Chapter 11

11

After hauling the tree back to the cabin, the family ate lunch at the lodge then proceeded to the ski slopes. Decorating the tree was saved for later.

“Big day today,” Ophelia clapped her hands together as the group walked through the lodge toward the ski lifts. “You kids will be all tuckered out!”

“No, we won’t!” Kaiden protested.

“Grandpa will be asleep before we will!” Maddy stated with a toss of her curls.

“Not true!” Jed snorted. “I can stay up all night with the best of ‘em.”

Kaiden gave his grandfather a chastising look. “You snored all the way back from getting the tree, Grandpa.”

Ophelia erupted into bright peals of laughter that Jed tried to speak over while the kids argued with him. They walked ahead of Tahlia and Nelson, whose phone happened to ring just as they reached the doors. The others were already outside and didn’t notice when he stopped short to answer. Tahlia, however, was right beside him. At first, she was resigned to let him miss out on more time with his kids, but as he turned back into the lodge and the automatic doors opened to a blast of cold air and the sound of the kids laughter, she paused.

“Nelson.” His tone was curt, the father disappearing beneath the businessman’s mask.

No, she decided. The kids expected him to be around today. Tahlia spun on her heel and stalked to where Nelson was standing. He was glaring at the lodge’s giant Christmas tree, apparently displeased with whatever he was hearing. Undaunted, Tahlia stepped in front of him and met that glare head on when it landed on her.

“What are you doing?” he mouthed. Tahlia pointed forcefully at his phone and then at the door out. His eyes narrowed and his shook his head. Tahlia was not to be deterred, however, and she repeated her points, more emphatically if that was possible. Nelson’s nostrils flared. “Go away,” he hissed.

“No,” she said at a normal decibel, not at all caring if she irritated whoever was on the other side of the phone as well as her boss. Nelson clenched his jaw and turned his head away.

“Reuben, something’s come up. Get the lawyers on the contract immediately.” He ended the call and redirected his attention to Tahlia. “That was entirely unnecessary and completely unprofessional, Miss Jameson.”

Ignoring his regression on her name, Tahlia lifted her chin. “You’re on vacation with your children. We’ve just had a lovely morning picking a tree and now we’re going to ski.” With a surge of boldness, she took his arm and guided him back to the door.

For some reason he didn’t resist, even though he could have easily pulled out of her grasp. “You’re being annoying.”

“You can’t use my name all of a sudden, but you can say I’m annoying?” She threw him a pointed look over her shoulder. Nelson rolled his eyes.

“I was on a work call, Tahlia .”

“That was not terribly important because you got off it,” she pointed out smugly. Her boss opened his mouth to retort but his face fell into a perturbed scowl instead. Tahlia snorted and, uninterrupted, continued on her merry way to the doors.

“Where have you two been?” Ophelia called, already fitted into skis and looking quite posh in her white faux fur hat and coat. A stark contrast to Jed’s worn brown coat, visible in the distance at the rental kiosk where he was helping the kids pick snowboards.

“Warming up a little,” Tahlia answered easily. “Are the kids ready?”

“We’re ready!” They careened up to Tahlia and their father with delighted grins. Jed rolled up behind them.

“You’re coming, too, daddy?” Maddy grinned up at him. Her neon blue helmet was on the verge of falling off. Tahlia reached out to right it and lock the buckle.

“Maddy, honey, you have to latch the clasps,” she scolded gently. Maddy scrunched her face up.

“We’re not even on the lift yet!” she protested.

“I told you so,” Kaiden sniffed, resulting in his sister shooting him a death glare. “I put mine on right, Tahlia, see?”

Indeed, his red helmet was straight, the clasps already locked and tightened.

“Kiss ass,” Maddy muttered. Tahlia would have laughed except that Nelson burst out.

“Maddy!” he exclaimed, obviously shocked. “Where the hel-” he stopped and glanced at Tahlia. “Heck. Where the heck did you learn that kind of language?”

“Grandpa,” Maddy replied, eyes darting in fear between Tahlia and her father.

Tahlia covered her mouth to hide her smile but Nelson was not as amused. His jaw was tightly clenched and his eyes were focused on his father in a not so loving way. A reckoning was incoming.

“Time out!” Tahlia declared, putting what she hoped was a calming hand on Nelson’s arm before addressing the twins. “Maddy, don’t say things like that, even if Grandpa says them. Especially at your brother. It’s not nice. Wait…” Tahlia didn’t look before pointing a finger at Kaiden. She’d noticed him backing away from the corner of her eye.

“I didn’t do anything…” he whined.

“Don’t say things like ‘I told you so’. That is equally not nice. You two got it?”

The twins looked at her and their dad sheepishly.

“Yes,” Maddy said.

“We’re sorry,” Kaiden added.

“Now to each other.” Tahlia pointed between them. They faced each other and muttered another, somewhat reluctant apology. “That was okay, but it could be better…” she lifted a brow and the twins repeated their apologies, this time more convincingly. “Good. Anything to add, dad?” Tahlia looked at Nelson, who’d been silent the entire time, although she could feel the weight of his eyes on her.

“Erm,” he hesitated. “No, I-I think you’ve covered it. Go on, kids. Don’t repeat anything Grandpa says.”

The kids darted off to join their grandparents at the ski lifts, happy to escape from discipline with a mere scrape. Tahlia rubbed her cold nose and turned to her employer, who had resumed glowering at his father. Jed was too far away to notice, though Tahlia doubted very much he would care if he had.

“They’re going to say things like that, you know.”

“Yeah, but they don’t have to learn it from their grandfather.” Nelson took a gloved hand and rubbed his face in frustration. “I’m going to have to talk to him.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her seen-better-days snow coat. “The damage is done. But if you insist, not today, please?” she implored. “Maybe after Christmas?”

Nelson puffed out his cheeks before releasing the breath in a giant sigh. “You’re right. I’ll wait.”

“Good man.” Tahlia pat his arm, pleased. He was learning. “Now let’s ski.”