a meaningless dance with my mule-headed sister? Because I was deeply concerned about your publicly seducing her in the span of a three-minute song. Thank God you’ve cleared up the matter or I never would’ve been able to sleep tonight.”
Her waspish sarcasm was invigorating. Everyone thought of Elisabeth Donnelly as levelheaded and reserved. It was a perverse point of pride that he could ruffle her feathers.
Now that they were farther from both the bar and the restrooms, there was more open space around them. He took advantage of the opportunity, gently steering her toward a recessed indentation in the wall. It was the kind of alcove that had probably housed a pay phone in the days before everyone carried a cell.
She swatted his hand away from her shoulder. “I have friends waiting for me.” The light caught the diamond ring she wore.
“It’s true, then.” Seeing the proof of her engagement was different than hearing about it from Lina. Something unpleasant rippled through him, like the chills he’d experienced last time he had the flu. “You’re getting married.”
She met his gaze, her expression challenging. “Yes, I am.”
“And moving away?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. Heading to California, trading snowboards for surfboards.” Her words had a rehearsed quality, as if she’d made the same crack to others. Her pinched expression didn’t reveal any eagerness for the relocation.
“How’s Kaylee feel about it?” he asked softly. Justin knew what it was like to lose a parent. He couldn’t imagine how much worse it would have been for him as a kid if his aunt had uprooted him and his siblings, removing them from the warm support of the community.
Fury sparked in Elisabeth’s eyes. “Don’t you dare ask about her like some concerned friend or kindly uncle. You made it pretty clear you don’t give a damn about either of us, or about anyone else but yourself.”
The unexpected words wounded him. She couldn’t really believe that, could she? “Now wait a—”
But she’d already twisted away and was merging back into the press of happily tipsy patrons. Justin’s instincts screamed at him to follow, to plead his case, but the rational part of him knew it was smarter to let her go.
Letting her go had always been the right choice.
Chapter Three
Wednesday was a busy day on the mountain. Justin had reported for work at seven-thirty in the morning, starting with a rundown on the day’s weather conditions and post assignments. Shortly after tourists began hitting the slopes, a skier had broken her wrist. Justin took her by toboggan to get medical attention. After an early lunch, he assisted with some training and taught a CPR class. The entire day felt like one fast-paced blur of activity, and before he knew it, he was in his SUV headed to Arden’s for dinner.
His sister, like his ex-girlfriend, was also engaged to be married. Soon Arden would become Mrs. Garrett Frost. Garrett spent as much time in Cielo Peak as he could, but his family’s ranch a couple of hours to the east required his attention. Whenever Garrett couldn’t be in town, Justin made it a point to check in on Arden and two-month-old Hope. Plus, Arden was a terrific cook. It was no hardship to exchange the occasional night of his bachelor lifestyle for one of her home-cooked meals and the chance to cuddle his niece.
As much as Justin loved baby Hope, the day she’d been born had been one of the scariest of his life. Arden and Garrett had been temporarily estranged, and the cowboy hadn’t been anywhere near Cielo Peak when Arden went into premature labor. Justin had been with her at the hospital while doctors explained the complications and dangers she faced. He’d been terrified he was about to lose another loved one.
When he was ten, his mom had died the week after Thanksgiving; his father passed away a few years later. Justin and Arden had been raised in part by an elderly aunt but mostly by their older brother, Colin. The Cade siblings had banded together in a tight family unit, which had expanded when Colin married. Tragedy lashed out at them again when a car accident took Colin’s wife and toddler son. If anything had happened to Arden...
But she was fine, Justin reminded himself. His niece was a healthy, beautiful baby, and his sister was ecstatic about her February wedding. She made frequent jokes about how she and Garrett had approached their relationship backward, but Justin privately doubted she’d change a thing that had brought them to this point. She’d never been happier.
When he turned onto Arden’s street, Justin’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Her entire house was outlined in twinkling white lights. The trees in the yard were adorned with red and green bulbs that blinked in a frenetic pattern. A spotlight shone on an inflatable polar bear that seemed nearly as tall as Justin’s six-foot-two height. A moving train circled the bear. Justin practically needed sunglasses to park in the driveway.
Since Arden was expecting him and he never knew when the baby might be asleep, he let himself in without knocking. “It’s me,” he called softly. He followed the mouthwatering smell of roast beef and the rhythmic sound of a mechanized baby swing to the kitchen.
Hope was safely harnessed into the reclining swing, watching the mobile of brightly colored animals above her head. Her eyelids were beginning to droop, though. She had the Cade eyes, the same deep blue-green that Justin and his siblings shared. Her hair was black like her father’s, a much darker shade than Arden’s or Justin’s brown hair.
Justin dropped a quick kiss on his sister’s forehead, then jerked his thumb toward the front of the house. “Don’t you think your cowboy got a little carried away? It’s like the freaking Vegas Strip out there.”
“Isn’t it great?” Arden beamed at him. “I admit, we probably went overboard, but...this is Hope’s first Christmas. We want to make it special.”
And special was synonymous with able to see the house from space? He bit back the reminder that Hope was only two months old and wouldn’t even remember the seizure-inducing light show when she was older. Why allow his bah-humbug tendencies to ruin other people’s joy?
Arden’s smile faded, and her voice took on an audible ache. “Speaking of Christmas...our brother is dodging me.”
“Left him a message a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t return my call, either,” Justin commiserated.
She banged a wooden spoon down next to the stove. “Thanksgiving was bad enough! Colin didn’t come to town, and you took the holiday shift at the ambulance station.”
“I didn’t mind,” he assured her. “I would’ve been in the way here. You and Garrett were still adjusting to the baby, and you needed the bonding time with your future in-laws.”
She wasn’t mollified. “No one’s Thanksgiving should be limited to a couple of turkey slices on nutritionally bankrupt white bread! You only got away with it because in November, I was exhausted and recovering from the C-section. I was in no condition to pitch a fit. But I swear, if you and Colin aren’t both here for Christmas, I will throw an unholy tantrum the likes of which you’ve never seen. It’s more than Hope’s first Christmas. It’s my last one as a Cade. As much as I can’t wait to marry Garrett, moving to the ranch will change things.”
“It’s not your last anything.” He hugged her. “You’ll always be a Cade.”
“Will you
