Читать книгу Holiday Magic - Fern Michaels - Страница 13

Stephanie was momentarily stunned when she saw Amanda and Ashley seated behind the counter. “Thank goodness you’re both okay! What happened? Where, who?” Stephanie cried out. She glanced around her, only to discover Patrick, along with several Maximum Glide employees, grinning from ear to ear. Apparently the two mischief makers had a story to tell.

Overwhelmed by the sheer relief of seeing her daughters safe and sound, Stephanie forced her way behind the counter. Not caring that she was being watched by several dozen strangers, she wrapped an arm around each of her daughters. Tears of relief streamed down her face, and her heart sang with delight as she breathed in the scent she knew and loved so well. The sweet smell of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo clung to their long, dark hair. Stephanie gloried in the moment as she recalled her vision of her daughters being alive and well. It had happened exactly as she knew it would. She would leave it at that. After all, it was Christmas, and she still believed in miracles.

Candy Lee handed her a wad of tissues along with a piping-hot mug of cocoa. “You’re gonna need this,” she said.

Stephanie wiped the tears from her eyes, then took a sip of her drink. “Okay, now I think it’s time I heard exactly what happened out on that mountain today.”

“Patrick saved us, Mommy! He really did, then he cried,” Amanda said. “Right, Ashley?”

Those were the last words Stephanie expected to hear. She caught Patrick’s gaze across the group that had gathered around the girls. He smiled. Sort of. Joy bubbled up inside her like an overflowing fountain. She smiled back.

“I don’t think he was crying. I think it was just the cold air,” Ashley stated matter-of-factly in the way that only a ten-year-old can.

Patrick edged through the crowd, stopping when he reached the girls. “Why don’t you tell your mother what happened out on that mountain today. I think she’ll be very proud of you two,” he added. “And it might help to keep you both out of trouble,” he went on, grinning from ear to ear.

Amanda spoke up, “Are we in trouble? I sure hope not ’cause I still want to go to that tree-lighting thing. We can still go, right, Mommy?”

Using a firm-yet-gentle tone, Stephanie explained, “A lot of people were worried about you two today. Right now, I want to know what happened, then we will think about the Christmas tree lighting.”

Ashley started to speak, then hesitated as the crowd gathered closer. Suddenly, she seemed bashful, almost as though she were afraid.

Patrick observed her hesitancy. In a boisterous voice, he spoke directly to the group. “I think Ashley feels a bit overwhelmed. If you’re not here to shop, why don’t we give the little lady a few minutes with her mother. As most of you know, these children have been through quite an ordeal.” Patrick paused as he waited for the crowd to disperse. At least two dozen people left the shop, but not before wishing the girls good luck and congratulating them on a job well-done. The remaining few were Maximum Glide employees. Patrick turned to Stephanie. “If you don’t mind, a few of my employees would like to stay and hear the rest of the story since they were part of the search party.”

Stephanie looked at Ashley. “Only if you’re okay with this?” If she didn’t find out soon what her daughters had been involved in, she would take them to her office, where they could have a few moments of privacy.

“I’m okay with it, Mom,” Ashley replied.

“Then spill the beans because I don’t think I can wait another minute. I’ve been beside myself with worry the past hour,” Stephanie said, in hopes that this would hurry along what was becoming quite a lengthy process.

“We were waiting for Melanie at the sign, but then me and Amanda heard this really loud crying sound. It was by that building where they keep those giant machines that smooth out the snow.” Ashley smiled. “Then we just followed the crying. It was inside the building, so we weren’t really cold, but Amanda had to use the potty in the corner.”

“And there wasn’t anyplace to wash my hands either, so I just…didn’t,” Amanda offered.

Laughter pealed from the employees as they listened.

“Go on,” Stephanie encouraged.

“We heard where the crying noise came from.” Ashley looked at Patrick. “She’s gonna be okay, right?”

“Thanks to you and your sister she is,” Patrick said. “Now don’t keep your mom waiting any longer.”

“Once we were inside the building, we just followed the cries. And that’s when we found the mommy dog. She was so sad, her eyes had that look you know? So we just waited for her to stop crying, but then I saw a little baby puppy, and there was another one that was trying to…get out of the mommy’s belly. That’s why she was crying ’cause it was hurting her so bad. Amanda covered the baby pup up with her ski jacket.”

“And I rubbed her head, too,” Amanda informed them.

Ashley laughed at her little sister. “And the puppy was fine. But the mommy was still crying, and that’s when I helped her out, sort of.”

Stephanie wasn’t sure what was coming next, but something told her it was about to make her day.

“I watched those little tiger cubs on Animal Planet. That man helped take the cubs out with his hands, so I just did what he did, and another puppy came out, and the mommy stopped crying. She licked the puppy, and we gave her our granola bars. Amanda and me melted some snow and gave it to her to drink. So once the mommy had both of her pups, she just licked ’em, then she fed ’em. We put our jackets on them, so they wouldn’t freeze. I wanted to leave to find Melanie so she could help us with the dogs, but when I peeked out of the shed, I didn’t see her anywhere. The snow was really pouring out of the sky by then. And I remembered what I learned in my survival class. They taught us to stay where there was shelter, and, well, that’s what we did.” Ashley told the story as if it were something a ten and seven-year-old did every day.

The employees applauded loudly, some calling out to Ashley “Way to go!” “You’re a hero!” “You can ski with me anytime!”

Ashley appeared surprised by all the attention, so she just smiled as some of the employees stopped to give her a hug before they left. Stephanie watched in amazement as her daughter accepted their thanks in stride as though this were a normal, everyday event. Stephanie wasn’t sure exactly what to think right then. How was it possible that her ten-year-old daughter had delivered a puppy? And not only that, she remembered what to do in an emergency situation while in a snowstorm. Tears pooled once again. She was extremely proud of both girls for using their heads in this situation when most children their age wouldn’t have had a clue as to what to do. And where and how did Patrick fit into the picture?

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of you both. I’m sure the dog was grateful you two showed up when you did, but that still doesn’t get either of you off the hook for not waiting for Melanie. She was worried about you, and so was I. You both know how I feel about knowing where you are at all times, right?”

The girls nodded in unison.

“But what about helping others? Didn’t you tell us that’s what good, decent people do?” Ashley asked, a puzzled look on her face.

Oh boy. Stephanie didn’t think now was the time to get into the moral of this lesson. She would wait until they were home, where they could discuss this in private. For the moment, she was simply relieved that they were alive and didn’t seem to be fazed in the least by their experience.

Stephanie needed to know Patrick’s role in finding her daughters. Since it didn’t appear as though he wanted to tell his side of the story, she turned to face him. For a second, she was flustered. He was so sexy, with his windblown raven black hair just a shade too long. And those blue eyes. Well she knew she could drown in them if given the opportunity, but it wasn’t the time. “How did you find the girls? And before you say anything, let me say thank you.”

Patrick chuckled. “It was by sheer luck, trust me. When Candy Lee called me and told me they were missing, and with the storm worsening by the minute, I didn’t want to take a chance on using the snow-mobiles. I took the lift up to the garage, where we store the Snow Cats. I found them there caring for the dogs. I loaded the pups and the girls into the cab, and brought them here before dropping the dogs off with a friend of mine who’s a veterinarian. I stopped back by to make sure you’d found them. End of story.”

“I can’t thank you enough. I was beside myself with worry,” Stephanie said, then stopped. “I know you don’t have children, so you probably haven’t a clue what it feels like knowing you might not see them again, so thanks, Patrick. You can’t imagine how much this means to me.”

“As long as you don’t get any funny ideas about the future,” he said.

Shock at his remark yielded quickly to anger. Not caring that he was her boss, and not caring that he was the man who’d just saved her daughters from being stuck out in a blizzard, Stephanie found she was practically breathless with rage. How dare he? And in front of her daughters, Candy Lee, and Melanie! She swallowed the vile words she wanted to sling at him before she made a fool of herself. Taking a breath, as much as she was able to, Stephanie spoke, letting her eyes convey the outrage and fury she felt. “Mr. O’Brien, trust me, any ‘funny ideas’ I may have had about you have been completely erased from my memory. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take my girls home so they can change their clothes, then we’re going to the Christmas tree lighting.” She walked to the front of the store, where she flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED.

“You can’t do that! We’ve got two more hours before it’s time to close up shop. In spite of what you may think, there are people still out there who might want to visit the shop before they call it a day. You can’t just leave. There is money to be made, and I expect you to stay here and do your job. Or else,” he added.

Knowing Patrick had about as much tact as a rattlesnake didn’t excuse his smart-ass comments, and for once in her life, Stephanie refused to allow a man to browbeat her into submitting to his demands. Without giving it another thought, she shot back, “Or else what?”

She knew her remark caught him off guard just by looking at him. His nostrils flared like those of an angry stallion. She was familiar with Patrick’s reputation as a tough and demanding boss, but that didn’t prepare her for the words that spewed from his mouth.

He rubbed the dark stubble on his chin and lowered his voice. Standing as close to her as possible, he said, “Or else this. How about you take the next four weeks off work. Spend some quality time with your children.”

Stephanie felt the blood rush to her head, settling in her temples only to pound like a jackhammer.

Before she even had a chance to respond, Patrick leaned next to her, and whispered in her ear, “Without pay.”