On Thin Ice (2 page)

As quickly as her numb legs would carry her she headed toward the Jeep and backed out of the parking lot. He could find his own way to breakfast. She wasn’t waiting for him. After all, he’d left her high and dry once, only then she’d been wearing a prom dress.

The crunching of snow under the tires of her Jeep wasn’t a welcome sound any longer. She skidded to a stop in front of Maggie’s Kitchen and threw the truck in park. Her father’s pickup was parked four spaces down and the lot was full.

Malory gripped the stirring wheel and wrung it with her hands.

She’d meant to get to the ice rink before that morning. She’d meant to get to Maggie’s and see her and talk some business, but the truth was she hadn’t had the energy. Now here she was, and if she didn’t get a grip and calm down, she was going to burst and let loose a whole lot of anger on her father, and none of it was his fault.

He’d befriended Christopher Douglas when the six-year-old boy and his mother moved to town that long-ago summer. The only thing his mother could do to keep him out of trouble was to drop him off at the ice rink with Mr. Wilson. He’d forged a quick friendship with her father and consequently with her.

His own father had ditched his mother before he was born. He’d never even met the man. Harvey Wilson had stepped into that role, and Malory was sure it was the only reason Christopher had turned out as well as he had.

They’d been the two misfit kids who were missing a parent. One was dead; the other was gone. But somehow they’d always felt whole. Her father and his mother made them feel that way.

She tossed her head back against the seat and thought about the hours she’d spent in Maggie Douglas’ kitchen. She’d shown her how to bake, which had become Malory’s life’s work. Thanks to Maggie, she could successfully wash clothes without turning the load pink and could even knit an afghan. Maggie had replaced her mother, much as Harvey had replaced Christopher’s father.

She stepped out of the Jeep and started to the door. He’d be joining them for breakfast and she was going to be polite. It was obvious he was back in Aspen Creek too, at least for the time being, but she didn’t have to let that spoil her plans. There was no reason that even in such a small town they had to see each other, no matter how close each was to the other’s parent.

She sighed as she opened the door to the small restaurant. She’d been hoping for an escape when she’d returned to Aspen Creek, but now all she wished for was an escape from Christopher.

Maggie’s Kitchen was a small diner that had been added on to at least twice that Malory could remember. Maggie Douglas had never been one for interior design, and that was probably what kept the locals happy, especially the men. The walls were still wood paneled, and racks of old coffee mugs hung as a border. Many of them had names on them from patrons who had long since passed away. It was her way of paying tribute to the people who helped her along the way. Starting a new life with a small boy in a new town was never easy, but Maggie Douglas had done it and done it well.

Malory smiled when she saw the sheriff seated in his usual corner booth. It had been his booth since she was little. They still called the orders through the small window to the kitchen, and pots of coffee were still bottomless at Maggie’s. Just as she did when she’d walked through the door of the ice arena, Malory felt as if she were home.

Her father sat at the counter, a cup of coffee in his hands and an enormous grin on his face as he talked to Maggie, who leaned over the counter to talk to him. When she laughed, she touched his arm and turned away to fill the coffee of another patron. Malory watched her father’s eyes linger on her.

Had he done that when she and Christopher were young? Had she looked at him with laugher in her voice and in her eyes? What had Malory missed, living so far away?

“Hey, Wil!” Maggie saw her standing near the door pulling off her gloves and stomping the snow off her boots. She rushed from behind the counter and gathered her in her arms. “Well, you sure warm the heart,” she said, kissing her loudly on the cheek, no doubt leaving a trail of red lipstick.

“Good morning, Ms. Douglas.”

“Still too polite. You’re of the age now you can call me Maggie.”

“I can try.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes and urged with her fingers as though to pull the name from Malory. “M-agg-ie,” she said and Maggie laughed.

“Well at least you’re still a smart ass.” She lifted her eyes to the door. “Where’s my son?”

“I left him behind.” Malory smiled, but Maggie’s eyes lost their shimmer. Malory knew she’d made her point. One of the traits she’d inherited from her father was the lack of ability to forgive and forget. It was obvious to Malory that Maggie understood she still hadn’t forgiven Christopher for stranding her at prom and leaving with Tatum Bradley.

“Well, your daddy was nice enough to come over and help me fix the dishwasher this morning. You can’t have a restaurant without a dishwasher.” Maggie draped her arm over her shoulders and walked her toward her father.

“Morning, Daddy.” She kissed him on the cheek and sat down next to him.

“Sorry I wasn’t there when you got there.”

“Thanks to Maggie, your apology for that is accepted. But I left his ass there, so don’t look for him.” Malory shifted her eyes away from her father as Maggie set down a cup of coffee before her. She wrapped her hands around the cup to warm them.

“You know, a lot has changed since you were here last.”

“I was here in June, Daddy. It’s not like I left and never came back.”

“I know. I know.” He adjusted on his seat. “You look better.”

“Thank you. I just needed some rest. Moving that far was a lot of work. I’m hoping to look at some places today and see if I can find somewhere to live.”

“You can live with me as long as you’d like. You know that.”

Malory turned her head toward her father. “Thank you. I appreciate that. But I need to have my own place. You’ll thank me when you see how disorganized I am.”

“Sorry about that too. Seems you inherited that from me and not your mother. She was one tidy woman.”

“She’s been gone a very long time to even think about that.” She looked up at Maggie, who, even though she was working, would shift her eyes back to them from time to time. “So what’s going on with you and Ms. Douglas?”

“Us?” He lifted his head and looked toward Maggie. “Nothing. Why do you ask?”

“You seem awfully friendly.”

“We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

He shifted again. “Wil, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

But she was pretty sure she did.

The air in the restaurant shifted as the door opened. Malory lifted her head to see him walk through the door. She thought he’d looked like a god buried under hockey gear, but now, standing in the doorway, the light of the morning glowing behind him, she was sure he was a god. His dark hair fell just to his jaw, and dark glasses covered his eyes. Even his heavy coat couldn’t disguise that tall, lean, hard body that lurked beneath its warmth.

He walked past her, leaving only the scent of fresh soap in his wake. He first kissed his mother on the cheek, and then shook hands with her father before taking the stool next to her.

“Thanks for the ride, Wil. Most kind of you.” He smiled at his mother as she set the cup of coffee down in front of him. “Thanks, Ma.”

“You know, I don’t find any reason to be kind to you.”

He nodded. “I figured that.”

“Just because I’m back here doesn’t mean I’m going to have anything to do with you. What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you live somewhere else? Anywhere else?”

“Geeze, Wil, sorry to disappoint.” He lifted his chin and buried those dark eyes into her. “I live here.”

Her heart jumped into her throat. That wasn’t part of her recovery plan. Things in her life hadn’t gone the way she’d wanted them too. Mistakes had been made and she needed to steer clear of temptations like Christopher Douglas. She was back in Aspen Creek to forget her past and move on. Now here she was sitting next to the gorgeous man she’d tried so hard to forget, and he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

“Daddy, I think I’m going to head back to the house and get started on finding a place.”

“What about breakfast?”

“I’m suddenly not too hungry.” She kissed her father on the cheek. “Ms. Doug—” she started, but Maggie narrowed her eyes at her. “Maggie,” she corrected and Maggie nodded. “Would you mind if I came by later? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“I’d love to have your company. I close up at three. Come by then.”

“Okay,” she said and slid her gloves back over her hands.

Malory stood, zipped up her coat, and started toward the door.

“What? No good-bye kiss for me?” At the sound of Christopher’s voice, she stopped. Malory didn’t look back at him. She kept still, took a deep breath, and then walked out the door.

“What’s with her?” Christopher turned toward her father.

“I think she’s sick or something. She’s slept for three days straight,” Harvey said. “She came back alone, you know.”

Christopher nodded. “Well, I’m getting that good-bye kiss.” He ripped his jacket off the back of his stool and strode for the door.

Maggie hurried to the counter, and she and Harvey watched as Christopher stopped Malory at her Jeep. He spun her around into her arms and crushed his mouth to hers. Maggie laughed as Malory’s fists started pounding at his chest, but soon the pounding stopped.

“It looks like it’s going to be an interesting Christmas.”

Harvey nodded. “It sure does.”

CHAPTER TWO

Christopher was ignoring Malory’s protests and having the best time doing so. Her lips were so soft, and even with her body buried beneath the big white puffy coat, having her pressed against him had his heart pumping hard.

Teeth scraped, tongues danced, and he continued his exploration of her mouth.

She stopped hitting him, and now she was kissing him.

When she finally pulled her mouth from his, he kept her wrapped up in his arms. The white stocking cap she wore over her long dark hair gave her that youthful look he remembered. He saw sadness in those dark brown eyes, and that worried him. Not enough to stop him from trying his luck with another kiss.

Christopher bent down again but this time she pushed him back, hard.

“What was that for?” Her voice broke through the cloud of breath between them.

“You didn’t give me a good-bye kiss.”

“You have done that twice in the last hour. Is that how you make friends?” The cold—or was it the heat of their kiss?—flushed her cheeks with a shade of pink that made him want to nibble them.

“We are friends.”

“Were,” she reminded him.

“My mistake.” He took a step back, reached around her, and opened the door to her Jeep. “How long are you going to keep this truck?”

“As long as it runs,” she said, climbing in and strapping her seatbelt.

“How long are you going to hold the grudge?”

“As long as you’re still breathing.” She pulled the door from his hands and slammed it. She started the engine and backed out, missing his foot only because he jumped out of the way.

Christopher slid on his sunglasses and he watched her drive away. Oh, he’d missed her. It was so worth it to have returned to Aspen Creek and to have had her return too. But she was hurting, and that didn’t set well with him. Something was wrong with her, and he was going to find the underlying cause of it. He was sure along the way he’d get in a few more kisses, and he figured he’d end up with a fist in the jaw for good measure at least once.

He laughed. Oh, man, she could kiss! She could do many things well if his memory served, and it usually did.

Christopher walked back into the restaurant and took Malory’s seat next to Harvey. His mother replaced his coffee cup with another that steamed. He took it in his hands and lifted it to his lips.

“She didn’t seem too responsive,” Harvey said keeping his eyes focused on his eggs.

“She’s just got that thing she’s still mad at me over.”

Harvey nodded. “You know Wil. She holds grudges.”

“It’s time she let go of it.” He chewed on his lip and set the coffee back on the counter without taking a sip. “Why is she here alone?”

He reached for a spoon and fished ice out of the glass of water that sat in front of Harvey. He stirred it into the coffee and watched it melt while he waited for Harvey to answer.

“Her marriage fell apart,” Harvey finally said, softly, as though he didn’t want anyone to hear.

“Oh.” The sadness in her eyes suddenly sank into his belly. When he’d seen her at the rink, he hadn’t even considered the fact that she was married. He knew all too well that she was. His mother had drilled that into his head for years. The need to pull her to him and kiss her senseless had won over before any logic had even entered his head.

He looked out the window to the glaring snow-covered streets. People came and went through the door of the restaurant, and somewhere beyond that door Wil was fuming because he’d been so insensitive. Then again, he’d always been too insensitive when it came to Wil.

They were both living in the same small town again. Just like it had been in their youth, he was involved in the day-to-day life of her father, and he assumed that by the end of the day she’d be involved with his mother. He smiled as he lifted his coffee back to his lips. He wondered if she had any idea about how involved her father and his mother were. Well, that was for Harvey to disclose. But no matter how he looked at it, sooner or later their lives were going to cross and they’d be involved with each other. He just couldn’t help but hope for it to be very involved.

“You done kissing girls in my parking lot?” Maggie stood in front of her son with her hands fisted on her hips.

“I don’t know. Do you have any that haven’t been kissed I should know about?”

“Mabel would be happy to have some lip-lock time.” Maggie nodded to the table against the wall.