Christmas on the Last Frontier (Last Frontier Lodge #1) (18 page)

The woman at Marley’s side glanced up, her eyes similar to Marley’s. She held her hand out. When he took it, her grip was firm, her handshake confident. “I’m Lacey, Marley’s little sister,” she offered brightly. Her eyes held his in an assessing look.

“I’m Gage, I’m, uh…” He realized he’d just been wondering how to introduce Marley to his family and he didn’t know how Marley wanted him known to hers.

Lacey interjected. “Boyfriend?” she asked, her tone helpful.

Gage glanced to Marley who nodded.

“That would be me,” Gage said with more confidence than he felt. He was on such foreign terrain with his feelings for Marley, he felt adrift. But he didn’t want to be anywhere other than right by her side, so he was partially relieved to have Lacey label him.

Lacey smiled widely. “It’s great to meet you. Marley’s told me all about you and what you’ve been doing here at the lodge. You have no idea how excited I am that Last Frontier Lodge will be up and running again! It’s my favorite place to ski.”

Marley grinned at Lacey and turned to him. “Like I told you, Lacey and I used to ski here all the time when we were kids. She’s hardcore though, so you’d better make sure Don gets the advanced trails ready.”

Conversation moved on as Marley shared what Lacey did as a guide, pride evident in her tone. Lacey wandered off to greet some friends when it occurred to Gage they’d better grab a table. He spied an open one and took Marley’s hand, leading her over to it. “Is your mother here again?” he asked as they sat down.

Marley glanced around the room. “She’s not here yet, but I bet she’ll be here. She’s been coming every time Delia hosts these. Now that Delia’s done this, I think she’s going to have to keep it up even after you’re running at full speed. People are hooked on the idea that you have special prices for locals only.”

“I suggested the same thing to her this morning. She did it to get the staff ready for running when the restaurant was busy, but it’s been great.” He paused to look around again. The room had a hum of conversation and staff bustled among the tables, taking orders, serving drinks and more. This was the second evening when Delia had the bar fully stocked and staffed. They’d had to wait for the liquor license to be approved. Gage had quickly discovered a liquor license was worth far more than its weight in gold. The one night they’d been able to serve from the bar had brought in the first day of profit for the lodge.

When his gaze made its way back to Marley, his heart tightened. Her auburn curls fell loosely around her shoulders, the lights catching in her hair. Her green eyes were bright. She fiddled with a silver chain around her neck. She met his eyes and smiled. “Have you checked the reservations today?”

He shook his head, and she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Gage? I showed you how to do it. You’re perfectly capable of doing it yourself.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “Maybe so, but I’d rather have you do it.” His answer was entirely true, but he also wanted any reason to keep Marley involved in the lodge. Aside from the logistical help she’d provided, he appreciated her opinion and didn’t want her to back off from her involvement. And he just plain wanted her around.

“At some point, you’ll have to figure it out.”

“That’s what I’m paying you to do,” he countered.

Marley shook her head. “Fair enough.”

She started to say something else when Lacey pulled the chair out beside Marley and sat down with a sigh. Lacey glanced between Marley and Gage. “Am I interrupting a romantic interlude?” she asked with a sly grin.

Marley flushed, and Gage felt his heart clench again. He didn’t mind Lacey joining them for dinner, in fact he welcomed it because a chance to get to know anyone close to Marley was a good thing, but any moment he didn’t have alone with Marley was a missed opportunity.
Man, you have it bad. As if I didn’t know.

Gage met Lacey’s eyes. “Even if you were, I hope you’re planning to join us for dinner.”

Lacey’s grin widened. “Oh, you’re good.”

Their conversation paused when a waitress arrived to take their orders. As soon as she stepped away, Lacey turned back to him, her expression serious. “Marley told me how you’re helping out with the investigation. I wanted to thank you. She hates asking for help, so I can’t tell you how relieved I am to know that you’re stepping up anyway.”

Gage nodded and shifted his shoulders. He glanced to Marley. Her cheeks were bright, and she fiddled with the silverware. He sensed her discomfort and the vulnerability she tried so hard to hide. He glanced back to Lacey. “Glad to help.”

Lacey held his gaze for a moment, her eyes bouncing to Marley and back again. She appeared to be considering her words. “Would you mind letting me know when you have any updates?”

Marley’s head whipped up. “Lacey…” her tone held an edge of exasperation.

Lacey shrugged. “I’m asking him because I know you. You won’t say anything until way after the fact. You’re my sister, and I want to make sure you’re okay. If Gage will keep me up to date, then you don’t have to worry about it.”

Marley bit her lip and sighed. “Fine.” She glanced up at Gage. “She’s cranky because I only just mentioned the emails to her today.”

Gage wasn’t certain what the correct answer was here, so he opted for nodding. Lacey grinned and let the topic go, moving on to quiz Gage on his entire life story. He found himself oddly pleased at her many questions, as she unabashedly made it clear she was making sure he was good enough for Marley. He’d have expected this to make him uncomfortable, but it didn’t. He only hoped he was good enough for Marley because whether he knew how to deal with his feelings or not, he damn sure couldn’t fathom stepping aside. As Lacey’s quiz continued, he had to do his usual dodge and offer vague answers about his work as a SEAL.

Lacey hitched a brow up. “Are you being vague because you can’t tell me, or are you being annoying?” she asked archly.

Marley giggled and shook her head. “I should have warned you Lacey can be pushy.”

Gage chuckled. “No problem. I’m being vague because Navy SEAL assignments are almost always classified. Force of habit.”

Marley tilted her head, her green eyes slanting to him. “I’m usually not as nosy as Lacey, but now that she’s on a roll, how long ago did you retire from the military?”

Gage’s chest tightened slightly. “Just last year. I hadn’t been on any assignments for a while and had been doing administrative stuff on base. It wasn’t the best fit for me, and I was ready to retire, so I did. Not much later, Gram passed away and I knew where I needed to go.” He glossed over the details with such broad strokes it made the situation sound simple. In reality, he’d been tossed asunder by Matt’s death. He’d gritted through it on the assignment, but Matt had been his best friend since high school. They’d enlisted in the Navy together after college. Matt had shared every step of his journey on the way to becoming a Navy SEAL. That kind of work deepened bonds for all of the team members, but the bond between him and Matt had begun long before that. Even now, Gage felt a lingering guilt that Matt had been the one to die rather than him. Matt had a wife and child while Gage had no one…until now.

He met Marley’s eyes, and his heart clenched painfully. If he had died, he would have missed the chance to meet Marley. Now that she’d waltzed her way effortlessly into his life and heart, the thought that he could have missed the chance to be with her made his stomach feel hollow. He didn’t know what it meant, but if he could do anything to honor Matt’s memory, it would be to be as good to the people he loved as Matt had been.
Love
. The word he’d been avoiding. He slipped his hand across Marley’s shoulders and laced his fingers in her hair. Without a thought of where they were, he captured her luscious lips in a kiss. In seconds, lust was pounding through him.

Lacey’s voice broke into the moment. “Well, hot damn! Geez, I’m not sure what I said to make that happen.”

Gage pulled away, his eyes snagging on Marley’s. Sweet electricity sizzled in her gaze. With a shake of her head, she broke away and looked around. Gage turned to Lacey and shrugged. “Sorry. Got a little carried away there.”

Lacey grinned. “You just made my day. Marley’s the best sister in the world, and she deserves an awesome guy. For the moment, you’re passing the test.”

Gage chuckled and glanced at Marley. She was flushed, her lips swollen from his kiss. He was thankful for the table, as his cock had some pretty strong and hard opinions about what he should be doing with Marley right about now. He took a breath, his pulse racing when she turned his way again and smiled softly.

Chapter 16

Marley walked downstairs in her cabin and paused to look out the front windows. Snow had fallen during the night, blanketing the field in fluffy white. A pair of moose stood at the edge of the field, nibbling on alders. Their breath billowed in mist around them. Snow sparkled where the sun struck it, glistening under its warmth. A stellar jay squawked and burst out of the trees, landing with such force on a bird feeder by the deck railing that the feeder swung wildly. The sky was clear, and the wind stirred the surface of the bay. The mountains across stood quiet and majestic, their peaks stark white against the bright blue sky.

Marley took a last look and stepped to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Gage had made a pot of coffee earlier before he left for the lodge. She’d been pleased to discover they both liked their coffee rich and dark. She enjoyed a sip as she considered last night. Watching Gage interact with Lacey had been amusing…and disconcerting. He seemed more than ready to make it clear they were a couple. His hands had been all over her during dinner, pushing the edge of what was socially appropriate in the middle of a restaurant. The moment they’d walked through the door into her cabin, he’d proceeded to drive her wild, bringing her to the delicious edge of sanity—as he did on an almost nightly basis now.

Problem was, she was starting to feel like she was in over her head. Way over her head. Her head had taken a backseat to her heart and body, and she couldn’t seem to think clearly. Watching Lacey quiz Gage last night had been enlightening. She’d learned a bit more about him than she’d known herself. Not because she hadn’t been curious, but because she tended to be reserved herself, so she rarely pumped people for information about themselves. Lacey had no such compunctions and asked Gage question upon question. Marley sensed there were a few details she was missing when it came to his time as a Navy SEAL. His expression shuttered whenever he spoke of it. There was a thread of pain somewhere in there. Given how much he was coming to mean to her, Marley couldn’t help but wonder.

When she’d come home to pull herself together and regain her footing, it had never crossed her mind she’d meet someone like Gage who would call to her heart, body and soul so deeply. She also never in a million years would have thought a man who looked like him would be interested in her. He was all hard-bodied perfection with a smile to die for, and those silvery-gray eyes could make any woman melt on the spot. And yet, when he looked at her, it was as if she was the only woman in the world and he’d been starving for the sight of her.

She took another sip of her coffee, savoring the bracing bite to it. She forced her thoughts off of Gage and sat down at her desk to get to work. She dove into her work, adding some new photos to the blog on the lodge website and then focusing on her latest app project, which was close to completion. It was early afternoon when her email pinged again, and unease snaked up her spine. There were two emails from the alleged human resources account, the first reiterating prior requests that she return the flash drive that she didn’t have and the second demanding a call to human resources by a certain date, which happened to be a week before Christmas. Knowing what she knew now, that these emails were being sent by Kent, her unease was joined by anger. She didn’t know what his game was and what he wanted, but she was tired of it.

She pushed away from her desk. After stepping into her boots and throwing her jacket on, she headed to the lodge. She didn’t plan to sit on this anymore.

***

Gage stood at the top of the most advanced ski trail and slowly turned in a circle. The top of this peak was by no means the tallest peak in the area, however the ranges north of Diamond Creek and across Kachemak Bay were distant enough that the vantage point here offered a three hundred and sixty degree view of the area. He took a deep breath, the chilled air energizing him. The mountains rose tall, their snow-covered peaks stark against the sky. Clusters of evergreens stood out against the snow blanketing the landscape. Winter was here to stay with last night’s snowfall adding more than a foot of snow to what had already fallen.

The sun was already beginning its slide down the sky even though it was early afternoon. Winter days were short in Diamond Creek. Evenings were a long, slow dance with dusk. Gage had ridden up here with Don on a snowmobile he’d found in the garage a while back. Gage had spent a morning fiddling with the engine and getting it back in running shape. They’d just finished installing the last of the new ski lifts. Don had spent the morning putting Gage through the paces of operating and troubleshooting them. With Don’s help, Gage felt like he was getting a handle on the nuts and bolts of running a ski lodge. Delia had worked wonders with the kitchen, reception and housekeeping staff. Opening day was a mere two weeks away now, and he thought they might be able to pull it off.

He glanced at his watch and turned to check on Don who’d stepped into the small hut by the ski lift. These existed at every stopping point on the trails and had emergency medical equipment and warming supplies if needed. Each building was equipped with a woodstove, a bench, a small supply closet with tools for potential lift repairs, and a cabinet of medical supplies.

“Hey Don, you about ready to head down?”

Don glanced up from the cabinet open in front of him. “Yup. Finished stocking this one.” He closed the cabinet and zipped a small duffel bag on the bench before slinging it over his shoulder.

“What time do you need to leave to pick up your sisters?” Don asked as they walked over to the snowmobile.