A Thunder Canyon Christmas (15 page)

Mindful of the hazards of overindulging—hadn't she learned
that
particular lesson painfully well?—she took only a tiny sip of her champagne while she listened to the ebb and flow of conversation around her.

Out of the corner of her gaze, she spied Grant and Stephanie approaching Erin's group. As she watched, her brother slipped an arm around his newly discovered sister's shoulder and guided her to a couple of Thunder Canyon old-timers who must not have had the chance to meet her yet.

The champagne took on a bitter taste and suddenly the room felt close and airless.

Suddenly she thought of what Matt had said the other day, that there was room in her heart for everyone. She was definitely discovering that. She was already coming to care for the Castros. Didn't the same hold true? Just because her family had embraced Erin didn't mean they were pushing her away at the same time.

She let out a shaky breath. She had been acting like a spoiled brat, she realized. She wanted something—her life back, the one she'd known before Erin discovered the hospital mistake. Since she could no longer have it, instead of reacting with dignity and grace and looking for the good in the situation, she felt like she'd been throwing a pissy temper tantrum since Thanksgiving.

How had anybody been able to stand her?

As she gazed out the window, through the trees she saw a wide glimmer of white not far away from
McFarlane Lodge. Silver Stallion Lake, she realized. Because of the way the road curved, she hadn't realized it was so close.

She glanced around the crowded room at everyone celebrating weddings and engagements and Christmas and then looked back at the lake, a favorite spot of locals. The idea of clearing her head was suddenly immensely appealing. Since she didn't think anyone would miss her for a few moments, she headed for the room where they had hung their coats earlier.

A moment later, she slipped out the lovely sculpted door and into the lightly falling snow.

 

“No, I'm not joking,” Bo Clifton, Elise's cousin and the town's new mayor-elect gave Matt's father a solemn look. “Completely serious. I know it's hard to believe but I just got the phone call from the sheriff that they've arrested him.”

“Who's under arrest?” Matt asked, overhearing just the tail end of the conversation as he approached them.

“Arthur Swinton,” Frank said, eyes wide and shocked.

His father hadn't been a fan of the mayor whom Bo was supposed to be replacing after the new year. He considered him a prosy old windbag, but he seemed as shocked as Matt that the man had been arrested.

“What are the charges?” Matt asked.

“Multiple counts of embezzlement and fraud of public funds,” Bo said, his features grim. “You know how the town budget has been struggling so much for the last few years and revenue seems to have dwindled to a
trickle? Well, it turns out the soft economy is only partly responsible. Arthur Swinton has been dipping his fat little fingers into the city's coffers, maybe for years.”

“I always knew he was difficult to work with,” Frank said with disgust. “Always making us jump through ridiculous hoops when it came to building permits and zoning regulations. I just never imagined he was crooked.”

“I did,” Grant Clifton said. “Everything makes sense now. I never could figure out where the redevelopment tax incentives we'd been promised to expand the resort had disappeared to. Now I know.”

“We'll get everything straightened out,” Bo promised them all. “I'm pushing hard for the swearing in to be held on New Year's Day so I can start cleaning up this mess and get this town back on track.”

Grant clapped him on the shoulder. “Whatever you need, Bo, we'll help. I've been talking with Corey and Dillon Traub and we've got big plans for the resort.”

“The Traubs are partnering with Caleb Douglas and Justin Caldwell?” Matt asked, surprised.

“That's the plan,” Grant said. “They're looking for another investment and see nothing but good things for Thunder Canyon and the resort in the future. We're talking a major expansion here.”

He paused and smiled at the Cateses. “You know, we're going to need a reliable construction company. Cates is at the top of that list.”

Pride surged through Matt. His father had built a solid reputation in Thunder Canyon and he knew his work the last few years had only added to that, but his
professional satisfaction was tempered by plenty of uncertainty.

Part of him rejoiced at the idea of the revitalization of Thunder Canyon and the role Cates Construction might play in that. But the other part was all tangled up with a woman who didn't even know if she wanted to be anywhere near the town he loved.

News of the mayor's arrest had spread through the party and several people approached Bo for more details. While the man was busy explaining everything he knew about the charges against Swinton, Frank pulled Matt aside.

“You think we can handle a big project like Grant and the Traubs have in mind?” Frank asked. “We might need to add to the crew.”

“I'm not sure,” Matt admitted.

His father stared. “What do you mean, you're not sure? Wrong answer, son. You're supposed to say, ‘Sure, Dad. I got this. We can handle anything.'”

On a professional level, Matt knew the company could handle any challenge that came its way. Hadn't they proved it the last few months by bringing in this job for Connor McFarlane quickly and efficiently?

When it came to his tangled, complicated relationship with Elise, he wasn't sure of anything.

“Dad, I need to be up-front with you,” he finally said. “Since we talked last week about me taking over the company, a lot has changed.” He paused. “More than a lot.
Everything
has changed.”

Concern furrowed his father's brow and Matt squirmed under his scrutiny.

“Let's go where we can talk in private,” Frank said gruffly, leading the way through French doors to one of several covered decks off the back of the house.

The deck was warmed by an outdoor gas fireplace, flames dancing and weaving as they pushed away the heavy, expectant cold of an impending storm.

“What do you mean?” Frank said after Matt closed the doors behind him. “What's changed?”

He looked down at the town he loved and was surprised at the ache in his chest. “I might be leaving Thunder Canyon,” he said quietly.

Frank stared at him and Matt saw a host of emotions cross those expressive brown eyes, ending with resignation.

“It's Elise Clifton, isn't it?” he asked.

He shoved his hands in his pocket. “How did you… Why would you say that?”

His father shook his head. “I knew the moment I saw you two come in together. You've got that look in your eyes, the one I've seen all three of your brothers wear. Guess I shouldn't be so surprised.”

Did he really want to be lumped in with his lovestruck brothers? He thought about it for a moment, then gave a slight smile. “Yeah, that about sums it up,” he answered.

“Doesn't mean you have to up and leave. Your brothers seem to be happy enough sticking around,” Frank said.

“You know I love Thunder Canyon, Dad. If I could figure out a way, I would in a minute. But Elise hasn't
been back in a long time. Things here haven't been easy for her. She has some pretty dark memories.”

His father was silent for a moment, watching the flakes drift down in the gathering twilight. “She has reason, I suppose. Poor thing. I guess you and she will have to figure out your own path.”

“We're working on it. To be honest, it's a hell of a lot more rocky than I expected.”

His father nudged him with his shoulder. “The best views always come after a long, hard climb. Don't worry, you'll figure things out. She's not stupid, our Elise.”

“Not in the slightest. But she has a lot of things to work through.”

“You know your help has been invaluable at the company the last few years,” his father said gruffly. “But I'll figure out how to get along without you if I have to.”

“Thanks, Dad.” He was fiercely grateful, suddenly, for his parents and the support and love they had always showered upon him and his brothers.

“You coming back inside to join the party?” Frank asked.

“In a minute. Think I'll watch the storm come in for a moment.”

Sure enough, the snow already seemed a little heavier than it had when they walked onto the deck and those gray-edged clouds looked plump and full.

After his father left, Matt watched the trees twist and curl with the increasing wind. He could see downtown from here, cheerful and bright against the gathering darkness and felt another pang of regret. He would love to live here the rest of his life, to raise children, to help
build the town and leave a legacy for those children. He could imagine many more Christmases spent here, filled with joy and laughter, friends and family.

But with something lost, something infinitely more precious could be found.

He was thinking about choices and growth and the future when he spied a slender figure bundled up in a red peacoat heading through the trees. He narrowed his gaze. He knew that coat. He had hung it himself when he and Elise had arrived.

Where was she going? The only thing in the direction of that trail was Silver Stallion Lake.

Of course. Crazy woman. Didn't she know it was dangerous to wander away on her own with that kind of storm brewing? Not to mention, with the above-freezing weather they'd had the last few days, more snow was bound to make the snowpack unstable and avalanche-prone.

All his protective instincts rattled around inside him. No way was he going to stand by while she put herself in possible danger. He hurried back inside the house and found his own coat quickly then headed outside to follow her trail in the gathering gloom.

The trail toward Silver Stallion Lake crossed the narrow road that ended in the box canyon where Connor had built his home. Some distance away toward town, Matt could see a huge cornice of snow blown by the wind now covering the peak at the canyon's edge.

He frowned. Add a few more inches on it and he could easily imagine the danger of a snowslide could potentially be high.

He would have to warn Connor when he returned to the house. But first, he needed to find Elise and make sure she was safe.

He walked quickly through the pines down a deer trail. The snow was soft and light for now and the air smelled of pine and winter. As he expected, he found her at the small lake, surrounded by pines and the pale ghostly skeletons of the winter-bare aspens.

In the few moments' head start she had, she must have unearthed a pair of skates from the small structure on the edge of the lake that was kept stocked with such things for locals' use. She sat on a log bench tying the skate. When she finished, she stood and glided out gracefully onto the ice.

Though he was aware of the need for haste and caution with the storm blowing in, he couldn't resist watching her from his concealed spot in the trees. She looked free and relaxed as she whirled and danced.

He thought of his father's words. He was lovestruck, just as his brothers. The realization should have scared him, sent him hurrying away. Instead, he was aware of a sweet, fragile tenderness.

He loved Elise. No matter what, he loved her. Nothing else mattered. She was everything he had ever wanted, the only thing he needed. If she wanted to move away from Thunder Canyon, he would do it. Hell, he would go live in a hut in Borneo if it meant he could have Elise with him.

He finally emerged from the trees and made his way down the trail toward the bank of the frozen lake.

She toed to a stop when she spotted him and stood waiting as he carefully moved across the ice.

A thin trail of tears had left a mark down her cheeks and his heart ached for her. “Oh, sweetheart. Are you okay?” he asked.

She smiled and it took a few beats for him to realize what seemed so different about her. Despite the tear stains, she looked relaxed, happy.

At peace.

“My dad used to bring me to the lake all the time when I was a little girl. I had completely forgotten how much I love it here. It always seemed to me when I was little that the mountains appear to cup this valley like comforting hands. That sounds silly, doesn't it?”

“Not to me.”

“I can see my dad clear as day, holding my hands and towing me along the ice while I slipped and slid and tried to find my skate legs for the first few moments. I wasn't the most graceful kid, as you might recall. I was so clumsy everywhere else but when I skated, it seemed like I forgot that.”

He pictured her as a little girl, small and slender for her age, running so fast she often stumbled as she tried to keep up with all the other kids. He could visualize her father, too, strong and handsome, a man everyone in town had admired and respected.

Learning she wasn't genetically John Clifton's child must feel to her as if she had lost her father all over again. He couldn't even imagine how difficult it must be for her.

He wanted to comfort her, to say something magical
that would make her pain disappear. He couldn't think of any words so he reached out and gripped her mittens in his own gloves.

“Is this the way he did it?” he asked and began walking backward, pulling her across the ice.

“Be careful. You're going to fall,” she warned.

His heart was a sweet, heavy ache in his chest. “I'm counting on you to catch me, Elise.”

Her gaze locked with his, emotions churning there. Despite the party still in full swing back at the McFarlane Lodge, despite the storm hovering just out of view, despite all the turmoil, he wouldn't have traded this moment for anything.

Just the two of them in the quiet hush of a miraculous Christmas Eve.

After a few passes across the lake, he stopped in the middle of the ice and with a sense of destiny, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.