Page 39 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

Chase’s mouth dropped open. What could he say tothat? He’d already let Tana leave. His grandmother stood up and kissed the top of his head.

“All else aside, what happened between the two of you, Chase? I wasn’t at the meeting earlier, but I’ve been apprised of the situation. The staff at the front desk heard the two of you talking.”

“We had an argument. She probably went to her parents to get away from here,” he said woodenly.

“And how are you handling that?”

He rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not. Because you’re right, I love her.” He hadn’t meant to admit it out loud. “I’ve fallen for her, and I didn’t go after her because I thought she might not want me to.”

“Of course she does.” His grandmother patted his leg. “And if you love her, you’ll find a way to make it right. I believe in you, Chase. Now take some time and figure out your next course of action.”

“I will.” He rose to hug her, and then she made her way to the door.

“Call if you need anything,” she said before she departed, leaving him alone with his thoughts. It was too late. Or maybe it wasn’t. He could still go after Tana, but going after her wouldn’t solve the problem of the ridiculous accusation against her.

You’re still my fierce and determined grandson.His grandmother’s words jogged something in his memory.Don’t grab anything with Emily’s name on it.Chase had gone in search of Tana after leaving his grandmother’s office and found her in the lost and found room, just in time to hear the secretary’s warning.

Emily.The girl who’d lost the tennis bracelet.

What if she’d lost it on the slopes and panicked when her father asked where it was? It would be the kind of lie that would seem harmless to a child—or at least a better option than admitting she’d lost something expensive. Judging by her father’s reaction, Emily wouldn’t have wanted to admit to losing the bracelet.

Chase had the feeling that his brother had made a terrible mistake. He put on his coat and was out the door before he had time to second-guess his plan. Within fifteen minutes, he was standing at the bottom of the ski hill where Tana normally conducted her private lessons.

The last rays of the sunset were long gone, and stars sparkled in the sky above him. It was an ideal night to spend in the hot tub. Oh, it would feel great on his leg, too. Later, when he’d found the bracelet, he’d reward himself with a long soak. And he would find the bracelet. He had to, no matter how impossible it seemed.

But in order to do that, he’d have to ski.

His heart thudded in his chest on the way to the ski shed. Ski boots felt strange and clunky on his feet, too heavy, but he clicked them into place and stuck his poles into the snow. His body remembered the movements, but his legs struggled to keep up.You can’t give up. Do this for Tana.

It took him ten full minutes to get to the chairlift on the bunny slope. The ride up jostled his leg, but it wasn’t so bad he couldn’t stand it. It was a good thing nighttime skiing had fewer people and they had huge lights to illuminate the slopes.

Going down? That would be the tough part.

He made a few wide, slow turns, his leg protesting every movement. From this vantage point, the hill seemed huge. How was he ever going to find the bracelet? Chase gritted his teeth and kept going.

One run. Then another. Chase focused on the trees along the edges of the hill, but it was hard to see something as small as a bracelet in the snow. It could be buried deep by now, but at least it hadn’t snowed today.

By his fifth run, his legs were killing him. Avoiding the skiers took him all over the hill and searching at a slow pace was agony. The slopes were beginning to clear out and soon the lifts would close for the night. He had time for one more trip down.

His leg disagreed. A bolt of pain shot through it halfway down, and he sat down hard in the snow next to one of the trees on the side of the run—a big fir tree, the branches poking against the sky. Chase hustled himself in next to the tree. It would be best if nobody saw him like this…breathing fast, crumpled on the ground, in pain.

That was when he saw it.

A glint in the snow from the lights on the hill, a glint that looked almost like the snow itself—but it wasn’t.

The bracelet.

He could hardly believe his eyes.

But hecouldbelieve his hands, and he scooped it up into his glove as a cramp seized both legs. It laid him out flat, it was so intense, but Chase held on tight to the bracelet. This was his proof.

Proof he’d do anything for her. Proof that he loved her. And proof that she belonged here, too.

The only problem was that Chase couldn’t stand up, the pain in his leg was unbearable. It began to dawn on him as surely as the moon rose in the sky. He was going to have to let himself be discovered this way. Might as well do it now.

He eased himself up into a sitting position and pulled out his phone. Dead. Just great. And he was too far away from the lodge buildings to be able to make it back in his condition. He’d have to wait for the last run of the ski patrol when they checked the slopes for wayward guests.

Chase felt himself spiraling toward a sense of hopelessness. He’d felt this way before, after his accident, and he recalled exactly how he’d wanted to fade away instead of making the decision to get up and go to physical therapy.Notparticipating in life seemed easier. This situation just wasn’t going to get better.

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