You and Ty should take your show on the road,” Adam said as he held open the door for her, his smile fading when they stepped outside. “Does he know about Bryce?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Sophia had hoped he’d forgotten or, like her, wanted to. But she should have known better given his earlier remarks.
“I’ll take that as a no. You didn’t tell anyone, did you? Not even Autumn. All these years you’ve been carrying this on your own.”
She slipped, unsure if it was because of the kindness in his voice or the ice under the snow. He took her arm, tucking it through his.
To anyone who didn’t know them, they probably looked like a couple out for a romantic walk under the starry night sky. The Christmas lights that decorated the lodge lit up the path to where Calder’s sled and dogs awaited, the sound of music and laughter floating to them on the still night air. No one would guess they were talking about the tragic death of a man they had both loved.
Burying her grief and anger just like she had buried Bryce had made it easier for her to carry on on her own. “You never said anything to anyone. I would have known if you’d told your family. They would have blamed me.” She stopped to stare at him. “You didn’t tell them because of me.”
Looking away, he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “I wanted to save you from spending your nights lying awake asking why, wondering if you could have stopped him. And I wanted to protect his memory and my family.” He brought his gaze back to her. “But I didn’t deal with it on my own. I told friends, people I trusted. It helped, Soph. I wish I could have been there for you. How did you find out?”
“Autumn brought me to pick up his car. There was a letter addressed to me in the glove compartment. How did you find out?”
He told her about his suspicions, his visit to the coroner, his cover-up of the truth. She wondered what her life would have been like had the truth come out. Now that it was out in the open, even if it was only between the two of them, she felt a slight lightening of the heavy weight she’d carried by herself for all these years. But she had a feeling the easing of her burden was because Adam’s first reaction hadn’t been to blame her but to protect her. And if he didn’t blame her, maybe, just maybe, she could stop blaming herself.
The jingle of bells drew her attention.
Adam lifted his chin to the end of the snow-covered path. “Looks like our ride awaits.”
“You don’t have to come. I’m sure you have people you want to see tonight.”
“I can see them later. I’d just as soon not leave you and my brother to fight without a referee. I don’t see Autumn standing up to either one of you.”
She ignored him and walked to Calder, casting a nervous glance at the huskies. “Are you sure I can’t walk to the cabin?”
“It’s quite a hike, and not an easy one with the amount of snow that’s fallen. Unless you’re up for some cross-country skiing. Nice night for it,” Calder said, looking up at the bright three-quarter moon in the star-spangled sky.
Adam laughed. “You do remember who you’re talking to, don’t you, Gramps? Sophia’s allergic to sports of any kind.”
Unless you considered dancing a sport, it was true. Another reason why she’d never fit in with the Dane family. There wasn’t a sport they didn’t love or excel at. All three brothers had been natural athletes.
Calder chuckled and reached for a red plaid blanket. “Sledding it is. Adam, you get on first.”
Sophia looked from the six-foot-four, broad-shouldered man standing beside her to the sled. “There won’t be any room for me.”
“It’ll be tight, but we can manage,” Adam said, settling himself in.
“No, she’s right. Here, Sophia, take off your coat, and we’ll put it over you. Adam will keep you warm.”
“Ah, Gramps, I—”
“Don’t worry. You can tell your girlfriend you had a chaperone.”
Sophia gave a little start, surprised by the news, although she shouldn’t have been. There was no way a man like Adam wouldn’t have someone special in his life. Though the revelation had her taking a second look at the space they would be sharing.
“Are you sure Autumn and Logan are at the cabin?” she asked Calder, hoping for a way out of this predicament. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket to check if Autumn had responded to her latest text. She hadn’t, which was worrisome.
“If Nellie says so, then that’s where they’re at.”
Sophia glanced once more at the tight confines of the sleigh, reminding herself that no sacrifice was too great to make if it meant protecting her best friend from having her heart broken again.
“We better get a move on though. I have another couple booked in twenty minutes,” Calder added.
Sophia unbuttoned her coat and handed it to the older man, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold. “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” she said with a shiver as she climbed in.
“You and me both,” Adam murmured with an odd expression on his face. He looked like he was in pain.
“Sorry,” she said, thinking she must have stepped on him.
He tucked the blanket around her. “What are you sorry about?”
“For stepping on you. You made a face.”
“Right. It’s okay. No permanent damage.” He wrapped his arms around her, and the girl she used to be smiled. It looked like she needed to have a chat with the silly girl inside because the man holding her in his arms had a girlfriend, and even if he didn’t, the woman Sophia was now wasn’t interested. It didn’t escape her notice that she’d had to remind herself several times tonight that she wasn’t interested in Adam.
Calder lay the coat over the blanket and then tucked both around them. “There, you two look nice and cozy.”
With narrowed eyes she followed the older man’s progress to the back of the sled. It wasn’t until a spearmint-scented breath warmed her face that she realized how close her angled head brought her to Adam’s lips. She self-consciously raised her gaze to his. “Do his eyes always twinkle like that, or should we be worried?”
“I’m getting more worried by the minute, Dimples.”
So was she, and at that moment, it wasn’t the thought they had a matchmaking grandpa and step-granny on their hands that worried her. It was her inability to tear her gaze from Adam’s. She was getting sucked into his eyes and the memory of how he used to look at her, how they used to be. Being surrounded by his strong, masculine presence and enveloped in his warm, woodsy scent only served to heighten her reluctant attraction to him.
“Okay, you don’t need to come with me. I swear, I won’t say anything to Logan. I’ll just—” She threw back her coat and the blanket and went to get out of the sled, but the dogs shot off, and she fell back against Adam.
“Hang on!” Calder yelled.
“Your timing’s a little off, Gramps!”
Calder laughed, cracking a whip high above their heads and the dogs. “On Donner, on Blitzen, on Comet…”
“He’s not planning to take us back to the North Pole with him, is he? My face is already freezing, and so are my toes.”
“You never were much for the great outdoors, were you?” Adam said, a hint of amusement in his voice as he leaned over her to adjust the blanket and her coat. Once he’d tucked her back in, he curled his big body around her.
“She might be warmer if she turned to face you,” Calder yelled.
“No!” she shouted above the strangled sound that came from Adam close to her ear. The image of her straddling him must have popped into his mind too. “I’m fine! You just tell Rudolph to pick up the pace or he’ll be demoted.”
Behind her, Adam snorted a laugh, but she refused to say anything for fear of what else Calder might suggest. She hadn’t straddled anyone for a long time, and that was not something she wanted to be reminded about with her girlhood crush doing his best to keep her warm.
She focused on the dogs racing through the snow. In the distance, she heard the low buzz of snowmobiles on the forest trails. They were in a valley, surrounded by the towering Rockies and majestic, snow-laden pines.
Adam was right, unlike 90 percent of Coloradoans, she didn’t spend a lot of time in the great outdoors. She didn’t climb, cycle, hike, run, or ski. Though, since buying the house on Holly Lane with Autumn, Sophia had developed a passion for gardening. She’d been surprised to discover her thumb was green, not black as she had always believed. But even though she didn’t spend the majority of her time outside, she appreciated the beauty of the small mountain town she called home, and thought, as she always did when she was forced to venture off the beaten path, maybe she should get out more often.
She mentally added the idea to her list of New Year’s resolutions. But as snow swirled on a fierce gust of frigid air, she sank lower beneath her coat and blanket and adjusted the latest addition to her New Year’s resolutions. She’d hibernate for the rest of the winter and come out in the spring.
“Couple more minutes and we’ll be there,” Adam said close to her ear, pointing to a dark shape on the edge of the woods.
She resisted the urge to snuggle back against him as the wind howled, focusing instead on their surroundings. Which seemed like a good idea until she realized where they were. She jerked upright, clutching her coat. “We’re on the lake!”
“Okay, don’t panic. The ice is at least eight inches thick.”
There was a loud crack, and her heart dropped to her frozen toes. On a panicked cry, she yelled, “We’re going to die!”
“We’re not going to die. That wasn’t the ice. It was a tree.” He held her a little tighter, his mouth at her ear. “I wouldn’t have let you come if it wasn’t safe. Neither would Calder. He’s cautious. You can trust him.”
A few minutes later, as they got off the sleigh, Sophia had reason to doubt Adam’s faith in his grandfather, and so did he.
As she trudged after Adam through the calf-high snow, doing up the buttons of her coat, she heard the jingle of bells. She looked over her shoulder and frowned. Calder appeared to be preparing to leave. Surely he wouldn’t…
“Gramps, wait! You can’t just leave us here,” Adam called from where he stood on the porch step. When his grandfather ignored him and cracked his whip, Adam swore under his breath and took off after him.
“I’ll be back after midnight,” Calder yelled, tossing a red sack at his grandson. Then the sled took off like a shot, disappearing in a swirl of snow.
“I should have known they were up to something,” Adam muttered as he stomped back to the porch, pulling his phone from his pocket. He held it up and moved it around. “No service. Why am I not surprised? This night keeps getting better and better.”
“I’m sorry your night is so horrible. Mine isn’t any better, you know,” Sophia said as she joined him on the porch. She should have kept her mouth closed. There was a decidedly defensive note in her voice, and she didn’t want him to think he’d hurt her feelings.
He pocketed his phone, dropping the sack at his feet. “I wasn’t talking about you, Dimples. Seeing you again, getting the chance to finally clear the air between us, that’s made everything else worthwhile.”
“Oh, I…Yes. You are right. It has.” And even though her car was back in the body shop and her best friend was MIA with Logan Dane, she was glad she’d literally run into Adam tonight. She’d always trusted him, trusted that he would tell her the truth. So to have Adam validate his brother’s love for her, to absolve her of the guilt she’d carried around for all these years…Yes, this was one night in Christmas she wouldn’t forget.
She glanced at the front window of the dark cabin. She hoped it would be a memorable night because she and Adam had buried the hatchet, not because they’d caught Autumn and Logan in the act.
“Maybe we should knock.” She followed through with her own suggestion, banging on the window and calling, “Autumn, get out here right now.”
“They’re not here.” Adam dug around in the sack and then pulled out a key.
Sophia frowned. “How do you know?”
“No tracks, no chimney smoke,” he said as he opened the door. He held up the sack when she walked inside. “At least they’ve made sure we won’t go hungry and that you’ll be warm and cozy.” He pulled out a red plaid onesie and thick wool socks.
“Ty! That’s what he and Nell were hand signaling about. But why…?” She gasped when it hit her what they were up to. “They’re trying to get me out of the way so he and Autumn can ring in the New Year with their Joes.”
Adam’s brow furrowed as he handed her the pajamas and socks. “Wait. Autumn’s dating a guy named Joe…and my brother?”
She considered saying yes. “No. It’s another of Ty’s silly Gloria jokes. He said he’s going to find me my own Joe Manganiello. Sofía Vergara’s husband,” she said at his blank look. “They don’t want to feel guilty for abandoning me to be with their Joes.”
“You’re not dating anyone?” Adam asked as he walked to the stone fireplace.
“No,” she said, looking around the cabin for any signs Autumn and Logan had been there.
The cabin had a rustic charm and was beautifully appointed. The leather couch and chairs had brightly colored fabric pillows decorated with black-bear motifs. The pine end tables and coffee table continued the theme. There was a bathroom to the left of the open-concept living room and kitchen and a set of stairs leading to the open loft where a king-size bed sat in a log frame, neatly made with a fur throw on the end of the dark comforter. Adam was right; they hadn’t been here. The honeymoon cabin was a decoy.
Crouched in front of the fireplace, he glanced at her over his shoulder. “No as in not dating now, or no as in not dating since my brother died?”
He sounded surprised, and maybe concerned. Living in a small town in which people felt compelled to share their opinion about everything, including her lack of a love life, she was well acquainted with the reaction. So she didn’t understand why she wanted to lie to Adam. It wouldn’t do her any good. He’d always been able to see through her. “I’m not interested in dating.”
“Bryce would want you to be happy, Sophia.”
“I am happy. I have my business. Autumn and I bought a house last spring, and I have good friends. Well, they were good friends, friends I could trust, until your brother moved back to Christmas.”
Adam brushed off his hands on his jeans and stood. Behind him the fire crackled and danced, the smell of woodsmoke permeating the air. “You know, I never understood what it was with you and Logan. It was like hate at first sight.”
“He thought I was a bad influence on Autumn.” She lifted a shoulder. She might not care now, but there’d been a time when she had. “I thought the same about him, so we’re even.”
“You know what I think? You were both jealous of how much Autumn loved the other.”
She waved her hand as though that was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard, even though she suspected he might be right.
“You know I’m right. You just don’t want to admit it.” He shrugged out of his jacket and lifted his chin at her. “We’re here for a couple hours, so you might as well get comfortable.”
She dipped her head to hide her reaction to the way he filled out the blue plaid flannel shirt he wore over a black T-shirt. Ty might not be able to pull off chalet-wear, but Adam certainly could. She took off her coat and went to drape it over a chair, turning when Adam made a rough sound in his throat.
“I’ll, uh, just put on some water for hot chocolate.” He nodded at the fuzzy plaid pajamas and wool socks without looking at her. “You should probably change. You can’t be comfortable in…” His eyes met hers, and he gave his head a slight shake, a slow smile curving his lips. “You know exactly what kind of effect you have on men, so I’m not even going to try to pretend I want you to change so you’re more comfortable. Not even sure it would help.”
She blinked, surprised. He was right. There’d been a time in her life when she’d dressed to attract attention, but she’d always thought Adam was immune to her. Now she wore clothes that made her feel good. Stylish clothes made from gorgeous fabrics that made her happy just to touch and look at them. The fuzzy plaid onesie did not qualify as an outfit that made her happy.
“Trust me, it will help,” Sophia said as she gathered up the pajamas and socks. “It will be like sharing the cabin with a lumberjill.” He looked like a lumberjack, in a good way. A very good way. She wondered if she should suggest he put his jacket back on. Though, unlike him, she didn’t feel comfortable admitting she found him attractive. She wondered if it was because she wasn’t only attracted to his rugged good looks. “Maybe we should just walk back to the lodge.”
He glanced at her boots. “You’re not exactly dressed for a hike, and I’m not comfortable leaving you here on your own.”
She looked out the window, not overly thrilled with the idea herself. She’d read too many true-crime stories and thrillers that featured an isolated cabin in the woods. Still, Autumn and Logan were out there somewhere on their own. “Just tell me what to do with the fire and I will be fine.”
“Rick being seen hanging around here was my primary concern, but visions of you stoking the fire trump my worries about him. We’ll just have to wait until Gramps comes back.”
“Rick was released from the mental institution?”
“Yeah. He moved into a halfway house outside Christmas the day before last, and he’s been seen hanging around the lodge. Tonight, one of the snowmobiles went missing. Wouldn’t surprise me if he took it.”
In her opinion, most people could be rehabilitated and deserved a second chance. She didn’t feel the same about Rick Dane. “You make the hot chocolate, and I’ll change.”
Later, as they sat by the fire drinking hot chocolate and eating sugar cookies, she got the feeling Adam didn’t think the onesie was an improvement over her mohair sweater, sequin leggings, and boots. Though it wasn’t long before they fell into a familiar routine.
She was obsessed with murders and mysteries, and Adam was only too happy to talk about the cases he’d been involved with or give her the inside scoop on current cases in the news. Time passed easily and companionably as they caught up on each other’s lives. It only became a little awkward when she asked more about his current girlfriend, the judge.
“She sounds perfect for you.” Her smile felt forced. She didn’t understand why, because it wasn’t a lie. The judge sounded exactly like the type of woman Adam would be attracted to—beautiful, Harvard educated, wealthy, and from a prominent family.
“Yeah, she’s great.” It didn’t sound like a ringing endorsement. His tone was subdued, and Sophia wondered if he was tamping down his enthusiasm because of her. Did he sense that she might be a tiny bit jealous?
Before she could come up with an excuse, there was a loud bang and the dark sky outside the front window lit up. “They must have set off the fireworks early at the lodge.” Adam stood and helped her to her feet. From the window, they watched red, white, and blue starbursts light up the night sky.
He held up his cell phone. “They’re not early.” He looked at her with a smile and slowly lowered his head. “Happy New Year, Dimples.”
She inched up on her toes to meet him halfway, placing a hand on his chest for balance. “Happy New Year,” she said, just before her lips met his.
His mouth was warm, the taste of chocolate lingering on his lips. A long time ago she’d fantasized about kissing this man, and somehow her body must have confused this moment for then because she leaned in to him, and a kiss that was meant to be friendly and brief became something more.
The ping of his cell phone brought her back to reality. Embarrassed, flustered by her reaction to him, she broke the kiss. To hide her heated face, she glanced at his phone while wondering how she’d forgotten he was a Dane and had a girlfriend. Noting the message on his cell phone’s screen, she frowned. “I thought there was no…” Her eyes widened as she absorbed what the brief text message from Logan meant. “You were in on it the whole time!”
“Wait, Soph, let me explain.”