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She then signsSODAto Autumn, her eyebrows lifted.
“Sprite,” Autumn says, fingerspelling it out.
Ivy pretends to pout, but she’s grinning too hard to pull it off.
“Shirley Temple?” I ask, looking at Autumn for her mama go-ahead.
Ivy’s nodding and doingpleasesigns.
“Okay, okay,” Autumn says, laughing. “Shirley Temple for her, and you know what? That actually sounds good to me too. No, wait…what is this drink with lychee?”
“Oh, that’s our signature drink,” Sally says. “It’s delicious. Pink grapefruit, gin, lychee, and a hint of watermelon.”
“Yes, please,” Autumn sings.
Sally laughs and nods, waiting for the rest of us.
Scarlett pauses and then seems to make up her mind. “Lemon drop,” she says.
Just hearing her say the words makes my mouth water. I think I groan out loud because she turns to look at me in shock.
“Haven’t forgotten the way you tasted,” I say under my breath, and she freezes. “Sweet lemons and heaven,” my voice is husky as I look at my menu.
Pure sweetness. I think about it every time I look at her full lips, which is way too often.
Her hands tremble as she picks up her menu and I look up at her and smirk. Her mouth parts.
“Hope it’s okay that I tell the truth,” I say, lifting my shoulder.
She lifts a shoulder, mimicking me, but her eyes are glazed over as her eyes skate down to my mouth and stay there. Damn. Am I imagining this or is she drastically thawing?
Everyone else places their orders and I add a couple of appetizers to the list.
“I’ve been seeing you walk by with those adorable dogs,” Sally says to Scarlett. “No word from anyone yet?”
“No, and at this point, I’m hoping with all my heart for none,” Scarlett says.
Sally nods. “It’s so easy to get attached, isn’t it? I’ll go drop this off in the kitchen and be back to take your order in a few minutes.”
For the next hour and a half, I’m amazed by the way Scarlett handles all the questions my family throws at her. Questions about the resort, life in Landmark, her family…and she answers it all with humor and honesty. She also finds a way to quickly turn it around on everyone else, keeping her answers brief and then asking her own questions. The only time she falters at all is when Zac asks her what we can do to convince her to stay on at Landmark Mountain.
She swallows hard and takes her time answering, her expression more serious than it’s been all night.
“My parents died when I was two and while I don’t really remember them, there are things that stayed with me. My brothers took longer to bounce back, and I was too little to know that’s what was going on, but when I was older and would hear the things they’d say or the way my grandparents would comfort them at different times when they were still grieving, I’d wish I had those memories of my parents even if it made me sad. But I didn’t. I was told that I cried for my mom for months, but I didn’t remember any of that. All I knew is I loved my life, and Grinny and Granddad and my brothers were everything.” She smiles and takes a deep breath.
I want to take her hand, encourage her to say more, tell me everything, but I wait and she finally keeps talking.
“I loved our home, our land, our view, but what I loved most of all was the lodge. Some of my favorite memories were of us skiing on these mountains and decorating the trees around the lodge for Christmas. I wanted to hear the stories of my parents’ wedding in front of the fireplace over and over again, or the way my mom didn’t make it to the hospital with me and had to deliver me in…well, I’ll keep the room number to myself in case that creeps you out.”
We all laugh, spellbound by her words.
“Landmark Mountain became what I had of my parents and grandparents and brothers, and I felt like it was my calling to keep that alive forever.”
She looks down at her hands and seems glad when they come around to pick up our dinner plates. She takes a sip of her drink and glances up to find all of us still watching her, waiting to hear the rest of her story.
“But it wasn’t,” she says, her face clouding over as she lifts a shoulder.
She smiles, and my heart breaks a little more.
