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As a professional boardercross snowboarder, Jaxon Macintyre spent his time dominating slopes from Tahoe to Switzerland, but he hadn’t tackled Sierra Vista in over a year—ever since the day he and his identical twin, Lucas, had a major blowup.
Words were exchanged—along with a few swings—and Jax did what he always did, he went fugitive, running off to play the circuit and leave the anger behind. He still hadn’t forgiven his brother, something Jax was hoping to change.
But that wasn’t what he was thinking about as he walked to his cabin to change for his first family dinner since he’d taken off. That trophy went to Milly, in her pink ski suit, white hat, and adorable glasses. She was like Barbie and a librarian had a love child. Only she wasn’t a kid anymore. Oh no, Milly Smartt was all woman and curves.
Jax drove along the road, which circled Sierra Vista, and when the lodge came into view an overwhelming feeling of comfort and contentment filled his chest. God, he’d missed this place.
In addition to the hundred luxury rooms, the lodge housed a gift shop, equipment rentals, a bar and grill, and an outdoor café that had firepits and a s’more station. Neighboring the building that housed ski patrol, search and rescue, and some of the seasonal instructors was a small amphitheater used for hosting weddings and events.
But it was the location of the lodge that drew people there. Bordering the Tahoe National Forest, Sierra Vista was surrounded by dense sequoias, sugar pines, and Douglas firs, giving the feeling that one was in the middle of a forest rather than a five-minute drive from the quaint downtown. With gas lamp–lined streets, shiplap-fronted shops, and a million strung twinkle lights crisscrossing overhead, Sierra Vista was the gem of Lake Tahoe. And with views overlooking the crystal-blue lake and backdrop of mountains, it was a prime destination for tourists and locals alike.
Even though the temperature was falling below thirty, Jax rolled down his window, enjoying the sharp punch of frost and the fresh scent of recently fallen snow. His breath froze on contact with the air. He might have had his reasons for staying away, but as he pulled up to the lodge and noticed a familiar person standing in Jax’s designated parking spot, those reasons didn’t hold the same weight they had just a few days ago.
It was his older brother, Nolan. Well, not a blood brother, but a brother in every sense of the word.
Dressed in his federally issued uniform and strapped to the teeth, US Forest Service Special Agent Nolan Carmichael leaned against the newly installed sign pole, which read The last car that parked here is still missing.
Jax threw his truck in Park and slid out of the vehicle. He’d barely slammed the door when Nolan, who was a beast of a man, wrapped Jax up in a bro hug, curling his burly arms around him and nearly shaking the common sense out of Jax. Getting his teeth rattled by the massive Nolan was always an experience. But the welcome warmed a part of his heart that he hadn’t known was frostbitten.
“Damn. It’s good to see your ugly face,” Nolan said when they both pulled back.
“Right back at ya.” Nostalgia and love swelled at the sight of his best friend. “How’s things? How’s Nina,” he asked, referring to Nolan’s longtime girlfriend.
“Hanging in there, and she moved out a few months ago. Took her kids to Montana to be closer to her parents.”
Jesus. How out of touch had Jax really been? To not know that his in-love brother was now single? “I’m sorry, man.”
“Me too.” Nolan said lowly. “Now, you want to tell me why Lucas found out that you’re back through Mom’s hairdresser’s sister?”
When Nolan said mom, he was referring to Peggy Carmichael, a saint who’d taken two misplaced brothers into her family. After the death of his dad, his mom disappeared into a bottle, leaving a very young Jax and Lucas to fend for themselves. By the time they’d reached first grade, they were basically on their own.
Then they were saved by the Carmichaels, who taught Jax about friendship, family, and unconditional love—which was why he was so disappointed in himself for being absent lately. Okay, that was BS. He’d been gone because of his job, yes, but mostly because of the fight with Lucas.
“I called Lucas and he never called back.”
“That was a year ago, bro. When are you two going to fix this? The rest of us are over here tiptoeing around this war zone. It’s not fair to Mom and Dad.”
As the middle child, Nolan was the self-appointed arbitrator of the family. It was what made him such an effective officer of the peace. There wasn’t an escalation he couldn’t handle, a problem he couldn’t solve, or a situation he couldn’t masterfully navigate through. And Jax knew that Nolan was irritated by the fact that he hadn’t been able to fix the whole feud between Lucas and Jax.
Jax ran a hand down his face. “I know. It’s on the list.”
“Well, move it to the top. Mom is expecting you at dinner tonight. And Lucas will be there.”
How could he forget. “Brynn sent me a zillion texts reminding me.” Somehow his pseudo-sister had learned about his stealth arrival into town. He shouldn’t be surprised. With an off-season population of only five thousand, gossip in Sierra Vista was a commodity.
“I’m glad you’re here, but I thought you couldn’t make it?”
Up until yesterday, Jax wasn’t going to come. Nope, he was going to use the competition season as an excuse and send Peggy’s present by mail. But then a buddy of his just buried his mom and Jax got to thinking about how long it had been since he hugged Peggy and Kent. What would he have done if it had been Peggy who’d died? It could have easily been her. While he called her once a month, he hadn’t seen her since last fall when they came out to visit him in the Italian Alps while taking their thirtieth wedding anniversary trip to Europe.
“It was going to be a surprise,” he said.
“Keep lying to me, man.”
“Really, I have a present and everything.”
“I think you’re full of shit.”
Jax raised an inquiring brow. “Do we need an interrogation room?”
