? Someone who didn’t mind gamblers
or have issues trusting them?

An hour later, she tried again. He must have
left town. “That’s it. I give up.”

Laura was right, Holly couldn’t sit and pine
for Trent. She had no idea whether they had a relationship or, if
they did, whether either of them wanted it to continue. If she’d
lost him, she’d face it and move on.

Somehow.

She gathered up her clothes, books, and
presents and threw them into her car. At the last minute, she
loaded Christmas decorations into the trunk. By the time she got to
the lake it would be late, so she’d pick up groceries and a tree
tomorrow. Then she drove toward Lake Texoma to spend Christmas
alone. She had decisions to make.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Trent
checked
the rings. Perfect. A large diamond with a swirl of smaller stones
on each side in a platinum band. The wedding band’s vee of diamonds
fit perfectly into the engagement ring. The set was unique, fitting
for a unique woman.

The salesman smiled. “She’s a lucky woman,
sir.”

Trent shook his head and slipped the box into
his pocket. “Not nearly as lucky as me.”

He changed his mind about how his luck was
running ten minutes later when his car’s transmission went out at a
busy intersection.

Twenty-four hours later, Trent cursed delays.
At least he’d located Holly. Maybe. He’d be in a hell of a pickle
if Joe Bob had guessed wrong and she wasn’t at the lake cabin.

He held a piece of paper so he could read it
as he drove. “Yeah, Lake Texoma’s on the right.” He frowned. “Big
tree, turn left by the mailbox shaped like a bass.”

“
Big bass?” He shook his head at the
giant green fish on a post. “Damn, didn’t believe that one until I
saw it.”

He turned left then looked at the paper
again. “Okay, turn right at a blue house. What kind of blue house?
Big? Small? Sonofabitch, these have to be the worst directions in
the world.”

His frustration level grew with each mile.
He’d missed the turnoff from Highway 75 and wound up in Oklahoma.
By the time he’d turned around and found the right road, he’d lost
an hour.

He pounded his steering wheel. “People! I
need a street sign here. I need house numbers. Anybody here live in
the real world?”

Snowfall had started and the sky was
darkening. If he didn’t find this place soon, he was afraid he
would be totally lost and marooned in the middle of nowhere. He was
already royally pissed at the halfassed, lamebrain directions Joe
Bob had given him.

Thank heavens, Trent spotted a small blue
house and turned right onto a road marked with a ‘No Outlet’ sign.
He consulted the paper. “Two miles ahead on the right.”

He punched the trip button and watched it
roll over to one-point-eight miles. Sure enough, up ahead on his
right he saw a large house where the road ended. Hot damn and
hallelujah!

He whipped into the carriage drive. Had to be
the place from Holly’s description. It was the largest house he’d
seen and it sat on a bluff overlooking the lake. Besides that,
there were no other houses around. As he got out he noticed Holly’s
silver Lexus under the carport.

He’d found her. Relief swept through him. Not
only had he found the house, she was really here. His hands shook
as he started to push the bell, and he looked at the door as his
stomach coiled in knots again. Oh, no, he had that
nerd-at-the-prom-queen’s-door feeling again. His hands were
sweating like it was July instead of December. He scrubbed them on
his jeans then rang the bell and waited.

When the door opened, Holly wiped moisture
from her face with her sleeve and he saw she’d been crying. Aw,
hell, that made him feel worse. He wanted to scoop her up, but he’d
planned this carefully and didn’t want to screw it up.

She was wearing jeans and a blue sweater that
matched her beautiful eyes. She’d left her shoes somewhere and had
on fuzzy footie things the color of her sweater. Her beautiful hair
was down and messy, like she’d been asleep or in the wind.

Her eyes widened in question. “Trent? C—Come
in.” She stood back to let him enter but they stood on the entry
tile.

He spotted a crooked Christmas tree and
dangling lights. Boxes of decorations were stacked nearby with a
few wrapped gifts.

She followed his gaze. “I bought a tree, but
I can’t get it straight, and the lights are all tangled.” She
patted her hair and he figured wrestling with the tree had messed
it up. He wanted to reach out and bury his fingers in the golden
strands, but he bided his time.

He saw confusion in her eyes as she realized
he’d arrived at this house on what must be the last road on the
planet. “How did you find me? Why—why are you here?”

He shoved his shaking hands into his back
pockets. “First, I’ll take the part about how I found you. It was
hard, let me tell you. I had to call damn near every hotel in Maui
before I found your grandparents. They told me if you weren’t at
the house you must be here. Then Joe Bob gave me the world’s worst
set of directions over the phone.”

Trent risked letting her see how his hands
trembled by displaying the piece of paper containing his
instructions from Joe Bob.

She shook her head as if to clear it. “But,
Trent—“

He held up his hand. “Nope, still my turn. I
have had way too much trouble the past two days not to relate all
of this.” He flashed his most charming grin. At least, he hoped it
charmed her. “Can we sit down or do I have to do this standing
up?”

She shook herself a bit, as if she still
couldn’t believe he was there. “Sorry, come over by the fire.” She
led him to one of the sofas. “Here, let me take your coat.” While
he looked around and sat down, she took his jacket somewhere.

The flagstone entry led from a step down into
a huge living room the width of the house. This one room was larger
than his apartment. In a massive fieldstone fireplace on one wall a
fire crackled. Paintings hung on the wall opposite the fireplace
between some arches, except for a few shelves that held what looked
to him like antiques.