Chapter 21
21
TORI
I didn't like the next buyer, Creighton Chase, who toured the practice. He'd had this slickness to him, and it had nothing to do with his gelled hair or private-school upbringing. He reminded me of a used-car salesman.
Creighton had gotten a little too close when I talked to him in my office, and he found ways to touch me. Out of respect for my father, who was giddy with the possibility of selling the practice, I hadn't said anything.
I wouldn't interfere with my dad's decision. Or at least, not any more than I already had by pretending to be with Xander. So far, that plan was failing spectacularly.
At the end of the day, Dad called me into his office. "What did you think of Dr. Chase?"
I sat across from him, wondering what I should say. "What did you think of him? You're opinion matters more than mine."
"He said all the right things," Dad said thoughtfully.
"He said what we wanted to hear, but I'm not sure he meant any of it."
"He wants to live in a small town, but he's only ever lived in cities. He wants to build the practice, but he's only ever sold the ones he's bought in the past."
"The one good thing is that he might keep me on." If his desire to be close to me was any indication.
"You still want to keep working here, right?"
"That's why I came home," I said with a bright smile.
Dad leveled me with a concerned look. "Are you sure you're okay with me selling the practice to someone else?"
"I understand the position I put you in. I went back on my word, and you made other plans. I'm not going to interfere."
Dad's forehead creased. "What will you do if the new owner doesn't let you stay on?"
"I'll have to find something else." I couldn't even think about leaving Telluride.
"You'd work at a hospital in Colorado?" Dad asked.
"That's what my experience has been, so it would be easier for me to find a job in that setting. They're always looking for doctors." Small practices were harder to break into. Not something I ever worried about before because my father happened to own one.
"You'll need to move to find something."
My outlook was grim. "I don't want to, but if I can't find a job in town?—"
Dad's voice lifted. "But you're happy with Xander? You want to build a life with him?"
I nodded before I had a chance to think about it. If it was up to me, I'd be doing exactly that. But I hadn't told Xander how I felt about him, and I had no way of knowing if he felt the same.
Dad steepled his hands.
"Don't worry about my plans. You have to do what's right for you."
I only wanted to show him that I planned to stay, which I'd already done with my relationship with Xander. "Xander and I are going to look at a few houses this week."
"How will that work if you'll need a new job?"
I sighed. "We'll decide what to do if that happens. There's too much uncertainty right now."
Dad nodded. "I want you to be happy."
Affection rushed through me. "I am happy. It was the best decision to move back home, and I love working here." I'd already built relationships with my patients, seeing them in the grocery store or at the resort.
"I'm glad."
My phone buzzed. It was Xander telling me he was working late again. He worked too hard. I wondered if I could run home, change, and meet him at the resort. I stood and kissed my dad's cheek. "I'd better get going."
I walked out of his office. The feeling of working here was bittersweet. It was my dream job, but I wouldn't work here for long. Dad would sell to Lincoln; he was the perfect fit, but he couldn't guarantee me a position. Lincoln had to do what he could afford, and a second doctor wouldn't be in the cards for a long time.
I had a few more weeks to work here at best. I'd help Xander with the winter festival and finding a house. Then I'd need to figure out my life.
I hurried home to change, then drove to the lodge. I knew I'd find Xander in the area behind the lodge, cordoned off with caution tape.
I saw Christopher, who Xander had taken under his wing, on the other side of the fenced-off area. "Do you know where Xander is?"
He threw a thumb over his shoulder. "At the snowball area."
I had no idea what that was, but I ducked under the tape and walked in that direction. There were various snow forts built that looked more like small walls or barriers. I wondered if this was a paintball course but for snowballs. There were buckets placed behind the walls, probably to stockpile snowballs.
There was one structure in the middle which was larger than the rest. It looked like a house with windows. There was a light on inside now that the sun was setting.
"Xander?"
"In here," came his voice from somewhere inside.
I ducked under the doorway and sank to my knees in the packed snow. "What is this?"
Xander was patting the walls. "The snowball house? I don't know what to call it."
"It's so cool." I was glad I'd worn my snow pants because I could sit without the cold seeping through the material.
"We have various activities set up. Noelle is building a walk-through light display. There will be vendors and fire pits."
I smiled, excited for him. "It's going to be amazing."
Xander sighed, and I could see the strain around his eyes. "I hope so."
"You're working too hard." He'd been doing lessons during the day, studying the business spreadsheets before and after, and now organizing the festival.
He gave me a tired look. "I'll rest when this is over."
"Do you need help with anything?" I asked, wanting to ease his load.
"Maybe we could test it and see if it works?" he asked hopefully.
"The house?" I asked as he ducked outside.
When I joined him outside, he said, "The course."
"You want us to have a snowball fight?" I asked him slowly, not sure I understood him.
"You want to?" Xander asked as he absentmindedly formed a ball of snow with his gloved hands, then dropped it into a nearby bucket.
"Will it just be us?"
"Uh-huh." He was definitely working too hard, putting too much pressure on himself. I was sure his brothers didn't want him to work himself into the ground. But he didn't listen to me when I said he should take breaks.
"Me against you?" I asked as I edged toward one of the walls and bent over to form a ball.
Xander shot me a grin. "No one else is here."
I raised my arm and let loose.
Xander's eyes widened as if he couldn't believe I'd thrown the first snowball, and he ducked at the last second. "I didn't tell you to start."
"All is fair in love and war," I said, remembering our battle cry when we were kids.
"Now you're going down," he roared as he hurriedly formed more snowballs, then thew a bunch in my direction.
I dove behind the barrier, giggling at how freeing it felt to let go. For once, I wasn't a doctor with responsibilities. I was just having fun. I quickly built an arsenal, then peeked over the wall.
Xander wasn't anywhere to be seen. Was he hiding, waiting to jump out at me? I didn't like that. I was on edge, waiting for him to make a move.
I wanted to scream in frustration. My heart was thumping, but there weren't any sounds. He wasn't moving, or if he was, he was quiet.
We were away from the lodge's patio where guests drank hot chocolate and rested before getting on the lift again. Was he going to ambush me? Or throw ice down my jacket? I shivered at the thought. Should I keep moving or stay put?
The problem was, he knew where I was hiding, but I had no idea where he'd chosen to hide. I picked up the bucket by the metal handle and ran. I zigzagged from one wall to the other, keeping low so he wouldn't see me. Unfortunately, I was wearing a red jacket. It would be difficult to hide while moving.
I paused behind a barrier to catch my breath. Was he in the snowball house? That made the most sense. It had the best fortifications. Since when did I start thinking in terms of fortifications? I was losing it. But I never had fun like this in New York, and especially not in the hospital.
I snuck up on the house, catching a flash of black inside. He was definitely in there. I paused behind another wall and filled my bucket with snowballs. Then I found the perfect spot to fire balls through a window.
I took a deep breath and threw five in quick succession. When I heard him cry out, I moved to a different window and kept throwing. It took a few seconds, but he returned fire.
I laughed as I ducked out of the way.
I kept throwing balls, a few through one window, then another, as he fired back at me. It was so much fun.
Then a roar sounded, and he was flying out of the door. I screamed and ran, forgetting all about my bucket of snowballs. I ducked and scurried from one wall to the other, not sure where I was going, just knowing I had to get away from him.
All of a sudden, he ran into me from behind, and we were flying forward. At the last second, Xander wrapped an arm around my middle and spun us so that I landed on him.
I was stunned for a second, the wind knocked out of me.
"Are you okay?" Xander asked, his gloved hand in my hair, and I remembered I was still holding onto some snow.
I shoved my snow on his face, unable to control a fit of laughter.
With a growl, Xander flipped us so he was on top, his strong thighs bracketing me. "That was a dirty move."
I thrust upward in a weak attempt to dislodge him. I felt safe with him even when we were horsing around. He'd always protect me. "What if I like to get dirty?"
His eyes darkened. "I know you do."
Snow was falling from the sky, covering us in a thin layer of flakes. My body was sore from the running we'd just done, and my mind was blessedly blank. I'd forgotten about our worries during the few minutes we'd let go. It was nice.
"What's going on?" Eli asked, and Xander's eyes widened. He scrambled off me, throwing a hand in my direction to help me up. I frantically brushed the snow off my clothes, hoping I didn't get Xander into trouble with his brothers.
"We were testing out the snowball course. I thought it was fun. What do you think, Tori?"
"It was, but I imagine it would be more fun with more people."
Eli glanced from me to Xander. "It looks great. I didn't expect anything this elaborate when we initially planned it."
"I started making the walls and got a little carried away." Xander gestured toward the house.
Eli nodded. "The kids are going to love it. They'll probably want us to maintain it for longer than a day."
"I'll do my best."
"Is everything ready to go for the festival?" Eli asked.
"We have a few things to finish setting up," Xander said," but I was wondering what you would think about a permanent ice-skating rink on the property."
"That would be amazing. It would cater to people who don't want to ski or just want an extra option for something to do in the evenings. Even locals could take advantage of it," I said. When the guys looked at me, I added, "Sorry, this was the first I'd heard of the idea, and I couldn't help but think out loud."
"I've never thought about that, and I have no idea what it would cost, but I like the idea."
"Numbers are Oliver's problem, am I right?" Xander joked, and Eli's entire expression relaxed.
"Right. It's nice to have someone else coming up with ideas and driving Oliver crazy."
"I live to drive Oliver crazy," Xander said, and we all laughed.
"I'm going to head inside. I have a few phone calls to return. Keep up the good work." Eli turned to walk away, and I slapped Xander's arm. "Why didn't you tell me about the ice-skating rink?"
"It literally just came to me. Now that I started focusing on possibilities, more ideas are coming to me all the time. It's not that I'm not good at business; I've never thought about things this way before."
"I'm happy for you. I think the festival and the rink will be amazing additions to the resort." One was an annual event and the other permanent. Plus we could use a larger outdoor rink. The downtown had a mini one but was only useable for younger kids. It was fun for them, but it would be nice too have something the entire community could use.
Xander pulled me close. "I couldn't have done any of this without you."
"You would have figured it out." I was positive about that.
"You helped me believe in myself, and that's everything."
"You support me too. That's what you do in a relationship or a friendship," I was quick to add. I didn't want him to think I'd forgotten the fake piece of our relationship.
The light in his eyes dimmed, and he stepped back from me. "I better get back to work. I don't want Eli to catch me goofing off again."
I frowned. "It didn't seem like he saw it that way."
"You know I have to work harder to prove myself. Was there something you needed?"
I couldn't even remember why I'd come, other than to see Xander and spend some time with him. "I guess I'll head home and start dinner."
Xander waved a hand. "Don't bother waiting for me; I'll be busy here."
"Do you still want to look at houses this week with the realtor?"
"Yeah, that's a priority. The apartment is getting too small, don't you think?"
I wanted to mention that he wasn't there much, so it was really just me. But I didn't. "Right."
"Let me finish this up. Then we'll be able to look at a few houses. I know what I want, so I think it will be easy to make a decision."
"That's exciting."
Xander flashed a smile in my direction, but I could tell his mind was on what he needed to do to finish the snowball course. I headed to my car, feeling off.
Our relationship was supposed to be pretend, but it had veered off course into real territory, and now I didn't know how to treat it. Because my feelings were big and very real.
I had no way of knowing where Xander stood, and we couldn't have that conversation at the lodge while he was working. I needed to talk to him when we were alone, but those moments were few and far between. When we did get some time together, we were usually having sex.
I loved the physical connection, and I was worried if I brought up my concerns, I'd ruin everything. What if he didn't feel the same? What if he didn't think we had a future together?
The prospect of that outcome hurt far more than losing my father's practice. I could always find another job, but I was in love with my best friend.