A Magical Christmas. Elizabeth Rolls

keep up with my dad on skis. You could have made the U.S. team.”

      “I’m confident on the mountain. About the stuff I know. Not about other things. I was hopeless with big groups of kids, I wasn’t interested in any of the things the other girls were interested in. Hair, nails, dressing up, boys—” She blushed, because of course she had been interested in one boy in particular.

      “That’s how I feel.”

      “If you don’t want to do anything different, I understand, because I felt that way. But maybe we could try and work this out together.” She sat for a moment, remembering how lonely she’d felt when she was in school. “And you can talk to me. Sometimes it helps to talk.”

      Jess fiddled with her sock. “You won’t tell my dad?”

      “Not if you don’t want me to. But you should think about telling him yourself. He really cares about you.”

      “Yeah, I know.” Her cheeks were pink. “But you know Dad. I’m worried he’d care a little bit too much. He’d go stomping in there.”

      Brenna thought about the times he’d threatened to do exactly that when she was at school and knew that holding him back wouldn’t be easy. “Maybe we can think of small things you could do. Like looking more confident or pretending you don’t care.”

      “It wouldn’t work.”

      “Maybe not, but it might be worth trying.”

      “Did you?”

      “No. I tried to ignore it and struggled through each day, but I wish I hadn’t. I wish I’d told them I deserved respect. That everyone deserves respect.”

      Jess curled her legs under her. “Did you have any friends?”

      “Your dad.” Brenna gave a half smile. “The moment I got out of school, I used to come up here and hang out with the O’Neils.”

      “Who was the person who was mean to you? Does she still live around here?”

      Brenna stared at her, heart thudding. It was the one question she knew she could never answer. “No, she doesn’t. I think we should focus on you—”

      The sound of the front door opening made them both jump and the next minute Ash bounded into the room, trailing snow across the floor.

      Relieved at the interruption, Brenna grabbed his collar and coaxed him to sit.

      Tyler strode into the room, glowering like a caged beast. “He pulled away from me twice in the forest. He is out of control.”

      Jess was on her knees on the floor, arms around Ash as she cuddled him and kissed him. “You’re a bad, bad boy. No one understands you.”

      “I understand him perfectly.” Tyler shrugged out of his coat. “He’s a thug.”

      “He’s adorable.”

      “If that’s your idea of adorable, I’m not looking forward to the day you start dating.” He caught sight of the crystal globe on the shelf. “What is that doing there?”

      Jess gave Brenna a look that shrieked I told you so and started a countdown. “Five, four, three, two, one—”

      “I put it there.” Brenna tried to head off the explosion. “You should be really proud of it. I can’t bear that you keep them hidden away.”

      He didn’t explode. Instead he stood still. His face could have been carved from stone, and she felt a sudden pang of guilt that she’d caused him more pain.

      She waited for him to shout at her but instead he turned and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

      Jess sighed. “No wonder he’s single.”

      IT FELT AS IF his whole life was unraveling. Things he’d had under control suddenly felt out of control. Emotions he tried to ignore were battering him from all sides.

      Stepping out of the shower, he reached for a towel and then heard a tap on his bedroom door.

      Knotting the towel around his waist, he strolled across the room and opened the door.

      Brenna was standing there, and he saw guilt in her eyes in the brief moment before she looked away from his bare chest. “I didn’t mean to make you mad. I’m sorry.” She tripped over her words. “Actually, I’m not sorry. You shouldn’t hide those awards, Tyler. They’re part of you. They represent a huge achievement. You won them.”

      He wondered if she wore mascara or if her eyelashes were that thick and lush naturally. “I’m pleased you’re speaking your mind, but why are you speaking it to the wall? We used to be able to look each other in the eyes.”

      “You’re not wearing anything.”

      “I’m wearing a towel. If you’re not ready to look at me when I’m wearing a towel, you are definitely not ready to have sex with Josh.”

      Her jaw dropped. “What does Josh have to do with this?”

      Everything. Thinking of her with Josh was the reason he wasn’t sleeping. “All I’m saying is that if you can’t look a guy in the eyes when he’s wearing a towel, you’re not ready to have a night of emotionless sex.”

      “It won’t be emotionless. I like Josh.”

      Tyler resisted the urge to punch a hole through the wall. “He is not the right guy for you.”

      “How do you know? Unlike you, I don’t have a type.”

      “I don’t have a type, either.”

      “Yes, you do. Why are we talking about this? I came up here to talk about the awards. You should put those crystal globes on display, Tyler. You won them!”

      “I know I won them. I don’t need to look at the stupid things every day to know I won them.”

      “But you’re making it hard for Jess to learn to talk about things that hurt, because you don’t do it yourself. You’re teaching her to keep things bottled up, and that’s not good.”

      Knocked off balance, Tyler stared at her. “Am I missing something here? What does me keeping those awards hidden away have to do with Jess?” He leaned against the door frame and saw her take a step backward. He remembered a time when they’d been comfortable with each other, but that time was long gone. It was like trying to dance when he didn’t know the steps. “Brenna?”

      “You need to encourage her to talk to you.”

      “Generally or about something specific? A few clues would help.”

      “There are plenty of clues, Tyler.” She was still staring at the wall, and he felt a rush of frustration.

      “Damn it, Bren, would you look at me when we’re talking?”

      “All I’m saying is that you need to foster an atmosphere of open communication, that’s all.”

      Tyler gave a disbelieving laugh. “That sounds like something straight out of a self-help manual. And it loses impact coming from someone currently staring at the wall.”

      Color streaked down her cheeks. “I’m trying to help.” She snapped the words, and he looked at her mouth, wondering how it had suddenly got so hard to be around her and not touch her.

      “Open communication. I guess I can give that a try. How about we have a little open communication here, too, and you tell me the real reason you’re dating Josh.”

      “Are you going to stop hiding those balls?”

      Tyler tried not to smile and failed. “Anyone else would have thought twice before phrasing a question that particular way, but not you. This is why you’re not ready for emotionless sex.”

      “Oh, stop it! For five minutes of your life you could stop thinking about sex.” She sent him