Page 85 of All I Want For Christmas Is You

He smiled. “Ninety percent distracted and ten percent the Courtney factor.”

“Since we’ve eliminated the stupid part, I hope you know you can talk to me about anything. I don’t want you to shut me out of certain parts of your life. I want to hear the random thoughts that go through your head, and I want you to vent to me about work.” She needed to make sure he heard her. “Don’t shut me out.”

“Okay.” At the stop sign, he braked. Picking up her hand, he kissed it. “We dug a new crosscut that’s producing water. We’ll have to abandon it—which is bad—but it’s seeping into the mine shaft, and that could be disastrous.”

“Oh, no.”

“For now, we’re pumping and controlling it. But decisions have to be made, and each has a risk profile.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. No wonder you’ve been so distracted.”

“Yeah. We’ve got our engineers and geologists working on it, but now, we’re flying in a hydrologist.” He gazed out the windshield. “We’ll lose money on the crosscut, but that’s always a risk. Anytime you dig into the earth, you don’t know what you’re going to find. What we don’t want is to lose the mine itself.” He looked troubled, so she knew he wasn’t done. “And that means I can’t go to Emerson’s wedding.” He lifted his phone out of the cupholder. “Which is what I found out while you were in the museum.” He set it back down. “I’m sorry.”

“No, of course, I understand.”

Wait a minute. That was what she’d said for twenty-seven years. When her ex was about to close his first big deal and had to miss her parent’s thirtieth anniversary, she’d said, “I understand.”

When he had to work from the hospital room after she had her first baby, she’d said, “I understand.”

Every time he had to leave a family vacation, she’d said, “I understand.”

She was done acting like her feelings were a burden to someone else.

“I’m disappointed, but I understand.” Yes, she liked that better. It was the truth. Sure, he felt bad about it, and maybe hearing those words would make him feel worse. But her feelings mattered, too. And in that moment, if this relationship was going to work, to be healthy, she needed to have more than a physical space in his life. She needed to carve out an emotional one, too. “I don’t want to go alone.”

“I know. I feel like shit about it. Why don’t we wait and see—”

“No. It’s all right, I promise.” She offered him a gentle smile. “It would’ve given me comfort to have you there, but I totally get why you can’t. Look, my ex and I have two kids together. We’re bound to see each other. It’s better I get it over with anyway.” Just saying the words out loud gave her relief.

“We go now?” Colt asked from the back seat.

Beau peered at him in the mirror. “Yep. We’re going to the Village, okay?”

“Colt get hot shocklet?”

“Yeah, buddy. You get a hot chocolate.”

Colt grinned and kicked out his legs, perfectly content.

Beau turned onto Highway 191, heading for the fancy ski resort. “Maybe I can get Walker to come back early.”

She opened her mouth to say, “No, don’t do that.” Because she didn’t want to disrupt their lives, disappoint his son… the usual self-sacrificing bullshit. But she switched courses. “Maybe check in with him, see how it’s going. If he’s learned everything he needs to know, he won’t mind leaving early. If not, it’s fine. I was going to go by myself anyway. Like I said, I’ll be all right. But thank you for considering possibilities.”

“I would do anything to make you happy.”

She knew that. She really did.

Wild Wolff Village looked like a charming European mountain town complete with a grand mountain lodge, wrought-iron streetlamps, and an old-fashioned grandfather clock in the middle of the square. A trolley clanged as it came to a stop on the cobblestone street, horses pulling a festive carriage clip-clopped down the road, and hot chocolate and warm crepes scented the air.

“This place is magical.”

Beau carried his grandson on a hip. “We’ll come for New Year’s Eve. They have a torchlight parade on the slope over there.” He pointed to the mountain. “And if it’s not too late, I can get us tickets to the fireworks display that we can watch from the rooftop of the lodge.”

“I can’t wait.” She touched Colt’s nose with her mitten-covered hand. “You ready for your cocoa?”

“Horsey.”

Beau looked to Margot to make sure the change in plans worked for her. They’d talked about ice-skating, but she lived here now. She could skate any time she wanted. “How about we grab cocoas and then take a ride?”

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