Then a stair creaked and they both turned to catch Maddie in the act of trying to turn around and go back up the stairs. The moment was more than a little awkward, and Nola broke the tension by walking over to the dining room door so she could reach in and flip the light switch off. Maddie continued her descent, her face slightly flushed.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Nola said in a voice that sounded falsely cheerful, even to her own ears. “Have a fun ride.”
“Goodnight,” Ian and Maddie said at the same time.
At the door, she pulled her boots out of the pile on the mat and shoved her feet into them before grabbing her coat. It was going to be freezing in her car, but maybe the cold would do her good. Like a cold shower—driving back the aching need for the kiss that didn’t happen and the embarrassment of all three of them knowing what had been interrupted—but without getting her hair wet.
She started to open the door, but turned back just in time to see Maddie give her father an apologetic wince and mouth the word, “sorry”.
Tomorrow,Nola thought as she stepped out into the frigid air. She was kissing that man tomorrow, one way or another. Maybe she wouldn’t get that full bite of cake and she’d be sorry later, but she was sure as hell going to at least lick the frosting.
Five
Friday, the 18thof December
Ianand the kids were back at the lodge by late afternoon the following day. After yesterday’s long ride, they’d had a lazy morning. Then they took their time exploring the network of smaller trails around Whitford rather than heading out on one of the main corridors.
Even though he’d gone through all the machines before the trip, Ian decided to use the downtime to look them over again. Especially Jacob’s. The connection for the heating element that kept his face shield from fogging up seemed to be loose, and he wanted to figure out if it was the helmet’s cord or the port where it plugged into the sled.
“Andy said we could use the barn,” he told Jacob. “Pull yours in there, and checking that plug-in will give us something to do until dinner.”
“Or at least until the town hall closes and Nola shows up.”
Ian gave him adon’t test melook, but it wasn’t any more effective now than it had been when Jacob was little.
“Just pull it into the barn, smartass.”
It only took them a few minutes to figure out it was the cord, and Ian had a spare for each of their helmets in the truck. It was warm in the barn, though, and they had nothing else going on, so Jacob sat sideways on the seat of his sled and Ian pulled up a short stool. They talked for a while about how the gap year was going. Jacob was working hard and saving money so he wouldn’t have to work as many hours while attending trade school, which Ian admired him for. Jacob knew his parents were a safety net, but he was doing his best not to need one.
They were gossiping about the college adventures of some of Jacob’s friends when Ian heard a vehicle pulling up the drive. He turned toward the sound, even though there were no windows on the driveway side of the barn, so there was no way of seeing who it was.
He knew, though. Even without pulling his phone out of his pocket to look at the screen’s clock, some part of his subconscious mind had been tracking the time and he knew it washercar rolling to a stop in the parking area. Her car door closing with a solid thump. And while he could barely hear them, he knew those were her footsteps crunching in the crusty packed snow as she headed toward the kitchen door.
“I guess you get points for not actually running to the door to see her,” Jacob said, amusement thick in his voice.
“I like her.” The confession fell out of Ian’s mouth before his brain’s filter could engage and catch the words before he said them.
“We can tell.” Ian turned, expecting to see a knowing expression packed with innuendo on his son’s face, and braced for the gloating. But Jacob was simply looking at him, his eyes thoughtful. “What’s stopping you, Dad?”
It all seemed so obvious to Ian. “Well, for one thing, I’m here to celebrate Christmas with my children.”
“I hate to have to keep breaking this to you, but we’re adults now.” He held up his hand. “Except when it comes to paying the bill at restaurants. Then we’re totally just the kids.”
“It’s because you’re adults now that we’re here. Everybody’s so busy, this was the only way we could really spend time together. So spending time with you and your sister is exactly what I intend to do.”
“It’s not like you have to hover over us. We’re getting a chance to hang out with each other, too, which is cool.”
“There’s also the little issue of the fact I’m leaving in a few days.”
“So?”
Ian sighed. “So I don’t think it’s fair to either of us to end up in a situation where we like each other evenmore, and then I’m gone.”
“Maybe she’d move to Connecticut. I mean, this place is really awesome for a vacation, but it has to be boring as hell to live here.”
“One, you don’t move to a new state for a person you’ve socialized with for a few hours.” But it didn’t feel like that to him. It hadn’t been like meeting somebody and making small talk for a while. The connection he’d felt the first time he’d spoken to Nola had knocked him on his ass, emotionally speaking. “And two, I don’t think Nola would want to move away from Whitford. She loves it here, believe it or not.”
Jacob’s phone dinged, and he looked at the screen. “Maddie wants to know if we’re coming inside.”
