Page 55 of Arctic Panda's Secret Mate
The second the portal closed, Tristan gave a whoop of triumph and swept Haisley into his arms to spin her around, nearly crashing them both into Breck and Darla. “You wereamazing!” he crowed.
“I would have appreciated some warning!” Haisley scolded him, laughing as she clung to his neck.
“I didn’t know!” Tristan insisted. “Scarlet told me no! In no uncertain terms! I gave my notice and was ready to move here and buy a dogsled!”
“I still thought we were moving to Shifting Sands!” Haisley pounded on his shoulders.
“I’m unfit for anywhere else!” Tristan sang.
The others gathered around, exclaiming over the unexpected visit, praising Haisley’s knowledgeable orientation, and speculating over the future.
“Graham can supply you with out of season produce,” Alice volunteered.
“Scarlet is a very fair and generous employer,” Chef assured her. “You will love working for her.”
“It’s not sure yet,” Tristan cautioned, although he wasso full of hope and possibility that it seemed almost inevitable. Scarlet wouldn’t have sent Mal if she wasn’t seriously considering it…though he wasn’t really sure why she wouldn’t come herself if that was the case.
“Dinner!” Chef announced. “It will be late, but hunger is the best spice!” He marched into the kitchen, Darla scampering at his heels.
“This calls for drinks!” Breck said. “Shall we open champagne?”
“It’s not for sure,” Tristan said, drowned out in a chorus of agreement. “We shouldn’t celebrate, yet…”
But there was no holding it back, and Tristan didn’t want to. Breck handed out flutes and toasted. “To our last day in Alaska!”
“To the rest of my life in Alaska,” Tristan countered, looking intensely at Haisley. “However it works out.”
“To the best Christmas present ever,” Haisley said, happy tears in her eyes.
49
HAISLEY
Haisley packed everyone snacks for the trip home, and made sure they were wearing enough to survive the trip to the airport, at least. “Leave a good review,” she reminded them. “Maybe don’t mention that there was a cheeky squatter who disconnected the Internet and turned the water heater down.”
They laughed and hugged her and shook her hand and promised to stay in touch and were just about to go when Tristan’s phone rang.
“It’s the resort,” he said, and everyone got very quiet. He stepped a little to the side and turned away. “This is Tristan.”
The voice at the other end was indistinguishable, but everyone held their breath, straining to listen.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, after a moment.
He listened intently.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said again. “Thank you, ma’am.” He sounded perfectly neutral. Was neutral a bad sign?
“Of course,” he added. “I’ll tell her. Thank you.”
He hung up the phone without further comment, and slowly turned back.
Everyone stared at Tristan, who stared at Haisley. The only sound was the inevitable crinkle of coats as they all shifted their weight and wondered.
“Well?” Breck finally said, when no one else would. “We’re getting blue balls, here!”
Haisley saw Darla bump him with her fist out of the corner of her eye, but didn’t take her gaze off of Tristan. Was he taking so long to speak because the news was bad?
Finally, he smiled. “Scarlet made an offer on the chalet and Mr. Barnum has accepted. An inspector will be out later today and earnest money will be put down before the end of the week. It might take a month or two to iron out entirely.”
