followed the instructions Jonas had sent earlier today and made her way to Jonas’s cabin. Cabin being an understated word for his place. With snow on the peaked roof and lights wrapped around the balustrade on the wide front porch, the place looked as if it was right out of a fairytale.
Rachel patted her camera at her side. As she climbed the steps, her heart lightened. Time to get her son, go back to the lodge, and grab some dinner. Then the evening would be hers to look through the photos more closely and start getting the scrapbook planned and assembled. She didn’t often get orders that included full albums like this one. It was the perfect chance to show off her skills with winter scenes.
A peal of laughter met her at the door. Rachel stopped, her hand poised to knock as she listened.
“Giddy up,” she heard Jonas call out. “Want to keep riding?”
Scott laughed again, and it lit her up from the inside out. She tried the door and found it unlocked. With a burst of courage, she entered the pristine cabin in search of the fun and laughter just as they disappeared around the corner.
Jonas’s modern bachelor living room had been transformed. Toys were scattered from one end to the other, and the two of them were playing together on the cream-colored rug. Was that a stuffed elk? It was big enough for Scott to ride, and Jonas was at the helm, supplying the power as he pulled him around. Complete with sound effects.
A pang shot through her like an arrow, so strong she put a hand over her heart. This wasn’t Jonas, the perfect businessman she’d met years before and met again when they first arrived at the resort. There was no buttoned shirt, no crisp slacks. He wore jeans and a heather gray t-shirt, both of which set off his mussed hair, and he was crawling on the floor, playing with Scott.
Their son.
It took him a minute to notice her, and when he did, his face changed—brightened. “Hey,” he said. “How did it go today?”
“It was perfect.” Rachel had the strangest feeling of déjà vu, only they had never been together like this. It felt shockingly natural. Like a family. “I got so many impressive shots. The scrapbook should turn out really well.”
Rachel searched for the perfect, casual way to ask Jonas to help pack up Scott’s things so they could head out. There was no uncomplicated way to end the scene she’d walked into.
“One more time?” Jonas grinned down at Scott. Her son reached up to touch Jonas’s face, then whipped around and grabbed the neck of the elk. Jonas swept them both up in his arms and trotted the pair around the rug, Scott squealing the whole time. When they’d completed the round, Jonas looked up at her, a laugh on his lips. “Stay for dinner?”
Jonas wanted to spend more time with his son. He wanted it despite the fact that he was tired. Even the luxury of an afternoon nap hadn’t washed away his weariness. But still, he wanted his son to stay. And he wanted Rachel right there with them. It seemed like the natural progression of their day together. It would give him a chance to start over with her after they’d gotten off on the wrong foot.
She hesitated, and Jonas could practically see the thoughts whirling in her head. Rachel obviously had a plan that didn’t involve dinner with him, but she was already inside, looking like she belonged.
“Please,” he added. “I’d love it if you would stay.”
It felt odd to be so vulnerable. Admitting that he wanted her to stay—that wasn’t something he was in the habit of doing. Maybe he should have been, earlier on. Well, he could only start with the present. Jonas stood and picked Scott up in his arms. If Rachel didn’t want to join him for dinner, he wouldn’t press the issue, but if she did—
“I’d like that too.” Her shoulders relaxed, and a pleasant pink flush worked over her cheeks. Rachel laid her camera on the table nearby, shrugged out of her jacket and removed her boots, carrying them to the foyer. She returned seconds later looking right at home. “What are you having?”
“Well...” He went through his mental list of what he had in the fridge. He’d been spending a lot of extra time at the lodge for the holidays, so it wasn’t much, but there was enough to make a decent