the silence between them became too uncomfortable, Max looked at her with more than just a casual interest.
Grace looked away, then something pulled her attention back to him. She gazed into his deep blue eyes, seeing more than just the man who’d offered her a place to stay.
Hesitantly, Max smoothed the hair away from her face. “I want to say I’m sorry, but I’m not.”
Grace smiled. “It’s okay, really.”
Max nodded. “You’d better go. The snow and all.”
Neither made an attempt to move their gazes as they locked on to one another, both amazed at the sudden attraction between them.
Max spoke up, breaking the connection. “What about Bryce?”
She squinted her eyes as though he were suddenly out of focus. “What about him?”
“Never mind,” Max said softly.
“Wait. Why are you asking me about Bryce? Do you know him?”
“No, and I don’t want to either. Look, Grace, it was just a kiss, okay? Heat of the moment, nothing more. I’ve been without a woman too long. You’re very attractive. I just lost control, okay?” Visions of Kayla danced before him while his heart hammered to the tune of guilty, guilty, guilty!
“Why you…jerk! What kind of…never mind. Give me my keys. I can’t believe I even kissed you! What an idiot I am!” Grace raced down the steps as fast as her feet would move.
“Amanda, Ashley! It’s time to go,” she called to the pair, who were now wide-awake.
Quickly, both girls put on their jackets, shoes, and mittens.
“Can we kiss the dogs good-bye, Miss Grace?” Amanda asked.
Grace glanced at Max.
“Of course you can. They like pretty girls.”
“Just like their owner,” Grace muttered between gritted teeth.
Beseechingly, Max asked, “Tell me one thing before you leave.”
Taking a deep breath and promising to see her own counselor as soon as she could, she rolled her eyes upward. “What?”
“Why do you keep calling your home ‘Hope House’? Where is this…place?”
Deciding there was no point in lying or dragging this exit out any longer than was necessary, Grace turned to face him.
“Remember I told you I was a counselor?” She waited for him to reply. He nodded.
“Actually, I’m a psychologist. Women who’ve been battered and abused come to Hope House. It’s a safe haven. They’re brought to me by local law enforcement when they need a place to stay, somewhere they can feel safe until they either face their attacker in court, divorce him, or, in some cases, leave only to go right back to the man who sent them running in the first place. This year, Stephanie and the girls, plus my own family, will be celebrating Christmas at Hope House.” Grace wanted to invite him to spend Christmas Day with her even after he’d humiliated her when he made an excuse for kissing her. There was just something lonely about him. Thoughts of his spending the holiday alone dampened her holiday spirit.
“Its location is a secret,” she added.
Grace watched the numerous expressions roll across his handsome face as she spoke. Curiosity, then she was sure she saw anger. Why would this make him angry? Obviously, she didn’t know the man well. It didn’t matter because she had a Christmas gathering waiting for her.
“Come on, girls. Let’s go decorate that tree I promised you.”
Excited they shouted, “Yeah! Yeah! Let’s hurry, Miss Grace, please!”
Grace gave Max one last glance before speaking. “I appreciate your hospitality, Max. Thanks again.”
The girls gave kisses to the dogs, who willingly returned them with big, sloppy kisses of their own.
“Bye, Ice-D. Bye, Cliff!” they chorused, before racing out the door.
“Be safe,” Max called out to Grace, then closed the door.
Suddenly the cabin seemed too big for him and the dogs. “Let’s go for a run, you two. I can’t remember the last time I exercised you guys. Better yet, let’s go to Powder Rise, and we’ll ski down the mountain.”
He made quick work of gathering the dogs’ boots and coats. His skis were in the shed along with everything else from his former life. Dressing the dogs wasn’t easy, but necessary. They ran alongside him while he skied, and their paws had to be protected as well as possible to avoid frostbite.
Thirty minutes later, Max drove his spare snowmobile up to the top of Powder Rise. His mountain. And what would have been Kayla’s mountain, their child’s mountain.
Standing on top, he felt small in comparison. He stared at the miles of white and green surrounding him. Kayla hadn’t enjoyed the snow that much. She probably would’ve been content to stay in Denver for the rest of her life. Why was he remembering that? What did it matter if Kayla hadn’t liked the snow, or skiing, or anything else about it? He hadn’t been all that thrilled with her chosen profession either. Couldn’t understand why she wanted to put herself at risk every time she walked out the door. And he would never know, he realized.
At the top of Powder Rise, which was at best a decent blue run, Max shoved off the top, Ice-D and Cliff running on each side.
The snow made a soft swishing sound as his skis cut through it. The mountain trail narrowed to a catwalk. Large pines towered above him, an occasional gust of snow from the branches dropping in his path as he maneuvered his way side to side down the hill. Traveling at a slow and steady pace so that both dogs could keep up without becoming tired, Max realized for the first time in many long months just how lonely he was.
Yes, he had friends, but they’d stopped coming around a long time ago. They stopped coming around because he’d turned into another person after Kayla’s death. Max had crawled into a cocoon of grief. He remembered the guilt he felt just for being alive. Day by day, he’d cursed Kayla for the choice she’d made. And day by day his grief had changed him, turning him into the hard, bitter man he was today. For the first time since Kayla’s death, he didn’t want to be that bitter, hateful man. He wanted to be the man he used to be in spite of what he’d said to Grace.
He remembered all too well the minutes that led up to the exact moment when his entire universe tilted. Max didn’t like reliving the memory, but today he would. Because today he was going to put the past behind him and move forward.
It was Christmas Eve, and Max was looking forward to spending the next week pampering his wife. Excited didn’t describe what he felt when he learned they were pregnant. A child of his own. Being an only child, Max wanted at least three, if not more. Kayla said two would be her limit. He didn’t care if they had just the one or a dozen. Max couldn’t wait to give Kayla her Christmas gift, a brand-new fire-engine red Jeep. She’d been driving a Datsun pickup given to her by her father ever since he’d known her. He wanted her to have a vehicle that was a little more reliable, something that wouldn’t break down on her all the time.
