A Magical Christmas. Elizabeth Rolls

well, Maple was cute and vulnerable. Ash is a bruiser.”

      Jess buried her head in Ash’s fur. “Ignore him, sweetie, he loves you, really.”

      “I do not love him.” Relieved to see her smiling again, Tyler walked to the door. “He’s a smelly, rabid apology for a dog.”

      “He is not rabid!” She followed him to the car. “I saw Dana today. She’s going to help me train him.”

      “That is the first piece of good news I’ve had today. That animal is in dire need of training, that’s for sure, and no one has more experience with Siberian huskies than my cousin. Fasten your seat belt.”

      “She said if I go over there she’ll teach me about sledding. That would be so cool. I’d love to take the team out in the forest. Have you done it before?”

      “Yeah, but it’s too slow for me. When they breed a turbo-charged husky, I’ll try it again.”

      “But a whole team of dogs pulling you through the forest—that’s so cool. Tourists pay a fortune for it. If Dana’s your cousin, and she’s your grandfather’s sister’s granddaughter, what relationship is she to me?” Jess sprang into the seat next to him, and the dogs piled in after her, smacking Tyler in the face with wagging tails.

      “Probably second cousin or—I have no idea. Don’t ask difficult questions. Save them for Grandma. And get those dogs in the back. Last time I checked, neither of them could drive a car.” Shaking his head, Tyler reversed out of the space and drove down the track. The snow had accumulated during the day, but the roads that ran through the resort had been plowed and the snow was piled thick and deep at the side of the road.

      Jess whooped with delight. “So much snow. Will I still be able to race tomorrow?”

      “Yes, providing the visibility is good.” He pulled up outside Forest Lodge.

      Through the huge glass windows, he could see a lone suitcase sitting in the middle of the floor.

      “Brenna obviously hasn’t finished packing, so let’s get inside and help her.” He sprang from the car and the dogs followed, sending snow flying as they bounded up the steps of the lodge.

      Opening the door without knocking, Tyler walked in, and the dogs pushed past him.

      “Sit. Sit.” He grabbed Ash by the collar and pushed the dog’s rump down onto the wooden floor. “Stay. If you mess this place up my brother will kill me, and then I’ll kill you.”

      Jess unwound her scarf from her neck, sending snow flying. “If Uncle Jackson killed you first, you wouldn’t be able to kill Ash.”

      “Then you’d have to kill him for me. Stay with them and make sure they don’t jump on the sofa.”

      “It says on the website that well-behaved dogs are allowed in the lodges.”

      “Exactly. Ash and Luna are the worst-behaved dogs on the planet. That’s why they’re living with me and not Grandma.”

      “Because they played rough with Maple?”

      “Yeah, well a miniature poodle and two bruiser huskies aren’t a good mix. They treated every game like football, and Maple was the ball. Brenna?” Where the hell was she?

      He knew she was upset, which was why he hadn’t fought against Kayla’s all too obvious manipulation of the sleeping arrangements. He didn’t want Brenna upset.

      “I’m up here.” She finally appeared above him on the sleeping shelf. “What are you doing here?” Her face was partially in shadow, but he thought her eyes looked a little red.

      Had she been crying?

      No. He’d never seen Brenna cry. Not once. Not when she’d fallen and broken her ankle skiing, nor when those idiots who she refused to name had pushed her into a ditch.

      But he knew how much she loved living in this particular lodge.

      He remembered how excited she’d been when she’d first moved in. She’d chosen to sleep on the shelf, rather than in the master bedroom, and that decision hadn’t surprised him. Brenna would have slept on the forest floor if that had been a practical option.

      “Thought you might need some help packing up the rest of your things.”

      “It’s done.”

      “Great! So tell me where the cases are, and I’ll get them loaded up. Room’s all ready for you.” He’d given her the room that was farthest from his, and he’d put Jess in charge of making up the bed and making the place welcoming.

      “That’s it. That’s the case. You’re looking at it.”

      Tyler stared at the single small suitcase standing forlornly on the hardwood floor. “Everything you own is in that?”

      “Well, not everything. Not my sporting equipment obviously. I keep that in the Outdoor Center.”

      He thought of the Canadian ice skater he’d been dating at the time of his accident. Her makeup case had been bigger and heavier than this suitcase. When they’d traveled, they’d needed a separate car for her luggage.

      Thinking of it reminded him why he and Brenna were such good friends.

      “I love a woman who travels light.”

      Something flickered in her eyes, and then she looked away. “Stay there, I’m coming down.” Her voice didn’t sound like her own, and Tyler dragged his hand over the back of his neck and glanced at Jess, but she was making a fuss of Ash and didn’t seem to have noticed a problem.

      Panic knotted in his chest.

      Please don’t let her be crying.

      It seemed like ages before she appeared. Then she walked to the kitchen area, checked the fridge was empty and smoothed her hand over the granite work surface while Tyler watched, trying to find something to say that wasn’t clumsy or tactless.

      “I know you love this place.” Now it was his voice that sounded strange. Rough, a little husky, as if he’d been up all night drinking in a smoke-filled room. “I know it’s important to you.”

      “The things that are important to me are outside, not inside. Blue sky, snow, powder, the smell of the lake in the summer. I can’t frame those things or put them in a vase. But it’s true, I love this lodge.” She glanced up at the soaring ceiling. “Jackson did so well when he built these.”

      “Gramps nearly killed him for spending so much money. They didn’t stop arguing. We had fireworks every day for months.”

      “But Jackson was right.” With a last look around the living room with its cathedral ceiling and huge stone fireplace, she walked toward the door and noticed Jess for the first time. “Hi, Jess. I have to stay with you for a couple of nights, until I find somewhere for myself. I hope that’s all right. I promise not to get in the way.”

      “You won’t be in the way. And you’re going to stay for more than a couple of nights. Can we watch skiing together?”

      “Sure.” Obviously finding the situation a little awkward, Brenna stooped to hug Luna, who licked her ecstatically. “You’ll have to tell me the rules of your house. I’ve lived alone for so long I haven’t had to think about other people.”

      Tyler clenched his jaw. The look on her face made him feel as if he’d put his boot on a basket of kittens.

      “There aren’t any rules.” Jess gave a wicked grin. “Dad pretends there are, but then we both break them.”

      “That sounds like your dad.” Brenna smoothed Luna’s fur. “He’s never been too good with rules.”

      “Hey! I’m pretty house-trained since Jess moved in, isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

      “It’s not right.