Читать книгу A Family Like Hannah's - Carol Ross - Страница 13
ОглавлениеTATE DIDN’T HAVE much experience with kids, but how difficult could a sledding party with a group of four-and five-year-olds be? He’d been spending nearly every minute of the past few weeks with Lucas and aside from the near-constant worrying, he felt as though he was doing okay.
Roughly a half hour later he held a firm belief that the preschool teacher Elaine deserved a raise—a huge raise, and probably a very long all-expenses-paid vacation. A little boy named Bryce kept licking his inner tube, another boy refused to get on the magic carpet facing forward, and a blonde pixie of a girl had removed her coat and refused to put it back on. Tate was afraid she was going to end up with hypothermia.
“Would you please put your coat on, Bea?” At least he’d learned her name.
She gave her head a hard shake, blond locks peeking out from beneath a bright pink fleece hat.
He tried being firm. “Bea, put your coat on. It’s too cold to go without a coat.”
More head shaking.
“It’s dangerous,” he tried, which didn’t seem to faze her in the least.
He attempted a gentle threat, “Do you want me to get your teacher? She might make you go to the lodge.” Although he had no idea how to summon the teacher at this point, or even if she would do that. Elaine was currently on top of the hill with the rest of the tiny phenomenally energetic sledders.
She gave him another careless shrug.
He resorted to negotiation. “I’ll give you twenty dollars if you put your jacket back on?”
She smiled, lolling her head back and forth in a figure-eight pattern while he held the jacket aloft like some kind of frantic matador.
“Fifty dollars?” Was bribery the same as negotiation?
He was ready to double the amount when he sensed a presence behind him—or maybe he heard the snickering. He turned to find Hannah watching him, humor dancing in her eyes.
“Thank goodness, you’re here. She won’t wear her jacket. I’m not sure what to do. The teacher is up there And she’s...” Tate heard the desperation in his tone as he pointed at the top of the slope. “It’s like ten degrees out here.”
She took the jacket from him. “Bea, why aren’t you wearing your jacket, girlfriend?”
“Because Shane said it’s the same color as slime.”
“Slime?”
The little girl nodded her head.
“Ah, I see. But he means that in a good way. Shane loves slime. I think the danger here is that Shane might love you, too.”
Bea let out a gasp, her arms shooting out straight at her sides, allowing Hannah to slip the jacket on. Hannah zipped it up, tucked her scarf around her neck and made sure her hat was secure.
“Thanks, Hannah. How do my curls look?”
“Perfect—just like you, little one.” Hannah flipped her head toward the magic carpet. “Now go get ’em.”
Bea trotted off to join the others.
“Ask Shane if he likes slime,” she called after Bea, who kept going as she gave her an over-the-shoulder thumbs-up.
“How did you do that?”
“Well, I have some inside knowledge.”
Tate gave her a look that said he knew it was more than that.
“I will give you a tip, though, so you don’t go broke. Five bucks, fifty bucks—kids this age don’t really get the concept of the amount. In fact, hold out a handful of change in one hand and a couple bills—any denomination—in the other and see what they go for. To them, more is more—literally. Except when it comes to candy. You’d be amazed at what they’ll do for one single piece of candy.”
“I was desperate. I would have paid a lot more. I thought she was going to freeze to death.”
Hannah laughed. “Not gonna happen—they’ll seek shelter before they dip to the freezing level.”
She pointed at her pink snow pants, her mouth forming a playful grin. “Thank you for holding down the fort for me so I could get these.”
He felt his pulse jump at the thought of recent circumstances. “You’re welcome. No problem. That was fast. You must live pretty close to here?”
“I do, you know that log cabin just up the road from the Faraway Inn? It belongs to my sister Shay. She owns the inn, and I rent the house from her. Have you taken a turn on a tube yet?”
“Um, no. Elaine suggested that I help the kids get back to the magic carpet after they arrive here at the bottom. It seems like a simple job, right? But they are a slippery bunch, not at all like my...”
He was going to mention Lucas when a pair of young boys with reddish-brown hair peeking from beneath their hats ran toward Hannah and enveloped her in a huge hug.
“Hannah!” They shouted in unison.
“Hey, my favorite twins! Wow, Finn I saw how fast you were on that last run. I’m thinking competitive luge is in your future, buddy. Gabe, guess what we’re having in the lodge after sledding?”
“Don’t tease me, Hannah-Banana, you better be talking hot chocolate.”
She laid a hand on his stocking-capped head. “You know I wouldn’t tease about hot chocolate. Hey, guys, this is Tate. He’s a friend of mine. These little cuties are my cousin Janie’s twins. As are the two teenage helpers there, Gareth and Reagan.”
A tandem greeting followed, then one of them commented, “Except Gareth and Reagan aren’t twins like us.”
“This is true. Thank you for clarifying that for Tate, Twin-Finn.”
The little boys nodded happily and galloped off...
“Later, twin-gators,” Hannah called after them.
“After a while, Banana-crocodile,” one of them shouted back.
Tate studied her. She seemed relaxed, amused and thrilled to be here. How did she do that?
“You’re so good with them. Do you have kids?”
“Nope. Big family. Lots of experience. Plus, I know these kids. I volunteer at the preschool one morning a week. And do some fun things with them—like this.” She gestured at the hill.
Hannah clearly had a gift—that kid-thing that some people were just born with, which served to remind him of how little of it he had himself.
* * *
“THAT WAS REALLY nice of the fairy to let you help her feed the goldfish. Next time be sure to come and get me when she’s here.” Tate smiled at Lucas who’d just finished relaying the details of his latest encounter with the fairy in the fish room.
“She hurt her hand so she needed my help. She thanked me and she told me the names of some of the kois. That’s what they’re called, not goldfish, Uncle Tate.” He heard the pride in Lucas’s voice and felt grateful to this lady for taking the time to make Lucas feel special.
He thought about Hannah and how natural her interaction had been with the kids on the sledding hill. He’d been reading books on childcare and child psychology, but he wondered if there was some kind of class he could take. Would it be weird to ask her for advice? What he needed was to get Lucas up on the snowboarding hill.
“That’s so cool, little man. I’ll try to remember that. Do you want to pick out a book for us to read together?”
Lucas examined the large selection on the bookshelf he and Viktor had stocked.
He chose a brand-new picture book, running his fingers over the cover. “The lady might not actually be a fairy. I think she might just look like a fairy. She has fairy—” he paused to think and then pointed at his own face “—eyes.”
Tate stifled a laugh. Fairy eyes? He had no idea what that meant. “I see. Well, she sounds like a very nice young lady whether she is actually a fairy or not.”
“She’s really nice,” Lucas assured him authoritatively as he moved toward his bed and peeled back the comforter. He liked to look at his sheets before he climbed in. This set was covered with tiny monkeys in goofy poses. Funnily enough, Tate remembered being fascinated by sheets, too. It was too much of a chore, or used too many quarters, for Penny to wash bedding so he’d always used a sleeping bag. Tate still hated sleeping bags.
“We’re friends. You should see if she wants to babysit me sometime.”
That was a good idea. Since Lucas had come into his life full-time, he hadn’t wanted Tate to leave him at all. He’d finally reached the point where he’d stay with Viktor, but for Lucas himself to suggest spending time with someone else felt like a huge leap of progress. Tate thought since the girl was fish-sitting for the homeowner, maybe she’d be willing to babysit for him.
“That’s a great plan. Maybe we’ll do that.”
He had intended to meet her and thank her for her kindness to Lucas, but so far she’d slipped in and out of the atrium without him even knowing she was there.
Tate knew he’d choose a book about animals. Lucas was enthralled with animals and Tate was both happy and surprised by how much he knew about them. He picked up the book about a hippopotamus who thought he wanted to be a rhinoceros and began to read.
* * *
FRIGID AIR TICKLED Hannah’s lungs. It was a gorgeous winter day. The sun might not have a lot of hours to shine in an Alaskan December, but today it had decided to make the most of the time it did have. Shards of light beamed through the grayish-blue clouds and spotlighted the snow-covered peaks in the distance. Pieces of heaven shining through, as her late grandfather Gus used to say.
She entered the beautiful wood-and-stone-constructed lobby of the Faraway Inn, removed and stowed her outer layers, and headed toward the restaurant. Delicious aromas assaulted her senses as she walked into the vast expanse of dining room. Her stomach responded with a hungry rumble as she thought about Chef Javier’s cooking.
Waving to some of the other committee members already seated at a long rectangular table, she headed toward the drink station to fetch herself a cup of coffee. Her cousin Adele who was the Faraway Restaurant’s manager appeared at her side.
Hannah and the rest of the James family hadn’t even known of Adele’s existence until a couple years ago, after Shay had hired her inadvertently as a waitress.
At that time Adele had only recently learned of her heritage. She had come to Rankins hoping to find a place in the James family while thinking she might be entitled to a share of the inn. She’d earned the former even though she’d been mistaken about the latter. She and Hannah had become close friends during the ensuing ordeal.
“How’s it going?” Adele asked.
“Good. How about you? The dining room looks super busy.”
Adele smiled, light brown eyes so similar to her own dancing merrily.
“Thanks to you. We’ve got another group of heli-skiers staying here. From what I can gather, if they’re not skiing they are eating.”
Hannah chuckled as she poured her coffee. “The sport definitely requires fuel. And Cricket does a great job of promoting the restaurant.”
Adele’s jaw tightened as she repeated his name.
Something had recently transpired between Adele and Cricket, but Adele wasn’t talking—yet.
Cricket had once been considered Rankins’s most sought-after bachelor, but his reluctance to date meant his status had gradually evolved from eligible to confirmed. Hannah secretly believed he and her brother Tag had turned their single statuses into some kind of competition.
“What about him?” Hannah asked.
“He’s here right now. Over by the windows, close to the fireplace, he’s having lunch with your snowboarder.”
For some reason the mention of Tate made her heart skip a beat. “My snowboarder? Very funny, Adele. Tate is here? Where?” What was with her hopeful tone of voice?
“Yep, right here.” She flinched as a deep, now-familiar voice sounded behind her.
She cast a wide-eyed look of horror at Adele.
Adele grinned and then whispered loudly, “Sneaky, isn’t he? For a big guy?”
“I’ll say,” Hannah said and turned around.
Tate’s eyes latched on to hers, an amused grin playing on his handsome face along with something else. Something that looked like interest and sent her pulse officially racing. As embarrassed as she was, at least she managed to eke a bit of satisfaction out of the fact that she’d finally made him smile without even trying.
Laughter laced his tone. “Can I help you with something, Hannah?”
“Um, no...I was just... Hello, Tate.” She gestured at Adele. “This is my cousin and—”
Tate smiled in Adele’s direction. “I know. Hi, Adele.”
“You do?”
“Cricket introduced us,” Adele explained.
“Oh, that’s good,” she muttered.
He asked, “Hannah, do you have a minute? I’d like to ask you something.”
Adele pointed toward the group of people seated at the long table. “Looks like the meeting is about to start, so I’ll go join them, and fill you in on anything you miss.”
“Thanks, Adele.”
Tate motioned for Hannah to follow as he strode toward the lobby. Along the way they dodged Faraway Inn employees who were busy hauling decorated Christmas trees down the hall toward the restaurant.
“There is some serious Christmas spirit in this place. That’s a lot of trees.” He stopped in front of one covered with ski-related ornaments and sparkly snowflakes. “This one is really cool.”
“Thank you. I did it. Well, mostly Janie and Adele did it with my moral support. I’m not very crafty. But, it was donated by Snowy Sky.”
“There are no snowboards on it, though.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and craned his neck around the tree as if searching for some.
She grinned, finding herself taken in by his teasing good humor. “Huh, that is weird,” she answered, pretending to look puzzled. “I was sure that we put a whole bunch of snowboards all over it.”
“Mmm...” He faked his own perplexed scowl and she was utterly captivated, and a little grateful that he didn’t act like this all the time. Who would have guessed the man could be so charming? The last thing she needed was a crush on the ski-resort consultant.
“It’s for a fund-raising event.”
“Oh, right.” He eyed the trees speculatively. “The Tree something or other.”
Hannah was a little surprised that he knew about it, although there was advertising for it all over town. “Festival of Trees, and yes, actually that’s what my meeting is about right now. I’m on the committee.”
Slipping his hands into his back pockets, he exhaled loudly. “Okay. You probably need to get to that. So, what I wanted to ask you is... I was just talking to Cricket Blackburn? About your heli-skiing operation?”
“Mmm-hmm, I know Cricket,” Hannah said with her own teasing grin.
He let out a chuckle. “Of course you do... And you’ve been out heli-skiing with him, right?”
“Yes, of course, many times. We’re partners, remember?”
He brushed a hand through his hair. “Of course you have... Um...”
Why was he acting so weird? It was almost as if he was nervous.
“I think we covered this already. It’s an absolute blast,” she added, trying to move the conversation along.
“I figured I’d take my board and go with him to check it out. And I wanted to see if you—”
Uh-oh. She could see where this was going. She interrupted, “No, thank you, Tate. I appreciate the offer, but that won’t be necessary.”
He looked confused. “What’s not necessary?”
“JB Heli-Ski is a separate entity from Snowy Sky. We haven’t requested your input or recommendations where it’s concerned. Your consulting fee doesn’t cover anything related to it.”
A surprised laugh burst from his lips as he said, “Oh, I know that. I was just... Okay.” He added a nod.
She smiled, glad that he was taking this so well. “Good, because I realize you’re just doing the job you were hired to do here and I respect that. I am cooperating and assisting in every way I can. But I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t hire you. The board of directors voted on it because Park Lowell insisted...” She trailed off with a shake of her head. He didn’t need to hear how she felt about Park.
“But that doesn’t matter. You’re here and I’m fine with that. Let’s just stick to your original mission at Snowy Sky, though, okay? And leave JB as it is?”
He nodded. “Sure, okay. But I was actually going to...”
His eyes seemed to search her face and she felt a fresh wave of attraction. There was a vulnerability beneath his tough exterior that she found incredibly appealing.
She said, “You were going to...? I’m sorry to hurry you along, but I do need to get to my meeting.”
“Sure thing. I’ll let you get going.” He grinned. “You’re a tough one—you know that?”
She was relieved that he didn’t seem offended. It wasn’t personal. He genuinely seemed like a good guy and under different circumstances she could see herself really liking him. She did like him, actually, and she could imagine... But these were not those different circumstances and it was pointless to spend time “imagining” anything at all.
“Thank you, I think. Because although I’m not sure what you’re referring to specifically, I certainly don’t mind being called tough.” She smiled and added a wink before hurrying back into the dining room.
* * *
TATE WATCHED HER walk away, his head spinning from that parting look. She’d graced him with that gorgeous smile, which was bad enough, but when she’d winked he’d felt this sensation somewhere deep in his chest.
He’d never met anyone like her. He didn’t think he’d ever met anyone who was so full of life. At first he’d had his doubts, wondered what kind of person jumped off a ski lift into the snow because it was fun. Then there was the sledding incident. She could have injured herself then, too. But her only concern had been whether he was okay. That, and her torn pants. Which she’d also handled with a perfect mix of humor and grace.
And watching her with those preschoolers had done something to him. He wanted to spend some time with her, wanted to talk to her about Lucas. He’d like to introduce her to Lucas.
Lucas.
It was probably for the best, he told himself, that she had shut him down without her even realizing he was about to ask her out.
Heli-skiing had seemed like a good bet for a first date. Regret surfaced even as he reminded himself that he didn’t have time to get involved with someone. His focus needed to be on Lucas and creating the best home and family environment that he possibly could, which included his plans for Snowy Sky. Something told him that spending time with Hannah would definitely lead to involvement.
Cricket walked up to join him. “How did that go?”
Tate shrugged. “Condensed version?”
“Sure.”
“She didn’t get it that I was trying to ask her out and then I very smoothly told her she was, uh...tough.”
“Swept her right off her feet, huh?”
“Something like that.” Tate chuckled wryly and shook his head in defeat.
“What did she say?”
“She thought I was trying to offer my consulting services to JB Heli-Ski. And then she very nicely told me to mind my own business.”
“That’s our Hannah.” Cricket laughed for a few long seconds. He wrapped an arm around Tate’s shoulder. “You know what? I like you, Addison. And because of that I’m going to let you in on a fact that is well-known here in Rankins. Save you some trouble, or at the very least some precious time figuring it out on your own.”
“By all means.”
“These James girls are tough, and Hannah in particular is incredibly tough and competent and brave. It’s something you might not want to forget.”
Tate liked that sentiment—a woman who was strong and courageous and confident in herself, although in light of what he would be bringing to the board in a few days, he wondered if those traits should also make him nervous.
