Snowed in on Main Street Read online

  “Bear with me,” she said with a bit of a laugh. “I am not practiced at leading music. But I think we can get along fine.”

  “My wife runs the choir in our church back home,” Mr. Kirkpatrick announced proudly.

  Mia found Mrs. Kirkpatrick in the group, the woman’s cheeks growing round and pink from the attention. “Would you like to lead us?”

  “If you need me to, I would be more than happy to help.”

  And Mia felt more than happy to sit back and let someone who knew what she was doing handle things. “Please,” she said, gesturing to the front, “come direct us.”

  The women traded places and Mrs. Kirkpatrick immediately delivered a wide smile to the group. “Shall we begin with Jingle Bells to warm up our voices?”

  She brought her hands up and Mia almost flinched when Mrs. Kirkpatrick began leading; her arms waved wildly, shaking and cutting through the air as if she was throwing magic around the room.

  With the way their voices were melding so beautifully, and with the perfect sequence of songs Mrs. Kirkpatrick led the group through, Mia almost wondered if her short, enthusiastic arms did hold a bit of Christmas magic within them.

  Music from the season filled the foyer as all of the guests got into the spirit of caroling. Even Ashlyn left the reception area and joined them after a few songs.

  Mia sang along to her favorite carols, her gaze moving from the large, decorated tree before them to the windows flanking it with big, fat snowflakes falling lazily on the other side. She felt warm from the heater and the bodies surrounding her, but a warmth filled Mia’s soul that wasn’t caused by the thermostat.

  They ended on Silent Night, Holy Night and Mia brought her finger up to catch a lone tear which had gathered in the corner of her eye. Putting on a smile, she thanked everyone for attending and participating and announced that hot cocoa and pastries would be served in the dining room.

  Boston and Taylor ran for the hallway and their parents hastily followed behind them. The remainder of the guests slowly filed toward the dining room, Ashlyn among them, but Mia stood beside the tree, her hands clasped softly in front of her and her heart aching for home.

  It was easy to say she was fine missing Christmas with her parents because the opportunity at work was too good to pass up. But actually missing Christmas with her family? She was unprepared for how much she would wish to be home, regardless of how irritated she was with her mom at the moment. She was still her mom.

  “I think that was a success,” Elliot said, sidling up beside her. “Mrs. Kirkpatrick could take her skills national.”

  “She certainly has a lucky church choir,” Mia agreed.

  Elliot’s hand slid across her back, causing Mia to grow still. He cupped her far shoulder and brought her close to his side in a tight, one-armed hug. Mia had to fight the temptation to lean her head against him.

  His thumb started rubbing small circles on her shoulder bone and Mia sighed, relenting.

  In another life, this would have been her husband. In another life, they could have had kids by now to sing carols and decorate cookies with. In another life…Mia shook her head. She couldn’t keep doing this to herself. She could only move forward.

  But, he had tried to call.

  Turning her head, she gave Elliot a soft smile. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  Chapter Twelve

  She was glad he was there. Never in a million years did Elliot think he would hear those words. And yet, he could see in her gorgeous blue eyes that she’d meant it.

  Now how did he agree with her without scaring her away?

  Releasing her shoulder, Elliot faced her head on. “Mia, what do you have planned for tomorrow?”

  Her eyes flicked away from him and a guilty smile fell over her lips. “You don’t have to participate in all of the activities.”

  “I want to,” he said, unable to tear his gaze away from her mouth. “What is it?”

  “Um, well…I was planning to announce a ski trip for tomorrow.” She continued, talking fast as if she wanted to spit out all of the information at once. “I know we can’t get down to Park City but there’s a few good runs up the mountain here and if a few people are willing to ferry others up via snowmobiles we could get some good skiing in. But obviously I don’t expect you to join us on this outing. And I contemplated changing it to something else, but really…most people come to Park City for the snow.”

  His gut wrenched at the thought of strapping on another snowboard.

  She gave him a regretful smile. “I’m sorry, Elliot.”

  “No,” he said at once, shaking his head. “Don’t apologize. It’s not a huge deal.”

  Mia didn’t look convinced. The energy moving between them was stilted and Elliot was sure neither of them was saying what they really felt.

  “I better get to the dining room,” Mia said, taking a step away. “Are you coming in for hot cocoa?”

  His pocket began to sing an instrumentalized version of Feliz Navidad and he pulled his phone out, reading the name on the screen. He glanced up at Mia. “It’s my dad. I better take this.”

  “Great, I’ll see you later then.”

  Mia turned and he watched her walk away. He wanted to sing praises aloud for her change in attitude toward him, but he also didn’t want to sound like a crazy man, so he kept his mouth closed.

  Answering his phone, he put it up to his ear. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Elliot, what’s going on with those mountain roads? Can you make it down to Park City now?”

  Turning to face the window, Elliot scanned the opposite side of Main Street and the dark windows lining the buildings. The town had become eerie since he’d arrived, almost like a ghost town. He realized that it was due, in part, to a lot of the people living on the other side of the broken bridge and not being able to cross into town to work, but he didn’t mind it. He didn’t mind not being able to eat at the other restaurants or shop in the boutique stores.

  His last few days being stuck primarily within the lodge had been some of the best days he’d had in a while.

  “Elliot?”

  “Sorry Dad,” he said, turning his attention back to the phone. “I got distracted. But I’m not sure what’s going on. A guy that works at the hotel has a friend on the crew that’s repairing the bridge, so he’ll let us know the moment we’re able to pass over it. He really doesn’t think it’ll be much longer.”

  “Good. Your mom is hoping we can be reunited in time for Christmas.”

  Elliot smiled. “I hope so too, Dad. I’ll keep you posted.”

  He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. He wished he could be with his family, but he was enjoying his time in the lodge. And until he was forced to leave, he was going to spend every spare minute he could doing his best to convince Mia to give him another shot.

  With determination, Elliot turned away from the window and the Christmas tree. He was going to go find Mia and have some hot cocoa with her.

  The Kirkpatrick kids were leaning against the back wall of the lodge beside their dad, all decked out in their snow clothes, while their mom took a photo of them. Elliot waited patiently at the snowmobiles for them to finish with the photo op. The lodge backed up into the mountain and there was nothing but forest and sloping mountainside behind them.

  This was part of the reason his family chose Hidden Hollow every year for their Christmas retreat and not Park City. It was remote. They could appreciate the perks of a hotel while simultaneously feeling like they were inhabiting a log cabin in the woods.

  Elliot checked his watch. Mia had told him to meet her at the top ten minutes ago. They needed to head out. The teenage daughter, Erin, glanced up from her place beside her dad and brother and her scheming eyes settled on Elliot.

  She was going to ask for another picture.

  He stepped forward at once and Erin’s eyes brightened. She was in for a little disappointment. He didn’t mind taking selfies with fans, but Erin had been taking photos and v
ideos of him constantly over the last few days. She had plenty in her phone already. And they were late.

  “Mrs. Kirkpatrick,” he called, crossing the distance. “We’ve really got to get a move on. But if you’d like me to snap a photo of your family really quick, I’d love to.”

  Mrs. Kirkpatrick beamed at him, reaching forward with her phone. “Thank you, that would be lovely.”

  Sidling up beside her husband, Mrs. Kirkpatrick rested her hand on his chest and smiled at Elliot. Erin frowned on her other side and Elliot took one shot of the girl’s irritated face before calling, “Smiles, everyone.”

  Erin got the hint. Elliot snapped the photo and then reached forward to give the phone back. “We better head out. Mr. Kirkpatrick, I was told you know how to operate a snowmobile?”

  “Indeed, young man.”

  “Great.” Elliot reached forward and slapped their teenage son on the back. “I can take this guy on mine. Let’s head out.”

  They climbed onto the snowmobiles, the teenagers holding the snowboards as they rode on the back. Mia was already at the top with Amy, Brandon, and their kids. She’d explained where to go and Elliot thought he could handle helping the Kirkpatricks get there.

  If only he’d known that they’d want a twenty-minute photo session first.

  He looked over his shoulder to make sure Mr. Kirkpatrick was behind him, and then turned up the mountain, following the tracks Mia and his family members had left behind. Within minutes they reached the top of Hidden Hollow’s best rugged terrain slope and found the snowmobiles parked off to the side while the kids rolled large balls of snow with their dad. Mia and Amy were walking back from the tree line toward Brandon and the kids.

  “Who wants to learn how to snowboard?” Elliot called, taking off his helmet and leaving it on the seat.

  “Me!” Taylor yelled, dropping the sticks she’d gathered and jumping up and down. Boston looked a little more hesitant, but Elliot would ease him into it.

  Elliot picked up Taylor, swinging her through the air. “Are you excited?”

  “Yes,” she said through peals of giggles. “I’m going to be a USA qualifier someday.”

  Elliot set her on the ground and flicked the puffy ball on top of her hat. “I’m sure you’ll be great, Tay. It’s in your blood.”

  Boston looked up from the snowman face he was creating. “Is it in my blood too?”

  “Sure is, bud,” Brandon said, shooting Elliot a grin. “You ready, man?”

  Elliot nodded. He’d agreed to come up and help ferry the boarders in the snowmobiles, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t getting on a snowboard.

  Of course, when Amy hinted at him helping the kids learn with the new snowboards Brandon had bought them, Elliot had a hard time saying no. He didn’t have to do anything, just help them. And he was kind of looking forward to it.

  Part of him also felt like throwing up, but that was beside the point.

  His body grew physically ill whenever he thought back to that day when he’d taken the half pipe down and attempted a backside 720 melon grab. He remembered flying through the air wrong, the searing pain from hitting the ice, and then waking up later in the hospital bed with a broken back and a ruined leg.

  His doctor had told him he’d never walk normally again. And he’d been wrong.

  But that didn’t mean Elliot was eager to get back onto the slopes. Even now, six years later, the idea of snowboarding caused him anxiety.

  “How does it work?” Taylor asked, carrying over her brand new, hot pink snowboard and dropping it onto the snow at Elliot’s feet. Her boots were already on and her dad had gotten click-ins, so Elliot showed her how to position her feet to snap her boots into the bindings.

  Taylor reached forward and clutched Elliot’s forearms, her smile as wide as her eyes as she gripped her uncle and slid on the snow.

  Brandon approached them, carrying Boston in one arm and a tiny black and green snowboard in the other. He set his son on the ground and then helped his boots into the bindings before sending Elliot a thumbs up.

  Mia and Amy sat ready on two of the snowmobiles as the Kirkpatrick family prepared to ski down the mountainside. The women had agreed to ferry people back up to the top and Elliot was meant to help them when the lessons for his niece and nephew were through.

  His gaze fixed on Mia while she pulled her helmet over her beanie-capped head. Her puffy white coat encased her like a marshmallow, and he wanted to run across the snow and pull her close. She glanced up and sent him a smile and his heart flipped over in his chest.

  “All right, guys,” Elliot said, clapping his cold hands together and focusing on his niece and nephew. “The very first thing I am going to teach you is how to fall the right way.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  All Mia could hear from where she sat on the snowmobile next to Amy’s was peals of giggles from Taylor and Boston. They hadn’t done much in the ten minutes since Elliot began teaching them except fall on their bottoms, but Mia had to assume Elliot knew what he was doing.

  He was an ex-professional snowboarder, after all.

  “I can do the first few runs on my own,” Mia said, leaning closer to Amy. “I understand if you’d rather stay and watch the lesson.”

  Amy didn’t take her eyes off her brother, husband, and children as she wrinkled her nose and shook her head slightly. “I don’t mind helping out. I was just hoping Elliot would ride with the kids. I was kind of waiting for that.”

  Mia debated asking the invasive question which bounced around her head, but finally decided to keep silent. Elliot had been fairly open with her since arriving at Powder Peaks. If she wanted more details about the accident, she could ask him.

  “Ready?” she asked.

  Amy nodded, pulling her helmet on and revving up the snowmobile. They took off single-file down the mountain, passing the snowboard lessons and sending the giggling children a gloved wave.

  They took the same path down the mountain which they’d used to get up and found the three Kirkpatricks waiting near the clearing behind the lodge.

  “Who wants to go first?” Mia asked, approaching Mr. Kirkpatrick and his kids. Erin didn’t look pleased. She unbuckled her boots and left her snowboard on the ground before stomping toward the lodge.

  “My daughter is finished for the day,” Mr. Kirkpatrick explained, reaching forward to pick up Erin’s discarded snowboard.

  “Then we can take you both,” Amy said brightly. They drove the skier and his snowboarding son up the mountain and dropped them at the top before heading back to the bottom to wait. The cycle continued for another hour until Amy leaned over and said, “How much longer do you think we’ll do this? We could have recruited Mr. Kirkpatrick’s wife if we knew how long he’d want to go for.”

  “Maybe we can give them a final run and then call it quits,” Mia said. “I should probably get back inside anyway.”

  They warned the Kirkpatricks and took them up to the top of the mountain, before dropping them off and watching them disappear into the powder again.

  “How is the lesson going?” Amy called, turning off her snowmobile and leaving her helmet on the seat.

  Mia hesitated. She was interested to see how the kids were doing, too, but she really did need to get back to the hotel to check on things. And by now the crew probably had an update on the bridge—something she was sure Janice would want to be notified of the moment it cleared.

  But then Elliot looked up from holding his nephew’s hand as they rode down the miniature slope area and his eyes shone like a beacon, calling to Mia and drawing her in. She followed behind Amy, approaching the men and kids and watching Brandon and Elliot help Taylor and Boston down little practice runs.

  “I think you guys are ready to show these ladies what you can do,” Elliot said, looking into each of their faces with confidence. “Who wants to show off?”

  “Me!” Taylor and Boston yelled in unison. They each unclipped one boot and did an awkward walk-slide up the side o
f their smaller slope.

  Once they reached the top, they both fell onto their bottoms and clicked in their boots like they’d been doing it for years. Amy looked impressed.

  Brandon and Elliot positioned themselves at the bottom of the slope, their arms outstretched as though they waited at the end of a slide at the playground instead of an open, snowy mountainside.

  The kids made tiny little jumps in the air until they were moving, albeit slowly, down toward the men. Both of their small faces were red from the cold but they were clearly elated.

  “Well done!” Amy shouted, running to hug her kids once they reached the end of their route. “I’m so proud of you guys.”

  Boston had fallen before he reached his uncle, but Taylor had made it all the way to her dad in one smooth ride and she was jumping up and down in the snow, squealing.

  “I did it!” she yelled.

  “Yes you did, sweetheart,” Brandon said, picking her up and giving her a hug.

  She turned toward Elliot. “Thank you, Uncle Elliot! Now I’m ready for the Olympics, right?”

  Mia couldn’t help but chuckle. She noted Elliot’s warm smile and how it did not dim at the mention. He’d come a long way, from what she’d heard. The group came together, and the general consensus was that it was freezing, and everyone needed hot chocolate.

  Loading up on the snowmobiles, Brandon and Amy took off right away with their kids on the back while Elliot bundled the snowboards together and tried securing them to the back seat of his snowmobile with a bungee cord.

  Mia waited, watching him try and fail over and over again to get the hooks on the cord to connect. He finally dropped his hands and let everything fall into the snow, shooting Mia a look of such complete frustration she laughed.

  “Need some help?” she offered.

  “Please.”

  Taking her helmet off to make it easier to see, Mia crossed the distance and picked up the bungee cord from the snow, wrapping the small snowboards and tying them off right away.