one delivered, afraid it might wake Scott when they arrived to set it up. Not to mention, it would be gossip-worthy.
Jonas stood by the window, swaying back and forth for a long while. Scott’s breathing evened out and got deeper, his hand dropping away from his face. Jonas briefly wished he’d thought to change out of his shirt and tie, but he hadn’t.
His arms started to go numb. Jonas eased himself toward the sofa, still swaying. Was Scott deeply asleep enough to stay sleeping if he laid him on the sofa? He had no way of knowing what to expect, his experience zero. The one thing he did know was that his son was safe in his arms and that it would have to do for now—numb arms or not.
Scott stayed sleeping as he lowered himself onto the sofa, shifting his body a little to readjust to Jonas’s new position.
Sitting there, Jonas started to drift off. He was tired. Had been for weeks. Months. Maybe years. It was all catching up to him now. Jonas put his legs up on the sofa, trying to stretch out a bit without waking his son. He couldn’t keep his eyes open.
It was peaceful here, with the faint sound of air moving through his heater and the rest of the resort blocked out by the walls. In his suite, nobody was calling him for help with reservations. Nobody was taking second glances at his son and drawing conclusions that he’d have to explain. There might be work that needed doing at his office, but he couldn’t do it—he was busy holding a sleeping toddler. Surely that was the most important job he could do.
Just a few minutes, he’d rest his eyes. And then he’d wait for Scott to wake or Rachel to show up. The sunlight on his face told him it was late afternoon. Perhaps if Rachel finished for the day, they could take another tour of the property, and she could get more photos. It sounded nice. Just the three of them.
He pictured her laughing, stretching out on the bed beneath him, whispering something in his ear that didn’t quite make sense. The image was from the past, and Jonas let himself drift into it. It was a warm and welcome memory as he drifted off to sleep, unable to fight the urge to give in any longer.
6
The candid photoshoot earlier today had slipped in and out of a posed session, with Rachel backing away as much as she could to capture the small moments between the family members. Portraits of Elin seemed especially important to the family.
They’d spent the lunch hour walking to Elin’s favorite parts of the resort, and Rachel let her be in the places she loved. They would be priceless photos. She knew it already. Plus, anything she didn’t get today, she’d be able to get at the more formal session tomorrow. Traditional portraits—one of Rachel’s favorites.
Recently, she’d mostly shot weddings, but families were a big part of weddings. She loved photos that included everyone, holding hands and smiling and enjoying each other’s company.
The Elkin family had gradually gotten used to Rachel’s quiet presence at the edge of the room and settled in to enjoy each other’s company. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d invested early in her career in good camera lenses. It also helped that the Elk Lodge was full of natural light, and the blue skies provided the rest.
Eventually, Elin had excused herself to rest, and they’d called it quits for the day. After putting away her equipment, she couldn’t resist scrolling through the photos. Glancing at her watch, she realized another hour had slipped away, and so had the day. There were still landscape shots that needed to be taken. Jonas hadn’t returned or called, and Rachel took it as a good sign.
She tamped down the temptation to go find him, knowing if he needed her, he’d find her. It gave her a sense of fulfillment to think of Jonas and Scott spending time together. She headed outside, taking advantage of her freedom.
Not surprisingly, she missed having Scott with her, watching and listening to him play in the snow. She made her way through the woods, and up one of the trails next to the ski hills. At the top, she turned back to take a photo of the lodge, lovely in the afternoon light. Snow fell gently, the whole scene looking like something from a vacation brochure. She hoped her photos would