Page 1 of The Christmas Accomplice

Chapter 1

Everywhere Welton looked, he saw snow. Miles and miles and miles of snow. As the lodge shuttle growled along the winding mountain blacktop road—much too close to the drop-off for Welton’s peace of mind—he couldn’t help but be dazzled by the sparkling, shimmering muchness of snow. It had gathered in branch-bending heaps on the boughs of pine trees, and been plowed into dirty but somehow still beautiful mounds along the shoulder of the road. The seemingly endless white stood out against the brilliant blue of the cloudless sky, leaving him breathlessly impressed. Well, the view and the altitude, most likely. Whatever the reason, the view outside the shuttle’s window made a spot in the center of his chest ache with longing.

Just a week before Christmas, and he was about to arrive at the Snowcapped Mountain Lodge and Resort. On his own. He would be spending Christmas alone, but that was fine. He’d done that for years now, even when he was with Dean. This time, however, instead of holing up in his apartment like a hermit, he was going to spend the holidays at a mountain resort. For seven days, he’d rest and relax and enjoy all the activities the lodge had to offer.

Or, he was going to try his best to rest and relax and enjoy them.

Back in February when he and Dean made this reservation, everything between them had been fine and on track. At least Welton had convinced himself that everything was fine and on track. Now, with several months of quiet and solitary nights filled with too much thinking, lubricated by maybe a couple glasses of wine, Welton could see that there had been problems right from the start. What Welton had originally chalked up to an “opposites attract” relationship had actually proven to be their demise. It had taken three years for them to figure it out, but in early March they had both finally admitted what they had been holding on to in their relationship wasn’t enough to keep them together.

Welton had found a small one bedroom apartment across town, closer to his office for those rare times he had to go there in person, and packed up his things. Dean had helped him move into the new place, which Welton had originally thought had been kind of him to do. But in the weeks that followed, he’d started to wonder if Dean had just wanted to get him out that much faster. He especially reconsidered his thinking after seeing pictures Dean posted out in the bars with his arm around attractive men. Each picture was of a different man, but all of them looked the same: ridiculously good-looking, shirtless, with an open and laughing expression that seemed to be asking the question, What’s next?

Welton couldn’t help noticing none of them wore glasses or had brown hair that just laid across his head no matter how much he tried to style it. And none of them looked like they wished they were anywhere except the place they were at that exact moment.

None of them were at all like Welton.

After their time together, Dean had done what Welton had come to think of as a “brand relaunch” and reclaimed his status as an A-type extrovert to the gay population in and around Detroit. And that population had apparently grown in leaps and bounds since they had been together. And it seemed to have gotten a lot younger than Welton’s thirty-one, as well.

Sometimes Type A would only fit together with another Type A.

The shuttle driver slowed, and the shift in the transmission brought Welton back to the scenery and the moment at hand. It wouldn’t be long now until he finally stepped off the shuttle. This trip was going to be his turning point. He was going to work hard on making changes to himself during this time. He was going to participate in lodge activities, and from the emails he’d received, there were many of them. He was going to talk to people he didn’t know and push himself so far out of his comfort zone it would become his norm. After this trip, he wasn’t going to be quiet and nerdy Welton who thought fun equaled reading science fiction and playing strategy board games. He would be outgoing and conversational Welton who liked to change up his activities and experiences.

Neither he nor Dean had remembered the Christmas trip they’d already paid for until they’d each received the first of many reminder emails at the end of September. Dean had texted Welton and asked him what he thought about the trip. There’d been some back and forth, with each of them telling the other to take it, and then saying they would take it, and finally Welton had said he would take the trip and send Dean his half of the payment after New Year’s when he’d receive his bonus at work, and that had been the end of it.

And Dean had posted more pictures of himself out and about enjoying the nightlife.

A quiet squeal of brakes and the loud ticking of a turn signal had Welton craning his head to see around the very tall woman in the seat before him. The shuttle driver was waiting for a traffic light to change so he could turn into a driveway. A sign topped by snow told all passers-by this was the entrance to the Snowcapped Mountain Lodge and Resort, and Welton’s heart beat a little faster. His palms felt a bit sweaty, and he wiped them on his khaki pants.

He didn’t need to be nervous. This was his chance to make positive changes in his life. He was in control of how he filled his days and the attitude he chose to face them. The time he spent here at the resort would be the starting point for a better, more outgoing lifestyle going forward. It was all up to him.

The light changed, and the driver eased the shuttle along the winding drive. The other passengers chatted excitedly about the beautiful grounds and the ski lifts lining the background. They sounded so happy and excited, Welton felt alone in a crowd again. It made him think about middle school gym class, when he was the odd kid out with the glasses and baggy shorts, sitting on the bleachers until some bigger and stronger kid was forced to pick him to be on his team.

Even though Welton was traveling on his own, he didn’t need to be lonely, he reminded himself. He had the opportunity to talk to people. He’d done such a thing in the past; it was how he and Dean had first met at a party thrown by a mutual friend. All he needed was to learn how to do it again.

Dean. Unsurprisingly, Welton had been thinking about him quite often the past week as he’d packed for and eventually embarked on the trip. While he and Dean hadn’t been perfect together, they’d always found something to talk about. Despite Welton’s somewhat reclusive tendencies, he’d enjoyed the connection he’d felt with Dean.

The young man sitting beside him suddenly leaned into Welton’s personal space to peer out the shuttle window, startling him out of his thoughts.

“Look at all that glorious powder,” the passenger whispered in awe.

He was part of a larger group with an uneven number, so he’d been forced to sit beside Welton. He’d been turned away the entire ride from the airport to talk to his friends across the aisle, so this was the first time he had spoken to Welton. Beer tainted the man’s breath, and a strong smell of evergreen body spray wafted off him every time he moved. Good Lord, was the guy trying to attract elves?

Determined to make a go of his change of attitude, however, Welton managed what he hoped looked like a genuine smile and said, “Yeah, it’s really something.”

The guy sat back, thankfully, but the evergreen smell lingered. “You ski, bro?”

“Oh, you know, a bit,” Welton said, then hurriedly added, “Bro.” He only held eye contact with his seat mate for a fleeting second before having to look away. The guy was way too handsome for Welton’s comfort.

“They’ve got great powder up here,” the guy said. “On top of a really solid base.”

“That’s what I’ve heard,” Welton said. “The base is, like, the best base all around. It’s like if this place were a jazz musician, it would be Count Basie, it’s got so much base.”

Silence greeted his attempt at humor, and Welton risked a glance at the guy to find him frowning.

“What’s that even mean?”

Welton was saved from having to respond as the shuttle eased to a stop under a porte cochere, and the doors at the front rattled open. All the other passengers stood up and surged into the aisle, Welton’s handsome neighbor included. Welton remained in his seat until the others had exited before he got up and stepped off.

After the warmth of the shuttle, the cold air stung when it touched his exposed skin. He rubbed his hands together and turned to where a couple of young men hauled bags out of the back of the shuttle. One of them smiled and pointed toward the entrance.