On Thin Ice (8 page)

He’d promised her the world under the moonlight that night. She’d accepted it and expected it. Then he ruined it.

When she’d married a college professor he’d nearly lost his mind.

His team had lost game seven of a playoff series. He’d tied one on. He’d taken the bartender to bed with him and he’d snuck out the next morning without even learning her name. He hadn’t cared.

Wil had gotten married, and that meant there was no turning back.

But she wasn’t married anymore. Wil was back in Aspen Creek and so was he.

It was a sign. A sign that he needed to grow up and be a man. He’d pined for Wil since he was a young boy, and his desire for her had never ceased. It had only grown with age.

When he stopped in for breakfast, he was disappointed not to find her at the restaurant. Sitting in his usual spot at the counter, he watched his mother take orders from two tables and fill coffee. Then he caught sight of Samantha walking toward him with a coffee mug.

“Mornin’, handsome.” She set the mug down in front of him and filled it with coffee, just as she had done every morning since he’d moved back.

“Mornin’. How’s your son?”

“Feeling better. At least I could take him to the sitter this morning. I don’t like missing work, especially when your mom tells me they got in an unannounced bus load yesterday.”

“We all pitched in. Don’t worry about it.” He smiled at her, noticing she looked frazzled. She moved on to another customer and he thought about how she looked again. Had his mother looked that tired when he was younger? She’d worked so hard and she’d never missed a day. When the Millers owned the restaurant, they’d given his mother a job, with the understanding that she had a young son to tend. There were a few sitters, but he wasn’t necessarily the kind of kid people wanted to babysit for too long.

He’d come to work with her a few times when he was sick and he slept on the loveseat that was still in the office. She’d check in on him when they had downtime, and Mrs. Miller would sneak him treats throughout the day. Then when he’d fallen in with Harvey Wilson, things had changed for both him and his mother.

During the day the ice arena didn’t have much business. There were always a few skaters, but he didn’t get busy until the evening. He’d hang there during the days once they’d all become, well, he figured, a family. Likewise, on late nights, Wil would have dinner at their house until Harvey would come for her.

“You look deeply lost in thought, kiddo.” His mother laid a plate of pancakes on the counter in front of him.

“I just thought Wil would be here.”

“Didn’t she tell you? She’s got a new job.” She rested her arms on the counter. “I’ve already gotten my first delivery of rolls.”

“She’s at the bakery?”

“Yeah, they decided she should start right away and learn the ropes before Esther packed up and headed out of town. Wil came along at the right time.”

He took a sip of his coffee and let the warmth of it replace the anxiousness stirring in his gut. His heart picked up its pace when he realized he wanted to hurry out of the restaurant and find Wil and wrap his arms around her, before she changed her mind about them.

If he said he was sorry for running out on her all those years ago, would she accept it?   If he said he still loved her as a thirty-four-year-old man, would she believe him?

It was definitely worth trying. He couldn’t imagine wanting anything more than he wanted Wil back in his life, and more than a lover, he wanted her as a partner in his life. After all this time would she still be willing to accept all the promises he’d once made her? Would she still consider being his wife after all they’d been through?

“Maybe I’ll stop by there and see how she’s doing.”

“She’d appreciate that. Now eat.”

Malory moved loaves of bread from the oven and slid them on the cooling rack before sliding in a pan of rolls. She’d been at the bakery since four that morning and she couldn’t remember when she’d felt so alive.

She’d owned the bakery in Santa Barbara, but it wasn’t the same feeling as being at the one in Aspen Creek. There were people she’d grown up with and loved that were depending on her now to make the bakery something special. And she had two partners who counted on her to make the bakery an even bigger success.

She and Esther had gone over recipes and baked hundreds of rolls and loaves of bread. They took orders for the following day and made deliveries.

Esther sat on her stool at the prep table and took a break from the morning’s routine. “You do know your way around a bakery

“Yes I do. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed getting up early and diving into dough.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re excited. Because I’m just as excited to get out of here. All of our kids have moved away, and it’s time for us enjoy just being husband and wife for a while.”

The thought hit Malory harder than she ever could have imagined. Husband and wife. She’d had that once. Or she thought she’d had it.

She and Alan had been married for ten years. They had the same interests and same taste in everything. It should have been a marriage made in heaven. But somewhere, being perfect for each other just became boring.

Malory listened as Esther made a checklist of all the places she and her husband wanted to travel. Jealousy rippled through her. She and Alan never had made plans like that. They didn’t plan vacations or nights out. They didn’t dream of future houses or even children. Grief replaced the jealousy. She’d dreamed of those things before she’d met Alan. Why had she let herself slip away?

Esther reached for the order board that sat on the table. “We have to get going on that Alistair kid’s birthday cake. His mom works in town and wants to pick it up before she heads out of town for the weekend.”

“What kind of cake is it?”

Esther flipped to the order and showed her the picture of a dinosaur. “These are not my favorites.”

“Would you mind if I did it?” Malory turned the clipboard to face her and studied the picture. She’d made more dinosaurs than she could remember and she was dying to make one more.

“I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

Their attention diverted from the order board when the door to the bakery opened.

Christopher stood in the doorway, shadowed by the sun at his back, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Malory’s heart did a little flip.

Esther stood from her stool and walked toward him. “I wondered how long it would take you to stop by.” She kissed him on the cheek. “You’re mama was right about this one. She’s a hard worker and will be ready to take over as soon as I walk out that door, but”—she adjusted her attention toward Malory—“she’ll keep my best interest and financial stability in mind.”

Christopher looked at Malory and just smiled. Then he looked back at Esther. “These are for you.”

Esther’s face crinkled up in confusion. “For me?”

“Yeah. They’re a congratulations on your semiretirement.”

Esther laughed and took the flowers. “You always were such a sweet talker.” Esther cradled the flowers in the crook of her arm. “I’m going to finish up. Thanks for the flowers.”

“My pleasure.” Christopher gave her a nod as Malory walked toward him. “C’mon, I have something in the truck for you.”

Malory grabbed her coat from the rack and followed him outside to the pickup.

Christopher opened the door to his truck then turned and pulled her into his arms. He planted a long, warm kiss on her lips that made her knees go weak. He pressed his forehead to hers as he released her from a kiss that had made her dizzy.

“I sure like doing that.”

“I’ll admit I like when you do it too.” She pulled back and smiled. “So what do you have for me?”

Christopher turned to reach for the item in the truck. “I have reservations at the Brown Palace for Saturday night.” He held up a miniscule duffel bag. “This is all you can pack in.”

“Chris, this will hardly hold my toothbrush and comb. You expect me to . . .” She saw the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Oh, I see. I’m not really supposed to pack anything?”

“You always were a smart girl.” He leaned in and kissed her softly. “I have to get back.”

“How long will you be there tonight?”

“Late. Want to come sit with me and watch hockey practice?”

She dropped her shoulders and let out a sigh. This was how it would always be, she realized. Their schedules would always keep them apart. “I told Esther I’d be here at four in the morning. I’d better go home and get some rest.”

He nodded. “Yeah, you’d better. How’s it going?”

“We meet with the lawyers the day after Thanksgiving.”

“That’s next week.”

“I know that.” She slapped him on the arm. “And I’m pretty sure Esther will run out the door too.” Her stomach did an uncomfortable jump. “Oh, I’m going to own this bakery in a week. Well, a third of it.”

Christopher smoothed his hand over her hair. “You’ll be the owner. You’re going to be doing all the work. You’ll do great. You’ve never failed at anything.”

That gave her a very uncomfortable feeling as if she’d swallowed a roll of bread dough and it had landed in her stomach. He had no idea how she’d failed.

“I have to go design a dinosaur. I’ll see you on Saturday then.”

“I’ll come out and pick you up around three.”

“I’ll be ready.”

“Oh, I’m already ready.” He gave her a wink, climbed up into the truck. “Hey, Wil,” he called after her as she turned to go back into the bakery carrying the duffle bag. “I’m glad you came home.”

Malory watched him drive away. How could she have let it go so far? Who was she kidding? She couldn’t help herself. She’d always had a soft spot in her heart for Christopher, and nothing had changed.

Esther had gone home and Malory wandered the empty bakery.

She took out a piece of paper and began to sketch out her thoughts for the front of the store. On the side, she started a list of items she’d like to bring in. The display case was nice, but she’d had nicer in California. When profits warranted it, she’d get a better case and she’d begin to carry more pastries.

Esther’s business, she’d come to find, was more breads, muffins, and specialty items that were ordered or delivered. Malory’s visions were much broader. She wanted to be a part of the community around her. She wanted people to gather to eat what she made. And maybe that would mean adding some deli specialties to the list. She wanted to be more than a bakery where you picked up your breads and muffins, she wanted to have a place where you could sit and enjoy the company of others.

Her bakery in Santa Barbara hadn’t been too far from the college campus. She’d had a nice little following of students who would meet to study. In the mornings, there was the small group of mothers who would meet when the kids were in preschool. They would just have woman time. That’s what she wanted again. A place where people could come together, much like Maggie’s, but on a smaller scale.

She flipped over the paper she’d made her list on and began to design the dinosaur she’d be creating the next morning. How many dinosaurs had she cut out of sheet cakes in her life, she wondered. Cake decorating wasn’t a skill she’d been born with. However, she’d perfected it. Oh, she couldn’t do some of the things she’d seen on TV, but a dinosaur wasn’t out of reach.

If she cut it just right, she might have just enough cake to make a little something to take with her for her night with Christopher. Something special that they could share with each other, off each other.

Her body heat rose. She wiped her hands on her pants and sucked in a breath. She was going to spend the night with Christopher Douglas. It wasn’t just sneaking around and having sex. This was a grown-up-relationship kind of thing and it was scaring the heck out of her.

Christopher whistled as he pulled up to his mother's house. He'd thought that moving back home was admitting defeat, but in fact, it had turned out pretty well.

He swung open the front door and he heard his mother moving around in the kitchen. Thanksgiving was a week away, but as he stepped over storage boxes full of holiday decor, he knew his mother, like most of the residence of Aspen Creek, was ready for Christmas.

He'd already seen the city workers out hanging wreaths from the light poles. Thanksgiving night they would light the Christmas tree in the center of the lake. The memory of watching the lighting as a child filled him with a comfortable warmth. There were carolers, food vendors, fireworks, and the arrival of Santa.

Oh, the arrival of Santa was always his favorite part. It had taken him and Wil the better part of four years, when they were young, to realize that Harvey was in fact Aspen Creek's Santa Claus on that particular evening. She'd been too afraid to sit on his lap anyway, and wasn't it funny how Santa always knew just what mischief he'd been in.

Christopher listened to his mother's rendition of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” before he cleared his throat to announce himself.

"You’re setting up already?"

"Already? I'm already behind." She skirted around him with the manger that would go on the coffee table, atop the white glitter fabric. "Samantha said she already had her lights hung and had been designing wreaths for the last month. Esther said her tree is up. But you know she don't have a real one and all."

Christopher laughed. His mother said that like it was a crime to have an artificial tree.

She moved past him again and pulled the figurines out of another box. "How about you and Wil go pick me out a tree on Saturday? It'll be like old times."

"And do you want a tree like the ones we used to pick you out?"

"Heck no. No Charlie Brown Christmas around here. I want big and full."

"Well, it'll have to wait until Monday. I'm picking Wil up on Saturday and taking her to Denver for the weekend."

Maggie stopped unwrapping the baby Jesus she had pulled from the box and stared at him.

"I can't help but be a bit surprised. Just yesterday she told me she hated you. "

He laughed. "Today she seems okay with me."

Maggie finished unwrapping baby Jesus from his protective paper and set him on the table.