Chapter 16
Sixteen
Lila and Sarah promised to talk more in the morning as Sarah retired to her room to rest. Brady was expecting Lila downstairs to watch a movie with the group, and she had to tell someone what had just happened.
She’d asked Sarah’s permission to share it with Brady, which she assured Lila she understood.
“You know, I’ve watched that young man grow up from one Christmas to the next. He’s a good one. You can trust him with your heart,” Sarah said, hugging Lila one last time in the hallway.
By the time Lila made her way downstairs, the group had gathered in the lobby around the television. Tom was adjusting the volume while Carol distributed mugs of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.
“Perfect timing,” Carol said when she saw them. “We’re just starting It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s become a bit of a Christmas tradition here.”
Lila caught Brady’s eye across the room, and he immediately seemed to sense that something had changed. He got up and came over to meet her.
“Everything okay?”
She nodded. “Could we go somewhere to talk?”
Carol glanced between them with knowing eyes. “Take your time, you two. We’ll probably watch another movie after this one if you want to join us later.”
Outside, fresh snow crunched under their boots as they made their way along a path that led to a small log cabin tucked among the pine trees behind the main inn. It was rustic but well-maintained, with a covered porch and warm light glowing from the windows.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” Brady said, opening the front door.
The interior was cozy and masculine, with exposed wooden beams and a stone fireplace.
But what immediately caught Lila’s attention were the paintings that covered nearly every wall.
There were landscapes in watercolor and oil that featured snow-covered mountains or endless fields of mountain wildflowers.
“Are these all your mother’s?” Lila asked, moving closer to study a particularly stunning painting of the inn during autumn, surrounded by golden aspens.
“Every one.” Brady moved to the fireplace and began building a fire. “I couldn’t bear to put them in storage. This way, it’s like she’s still here with me.”
Among all the landscapes, one portrait stood out.
It appeared to be a young Brady, perhaps six or seven years old, grinning gap-toothed at the viewer.
His mother had captured a lifelike quality about him in those brushstrokes.
Lila recognized the kindness in his eyes and the hint of mischief in his smile.
“She was incredibly talented,” Lila said. “And she clearly adored you.”
“The feeling was mutual.” Brady glanced up from the kindling he was arranging. “When I close my eyes, I can still see her in her studio painting these.”
The fire caught, casting a warm glow throughout the small living room. Brady settled onto the couch, patting the space beside him. Lila joined him, still feeling like she was floating outside her body.
“So,” Brady said gently, “what’s on your mind? It seemed important.”
Lila took a shaky breath. “Brady, I found her. I found my birth mother.”
His eyes widened. “Carol told you who it was?”
“She didn’t have to.” Lila turned to face him fully. “Brady, it’s Sarah.”
The words hung in the air between them. Brady stared at her, processing what she’d said.
“Sarah,” he repeated slowly. “Like our Sarah here at the inn?”
“She found me in the hall when I went upstairs after dinner. She’s been coming back to Pine Ridge every Christmas for thirty-four years because this is where I was born. Her husband—my father—died three months before I was born, and she didn’t think she was prepared to raise a child alone.”
Brady reached for her hand. “Wow, that’s incredible. I’ve spent every Christmas with her for nearly twenty years, and I’ve never heard her say anything about having a baby. How are you processing all of this?”
“I don’t know.” She laughed, a sound caught between joy and disbelief.
“Part of me can’t believe it. I mean, what are the odds?
But another part of me feels like it makes perfect sense.
I felt a connection with her from the very first day, and she understood my grief at such a deep level.
I always felt better when I was around her. ”
“She adores you,” Brady said simply. “Anyone could see that from the way she looks at you, even before you both knew the truth.”
Lila told him everything—the surprise Christmas Eve birth, regretting her decision to close the adoption, doing the DNA test hoping to find Lila, and not knowing until Lila mentioned the quilt and her reason for visiting the night before.
“She spent her entire career working with children because she thought maybe someone would help me the same way she was helping other kids.” Tears spilled over again. “She’s been loving me from a distance for thirty-four years.”
Brady pulled her into his arms, holding her as she cried against his shoulder. They sat like that for several minutes, the fire crackling softly and the snow falling outside the windows.
“Are you going to tell the others?” Brady asked eventually.
“Not tonight. Sarah was terrified to tell me the truth. She spent all day hiding in her room because she was afraid I’d hate her for giving me up. I think we both need time to process this before we make it public. Obviously, Carol and Tom know, and I did ask her if I could tell you.”
Brady nodded. “This is huge for both of you.”
Lila pulled back to look at him. “There’s something else.
It’s probably a little impulsive, and I haven’t really thought it through, but I was looking through resorts with requests for proposals when I couldn’t sleep last night, and I saw one over in Breckenridge.
Initially, I was thinking it might let me be closer to you .
. .” She paused, waiting for his reaction.
“That sounds incredible,” he said taking her hand in his again. “Poor guys won’t know what’s hit them.”
She smirked at him. “Funny. You know, some people actually want me to make changes to their hotels. Anyway—I haven’t had any time to think about this yet—but it would put me closer to Sarah too so we could spend more time getting to know each other.”
“I know she lives here in Colorado somewhere. Colorado Springs?”
Lila shook her head. “No, just outside of Denver. She works at an elementary school there.”
Brady’s expression grew hopeful. “How long would a project like that take?”
“Three to six months, depending on the scope.” She looked at him carefully. “I’m thinking about applying for it.”
“You’d move here? For six months?”
“I’d move here to be close to Sarah, to figure out what kind of relationship we can build. And I’d move here to be close to you.” She felt heat rise in her cheeks. “You know, if you wanted more of me and my obnoxious suggestions.”
“Lila, if you’ll come back, I’ll listen to all your suggestions. Maybe I’ll even try one, just for fun.” Brady’s smile was so bright it could have powered the cabin. “But what about your condo? Your friends? Are you normally gone this long for a project?”
“I can sublet the condo, and I never really put down roots in Huntington Beach.” Lila shifted closer to him on the couch. “The truth is, I came here looking for my past, and I think maybe I found my future instead.”
Brady cupped her face in his hands. “I have to warn you, if you hang around here more, I might just fall for you.
“I might just fall for you too,” she whispered back.
He kissed her then, soft and sweet and full of promise. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers.
“So, you’ll really stay? For six months?”
“If I get the consulting job, yes. And after that . . .” She shrugged. “We’ll figure it out as we go.”
They sat in comfortable silence, watching the fire and processing everything that had changed in the span of a few hours. Through the window, Lila could see the lights of the inn twinkling through the snow-covered trees.
Snow was continuing to fall on Pine Ridge, blanketing the town where Lila had been born, where she’d found her birth mother, and where she was beginning to believe her future might unfold.
Tomorrow, other guests would begin departing, and she and Sarah would have to decide what came next.
But tonight, in Brady’s arms, Lila felt perfectly, completely at peace.
She’d come to Pine Ridge looking for answers about her past. She’d found that, along with people she’d never known she was looking for.