The Lodge on Holly Road. Sheila Roberts

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СКАЧАТЬ of your business, he reminded himself as Olivia gave him his keycard.

      “You’re in 207,” she informed him.

      Right next door to the Monroe family. For a millisecond he wondered if he wanted to be that close to Missy and company. He felt a little like an alcoholic who’d just been offered a bottle of twenty-year-old Scotch.

      But then he chided himself for being stupid. Yeah, Missy was cute, but so what? He was in love with Holland, and he wasn’t some low-life scum who hit on other women when he was about to become engaged, so it was no big deal. That resolved, he went to his room.

      Oh, man, Holland was going to love this. The room had it all—antique furniture but a state-of-the-art TV and DVD player, a small fridge for his champagne, a view of the mountains out the window, a snowy-white comforter on the king-size bed and an electric fireplace. Oh, yeah. This was going to be romance to the max. He could picture Holland and him in that big bed going at it and then cuddling together, watching the flames. If only Holland had come up tonight.

      Well, she’d be here tomorrow, and that would come soon enough. Meanwhile, what was he going to do with himself? He went to the window and looked out. The snowy scene beckoned him. What the hey, might as well go check out the town, find something to eat.

      He heard whoops coming from 205 as he walked past and for a moment wondered what Missy and her kids were going to do now.

      Never mind. He wasn’t up here to hang out with Missy Monroe and her kids. He was here for a romantic getaway with his girlfriend.

      Who hadn’t arrived yet. With a sigh, he walked down the hall.

Chapter Six

      Santa Baby

      Brooke had experienced some doubt regarding the wisdom of her holiday kidnapping when her father first failed to get into the spirit of the thing, but only for a few minutes. Over the past year, Daddy had seemed to collapse in on himself, changing from the sociable man he’d always been to a hermit who preferred to sit at home and stare at the TV. That was not Daddy, and something had to be done.

      “He’ll be okay,” Dylan kept saying whenever she’d brought up the subject of what to do about their father. “You’ve gotta give him time. Jeez, I still miss Mom.”

      As if she didn’t? As if there hadn’t been a day in the past year when she hadn’t wished her mother was alive, when she hadn’t gotten blindsided by a memory and burst into tears? But she had a job and a Sunday school class to teach. And friends getting married and having babies. And that meant bridal showers and baby showers to shop for and weddings to attend (where friends tried to match her up with brothers and cousins, none of whom ever measured up to her idea of the ideal man). Life wasn’t a card game where you got to throw in your hand and say, “I fold.”

      And that was exactly what her father was doing. Granted, he’d had a rough time of it, first with taking care of Mom and then with having to live without her. But Brooke was starting to get worried. In the past few months he’d hardly cleaned the house, totally neglected the yard and had constantly made excuses when any of his friends invited him out for dinner. She’d thought he’d return to his seasonal job as a department-store Santa, but he’d even pulled the plug on that, and had only filled in for the past two days when his former boss begged him to help out. He couldn’t go on like this. It wasn’t healthy. So a change of scene was what the doctor had ordered (Dr. Brooke, that is).

      He’d perked up once they got to the lodge and smiled approvingly when they entered and he saw how beautifully the place was decked out for the holidays. And he’d smiled again when they were checking in. Of course, he wasn’t happy being stuck in his Santa suit but Dylan would be arriving any minute, and once Daddy had a change of clothes they could go wander around town and admire the Christmas lights. Then, later, they could enjoy the piano concert in the lobby and the home-baked Christmas cookies that had been promised on the website.

      The cookies probably wouldn’t be as good as Mom’s, and Brooke found herself wishing she’d taken the time to whip up another batch of gumdrop cookies to bring along. Maybe it was just as well she hadn’t, though. That would remind them all of Mom.

      She’d flipped on the switch for the fireplace, and her father was currently relaxing on his bed with his black boots and his Santa jacket off while Brooke sat at the desk, checking out the notebook filled with glossy pages about the various shops and restaurants in town.

      “I’ve heard about this Christmas shop,” she said, turning the binder so her father could see. “We might want to go there tomorrow.”

      He nodded. “Looks nice.” He let out a sigh. “Your mother would have loved this place.”

      Brooke could feel the sting of incipient tears. It had probably been unrealistic to think they could simply outrun their grief.

      Still, Mom would have wanted them to participate in the joys of the season, and this town seemed tailor-made for that.

      “Yes, she would,” Brooke said. “And I bet right now she’s up in heaven, smiling down on us.”

      For a moment she feared he was going to cry, but he nodded gamely and forced a smile.

      Yep, they were having fun now. They needed Dylan and his goofy sense of humor to liven things up. They’d been waiting almost an hour. What was taking him so long to get up here?

      She’d called twice but only got his voice mail; she hoped that meant he was somewhere in the mountains and didn’t have reception. If that was the case, at least he was getting close.

      As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Finally. Brooke hurried to open it, but instead of her brother she found Olivia Wallace, bearing a tray with grapes, Brie cheese and crackers.

      “Oh, good, you’re here. I thought perhaps you might be when no one answered next door. This is your complimentary fruit and cheese,” Olivia said. “I hope you enjoy it.”

      “We will,” Brooke assured her. She was aware of her father scrambling to put his jacket back on so he wouldn’t look like a slob.

      But Olivia wasn’t coming in to visit. She wished them “Bon appétit” and then left.

      “That was thoughtful,” Daddy said as Brooke set the tray on his bedside table.

      As if the woman had done it just for them. “It’s included in the price, Daddy.”

      His brow furrowed. “I hate to think what you kids are spending on this.”

      “You’re worth it,” she said, and kissed his cheek.

      Twenty minutes later most of the cheese and grapes were gone, and Brooke was anxious to get her father out of his room and experiencing the sights and sounds of the town, but there was still no sign of Dylan. She took her cell phone from her purse and called him again.

      “Yo,” he answered.

      “Where are you?”

      “I’m in the lobby checking in.”

      “Finally,” she said.

      “Hey, СКАЧАТЬ