Page 75 of Snowbound with the Santas

“Looks like it,” I reply tightly.

“Wait, she wouldn’t lie.” Frankie spins to face Nick. “That makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” Nick says. “We all saw how tense she got any time we mentioned going back.”

“And she took the call. I’m not…” I catch myself as my chest tightens painfully. “I’m not accusing her, but now the ski lodgeand her family think we’ve done away with her and Colin is demanding to speak to her.”

“Speak to who?” Rayne wanders into the lounge with a smile on her face, but it fades the instant she looks at the three of us. “What’s wrong?” she asks. “Has something happened?”

My lips part to speak, but Nick gets there first, and it’s probably for the best. I lack a comforting tact in these situations.

“Rayne… the call that you took on the radio from Mountain Rescue just before Christmas. Do you remember it?”

“Yes, of course.” She nods quickly.

“What did they say?”

“Uhm…” She glances between the three of us. “I don’t remember the exact wording, but it was something like the trails wouldn’t be open until after Christmas and we were to stay put.”

Tension snaps down my spine. “Then why do I have Mountain Rescue on the radio right now acting like you were supposed to leave here five days ago?” I don’t mean to snap, but Rayne lied. I wouldn’t have cared if she’daskedto stay here. We all would have said yes. But now it looks like we’ve done something terrible to stop her from leaving.

Her eyes widen and all color drains from her face.

“Archer,” Nick warns, holding one hand back toward me. Then he looks at Rayne. “What Archer means to say is that Mountain Rescue were under the impression that they radioed us and told us that the trails were clear. Your family were expecting you back, and when you didn’t make it, well… you can see how it looks.”

“I…” Rayne’s hands clasp together at her middle, twisting her fingers around each other. “That’s not true.”

“This is dumb,” Frankie says suddenly. “We can just get the transcript from the last communication and then Mountain Rescue will see that this is their error. Hell, they can even send someone up here to see that Rayne is fine.”

“Colin wants to speak to her,” I say tightly, fighting the rising guilt. I shouldn’t have snapped, but the veiled accusations in Colin’s tone had been clear. The last thing I need is people thinking we’ve kidnapped some poor woman.

“You can do that?” Rayne asks softly, and her attention is fixed on Frankie. “Get the transcript?”

“Definitely,” Frankie says. “Our radio shit is so old that it prints everything. There’ll be a transcript somewhere.” He hops over the back of the couch, but as he lands, Rayne presses one hand over her mouth and her eyes shine with tears.

“I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble!”

“It’s okay,” Nick says warmly. “This is an easy fix.”

“No…” Rayne begins to pace back and forth. “It’s not because he’s right. They did say that and I lied because I… well, I panicked.”

“Panicked?” Frankie’s face falls. “Why?”

“I don’t know!” Rayne throws one hand in the air, picking at the hem of her shirt with the other. “That call came through, and I thought about going back there and facing… I just couldn’t do it. I wasn’t ready, and I like being here, and I didn’t want to leave, so I thought if I just said things were closed for a few more days, then it would be okay and I’d be able to spend Christmas here. I didn’t even think that it would cause problems.”

“Rayne.” I step forward. “You could have just asked us.”

“Asked!” A couple of tears fall when she blinks. “It’s already a weird situation. I didn’t want to be weirder and act clingy by asking to stay.”

“We would have said yes.” I swallow down my irritation at being lied to. “In case it escaped your notice, we’re incredibly fond of you, so having you here has been a blessing. But on top of that, we wouldn’t force you to go back to somewhere you don’t want to be. Not alone, at least.”

Her eyes dart back and forth, and then she lifts a hand to her mouth, picking slightly at her lower lip.

“Archer’s right,” Nick says. “We know your ex is there and he makes you uncomfortable. We already agreed that we would go back with you, although I think that’s on us for not telling you that we would do that. No one will ever make you do something you don’t want to do.”

“I’m sorry,” Rayne whispers, and her cracked tone pulls my heart south. “I’m sorry I lied.”

The more I study her reaction, the more something feels… off. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Rayne’s fear of returning to the lodge and her instinct to lie gives me the distinct impression that we don’t have the whole story.

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