Chapter Five
Leave it to his mother to neglect to mention that Inez had brought along her new puppy for the trip.
The German Shepherd named Daisy—he gathered by the biddies’ shouts as she tore toward the back doors—was roughly three months old and fast as a whip.
As much as he didn’t want to spend the day as the lodge’s activities director, hunting for a scared puppy in acres of mountain forest didn’t sound much better.
As he barreled past them, Emma Dale’s fiancé yanked her to his side.
“Daisy!” he called for her just as she took off down one of the wooden bridges that split off to one of the many treehouse cabins.
“Daisy! Heel!” Caleb’s breathless cries fell on deaf ears as the puppy took off toward a cabin. Bent over and gasping for breath, he noticed a pair of feet entering his sight line.
Figuring it was Inez, he ground out an insult under his breath before speaking. “About time you deigned to join me. Where was the puppy all this time?”
“Umm…I was just trying to help.”
It was then he noticed the shoes weren’t the orthopedic type favored by the biddies. They were those fancy sheepskin boots that Sabrina liked, too.
He jolted upright, finding Emma Dale standing beside him, her fiancé trailing at a distance, before he took a sharp turn to the left.
She looked beautiful in a dark blue coat and a matching hat, a scarf wound around her neck.
“Oh, hi, um…” He couldn’t say her name. That would be creepy, right?
“Emma,” she said. “Emma Dale. Sorry, it was instinct that had me taking off after you. My grandmother raised hunting dogs.”
“Oh, well, you didn’t have to do that.” Bashful, he brought his hand to his neck. Of course, the first woman to catch his eye since the divorce had a fiancé in tow.
Emma Dale was about five and a half feet tall, with dark hair and the kind of curvy that kept a man warm at night.
“Found her!” a voice called from the other side of the bridge.
Emma managed a smile before heading off toward the voice. Her fiancé came around the corner, his hand firmly on Daisy’s collar.
“Turns out she has a recall after all.” Something in the way he said it sounded smug.
Emma and this guy just didn’t fit. Caleb had barely spoken five words to her, and that was enough to know she was a warm person.
The fiancé seemed like he was straight out of an icebox.
One filled with finance bros. His vest and buttoned-up shirt gave it away.
His older brother Sebastian wore that uniform for years.
“Oh, thank god!” Inez came barreling down the steps. “You found my Daisy!”
She hooked a leash onto her collar while Davis asked her questions about training the dog. Inez’s rapidly souring expression told him she did not care for his input.
“Thank you, but she’s just twelve weeks old. We’re starting obedience school next week.”
“Then maybe you should keep a better eye on her until then,” the fiancé snapped.
Inez opened her mouth to say something. Thankfully, Brandon appeared and put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s get inside, everyone. We just refreshed the breakfast buffet!”
Inez shot Davis a nasty glare before taking off with Daisy. The other biddies circled her. Caleb knew well enough to know they were talking shit about Davis.
Emma cleared her throat. “Guess we should get back inside. Sorry, we couldn’t help more…” She trailed off, looking at him expectedly.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Caleb Ellis. My sister owns Sky House with her husband, Brandon.”
“He’s our new activities director!” Brandon called helpfully. “You should stop by later this morning to talk to him. We have all sorts of activities planned leading up to Christmas.”
Emma pulled a folded-up sheet of paper out of her coat pocket. “I know. I was looking forward to the lunch and learn tomorrow about Appalachian Christmas traditions.”
Brandon broke into a broad smile. “Well, we’re looking forward to having you!”
Davis muttered something under his breath. Emma shot him a glare, and he plastered on a fake smile. “I’m looking forward to it, too. Whatever I can do to make my girl happy.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her through the back doors.
Something about the way he said my girl irked Caleb.
“See you then, Emma,” Caleb called.
She turned, shot him a bashful smile, and ducked her head.
Once she was inside, Brandon ambled down the steps. “Sabrina’s theory is that this trip is a last-ditch effort to save their relationship. In case you were…I don’t know, curious?”
He glared at Brandon. “I would never mess with a woman who was spoken for. Especially not a guest.”
Brandon gestured toward the window. Emma and Davis had taken up residence at one of the tables closest to the window. They were obviously bickering.
“You know this place has a way of bringing people together or pushing them apart.”
That was the joke. Brandon and Sabrina had gotten engaged shortly after he’d purchased the place and had grown closer as they renovated it. Several other couples had gotten engaged here. More than a few had broken up.
“Maybe there’s something about being in the middle of the woods with limited cell reception and spotty Wi-Fi that has something to do with that,” Caleb said.
Brandon shrugged. “Look, it doesn’t matter to me much one way or another. I just like seeing the lights turn on behind your eyes, Caleb. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you look at anyone like you look at her.”
Caleb winced. Was it that obvious? “Let it drop, please, Brandon. And for the love of god, don’t bring your wife into it.”
He laughed at that. “We both know Sabrina is a biddie in training regarding her sleuthing skills. I won’t say anything, but she’ll put two and two together soon enough.”
That was what Caleb was afraid of.
* * * *
The maple bacon-stuffed French toast deserved better. Emma stared at her half-eaten plate while Davis tapped away on his phone. The Wi-Fi was better in the lodge than in the cabins, so he was far from the only person reconnecting to the outside world over breakfast.
However, he was the only one ignoring his partner because of her supposed flirting with the activities director.
She’d hardly call it that. She’d been helpful and friendly.
After all, it was one of the things he’d claimed to love about her.
They’d met when she’d helped him find his friend Beau, who had the nickname ‘the wandering drunk’.
It hadn’t been love at first sight or anything, but they’d ended up together soon after.
She pushed her plate to the side and reached for her coffee cup. Before she could bring it to her lips, one of the staff members refilled it for her. When she murmured thanks, Davis looked up.
He reached for his fork to shove a mouthful of hash brown casserole in.
She couldn’t imagine spending the next two weeks like this. Nor could she imagine spending the rest of her life with someone who seemed to only tolerate her, at best.
“Davis.” She cradled her coffee cup between her hands.
“Hmm?” He didn’t look up as he scrolled furiously through his phone.
“Davis, I don’t think this is going to work.”
That caught his attention. “What do you mean? I’m sorry I got jealous when you flirted with the activities director, or whoever he is. But you were making it obvious.”
Emma managed a subtle eye roll. “I was being friendly. I wasn’t flirting. And that wasn’t what I was talking about.”
He had the decency to set his phone down. “Then what are you talking about?”
She exhaled. “We both know this isn’t working, Davis. It hasn’t been in a while. I’d hoped maybe we’d come here, and it would reignite our romance. But we’ve been here less than twenty-four hours. We’ve been pretty much constantly bickering when you haven’t been working.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What are you saying, Em? I came here, even though you know it’s not my vibe. I wasn’t aware I’d have to playact like I was into this sort of thing.”
“You don’t have to playact. But you don’t have to act like a dick, either. So, please, I think you should head back to DC.”
They sat there in stunned silence. Emma, for having said the words, and Davis, for hearing them.
“What do you mean?” He raised his voice loud enough to be overheard by a nearby table of older women.
With blood roaring through her ears and trembling hands, she slipped the too-fancy engagement ring off and slid it over the table. “Don’t act like you’re surprised, Davis. Neither of us has been happy for a while. It was foolish of me to think a change of location would change that.”
He stared at the ring, mouth agape. She braced herself for a tantrum for the ages.
Instead, he exhaled, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “I’m sorry, Em. I’ve been preoccupied with this promotion—”
“This has been going on far longer than that,” she interrupted. “I don’t want things to be horrible between us, Davis. So why don’t you go back to DC and focus on getting ready to move to New York? When I get back, I’ll pack up my things and help get the condo ready to show.”
His mouth opened and closed like a guppy. “Wait, you’re serious? You’re ending things? And you’re staying here?”
It was funny—she’d said the words in her mind a thousand times. She figured she’d stutter or struggle to get them out when it came to have the conversation for real.
If anything, she was surer now of her decision.
“Am I the type of person to make jokes like this?”
A storm cloud blew in over his face. He stood so suddenly that his chair toppled to the ground. He stopped only to snatch up the diamond ring before leaving in a huff.
* * * *
Caleb spent the afternoon holed up in Sabrina’s office, watching training videos. Despite him being an employee in the loosest terms, he still had to be trained before he could officially work on his own.
Of course, Sabrina and Brandon had filmed the videos themselves, with scripts provided by the Westmore Group. They must’ve taken some serious liberties because these videos were insane.
“What do we say when a guest propositions us?”
Brandon appeared from behind Sabrina, dressed in a football referee’s outfit.
“That’s a flag!” He tossed the flag in front of Sabrina. “At Sky House Lodge, we keep things professional.”
A knock on the door had Caleb reaching for the remote.
Brandon stuck his head in. “How are you liking the videos?”
Caleb gestured to the screen. “You look ridiculous, I hope you know that.”
Brandon chuckled as he shut the door behind him. “It was Sabrina’s idea. You know how she is when she gets an idea in her head.”
“I do, which is why I still find it surprising you married her.”
“Well, you know how love is.”
Caleb yawned. “Can I head home now? I promise I’ll watch the rest of these videos in my downtime. I need to head to a Santa suit fitting with Mom, and I’d rather get it over with.”
“Sure, no problem. You doing okay, otherwise? I know Sabrina strong-armed you into the position.”
He didn’t want to admit the only exciting thing about the job so far had been Emma Dale’s appearance. But now even that was off limits.
“It’s better than rotting on my couch, I guess.”
“That’s an endorsement if I’ve ever heard one.”
As they made their way down to the lobby, they chatted about the packed Christmas schedule both at the lodge and in town. This was the kind of place where no one was left behind, even if you were dragged kicking and screaming into the Christmas spirit.
* * * *
Any trace of Davis was gone when she returned to the cabin. Save the Post-it he’d scribbled and left on the counter.
I’m headed to NYC. When you return to DC, please make arrangements to clear your things. I’m putting the condo on the market the second week of January.
D
She wasn’t sure if he had ignored her when she’d told him she’d do pretty much exactly that, or if he was being his usual bossy-ass self.
She let the note flutter from her fingertips to the floor. Somehow, it didn’t seem real. They were well and truly over now. And she was stuck here without a ride back to the city.
Or a home or a job to go back to when she got there.
She let out a nervous laugh and walked around the cabin.
What had prompted her to do this now? Then she thought about how awful it would’ve been to spend the next two weeks with Davis somewhere he clearly didn’t want to be.
While she thought Sky House was adorable, it was a far cry from the luxury resorts Davis frequented.
Those places were soulless and empty, no matter how much the rooms cost per night.
A tiny part of her had expected to find him waiting for her when she returned. If he’d been there, she wouldn’t have apologized…but she would’ve at least heard him out.
His absence was proof that he might not’ve said the words, but his feelings were the same as hers.
This relationship had been dead long before they’d arrived in the mountains.
She sat on the edge of the bed and looked around the cabin. Would it be silly of her to stay here until Christmas? She should probably return to the city and plan…whatever she would do with her life.
Another panicked laugh escaped her. She could officially do…anything. Or go anywhere. The thought was freeing and terrifying at the same time.
Her life was hers now, for better or worse.
Moving first in with her grandmother when the rent came due, then from one foster care placement to another, had taught Emma to be careful with her money. She had savings, so it wasn’t as if she’d be destitute if she found something by the time those unemployment checks stopped coming.
Emma kicked off her shoes and stared at the ceiling.
Starting over at thirty-four sounded terrifying.
But it wasn’t as though she had a choice.
Neither did she know where she’d spend the holidays.
What would she do? Return to DC and Davis’ condo?
Everyone in DC was from somewhere else. She’d likely be among the few in the building from Christmas to New Year.
Alone amongst the remnants of her past life.
No, she had this trip booked, and she’d stay. It was doubtful she’d get much of a refund now, anyway. At least she could figure things out in a new place. Once the holidays were over, the other pieces would fall into place. Hopefully.
But starting tomorrow, she’d be the jolliest little elf this side of the Mississippi.