Читать книгу The Mills & Boon Ultimate Christmas Collection - Мишель Смарт, Kate Hardy - Страница 23

Chapter Ten

With two short weeks until the party, the lodge facelift was at full speed ahead. Kai and I had spent the better part of the day setting up the sound system in the ballroom, before working around the electricians who were fiddling with wires after the downlights had shorted, then blinked before going dead. In the end I gave up. “Kai, we’re in their way, let’s leave them to it?”

He nodded, and gave the guys a wave, before following me outside. “Let’s head up the mountain,” he said.

My eyebrows shot up. “We’ve lugged boxes all morning, and untangled five million cables, and you want to trudge up a huge mountain? You’re crazy.”

“I won’t have much longer to do it. Come on, humor me,” Kai said.

“OK,” I said reluctantly. Despite my protests, a bit of space from the lodge was just what we both needed. We’d been working since sun up and hadn’t stopped for lunch or an afternoon coffee break. “Where do you come from, Kai? Which part of Australia?” It struck me I could now walk and talk simultaneously up the mountain without my lungs burning.

He jogged up ahead, then spun to face me. “I’m from Bondi, a beachside city, which is always full of tourists. The faces always change with the seasons, but I’m betting that doesn’t happen here.”

“Why’d you leave?” My calf muscles began to protest as the climb steepened.

With hands on hips, he considered the question. “The coastline is beautiful, and Australian beaches are the best. Bright white sand, and the whole surf culture… But it wasn’t enough. I figured I’d pack up and see a bit of the world. Maybe I’d stumble on something that made sense to me. I’ve always felt like there was something more for me than surfing all morning and fixing up other people’s homes in the afternoon.”

“Have you found that mysterious something?”

He laughed. “I’m still searching.”

“And what do you think it is? Money? Waves? Lifestyle?”

He took an age to answer but finally said, “I think it’s a feeling.”

“A feeling?” I mused about what he could mean, ready to tease him, but then I realized we were both similar really…

I went to prod for details when something stopped me. Something was amiss, and it took me a good minute to comprehend it was the smell of smoke in the air. My heart stopped as I turned to face Cedarwood. Plumes of thick black smoke rose from the roof into the lilac sky. “Oh my God, Kai! It’s on fire!”

I skidded forward to get a better look, but from our vantage point we couldn’t see the front of the lodge, or whether everyone was out of harm’s way. My heart raced and my breath grew short as fear seized me. This was my place. My life. Everything I had, all of my dreams were tied to the lodge and… I froze. Micah. Isla. The team.

“Quick…” Kai grabbed my clammy hand to steady me as my body turned liquid, seemingly unable to hold me up. “We have to get down there. We have to make sure everyone is OK.”

“Yes!” I had to calm myself and get down there fast.

Running and skidding down the mountain, brambles ripped at my jacket and scratched my skin. But I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t stop until I knew Micah was OK. I couldn’t lose him. He was like my brother. He knew me inside and out. I couldn’t face this world without him and for some reason I had this overwhelming sense he was the person in danger. He’d protect Isla, I knew he would.

The descent was interminable, as my heart thundered in my chest. Cedarwood seemed to glow bright in the sky and, watching the dancing flames, my mind went to Isla and my blood ran cold. She’d be reliving her worst nightmare. I had to get to her. We tumbled to the bottom, muddy and red-faced, the acrid stench of the fire growing stronger as we neared the lodge. Kai was just ahead of me and I motioned for him to go on. The closer I got to the lodge the more my fear choked me.

Breathless, I finally came to the front of the lodge, where a few men stood, eyes wide with shock watching orange flames lick the roof. “Where’s Micah? And Isla?” I asked, my voice sharp and shrill with panic as I looked around, desperate for any sign of them. Kai ran around the side of the lodge calling up to see if anyone was inside.

Then, through the smoke, I saw them sitting on the grass out of harm’s way. I scrambled over, my eyes stinging.

Micah was wrapped in a blanket, his face black with soot. Isla had a protective arm around him, her features lined with worry. Breathless, fearful, and about to sob, I fell at their feet. “Micah! Micah, oh my God, are you OK?” All I wanted to do was hug him, know he was safe, sure that no matter what happened to Cedarwood I would still have Micah. And beautiful Isla with her scared eyes, and ravaged heart.

He nodded and clutched my hands, giving me a reassuring smile. “I’m fine.” Despite his assurance his hands shook and I held on tighter.

“Isla…” I turned to her, aware of how much this fire would have affected her.

She shook her head, as if to say don’t mention it, so I stayed mute, while I tried to discreetly check Micah for any injuries. Was he burned? His hair was now cropped close to his head in messy tufts, but aside from that and black soot coating his skin, I couldn’t see anything else.

A wail of sirens rang out. Fire engines careened into the driveway, followed closely by an ambulance. “Did you inhale much smoke, Micah?” While I was concerned about the lodge, seeing Micah’s charred hair and blackened face scared me silly and all I could think of was his safety and that of everyone here.

“A little, but I got out quick. I’m really OK, Clio, but I’ve got some bad news.”

“Shush, Micah. Let’s worry about all of that later.” I knew he meant the lodge, and the fact we’d have to start over, but right then all I cared about was them.

I turned to Isla again, unable to shake the feeling she was reliving a past nightmare all over again. “Are you really OK?”

She nodded, biting her lip against the tears that threatened to flow. “I’m fine. Everyone is. I couldn’t find him, and I wanted to go in, but I… something stopped me, and it was like my feet were made of lead.”

I wrapped my arms around her and whispered. “He got out. He’s OK.”

She swatted at her face with the back of her hand and nodded.

“Can you help him to the ambulance?” She needed to feel like she was helping, that she was there for him, or so I figured. I silently thanked the universe she hadn’t raced into the lodge after him. Who knew what might have happened?

Her face pale with worry, she led him to the paramedic who was busy pulling supplies from the ambulance.

The paramedic sat Micah down and asked quick-fire questions, assessing him and dabbing on ointment, fixing on an oxygen mask. Firefighters lined up before running into Cedarwood, hoses clasped tight.

“Don’t worry.” Kai appeared, slightly breathless, at my side. “We’ll fix it.” I didn’t know if he meant the lodge, my stuttering heart, or what.

I shivered, chilled to the bone despite the crackle and heat of the fire the firemen were frantically hosing down, bringing it slowly under control. Would it all go up? My dreams, gone in one big puff of smoke? Kai inched over and wrapped an arm around me. “You’re shaking.”

“Do they know where it started? How?”

“The ballroom,” Kai said.

The ballroom! I sniffled, trying desperately to hide the shock clawing at me. “Is everyone else accounted for?”

Kai nodded. “Everyone’s fine. Joe the carpenter was the only other person inside when it happened. We think it was the same downlights that shorted out before; they were set too close to the insulation. And when the electrician fixed the wiring, the heat from the lights set fire to the padding. We’ll have to check once it’s out. But Micah saved the room, pretty much, Clio. He got up there fast with a fire extinguisher and managed to put most of it out. Without his quick actions the whole place would have gone up. Joe got out, but when Micah didn’t follow he went back in, and found him. He’d been overcome with smoke by then.”

“He could have died in there.” I shuddered at the thought. Micah would have been thinking only of me and Cedarwood, of the hopes I’d pinned on the place, and not his own life.

How close to disaster we’d come.

A fireman walked over and removed his mask. “It looks worse than it is,” he said. “The room has sustained a lot of damage, and the floor above it, but it’s mostly cosmetic. Close call, but your friend managed to keep it at bay.”

I tried to respond but my voice caught. I tried to compose myself to speak. “Thank…” I swallowed hard as the actualization hit me anew. In the end I gave up and let the tears flow.

The fireman patted my shoulder and said to Kai, “It’s shock. Better if you get Clio out of here for the night. Tell everyone to stay away. We’ll keep a few guys here just in case. The paramedic is taking Micah and Joe to hospital for observation.”

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll tell everyone to pack up and head home. Thanks for all of your help.” The fireman nodded and went back to his team. Kai pulled me close, and I rested my head against his chest. The steady thrum of his heart was a comfort as I tried to think rationally.

Kai lifted a finger to my chin. “Are you going to be OK if I go chat with everyone? I’ll only be a second.”

I wiped at my face. “I should speak to them. I can…”

“Hey,” he said. “You’re upset. And rightly so. It’s a big shock and no one is going to hold it against you if you sit for a while. I’ll be right back.”

Isla darted a glance to the firefighters before jogging to me. “I’m going to go with Micah. Just so he’s got someone with him. OK? I’ll report back as soon as we know anything. Will you be all right?”

“I’m totally fine. He’d love that. And please, call me as soon as they check him over.” Micah was in good hands; he didn’t need me hovering over him, wringing my hands and pacing. Still, it was hard to switch the worry off.

Isla gave me a quick hug and ran back to the ambulance, hoisting herself inside before they shut the double doors.

The tradespeople gathered their tools and gave me somber waves as they headed for their vehicles. I sucked in a breath of air, trying to steady my heartbeat. We’d been lucky, so very lucky. Thankfully Micah had installed fire extinguishers into every single room before anyone so much as picked up a hammer. And he was OK, wasn’t he? He’d be OK. Sobs started anew as I imagined a very different scenario, a world without my friend. And I vowed we’d do another safety check before any work recommenced at Cedarwood.

Kai was staying in a motel the next town over, in a basic room with a tiny kitchenette and small bathroom. There was a double bed, a sofa, and an old box TV on a buffet. I was tucked up on his sofa, phone resting on the arm, waiting for any news about Micah.

“Thanks for the coffee,” I said. “I should probably go. I don’t want to intrude any more than I have.”

Just then my phone buzzed, and I answered without looking at the display. “Isla?”

“Clio! Oh, thank God, are you OK?” My mom’s desperate voice screeched down the line.

“I’m good, Mom. You heard about the fire I take it?” My voice came out limp. I couldn’t fake it with her today.

“Yes, why didn’t you call? Are you sure you’re OK?”

Kai motioned to the door, as if he understood the need to speak privately. I nodded thanks. “I was going to head over to you. I’m with Kai… I’m fine, Mom. I wasn’t close when it broke out. But Micah was. He’s in hospital under observation and so is one of the carpenters. We’re worried about the amount of smoke inhalation at this stage.”

“Poor Micah. I bet he was the hero, wasn’t he?” Her voice was soft with pride. Mom had always liked him. The Micah effect – everyone did.

“If it wasn’t for him there’d be no more Cedarwood. I owe him everything. But still, I wish he hadn’t put himself in harm’s way. I’d choose him over property any day of the week.”

“That place, Clio…”

“What?”

“I think you should sell it. Get out, get away before something truly terrible happens.”

I sighed. “It was an accident, Mom. There’s bound to be accidents, no matter how much we try and prevent them. This was a one-off, an electrical issue that will be investigated to make sure it doesn’t happen again. To advise me to sell seems a bit dramatic. Why do you hate the lodge so much, anyway?” Again, I had that overwhelming feeling it was about more than the bricks and mortar of the place, and right then I was tired of pussyfooting around her.

“I just don’t like the idea of you in that big, old lodge alone.”

“I won’t be alone. Eventually I’ll have guests staying in the rooms. You could always sell your cottage and live with me. There’s plenty of room, you know.”

She gasped as if that idea was preposterous. “That place is hexed, I’m telling you right now.”

“What, Mom? What do you mean it’s hexed?”

“Nothing. I didn’t mean to say… that.”

She was speaking Mom riddles again. “Can we stop sidestepping the real reason for once? Do you have some connection with the lodge I don’t know about?” My mind reeled through possible reasons. The previous owners? “Did you know the woman who lived there? The one whose husband abandoned her and the business?”

There was a pause. My pulse sped up. Was Mom connected to the former owners? If so, why hadn’t anyone breathed a word of it to me? Evergreen was a small town. Surely something would have got back to me after all these years, unless… it was something they all wanted to forget.

“No,” she said, her voice tight. “If you’re coming to stay here for the night, I’ll leave the key out. I have to go to bed…”

“Actually, I think I’d better stay where I am and wait for news. I don’t want to disturb you.” In actual fact, I couldn’t be bothered with Mom and her delicate moods. And I knew she was hiding something and I’d probably push her to breaking point trying to find out what it was.

“Pass on my love to Micah.”

Did I imagine it, or was she rushing me off the phone, grateful for the reprieve?

“Bye, Mom.”

I turned to Kai, who’d reappeared, frowning.

“Problem?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Nothing serious.” It was too soon to confide my suspicions to anyone. Besides, I couldn’t exactly explain it when I had no real information. “I think we should go visit Micah at the hospital. Isla hasn’t called and I’m worried.”

“Let’s go.” Nothing ruffled Kai. Maybe it was the Australian side of his nature – he was a laid-back, roll-with-the-punches kind of guy. I liked that he was still in control, but moved through life in a fluid, easy-going way.

At the hospital we found the nursing station and asked about Micah and Joe. With a smile, the young nurse pointed us to a room further along the corridor with assurances that Joe had been discharged and was totally fine, and that Micah was being observed overnight and would likely be discharged first thing in the morning. Relief flooded me, and I pulled Kai forward, counting room numbers.

We came to a single room, with the sound of a TV blaring some cops and robbers show. I was about to knock when I saw them and wrenched my hand back. Isla was on the small bed next to Micah, running the pad of her finger along his jawline, before kissing him softly on the lips and then murmuring quietly to him as he closed his eyes.

I nudged Kai, who stood behind me, and moved out of sight. Kai grinned, lacing his hand through mine to pull me away. Once we were out of earshot Kai said, “I think Micah is totally fine. And in good hands.” He waggled his eyebrows just like Micah would do. My heart just about exploded with so many feelings – relief, awe, happiness… and hope that my two friends had opened their hearts to one another.

“Let’s get out of here,” I whispered, wanting to dance down the hushed, antiseptic-scented corridor. Micah deserved to tumble into love with someone gorgeous, bubbly and free-spirited like Isla.

“The night is young. Should we get a bottle of wine and head to the lake at Cedarwood?”

I gasped. “The lake? Are you crazy? It’ll be freezing!”

He shrugged. “We’ll take a couple of blankets. When’s the last time you switched off your phone, lay on your back and counted stars?”

“Counted stars?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Soak up some of the moonlight – it’s good for the soul, like midnight yoga… but I’ll let you off that activity for tonight.”

The autumnal sky was pitch-black, and there was a bite to the air. “OK, why not? But it’ll be even colder by the lake, just so you know, you with your sensitive Australian skin.”

“I can handle it,” he laughed. “The view will be worth it.”

I shook my head, bemused to be getting myself into such a situation. Even though we’d been told to stay away from Cedarwood, I felt like a worried parent, and I’d be glad to see the lodge for myself from a distance and make sure it was OK. I’m sure, deep down, Kai sensed that and had made up the counting stars idea to make me feel like I wasn’t some needy parent, returning to the nest, when in fact I was.

We gathered wine and glasses from Kai’s motel, pulled blankets from the bed, and drove back to Cedarwood, winding down the driveway past the lodge. It looked gloomy in its abandoned state, with the smell of smoke and sadness still heavy in the air. A part of me wanted to go inside and investigate, but we weren’t cleared as yet to enter. The thought of the lodge sitting empty for a night hurt right down to my soul. Sentimental or not, it was part of me now.

“We were lucky today,” Kai said, as if guessing my mood as he drove past the lodge and toward the lake.

“Damn lucky.” No matter what happened once we investigated tomorrow, if our plans ground to a halt, I’d for ever be grateful that Micah, Isla and Joe were safe.

“Once we have the report from the firefighters, we’ll gear up to get the ballroom back into shape as quickly as we can. We can do it,” Kai said, his voice resolute. “We’ll just have to get everyone to help.”

I searched his face. “You think so?”

He nodded, parked the truck under a copse of white cedar trees, and killed the engine. “I know so. It’s important not only for your future but for morale. Everyone has worked so hard, and they want to see it finished. I didn’t tell you before, but I’ve had calls from the previous laborers, and they’ve offered to come back if we need them.”

Those weary tradespeople who’d left Cedarwood with tired faces after such long, hard days? “They’d come back and start over?”

“You treated everyone like they were part of the family, and they want to see this place done. Of course they will.”

Something fluttered inside me, hope maybe. “Wow, OK.” I shook away the worry and angst from the day, their compassion giving me a boost. “We can do it! No matter what we find tomorrow, there will be a solution so Imelda and Edgar can still have their party here.” I was used to solving crises, right? That’s what I was paid to do. Make it work, no matter what!

“That’s the spirit!” He grinned, and my heart beat staccato. Kai was one of the good ones.

We laid our rug by the lake, the wind icy as it blew toward us. “We’re going to catch our death here.” I laughed and fell back, gazing up at the star-filled sky. The moon was a fuzzy yellow orb, illuminating the ripples on the water like diamonds.

“Do you think they’ll end up together?” he asked.

“Isla and Micah… I don’t know. He was with Veronica – Ronnie, we called her – for most of our teens, right up until a couple of years ago. I thought I’d come back to Evergreen and they’d be living the American dream. But she left, and it tore him up pretty bad. When I think of love, I always picture those two, the way they finished each other’s sentences, cast these long looks that conveyed some private meaning, and sensed each other’s needs on some deep level. He’s adamant he doesn’t want anything serious, but Isla is pretty damn amazing, and I think, despite being younger than him, she’s mature and sensitive in a way that suits him.” It still hurt the edge of my heart thinking that Ronnie had waltzed out of Micah’s life in such a blasé fashion, so coldly, leaving such damage in her wake. Though I was one to talk. I’d left my best friend too and hadn’t made a quarter as much effort at keeping in touch as I should have. Life had just got so busy…

“Some relationships are a warm-up for the real thing. Maybe the first one was just practice.”

I turned to face him. “Do you really believe that?”

With his hands clasped across his belly, he said, “It makes sense, right? Do you think you’re only allowed or allotted one love your entire life?”

“If I say yes does that make me seem naïve?” I plowed on. “I guess I thought you’d recognize true love when you saw it. Like the world would flip over, colors would brighten, it would be like having your favorite song on repeat.” Oh God, had I really just said that to him?

But deep and meaningful Kai didn’t laugh. Instead, he contemplated it before saying, “Maybe. Have you been in love before?”

I sighed. “You know that guy we saw in town? Timothy?” He nodded. “We were high-school sweethearts, I suppose a much more subdued version of Micah and Ronnie. But looking back I think it was puppy love. In New York I had lots of first dates, but work was hectic and I couldn’t or wouldn’t commit to men who counted three months as a long-term relationship. What about you?”

He pushed his hands under his head. “There was a girl back home. But when it came down to it, there wasn’t enough between us for it to go anywhere. I felt a little like a cardboard cutout, going through the motions as if it was expected of me. Meet a girl, move in together, and eventually propose. But it never felt quite right. I left Australia, with no hard feelings between us, searching for something else. I don’t know whether it’s love or a different life, or something spiritual I want. All I know is that, if I’d stayed, suddenly I’d be sixty and looking back wondering why I felt so empty. I want more, as selfish as it sounds. Or if not more, something truer.”

“Do you think the tiny town of Evergreen is the answer?”

He faced me, moonlight reflected in his eyes. “Could be. I have an affinity for this place. Like I belong. Maybe it’s being so close to nature. I’ve always been happier in the wild than out with a bunch of people. Weird, huh?” He took a sip of wine and cupped his glass by his side.

“Not weird. Evergreen is the kind of place you can get lost in if you want. You’ve climbed the mountains, you know how easy it is to find solitude here.”

“Until Cedarwood Lodge is alive and kicking.”

“From your mouth to the universe’s ears.” I laughed.

A shooting star flashed across the sky leaving a phosphorous trail.

I made a wish. That Kai would find what he was searching for, and that he’d find it close to Evergreen.