Unexpected Gifts: (The Steamy Version) (A Castle Mountain Lodge Romance Series Book 1) (17 page)

Amused, and more than a little intrigued, Bo tilted his head and examined the woman for a moment. She batted her lashes one more time before her eyes hardened and challenged him. He’d underestimated her.

Next to her, the other woman stifled a laugh which Bo ignored. “I certainly didn’t mean to imply that you were incapable of taking care of yourself,” he said, a sly grin on his face.

“Of course not.”

The two faced off, neither willing to break the stare. For a moment Bo even forgot what he’d come to talk to Carmen about but before he had a chance to say anything further, Carmen reminded him of his purpose.

“Bo, if you could just give me five minutes to finish up-“

“No,” the woman said. Damn, he wished he’d been paying attention when Carmen introduced them. “It seems that, Bo is it?” She waited for his nod before continuing, “It seems that Bo here has something very pressing to talk to you about. I’m sure Andi can help me get settled.” She ran a hand through her hair, a nervous action that contrasted completely with her no nonsense attitude and Bo had to hide a smile.

Despite his vow to focus on Ella, he couldn’t ignore the familiar tug low in his belly.

“You’re sure, Morgan?” Carmen asked.

Morgan, Bo remembered. He made a mental note of the name, he wouldn’t forget it again.

She smiled at Carmen, all the challenge and hardness that Morgan had shown him a moment ago was gone, replaced by a warmth that he suddenly wished was aimed in his direction. “It’s no problem, really,” she said. “Besides, Andi has been dying to show me some of her favorite spots.”

“It’s true,” Andi said. “And it’ll give me a chance to enjoy the Lodge in the spring. Don’t worry, Carmen. We can see that you’re busy.”

“Thank you both for being so understanding,” Carmen said, shooting a dirty look in Bo’s direction. She handed Morgan a piece of paper. “This is your room assignment. Your roommate should be there soon, if she’s not already. There’s just one more thing that I need to discuss with you. There’s been a little change in your job assignment, but…you know what? I’ll find you later to talk it over. Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Morgan,” Bo said in his most charming voice. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.”

“I guess we’ll see,” Morgan said. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but Bo noticed the spark in her eye when she spoke. Was it a challenge? She looked like she might say something else, but her friend took her arm and led her away. It was probably for the better. He needed to focus on Ella and a woman like that would only be an unwelcome distraction.

The moment they were out of ear shot, Carmen spun on her heel to face him. “Bo, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“It’s good to see you too, Carmen.” His forced smile faded. “Congrats on your promotion by the way.”

“Stop it.” Her mouth was a hard line. “I see you still think your charm and good looks can get you whatever you want. But as you already know, it doesn’t work on me.” She tightened her grip on her clipboard.

“You think I’m good looking?”

Contempt shot out of her eyes and he quickly readjusted his approach. Bo leaned his elbows on the shiny piano top. He was pretty sure that charm wouldn’t be enough to smooth things over with her, clearly, he’d been right.

“I did get a promotion,” she said, ignoring him, “thank you. And I have a lot to do, so what’s so important?”

“You know I’m looking forward to another busy summer up here,” he started. “I always accept this position over any others that are offered.”

“And others are offered?” she asked with a wry smile.

“You know they are.”

“Okay.” Carmen crossed her arms over her clipboard. “I’ll admit it. You’re the best, but why do I feel like you need something? I can’t give you a raise, Bo. You already get paid more-“

“I don’t need a raise.” He spoke quickly and glanced over his shoulder to the couch. “But I do need a favor.” Bo turned back to Carmen who was frowning at him. “My circumstances have changed recently and I don’t think staff housing is going to be acceptable.”

“Pardon me?” Carmen swallowed a bitter laugh. “Shall we give you a suite then?”

“That would be great.”

“I was kidding,” Carmen said dryly, her laughter cut off.

Bo looked around the near empty lobby and made a decision. He couldn’t hope to keep Ella a secret forever, and Carmen was his best hope, his only hope really, to make the situation more comfortable. “Okay,” he said. “Come here.” He grabbed Carmen’s arm and led her to the couch where Ella was still asleep.

“Who’s this?”

“My daughter.” It was the first time he’d spoken the word aloud. It felt foreign, but not entirely unpleasant on his tongue.

Carmen’s face clouded with confusion. “But she’s at least-“

“Four. She’s four.”

“I had no idea…”

“Neither did I.” Bo gestured to an empty sofa.

When they were settled where he could still keep an eye on Ella, Bo said, “You can see my predicament?”

“I can see it,” she said. “But I don’t understand it.”

Bo sighed. There was no avoiding the truth. “Ella’s mother just died. It was breast cancer and it apparently moved quite quickly.”

“That’s terrible,” Carmen said.”

“It is.” Bo nodded. “I knew Tessa years ago when we were in College. I had no idea she was sick. Heck, I had no idea she was pregnant.” His gaze drifted back to the sleeping child as he thought of Tessa and how hard it must have been for her to have a child on her own. They’d both been young and stupid. Obviously, too stupid.

“You mean, you didn’t know?”

Bo shook his head.

“Then? How?”

“I got a call from social services a few days ago. They told me Tessa had died about a month ago and left a child behind. Like I said, I had no idea that she existed, but apparently Tessa had laid it out quite clearly in a letter that she wanted Ella to live with me, her father. It took them a while to find me, I was-”

“I don’t understand.”

“Oh, trust me, neither do I.” Bo ran a hand through his hair and looked Carmen squarely in the eyes. “Look. I know this is unusual, but I really would appreciate some help here while I’m figuring things out. I mean, obviously she can’t stay with me.”

Carmen raised an eyebrow.

“No,” Bo said. “She’s not staying with me. Well, I mean, she is. At least for a little bit, but I’m going to do some searching into Tessa’s family. There has to be a better place for her to live then-“ Bo stopped talking abruptly. Why was he telling her all this? He looked at Ella’s tiny body, her chest rising and falling with every soft breath. There was a pull in his chest but he ignored it and turned back to Carmen. “Anyway, I need a little help. Just until I can figure things out. Ella’s going through a tough enough time. She doesn’t need the drama of living in staff housing.”

“You’re right,” Carmen said. “It’s no place for a child. But there’s really no where else.”

It was a long shot, but he voiced his idea anyway. “I know you were kidding but, what about a suite?”

Carmen half coughed, half laughed and quickly covered her mouth in an effort to quiet herself. After a moment, she regained control and said to Bo, “A suite? Please tell me you’re kidding.”

Bo didn’t answer. Instead he waited her out, his gaze fixed on Carmen’s face.

“Bo?” Carmen blinked hard and wiped her eyes. “You know I can’t give you a suite. What about the other staff? The guests? The cost?” She flipped open her clipboard and started looking through the pages. “There must be an empty room available in staff quarters…”

He still didn’t say anything. Carmen looked up. “I can’t give you a suite,” she said again. “Really, you shouldn’t even have a child here. This isn’t a-“

“Look.” His voice was low, barely constrained. “I don’t need to hear how you think I should or should not have Ella here. The fact is, she is here. Now can you help me out or do I need to find a new job for the summer?”

Carmen tucked her clipboard under her crossed arms and matched Bo’s glare. “You wouldn’t leave.”

“Try me.”

Tension sparked around them as they continued their stare down. Bo hadn’t planned on threatening her with quitting. The fact was, he couldn’t afford to quit. He needed his situation at Castle Mountain to work out. But Carmen didn’t know that. And he was counting on her not calling his bluff.

A tiny noise, almost a squeak, came from the couch. The sound broke Bo’s heart, and the stand off with Carmen.

In two quick steps, he was kneeling on the floor next to Ella. Hair mussed from her nap, her brown eyes were still clouded with sleep, but were open wide taking in the big room. He reached out and tentatively tucked a stray hair behind her ear. He moved to hug her, or hold her hand or maybe just touch her again, but he pulled away. Bo’d never been comfortable around children, and that hadn’t changed in the last few days. The little girl didn’t seem to be any more comfortable with him either and she pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged herself into a ball.

“Did you have a good sleep?” he asked.

She nodded and jammed her thumb in her mouth.

“Soon we can get settled in our room and then you can have a real nap, okay?”

She nodded again.

Ella had said only a handful of words since he’d picked her up. And the social services woman said she would only speak to the foster mother she’d been placed with, but even then, she didn’t say much. Not that Bo knew much about children, but he thought for four, she should be talking a lot more. Of course, maybe losing your mother and living with a foster family before being handed over to a total stranger was enough to make a little girl clam up.

“Are you hungry? Do you want a snack or something?”

Ella shook her head and turned to look out the window.

With a deep sigh, Bo pushed up on his thighs and stood. Carmen was looking at him in that way that women have, when they’ve been affected by a small child or a puppy. The way that meant she was going to help.

“So, I can have the suite,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Carmen nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. But it will only be for a few weeks until the busy season starts. And I’m going to have to charge you something for it.”

“Take it out of my cheque.”

She nodded and her expression turned to a frown. “Bo?” Carmen grabbed his arm and led him a few steps away from Ella. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do with her while you’re working? I mean, surely you don’t plan on taking her on hikes with you. She’s so tiny.”

“I was hoping she could go to the child care room.”

“Castle Cub Club?”

Bo shrugged. “Is that what it’s called?” He smiled to himself. He’d never given the Lodge’s child care program any thought. He’d never had to. “It’s cute,” he said and then quickly added, “I told you. It’s just for a little bit. I need to make some calls. I think she has some family down East.”

Carmen raised an eyebrow in his direction. But when she turned to look at Ella, she smiled and nodded her head. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll clear it with the powers that be.”

“Thank you.” Bo breathed a deep sigh of relief.

“This isn’t a permanent solution.” Carmen’s voice permeated his thoughts.

“Don’t I know it,” Bo said with a vague nod. He partially listened as Carmen continued to speak about getting a room key. But his focus had already shifted squarely back to the little girl sitting on the couch. She looked so lost, so scared and so alone. At least they had that in common.

Read the rest of
Hidden Gifts
NOW!

Residing in the Alberta Foothills with her husband and twins, Elena escapes to the mountains as often as possible and can often be found sitting by the lake plotting her next story.

Besides her fiction projects, Elena has been published in multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, as well as the Seal Press anthology, How to Put a Car Seat on a Camel-and other misadventures traveling with children.

To learn more about Elena Aitken and her other books, please visit
www.elenaaitken.com

Twitter -
@elenaaitken

Facebook -
www.facebook.com/elenaaitken.author

Sign up for Elena’s
newsletter
and get all the latest information and deals about upcoming books!

Thank You

I have learned that writing a book is not a solitary endeavor. Whenever I think I have it figured out, something else is pointed out to me. As with all of my fiction projects, a huge thank you goes out to the extremely talented writing group that I’m proud to be a member of. To all the Easy Writers, Brad, Nancy, Trish, Leanne, Susan and Gigi. Whether you read any of the early draft or not, your advice and wisdom follows/haunts me everyday.

An extra special thank you to Trish Loye who read a
very
early draft of Unexpected Gifts and gave me some invaluable feedback that ultimately deepened the story. Through late night chats at SiWC, we were able to flesh out a few story problems. Great friend, excellent advice, thank you.

A super special thank you to Natalie Thwaites for taking time out of her busy schedule to read Unexpected Gifts with her hi-lighter. A good editor is hard to find, and your extra set of eyes was invaluable for making sure the Holly Berry Ball wasn’t such a religious occasion. :) When it came to thinking of a title for this book, I have to give credit where credit is due. Brainstorming titles is not one of my strengths, so a big thank you to my sister in-law, Melanie Hnatiuk my mom, Judy Welch and my daughter, Sydney Aitken for spending a ridiculous amount of time throwing out suggestions. I have to extend this thank you to my Twitter and cyber friend Elizabeth McLennan for brainstorming via the internet. (Also, I believe Colin’s last name was directly suggested by Elizabeth.) It’s a toss up who gets title credit for this one, so just a huge thank you to all of you!

Another thank you to Trish Loye and Leanne Shirtliffe, my fellow Wordbitches for last minute help on blurbs, cover art opinions and more. The fact that these two ladies ‘get me’ is such a brilliant gift in itself, I’m extremely fortunate for having them.