The Last Bride (DiCarlo Brides #6) (8 page)

She looked up at the towering trees as she hiked through the forest on the edge of the ski resort. There were a few nice trails that led in the back areas with beautiful trees, lots of animal life, and fresh green shoots of spring plants coming up through the ground. She spotted a moose half a block off and paused to watch it drink from a stream. She had only seen one other moose since her arrival in Colorado so she was still fascinated.

She heard the crack of a twig and turned her head to see someone coming down the trail behind her.

The person came out from behind a scrub oak and she blinked when she saw it was Gage. She held up a hand to stop him, then pressed a finger to her lips and gestured to the moose.

He turned to look at it and a quick smile lit his face. Almost noiselessly, he made his way to her side.

They stood in silence for a long moment, watching and letting the music of nature surround them before the moose looked up from the stream and started moving away from them. Jonquil watched it disappear into the forest and was acutely aware of Gage standing so near. She didn’t want to look away, breaking the spell she felt like she’d been under with him.

“I see him around sometimes,” Gage said when the moose had completely disappeared.

“How do you know it’s the same one?” she asked.

“There’s a funny loopy spot in his antlers on the left side. It’s pretty distinctive.”

She looked over at him and noticed he was dressed for a hike as well. “Have a nice walk? It’s a great day for it.”

“Yeah. Getting out for a hike always helps me to work things through. You?”

Jonquil nodded. “I just needed a break for a while. The past week has been nuts—midweek weddings, an anniversary party with a ton of flowers, and two awards ceremonies with big flower arrangements—in addition to the normal stuff. I had to get out and reconnect with all of this for a while.” She gestured to the forest around her.

“Playing with flowers all day isn’t enough of communing with nature for you?” he teased.

“Not even close, though at least it smells good. I’ve never been so busy, and looking at the schedule ahead it’s not going to get better.” She grinned at him. “Good thing I love my work.”

“That does make it easier,” he agreed.

They stood in an awkward silence for a moment before she thought to ask, “How is your mom? You said she wasn’t feeling well last week?”

“She’s better. For the moment. It comes and goes.” He looked down at his hand, where he held his water bottle.

“She’s lucky to have you to drop everything to check on her.”

“I guess.”

“It’s hard to watch someone you love be sick.”

“Your dad?” he asked.

“If you mean George, no. He didn’t even tell us he was sick until just before he died. He was very good at covering things up. My stepdad has some lung problems, though. It’s been hard to be so far away.”

He looked up at her. “Angela didn’t mention how busy you’ve been when she came in yesterday.”

Jonquil blinked in surprise—both at the sudden change of topic and the revelation. “You saw Angela? She came here to your work?” Of course baby sister was able to get to the ski resort to flirt with Gage without assistance from Jonquil, but not to and from the theater.

“Well, not
here
, here. But yeah. She came into the office.” Gage glanced into the trees. “She asked me to lunch, actually.”

Jonquil blinked a little letting the zing of betrayal hit her and move on, telling herself she didn’t have a right to feel that way, even as jealously lingered. “Oh. I didn’t realize. I’m sure you had fun together. She can be very entertaining.”

“Yeah, she can. And she’s definitely not shy.”

A squirrel started to chirp in the background, blending with the rhythm of the forest. “I hope you don’t mean that she was in the way.” Jonquil paused to take a slow breath, not wanting to be upset that he was seeing her sister. Then a second one. “Being shy is not her problem.” She avoided looking him in the face, hurt that he could overlook her so easily.

They walked on for another long moment before he broke the silence. “Look, I’ve been a jerk and you have reason to hate me.” He paused on the path and turned to face her again. “Can we call a truce? Like, for real this time? I hope I’m over being a jerk to you.” He held up his hand as if afraid she would misinterpret the statement. “I don’t want to date you, and I most certainly don’t want to marry you, no matter what your father thought about us. But considering all of the connections between us now, I would like it if we could be friends.”

She let the sting of his unsolicited rejection settle slightly. “I could probably handle that.” It would be better than the hostility that had filled the air between them for most of the past year. Still, she didn’t want to dwell on their change to
friends
, either, as being stuck in the friend zone wasn’t what she wanted. Switching the subject as quickly as possible was a must. “Jeremy said you know all of the best rock climbing locations around here. Any suggestions for places I could try? Close would be best since I usually can’t get away for more than an afternoon.”

Gage smiled. “Oh, yeah. I’m going out to Pistol Rock soon; it’s not far from here. A great climb.” He hesitated for two beats, then pushed ahead. “You shouldn’t climb alone and I know your sisters aren’t nature girls. Want to join me? You know, as friends.”

So this wasn’t a date. It was just two people recreating together? She was probably stupid to agree considering she was attracted to him and he just said he wasn’t the least interested in her. Jonquil decided she’d never been that smart anyway. But she wouldn’t mention the outing to her sisters, who would make more of it than warranted. “Sure. Let me check my calendar. I’ll text you with the days I can wiggle free for an afternoon.”

“Great.”

The silence this time wasn’t as uncomfortable, but Jonquil didn’t let it linger before asking about the upcoming mountain bike festival in July. She might as well pick his brain on local recreation, even if her secret longings would have to remain that way. Secret.

Gage was still at the office at seven o’clock. The skeleton staff he kept on in the summer had all gone home hours earlier and he promised himself when he finished proofing the advertising copy for the mountain bike festival that he would find some dinner and relax in front of the television for the night.

His impromptu hike with Jonquil a few days earlier came back to him again and he smiled. When he gave her half a chance, she was really good company. Much better than her little sister, who would be fun to flirt with if that’s all she was interested in. Their lunch was enough for him to be sure that they didn’t have enough in common for anything more. Even if he were interested in a real relationship. Which he wasn’t.

A door slammed and he nearly reached for the Glock he carried at the small of his back when he heard high heels clicking along the hallway. The footsteps weren’t the smooth gait you expected from a woman, but half tripping and uneven.

Gage rose from his chair just as Natalie staggered in, her hair in disarray, her linen jacket missing a couple of buttons and gaping open over a camisole. A smudge on her face looked suspiciously like a bruise. He hurried to her. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Natalie slumped against him, crying. “I’m sorry, I thought I was being smart, but I’ve messed up everything.” She sobbed and gasped between the words, clinging to him like she hadn’t done since they were kids.

“What happened?” He led her to one of the chairs facing his desk. “Do you need to see a doctor?”

“No, I’m fine, really.” She sank into the chair and covered her face with her hands, still crying, but not as hard as before. “I did something really stupid. I thought I knew. I mean, I couldn’t miss, but then everything went wrong and now I’m in big trouble.”

Gage sat across from her and took her hands, his heart beating rapid-fire. “Take a deep breath and explain.”

Natalie took several calming breaths before she began to speak. “It started as a lark, really. Just a small bet that might pay off. And it did. And I reinvested it, and then bet again. I kept winning and so I celebrated, and then when I thought I had a sure thing I made a bigger bet than ever. And I lost. But I didn’t actually have the money this time. And they want it, like yesterday.” Tears tracked down her face.

“Who wants it? What were you betting on?”

“My bookie. Liam introduced me to this guy—”

Gage groaned, not even needing her to finish the sentence to know what was coming next. He’d told her Liam was bad news when she started dating him a couple of months earlier. When she started seeing someone else a few weeks after that, Gage had thought it was all behind them, but apparently she hadn’t gotten out as cleanly as he’d thought. “How much money is it?”

She looked down at their hands. “Fifty-thousand dollars.”

That catapulted him out of his chair, stunned at her declaration. “Fifty-thousand? Are you serious? How could you possibly have risked that much? I could see if it were a few thousand. It would be irresponsible, but at least you could pay it back with your next month’s income. But fifty thousand? Where are you going to get that kind of money?” His mind raced as he considered and discarded options.

“I thought maybe you could help me out,” she said, her eyes wide open. “You’re always so good to help when I really need it.”

Was she crazy? He ran his hand through his hair as he turned to stare out the window. He had to get his anger under control before he spoke again. After several seconds passed he turned back to her. “I don’t have that kind of money. I just had to go begging to friends for extra to pay for some maintenance on the lifts. The profit from the winter—which by the way was nowhere near that much cash—has all been funneled back into the lifts as well.”

“Do you
have
to do the upgrades? Can’t you get by for another season?” Worry filled her face and she stared at him with wet eyes.

“Yes, I have to. No upgrades means no lifts next fall.” He leaned back against the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. “No lifts means shutting down or selling, and neither of those are options.”

“But what am I going to do?” She sobbed a little and covered her face with her hands. “They’ll probably kneecap me or something if I can’t come up with the money.”

He breathed in, making himself calm down to think clearly. Options, viable options were a must. “You could sell your Mercedes. And some of your jewelry.” He knew she wouldn’t like the suggestion, but didn’t have any other options.

“I can’t do that.” He looked at him in shock, stricken. “I need my car. And those jewels—I couldn’t get what they were worth if I sold them now, and I don’t have that many anyway. There’s no way I can scrape together enough to pay everything back that fast. You have to help me.”

Gage turned toward the window, looking out over the verdant green of his mountain. The sun would set soon, and clouds were rolling in for a promised storm, but he couldn’t enjoy it. Not with this hanging over his head. “I don’t know if I can help you. I’ll see what I can figure out, but you’re going to have to come up with most of it yourself. I’m serious about selling your car.” He turned back to her. “Until my summer events pay off, I have almost no money flowing in and I’ve already paid out for most of the expenses.”

He could see about borrowing something from the bank. Or one of the guys. But he hated to bring them in on something like this. For the business, sure, but that was different. Paying them back would be no picnic, either.

“I can’t believe you won’t help me.” She stood in righteous indignation. “They roughed me up, threatened me, and all you can say is to sell my car?”

“I’ll do what I can, but I don’t have that kind of money.” She never seemed to understand. “I invested my entire inheritance in this place. If it fails, I lose everything. I just don’t have the money.”

“This stupid ski resort. I wish you’d never bought it. So does Mom. You’re so focused on this money pit. You’d be better off if you sold it instead. Then maybe you wouldn’t put it ahead of your family.” Natalie wiped at tears that poured down her cheeks and she rushed from the room, stumbling slightly on her heels.

“Natalie, wait.” Gage hurried to the doorway, but she was already at the end of the hall and moving fast.

“Don’t bother. Now that I know where I rate I might as well not have even tried.” She pushed out the exterior door and into the parking lot.

Gage’s phone rang and he paused for a second, torn between the call he had been waiting for and going after her. He heard a car engine roar to life and knew he wouldn’t catch her anyway, and moved inside, feeling like a louse.

“This is Gage.” He answered when he picked up the phone. When there was a pause and a recording came on the line, he hung up and slumped into his chair. Somehow he had to help Natalie, but he didn’t know what to do.