Sleigh Bells in the Snow (7 page)

Chill turned to heat. “I meant my coat. I need to get out of my coat. There’s an avalanche happening somewhere between my neck and my boots. I might need the mountain rescue team. Do you have one of those round here?”

“We do. My brother’s a volunteer. Might get around to it myself if this place ever gives me some spare time.” Jackson lifted his hand to her hair and brushed away another lump of snow. “Your hair is curling.”

“Just one piece of good news after another.” Kayla shivered. “Can we go indoors so that I can take a shower and have another stab at being businesslike?”

“While you’re staying here stick to marked trails, and don’t step into thick snow unless you know what’s under it. This is a forest. There are ditches, streams, ponds, deep water—”

“I won’t be stepping into thick snow.”

But she already felt as if she were in deep water.

She wasn’t used to feeling this way.

Didn’t
want
to feel this way.

“I need to buy different footgear—you’re right about that.” She tried to ignore the dangerous simmer of heat low in her belly. She especially tried to ignore that part of her brain that told her coming here had been a very,
very
bad idea.

“Stand there while I fetch your bag.” He was back in a few strides, her bag in one hand, the other outstretched toward her.

This time she took it.

She rarely held hands with a man. When she dated, which wasn’t often, she followed a predictable routine. Dinner then home. Sometimes it was theater, dinner, then home. Occasionally it was sex. But she always woke in her own bed. Alone.

She knew she wasn’t good at intimacy, and holding hands was intimate.

Fortunately, the walk was short.

At the end of the path the forest opened into a clearing and there, nestled like something from a fairy tale, was the log cabin. A tasteful blend of wood and glass, it merged with the forest as if it had grown there.

“Oh.” Enchanted, Kayla stopped. She forgot about being wet and feeling cold. She forgot that she was holding his hand. “It’s like something from
Hansel and Gretel.
”

“We can provide gingerbread, but finding a cannibalistic witch might be harder.”

“It’s idyllic.”

“Glad you think so. Let’s get you inside before frostbite sets in.” He kept hold of her hand until they reached the front door. Then he released his grip on her and delved into his pocket for a set of keys. “Stand there and don’t move.”

Ignoring that instruction, Kayla stooped and unzipped her boots. “I don’t want to bring all that snow indoors.”

“There’s more on you than on your shoes.” He pushed open the door and handed her the keys.

Kayla stepped over the threshold and removed her coat, depositing half a ton of snow by the door. “I’m making a mess.”

“The place is designed for people who enjoy the outdoors.”

“What about people who are wearing the outdoors?” Kayla decided not to mention that she had snow in her bra. “Please tell me this place has a shower and unlimited hot water.”

“All that and more. I’ll show you around.”

“Thanks.” She would have preferred him to leave and give her nerves time to recover. “Where can I buy boots?”

“Brenna might have something that will fit you. If not, we have a small store in the resort that stocks a limited range.”

“Who is Brenna?”

“She runs our ski program. She’s lived around here all her life. She’ll be a good person for you to talk to if you want to get a feel for the place.”

“Right.” Unsettled by those blue eyes, Kayla took a few steps into the room and looked around her properly for the first time. “I
love
this.”

The main living area was double height with a cathedral ceiling and glass windows soaring up to the rafters. In the corner of the room a pretty iron staircase spiraled up to a sleeping “shelf” where a large bed was positioned to take maximum advantage of the views of the forest and lake.

“The master bedroom is downstairs, but you can lie up on the shelf and watch the lake and the wildlife. It can be used as a second bedroom, but we stipulate no kids under twelve because the only access is the spiral staircase. It’s a perfect place to sleep.”

Or a perfect place for insomniacs. At least here, when she was lying awake, she’d have a view.

Kayla wanted to climb up that staircase, lie down and not get up until January. All she’d see from that bed were glistening snowy treetops. No overdecorated shop windows, no festively fuelled Christmas shoppers and, most of all, no happy families.

“I don’t understand why this place is vacant over the holidays. You should have been able to book it ten times over.”

“I’m hoping once you’ve worked your magic we’ll be doing that.”

Kayla paced the length of the living room. “The way you’ve built it—the way it’s designed—” she tilted back her head and looked through glass into the twilight and the forest “—it’s as if the outside is inside. It’s like being part of the forest and the mountains. You can virtually
feel
the snow, without any of the cold.”

“That was the idea.”

“It’s magical.” Forgetting she was wet and shivering, Kayla walked across the wooden floor, taking in all the tiny details from the basket of roughly chopped logs next to the flickering fire, to the twist of delicate lights that hung from rafters to floor turning the space into the equivalent of a fairy grotto.

Soft, deep-cushioned sofas in a deep shade of green faced each other across a rug. Tall bookshelves made from reclaimed wood lined one wall of the cabin.

It was a mixture of sumptuous luxury and cozy homeliness.

“Couples,” Kayla muttered under her breath, pacing toward what she assumed was the master bedroom while Jackson stood in the center of the room, thumbs tucked into his jeans as he watched her. “It’s romantic. This place has to be all about couples.”

And that suspicion was confirmed when she opened the door to the bedroom and saw the large log bed dressed in colors of the forest. Deep greens blended with cream and hints of silver that shone like light reflecting off crystal. Glass doors opened onto the wide deck, and she smiled as she saw the hot tub.

“Definitely couples.”

“That’s how I planned it, but we don’t seem to be attracting that segment of the market.”

“Then it’s because they don’t know about it. But they will.”

He leaned against the door frame. “You’re confident.”

“I know my job.” Kayla strolled to the glass doors and looked out onto the deck. “If you were staying here you could lie in the hot tub, stare into the snowy forest and watch the wildlife on the lake.” She could imagine that all too easily, imagine it with
him,
and imagining it brought the color rushing into her cheeks. “How private is it? Do people walk past here?”

“No. Hence the gate at the end of the path. I wanted each property to be secluded.”

“So you could lie naked in the hot tub.” She murmured the words to herself, thinking aloud and then realized what she’d said and felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere.

“Yes.” He spoke slowly and there was a rough note to his voice that made her stomach flip and heat rush across her skin. “You could.”

“Give me some time to think about it. I’ll come back to you with some ideas as soon as I have something worth sharing.” She could feel him watching her and knew that if she turned her head, the look they’d share would be more than a casual glance.

She kept her gaze fixed on the forest, feeling as if her body were on fire.

“I’ll pick you up from here at six.” His voice was husky. “That should give you time to unpack and settle in before you meet the rest of the family.”

“I can walk. It will give me a feel for the place.” And time to refocus. And maybe roll naked in the snow to cool herself down. “I’ll put my boots to dry. They’ll be fine.”

“Those are the same boots you were wearing when you slipped and almost knocked yourself unconscious?” They strolled back into the living area and Jackson reached for his jacket. “About tonight’s meeting—” He shrugged on the jacket and zipped it. “It’s not going to be easy.”

“I do this for a living. It won’t be a problem.”

It was Jackson who worried her, not the prospect of meeting his family and talking business.

Why would it? She’d handled skeptical CEOs who thought PR was a waste of money. She could handle his grandfather with her eyes shut.

And once she’d done that, she’d be spending a whole week in a luxury log cabin with work, a stack of books and DVDs.

What more could a Santa-hating workaholic ask for?

CHAPTER FOUR

“
S
O
DID
S
UPERWOMAN
ARRIVE
?”
Tyler strolled across his brother’s kitchen and snagged a beer from the fridge. “I thought she might turn around and fly straight back to New York once she found out what she was dealing with.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s dealing with, but she soon will. With luck all the flights will be grounded and the roads closed. Please help yourself to my beer. Don’t hold back.”

“I won’t. Being in this family is enough to drive a man to drink, so the least you can do is supply the damn stuff.” Tyler peered into the fridge. “This is the last one. You need to get to the store.”

“That’s one option. Another would be for you to stop drinking my beer and buy your own.”

“I’ll go with the first.” Tyler elbowed the door shut. “I’m earning it this week. I’m giving private ski lessons to some spoiled teenage princess who cares more about her hair than linking her turns.”

“Good to know you’re earning your keep.”

“I’m not going to dignify that with an answer. So does your woman ski?”

“I doubt she’s even seen a ski close up, and she’s not my woman.” Jackson thought about how close he’d come to kissing her when he’d hauled her out of the deep snow. She’d been right there in his hands, soft and womanly and as aware of him as he was of her.

He’d seen her fighting it. He’d been fighting it, too, but she’d done a better job than him. She’d frozen him out. Smoothly and with finesse, but still the distance had been there. Which was probably a good thing. His life was complicated enough without adding to it.

Tyler raised his eyebrows. “It was a casual remark, but judging from your expression I hit a nerve. So is she hot?”

Jackson thought about her skirt riding high on her thighs.

Hot?
Hell, yes.

“Our relationship is professional and it’s staying professional. And that goes for your relationship with her, too.”

“In other words you’re struggling to keep your hands off her. Interesting.”

“Why is it interesting?”

“Because for the past eighteen months you’ve been too involved with the business to notice a woman.”

“Not true.”

Tyler strolled to the central island in the kitchen and hooked a stool with his foot. “Tell me the name of the last woman you dated.”

“Brenna.”

“What?
Our
Brenna?” His brother’s tone chilled fractionally. “Brenna we grew up with?”

“The same Brenna who stuffed snow down your pants when you were ten. The same Brenna who runs our ski program.” Jackson watched as a snow bunting landed on a branch near the window. Through the trees the lake sparkled in the late-evening sunshine. If it had been a few degrees warmer he would have taken his beer onto the deck and watched the sun go down over the lake and mountains. He realized that the summer had passed and he’d had no time to sit and enjoy it.

Next year,
he promised himself. Next year he’d slow down long enough to sit outside his own barn and breathe in the air.

“Well, hell—” Tyler sat down at the stone-topped island that formed the focus of the large kitchen, “did you and she—”

“What business is it of yours if we did?”

“So that means you did?”

Jackson turned with a frown. “Christ, Tyler—”

“I guess I just never saw you and Brenna together.” His brother looked so shaken Jackson took pity on him.

“We’re not together. There was no chemistry.”

“So if there was no chemistry, why the hell did you date?”

“Let’s just say our work conversations overran so we took it to the bar, and then we took it out to dinner a couple of times.”

“But you didn’t take it to bed?”

“You’re asking who I take to bed?”

“Just looking out for her, that’s all. She’s like a sister to me.”

Jackson wondered if his brother could really be so clueless about Brenna’s feelings. “Ty—”

“And then there’s the issue of working together. If you two are tiptoeing around each other, I need to know that.”

“There’s no tiptoeing.” He decided it wasn’t his business to say anything.

“For the record, I think Kayla Green would be perfect for you.”

“You haven’t met her.”

“She’s obviously clever and you think she’s hot.”

“She can’t ski.”

“So? No one can keep up with you on the ski slope anyway so you’re not exactly looking for company. But if it bothers you, get her skiing. Take her to the top of a steep slope and she’ll be so grateful when you rescue her, she’ll think you’re a hero and have sex with you. That one always works.” Tyler lifted his beer and drank.

“Are you serious?” Jackson shook his head. “On second thought, don’t answer that. As you pointed out, personal relationships with a colleague make things awkward. And it’s unprofessional.”

“To hell with professional, it’s Christmas. People do crazy things at Christmas.”

“Round here people don’t wait until Christmas, they do crazy things all the time.” Jackson leaned against the cabinet and nursed his beer while Tyler glanced around him.

“I like what you’ve done to this place.” He scanned the custom-made cabinets, relaxed now the conversation had moved away from Brenna.

“Glad someone approves. Gramps thinks I’ve wasted money.”

“Cheaper than the psychiatrist bills you would have been paying if you’d moved in with them. I’m thinking of doing something similar with the Lake House.”

“Good idea, especially now you have Jess with you. How’s that going?”

“I need a manual on how to handle women.”

“From what I’ve heard, you wrote that manual.”

“Not the teenage version.”

The atmosphere shifted and Jackson put his beer down. “Something wrong?” Light slanted through the windows, reflecting off shiny pans hanging from wooden beams. It occurred to him that so far he hadn’t cooked a single thing in those pans.

“Apart from the fact her mother had another baby and decided Jess was getting in the way of her new family and that this would be a good time to remember I exist?” Tyler’s voice hardened. “What the hell did I ever see in Janet Carpenter?”

“You were young. Shallow. She had an impressive rack.”

“There was that.” Tyler stared at the bottle in his hand. “And I was flattered. Older woman and all. I thought it was birthday and Christmas rolled into one when she got me in that barn. All I ever got from that encounter was trouble.”

Jackson watched as the snow bunting flew off over the lake. “You got Jess.”

“Yeah—” Tyler’s voice softened. “Yeah, I got her. And she’s the best. You should see her on skis. Great balance, no fear. And that worries me. She’ll ski down anything with a gradient.”

“You were the same.”

“Maybe I was, but that doesn’t stop me wishing she’d show caution. She’s lived most of her life in Chicago. She doesn’t know mountains.”

“If you’re worried, take her out with you.”

“And give Janet something to use against me? No way.”

“Hell, Ty, she virtually sent the kid away. She’s hardly in a position to challenge your parenting skills.”

“Maybe, but I’m not taking the risk. I’ve finally got her back and I’m not going to screw this up.”

Jackson knew his brother was still tormented by the fact he hadn’t been given custody in the first place. It had been a hideous, ugly time, and he was one of the few who knew the truth of it.

Maybe it wasn’t surprising Tyler hadn’t noticed how Brenna felt. He hadn’t just been hurt, he’d been scarred.

“Have you talked to Jess about it?”

“She won’t talk to me.” Tyler sounded tired. “I even tried asking her straight-out what’s wrong. First time in my life I’ve asked a woman if she wanted to talk about what was bothering her. I even stayed around long enough for her to answer.”

“And did she?”

“She gave me a look and told me I wouldn’t understand.” Tyler stared at the bottle in his hand. “Wasn’t going to argue with that one. Truth? I don’t think she wants to be here. She wants to be back with her mother.”

“She’s always loved being here.”

“A visit is different to living somewhere permanently. Janet hated it here.”

“Jess isn’t her mother.”

“But she’s lived with Janet long enough, and we both know Janet hates me.”

Jackson didn’t argue. Knowing Janet Carpenter, he thought it unlikely she’d held back from expressing her views on Tyler. “Jess loves you, Ty.”

“Does she?”

“I know she does. She’s confused.”

“She’s not the only one.”

“You’re entering the realm of the teenage girl.”

“Does that realm include multiple door slamming and hours spent alone in her room? If so, I’m already there.” He shook his head. “I thought women were meant to be the communicators of the species.”

“Maybe you should talk to Mom about it. At least having Jess back will give her something to focus on.”

“You’d think so, but Jess is shutting her out, too. She’s transformed overnight from sweet kid to reclusive teen.”

“Give it time. She’s only been back with you for a month.”

“This was always her favorite time of year. She’s spent every Christmas here since Janet took her away. What sort of mother doesn’t want her kid around at Christmas? Not that I’m complaining about that part.” There was an edge to Tyler’s voice that only ever happened when he talked about his ex-wife. “But normally I can’t get Jess out of their kitchen in the holidays. If she’s not decorating Santa cookies, she’s gluing snowflakes, cutting out reindeer, or singing ‘Jingle Bells’ all over the house at the top of her voice. When I asked her this morning if she wanted to go and bake with Grandma, she told me she’s not a baby anymore.”

“That’s true. Twelve. Hell, how did that ever happen?”

“It happened, and all she wants to do now is ski vertical slopes. Do you think she’s suicidal?” For once Tyler wasn’t smiling or making light of life, and Jackson lowered his beer.

“No, I don’t. What I think is that you need to chill.”

“That’s why I’m drinking your beer.” Tyler glanced at his watch. “What time are we gathering to hear your woman?”

“If you’re talking about Kayla, I’m picking her up from the lodge at six. You don’t have to be there.”

“A mad moose wouldn’t keep me away. I have to watch how she handles Gramps. Think she’ll cope with it, or is he going to walk all over her?”

Jackson couldn’t imagine anyone walking over Kayla Green, but he was under no illusions. She was going to need all her skills to win over Walter Montgomery O’Neil.

“We’ll see how she does.” He picked up his jacket. “I plan on getting through the ‘meeting’ and then buying her dinner in the restaurant as compensation. I figure after an hour with our family, she’s going to need a drink. Probably ten drinks.”

Tyler lifted his eyebrows. “But this isn’t a date, right?”

“It’s work.” Ignoring the look his brother gave him, Jackson scooped up his keys. “Buy some beer. That way there might be some in my fridge next time you open it.”

* * *

I
T
WAS
JUST
a meeting.

She’d been to hundreds of meetings, and this one wasn’t any different.

Energized after a hot shower, Kayla pulled another pencil skirt off a hanger and put it on the bed next to her black cashmere sweater. Smart
and
warm. Wearing it would show she could be practical when the need arose.

Grabbing her suitcase, she picked out her favorite pair of black heels. She’d walk over in her boots and then change into her shoes.

Wrapped in a towel, cheeks still pink from the heat of the hair dryer, Kayla mentally ran through the way she intended to play the meeting.

They’d be skeptical, so she’d show them what PR could do for them.

They’d assume she didn’t know anything about their business, so she’d prove to them she’d memorized all the statistics and facts. That she
knew
Snow Crystal.

Finally, she’d show them what she’d achieved for other clients.

She’d show Jackson O’Neil that she might be useless at walking on ice, but when it came to understanding marketing there would be no slips. Her traction would be perfect.

She wondered why he was so concerned about the meeting.

Apart from my brother, you’re the only person I have in my corner. It’s in my interests to keep you alive.

The irony didn’t escape her. She’d never met a man’s family before. Never got to that point in a relationship, and here she was about to meet Grandma.

Kayla straightened her hair until there was no sign of her encounter with the snow, livened up the severe black sweater with a silver scarf covered in tiny stars and added a pair of silver hoops to her ears before checking her reflection quickly in the camera on her phone.

Go, Kayla.

By the time Jackson rapped on the door, she was confident she was ready for anything they threw at her.

He parked outside the main house. Tiny lights hung along the eaves and were twisted into the trees.

It could have been worse, she thought. At least there were no grinning Santas or illuminated reindeer with flashing antlers.

Jackson unclipped his seat belt. “Nervous?”

Yes, she was nervous, but she had a feeling that had more to do with the man sitting next to her than the prospect of the meeting. All he’d done was drive, but there was a tight knot in her belly and all she could think about was sex. Her gaze slid to the sensual curve of his mouth and then away again.

What the hell was
wrong
with her? Stacy was right. She needed to get out more. “I’m excited. You have a business issue to solve and that’s what I do.” What she didn’t do was stare at her client and wonder how it would feel to be kissed by him.

“I hope you still feel the same way by the end of the meeting.”

Anxious to get away from him, Kayla slid out of the car and stared at the path, weighing up her chances of making it to the door without falling over. “I might hold your arm this time.”

“Good to know you learn from your mistakes.” There was laughter in his voice and something else, something rougher and more dangerous that told her he was feeling exactly the way she was feeling.