Merry on the Mountain (Holly Ridge Holidays #1)

Chapter 1

DREW

Snow falls down in fat flakes catching on my eyelashes as I load our skis on top of the Jeep.

I’m used to this type of weather being from Chicago originally, but my daughter, who grew up in Florida, is still obsessed.

She shrieks in delight as snow falls onto her outstretched tongue.

When I turn I have to blink back the burning at the back of my eyes at the sight of her pink-tinged cheeks and huge smile.

Most of the time I can ignore the guilt that eats at me when I think about missing the first two years of her life because I didn’t know she existed.

But in moments where her pure little soul radiates from her like this, I hate myself.

Not that I wouldn’t have been there in a heartbeat for her if I had known her mother, Crystal, fell pregnant after a one-night stand.

In the years following her death and the knock on my door from child protective services, I’ve evicted so many people from my life.

My agent and publicist were notified when Crystal reached out to find me and let me know.

Instead of telling me, they told her to get lost and that I wasn’t interested in participating in Izzy’s life.

“Daddy!” She tosses her arms out beside her and falls back onto the snow-covered ground to make a snow angel. “Make an angel with me.”

“Not now, Bug. We have to get to our ski lessons.”

“Yay!” She jumps up and races toward me with exuberance I swear only little kids have.

Before I put her in her car seat, I dust the snow off her coat and snow pants while she pats her mittens together. Bending at the knees I wrap my hands around her waist and say, “Hut hut.”

“Hike,” she calls out as I lift her into the air and set her carefully into her seat. She wiggles out of her coat before I fasten her in and lay it over her lap to keep her cozy.

I wasn’t a center when I played in the NFL, but football was all I knew, and back in the early days of fatherhood, I leaned on it heavily while I figured things out. Now every time I lift her into the car, we have to do the little chant otherwise it’s meltdown city.

I back the Jeep up and pull out onto the switchback road that leads from our townhouse down into the valley.

We’ve only lived in Holly Ridge since early spring when I retired and decided a change of pace would be good for both of us.

I made friends with a few guys over the summer, all of who are also single dads.

One of them, Aiden, is a chef at the ski resort.

He suggested taking ski lessons with Izzy this winter as a way to bond with her, to have something just for the two of us to learn together.

It takes about fifteen minutes to find a parking spot, which stresses me out.

I hate being late for anything, let alone something where there’s someone waiting for me.

My parents raised us with the mentality that if you’re on time, you’re late, and if you’re early, you’re on time.

I’ve never operated under any other time management system, which means I’m perpetually early or anxious, there’s no in between.

Becoming an instant parent has only increased that particular trait.

Especially with a daughter who loves lollygagging around.

She’s so damn cute, though, that I don’t care. Her life, as short as it has been thus far, has had enough upheaval. I’m completely okay with changing my own time management schedule to fit her in.

After unbuckling her car seat, she wiggles back into her coat, slides out of the seat and then jumps out of the Jeep. I put my boots on first and then assist her with hers, at least as much as she’ll let me. Her independent streak is growing by the day now.

“I can carry mine,” she says when I pull our skis off the rack.

“Okay.” I demonstrate how she should carry them. Another of the countless lessons parenting has taught me: how to pick my battles. This is one that isn’t worth fighting.

By the time we’re at the designated meeting point, there’s a woman waiting for us.

As we come closer. I realize that she’s beautiful.

Her blonde hair is braided on either side of her head, a few strands blow in the wind around the ear warmer she wears.

She has the freckled skin of someone who spends most of their time outdoors.

Our eyes meet as soon as Izzy and I come to a stop in front of her.

Her lips lift into a bright smile as she crouches down to speak to Izzy first. “Hello, you must be Isabel?”

My stomach flips and warmth spreads through me.

“Everyone calls me Izzy.”

“I like that, Izzy. My name is Willow, but everyone calls me Willa. It’s nice to meet you.”

I watch their interaction with rapt attention. After another minute she straightens and extends her hand to me.

“Hi, I’m Willa. I’ll be your instructor.”

“Drew.” Her hand is warm and soft despite the cold air swirling around us.

“Nice to meet you.” She looks us over. “Since you’re both already suited up and ready to go, let's head over to the bunny slope.” She grabs a set of skis from the rack behind her and gestures for us to follow her. “Have either of you been on skis before?”

“Only water skis for me. She’s never been skiing.” At least I’m nearly certain she hasn’t.

“Perfect. You’ll both be starting from the same place.”

Izzy watches the way Willa moves while carrying her skis and tries to emulate her, dropping the skis because her hands are too small.

Before I can help her out, Willa is dropping to a knee and demonstrating how Izzy can carry her own skis easily.

She’s patient as Izzy figures everything out, never once getting frustrated or taking over.

Once Izzy has the skis secure, we set off again.

“Are you here on vacation?” Willa asks as she falls in step beside me.

“No, we moved to Holly Ridge back in the spring when I retired.”

“Retired?” She glances over at me, looking closely. “You seem a bit young for retirement.”

“I played in the NFL.”

“Really? Where?”

“Chicago.”

“I love Chicago. If I were to ever live in a big city, it’d be at the top of my list.”

“It is great. I grew up there, too.”

“Why’d you move?”

“I wanted a change of pace for the two of us, and I’ve always loved the mountains.”

“I hear that. I’m from a small town in Minnesota originally, but I moved out here to Colorado for college and never went back.”

We come to what looks like a conveyor belt on the ground. Groups of kids follow instructors onto it as it tows them up the small hill. I feel silly as I look around and realize I’m one of the only adult students, and, because of my height, I stand out even more.

Willa shows us both how to put our skis on and goes through a safety talk. She explains the best way to fall, the way to turn and stop. She spends most of her time explaining things in a kid-friendly way for Izzy’s benefit, which I appreciate.

“Ready for your first magic carpet ride?” she asks us both as she gestures for us to join her in line.

Izzy’s eyes flare with excitement. “Like in Aladdin?”

“Yes,” Willa’s eyes meet mine over Izzy’s head. “I see you’re exposing her to the classics. Good job, Dad.”

“Thanks.” I flash a smile at her. I’ve never been happier about my cheeks being cold because the smile she gives me in return makes me blush like a prepubescent boy. I need to get a fucking grip; she’s just a pretty woman who knows how to interact with my daughter.

But as the lesson progresses and she works with both us on the foundational basics of skiing, I can’t stop watching her.

She doesn’t just listen to Izzy’s questions, she hears them and goes beyond a quick answer.

The fact that she spends more time focused on Izzy than me makes me appreciate her even more.

I’ve seen the look on the faces of some women once they find out I’m a retired NFL player, especially one who’s been to two super bowls.

Sometimes I’m sure it’s about money, others status.

I don’t think any less of those women—hell, I used to entertain the fuck out of them—but now I have someone more important to focus on.

I made the mistake of trusting the woman I hired to be Izzy’s nanny back in Chicago and that ended horribly.

I won’t be doing the same thing ever again, no matter how great it felt in the moment.

Luckily that experience didn’t set Izzy and I back in getting to know each other, but it easily could have.

I won’t risk my relationship with my daughter for anything.

After the lesson ends I take Izzy to the resort restaurant where Aiden works and order us two hot chocolates while we sit in the lounge by the large fireplace.

He comes out of the back for a few minutes to chat.

He drops a coloring sheet on the coffee table for Izzy along with a little packet of crayons.

“How was your first lesson?” he asks once she settles into coloring a winter scene.

“Good. Izzy took to everything so quickly.”

He smiles as he looks over at her. “That’s good. Kids tend to do really well when they learn young. How was it for you?”

“I’m still standing.”

He chuckles. “Who was your instructor?”

“Willa.”

“Blonde hair? Tall?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

He nods. “I’ve only heard good things about her. You’re in good hands.”

“Yeah, it seemed so.”

“What are you doing this weekend?” He leans back in the chair, crossing his legs.

“No plans, why?”

“I have a rare Saturday night off and was thinking about a poker night at my house.”

“I’m in.”

His younger sister, Ava, lives with him and is always willing to babysit the kids, so the four of us can have a night every once in a while. She’s the only person I’ve met here so far that I trust to leave Izzy with, so I take any chance I can to have a rare guy’s night.

“Izzy girl,” Ava calls out as we walk through the front door, “come give me your biggest hug.”

Izzy practically launches herself from my arms and runs into the kitchen where Ava is kneeling down with her arms outstretched.

I get a quick wave hello from Ava before Izzy drags her off into the playroom Aiden has set up in his basement.

It’s so good to see my daughter feel so at home with the people who have become my closest friends.

“Hey, man,” Aiden greets me with a bottle of local beer.

“Thanks.” I pop the cap off and go stand beside Ben. “Is it your weekend without the kids?”

“Yeah.” He brings his bottle of beer up to his lips and swallows. “I’m thinking about trying for full custody.”

“Really?”

I know his ex-wife is barely around. She’s a surgeon in Denver, and he’s the principal of one of the elementary schools in town, so he has the kids three full weeks a month and then every other weekend. Their mom comes into town for the other week and weekends.

He nods. “Jennifer wants them to move to Denver with her, so she can enroll them in a private academy there.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Ben shrugs it off, but I can see the stress weighing him down. I hate that Izzy doesn’t have a mom, but when I see the shit that he goes through, I’m almost grateful that I don’t have to deal with anything like it.

The front door opens, and the sound of heavy footsteps fills the air.

Noah and his son, Wyatt, appear seconds later.

I’ve never seen a father son pair that looks more alike than these two.

Noah stands just as tall and broad as me, but his bulk is built from ranching.

Wyatt, at only twelve, is already taller than many adults.

He disappears downstairs with only a grunt of acknowledgement at our greetings.

Noah goes right to the fridge and helps himself to a beer while Aiden finishes laying out the bowls of snacks. We all settle around the table, and Noah pulls out a deck of cards. Aiden holds up a hand before he starts to deal, stopping our conversations before they go too far.

“Don’t hate me, but I signed us all up for Ava’s fundraiser.”

“What’s it for?” I ask.

“A new animal shelter.”

“What’s the fundraiser?” Ben asks slowly.

“An auction.” Aiden takes a swig of beer. “Of dates with men,” he adds quickly.

Noah chokes and pounds his chest.

Ben’s brows slam together. “I can’t do that; I’m a school administrator.”

“I’m sorry, is it in your contract with the district that you can’t fundraise for a good cause?” Aiden asks.

“No. But it’s just inappropriate.”

“Bullshit. It’s just a charity date auction. You don’t have to whore yourself out.”

“But maybe you should.” Noah smirks. “You’re wound a little tight lately.”

Ben flashes his middle finger at him in return.

“Listen.” Aiden sets his beer down. “Ava does a lot for all four of us. Hell, she does a lot for everyone in this town, the least we can do is help her with this.”

“I’m in,” I agree. He’s not wrong, she is always willing to lend a hand to help.

The other two guys grumble a bit more but ultimately agree as well.