Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
OLIVER
E veryone was out of town except for Xander, who I hadn't seen all day. If he wanted to prove to Eli that he was able to take on more responsibility, he wasn't doing a good job of it by being absent. Joey opened my office door and ran into the hallway. He was down the stairs before I could tell him to slow down.
I wanted to catch up to him, but my phone rang. It was Xander.
"Where are you?" I didn't bother with niceties. The lodge was in emergency mode, and he was nowhere to be found.
"I just heard the lodge was shutting down. Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It was Eli's decision." I kept walking down the stairs at a slower pace. I could hear Joey talking to someone. All the staff members adored Joey and looked out for him. "Are you going to be around for the storm?"
"I'm in town. You need me to drive out there?"
I sighed. I did't know why I even bothered with Xander. He wasn't reliable unless we were talking about the outdoor adventures. "I'm here with Joey."
"You going to be okay? "
"We'll be fine." My voice was tight. I was done with this conversation. When I turned the last corner, I saw Joey up ahead in front of the large Christmas tree on the landing to the second floor. Carolina stood next to him.
"I gotta go," I mumbled to Xander and hung up without waiting for him to respond.
Carolina was crouched next to Joey, talking about one of the ornaments on the tree. She was holding it slightly away from the branch; it was the one that we'd had made for the lodge. Wilde Ski Resort was painted in green script with an outline of the lodge and a mountain range in the background.
"That's really neat. I'll have to buy one before I head home."
"Joey," I called to him.
"There's my dad," Joey said, running back over to me.
"You're not supposed to run off like that," I chided him, but my mind was on Carolina and what she thought about finding out I had a child. But I couldn't quite meet her eyes.
"Are you heading home?" I asked, not sure how I felt about that. My worlds were colliding and not in a good way.
Carolina stood, brushing off her jeans. She must have changed out of the dress she wore in the conference room earlier to something more comfortable. "Like I said before, I'm not in any rush to leave. I don't think I could have gotten a flight out. I didn't want to chance it being cancelled and being stuck at the airport."
"It's so much fun being snowed in. Marcus makes us food, and his hot chocolate is so good," Joey rambled on excitedly. This was an adventure for him. He didn't have to worry about whether the power would go out and how to clear the snow.
"Marcus isn't our servant while we're here. We can make our own food."
Joey rolled his eyes. "I know."
"Come on, bud. Let's check in with Marcus." Before we headed down the last flight of stairs, I said to Carolina, "He's making dinner for everyone. You're welcome to come down and eat with us."
"I was going to explore the lodge first. It's kind of nice that it's so quiet."
"Yeah, most of the conference guests left already."
Joey pulled away from my hand and twirled in a circle. "We have the place to ourselves."
"There's still a few guests and staff members."
Carolina tipped her head to the side. "Are you staying here for the night then? With your son?"
"That's right. Sorry, I didn't properly introduce you. Joey, this is Carolina. She organizes some of the conferences here."
Joey surprised me by holding out his hand for her to shake. "Nice to meet you. Are you from North or South Carolina?"
Carolina smiled. "No, actually. I'm from Maine."
Joey's forehead wrinkled. "Why did your parents name you Carolina then?"
I headed down the stairs, my stomach twisting. I had no way of knowing how Carolina was taking this new information. Our personal lives were never supposed to mix. "Joey, that's rude."
Carolina shook her head. "That's okay. I don't mind. My parents vacationed in North Carolina before they had me, and then in Virginia before they had my sister. Her name is Virginia, but we call her Ginny."
That was an interesting tidbit about Carolina's life that I didn't know.
By then, we'd made it to the bottom of the stairs, and Joey took off, running toward the kitchen.
"I'm sorry about that." I wasn't sure what I was apologizing for: having a son, keeping him from her, or the awkward meeting. Probably all of it.
Carolina frowned. "Are you sorry that I met your son?"
I swallowed. I was screwing this up. "For keeping him from you. He's mine to protect. His mother's not exactly involved, and I'm careful about bringing women into his life. He's been disappointed so many times."
"By his mother?" Carolina asked, her eyes wide.
I nodded. "Yes."
"I understand why you didn't tell me. You wanted to protect him, and our relationship was never supposed to be serious."
That was true, but I didn't like the way her words settled in my gut. "We're staying in the lodge for the duration of the storm, so we're bound to run into each other."
Her brow furrowed. "You want me to act like we're just acquaintances? I can do that."
"That would be great." Yet at the same time, my stomach sunk. I didn't want her to pretend that we didn't know each other. But what other choice did I have? I wasn't prepared to tell Joey that I was seeing someone, no matter how casual it was. "Thanks for understanding."
Carolina touched my arm. "Of course." Then she followed the path Joey had taken to the kitchen.
I had a feeling she wasn't telling me the depth of her feelings when it came to me and Joey. That she was holding something back. I wouldn't blame her if she was hurt and confused. I'd kept him a secret, and I had my reasons, but she'd shared so many details of her past with me. I hadn't shared much at all.
I shrugged off the uneasiness that settled in my gut and followed the sound of Joey's excited voice into the kitchen. He stood on a chair next to Marcus as he guided him through cutting the onions. Marcus reserved a special knife for Joey. It wasn't too sharp but was able to cut veggies. It made Joey feel important in the kitchen, as if he could be a cook one day soon. I appreciated that.
"Do you need any help?" Carolina asked.
"Why don't you get the salad fixings ready? We're not formal when there's a storm bearing down. Everyone chips in."
"Happy to help," Carolina said with a smile as she opened the industrial-size fridge and began to pull out lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
Marcus raised a brow at me.
Did he know that something was going on between us? How could he? "What can I do?"
"Toast the buns," Marcus said simply.
I'd helped out enough in the kitchen that I knew his process for burgers. He liked the buns lightly buttered and toasted. Even Joey preferred them prepared this way.
In no time at all, we had a platter of burgers on the dining room table along with buns and condiments. Carolina tossed the salad in a large serving bowl and set it in the middle of the table. Joey was setting the table with plates, salad bowls, and silverware.
The guests consisted of an older man named Arthur who said he wasn't in a rush to his son's house; a couple, Dean and Amy, who was in town to see one of their parents; and the staff. I called up to the rooms of the guests that were staying and invited them down. Once they arrived, we dug in. Even Marcus joined us.
I usually enjoyed staying at the lodge when there was a storm because Joey was so excited about staying and Eli was here to help. Joey enjoyed sledding and eating in the kitchen with Marcus. The only difference this time was that Eli wasn't here. I was in charge of ensuring nothing happened to the lodge or its guests. It was a big responsibility.
Carolina sat across from me and Joey. He kept up a steady stream of conversation about the things we could do tonight if the power went out: card games, board games, charades, and the ever-popular hide-and-seek.
Amy shuddered. "You can count me out of hide-and-seek. I would be too scared to hide if the power was out. "
"I'm super brave," Joey said seriously.
Amy nodded. "I bet you are."
Once dinner was done, I stood to clean up, waving Marcus off. He was a member of the staff, but since he was the chef, I never required him to clean the dining room. Carolina stood to join me, following me into the kitchen with a stack of plates.
"Are you okay with me staying the night?" Carolina asked, her forehead creased.
I frowned. "Any of the guests were welcome to stay."
She gestured from me to her. "I don't want things to be awkward between us."
"Hopefully, the storm won't be as bad as they're saying."
"Joey makes it sound fun though."
"If there's no pressing issues, we can even go sledding or build a snowman. I think it's Joey's favorite day of the year. It doesn't happen often that the storm is so big that they shut down the airport and roads."
"I can't believe that I'm here for it."
"I'm sorry you're stuck."
Carolina smiled. "I have nothing to rush home for, so I'm going to enjoy it. There's no conference to plan, and I can just relax."
That made me wonder if she filled her spare time with work. I was guilty of that before I had Joey. Then it became a difficult balance of time with him and getting whatever work I could get done while he was in school.
Amy walked in with Dean, holding hands. "Thanks for dinner. We're going to head up to our room."
"Don't feel like you have to join us, but if you want, we'll probably do some games in the main room.”
The couple looked at each other and smiled, and I knew we wouldn't be seeing them for the rest of the night. "Call down if you need anything. If the power goes out, we have a generator. "
Dean nodded before they headed out.
Eli was adamant about having large enough generators to run the lodge. I was pleased he'd insisted on this expense when we were stuck at the lodge in a storm. It was one less thing I had to worry about. I wanted the guests to be comfortable.
Carolina rinsed the dishes in the sink and placed them in the dishwasher.
"I can do that. You're a guest."
"I don't mind. You have Joey to keep an eye on."
I peeked outside to see Joey had run and grabbed a deck of cards and was busy shuffling it with Marcus. He'd keep him occupied for a few minutes. "I can help."
Carolina smiled as I took over the sink.
"I'll go see if there's more dishes in the dining room." Then she was gone. I wanted her to stay in the kitchen so we could talk. But maybe she didn't want to. I had to resign myself to the fact that our little arrangement was over. Whether she liked my son or not, we were never supposed to have more than a few nights together.
Our fling had come to an end, and when the storm was over, she'd fly home to her family and I'd stay here. It would be fairly easy to avoid her when she hosted conferences at the lodge. I could be cooped up in my office or even take a few days off. It was doable.
Carolina returned with more dishes, and I hurried to catch up. She grabbed a warm washcloth and wiped down the stainless-steel counters. Marcus sanitized the kitchen each night, and I knew he'd be in to go through that process when we were done.
When the dishes were cleaned up and the dining room table scrubbed down, we moved to the great room where there was a large fireplace, TVs, and comfortable leather couches.
"I'll get us some hot chocolate," Marcus said, and Joey jumped up. "I'll help. "
"Are you okay with him?" I asked Marcus. I never wanted to assume that he'd watch him.
Marcus winked at me. "I've got him."
Arthur sat in one of the overstuffed armchairs, reading a magazine about skiing. I wasn't sure if he was interested in the information or just wanted something to read.
Carolina folded her legs under her on the couch. "Your staff is so nice. They seem to enjoy having Joey around."
"Most of them have been around since he was a baby. The most turnaround we get is the front-counter staff. We like to hire the college kids, and they come and go, depending on whether they travel home in the summers and over the holidays."
Carolina smiled softly. "That makes for a nice workplace."
"I suppose you work alone?" I asked her, cognizant that Arthur was in the room and listening to every word we said.
"I thought my sister would join me one day. But she just told me she didn't want to do that anymore. She has a serious boyfriend and doesn't want to travel. You know how that is." She shrugged.
"I do now that Eli recently fell in love with one of our childhood friends. Ever since they got together, things are different around here. He's on his first vacation in I don't even know how long."
"How did they get together?" Carolina asked.
I owed her something about my family's history. "Scarlett traveled frequently with a theater group and rarely visited home. But this last time, he offered for her to stay in one of the family condos, and they got close. He bought her the theater downtown, and she's leading children's plays."
"That's a sweet story."
"He didn't have any intention of falling in love or even dating anyone seriously. We were all content with our lives, busy running the lodge. Our parents entrusted us with the business, and we want to make them proud. "
Carolina frowned. "You think if you're distracted by a relationship, you wouldn't be doing the business justice. You can't do both?"
I chuckled. "I figured that out when I had Joey. It's hard to balance. I'm lucky that I have Eli and my other brothers to step in when I need coverage."
"I would think that a relationship is different than having a child. You help each other out and support each other." Then Carolina shrugged. "I'm not someone who should be giving relationship advice though."
"Why do you say that?" It was weird, but I felt like we were digging deeper now than we ever had in the hotel room.
"I travel frequently, so it makes it difficult to maintain steady relationships."
"I didn't think my brothers were ready to meet anyone. That's why Eli settling down with Scarlett took us by surprise."
"Is he happy?"
"Disgustingly so," I said.
"Then that's all that matters."
"I'm happy for him. I hadn't intended to be a single dad. It just happened. It's the hardest but most rewarding thing I've ever done."
"I can see that," Carolina murmured.
"I wish his mother were more involved. But she does more damage when she's around than when she's absent."
Carolina frowned. "How so?"
"She wants everything to be about her. She loves attention, and when Joey's around, he demands it."
Carolina frowned. "Understandably so. He's a child."
"She can't deal with it. If she's in the room, then she feels like she should be the center of attention."
Her eyes widened. "Wow. I don't even know what to say to that."
"I hadn't planned on co-parenting with her. But I don't regret Joey. He's the best thing that ever happened to me. "
Carolina's expression softened.
Arthur sighed and shifted in his chair, lowering his magazine. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I just wanted to add that when you meet the love of your life, you'll know, and nothing will ever be the same again. So these intentions about not getting involved with someone because of your job or obligations kind of fall away." Arthur smiled softly.
"Is that how you felt about your wife?" Carolina asked.
"We met a few years after I graduated from college. I'd given up on finding anyone who'd love me for me. But she did." His eyes were glossed over as he stared at the fire as if he was remembering the day they met. "Abigail was worth waiting for, and whoever's meant for you will be worth the wait too."
"Oh, I'm not looking for anyone," Carolina was quick to add.
Arthur nodded. "So you've said."
Marcus returned with a tray of hot chocolates that he put on the coffee table. There were five mugs topped with whipped cream along with cups of candy cane shavings, minimarshmallows, and cinnamon sticks.
"You've outdone yourself as usual," I said to Marcus.
Joey scooped minimarshmallows into his cup. "Marcus's hot chocolate is the best."
"Save some toppings for everyone else," I chided.
Joey dropped shavings on top, then moved to sit with me on the couch. Everyone else helped themselves to the fixings, and we sat around talking about the impending storm.
As much as I hated that Carolina and I didn't get our last night together, it was nice to spend time with her in a different environment. When we were in that hotel room, all I could think about was getting her clothes off. In front of my staff and guests, we had to talk about other things. It was nice getting to know her in a different way.