Mistletoe in Park City (Christmas in the Canyons #3)
Chapter 1
One Year Later
“Stop. Wait. Don’t move.”
At the urgency in her sister’s voice, Cindy Kessler turned, gripping the bowl of cranberry sauce so it didn’t slip out of her hands on the way to the table.
“Did you forget a garnish?” Cindy asked, lifting the bowl. “Because, like everything you make, MJ, this looks and smells divine.”
“I forgot…” MJ sighed and brushed back some auburn hair, her blue eyes bright with…were those tears? “To say something to you.”
Cindy eyed her suspiciously and gave a soft laugh. “You’re about to get Thanksgiving Day mushy, aren’t you? I’m going to get the big ‘I love you more than anything’ speech.”
“Maybe. But give me two minutes…” MJ angled her head toward the bank of windows that looked out at the snow-capped mountains of Park City, Utah. “…before that old pine table our grandfather made is full of family and the conversation is loud. I want one private moment with you.”
Cindy set the cranberry sauce on the brand-new quartz-topped island and took a few steps closer. “What is it, dear Mary Jane McBride?”
MJ chuckled at the name so few people ever used. “I just want to say that Snowberry Lodge isn’t the only thing that transformed this year. You did, too.”
“Oh.” Cindy put her fingers on her lips as the compliment reached right down to her soul. “Thank you. I mean, I hope in a good way.”
“In a great way, Cin. Think about where we were a year ago on Thanksgiving.”
Cindy blew out a breath that fluttered her blond bangs, her mind slipping back to the dark days. A year ago, they didn’t even know if they’d keep this lodge and the land that had been in the Starling family for generations. The fear of losing it had gripped her, stealing sleep and hope.
But then, everything changed in a way that sometimes Cindy still couldn’t believe.
“That was a lifetime—and a million dollars—ago,” Cindy said, her heart lifting at the thought. “Our whole world is…better, brighter, and bigger.”
After the roof collapsed on New Year’s Eve, they both thought nothing would ever be the same. And it wasn’t, because that very night, the miracle had happened—in the form of a seven-figure gift from an unexpected source.
They immediately—well, after recovering from shock—launched a massive and daunting renovation, which included upgrading, improving, and remodeling this main lodge and all the cabins on the property.
They weren’t yet officially open for business, but they would start with a “soft reopening” first in the lodge, then the cabins, after Cindy’s wedding in a few weeks.
“Well, this place has never looked better.” MJ gazed lovingly at her massive country kitchen that now had commercial-grade appliances and custom-made cabinetry. “All this change—and Jack—has softened and relaxed you. Your skin is glowing, your eyes are bright—everything. You’re beautiful.”
The unexpected compliment pressed on Cindy’s heart. Even for MJ, who was famously upbeat and optimistic, especially around the holidays, this felt like it was coming from somewhere deep.
“Thank you,” she said again. “Jack sure made it easier to get through the days that seemed like one big filthy tarp and men in boots.”
“So. Many. Tarps.” MJ rolled her eyes. “And decisions.”
They laughed, the number of decisions they’d made together having long ago become an inside joke.
“Look around, MJ. We kept the mountain magic of Snowberry. Every upgrade and remodel and addition feels as if it had been built by Owen Starling himself.”
“Our grandfather would be proud of what we’ve done,” MJ agreed. “But I think the change in you is more than our newly renovated lodge.” She squeezed Cindy’s hands. “You seem stronger and more grounded. You are about to start not only a whole new marriage—”
“With the same old guy,” Cindy joked.
“With a wonderful guy,” MJ corrected. “You are also starting a whole new career. And at sixty…”
Cindy winced at the number, but she held her sister’s bright blue gaze, listening to every word that clearly came from her heart.
“I just want to say that I am so proud of you, Cindy Starling Kessler. And you are going to rock the wedding world.”
Cindy sighed, holding back any quips because the moment was serious. “I’m excited about Snowberry Weddings,” she said. “I know I should be stressing out about doing a job I’ve never done before—wedding planning!—but every time I walk into the Starling Room…”
She closed her eyes, picturing the stunning space they’d added, replacing the old mudroom and staff suite and extending into the yard. “I’m excited about the future. And we wouldn’t have that room if not for you.”
“If not for Matt Walker, you mean.” MJ wrinkled her nose. “Sometimes I wonder if that interlude happened or I dreamed it.”
“You most certainly did not dream it,” Cindy said. “Just look around.”
The proof that a kind and generous lottery winner had left them a million dollars—tax free and completely legal—was everywhere. But MJ didn’t mean the money. She’d fallen for Matt, and he’d promised that he’d be back “in one year.”
“Well, I haven’t heard from him, so—”
“MJ, listen to me. Matt was clear in his letter to you—he wanted to spend a year giving away his fortune to people and causes who need it more than he does. Like us! He wrote that letter on New Year’s Eve, so you still have more than a month before you doubt him.”
“I know. You’re right. And it’s not like me to give up hope.” MJ gave her an impulsive hug and when they pulled back, Cindy put a loving hand on her sister’s cheek.
“You’re glowing, too, you know,” Cindy said. “You’ve covered your gray—”
“Gracie talked me into that. My daughter said I needed a bit of a refurbish myself.” Laughing, MJ gave her a nudge when the oven timer dinged. “Now, go gather the troops. I’m getting the bird out of the oven and Benny likes to video the carving, which he will then put on TikTok because…Benny.”
“Then let’s do Thanksgiving!” Cindy pivoted and headed to the great room to call their family and friends for dinner, floating a little on the power of her sister’s sweet words.
An hour or so later, eleven people lingered around the table, laughing, talking, and—in the case of Cindy’s father, Red—having thirds.
Cindy sat close to Jack Kessler, the man who held the unique position of being her ex- and future husband. He hadn’t been here for last year’s Thanksgiving, but came a few days later…and never really left.
Last summer, they’d gone to Vermont together to sell his house—which they did with no problem. They also tried to persuade his eighty-six-year-old mother to move back to Park City, but failed. Although Bertie had agreed to come to their wedding.
For this whole year, Jack had been by Cindy’s side. He’d rented a house just ten minutes away, and enthusiastically volunteered to assume all lodge management, freeing Cindy to run Snowberry Weddings, their newest venture.
It was no wonder MJ said she was glowing—Cindy had never been happier. Or busier, but that sat well on her workaholic shoulders.
“What are you thinking about?” Jack asked on a whisper, leaning into her. “Because you’re smiling.”
“Am I?” She touched her lips. “Well, I was just thinking about how happy I am.”
He grinned at that, a glint in his dark eyes that gave her a thrill, even after twenty years of marriage, ten of divorce, and one second-chance year of engagement.
“Same,” he said, coming closer to give her the lightest kiss. “I’m ready to start the sleigh rides, too.”
MJ stopped all the conversations with a few taps of her fork against a wine glass. “Guess what time it is?” she asked in a teasing voice.
“We know the rules, Mom,” Gracie said on a laugh. “No one gets dessert until they say what they’re grateful for this year.”
“So let’s do it fast!” Benny exclaimed from the bench he shared with Red. The two of them—one eleven, one eighty-three—had done an awful lot of muttering to each other during this dinner.
But that was to be expected. Benny and his great-grandfather had a bond unlike few others in the family. The combination of Red’s old-man sarcasm and Benny’s freakishly sharp brain was a match made in heaven—most of the time.
“You have somewhere to be?” MJ asked her grandson.
“Just…” Benny exchanged a look with Red.
“Newt’s getting restless,” Red said, clearly covering for him by drawing attention to Benny’s dog, who was snoring at their feet and certainly not getting restless.
In the year since Benny got the Cavapoo, the family finally had permission to shorten the dog’s official name, so Sir Isaac Newton was now “Newt” and the light of Benny’s life.
“How’d the octogenarian end up on a bench with the dog under him anyway?” Red mumbled.
“You insisted,” Gracie reminded her grandfather. “So you and Benny could…what are you doing with that phone at the table?”
Benny shoved it under his leg. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, not looking sorry at all.
“Why don’t we let our guests start?” Cindy held her hand out to the four members of the Hale family, who would soon be extended family.
Cindy’s daughter, Nicole, had gotten engaged to Cameron Hale last March on the top of a mountain on skis. Cindy and Jack couldn’t be happier about the union, and they’d all become close friends with Cameron’s parents and his extraordinary sister, Elise.
“I’ll go first!” Elise leaned forward with her hands on the armrests of her wheelchair. A beautiful, vivacious twenty-five-year-old studying to be a vet, Elise had lost the use of her legs in a car accident many years ago.
She never let her handicap slow her down or dampen her infectious personality. “My gratitude list is long, starting with this girl right here.” Elise gave Nicole’s arm a squeeze.
“Hey, she’s mine,” Cameron joked.