Protecting Her Read online

  “I arrived here today, on vacation. When did you get here?” I asked, and the girl scrunched up her eyes and looked up at the sky like she was concentrating hard.

  “Seven months ago?” she said and went back to shoveling more snow. A laugh escaped my lips because I figured that she was joking, or had just made up a random number out of thin air. Who is on vacation for seven months?!

  “What’s your name?” I asked her as she looked at me with a smile.

  “Cora. What’s yours?” she asked, and I told her, which she seemed to repeat under her breath to learn it.

  “I like your hair. My daddy will never let me cut it like that,” she declared. I laughed again. I didn’t think there was anything attractive about my sleek blond shoulder length bob. It was a practical and low maintenance haircut that allowed me to be out of the door in no time with minimum fuss in front of a mirror.

  “Your hair is way more beautiful, Cora,” I said, and she giggled with delight at the compliment.

  “Are you wearing makeup?” she asked next, and I laughed again, at the brutal honesty of her questions. She had no interest in mincing words.

  “No, I’m not wearing any makeup right now,” I told her and Cora peered into my face a little more.

  “You’re beautiful,” she said. I could feel my cheeks flushing. Receiving compliments from a possible five-year-old was surprisingly refreshing.

  Before I had a chance to reply, Cora had straightened herself up and was getting ready to go back to where she had come from.

  “I’m going to make ice cream now,” she declared, swinging her full bucket of ice. It had to have been heavy, but she wasn’t showing it.

  “Hope you have fun and I hope I get to try it sometime,” I said as she nodded her head excitedly.

  “I’m going to ask daddy if you can have dessert with us tonight,” she said and I laughed at the thought. I could just imagine how strange it would be for her parents to be forced to invite a stranger to dine with them at the resort’s dining room.

  “Maybe some other time? It was nice meeting you, Cora,” I said and waved at her as she began to walk away.

  “Bye Siena, maybe tomorrow we can make snow angels together!” she declared. I stared at her walking away, with a smile on my face.

  I had spent so much time occupied with work and my career, that I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the company of children. Still thinking about Cora, and how adorable and mature she was for her age, I went back into the cabin.

  There was a chill in the air now. I dusted the snow flecks out of my hair. It was already nearly dusk, which meant that I wouldn’t be able to explore the resort much tonight, so I decided to light the fire in the small living room and snuggle up on the couch with a book. Even though I was still stressing about getting the story done on time, there was nothing to stop me from making this into a much-deserved vacation!

  I found a bag of coal beside the fireplace, and I crouched down in front of it, trying to strategize the best way to light a fire. I hadn’t done this in years! I was just about to use the tongs to place the coal pieces on the grate when it struck me that I hadn’t checked to make sure if the chimney was still functional.

  Feeling courageous, I stuck my head under the chimney and looked up, using a stick to poke into the darkness. It was only in the nick of time that I managed to whip my face away, just as a coal cloud of dust came rushing down, proving that the chimney was indeed stuck.

  Chapter 4

  Ivan

  The receptionist, Shauna, found me in my office and she seemed like she was in a panic.

  “What’s the matter, Shauna?” I asked her when she entered the office, and she seemed like she was out of breath.

  “Cabin number four,” she began to say. I crossed my brows. Shauna had informed me earlier that we had a last minute booking for the cabin that day, and as far as I knew, the guest had already arrived.

  “What’s wrong with Cabin four?” I asked, standing up from my chair.

  “The lady called to complain that the fireplace is broken,” Shauna finally completed her thought, and I was still confused.

  “Broken? How can a fireplace be broken?” I argued as Shauna still looked panicked. Ever since I had to fire most of the staff at the resort, Shauna was always afraid that she was going to lose her job too.

  “She said that the chimney is clogged, so she can’t light the fire,” Shauna explained, and the realization dawned on me. I nodded my head.

  “Usually, I would have had John take care of things like this, but…” she began to say, and I stopped her from continuing her train of thought. Neither of us needed a reminder that John, the handyman, had to recently be let go.

  “I’ll take care of it myself. You can call her up and let her know that someone will be out to take a look at it in a couple of minutes,” I said, and as I stood there, I had already started rolling up my sleeves. Shauna looked stunned by that. She couldn’t imagine that the owner’s son was going to actually visit a guest’s cabin and unclog the chimney. It was unheard of in sophisticated hospitality.

  “Go ahead, Shauna, make the call. I’ll be out in a few minutes,” I told her in a softer but firm voice. I could see that she had started to sympathize, to feel sorry for the things that I had to do now, but I wished I could reveal to her that everything was going to be fine soon. I had a plan, and I was determined to take care of the business.

  Shauna darted back to her desk, and down the hall, I could hear her speaking into the phone. In my office I tried to gather myself, I could feel frustration rising in my bones. In the past seven months that we had been back at Salthill Peak, we had precisely four guests stay with us, and now finally when we had a fifth, the chimney in the cabin was clogged!

  There was so much work that needed to be done. I had so many plans, but none of this was going to be possible if my meeting with the investors the next day didn’t go well.

  After I had rolled up the sleeves of my shirt, I ran a hand through my hair and walked out of my office. It was a short walk from the main building to the guest cabins, and I hadn’t bothered with a coat or hat. On the way, I’d picked up the broom and the other tools I would need to fix the chimney, and when I finally arrived at the door of the cabin, I saw the lights switched on inside.

  I knocked on the door and announced “room service” loudly. Within a few moments, I heard the shuffle of feet inside, and the door flew open.

  I had parted my lips to speak when my eyes fell on her, and I had an apologetic speech made up in my head already, but no preparation in the world would have prepared me for the woman I saw standing in front of me.

  She was tall and lithe, with a slender body and a small waist. Her hair was blond, the color of gold, and sleek and cut stylishly in a sharp shape at her shoulders. She was wearing a figure-hugging green turtleneck sweater and dark jeans that accentuated her endlessly long legs. As she stared back at me, I saw the delicious arches of her strawberry colored lips, the delicate curves of her neck and shoulders, and those wild green eyes I would have recognized anywhere.

  “Ivan?” she said, in a voice that was both weak and stern at the same time. Her eyes had grown more full, and her mouth hung open in surprise. Neither of us had moved since we laid eyes on each other.

  “Siena!” I exclaimed, but it only came out as a murmur under my breath. How was this even possible? I thought I would never see her again.

  “Come in out of the cold!” she said and stepped aside to let me in. I could feel my muscles stiffening in my body when I went inside. Siena had quickly stepped away from me, clasping her hands together in front of her and peering into my eyes the best she could.

  It was more than ten years since I last saw her, and the circumstances under which I had parted ways with her, were less than favorable to her memory of me. There was no way that she considered us to be friends anymore.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, in that same strained voice and I realized that I had been s
ilently glaring at her. My eyes were narrowed. My face had darkened, and chances were that Siena assumed that I was angry to see her again. The truth was far from that. I was frozen on the spot. I felt helpless again in her presence, and I hadn’t expected her to forgive me for what I had done to her.

  “Are you here on vacation?” I asked. Siena hesitated before nodding her head. It was evident that she had no idea that I owned Salthill, or that my family ran this business.

  “Are you here on vacation too?” she asked as she gazed at the tools and broom in my hands. Her eyes were still widened with shock.

  “No, I’m here to clean your chimney,” I told her. I walked past her towards the fireplace, where I deposited everything on the ground. I was finding it difficult to turn and look at her, to hold her gaze. I had spent so much time thinking about her and what she probably thought about me. For all these years, Siena had only existed in my fantasies. This seemed too unreal, to find me in Salthill Peak with her, as one of my guests in a poorly maintained cabin.

  I tried to concentrate on fixing the chimney, and I could sense her standing behind me in silence, watching me. There was so much that I wanted to tell her, but I felt tongue-tied and the only way I could conduct myself in front of her now, was by keeping my back turned to her.

  “Ivan…” she said my name softly. I slowly turned my head and looked at her over my shoulder. I knew that if I turned to her again, I would lose all control of myself. I had done enough harm to her already. Now I just needed to keep my distance from her.

  “It’s good seeing you again,” she said, and I had to clench my jaw to stop myself from telling her how I was feeling. It was more than just good seeing Siena again. It was the best thing that had happened to me all year. I had accepted the fact that I would never see her all my life, a long time ago, and now it was like I was finally living my fantasy.

  In school, Siena Jenkins had been my ideal woman. She wasn’t like the other girls who twirled the ends of their hair around their fingers, or chomped on bubble gum, or joined the cheerleading team so that they could sleep with me. I was the captain of the football team and getting the attention of cheerleaders and girls, in general, was a perk that I happily enjoyed. When I was a teenager, the attention I got from hot girls wasn’t one of my complaints.

  My only complaint in life was that Siena Jenkins never looked at me the way those girls did. She was a quiet, studious student, surrounded by a small group of loyal friends, and as far as I knew, she had never dated anybody in our school.

  I had spent my school years aspiring for her and fantasizing about being the first guy she would ever be with. Now, after all these years since high school, I realized that those feelings hadn’t changed. I had been with too many women to keep track of, and yet it all came down to this singular truth of my life. There was never going to be a woman good enough to match the hold that Siena Jenkins had on me.

  Chapter 5

  Siena

  Everything I was feeling inside me then, seemed too strange and unrealistic to be true. When I saw Ivan on the other side of the door a few minutes ago, I felt like the ground was going to open up and swallow me whole. For the first few moments, I hadn’t moved or said a word, because I was convinced that I was dreaming or fantasizing. In this fantasy, Ivan would come swooping back into my life and declare his undying love for me! How foolish was that?

  And yet, here he was now, with his back turned to me as he tried to clean the chimney thoroughly.

  I recognized him instantly, other than slight aging around his eyes, there was very little that had changed about Ivan Lockner. He was still as tall and muscular as I remembered him, with a thick crop of dark hair and intensely blue eyes that reminded me of a clear crystal sea. His shoulders were broad, and every time he smiled or pressed his lips together, two deep dimples appeared on his cheeks.

  These were the very dimples that drove every girl in our school crazy for him. He was the perfect guy, the too-handsome, too-cool, overachieving footballer, who was just as impressive in class as he was on the field. It was what had attracted me to him. There was more to Ivan than his impossibly dashing good looks. He was smart and well read and had a casual charm about him, that I hadn’t seen in any other man since, even though the Ivan I remembered was just a teenager.

  Now, he was cold, and brutal in his silence as he continued to work on the chimney, instead of looking over at me. I had attempted to make conversation until I realized that he didn’t want to speak to me. Was he ashamed that he had ended up as a handyman at a ski resort after all these years?

  I couldn’t help but wonder what had led him to this. There was very little I knew about Ivan in school. We had never moved in the same circles. Ivan hung out with the popular kids, and we had just always assumed that his parents were filthy rich too. He certainly dressed like it, and spoke in a polished accent and drove fast cars. What had happened to him to lead him to become a handyman? I had expected nothing but greatness from him.

  My cheeks were flushed even though Ivan wasn’t looking at me. I stared at his broad back. I was watching the muscles moving under his shirt as he worked and I realized that every thought that I had about Ivan, had been the ridiculous fantasies of a teenager. I had no idea who he was. We were never friends, and I should have known that we could never be. Ivan Lockner belonged to a whole different league, and we should have kept it that way.

  But that didn’t stop me from longing for him. All through school, I believed that I was in love with him. I admired his quiet strength, his performance on the field, the way he had a knack of looking at me but looking straight through me at the same time. He dated the prettiest girls in high school, the beautiful cheerleaders, the knock-out older girls. In high school, we had barely ever interacted enough for me to know for sure if he even knew that I existed.

  So, when he stopped me in the hallway a week before prom, cornering me against my locker, I thought it was a prank. Ivan was looking me straight in the eyes, studying my face, making me giddy and my knees weak. The more he stared at me, the more convinced I was that I was going to pass out. I couldn’t imagine what he wanted with me, but my proximity to him was enough to make me dizzy with desire.

  “Will you go to prom with me?” Ivan had said, with a confident smile tugging the corners of his lips. He looked like a guy who already knew the answer to that question. I had stared back at him with my mouth hanging open, my voice stuck in my throat.

  Around us, down the hallway, I could sense the presence of girls staring at us. Dozens of girls stared, all of whom had harbored secret wishes to be asked out by Ivan. These were girls who were with the popular crowd and had more experience with dating than I did. I had never had a boyfriend before. I had only kissed two guys and hated it. I was inexperienced and too madly in love with Ivan to go on that prom date with him.

  But Ivan had stood there, with his arms cornering me into my locker, staring at me until I had an answer for him. I agreed with a weak fumbling voice, and just like that, with one nod of the head, Ivan had disappeared.

  On the evening of Prom, Ivan had arrived to pick me up in a limousine. I spent days searching for the perfect dress, and hours getting ready. I put on too much lipstick without even being fully convinced that Ivan would show up. But he showed up, and he gave me his arm and led me to the back seat of the limousine.

  Nothing about that night was normal, or anything like real life. We spoke little, exchanging only a few formal words. I spent more time staring at Ivan in disbelief than thinking of things to say. When he asked me to dance, I could sense the whole school staring at us. But then, instead of kissing me, which I would have given my right arm for, Ivan kissed my forehead and left.

  He kissed my forehead, slipped his hand out of mine and walked off of the dance floor and disappeared into the night. My friends, Lucas and Katherine, had to give me a ride back home in the middle of their date.

  If I was furious and frustrated and ashamed that night after the prom, that fe
eling only grew tenfold the next day when the word in the school was that Ivan Lockner had left town. His house, where he lived with his mother, was apparently locked and empty and he had left town without a word, not even to his friends. I was never going to forgive him for what he had done to me. I felt like I was responsible for driving him away.

  “It should work now. I’ll light the fire for you,” I heard Ivan’s voice, and it interrupted all the thoughts I had been having about him. He turned to look at me, and his deep blue eyes felt like they were boring a hole in my soul.

  “Sure, thanks,” I said, still uncertain of how firm my voice sounded. I knew I was feeling weak in his presence, but that familiar feeling of rage was rising up inside me. I wanted to hate him again, the way I had hated him that night after the prom and in the months that followed.

  Ivan turned around and went back to shoveling coal into the fireplace. I stood back and waited for the fire to be lit. The room suddenly felt a whole lot colder now than it did before he had walked into it.

  I watched his profile, the sharpness of his jaws, the pointedness of his nose, his clean-shaven cheeks and the strength in his hands. He looked like a man who took care of himself. I didn’t even want my mind to wander to the body he was hiding underneath his clothes. I tried to remind myself that I was an adult now, not a whimpering lovesick teenager and this was a man who had painfully wronged me. He had left me alone on a dance stage in the middle of the prom and then disappeared from town without an explanation. He did not deserve my admiration.

  Ivan lit the fire with a sizzle and an instant warmth spread in the room. I wrapped my arms around my torso as I stood there, the fire burning a reflection in my eyes. Ivan was staring at it too, and I sensed him turning his face towards me. I knew that he wanted to say something, after more than a decade, we had found each other in an awkward situation.