Page 14 of Savage Mountain Man

The kid was just about the smartest child I’d ever met. But I might be biased.

“Plenty of people,” Brandon said. “Skiing is very romantic.”

Our eyes met across the dinner table and my heart did a flip-flop. I knew his thoughts were going to the very place mine were. A ski lift on Valentine’s Day just six weeks after we’d met. It was hotter than any fantasy I’d ever had, even though he’d done it specifically to act out the fantasy I’d mentioned that first day.

“Maybe ‘hit the slopes with your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day,’” I said, throwing out my second idea.

I’d been working all day to come up with the perfect slogan for the Seduction Summit Lodge’s Valentine’s Day promotion.The lodge was thriving, but we still struggled with a drop in guests the week of Valentine’s Day. There was plenty to do in Seduction Summit now, but skiing didn’t seem to be at the top of people’s lists for Valentine’s Day celebrations.

“I like that one,” Brandon said. “What does Emma say?”

Emma was my boss. She’d hired me only a year after I moved here. I was working remotely for a firm outside of Pennsylvania—a job I’d landed just a few weeks after moving—and Emma noticed the work I was doing for them. She hardly had to twist my arm to convince me to join her small marketing agency here in town.

Together, we’d helped make Seduction Summit Lodge a year-round destination. Except on Valentine’s Day and the Fourth of July. But we were working on boosting tourism for those holidays as well.

“Mom, can I go skiing?” Aubrey, our five-year-old, asked.

She’d been bringing it up a lot lately. Her big brother had done the bunny slopes a few times with his friends from school, and Aubrey had a serious case of FOMO.

“We’ll talk about it,” Brandon said. “Ski season is still four months away.”

“But Mom was talking about it,” Aubrey said.

“We have to plan these things in advance,” I explained. “Miss Emma and I look at gaps in the schedule and come up with ways to fill them.”

“And there’s a gap on Valentine’s Day,” Brandon said.

“Then I should ski on Valentine’s Day,” Aubrey said.

Her logic was pretty good, even if she didn’t realize it. There weren’t many slow days when ski season was underway. The final weeks leading up to Christmas and the last weeks of winter were the big exceptions. Once it started warming up, the lodge had to find other ways to generate business.

“May I be excused?” Benjamin asked.

The question pulled me from my thoughts. While I’d been caught up in work stuff, Benjamin had cleared his plate. He’d been doing that lately so he could get back to his homework. This kid loved school more than anyone.

“Sure,” I said. “As long as it’s okay with everyone else.”

Dad nodded. “I’m proud of you, son.”

At that statement, Benjamin beamed with pride. He climbed down off his chair and ran to his room.

“Me too,” Aubrey said. “I want to go do homework.”

She’d increasingly shown an interest in being just like her brother. She was still in kindergarten, which meant she didn’t have homework, but we gave her stuff to do. Every night, either Brandon or I sat down with her and worked on things like counting and writing her name.

“You still have peas,” Brandon pointed out.

Aubrey hated peas. She’d said so on more than one occasion, but now she shoveled them into her mouth—almost more than she could hold. I was worried she might choke, but before I could say anything, she swallowed them down and opened her mouth to show nothing was left.

“Can I go?” she asked.

Brandon and I couldn’t help but laugh. And we were still laughing as she rushed from the room, just like her brother had done.

“I’ll help her tonight,” Brandon said. “I know you have a lot going on with work.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No working at night. This is family time.”

We both had that rule, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Family was everything to me. I was determined to be the opposite of my parents.

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