Page 126 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

No.That was the right answer. Rachel was a single mom, and Scott was her responsibility, and no one else’s. And yet...help sounded nice. More than nice. “Yeah. The spare bedroom is already made up.”

“Okay.” Annabeth tickled Scott’s arm. “Hear that, buddy? I’m staying the night.”

“Stay,” Scott repeated, shoving another bite of food into his mouth. Most of it anyway.

The three of them whiled away the afternoon, pretending nothing was wrong. Annabeth took Scott for a walk on the paths through the apartment complex, both coming in with pink cheeks and red noses from the cold. But it had been a wonderful respite for Rachel as she tried to sort out her life.

Annabeth ordered Indian food for dinner, and Rachel joined them at the table. The pain in her shoulder seemed to be letting up, at least a little. Every time the pain medication wore off, it hurt a little less. She picked her way through a plateful of butter chicken and naan. By the time they were finished eating, Scott was yawning, and starting to fuss.

“I got this,” Annabeth offered. “Let me get him in his PJs.”

Rachel was as tired as Scott looked, and she didn’t have the energy to argue with her friend. She could hear them in the bathroom as Annabeth washed his hands and face, brushed his hair, and helped him with his miniature toothbrush.

“He’s all yours,” she said, coming back to the living room. Annabeth handed a sleepy boy off to Rachel.

She took him into his room, rocking him back and forth a minute in the shadowy dark, her son cuddled on her shoulder. Would it be like this if Jonas were here? Would they both come to the side of the crib, or would he wait for her in the living room, like Annabeth was doing now?

Scott didn’t protest bedtime, lying down almost at once. Rachel was all for joining her son in slumberland, but Annabeth had other ideas, having turned on the TV.

“How are you doing?” her friend asked as Rachel sat in the overstuffed recliner.

“I’m all right. And I’m glad you’re here,” Rachel said. “Turn it up a bit.”

The two of them watched TV until Rachel’s eyes were burning, and she stood, stretching her good arm above her head. “I hate to say it, but I’m exhausted,” she admitted. “Do you need anything before I go to bed?”

Annabeth gave her a long look. “I’m fine,” she said. She stood, putting her arms around Rachel, careful not to jostle her. “Have a good sleep.”

They went their separate ways, and for the first time all day, Rachel gave in to the urge to check her phone. She flipped through the notifications sitting on the edge of her bed. Missed call after missed call, all from her mother.

More importantly, none from Jonas.

Her shoulder hurt. Her chest hurt. Or was it her heart?

You wanted him to let you go, and he did. This is what you wanted.

Then why didn’t it feel good? Why did it feel so awful he hadn’t called? Not seeing his name on her phone screen was a gaping wound, even more painful than her arm. More painful than anything she’d ever experienced.

She turned out the light and curled up in her own bed, rolling over at the last minute onto a soft lump in the middle. Rachel searched with a hand and came up with the fuzzy shape of a stuffed elk. The emotions of the past week—of the past day, of the past hour—came crashing down on her, along with that old familiar letdown of the holidays being over. No more Jonas. No more holidays. No more merry and bright at Elk Lodge. No more Christmas music, and no more wild hope.

When she’d seen his face and his reaction to his son, it had swept over her like a wave. Now, just like a wave that had crashed into the shore and receded, the hope was gone, and she was left with an aching heart.

Rachel burst into silent tears, all of them dripping down onto her pillow. She cried and cried until, finally, sleep carried her away.

19

JONAS

Jonas should have left immediately. Even when he felt the temperature drop, he should have gotten in his car and left. When the sky turned pink, he should have already been down the mountain. Now, he was watching the snow drifts pile up quickly and cursing at himself for taking too long to leave.

Trudging back into the lobby, his brothers looked up at his approach. “Why haven’t you left yet?” Gabe asked.

He flopped back down across from his brothers and waved at the sky outside. “The snow’s coming down too fast and I won’t make it safely down the mountain,” he said, his plan rearranging itself around the new circumstances.

“You definitely don’t want to drive in this weather,” Chase said. “Gran sent a message that she plans to stay in her rooms the rest of the day and will have dinner sent up later.” A spike of fear drove itself through Jonas’s heart. This was all his fault. “I’m going up there.”

“Not by yourself, you’re not,” Gabe said, as his brothers stood, prepared to join him.

Jonas tried to let the warmth of the resort seep through him as they made their way to the elevator, but instead, he felt chilled to the bone. They rode up to her floor in silence. It’d only been a month since she’d announced her diagnosis, and he held out hope that the treatment would prolong her life, but all of the heartache the brothers had managed to heap onto her in the last three weeks couldn’t be helping.

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