The Mills & Boon Ultimate Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

autumnal sky was pitch-black, and there was a bite to the air. “OK, why not? But it’ll be even colder by the lake, just so you know, you with your sensitive Australian skin.”

      “I can handle it,” he laughed. “The view will be worth it.”

      I shook my head, bemused to be getting myself into such a situation. Even though we’d been told to stay away from Cedarwood, I felt like a worried parent, and I’d be glad to see the lodge for myself from a distance and make sure it was OK. I’m sure, deep down, Kai sensed that and had made up the counting stars idea to make me feel like I wasn’t some needy parent, returning to the nest, when in fact I was.

      We gathered wine and glasses from Kai’s motel, pulled blankets from the bed, and drove back to Cedarwood, winding down the driveway past the lodge. It looked gloomy in its abandoned state, with the smell of smoke and sadness still heavy in the air. A part of me wanted to go inside and investigate, but we weren’t cleared as yet to enter. The thought of the lodge sitting empty for a night hurt right down to my soul. Sentimental or not, it was part of me now.

      “We were lucky today,” Kai said, as if guessing my mood as he drove past the lodge and toward the lake.

      “Damn lucky.” No matter what happened once we investigated tomorrow, if our plans ground to a halt, I’d for ever be grateful that Micah, Isla and Joe were safe.

      “Once we have the report from the firefighters, we’ll gear up to get the ballroom back into shape as quickly as we can. We can do it,” Kai said, his voice resolute. “We’ll just have to get everyone to help.”

      I searched his face. “You think so?”

      He nodded, parked the truck under a copse of white cedar trees, and killed the engine. “I know so. It’s important not only for your future but for morale. Everyone has worked so hard, and they want to see it finished. I didn’t tell you before, but I’ve had calls from the previous laborers, and they’ve offered to come back if we need them.”

      Those weary tradespeople who’d left Cedarwood with tired faces after such long, hard days? “They’d come back and start over?”

      “You treated everyone like they were part of the family, and they want to see this place done. Of course they will.”

      Something fluttered inside me, hope maybe. “Wow, OK.” I shook away the worry and angst from the day, their compassion giving me a boost. “We can do it! No matter what we find tomorrow, there will be a solution so Imelda and Edgar can still have their party here.” I was used to solving crises, right? That’s what I was paid to do. Make it work, no matter what!

      “That’s the spirit!” He grinned, and my heart beat staccato. Kai was one of the good ones.

      We laid our rug by the lake, the wind icy as it blew toward us. “We’re going to catch our death here.” I laughed and fell back, gazing up at the star-filled sky. The moon was a fuzzy yellow orb, illuminating the ripples on the water like diamonds.

      “Do you think they’ll end up together?” he asked.

      “Isla and Micah… I don’t know. He was with Veronica – Ronnie, we called her – for most of our teens, right up until a couple of years ago. I thought I’d come back to Evergreen and they’d be living the American dream. But she left, and it tore him up pretty bad. When I think of love, I always picture those two, the way they finished each other’s sentences, cast these long looks that conveyed some private meaning, and sensed each other’s needs on some deep level. He’s adamant he doesn’t want anything serious, but Isla is pretty damn amazing, and I think, despite being younger than him, she’s mature and sensitive in a way that suits him.” It still hurt the edge of my heart thinking that Ronnie had waltzed out of Micah’s life in such a blasé fashion, so coldly, leaving such damage in her wake. Though I was one to talk. I’d left my best friend too and hadn’t made a quarter as much effort at keeping in touch as I should have. Life had just got so busy…

      “Some relationships are a warm-up for the real thing. Maybe the first one was just practice.”

      I turned to face him. “Do you really believe that?”

      With his hands clasped across his belly, he said, “It makes sense, right? Do you think you’re only allowed or allotted one love your entire life?”

      “If I say yes does that make me seem naïve?” I plowed on. “I guess I thought you’d recognize true love when you saw it. Like the world would flip over, colors would brighten, it would be like having your favorite song on repeat.” Oh God, had I really just said that to him?

      But deep and meaningful Kai didn’t laugh. Instead, he contemplated it before saying, “Maybe. Have you been in love before?”

      I sighed. “You know that guy we saw in town? Timothy?” He nodded. “We were high-school sweethearts, I suppose a much more subdued version of Micah and Ronnie. But looking back I think it was puppy love. In New York I had lots of first dates, but work was hectic and I couldn’t or wouldn’t commit to men who counted three months as a long-term relationship. What about you?”

      He pushed his hands under his head. “There was a girl back home. But when it came down to it, there wasn’t enough between us for it to go anywhere. I felt a little like a cardboard cutout, going through the motions as if it was expected of me. Meet a girl, move in together, and eventually propose. But it never felt quite right. I left Australia, with no hard feelings between us, searching for something else. I don’t know whether it’s love or a different life, or something spiritual I want. All I know is that, if I’d stayed, suddenly I’d be sixty and looking back wondering why I felt so empty. I want more, as selfish as it sounds. Or if not more, something truer.”

      “Do you think the tiny town of Evergreen is the answer?”

      He faced me, moonlight reflected in his eyes. “Could be. I have an affinity for this place. Like I belong. Maybe it’s being so close to nature. I’ve always been happier in the wild than out with a bunch of people. Weird, huh?” He took a sip of wine and cupped his glass by his side.

      “Not weird. Evergreen is the kind of place you can get lost in if you want. You’ve climbed the mountains, you know how easy it is to find solitude here.”

      “Until Cedarwood Lodge is alive and kicking.”

      “From your mouth to the universe’s ears.” I laughed.

      A shooting star flashed across the sky leaving a phosphorous trail.

      I made a wish. That Kai would find what he was searching for, and that he’d find it close to Evergreen.

       Chapter Eleven

      “So, hang on, let me get this straight. Micah, the best friend who happens to also be a super-hot male, has hooked up with the landscaper, Isla? And Kai, the Australian surfer god, is searching for something but doesn’t know what? And there was a fire, thank the lord you’re all OK, and your mom is acting weird?” Amory spoke at lightning speed and I had to pause a second to untangle her words.

      “In a nutshell, yes. And the fire broke out in the ballroom ceiling, so we have to start the reno over and we’ve only got two weeks until the party.”

      She let out a pah of surprise. “You make New York look positively boring! I need to pull some vacay time and haul ass there.”

      Laughter burbled from me. “It does seem rather fraught on the retell, but it’s mostly been lots of work. Cleaning, and painting, and paperwork. And now this drama…”

      “Don’t negative Nelly me! You can still do this! And what about Timothy? That fine specimen of young love? Have you reconnected?”

      I groaned. I’d forgotten her earlier directive about catching up with him for coffee. “Well, we’re all supposed to be going out on Friday. But that’s only because I literally bumped