Sarah Morgan - Snow Crystal Trilogy

She was running from him.

The kiss had shaken her, and he had some sympathy with that because it had shaken him, too.

For a brief moment in the forest, she’d thawed. Under his hands and mouth, Kayla Green had transformed from ice machine to warm, soft woman, but now she was frozen again, the layer of ice between her and the world thicker than ever.

He wondered what it would take to melt it permanently.

“This is work. You’re getting to know Snow Crystal.” Jackson chose the table with the best view. “Sit down. The specialty of this place is the hot spiced apple cider.”

If they hadn’t been on top of a mountain, she would have argued. He saw it in the way she held herself, tense and poised for flight. But there was no flight because her only way out of here was on the back of his snowmobile, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

So she sat. “If it’s a local specialty I’d like to try it of course, thanks.” It was a signal that she wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. “I’m interested in—” She broke off, her expression frozen, as a pretty girl wearing a red ski jacket and a Santa hat skipped across the deck to them.

“Jackson! I wasn’t expecting to see you here today.” The girl flung her arms around him and Jackson almost drowned in blond hair and perfume. As he gently extracted himself, he saw that Kayla was already on her feet.

“This looks like a good moment for me to use the bathroom.” She smiled her most corporate smile, and Jackson sighed because she was back in hedgehog mode, complete with a full set of prickles. And they were aimed right at him.

“Kayla, this is Dana. Dana is my cousin.” He emphasized the word gently and saw Kayla frown slightly.

“Oh. I assumed—” She stuck out her hand, as if she was making sure she couldn’t be on the receiving end of the same effusive greeting. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Hi, Kayla.” Dana gave a friendly smile, shook hands and then turned back to Jackson. “Guess who I have in my kindergarten class this week. The Foster twins, can you believe that? I babysat them. Now they’re on skis.”

“That thought is close to terrifying. How are they doing?”

“They’re awesome. Overexcited about Christmas, but who isn’t? Hey, Cliff—” Dana leaned back and waved her hand to the owner of the restaurant “—starving to death and dying of thirst here. Any chance of some service?”

Cliff strolled over, eyebrows raised. “You just told me you weren’t eating because you couldn’t afford my shocking prices.”

“I can’t, but that was before Jackson showed up. He’s paying.” She peeped at him and Jackson gave a half smile.

“My debts are so huge one burger isn’t going to make a difference.”

“In that case I’ll have the mountain burger with fries, thanks. Unless I’m interrupting—” Her eyes slid to Kayla, who was still wearing her corporate smile.

“What could you possibly be interrupting? It’s great to have a chance to chat with someone who lives around here. It gives breaking for lunch a purpose.”

She had a smile for different situations, he decided. And he preferred the one she’d given him when he kissed her.

She looked a whole lot healthier than she had when he’d picked her up that morning. The fresh air had whipped pink into her cheeks and added sparkle to her eyes.

Or maybe it was the kiss that had done that.

He pulled off his gloves and put them on the table. “Do you ever do anything just because it’s fun?”

“I find work fun.”

Jackson spoke to Cliff and ordered the artisan cheese board and the charcuterie plate, along with a basket of fresh rolls and Dana’s burger.

Kayla stared at the food. “I’m really not hungry.”

“You’ll be hungry when it arrives. The food is sourced from local suppliers. The quality of food around here is exceptional. It’s a definite draw for the tourists.”

At the word tourist she relaxed. “So what would you say is the special appeal of Snow Crystal, Dana?”

“If I had to pick a favorite, I’d have to say dogsledding, but I’m biased because my parents run Snow and Sled from the farm right next to Snow Crystal. We have a huge network of trails, and when I’m not teaching classes, I help out in the kennels. We have eighteen huskies. Twenty-two if you count the four that are retired.” Dana sat back as Pete delivered their drinks. “I can guarantee it is the most fun you will ever have in your life. If you like, I could take you out. We run daily most weeks and at this time of year we run at night, too.”

Kayla sipped her cider. “You go out on the sled in the dark?”

“If there is enough moonlight we use that. If not, headlamps. Going out at night is special.”

“It sounds romantic.” Kayla’s gaze connected briefly with Jackson’s. Just for a moment they were both back in the forest, mouths hot as they’d feasted on each other. Then she looked away. “Romantic destinations are an important draw for the traveling public. We try to target a wide range of media so we’re always looking for a story that’s a little different. A new angle. Something that sets you apart. That way we get top-tier placements.” She paused as Cliff delivered the food to their table.

“One artisan plate, one charcuterie and a burger. Enjoy. And don’t forget to tell your friends how good we are.”

“I always do. In fact this burger should be free, given the number of people I send up here.” Dana bit into her burger while Jackson looked on in amusement.

“Technically that burger is free since I’m the one paying.”

“You’re still repaying the debt for all those snowballs you stuffed down my neck when we were growing up. So, are you flying back to the U.K. for Christmas, Kayla?”

“No, I’m staying here.” Kayla reached across the table and helped herself to a thin slice of cheese. “I’m living the Snow Crystal experience.”

“You couldn’t find a better place to spend Christmas. It’s magical.” Dana slapped Jackson’s fingers as he reached across to steal her fries. “If you wanted fries you should have ordered some.”

“I ordered these and paid for them.”

They played verbal tennis, the banter bouncing backward and forward between them as it always did and, as lunch progressed, other people drifted over and joined them until the table was crowded with a dozen people, most of whom Jackson had known since childhood.

Kayla was polite, factual and impressive as they encouraged her to talk about her work. She didn’t seem overwhelmed as she had with his family, and he decided it was because the conversation wasn’t personal.

He was surprised to discover how much he wanted it to be personal.

“We should go.” He rose to his feet, exchanged a few words with one of the instructors about snow conditions and the forecast for Christmas itself, and checked his watch.

Dana was on her feet, too, pulling on her gloves and still chatting to Kayla. “If you want a sled ride, let me know. It’s something everyone should try once in a lifetime.”

“That would be interesting, thank you.”

“Not interesting. Magical. And romantic.” Dana gave Jackson a meaningful look, and he shook his head. He would have laughed but he knew better than to encourage her.

“Go! And keep those Foster twins out of trouble.”

“Not possible. Bye. Love you.” She stood on tiptoe, kissed him and then winked at Kayla. “I do that because it increases my cool rating among people who don’t know we’re related.”

“Goodbye, Dana,” Jackson said mildly. “Leave, now, before I charge you for the burger.”

“I could give Kayla a ski lesson.”

He reached for his gloves. “Or you could go do your job and leave me to give her a ski lesson.”