Chapter 21 Maddie
MADDIE
Swirling snowflakes fill the air, and I’m covered in them by the time I reach the porch of the lodge. This storm has gone well past the point of being beautiful and romantic. It seems like the kind of weather someone could freeze to death in.
But I’m still so mad at Jake Stone I feel like I’m boiling.
I throw open the door to the most beautiful sight. It’s almost enough to distract me from my anger, because this looks so much like old times.
The Applebaums and Bobby’s parents are sitting by the fire with a whole host of people.
Some are wearing high-end winter clothing—clearly down from the chalets.
I recognize a few of the others as the workers I saw coming in earlier.
It takes me a minute to realize that the more familiar faces are members of the staff out of their uniforms. Despite their very different backgrounds, everyone is gathered together and they’re all talking and laughing over mugs of hot cocoa.
Someone has moved a television set into the lobby and Penelope is singing karaoke against the wall while her cameraman films. Her voice is actually pretty good and I’m impressed that she’s hitting most of Mariah’s notes.
Dylan and Bobby and a host of other kids huddle around the miniature Christmas village, rearranging the skaters and the Christmas trees as they chatter excitedly.
“Grilled cheese and tomato-basil soup,” Bronson calls out as he carries in two big metal trays of hot sandwiches.
Anna follows behind him with a giant tureen of fragrant soup.
They place the simple meal on a long folding table that has been set up near the counter with everything everyone needs to serve themselves.
I’m so charmed by the wholesome scene that I’ve forgotten why I’m here. And I’m still just looking around in awe when Dylan spots me and launches himself across the lobby.
“Maddie,” he yells. “You’re back. The lights went out, so we’re here too.”
He’s got his arms wrapped around my waist, filling my heart with happiness like he always does when he hugs me.
The fact that their power went out helps to explain why there are so many people here. It must be out in all the chalets above the lodge.
“Maddie, you’re melting,” he says suddenly, pulling back a little.
I look down and realize he’s right. I’m dripping onto the carpet, snowflakes sliding from my hair and down my cheeks like tears.
“It’s pretty snowy out there,” I tell him, wiping my face with my frozen hands. “I think your letters worked.”
“I need to do one more,” he remarks with a satisfied look.
But before I can ask what he’s talking about, Jake is there, with the most intense expression in his eyes that I’ve ever seen.
And now that I’m looking at him, I can’t help noticing how gorgeous he is all over again—his tall form, the strength in his wide chest and big arms, the sharp jaw that is tenser than usual now as he pierces my soul with his icy blue eyes.
I remind myself that I’m still mad at him.
And he must be able to see that because he stops in his tracks like he’s turned to stone.
“I’m sorry,” Jake says softly, his voice cracking a little.
“What you said was wrong,” I tell him in a bell-clear, serious tone I barely recognize. “It was unforgivable.”
“You’re right,” he tells me, his voice louder now, like he’s not ashamed to admit it. “I owed you the benefit of the doubt. I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I still need you to know that I’m so sorry, Maddie.”
I’m so surprised by his frank confession that I just blink at him for a moment. The whole lobby has gone silent around us. Even Penelope has stopped singing, leaving Mariah Carey to finish the song by herself.
“Michael let me know what you were really doing here,” he explains. “And that fits perfectly with the person I know you are. You help people, Maddie. You care enough to sacrifice even when you have nothing for yourself.”
So why did you forget that when it mattered most?
“I’m still surprised you never did,” Jake goes on.
“But if you had searched my name online, you would have seen that I’m supposed to be a brilliant tech CEO.
So brilliant that my wife left me last year for my business partner, and I was so buried in work that I didn’t see it coming.
At all. So I have a pretty good track record of not noticing the important things even when they are right in front of me. ”
I stare at him, amazed.
“He was my best friend,” Jake continues. “But the two of them played me for a fool.”
This is why he’s always so worried about how people will see him. It’s why he won’t let his guard down. He’s been made to look foolish in the most public way possible, at home and at work at the same time.
“But none of that hurt me the way it’s going to hurt to lose you,” he says, his voice breaking again. “Because I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you, Maddie.”
I choke back a sob as I see the pain in his eyes.
If I’ve learned anything this Christmas, it’s that I’m stronger than I ever knew.
The best gifts my father gave me are the ones that can’t be taken away. And I’m not talking about the factory. I mean the resilience and faith that he instilled in me for my whole life.
And I won’t live my life on other people’s scraps anymore. I don’t want to put my trust in someone who turns on me the minute the chips are down. And if he did it once, how can I know that he won’t do it again?
Jake’s words might be nice, but I’m more concerned with his actions.
“You can say you care about me,” I tell him. “But I care about this place, and the people who work here, and you know it. And you’re still going to tear it down.”
I gesture to the workers who are curled up on the couch with their cocoa. They will no doubt be starting work as soon as the weather allows. It’s not even like he’s trying to hide it.
“You got it all wrong, lady,” one of the men says, standing. “We came here to give him a timeframe for the demolition, but he changed the work order last night.”
“He did?” I ask, amazed.
“Now we’re giving a quote for a rebuild on the front porch,” another worker tells me.
“That’s what I was here to tell you,” Jake says.
“You’re here for electricity and food,” I lob back at him, trying to ignore the little voice in my head that’s sighing with happiness over the idea that the lodge might just be saved.
“I’m here for you,” Jake says firmly. “We are.”
I look down at Dylan who is still holding my hand and feel a pang of guilt.
“I shouldn’t argue with your father in front of you,” I tell him honestly. “But he was very disrespectful to me. It’s good for you to know that women don’t like that—people don’t like that.”
Dylan hugs himself to me and I can feel his sorrow. It almost breaks my resolve.
“Let me make it up to you,” Jake says instantly, as if sensing my vulnerability. “Let’s both show him how people who care about each other make things right after a misunderstanding.”
“And let me guess,” I say. “The next time there’s a misunderstanding, you’ll tell him I was only in it for the money.”
He steps back like I’ve physically hit him.
“Maddie, I’m so sorry,” Jake says, his face falling. “I was upset. I know you too well to really think that.”
“Miss Foster,” Michael says, saving me from more excuses. “Would you like a grilled cheese sandwich and some tomato-basil soup?”
“I would love that,” I tell him, trying and failing to wipe the tears from my cheeks with the sleeve of my wet jacket.
“Why don’t you get changed?” Michael suggests. “We’ll have your meal ready for you when you come out.”
“You don’t have to take care of me anymore,” I say softly. “He knows.”
“That was never why I was doing it,” Michael replies, winking at me. “You’re family, Miss Foster. And family takes care of their own.”
I need to gather my thoughts.
“I’ll see you in a minute, Dylan,” I whisper to the boy over the lump in my throat.
“You won’t come back,” he whimpers, holding onto me.
He’s not wrong to worry. I’m tempted to collapse on that cot until the snow melted and his father went back up the mountain.
But I know I won’t. I have to come back to Dylan.
“I’ll be back out to eat dinner with you, okay?” I tell him, crouching so he can see in my eyes that I mean it.
“Don’t cry, Maddie,” Dylan says, cupping my cheek in his little hand as the hot tears slide down.
“It’s okay to cry when you’re sad,” I tell him, wishing I was going to be around long enough to share all the other wisdom my parents shared with me.
How can I walk away from this, even for a minute?
I squeeze his shoulder before rising and letting Michael lead me back to the hallway.
I stop in front of the broom closet but he shakes his head.
“The owner insisted we move you to a guest suite,” he tells me. “Your things are waiting for you there.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. A guest suite doesn’t make up for the way Jake treated me. But it does sound nice to sleep in a bed instead of a cot tonight, and to have a hot shower without sneaking out to the pavilion in the middle of a snowstorm.
Michael continues down the hallway and opens another door to reveal a very familiar room.
“I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of telling him which suite was your father’s favorite,” he says, winking at me again.
I love this room, from the wood paneling to the built-in bookshelves flanking the small fireplace. I can almost see my parents sitting at the little table, Dad laughing his head off while my mom wiped the floor with him in chess. I was so little during that visit, but some memories stick with you.
“Make yourself at home,” Michael says softly, slipping out and closing the door behind him.
By the time I’ve showered and put on fresh warm clothing, I’m feeling much more like myself.
I sit at the table in the suite for a few minutes, looking out the window at the driving snow and feeling nice and cozy in here with my memories.
But even as I do, I can hear my father’s voice in my head.
Life is about other people, Maddie.
He used to say it when I got frustrated that he wanted to stop and talk to the neighbors and I was in a rush to get home. Or when I got in an argument with a friend and he wanted me to put it behind me.
I can look back now and see that those connections were his treasures, more than any of the worldly wealth he accumulated.
And it’s never been clearer to me that he was right in what he held dearest. I could feel it in the moment when the ladies at the factory pulled me into the fold. Life really is about other people.
I close my eyes and try to picture my father in the chair opposite mine.
“You would want me to forgive him, wouldn’t you?” I whisper.
But he’s already nodding, smiling at me with those dancing hazel eyes that are so much like mine.
“I miss you,” I whisper.
But when I open my eyes, of course the chair is empty.
And I know that I’m not my father. It’s been a punishing year. And something in me just wants to stand on my own two feet while I’m licking my wounds.
I get up and head back out to the lobby, trying to steel my heart.
Stepping into the warm space, I look around to see that everyone is sitting on the sofas and chairs or even on the floor, plates of gooey grilled cheese balanced on their knees, mugs of soup in their hands.
But there’s no sign of Jake.
“She’s here,” Dylan whisper-shouts.
And suddenly someone is singing “Blue Christmas” in a smooth deep voice.
I look up, and to my shock, Jake Stone is standing by the back wall with the karaoke microphone in his hand. The sleeves of his white Oxford are rolled up to his elbows and its collar is flipped up, his hair is slicked back, and he’s singing at the top of his lungs.
I’m too stunned to talk, or move, or even think.
And while I stand here gaping at him, Jake continues to sing my favorite song to me in front of everyone.
And it’s nice. I mean, he probably shouldn’t quit his day job, but he’s mostly on key and he’s even sort of dancing. It’s just his hips moving, but this is Jake Stone we’re talking about.
The whole lobby has fallen silent, but when he hits the second chorus everyone starts joining in, and there’s laughter along with the singing because I’m definitely not the only one here who is surprised.
Jake doesn’t break eye contact with me or stop singing for a moment. Not even when Penelope stops filming herself and for the first time since she arrived, gestures for her cameraman to take the spotlight off her and film Jake instead.
He’s probably being live-streamed right now, looking as foolish as he’s ever going to look in his whole life, and he doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks about it but me.
When the song finishes at last, Jake strides over.
“You don’t have to answer me now,” he says, loud enough for everyone to hear. “But I want you to know how serious I am about you.”
The next thing I know he’s sinking to one knee and holding out a sparkling ring.
“Madeline Foster,” he says as the tears slide down my cheeks again. “You’re brilliant, funny, and kind. You’re the sunshine to my thunderstorm. And when you’re near, you make every day feel like Christmas. Will you marry me?”
“She should make him grovel a while more,” Margo says to no one in particular.
“Say yes, Maddie,” Dylan whispers, tugging on my hand. “Say yes, and then we can be a family.”
That’s when I know I can’t run from my feelings anymore. I don’t think I ever really stood a chance against the Stone boys.
Because the only thing better than recovering from a horrible year on my own two feet, would be doing it with my two favorite people by my side.
“Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, I will.”
Jake is on his feet in an instant, pulling me close, brilliant blue eyes on mine as he leans down.
I close my eyes and let him kiss me.
His kiss is so gentle, like being wrapped in a warm sweater and shivering in a glittering snowstorm all at once. Every cell of me is alive and filled with joy and anticipation.
But I feel his restraint slipping as the strong arm he’s got wrapped around me begins to tremble against the pull between us.
And then Dylan is hugging me too and I pull out of Jake’s kiss to lift his son in my arms so he can be part of our embrace.
The whole lobby bursts into cheers. Bronson announces that he’s going to find some champagne, and all of a sudden everyone is talking at once, shaking Jake’s hand and congratulating me, and asking Dylan if he’s excited to eat lots of wedding cake.
Jake catches my eye and I can see relief and gratitude and a powerful love written clear as day across his handsome features. And I know that everything really is going to be okay.
We’ve got each other’s backs, the three of us, from now on.