Hearts Evergreen: A Cloud Mountain Christmas\A Match Made for Christmas (8 page)

O
n Tuesday, Tony and Maddie finished their negotiations for the manuscript, agreeing to a slightly higher amount than the original offer. Everyone involved was pleased. Tony because he could speed up renovations to the lodge. Maddie because she would soon be debt-free. David because he was adding something he prized to his collection.

“The contract of sale will arrive at the lodge by Friday,” David told Maddie when they talked later that day.

“Good. I'll tell Tony to expect it. I know he'll be glad when everything is signed, sealed and delivered.”

“So when are you flying back to L.A.?”

She worried her lower lip.

“Maddie? Did I lose you?”

“No, I'm here. I…well, I'm not sure when I'm flying back. Tony invited me to stay at the lodge through Christmas.”

“That's a great idea.”

“I haven't decided yet.”

“I think you should.”

She stared at the red boot on her ankle, braced on the footstool in her guestroom. “You do?”

“Yes, I do. Remember the advice I gave you when you first arrived?”

“Uh-huh. Have fun, you said.”

“You want to stay, don't you?”

She thought of Tony's sweet kiss two days ago. Why hadn't he tried to kiss her again? She'd wanted him to. And yesterday when she'd fed him the cookie dough, she'd thought—

“Maddie, you do want to stay, don't you?”

“Yes.”

“Then stay.”

“My mail must be a mile high by now.”

“Nothing that can't wait a couple of weeks.”

“You make me feel expendable.”

“You're not expendable, Maddie, but I would like to see you happy. Really happy. I don't think you're going to find happiness through your work.”

To be honest, neither did she.

“Sorry, Maddie. I've got a call on the other line I need to take. Let me know when the contracts get there.”

“I will.”

“Goodbye.”

“'Bye.”

She closed her cell phone, breaking the connection.

I think you should stay.

Maddie
could
use a vacation and it would be fun to spend Christmas with everyone at the lodge. She may not have known Tony, Audrey or Cookie for long, but she was fond of them, all the same.

Perhaps more than fond of Tony.

Standing in the center of the Uriah Small guestroom, Tony imagined different possibilities. It needed to be more than a place for guests to sleep. After all, by leaving behind that manuscript, Mr. Small was responsible for Tony's dreams for the lodge coming to fruition all the sooner.

Maybe he should turn it into a library, although he supposed that wasn't a good idea. It was too far from the center of the lodge.

He could make the room part of a suite. It could be a sitting room and the guestroom next door could be the bedroom. It would be easy enough to put a door in the connecting wall. He could buy some used editions of Uriah Small's works to fill the bookcase and, once David Fairchild had the manuscript published, they could give the new work a place of honor.

“Knock, knock.”

Maddie's voice drew him around to face the door.

“Audrey told me you were up here.” She swung herself into the room.

“I was going over some possibilities in my head.”

“Is this the room where you found the manuscript?”

“Yeah.” He pointed toward the wall. “Right over there. Sometimes I can't believe how the Lord blessed me with that find. Others could have found it long before I got here.”

“What if you hadn't found it?”

He considered the question a moment before answering, “It wouldn't have changed all that much. Except how long it would take before I finished the remodeling.” He smiled. “Oh, and Cookie will be happier with that new kitchen he's about to get.”

She laughed softly. “He was telling me about that yesterday. He'll be in seventh heaven.”

Should he ask her if she'd decided to stay for Christmas? Or should he be patient and let her tell him in her own good time? He wasn't afraid of risks in his business life. If he were, he wouldn't be the owner of this lodge. But he didn't want to risk losing Maddie.

“I talked to David a short while ago. He said he'll have the contracts delivered to you by Friday.”

“Great.” Unless that means you'll be leaving.

“Are you planning to do something special with this room?” She used her crutches to draw closer to Tony.

“That's what I was thinking. Something special. But I'm not sure what.”

“This would make a lovely sitting room for a suite.” She moved to one of the windows. “You can see the town from here and the mountain from over there.”

He wanted to hold her and kiss her, if for no other reason than she'd matched his own idea for the room. Except there
were
other reasons. Lots of them. He was hungry to take her in his arms, to tell her he loved her, to ask her to stay so that they could talk about every change made to the lodge, so he could hear her ideas, so they could plan things together.

She looked at him again.

A man could drown in her eyes.

“Tony, I'd like to accept your invitation to stay at the lodge through Christmas.”

He stepped toward her. Say something. Tell her you're glad she's going to stay.

“It will be a nice change from L.A. I haven't seen a white Christmas in ten years at least.”

“I guarantee it'll be white.” He reached out and cupped the side of her face with his hand.

She leaned into his touch, a movement so slight he wasn't sure it happened.

He spoke her name on a breath.

She smiled.

Ker-thump
went his heart. He was growing used to it by now.

From the end of the hall, Audrey's voice intruded on the moment. “Tony, you're needed on the telephone.”

“Can you take a message?” he called back, not wanting to move, not wanting to think, not wanting to breathe.

“He says it's important.”

Maddie drew back. “You'd better take it.”

“Wait here. I won't be long. We can talk over a few more ideas for this room.”

She nodded, her smile tenuous.

Tony turned on his heel and strode from the room. Whoever was on the phone would be sorry if what they had to say wasn't important.

He took the stairs two at a time, entered his office and yanked the phone from its cradle. “Tony Anderson speaking.”

“Mr. Anderson,” the voice on the other end of the line said, “my name is Phillip Endicott. I represent Mariah Kent. Ms. Kent is the great-niece of Uriah Small and the legal heir to his estate.”

With those last few words, Tony felt the bottom drop out of his world.

“Ms. Kent recently learned that you've discovered some of her uncle's last remaining work.”

“Yes.”

“I'm sure you'll understand that she is eager to have the property returned to her.”

Returned to her.

No contract to sign with David Fairchild.

No discussions about how to turn the room upstairs into the Uriah Small suite.

No money to speed things along.

No new roof.

No new kitchen.

Just like that, back to square one.

Tony said something about having his attorney contact Mr. Endicott, asked for a little more information and hung up the phone.

God, what are You doing?

He sank onto his desk chair. Five years. His original plan had called for it to take at least five years to finish the work on the lodge and begin to turn a profit. And there might not ever be a large profit. Enough but not a lot. Enough for him but maybe not enough for a wife and family.

Maddie deserves better than I have to offer.

With a heavy heart, he picked up the telephone and dialed the number for his attorney.

T
he mood around the lodge was subdued in the days following that fateful phone call. Even the Sullivans were affected by the news.

“Maybe you can fight this,” Sam Sullivan told Tony. “If there's anything I can do, I'd be glad to help. It just seems wrong that this woman can take the manuscript after you found it.”

“If she's the rightful heir, she should have it.” It pained Tony to say those words, but he knew they were true. “All I can do now is wait and see what my attorney advises. But thanks for the offer. I appreciate it.”

Sam wasn't the only person offering help, advice and sympathy. As word spread, the citizens of Cloud Mountain showed up at the lodge. Pastor Luke came to pray with Tony. Evie Barrett brought sweets from the candy store. Gary Patterson and his sister, Betina, offered to lend a hand with wallpaper hanging or painting or whatever else he might need. And there were others who came, many others, all of them asking what they could do.

Tony appreciated the expressions of kindness more than he could say, but while the loss of the manuscript—and what that could have meant for the lodge—was a great disappointment, it was knowing he had nothing much to offer Maddie that broke his heart. How could he ask her to choose Cloud Mountain over L.A., to choose managing a struggling lodge over closing deals for David Fairchild? It wouldn't be fair to her.

Maddie observed the show of concern from Tony's friends and wished she could be one of them. But something happened on the day he took that phone call. He'd erected an invisible wall between them and Maddie didn't know how to tear it down.

“I don't know, David.” Lying on her back on the bed, she stared at the ceiling of her guestroom. “Maybe I should come home for Christmas after all. I could hire someone to drive me to Boise so I could turn in the rental car and catch a flight to L.A. There doesn't seem to be much reason to stay now.”

“What do you mean, Maddie?”

“Well, with the rightful ownership of the manuscript up in the air, we can't close the deal and—”

“Wait. You weren't going to stay because of business. You were going to stay because Tony asked you to. You were going to make a holiday of it.”

Her chest felt as if it were being squeezed by an iron band.

David's voice hardened. “He didn't take back the invitation, did he?”

“No, but—”

“Then why leave?”

Tears slipped from her eyes, leaving damp tracks along her temples and into her hair. “Because I don't think he wants me here. I'm a reminder of what he almost had but lost, of all the things he won't be able to do with the lodge for now.”

“If that's true, he isn't the man I thought he was. But I'm betting it isn't true. Don't run away, Maddie.”

How could she tell David that she was afraid to stay? She knew too well what it was like to love someone who didn't love her in return. She never wanted to experience that pain again.

Only, deep down, she knew it was too late to escape the pain. She'd already fallen in love with Tony Anderson. With Tony and this lodge and Audrey and Cookie. With the quaint little town and the people who lived in it. With Redeemer Community Church and the Candy Corner and the medical clinic. Even with that miserable spot on the mountain where she'd broken her ankle.

“Think about it, Maddie, and call me again tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she whispered, her throat too tight for much sound.

As soon as she closed the phone, she rolled onto her side and curled into a ball, praying the ache in her heart would stop soon.

Tony drove the Sno-Cat along the same road he and his guests had taken in Nick Robertson's sleigh the previous week. Only now the sun shone in a clear sky overhead and the light reflected off the snow as if from a million diamonds. At the lookout point at the top of the hill, he pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. Silence enveloped the cab.

He stared down at the picture-postcard view of Cloud Mountain, remembering how long he'd planned for the day that he could move here to live. He'd wanted it. He'd worked for it.

Now there was something—some
one
—he wanted even more. What was he going to do about Maddie?

In the stillness of the snowy hilltop, he thought of Jacob and Rebekah from the Bible. Jacob had loved Rebekah so much he worked for seven years to gain her hand in marriage and, after being tricked by her father, he worked another seven.

What are you ready to do to win Maddie's love?

Would he work for seven years?

Yes.

Would he give up the lodge and Cloud Mountain?

He held his breath, unsure what his heart would answer.

Yes, I would.

It surprised him, the certainty he felt, but it was true. If he had to, he would follow Maddie to California. He would return to the corporate treadmill. If that's what it took, he was willing.

He loved her that much.

He started the Sno-Cat's engine and turned the vehicle toward town.

Audrey stepped from behind the desk in the lobby. “I'm not sure where Tony went, but he took the Sno-Cat. He may be out for a while. Is there something I can do for you?”

“No.” Maddie took a deep breath and released it. “I've been thinking I'd ask one of the Sullivans to drive me to Boise in my rental car on Sunday since they'll be going that way themselves.”

“But Tony said you were staying for Christmas.”

“I was, but…” She shrugged. “I'm not certain I should now.”

“Well,
I'm
certain,” the woman replied, emphasizing her words with an abrupt nod of her head.

Maddie gave her a tremulous smile. “Thanks, Audrey.”

She turned away, not wanting to risk the return of her tears. It already felt as if she were saying goodbye to too much. She decided to go to her room to begin packing. Even though she would be here a couple more days, it didn't hurt to get an early start.

She had almost arrived at her room when the back door opened and Tony stepped into view. Maddie's heart tripped at the sight of him.

If only…

“Maddie, would you take a ride with me in the Sno-Cat?”

She should say no. Being near him was too hard. “Okay.”

“Great.” He smiled, and her heart tripped again. “Where's your coat?”

“In here.” She slid the key card into the reader and opened the door to her room. “I'll get it.”

“I'll wait.”

She didn't know what this was about. She didn't care, not if it was responsible for making him smile again.

A short while later, Tony carried her out to the Sno-Cat and deposited her on the passenger seat of the cab before running around to the driver's side and hopping in.

“Where are we going?”

He started the engine. “Just up the hill a ways. It won't take us long to get there.”

More questions swirled in her mind, but she didn't ask them. She decided to enjoy the interlude. It would be over all too soon. Reality would come crashing in and by Sunday she would say goodbye to Tony.

But not yet. It wasn't here yet.

She patted the side panel of the door. “This is really something. I've never been in a Sno-Cat before.”

“Not much use for them in L.A.”

“No.” She looked out the window. Here was one more thing she would miss. “I suppose not.”

“I got a good deal on this one. It's come in handy more than once this winter.”

I don't want to talk about the Sno-Cat. I want to tell you I've lost my heart to you. I want to ask you to kiss me again and to hold me close and never let me go.

“Look.” Tony pointed toward the edge of the forest. “A fox.”

Maddie followed the direction of his hand but all she saw was a flash of reddish brown as it disappeared into the trees.

“In the summer, we get lots of deer and elk in these parts. When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle had trouble with a bear who thought their garbage can was his personal smorgasbord. Man, my aunt would get so angry when she had to clean up the mess that bear left behind.”

“Where was their cabin?”

“Back the other side of town about two and a half miles.”

The Sno-Cat climbed a hillside, rumbling and grumbling along. Maddie thought this must be a lot like riding in a tank, except without suffering from claustrophobia—the Cat had plenty of windows. At the top of the hill, Tony turned the vehicle into a parking area and came to a halt a few feet before reaching the guardrail. Then he turned off the engine.

The silence was so complete it startled Maddie. She held her breath, not wanting to disturb it.

“I came up here to think a while ago,” Tony said. “I was thinking about all the stuff I couldn't do without that manuscript to sell.”

“I'm so sorry.”

“No. Listen, Maddie. I have something I need to say.” He pointed again. “Look down there. See the town? That's the kind of place I want to live. The people who have been coming by the lodge all week? They're the kind of people I want for my friends and neighbors.”

She nodded, understanding why he felt that way. She felt it, too, and she'd been here only a short while.

“But, Maddie?”

Something about his tone—soft, gentle, almost like a caress—caused her to look at him.

“There's something I want far more than the lodge or this town or my friends and neighbors.”

Blood began to pound in her ears. “There is?”

“You, Maddie. I want you.” He cupped her chin with his hand. “I love you. Some might think it happened too fast. Maybe you think it's too fast. But my feelings are real.”

Tears caused his image to swim before her eyes.

“I know you've got debts to pay and I know the lodge won't make us lots of money. It'll take time before it's able to turn much of a profit. I think we could manage, but success won't happen overnight. But if you need to go back to California, then I'm willing to come there. I'm willing to do whatever it takes for us to be together. Just let me know if I've got a ghost of a chance to win your love.”

Something happened in that moment. It was as if fear had been cut from her heart, leaving room for trust to move in. Maybe God had been working that miracle from the start of her trip to Idaho, but it was completed in the cab of this Sno-Cat on a hillside overlooking Cloud Mountain.

Awed by the wonder of it all, she shook her head from side to side as the tears fell from her eyes, streaking her cheeks.

“Not even a chance, Maddie?”

She blinked back more tears. “No, that isn't what I meant. Tony, I couldn't ask you to leave Cloud Mountain.” She drew a quick breath. “I don't want to leave, either. Not ever. And I…I don't want to leave you.”

Tony's hands cradled her face as they drew closer to each other. Their lips met and she tasted the salt of her tears. The kiss ended, but they didn't draw back. They remained close, their foreheads almost touching.

“Maddie, I pledge to you my faithfulness. As God is my witness, I'll never be untrue to you.”

She believed him. With nothing held back, she believed in his love and his faithfulness and his steadfastness. She didn't need him or anyone to tell her that he spoke the truth. She believed him to the very center of her heart, a place once abandoned but now filled to overflowing with joy.

December was once again her favorite month.