Chapter 11 Cindy
It had been nearly a week since Jack arrived and the sleigh rides started—not that Cindy tracked time by the comings and goings of Jack Kessler—but she had to admit, things were looking up a tiny bit.
Cautiously optimistic, she clicked through her accounting files and did some mental math.
Yes, reservations had come in. Not piles of them, but they’d barely had a chance to advertise the sleigh rides. Somehow, word got out, though.
Gracie was talking the rides up to all her customers at Sugarfall, which helped.
Nicole had persuaded darn near every person who walked into the shed to book a ride, and they did.
Then Cindy had updated the Snowberry website with the cutest picture of Red in full Santa gear and Jack in his Victorian costume, holding the reins of the sleigh.
That resulted in three of the cabins booking out, and several of the suites in the lodge. Not for the entire month, but it was a start. Still, they were a long way from what they needed to pay that tax bill in the new year.
And that took her back to the notes on her desk, made during yesterday’s call with Henry Lassiter. The fact was, he was starting to make sense, and the next natural step would be to talk to MJ about it.
She hadn’t yet, mostly because she wasn’t sure she completely understood the structure of Henry’s proposal. He owed her more information and she’d promised him she’d bring it up with her sister.
How would MJ react to the idea of giving up some of their ownership in order to save this place? She was reluctant to broach the subject, to be honest. They’d just had the best week—full of fun and family, long dinners and big laughs.
Cindy rubbed her temples and narrowed her eyes, her brain—and heart—shifting back to one of those dinners last night.
She and Jack and MJ had lingered over decaf and cookies late into the night.
Nicole and Brianna had stayed, too, after the ski shed closed, and Nina and Pedro, the couple that worked for them, had joined the fun around the table.
Benny had nodded off and needed to go to bed, so Red offered to stay with the boy—as long as Gracie brought cookies home.
They’d all talked about the mountain, the snow, Park City events, Christmas, life. They shared old stories and dear memories, and it felt like the good old days.
Because of Jack, of course.
“Oh, Jack,” she whispered on a sigh that sounded as confused as she felt.
She and her ex-husband had been spending a lot of time together, giving the holidays a whole different feeling than she’d ever expected. Between planning sleigh rides, coordinating guest lists, and handling Copper’s occasional stubborn streak, it all felt so right and natural.
But Cindy couldn’t help wondering…were they friends now? Or was there something humming quietly beneath the surface? Something dangerously close to old feelings?
“Cindy Starling Kessler!” MJ called out in a sing-songy voice. “You’re missing the magic! Stop working and help me decorate the big tree! I know you’ll want to be sure it’s perfect.”
Jack and Pedro had taken a truck out to the ridge that morning to pick a gorgeous fir tree and set it up in the lodge’s great room.
Now, the tree was ready to be covered with Snowberry decorations.
Which meant MJ would haphazardly toss her favorites in the front and Cindy would have to stealthily rehang them so they looked, well, yeah. Perfect.
Pushing up from her desk, Cindy abandoned the numbers and headed into the great room. She did want to make sure the tree looked good, but maybe this was her opportunity to talk with MJ about Henry Lassiter’s offer.
“I thought we were waiting for Benny to get home from school,” Cindy said, coming around the corner to the room where guests frequently congregated.
No one was there now, though, since they were smack dab in the middle of a great ski day.
“We are,” MJ assured her. “But I thought we should get started.” She leaned back, her hands on her hips as she gazed up at the deep green Douglas fir that towered toward the beamed ceiling. “She’s a beauty, huh? Things are looking up, don’t you think?”
Cindy nodded, following her sister’s gaze to the top of the tree. “Literally.”
The twelve-footer looked lovely in the rustic two-story great room at the front of Snowberry Lodge. The Christmas tree filled the spacious room with the scent of the season and looked grand next to the tall stone fireplace.
All around the room, worn but well-loved furniture—plaid armchairs, a soft caramel-hued couch, handwoven blankets—were piled with tissue-wrapped boxes and half-open storage bins filled with ornaments.
MJ, in a red cable-knit sweater and her usual messy bun, reached for an ornament and discarded it, grabbing another.
“What’s wrong with that snowman?” Cindy asked.
“I’m looking for my favorites to fill up the front.” She shot Cindy a look. “I know you’ll tell me to spread them out, balance the color, and for the love of dear baby Jesus, don’t put the homemade ones in front.”
Cindy laughed. “I hate that I’m so predictable.”
“You’re just the only person who decorates a tree like it’s a math equation,” MJ teased.
“I’m organized,” Cindy said in self-defense, looking into the open bin. “And you are…”
With a grin, MJ plucked out a blue glass star and hooked it on a branch, front and center. “A go-with-the-flow kind of girl,” MJ finished for her. “If the star fits, hang it, I say. Who cares if it’s photo worthy?”
Cindy shrugged. “Trust me, the one I have at home is not balanced or neat and have you seen Gracie’s? Red and Benny went to town.”
“Exactly why I thought I’d start this one before Benny gets home from school.” MJ pulled out a tiny wreath made from painted dried pasta. “Remember this? Gracie made it in first grade.”
Cindy came over and took the ornament in her hands, the memory softening her heart. “Even way back then she could make food into a work of art. Now, she does it with sugar and icing and has a line out the door.”
MJ reached into the box again and pulled out another ornament, her eyes glinting as she hid it from Cindy. “Here’s an oldie but not moldy.”
“Show me.”
MJ dangled the ceramic oversized engagement ring with 1995 painted on the side.
“Oh.” Cindy’s shoulders dropped. “The year Jack proposed. We probably should get rid of that one.”
“Why?” MJ said, turning to find a branch for it. “It’s part of our family history. Good or bad, it matters.” She snagged a spot right next to the star instead of hidden in the back where it belonged.
Cindy eyed the decoration and considered moving it, but something stopped her.
“What exactly is going on with you two, anyway?” MJ asked after a beat, trying to sound casual, and failing completely.
“Honestly? I have no idea what’s going on,” she confessed, happy to have this conversation with her sister. They had no secrets, and MJ had always been her sounding board where Jack was concerned. Where everything was concerned, really.
She hung a tiny angel while MJ waited for the rest of the answer.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time together,” she finally said. “Sometimes it feels…nice. Other times, it’s awkward. Mostly, it’s very familiar and fun.” Cindy laughed lightly. “Fun more than anything. After all, it’s Jack.”
“And he’s fun,” MJ agreed. “Listen, Cin, don’t get in your head about this time together. You two were married for twenty years. You share a child. And you’re so natural together. I just watched you with him last night and marveled at how you two are so much alike.”
Were they? “Well, we’re co-workers right now, technically. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel something.”
MJ put a hand on her shoulder, the ornaments forgotten as her whole face registered nothing but tenderness.
“You always loved him,” she said gently. “And if I’m being honest? I sat there last night and wondered why the heck you and Jack never found a way back to each other.”
“Oh, you’re just a romantic,” Cindy said, but the truth was, she’d been wondering the same thing. “You know what happened. Life got in the way. He loved his job, the travel, the spotlight. I loved the lodge, being rooted here. We tried and we…didn’t make it.”
And ten years later, it was actually hard to remember why.
“But you never stopped loving each other.”
Cindy hung one more festive Santa ornament and then lost the burning need to control the decorating. Now that was proof that she really was confused.
“Maybe not,” she murmured, dropping onto the sofa with a sigh.
Quiet while she watched her sister humming and hanging, Cindy’s mind drifted back to Henry Lassiter. Every time she and MJ had a moment together, Cindy decided it wasn’t the right time.
The fact was, she had a solution to their problems long term, but she wasn’t sure if MJ would be willing to pay the price. Maybe if she—
Suddenly, the front door creaked open and one of their guests walked into the wide entryway, dusting snow from his navy peacoat.
“Oh, hello, Matt,” MJ said quickly, her whole face brightening as she looked over her shoulder at him. “I thought you were having lunch in town today.”
Cindy hadn’t seen much of Matt Walker, the man who’d come the day after Thanksgiving and showed no sign of checking out of Cabin Five.
He’d kept a low profile, not skiing at all, to her knowledge, but she had noticed him in and out of the kitchen a few times, chatting with MJ.
“I am headed into town,” he said. “But I left—”
“Your gloves in the mudroom,” MJ finished. “I set them on the counter for you.”
“Thank you.” He held up his bare hands. “I got very chilly taking my morning walk. But I couldn’t turn around because I found the little…I guess you’d call it a river.”
“That would be generous,” MJ said on a laugh, swiping back a strand of hair. “That’s Moose Creek. It’s best in the spring when the snow melts and the stream is in full force. Unless it floods. Now it’s just icy and a little treacherous, so be careful down there.”