Up to Snow Good - Kelly Collins Page 0,34

perfect reward for a day of hard work was for her and Max to slip into the lodge’s jacuzzi, overlooking the town of Moss Creek below. The hot, bubbly water was especially soothing against the cold, brisk air. They were the only two people in the tub enjoying the heat as the steam rose around them.

The lights of Moss Creek sparkled beneath them like grounded stars. The sky was a sheet of inky black with glistening diamonds dancing about. It seemed as if they were the only people in the world, and nothing could hurt them.

Max’s eyes found hers, and she knew what he was wanting, what he was feeling. The same impulses were streaming through her body too; the desire to be closer, as close as any two bodies can be, and then closer still. She wanted to pull him to her there and then, to throw her arms and legs around him and take him in completely and totally with wild abandon. Sadly, there were still a few guests at the lodge, and Ruthie’s judgmental eyes were never far away.

It was sweet enough to sit in that percolating froth, releasing a sigh that seemed to take with it all the stress and worry building since her father’s death. Max had brought a new perspective, a new aspect to her life and to the life of the lodge. He was destined to lead the Sunshine Lodge into the future.

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked.

Max chuckled. “I suppose that’s all they’re worth.” After a pause, he went on, “It’s my father, and the future, and there’s a lot to think about.”

Lauren nodded. “My parents would probably say there was a lot to pray about.”

“Not mine.” They shared another laugh. “My father says hope trumps faith every time.”

“Hope? I didn’t know your father was so tenderhearted.”

“He’s a good man deep down, but he’s tough because he’s had to be, at least that’s how he saw it.”

“You’ve always played it a different way.”

He nodded. “I have hope. Hope for a better life for the people here; hope that my father has finally come around on so many things. I guess I always felt that a person could lose faith, but they can still have hope.”

She nodded. It seemed such a sweet and simple notion.

“Hope and faith,” she said, “to me, they seem like two sides of the same coin.” Max broke a little smile, and her eyes locked on his lips. “But love always wins out.”

“It does,” he said.

Their faces neared, and she cleared her throat. “I mean, isn’t that what the romantics would say?”

“The rock band?” he joked.

They shared a laugh. “Two souls with but a single thought; two hearts that beat as one.”

“Keats?”

“Yes.”

Their faces neared for a kiss, lips pressing together, hands sliding under the bubbling surface. Passion rose in her blood, nerves prickling her skin. She wouldn’t be able to withstand the temptation much longer, though she could hardly dare move from the hot water, cuddling and nuzzling him.

It was a dream come true, and the rest of the night would hold more promise and satisfaction.

Each night they spent together was perfection.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Max

He and Lauren sat in the great room of the lodge, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace. The question of how much to say consumed him. He had grown too close to Lauren to be less than honest with her, and what was going on involved her and her future. Protecting her meant being open and truthful, though not so honest that he’d be committing romantic suicide.

“We need to talk.”

Her eyes grew wide. “That sounds ominous. Should I worry?”

He hated being so cagey, but everything was at stake for the two of them, and the lessons he’d learned from his father echoed in the back of his brain. “She’s up to something, that nurse Jane, I know it.”

Lauren said, eyes wide with her surprise, “Really? It’s like a soap opera over there.”

“Nothing so amusing, I’m afraid. My father says he’s got a handle on things, and what worries me is that he just might. All this, his change of heart, I want to believe him, but I’m not sure I can.” The greatest show of sincerity was Pops tearing up the document. Once that had been destroyed, so was his father’s hold on his and Lauren’s future.

There was no reason to mention it, he told himself; it was gone, and bringing it up would only make things unnecessarily complicated.

“I guess this is where you have to