Page 26 of Roaring Fork Rockstar

Keltie didn’t seem to mind. She smiled, and the warmth of it reached her eyes. “I’d like that.”

I stood, reluctant to leave but knowing I should. “Good night, Keltie. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Holt,” she replied with a sleepy smile that made my heart thud against my ribs.

I paused at the door, looking back at her silhouette against the firelight. Something about the image burned itself into my memory—Keltie curled on the sofa in the home where I’d grown up, as if she belonged there. As if she’d always belonged here.

The thought should have scared me. Instead, it felt right in a way I couldn’t explain.

I closed the door to her suite quietly behind me, stepping into the dimly lit hallway and imagining Luna asleep in that big old bed. Her dark curls—so like her mother’s—would be spread across the pillow. I squeezed my eyes closed when the same feeling that had hit me when I first met her washed over me again. Now, I knew therewassomething wrong. I also knew I’d do everything I could to help her and her mom.

As I silently made my way into the great room, where Buck and Cord were sitting by the fireplace, each with whiskey in hand, troubling emotions churned in my gut.

“Thought you’d left,” Buck said, raising his glass in greeting.

“Was about to.” I dropped into the armchair across from them. “Just saying good night to Keltie first.”

Cord exchanged a look with Buck, a small smile playing on his lips. “She seems nice. Luna, too.”

“They are,” I said, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable under my brothers’ scrutiny.

Buck pushed the bottle of whiskey toward me. “Everything okay? You seem thoughtful.”

I grabbed an empty glass from the sideboard, poured two fingers, and swirled the hazy liquid before taking a sip. The familiar burn grounded me as I considered Buck’s question. “Just thinking about something Keltie said. About how these codicils from the trust led each of you to find happiness.”

Buck’s eyebrows rose. “You told her about the trust?”

“Not everything.”

“Huh.” He stroked his beard. “She’s not wrong, though. If it weren’t for the trust, I doubt TJ and I would’ve ended up together.”

“That’s nothing,” Cord added. “I never would’ve even met Juni.”

I ran a hand over my face, exhaustion mingling with the uncomfortable realization that maybe there’d be more to it for me too. “Why Crested Butte, though? I’m already here.”

“But you were about to leave,” Buck pointed out. “Maybe that’s the point.”

“Maybe it’s not about the place,” Cord added. “Maybe it’s about what—or who—you’d find if you stayed.”

I set my glass down harder than I’d intended. “Don’t start with that. Keltie and I barely know each other.”

“And yet you invited her and Luna for Christmas,” Cord said with a knowing smile. “Carried Luna to bed like you’ve been doing it for years.”

“It’s not like that,” I protested, though something inside me wondered if it could be.

“Then, what is it like?” Buck asked. “Because I’ve seen the way you look at her, little brother. And I saw how you were with Luna today. That didn’t come from nowhere.”

I stared into my whiskey, not ready to voice the feelings swirling inside me. “She’s going through a tough time. Luna’s sick—maybe seriously. They needed something good for Christmas. Plus, it wasn’t my idea to invite them. It was Sam’s.”

“You never know. Maybe by next Christmas, you and Keltie will be married too,” said Cord.

I downed the rest of my whiskey in one swallow. “That’s a serious stretch, man.”

Cord laughed. “All I’m saying is it happened to me. And, honestly? I never dreamed marriage could be like this.”

“Speaking of,” Buck said, checking his watch, “I should head home. Santa has some assembling to do before morning.”

“And I promised Juni I wouldn’t be long,” Cord added, standing. “You coming, Holt?”

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