Up to Snow Good - Kelly Collins Page 0,14

her father well, which was an important factor, but she never thought about him that way.

She sighed and searched herself for any sign of attraction, for the thrill she found instantly seeing Max walk into the lobby, the nervousness she felt watching him sing and play that piano, but there was none. Looking at Sam aroused as much passion as watching paint dry.

Ruthie’s scolding sounded loud in her head, but her own thoughts drowned that out. She wouldn’t enter into a relationship based on anything but love. As she pondered love, she thought about Max.

All that nonsense that happened so long ago with their parents had nothing to do with them. The destruction of their affection for one another shouldn’t have happened in the first place, but it did, and it kept them apart all these years.

Maybe this was their second chance to revisit first love and right the wrongs. They’d always gotten along, and they had fun today. The attraction was still there. It ignited every cell in her body.

He wasn’t with anyone because gossip traveled quickly in small towns, and since her return, she’d heard nothing about him tied to any woman.

There wasn’t a ring on his finger or hers.

She reminded herself that thoughts of a lost love wouldn’t take away the problems she faced. Any notion of getting together with Max died years ago. She didn’t understand why they surfaced now. Was it her age? At twenty-eight, she wasn’t getting any younger. No, it was because, after years of relative stability, she was suddenly without family, and her family home was in jeopardy. Crazily enough, she had two men pulling her in different directions for different reasons.

Things were happening too fast. Her world felt like quicksand sinking out from beneath her. All she could do was hold on, wait, and see what else would come crashing down around her.

Chapter Eleven

Max

Max waited for as long as he could before going back to Sunshine Lodge. He tried to imagine himself as a rescuer, a hero to a woman in need. The property burdened her, and it would liberate her to free herself from it. That’s what he told himself, anyway.

Strolling around the backyard, he found her mumbling about a Santa’s Village. Pointing to different places in the landscape and saying words like carolers and reindeer.

“Santa’s Village?” he asked.

She spun around at the sound of his voice and smiled.

“Yes, hear me out.”

She spent the next few minutes telling him the details. He could envision the old world feel she spoke about; a reindeer petting zoo, hayrides, and cookies. It struck him as charming, and something the locals would enjoy.

“That’s something the local paper would cover,” Max said. “It would also be good for the vendors. There’s no better advertisement than word of mouth.”

“Exactly,” Lauren said, her excitement building. “I mean, I know it’s just a quick fix, but it’s something.”

They walked on while Lauren looked around the property, the cool winter air brisk and invigorating.

“My accountant wants me to sell the lodge.”

“Does he?” Max could already imagine his father smirking.

“He says I can’t afford to keep it, and he’s probably right.” She looked around, and he could see the sadness in her eyes. “My father and mother loved this place so much. After New York, it was like a different world, you know? Natural. Beautiful. Pure.” She took another deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I hate to think I let them down somehow.”

“I don’t think it’s fair to put it that way,” he said. “The lodge had been struggling for a while now, am I right?”

She nodded with a sad smile. “No snow.”

“That’s not your fault.”

“No, but I still feel somehow that this is my legacy—my parents’ gift to me. To walk away from it is like walking away from them.”

He understood her need to make them proud. It was one reason he still worked for his father. The greatest joy for a parent was their child, and even more so if they made them proud. Then there was the deep loss of leaving everything behind.

“I know how you feel. We buried my mother on our property, and letting some stranger build on it is unthinkable and yet …”

She nodded, but Max knew he hadn’t made his point.

“Honestly, no matter who owns the land, it wouldn’t bring her back, and it wouldn’t bring her pain. All that angst would come from me, and my perception of things, not hers. My father wouldn’t be so sentimental, but then again, he worships