Elkin Brothers Christmas The Complete Series - Leslie North

1

Chase Elkin had never once in his life thought he’d end up back in his grandmother’s office in the Elk Lodge. Sure, it was their successful family business, but it didn’t belong to him. The only thing that had ever belonged to him was his career as a professional skier, and now he didn’t even have that.

His grandmother sat behind her desk, head bowed over a massive ledger. Even at work, she was the picture of elegance—silver hair swept back in a neat bun, a cream sweater that looked soft enough to fall into. They kept computer records now, of course, but there were some things Elin Elkin still liked to do by hand. One of those things was keeping track of the staff.

Chase watched the swoops and falls of her pen across the paper while he lowered himself carefully into one of the antique chairs across from her. Any wrong move could bring back the pain of his old injury. Being back at the Elk Lodge felt like having his knee wrenched all over again.

Fine—it wasn’t as bad as that. But the ache he felt when he moved through the halls had little to do with the ski injury. He waited without speaking for his grandmother to acknowledge him. This, at least, didn’t hurt his feelings. She’d always been focused on keeping the Elk Lodge functioning at its best. When Chase was little, he’d learned to sit quietly and wait. But now sitting quietly reminded him that his old place at the Elk Lodge didn’t quite fit, like clothes that had gotten too small. Who was he, if he wasn’t a skier?

But where else was he supposed to go? The bottom had fallen out of his skiing career. There was no going back to that now—not with his injuries. He’d come home from Salt Lake City, ordered home for Thanksgiving just like the rest of his brothers. Gabe hadn’t come, despite the orders—claiming an emergency at work.

Chase suspected it wasn’t much of an emergency, but who could say—and at first, he’d been mildly jealous of Gabe’s ability to slip the bonds of the family. The dinner had been traditional—they dressed for the occasion, and Chase still felt the stiffness of his suit jacket, though he’d long since taken it off. After the dinner, though? Grandmother had ordered the servers out of the room and announced her diagnosis.

She’d always been a formidable woman when it came to running the company, but now, at seventy-four, there was some question about how much of a toll the treatments would take. Was she even going to survive it? Now Chase wished Gabe had been at the dinner. They were under a new set of orders not to say a thing to him until Grandmother had had a chance to speak to him herself. Chase didn’t like to imagine getting the news over the phone. But she wouldn’t do that. She’d probably decide to tell Gabe when he arrived for Christmas. It would change everything that came after for him, but Chase pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

His grandmother put down her pen, closed the ledger, and slid it to the corner of her desk. Her green eyes met his. Chase’s throat went tight with regret and shame and something else, too—fear. She looked so much older than he remembered. He’d been back to the lodge twice in the last year, but somehow time sped up at breakneck speed between visits. She looked older and smaller than he remembered. Chase wanted to throw his arms out and create a barrier between her and the rest of the world. Except it wouldn’t do any good now—the world had already gotten to her.

She reached across the desk, palms up.

Chase placed his hands in hers. Some things still fit, he supposed. His grandmother squeezed tight, not looking away. “How are you, Chase? You doing all right with the news?”

He let out a sorrowful laugh. “Is anybody?”

She gave him a rueful smile. “This is something we’ve got to face as a family. And we will be able to face it as a family, just as soon as your brother arrives for Christmas.”

Chase would never forget the announcement she’d made last night as they sat around the dinner table. Cancer. And the doctors weren’t sure if they could stop it or slow it.

After a stunned silence came the questions. Jonas had retreated deep into his own thoughts, sullen. Perhaps he thought she was finally handing over the company. Who