Colton's Rescue Mission. Karen Whiddon

asked, eying his food. “Seems like you went through an awful lot of trouble for my brother.”

      Still smiling, she ignored the snide tone. “I had scrambled eggs and toast earlier, while you were asleep. And you know how much I like to cook. This wasn’t any trouble at all.”

      “Thank you,” Remy said, and he dug in.

      Seth eyed his brother, using his fork to move things around on his plate. When he finally cut a piece, he got only the egg and ham, leaving the English muffin and most of the sauce on his plate. He chewed and then set down his fork. “You know,” he mused, “I think it’s time I hired a professional chef.”

      When he glanced at Vanessa, she wondered if he was actually going to offer her the job.

      “One who can really cook.” He pushed his plate away. “Nice try, Van.”

      Stunned, she could only stare. To her horror, she felt tears prick the back of her eyes. She turned away, ostensibly to clean up the pans. The casual cruelty coming from a man she’d always regarded as a friend hurt. Clearly, Seth hadn’t gotten over the breakup, and they couldn’t go back to being friends. In fact, as soon as the roads were clear, she needed to pack up and go. Maybe a room at either The Chateau or The Lodge would have become available just for one or two nights, so she could ski Pine Peak. Heck, she’d even take a room in one of the chain motels on the edge of town.

      She ran the water, then scrubbed out the pans and placed them in the dishwasher. Seth had gone silent, making her wonder if he might apologize. She glanced back at the table, only to find him glaring at her, his expression furious.

      “What were you two doing here alone while I was gone?” he demanded, including Remy in his stare. “And come on, Vanessa, why were you trying to impress my brother with a fancy breakfast? We have oatmeal. Scrambled eggs and toast is what you said you had. But no, that wasn’t good enough for him. I’m thinking you—”

      “Enough!” Remy pushed to his feet. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Seth. Leave her alone. She was simply being kind. She doesn’t deserve this treatment from you.”

      “Really, Remy?” Standing so quickly he knocked back his chair, Seth faced his older brother. His hands were clenched into fists. “You come in my place, hit on my girlfriend and have the nerve to try and tell me how to act?”

      Remy appeared as stunned as she felt. “Seth—”

      Again, Seth cut him off. “Mind your own business. Vanessa belongs to me. Our relationship has nothing to do with you.” He pointed toward the door. “Leave.”

      Remy took care not to glance her way. Part of her didn’t want him to leave. But when she didn’t correct Seth, what else could he do?

      “Thanks for breakfast,” he finally said, meeting her gaze. “It was delicious.” He grabbed his parka and left.

      Seth dropped back into his seat, muttering under his breath. Vanessa cleared her throat. “Seth, we need to talk.”

      “Do we?” He shook his head. “Don’t be mad because I didn’t like your cooking. I’ve never been fond of eggs Benedict, that’s all.”

      “It’s not that,” she said. “Actually, that’s only part of it. You were unnecessarily rude, both to me and your brother. Not just that, but I don’t belong to you. And we don’t have a relationship.”

      His harsh expression softened. “Then why’d you come here? Come on, Van, I know you missed me as much as I missed you. You didn’t drive up all the way from Boulder just to ski.”

      Even though the lure of skiing Pine Peak had factored into her decision to come to Roaring Springs, she knew better than to bring that up. “Seth, I came here to explain why I broke things off so abruptly. I wanted to give us both closure.”

      “Closure?” He spat the word as if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. “What is it with women and closure? Who the hell cares? Either you want to get back together or you don’t. Which is it?”

      Heart aching, she took a deep breath. “Actually, I was hoping we could go back to being friends. But clearly, that was a foolish idea. I’ll pack my things and get out of your hair. I’m sorry to have put you out.”

      She kept her chin up and her back straight as she walked to the guest bedroom. Luckily, she hadn’t done much unpacking, so all she had to do was grab her toiletries and put them in her suitcase.

      When she emerged, Seth was nowhere to be found. She had no intention of going in search of him to say goodbye. Essentially, she’d already said that.

      It took two trips to get her small suitcase and her ski gear loaded back in her car. Seth didn’t bother to make an appearance, something that both saddened her and filled her with relief.

      At least the plow had been by. She’d put snow tires on her car right before the first snow and she had chains in the trunk in case she needed them. Either way, she wasn’t sure she could make it back home in this weather. With snow still falling heavily, she drove a slow and cautious couple of blocks until she reached The Chateau. If worse came to worst, she’d sleep sitting up in a chair in the lobby.

      There were no parking spots open in the small lot, but she finally located one on a side street. This time, she left her skis on top of her car, though she grabbed her suitcase and trudged toward the hotel entrance.

      Stepping through the ornate glass doors, she felt as if she’d entered a different world. Though she doubted anyone would have checked out since yesterday, she approached the front desk, anyway.

      Just as the polite, well-coiffed young woman asked her if she could help her, Vanessa had an idea. “Yes, I’m looking for Remy Colton. I was told he works here.” After all, she’d met him out in front of the hotel yesterday.

      “I’m sorry, but Mr. Colton isn’t taking visitors today,” the woman, whose badge announced her name was Tena, said.

      “Could you contact him and ask him to call me?”

      Slowly, Tena nodded. “I could take your number, yes.”

      Vanessa rattled off the digits, then asked that Remy call her as soon as possible. “I’ll be waiting in the lobby,” she said. “Unless you happen to have any vacancies?”

      “I’m sorry, we don’t. We’re fully booked through Christmas.”

      Which was the same answer she’d gotten when she’d inquired yesterday and clearly nothing had changed on that front.

      Choosing an unoccupied, overstuffed chair facing the front door, Vanessa took a seat. She began scrolling through her phone, checking social media and catching up on the news. Barely five minutes had passed when her phone rang.

       Chapter 3

      After getting a message to call Vanessa, Remy dialed her number immediately. When he heard her soft hello, he exhaled. “Are you all right? I was worried about you,” he said.

      “I’m fine,” she replied, her voice shaking. “But I’ve left Seth’s condo. I’m not sure what to think about his behavior.”

      Remy wasn’t sure, either. In all honesty, his brother’s mood swings, heavy drinking and barely leashed rage worried the hell out of him. The breakup with Vanessa must have affected him strongly, though if his end goal was to get her back, he was going about it the wrong way. He couldn’t blame Vanessa for being scared off.

      “Is there somewhere we can meet and talk?” Remy asked, pushing away the sharp thrill of anticipation that went through him at the thought of seeing her again. He only wanted to make sure she was safe, he told himself. Nothing more. “Where are you now?”

      Her answer surprised him. “Well, actually I’m in the lobby of The Chateau.