“I have a house four hours from here, and I like driving.”
“Dad says they are in deep. They’re not going to survive this year. You don’t want to take on something like that. You could lose your shirt.”
“I’m not looking to buy them. I’m looking to invest in them. Huge difference.”
“Dad wants them. Don’t undermine him.”
“Peter Pace, the owner of Little Teton, is an old friend. I’m not going to stand by and let him go bankrupt if I can help.”
“You played minor league ball with him. You barely knew him.”
“We were roommates in single A ball. I knew him quite well.”
“But that was years ago. Don’t throw your money away. Dad says—”
“Your dad is smart. He is. But his way isn’t always the right way, Alice. We both know that. Goodbye.”
Quinn hung up before she could reply and ground his teeth together. This was the part he couldn’t stomach. Alice might be beautiful and smart and well connected, but she didn’t understand that he came from a very different family, with different values. And maybe his parents had died when he was a teenager, but he was old enough to have internalized those values. People mattered. Kindness mattered. Integrity mattered.
Alice had a good side, and he admired her immensely for being ambitious and hardworking, but he wasn’t ever going to be able to peel her away from Seattle, and he had family in Montana and it was his dream to one day return to Montana full time. When he broached the subject to Alice in early July, she recoiled, rejecting the idea of ever living in Montana permanently, and he suddenly had clarity on their relationship.
He could love someone, but it didn’t make the relationship right.
He could want the best for someone, but it didn’t mean that person was his person.
And so instead of proposing, during the July All-Star Break, he broke up with her. It had been five months since he ended the relationship but she was still hanging on, determined to get him back.
He had no plans to get back together with her. Ever. She was a great woman. She just wasn’t his woman.
*
Charity had been worried that forecast of snow would make the drive over the Teton Pass treacherous, but her seven-year-old Subaru handled the roads beautifully, and yes, the snow fell steadily, but there was no wind and her windshield wipers did a great job of scraping the window clean, keeping her view clear.
She’d armed herself with a thermos of coffee and mentally prepared herself for a long drive, but even with a stop for gas, she’d made it in less than four and a half hours, delighted to arrive at the privately owned Little Teton Resort before dark.
Parking her car out front in the area marked for reception, Charity headed into the lodge to check-in. The split-log lodge, built in the late 1960s, was more practical than luxurious, but the soaring ceiling featured sturdy beams, a fragrant Christmas tree in the corner, dark green garland swags over the various doorways, and an enormous wreath with a jaunty red bow over the stacked stone fireplace. The building’s design was more utilitarian than some of the fancier lodges over the mountain in Jackson Hole, but the decorations were cheerful and inviting.
Check-in at the front desk was easy. She gave them Trisha’s name and ID Trish had given her, and the friendly reception clerk handed over a key, a map of the property, and a welcome packet for the Little Teton fam.
“There’s a welcome reception tonight for all the travel agents. The reception will be in this building upstairs in the Fireside Room.” The clerk opened the map and drew some Xs here and there, showing Charity where the Fireside Room was, and then where to park, and how to find her room as Charity wouldn’t be in the main lodge, but in Aspen Lodge, one of the adjacent buildings.
The clerk leaned forward and whispered, “You’re in my favorite building. It has the best coffee and chocolate in all of Little Teton Village. They have morning bakery items too, but they sell out quickly, so if you like a great chocolate croissant, go early.” She glanced around and then dropped her voice even lower. “And maybe best of all, Seattle sportswriter Douglas Quincy is in the Aspen Building, too, on the ground floor, and he’s gorgeous. As well as single. I know, because I asked.”
“Thank you, but no,” Charity answered with a rueful shake of her head. “I’m not looking for love. I’ve sworn off men until the new year.”
“Why?”
“Penance for making bad decisions.” Charity scooped up the paperwork and room key. “But thanks for the tip on the chocolate. Fortunately, I have not given sweets up.”
Charity headed back outside to move her car. It was dark now and lights were coming on, reflecting brightly off the freshly fallen snow. She drew a deep breath, inhaling the crisp cold air, excited to be at the Little Teton for the next five days. It had been a long time since she’d done something just for fun.
Using her map, Charity found her way to the lot behind the two-story Aspen Lodge and parked in one of the many open spaces. As she turned her engine off, she frowned as she surveyed the virtually empty parking lot. It was too quiet. Indeed, when she’d turned down the small Main Street she thought the entire ski town looked quiet. Low numbers had been a problem for the resort and that was why the Pace family had poured money into Little Teton, trying to refresh the resort and ski runs, but the word didn’t seem to have gotten out yet.
Charity swung her backpack filled with books onto her shoulders and then lugged her big suitcase out of the trunk of her old Subaru, glad no one could see her mammoth suitcase. Winter clothes and snow boots took up a lot of room and then she also wanted to bring some cute clothes for the indoor activities. Just because she was single, didn’t mean she couldn’t still feel pretty.
One of the wheels on the suitcase no longer rolled, so she half carried, half dragged the case through the snow toward the lodge entrance. Yellow lamps made everything glow and she drew a deep breath, surprisingly excited to be here.
She’d never been to Jackson Hole, or any of the resorts on this side of the Grand Tetons. It wouldn’t be hard to appear enthusiastic for the fam trip because she really did want to learn about the resort and runs. Charity was determined to take great notes back so Tricia could sell Little Teton to her customers and everyone would be happy.
The backpack straps slid down her shoulders to her arms as she wrested the suitcase over a patch of ice.
“Let me help you,” a deep male voice said from behind her, reaching an arm past her to lift the large case. “You’ve got your hands full.”
“Thank you,” she answered breathlessly, pushing the straps of the backpack up and then a tendril of hair out of her eyes to get a better look at him because first impression was, well, impressive. Second impression was just as positive. He was tall and fit and ruggedly good-looking with shaggy, dark blond hair, scruff on his square jaw, and high hard cheekbones.
“That’s a big suitcase,” he said, opening the front door and holding it for her, before following with the bag.
“A girl has to have options,” she answered with a smile, glancing around the interior. The lobby of Aspen was small, but cozy, with two sets of hunter-green leather chairs, a fire crackling in the stacked stone hearth, and a collection of pine trees in the corner covered in tiny white lights. Huge glass jars filled with candy canes and peppermints decorated the mantel while a white wooden reindeer with a green wreath around its neck filled the low coffee table.