Elkin Brothers Christmas The Complete Series - Leslie North Page 0,28

in on who should get the job.

He turned on his heel and went out, leaving Jonas flipping pointedly through the slim stack of resumes. He greeted staff members and the front desk crew, but his mind was elsewhere. Jonas seemed as though he was at a maximum stress level, and Chase wondered what was eating at him. Aside from the usual hustle and stress of running the resort, that is.

Chase headed outside into the crisp morning. He took a minute to soak it in, the cold air welcome on his face. Maybe Jonas was having girl problems of his own. That would be enough to make anyone stressed. But no—that was unlikely. Jonas worked so much that he was probably suffering from the inverse problem. A total lack of companionship. He’d renovated himself into his ideal life, but maybe discovered something was still missing.

He took the trail back to his house. Chase wanted to go see Tana on the slopes but knew it was a bad idea. He couldn’t be the kind of boyfriend who stood at the bottom of the ski hill, watching her. Boyfriend. He snorted at the thought. He was not Tana’s boyfriend.

His phone buzzed, and he stopped at the edge of his driveway to check the message. An apology from Jonas? Ha. That would never happen.

Gabe: You busy?

Chase swiped through his phone and dialed his brother’s number.

“When a person texts,” Gabe said by way of greeting, “you should text them back.”

“I’m walking up my driveway. Not looking to text and trip. I think I’ve done enough damage to my leg.”

“What’s up, Chase?”

“I got a job offer.”

“What job offer? At the resort?” Gabe asked.

Chase let out a breath. “No—basically the opposite.” Chase told Gabe about the sportswear company and the opportunity his friend had presented. His brother remained silent. “What do you think?”

“I think that if you came out to LA, we’d be closer to each other. That would be good. But, wait—why are you still there, anyway? Did you miss your flight?”

“Miss what flight?”

“Your flight away from Elk Lodge, to wherever you’re going next. I thought you wanted to get out of there.” Gabe’s tone shifted. “Anything wrong? Grandmother made a big deal about everybody coming back, but I thought—”

“She just wanted the family to get together,” Chase mumbled. It didn’t feel great to lie to his brother, but they’d all sworn not to say a word to Gabe until he was home for the holidays. “And anyway, I’m helping Jonas out with some things around the resort. That’s why I’m still here.”

Gabe snorted. “Why would Jonas ever ask anybody for help?”

“He didn’t. Grandmother wanted me to step in. I guess he seemed stressed and busy.”

“Sounds like Jonas’s regular self.”

“We’re hiring a new ski program director.” Chase just wanted to be back on a regular footing in this conversation instead of feeling like he was dodging the elephant in the room. “So I’m going over the external applications. But you know what? I’ve been going on so long, I didn’t ask why you called.”

“You called me.”

“Why you texted, then. Something up?”

A pause. “Oh, it’s nothing.” His brother’s voice changed ever so slightly, but Chase caught it. Whatever he wanted to talk about wouldn’t happen now, leaving him to wonder what was going on.

Chase stopped short at the steps to his porch, blinking against the bright light. He’d been imagining this job as taking him away from his family. Far away. Too far for regular visits if he didn’t want to make them. But Gabe was on the west coast. Without all the pressure of the Elk Lodge, he and Gabe might get to know each other again. He hadn’t seen his brother much since the accident, and even before then, their lives had diverged when Chase’s career took off.

“Chase? You still there?” Papers rustled in the background. “The cell service over there is still terrible, I guess.”

“I’m still here,” he said quickly. “You’re right. It would be good if we were closer.”

“Aw, Chase, I didn’t know you missed me so much. Don’t worry, I’ll come back someday. Just not now. Got things to do.”

Chase went inside the house. “Did I say I missed you? If I did, it was a mistake.”

“Love you, bro,” Gabe said, knowing he was teasing.

“Love you, too.” Funnily enough, he meant it. Chase wondered if he should have had a heart-to-heart about their grandmother’s health, considering he didn’t think it was right Gabe hadn’t been told. Jonas had been all out of