Page 94 of Snowbound with the Santas

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Frankie murmurs from where his face is pressed into the pillow.”

“She shouldn’t go alone,” Archer snaps.

“I’ll go,” Nick says. “I have to go and meet Amanda, anyway.”

I spin to face him. “Really?”

“We have to have it out and she’s already been waiting since yesterday. Her explosion is going to be volcanic.”

“Maybe we should all go,” Frankie says, though he makes no attempts to move.

“No, you two rest. Nick can help me with Cecil, then I’ll help him with Amanda. And then after that… we’ll be free.”

My meetingwith Cecil was barely a meeting, a two-minute talk telling me I’d be sent the details of my community service when I returned to the States, and that was it. It really could have been a phone call.

After a stop for some water, I follow Nick into an adjacent conference room where his ex-wife, Amanda, instantly unloads on him.

“Oh, look who it is, the man who can’t hold himself together for longer than five minutes. What the hell was that yesterday? You just go around punching random people? See, this is the problem with you, Nick. You don’t think ahead. You never plan.And you think I’m terrible for keeping Freida away from you? All it would take is one flask, or in this case, some stranger, and you’d forget you even had a daughter!”

Amanda doesn’t even take a breath during her rant. It would be impressive if she weren’t being such a bitch.

“You want to talk about responsibility?” Nick snaps back. “What the hell are you even doing here?”

“Your caseworker won’t leave me alone, constantly telling me how good you’re doing. The reports are endless, and then I’m getting told you might try for a hearing. So I had to come out here and see for myself. See what everyone else couldn’t see because I know there’s no way in hell you’re in any position to parent. And what happens? A fucking storm locks me here so I have to spend Christmas with a bunch of rich snobs.”

“If you’d stayed home, you would have had Christmas with our daughter,” Nick bites back. His whole body is tense, and I can see from here that he’s trying his hardest to remain calm.

“Imagine if Freida had been here! Left alone here while you’re fucking around in the mountains.”

“If she were here, she would be with me,” Nick says tightly. “I would be there the second she got off the plane.”

“Like you could be so organized,” Amanda scoffs, then she sends a sharp look at me. “And who the hell is this? Your new floozy? I’m surprised you could hold back on drinking long enough to have a conversation.”

“Rayne!” A small, sweet voice suddenly yells my name from the doorway. All three of us turn to see Nick’s daughter, Freida, standing there in a yellow dress with a wide smile. An elderly woman stands behind her alongside one of the ski lodge staff.

“Freida?” Nick and Amanda gasp in unison.

“Apologies, Ms. Prince. This young woman said she was your daughter and asked to be assigned to your room,” the staff member says.

“Freida!” Amanda runs toward her daughter. “Mom, what the hell are you doing here?”

The elderly woman pushes up her glasses and tsks. “I was tired of seeing my granddaughter sad at Christmas and I knew you came here, so I thought what the hell? I can’t do much anymore, but I can put a smile on my grandbaby’s face.”

“You shouldn’t have brought her,” Amanda snaps, kissing the top of Freida’s head.

“And you never should have left her,” Nick remarks, taking a hesitant step forward. “I know the rules. I know you’re not allowed to leave her alone with your elderly parents.”

“Dad!”

My heart explodes out of my chest as Freida escapes her mother’s grasp and runs full-pelt into Nick. She’s a tiny thing for her age, and yet she nearly knocks Nick clean off his feet. This is the first time he’s seen her since she was a baby, and the shock is clear on his handsome face. His mouth falls open, his eyes sparkle, and she looks completely overcome with emotion as he scoops her up into his arms.

“Oh, my God, Freida!”

It’s a beautiful sight. So beautiful that tears spring into my own eyes as I watch.

Until Amanda ruins it.

“Freida,” Amanda demands, “how do you know this man is your father? I never told you what he looks like. Nick, what the hell have you done?”

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