All He Ever Dreamed (3 page)

“I’m glad there’s snow this year,” Katie said as they walked across the slick parking lot. “Working to get business back up and then not having trails to ride would suck.”

“Got that right.” He shoved his hand in his pocket and dug out his keys.
Suck
wasn’t even a strong enough word for it. This season had to play out for him. Good snow, good business and a good opportunity to get the hell out of Whitford.

“So I was thinking,” Katie said when they were on the main road, headed back to Whitford. “Mom’s going to get released before the fifteenth.”

“Yup. And she’s going to drag her ass out of bed and make herself sick again trying to make sure everything’s perfect for the first guests.”

“I’m going to move in for a while.”

Josh risked taking his eyes off the road to glance over at her, but she was looking out the side window and he couldn’t see her face. “What about the shop?”

“It’s Whitford. I’ll cut back on the hours and put a sign up. If I’m open just in the morning or even just three mornings a week for a month or so, they’ll adjust. Especially if it’s for my mom.”

He wondered about income, but she probably wouldn’t have offered if she couldn’t afford it. Her dad had owned the building, so there was no rent for either her apartment or the barbershop, and it wasn’t as though she was paying utility bills for fancy tanning beds or anything.

“That would be great,” he told her. “You can take Liz’s room, since it’s right next to hers. And right across from mine, so we’ll both be able to hear her.”

“You don’t think it’s stupid?”

“In the waiting room I was wondering how the hell I was supposed to do everything that needs to get done in the next two weeks and keep her from doing any of it at the same time. You staying at the lodge is a perfect solution. And, hell, it’s almost as much your home as it is ours.”

He saw her nod through the corner of his eye. “I’ll put up a sign at the shop today about the temporary shop hours. And when we find out when she’s coming home, I’ll bring over some of my stuff.”

“It’s a plan, then.” Plans were good and helped him sleep at night.

Having Katie live under the same roof, even temporarily, was the perfect solution to his problems.

* * *

The way Rose saw it, this was her best—and maybe final—shot at interfering in Josh and Katie’s lives without getting caught, and that meant it was her best shot at raising grandbabies at the Northern Star Lodge. But she had to play it smart, no matter how bad she felt or how fuzzy her head was.

When Katie had called to say good-night and see if there was anything she needed and had forgotten to bring, she also said she’d be moving into the lodge to help Josh and make sure Rose did nothing but recover. It was a perfect opportunity.

Having Josh and Katie living under the same roof might not be enough, though, because it was a big place and they were used to being around each other after years of being practically best friends. Rose would have to come up with ways to throw them together. If she could keep them tripping over each other, eventually the boy was going to get a clue and realize his feelings for Katie were a little less platonic than he’d always thought.

Getting the place ready for guests would mean working together occasionally, but it wouldn’t be enough. Rose needed to come up with something that would require them to talk to each other and spend time in each other’s company.

Something like planning the Christmas Eve party for the family. A lot of lodging establishments put on Christmas for their guests, because some families would take the holiday to go on that snowmobiling trip together. But Frank and Sarah Kowalski had made the decision when she was pregnant with Mitch that, for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the Northern Star would be closed.

The family had decided over Thanksgiving they wanted to have a special get-together and, since Nick was spending Christmas Day with his dad, stepmom and younger brother and sister, the Kowalskis would celebrate the night before. And Rose wanted it to be special. It would be Paige’s first Christmas as Mitch’s wife and, though Ryan and Lauren wouldn’t marry until summer, she and Nick were family, too.

If she knew the kids, they’d try remove the so-called burden of the party from Rose. No doubt Paige would offer to host it, or they’d try to make it low-key. She didn’t want that. She wanted something special.

And because Josh and Katie had no clue how to plan a holiday party—since Rose had always done it—they’d have to work together. Closely. And that kind of proximity, without sports or something else to focus on, would make the chemistry everybody else saw between them pop.

Even Josh wouldn’t be able to miss it.

Her brilliant plan was pushed to the back of her mind when another coughing fit ruined the moment. She was so tired of coughing. Tired of feeling exhausted and weak and on-and-off feverish.

Once it had passed, she tried to make a comfortable nest out of the extra pillows they’d given her and fished around for the television control. She couldn’t find
Criminal
Minds
, but at any given moment one could always find a rerun from one of the
Law
&
Order
franchises, so she settled for that. She should probably knit, since she had several projects to finish before Christmas, but her arms felt as heavy as her eyelids and she closed her eyes instead.

Tomorrow she’d call Andy and let him in on the plan so he didn’t accidentally work against her. If he made life easier for Josh, Josh might not turn to Katie for help.

She had a long history with Andy Miller, most of it spent with her refusing to speak to him. But the boys had hired him to do some work around the lodge over her objections, which had led to her forgiving him, and she’d actually come to consider him a really good friend over the past few months.

And with his help, she was going to make this a Christmas Eve party Josh and Katie would never forget.

Chapter Three

Josh pulled into an empty spot in front of the barbershop and killed the engine.

Katie was on a stepladder, hanging Christmas lights around the big window. She must have been at it for a while because she’d stripped down to a sleeveless red shirt, and he spotted a fleece hoodie tossed onto a mound of garland at the base of the ladder.

That was Katie. For as long as he could remember, Rose had had to threaten Katie to get her to wear a coat, because she was never cold. And, while the temperature was hovering in the low forties, the sun was so warm he’d left his own sweatshirt at home since the long-sleeved henley was more than enough. Fortunately, it was forecast to be a very brief warm spell, because they couldn’t afford to lose what snow they had.

He leaned against the tailgate of his truck and crossed his arms. “Need a hand?”

She looked over her shoulder and made a face. “This sucks.”

“That’s a festive attitude.”

“Mom always does the decorating.”

But she’d been sick and now she was in the hospital. “You could just skip it this year.”

“I could.” She climbed down the ladder and joined him on the tailgate. “But it would be the first year in the history of the Whitford Barbershop it’s not decorated.”

Sometimes Josh had to remind himself that, while Katie might be just one of the guys, every once in a while she’d do that complex woman thing where what was going on in her mind didn’t make any sense. But this time he thought he might get it.

Earle Davis died when Katie was nineteen, the year after she graduated from high school. Even as a clueless sixteen-year-old kid, Josh had felt her pain. She and her dad had been close, and it had been painful to watch another man move in and run the shop for Rosie, who hadn’t been willing to sell it outright. And when it became clear that guy was an idiot, Josh had watched Katie get through school and work her way through the licensing requirements so she could take it back.

In Katie’s mind, the barbershop and her dad were all wrapped up together in an emotional ball and, especially with her mom sick, decorating the shop for Christmas had probably become the most important thing in the world.

“I didn’t think it would take this long,” Katie said. “I was going to get this done and then go to the hospital and visit Mom.”

“Why don’t I give you a hand and then we can drive over together?” It was Thursday and, while he’d talked to Rosie on the phone, he hadn’t seen her since they’d brought her in Monday.

She laughed. “Sure, now you show up to help. All that’s left is to wrap the garland around the damn pole.”

“Good, let’s wrap the pole and grab some lunch before we hit the road.”

They made quick work out of merrying up the place and then she grabbed her hoodie before jumping in his truck. She looked the barbershop over and nodded. “That’s better.”

It was definitely cheerful. She didn’t plug in the lights when she wasn’t going to be around, but the garland had plastic candy canes hung in it, and all kinds of Christmas vinyl cling decals were stuck to the massive pane of glass. “Ho ho ho. Let’s go eat.”

They went to the Trailside Diner, not only because it was really the only place to go, but because he hadn’t seen Paige in a while. She lit up when she saw them walk through the door, her dark ponytail bouncing as she half jogged over to hug each of them.

“How’s Rosie?”

“She’s getting better,” Katie said. “She’s starting to get grumpy, which is a good sign.”

“Oh, good. When is she coming home?”

Katie shrugged. “She’s not sure yet.”

“When I talked to her on the phone yesterday,” Josh said, sliding into a booth, “she said her lungs weren’t as clear as they wanted yet. And she still has no appetite.”

Paige sighed. “Even though she’s getting grumpy, it’s best if she stays there, then. They won’t let her vacuum or clean the ovens, at least.”

“Katie’s going to move into the lodge for a little while to make sure she’s not cleaning our oven, either.”

“Really?” Paige asked, but she arched an eyebrow and drew the word out, like
reeeeeeaaaaally
. He wasn’t sure what that was about. The Northern Star was practically Katie’s home. She didn’t sleep there and she wasn’t there every day, but she’d more or less grown up there.

“Yeah, really. What’s Mitch up to?”

Paige glanced down at the rings on her left hand and smiled. “He’s finishing up some advance work on a job in Southern California so when he comes home in a few days, he won’t have to leave again until the middle of January. One more week and then he’ll be home for a whole month.”

“Be nice to have him around for a while,” Katie said.

“I can’t wait.” After glancing around the diner, Paige pulled her order pad out of her apron pocket. “You guys know what you want? Gavin whipped up some amazing baked mac-and-cheese for the dinner special last night and, trust me, it’s even better reheated.”

Gavin hoped to go to culinary school someday and Paige let him try out new recipes on the diner’s customers, provided the ingredients weren’t too expensive and tofu wasn’t on the list. Josh had liked some dishes more than others, but taking a chance on the kid rarely steered him wrong.

“I’ll give it a try,” he said. “With a coffee.”

“Ditto,” Katie said.

When Paige brought their drinks and went to see to the other diners, Josh leaned forward. “So, I’ve been wanting to ask you something. It’s probably personal, but…it’s kind of relevant to me. Maybe.”

Katie gave him a look he couldn’t quite decipher, but after a few seconds, she shrugged. “Ask. I’ll either answer or I won’t, as usual.”

“It’s about Andy, actually.” He saw her expression change. It was subtle—her mouth tightened and her eyes narrowed just a little—but it was obvious she knew more about Andy’s story than she’d let on before. “What’s the deal there?”

“The deal is that he pissed her off a long time ago, but she forgave him and now they’re actually friends.”

“Gee, I couldn’t figure that out from the fact she didn’t talk to him for like thirty years and then she forgave him and now she’s knitting him a Christmas present.”

“Then why’d you ask?”

His least favorite Katie Davis trait. If she didn’t want to talk about something, she’d be a pain in the ass and annoy him to the point he didn’t give a crap anymore. “Don’t be a smart-ass. What did he do to piss her off?”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“Because I don’t think she’ll tell me.”

“Then she probably doesn’t want you to know.” She took a long sip of coffee, looking at him over the rim.

“Come on. You know how much I love your mom, and the guy’s in and out of my house all the freaking time now. It bugs the shit out of me not knowing.”

“When I was little, Andy and my dad went on a sledding trip. They grabbed dinner at a bar and Andy chatted up a woman and got her to go back to the motel with them. She had a friend and my dad cheated on Mom. She blamed Andy.”

He sat back against the booth. “Holy shit.”

“Yeah. She told me blaming Andy made it easier to forgive Dad.” She was turning her coffee mug around and around on the table, staring down into the swirling liquid. “I never knew. She didn’t tell me until you and Mitch hired Andy to work at the lodge and I asked her straight out.”

Josh felt a slow burn of anger, but it was pointless. Earle Davis had been dead fourteen years. “You okay with Andy being around, because if you’re not—”

She held up her hand. “I’m fine. I mean, yeah, if Andy hadn’t hooked up with that woman, Dad might never have cheated on Mom, but nobody held a gun to my dad’s head. It was his decision. And Andy lost his best friend out of it because he and my dad stopped hanging out after that.”

“I had no idea it was that bad. I always thought it was probably something stupid or funny, like him saying her meat loaf sucked or something, and they were both too stubborn to get over it.”

“Nope. Not stupid or funny.”

Paige showed up then with their meals, giving Josh a couple of minutes to digest what he’d heard. In a town like Whitford, the fact it wasn’t common knowledge Earle had stepped out on his wife was nothing short of a miracle. And even if he could remember back that far, Josh probably never would have guessed Rosie’s marriage had almost come undone. She was more a stiff upper lip in front of the kids and cry in the shower kind of woman.

“You let me know if you want to move the Christmas Eve party to my house,” Paige said, stopping to refill their coffees.

Oh
,
damn
. He kept forgetting about that stupid party. If he had his way, the whole thing would be cancelled. Or postponed until April or May, maybe. “She gave Thanksgiving over to you, but I don’t see her giving up Christmas Eve at the lodge.”

“Mom’s a smart woman,” Katie said. “She’ll understand there’s only so much we can do and she’s sick and Paige has plenty of room for everybody. She’ll be reasonable.”

* * *

“We’re having Christmas Eve at the Northern Star and that’s the end of it.”

Katie looked at her mother reclined against her pillows with her arms folded across her chest, and swore. But only in her mind, of course. She wondered what the chances were of flagging down a nurse and getting a sedative. For her, for her mom. Either worked.

“The Christmas Eve party isn’t what’s important,” Josh said. “You getting better is all that matters.”

“You listen to me. The party is important to me. I don’t know if Sean will come and Liz probably won’t be here, but Mitch and Ryan will and you four kids being home for the holidays matters to me. And it’ll be Paige’s first Christmas with us—her first with a real family of her own and I want it to be perfect.”

Katie shook her head. “Because we
are
Paige’s family now, she cares more about you than a party.”

“I’m having a Christmas Eve party.”

Katie knew that tone. There would be a party at the Northern Star on Christmas Eve. She sighed. “We’ll take care of it.”

Josh’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re going to throw a holiday party?”

“No,
we
are going to throw a holiday party.”

His eyebrows dropped into a frown and he opened his mouth, but Rose beat him to it. “You two can do it, if you work together.”

Katie was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact she’d be sleeping across the hall from Josh every night. She figured she’d survive it because he’d be working outside a lot, while she’d be taking care of her mom and doing housework. It was a big place. But planning a party together meant they’d have to talk. A lot.

Sure, they talked all the time. They talked about football and hockey and baseball. Basketball. The weather. Trucks. Griped about their love lives when either of them had one. Katie had long ago fallen into a rhythm of “guy talk” that kept her from accidentally letting on that she’d like a one-way ticket out of the friend zone.

Now they’d be playing house, and so much proximity was going to play hell on her nerves. The other night an image had popped into her mind of bumping into him in the hallway, his bare chest glistening from a hot shower and a small towel hanging low on his hips.

She wasn’t sure if that would be the best or the worst thing ever, but she’d lost sleep thinking about it.

“You’ll need to come up with a menu, of course,” her mom said. “Hopefully, I’ll feel up to baking a couple of pies, but you guys will have to take care of the rest. Josh, did you get the tree and the decorations up yet?”

“Uh…no.”

“The doctor said I can probably go home Monday if I don’t relapse at all, so I’ll lie on the couch and supervise.”

Katie had no doubt he’d spend the next several days busting his ass getting the lodge decorated before Sergeant Rosie was there to nitpick the process.

“I want music. Happy stuff,” Rose continued. “And candles and…well, you two can figure it out. But I’ll look over your lists, of course.”

“Of course,” Katie muttered. In the meantime, she’d also keep her own business going while helping Josh run his. Haircuts, washing bedsheets and feeding the whole family—or most of it—a holiday meal that met Rosie’s standards. No problem.

They hung around for a while, but her mom eventually shooed them off. There were rumors of some bad weather coming in as the night wore on. She didn’t want them driving in it, and she wanted to get her beauty sleep so she could go home Monday.

It was dark already and the temperature had dropped pretty drastically but, unlike her Jeep, Josh’s truck warmed up quickly and she felt herself getting sleepy.

“When are you planning on moving in?” Josh asked when they were on the main road, heading back to Whitford.

“I was thinking if Mom’s getting released Monday, then probably Sunday. I can open the shop for a full day Saturday, then get settled at the lodge Sunday morning. That’ll give me time to freshen up her room. Change the sheets and stuff.”

“Sounds good.”

“Unless you need help with the Christmas decorations. I assume you’re going to get it done before she’s home to supervise?”

He laughed, and the rich sound seemed to fill the enclosed space of the cab. “You got that right.”

“Do you need a hand with it?”

“I think I’m all set. Probably.” He shrugged. “I’ll give a shout if I get too backed up.”

“Good. Gives me time to stop by Max’s and…be nosy.”

He turned his head and, in the lights from the dash, she could see the scowl. “No wiles.”

“I don’t need to cheat, Kowalski.”

“Maybe you should move into the lodge tomorrow so I can keep you busy. And keep an eye on you.”

The shiver that tickled her spine had nothing to do with the snowflakes falling outside the truck. She wouldn’t mind him keeping her too busy to win their Max Crawford bet. But she suspected he was talking about dishwashers and furniture polish rather than tangled sheets.

“Nothing against Liz’s room, but I’ll sleep in my own bed as long as possible, thanks.”

Growing up, Katie had always been jealous of Josh’s sister. She’d hated leaving the Northern Star at the end of her mother’s workday and every year, when she made a wish on her birthday candles, she’d wished to live at the lodge. When she outgrew birthday wishes, she daydreamed about Josh realizing he was madly in love with her and asking him to marry her. As his wife, she’d spend her days helping him run the Northern Star and her nights in his bed. When her dad died, though, she turned her focus to saving the barbershop, and her dreams of being Mrs. Kowalski faded into the constant low hum of attraction that wouldn’t die.