Mistletoe in Maine (2 page)

“More ready than you know!” Paul revved his engine, then took off, gunning it across the lake.

Daniel flipped down his goggles and raced after him. “Hey!”

“Whoo-hoo! Yes, sir!” Paul whooped, zipping along. He glanced over his shoulder to see Daniel in hot pursuit.

Daniel gritted his teeth and lowered his shoulders, leaning into the wind. “You asked for it, old man!” He unleashed his machine’s full force, zooming past his dad and kicking up a blast of powder.

He skidded to a halt at the edge of the lake and waited, panting.

Paul pulled up beside him and cut his engine with a big, bold grin.

“What are you so happy about?” Daniel asked, surprised. “I just kicked your tail.”

Paul wryly twisted his lips. “Just proves I’m a good teacher.” He flipped his vehicle around. “Best two out of three?”

“All ri—”

Paul lowered his goggles and took off again before Daniel was ready.

“Argh!” Daniel cried, chasing after him through the blasting snow.

Chapter Two

The following week, Ashley used her sweater sleeve to wipe the fog off the airplane window. Icy snow slapped against it as the buildings of Boston below came into hazy focus.

“I hope we got a four-wheel drive,” Will said, looking up from his smart phone.

Carol gripped the metal armrests framing her airline seat. She’d never liked flying, especially in bad weather. “We’ll upgrade.”

“You think we’ll see any moose there?” Ashley asked her mom with a hopeful look.

Will shook his head and replaced his earbuds.

“What?” Ashley said. “There are moose in Maine. Right, Mom?”

“Of course there are, honey. Loads of them. Especially up in the North Woods, where we’re going.”

“Might even see a couple of reindeer,” Will added with a twinkle in his eye. “Big, gigantic ones with flashing red noses.”

Ashley huffed because she knew he was teasing her. Maybe if her daughter didn’t invent such fantastic stories, folks would cut her more slack. But she had a knack for exaggeration that put the
tall
in tall tale.

“I thought you were listening to music?” Carol said sternly.

Will turned up the volume on his handheld device.

“If I saw one, I wouldn’t tell
you
,” Ashley told her brother.

Carol drew a breath, hoping she’d made the right decision. Her kids didn’t always get along swimmingly, and here she was about to confine them to the four walls of some rustic country inn for ten days. Suddenly, the notion of a good, old-fashioned family Christmas seemed farfetched. Could she really count on Will and Ashley to get along—and not drive her crazy—for that extended period of time? She glanced out the window at the driving snow, thinking it was good they were flying in today. This Nor’easter blowing through was predicted to get worse, so travel within the next day or so could get iffy.

At least she and the kids would be cozy inside their historic New England getaway by then. And, when the winds weren’t too biting, they could bundle up and go play outdoors, just as she’d imagined them doing while mooning over that picturesque brochure. She’d budgeted carefully to allow for a least one day of skiing. Lessons and equipment rental were included in the Holiday Hills package she’d purchased for the three of them. Dog sledding, unfortunately, was not. That was part of the all-inclusive Winter Wonderland deal she figured only well-heeled individuals could afford. And boy, did it offer a cool slew of events, all the way down to a real horse-drawn sleigh ride through the scenic, snow-covered town.

Carol sighed, realizing she was letting her
wants
get the best of her. Here she was going to Maine!
Maine!
How exciting. It was the farthest she’d traveled north in her entire lifetime. It would be a terrific family vacation, and they’d savor the memories for months to come. Just because Jim had left her alone, that didn’t mean he’d made her incapable. Carol was plenty prepared to deliver an awesome holiday experience for her kids. Even if she had to teach summer school next year to pay it off, it would be worth it. Every dime. She felt lucky the inn had received a cancellation shortly before she’d called. Normally they couldn’t have accommodated her so last-minute. As it stood, an attorney couple that had reserved a few rooms for themselves and two of their children had been caught up in an ongoing court case and forced to postpone their trip.

She smiled softly at Will and then at Ashley, who gazed out the window, enchanted by the drifting snow. Yes, a white Christmas would be just the right thing for all of them.

A little while later, Carol stood with her kids outside an enormous SUV, second-guessing her decision to drive north in this weather. Will shifted the backpack on his shoulder, gaping at the bright red vehicle.

“Are you sure you can drive this thing?”

“Of course!” Carol said with more confidence than she felt.

Will and Ashley exchanged doubtful glances as their caps became dusted with flakes. Carol hit the Unlock button on her key and slapped a road atlas against Will’s down parka. “You navigate.”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “Good thing we got the built-in GPS.”

Carol popped the hatchback, and they tossed their things inside.

“Can we strap her to the luggage rack?” Will asked, referencing his sister.

“Both of you in the car—now!” Carol commanded, wondering if this nice, family vacation was really such a hot idea.

A few hours later, she decided maybe it hadn’t been. Trapping herself in this SUV with two bickering kids was driving her nuts. They’d made it through New Hampshire and into Maine, but once they’d hit the North Woods in the impending blizzard, the entire landscape had become one big blur. There was nothing along this desolate logging road but a tall stretch of pines and the creeping late-afternoon darkness. There wasn’t another vehicle in sight. Fierce winds howled, and Carol gripped the steering wheel, wondering if they’d accidentally veered off course.

“Are you sure we’re on the right road?” she asked Will.

“Yes, Mom, I see it right here! Route 16. It’s a shortcut over to 15 North from 201.”

The GPS chimed in with its annoying mechanical voice. “
Bleep, bleep.
When possible, make a legal U-turn.
Bleep, bleep.
When possible, make a legal U-turn.”

Ashley gripped the back of her mom’s seat. “We’re lost! I knew it! We’re lost!”

Carol felt her panic build as she glanced at Will.

“I said, keep going!”

Carol strained to see through the windshield that was piling up with snow. The furiously beating wiper blades could barely keep up.

Suddenly, Ashley shrieked. “Mom, stop!”

Carol instinctively hit the brakes, sending the SUV into a skid. She wrestled to correct it, maneuvering the vehicle onto the side of the road. She turned to her child in the backseat, fearing she was sick. “Ashley, what is it?” she asked, breathless, her heart pounding. “Are you all right?”

Her face was ruddy with excitement, her eyes big and wide. “I saw it, Mom! I really saw it!”

Will turned toward her as well.

“Saw what?” Carol asked.

“A moose! A real live Christmas moose!”

Will turned back around. “O…M…G.”

“Will, no cursing!” Carol said.

“I wasn’t cursing, just abbreviating.”

Ashley pouted in the backseat. “It’s true! Why won’t you believe me?”

Carol sighed and scanned the woods hedging the road. “Okay, Ashley,” she said kindly. “Where’s your moose?”

“It was right over…” Ashley stared out her window, pointing. “Well, it was there! Just a second ago!”

“Yeah right,” Will spouted without looking at her. “Bet it was pulling Santa’s sleigh too.”

Ashley huffed, and Carol pursed her lips, thinking. She had to get them out of this wilderness and to their destination ASAP. From the look of the increasingly gloomy sky, the sooner the better. “Let me see that map,” she said to Will.

Daniel cradled logs in his arms as his dad stoked the fire. Embers leapt into flames, filling the rustic room with a warm glow.

“I’m sorry we’ve got a smaller crowd this year,” he told his dad. “I know you like a full house at Christmas.”

“The weather and people’s commitments can’t be helped,” Paul said congenially. “At least we were able to fit that new family in.”

“The mom and her two kids from Virginia?”

Paul nodded as a loud pounding came at the door. “Bet that’s them now.”

“Why don’t I finish up so you can go answer?”

Paul stood, dusting off his jeans. “Thanks, son.”

The knocking sounded again, this time accompanied by the ringing doorbell.

“Coming!” Paul called, headed that way.

He pulled back the heavy door, and the attached sleigh bells jangled.

Redheaded Velma threw her arms wide and beamed up at him from beneath her knitted cap sporting reindeer antlers. “Pauly!”

“Mom!” he cried in shock. Behind his compact sixty-something mother, a much younger man trudged up the walk in snowshoes and wearing a matching antlered hat. He carted several pieces of luggage as a long blond ponytail draped down his back.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Velma said with a little pout. “Our flight to Chicago was cancelled.”

“Chicago?” Paul asked with surprise.

“That’s where Zach’s from.” She leaned forward, then spoke in a whisper. “Isn’t he the cat’s pajamas?” Velma stepped past him and into the foyer as Zach lumbered in the door.

“Hey, man, nice to meet you,” Zach said, rearranging his bags and extending a hand.

Paul shook it as another figure appeared through the driving snow. It was a stunning blonde dressed in a white coat and hat. As she drew closer, recognition alighted in her pale blue eyes. “Paul Love, is that really you?”

“Beth?” Paul asked, scarcely able to believe it. He hadn’t seen his old high school sweetheart in years. The last he’d heard, she’d married and moved to Vermont.

“We ran into her at the airport,” Velma explained. “Seems she was waylaid on the same flight.” She batted her eyes at her son as she closed the door behind them. “Isn’t it a small world?”

“Very.” Paul swallowed hard, caught off guard by this turn of events. He hadn’t thought of Beth in a long time. So long, he’d nearly forgotten how attractive she was, and her looks had withstood the test of time. Despite the fine lines that crinkled around her eyes when she smiled, hers was still a youthful face. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear some magician had turned back the clock and deposited his first love—just as she’d been—before him.

“I hope it’s not too much of an imposition?” Beth said, color lightly dusting her cheeks. “My parents already left on their cruise, but I suppose I could go back to the old homestead.”

“And have you spend Christmas alone? We wouldn’t hear of it, would we Pauly?”

 For a second, Paul seemed to have lost his ability to speak. But he quickly called himself up short, realizing he was being impolite. “Not at all,” he said, spewing out the words and then instantly hoping he hadn’t sounded too desperate. But he was desperate. Desperate to know what his long-lost love was doing here after all this time. He cast a wary eye at his mother, wondering how much of the airport story was actually true. His mom was very dear but had a conniving side too. But surely he couldn’t pin that kind of nature on Beth? “We have plenty of room here,” he said, addressing Beth and then the group. “Room enough for all of you.”

Beth removed her hat, revealing shoulder-length tresses. She glanced around the cheery room. “Oh, Paul, it’s charming. I’d heard you ran your own place, but I had no idea that it was so quaint.”

Paul stared at her, still broadsided. “Are you still in Vermont?”

She gingerly removed her gloves. Paul noted a wedding band was missing. “Chicago now. In advertising.” Paul caught Velma beaming at him like a cat full of canary.

“So, how’s old Jack holding up?” he asked. They’d all been friends in high school, but shortly into everyone’s freshman college year, Beth had thrown Paul over for Jack. Paul later reasoned it had been for the best. She’d married Jack four years later, and after a while, Paul had met and fallen in love with Nancy.

Beth removed her coat, unveiling her trim, athletic figure, and hung it on the rack by the door. “Wouldn’t know. We split.”

“I’m sorry,” Paul offered kindly.

“Don’t be,” she said. “It wasn’t a bad breakup or anything. We just drifted.”

This smelled more and more like a setup to Paul. Perhaps Beth really was innocent to it. Then again, maybe not. She had to know he’d been alone since Nancy died. And if she hadn’t, Velma had surely filled her in on the details on the way in from the airport. Paul chided himself for being overly suspicious. Where was his holiday spirit, anyway?

Zach removed his snowshoes, looking around. “Nice place, man. Thanks for taking us in.

“What is it you do, Zach?”

“Zach’s a junk-metal artist!” Velma proclaimed with pride. She nuzzled up against his broad chest, then spoke in low tones. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Right baby?”

Zach drew her into his arms. “That’s right, Mama Bear.”

Paul cringed, shooting Beth an embarrassed look.

Daniel entered the foyer and took in the busy scene.

“Grandma!”

“Oh now, honey,” she said with a wave of her hand. “We’re all a little grown-up here for that
granny
business.” She wrapped her arms around her grandson and pulled him close, whispering in his ear. “Don’t you worry one bit, baby. Your daddy’s not moving anywhere.”

Daniel flushed, noticing the nice-looking blonde who’d appeared. She looked to be about his dad’s age but had kept herself very well. So well, in fact, had Daniel been older, he might even have considered her hot.

“My handle’s Velma now,” his grandma continued just a little too loudly. “You down with that?”

Daniel scanned the room, figuring his grandma was up to something. She typically was. “Yeah, sure. Cool.”

“Zach,” Velma said by way of introduction, “I’d like you to meet my grandson, Daniel.” Daniel shook hands with the laid-back-looking guy, then turned his gaze on the blonde, thinking she must be his partner.