Chocolate Kisses and Love Filled Wishes: Kissing Bridge Mountain - Book 3 (2 page)

Chapter 2

B
rad held his cell phone hard to his ear to drone out the commotion of the Valentine’s Ball.

“Hey little sis, what’s up?” he asked. “Happy Valentine’s day!”

Summer Landers, hometown super model, looked over and Brad motioned to the phone and pointed to the door. She nodded and blew him a kiss.

Brad stepped outside the door of the hall. It was a beautiful night.

The snow fell gently and the town glistened with the festive Valentine lights. Flowers were everywhere this special night. The beautiful colors making a lovely contrast against the clean white snow.

The flowers were strewn across the driveways of the homes where single women resided.

It was a lovely tradition for the single men of the town to secretly go out the night before Valentine’s and sprinkle flower buds along the snow-laden walkway to their loved one’s residence. Carnations meant new love, and baby roses meant
true
love. 

“I’m so excited you’re coming home!” Brad said into the phone. “Do you want to stay with me at the house until Summer and I get married?  It’s just little ole me.”

Kacey’s voice came across the phone more mature than Brad had ever heard her. She had left to tour with the Go-Pro Slope Team right out of high school.  After three years away, she had grown up so much.

“I was hoping you could ask Earl if he had an extra room to rent at the at Eagle Peak’s lodge for the next few months.”

Brad waved at a happy couple as they walked by.

The young girl, Corrine, looked like a fairytale princess in her pink floaty dress.

“Sure, Kacey. A new friend of ours is up there renting a room there as well.  Her name’s Dodie. I’ll run it by Earl when I go inside.”

“Okay, great. Can’t wait to see you.”

“Can’t wait either, Sis. It’s been way too long!”

As he put his phone away, he saw that Summer had come to meet him outside during the call. She still took his breath away.

Brad doubted he would ever get used to seeing her beauty so close up. For years he had stared at her modeling photos, wondering where the love of his life had gone, and
here she was
—back home and soon to be his bride.

He almost wanted to pinch himself to see if he were dreaming.

Brad smiled his happy smile.

His grey linen eyes with the flecks of blue crinkled with pure joy.

“Honey! You’ll never guess who’s coming home!”

Chapter 3

E
agle’s Point Lodge was a beautiful building, situated at the bottom of the ski run. It was the quintessential log cabin, but on a grand scale, with beautiful large picture windows overlooking the mountain. A grand dining room, hall and bar graced the first floor, with fireplaces at each end that blazed all year round and lit up the place with a warm, dusty glow. Upstairs there were rooms aplenty for short-term and long-term visitors to Kissing Bridge Mountain.

Dodie Randall had recently moved into one of the apartment suites that sat at the back corner of the lodge. With its own fireplace, a gorgeous view of the mountain, and a beautiful bathroom—with a roll-top tub, perfect for taking long hot bubble baths after dashing in from the cold—she felt she couldn’t ask for anything more.

Since coming to Kissing Bridge Mountain, her life had changed so much for the better. Each time she looked over the snowy beauty of the mountain, dotted with its stoic evergreens, she felt blessed. God didn’t make mistakes. Against all odds, she had found happiness again—and hope.

Even love seemed to be beckoning her back into its warm embrace.

She smiled as she thought of Jason and how lucky she was to have him in her life. This town, and that man, had helped restore her faith, and that was a miracle in itself.

Dodie put a bright flower arrangement into a lovely vase, then placed it on the pedestal leading to the apartment suite across from hers.

Jason and Brad’s little sister, Kacey Anderson, was coming to stay for a few months.

Dodie couldn’t wait to meet this rising star of snowboarding—and possibly, if her dreams came true—her new sister in law! She was excited to have her as a close neighbor in the meantime. Who didn’t need more girlfriends?

Earl came up the stairs with some fresh sheets and folded towels. He grinned at Dodie arranging the flowers. “Nice touch. Kacey will love those.”

“Thanks, Uncle Earl,” Dodie said, with a pretty smile.

“I’m looking forward to meeting her! Is it true she has a shot at making the Olympic team?”

Earl shook his head with a sad look.

“She did, but she had a bad fall. It’s been touch-and-go ever since, with her recovery. Might be a sore subject.”

Dodie nodded her head. “Of course. How sad.”

Earl opened the door to Kacey’s suite and Dodie peered in. It was a mirror image to her own, with the large picture window overlooking the mountain and the old-fashioned fireplace in between. The large four-poster bed was stacked with a fluffy mattress and white goose feather coverlets.

Earl placed the towels in the adjacent bathroom, then knelt down and pulled some small logs from the stack and got the fireplace going. In no time, it was beautiful. The warmth of the flames filled the room with a golden glow that set off the morning chill.

“Oh, Uncle Earl, it’s so lovely.”

“Just the same as yours,” he chuckled.

Dodie grinned. “I hope she likes it,”

“Hope so. She’s been through a tough time.”

Earl smiled tenderly. “Like someone else I know.”

Dodie nodded.

She was happy Kacey was coming, no matter what the reason.

It was a good place to heal.

Whatever ailed Jason and Brad’s younger sister, Dodie felt that being up here at Eagle’s Peak just might help.

Chapter 5

I
t was Sunday and the Landers ladies were brunching with hot cocoa and bourbon-infused maple scones. The movie
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
, their all-time favorite, played in the background.

Ethel Landers, Summer’s mom, put another log on the fire. Aunt Carol had just arrived and she was wearing a fetching new lavender frock that offset her large red beehive in a lovely gaudy way.

Ethel examined her sister’s color combination and cocked her head.

Aunt Carol planted her hands on her hips. “Why are you looking at me like I have a rooster sticking out of my décolletage?”

Summer waved to her Aunt, then jumped up and hugged her. “Hi Aunt Carol. I have a cup waiting all ready for you!”

Aunt Carol took her coat off and sat down next to Summer.

“You look beautiful, Aunt Carol! Where are you going?”

“Oh, this little thing.” Aunt Carol said. Her cheeks blushed, which just added another bizarre color to the whole off-red theme. “Just here with my favorite family to brunch and admire Audrey.”

She studied the TV as if she couldn’t be more interested in Audrey listening to
Moon River
.

Ethel and Summer looked at each other.

Ethel called bull. “Well if you have a date, then you might want to add a splash of white to break up that—brightness.”

With that, she walked over and picked up a pretty white carnation bud that was in a bowl and pinned it to her sister’s dress.

She stepped back to admire her work.

“Perfect. Just what you needed!”

Aunt Carol inspected the new development on her chest. “Hmmph,” she said, which in Aunt Carol speak, meant it would pass.

“You just happened to have one handy?”

Summer sang out, “Someone left a trail of white carnations up our walk the other night.”             

Now it was Mom’s turn to blush.

“Earl?” Aunt Carol said with a teasing grin.

Mom nodded.

“Well now, isn’t that romantic?”

Carol hugged her sister, but Ethel pushed her away just as quickly.

“Ok,” she said. “Now
you
fess up about your date with Old Man Jennings!”

Aunt Carol sat back down and turned her head to the side haughtily, her chin thrust up and her beehive bobbing down. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Summer and her mom doubled over with laughter.

“Oh, you think you’re the only one that can eavesdrop?” Ethel laughed. “I may need to be a whole lot closer to hear, but I also have talents and I—”

“She has Earl,” Summer interrupted, grinning, “who told her that Old Man Jennings asked you out to dinner!”

Aunt Carol elbowed her sister good-naturedly. “Oh, you dickens. Don’t you go honing in on my gifts!”

She arranged the folds of her lavender dress over her knees in a prissy, delicate way that was out of character.

“Besides, he prefers Jackson.”

Summer spluttered. “Jackson?”

“I never knew he had another name!” Ethel said. “We’ve called him Old Man Jennings since he was in high school.”

“He went white early, right?” Summer clarified.

“Yes,” Aunt Carol said, quickly. “And there’s nothing wrong with white. I, for one, think it looks distinguished.”

Summer sat down beside her and squeezed her hand. “Well, you look absolutely beautiful, Aunt Carol. I’m sure he’s going to be thrilled. I’m so happy for you.”

Aunt Carol drank some more of her cocoa and squeezed her hand back. “You’re a good girl, Summer.”

Suddenly, Summer’s smile faded away. She sighed deeply and took a deep gulp of her own cocoa. “I’ve got a problem.”

Ethel and Aunt Carol were all ears.

Summer sucked her breath in. “My agent called me yesterday. She says I have to go back to LA to shoot the new
Sports Illustrated
. She says I can’t get out of the contract. I’m stuck.”

Aunt Carol twisted her lips.

Ethel got up and crossed the room to the cupboard. Retrieving a bottle of whiskey, she returned and poured a little in Summer’s cocoa. She walked away until Aunt Carol cleared her throat
really
loudly.

Summer looked at her Aunt mournfully. “He’s not going to take it well, is he, Aunt Carol?”

Aunt Carol shook her head and her red beehive swayed back and forth like a dizzy
Tower of Pisa
—if the
Tower of Pisa
were red.

“Bring the bottle back, Ethel. This is a conundrum.”

Summer shook her head. “That’s what I thought.”

“The thing is,” Summer continued, “I just don’t know how to tell Brad. He already quit his job so we could commit to our life here and…” She trailed off. “Oh, I just don’t think he’s going to be happy about this.”