Page 43 of Just One Kiss

"True. She did have to sell our old house to cover her rehab stints. She managed to hang on to the cabin, though. She actually lived there for a while until she got her act together. Now she has a condo here in town. It's very modest, but she's happy there."

"Are you close now?"

"Not really. However, I feel a duty to take care of her. I just wish…never mind."

"What were you going to say?"

She shrugged. "It will make me sound terrible."

"You feel duty but not love," he guessed.

"I want to love her. She's my mother. But there's all this stuff between us." She drew in a breath. "I don't know why I just told you all that."

"Because I was interested."

As Jake finished speaking, Brett returned. "Who's going to play with me?"

"We're both going to play with you," Jake said with a grin. "Have you ever gone sledding?"

Brett shook his head. "Is it scary?"

"No, it's super fun," Jake replied. "Do you want to ride with me?"

"Can Hannah come, too?"

"Absolutely," Jake said, giving her a smile.

A shiver of desire ran down her spine at the look in his eyes. She felt like every second she spent with him was playing with fire but couldn't seem to say no to whatever invitation he offered. She told herself she was doing it for Brett. Everything she'd done with Jake so far had been to make Brett's life safer and more comfortable. But that wasn't the whole story. She knew it, and she had a feeling Jake knew it, too.

* * *

As Jake drove Hannah and Brett to the snow park, he couldn't help but think about the sad story she'd told him. Her life had gotten really hard after high school, and he wished he'd been there to help her. She probably wouldn't have let him, but maybe he could have done something.

He also couldn't help but think how differently both their lives would have been if he hadn't cheated on her, if he hadn't broken her heart and his at the same time.

But that chapter was part of the bigger story of their lives, and he wanted to write another one, one that didn't have an unhappy ending.

"Are we almost there?" Brett asked from the backseat.

"Almost," he said, flinging Hannah a smile. "When's the last time you went sledding?"

"I can't remember."

"What about skiing or snowboarding?"

"I went skiing twice last year but not this year yet. I have to admit I've lost a little enthusiasm for the mountains after patching up patient after patient with blown knees, broken bones, and head injuries."

"That would be a downer," he agreed. "But think of all the people who don't end up in your ER after a successful run."

"I wouldn't know. We're very busy during the winter. The summer is never as crazy, although we've seen some bad injuries from rock climbers and hikers who did not have enough skill to be doing what they were doing."

"That can be a problem, which is why my guided tours provide a lot of instruction as well as hands-on attention."

"No one ever gets hurt?"

"We've had a couple of broken fingers," he admitted. "And one teenager sprained his ankle because he was texting instead of paying attention while we were hiking by Embers Lake."

Embers Lake was a small lake that fed into Whisper Lake and had been named for the beautiful orange sunset that made its water look like simmering embers. "I love Ember Lake. I haven't been there in a long time, either."

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