Angelina’s expression softened. “She passed away when you were a teenager.”

  No one he could call when the phone lines came back, no one to reassure him that he was loved. He’d spoken to his father, and he’d felt an almost formal distance between them. A mother might have been softer. Funny to even be thinking about that right now, but it would be nice to know that someone loved him.

  “I think I remember something about her—a lady wiping something off my face,” he said.

  “Maybe,” she replied. “I’ve only seen a couple of pictures. It might have been the nanny, though. You said that you were really close to the woman your parents hired to take care of you and your sister. Your parents traveled a lot, and left the two of you at home with the nanny.”

  A nanny. Maybe. Would these memories coalesce into something tangible? Would emotions match faces, and stories become a personal history? Or was he going to be stuck in this whiteout storm in his own head for the rest of his life?

  “You know, I now have a small appreciation for the pressure you were under,” Angelina said, tugging his attention back.

  “Yeah? What kind of pressure?”

  “You had a business to run, family to report to, employees to keep happy, stockholders to please... It was a lot,” she replied. “And then you had to explain me.”

  “Did I handle the pressure very well?” he asked with a frown.

  “You were a different person under all that pressure,” she said.

  “Different from what?” he asked.

  “From the man I fell in love with.” Her face colored and she shrugged. “I’m sorry—that was harsh.”

  “I don’t remember,” he replied. “It might also be true.”

  She shivered. The kitchen was getting cooler, and outside, he heard the far-off whistle of the storm winding through trees. Goose bumps rose up on Angelina’s arms, and his first instinct was to put an arm around her—a very stupid first instinct. Instead, he moved closer to her, leaning his arm against hers, sharing some of his warmth. He took another bite of ice cream, and then tipped the tub in her direction.

  “Want a bite?” he asked.

  She hesitated.

  “Come on,” he said. “I can’t eat all the peach without feeling like a jerk. I feel like I have a lot to make up for, and eating all your ice cream isn’t going to help.”

  She dipped her spoon into his tub and lifted a bite to her lips.

  “It’s very good,” she murmured, then she tipped hers in his direction. “Want to try it?”

  He spooned up a bite of hers and when he put it into his mouth she hitched her shoulders up again and settled just a little closer to him, her arm and hip pressed against him.

  “It’s cold in here,” he said.

  “Yeah...” She didn’t look up, her attention fixed on the ice cream in front of her.

  “You can put this on my bill,” he said with a low laugh.

  “I’m not charging your father for this,” she replied, her voice low.

  “Why not?” he asked. “I’m definitely an unexpected expense.”

  “I didn’t need a promise of payment to help you.”

  She was a good person. He could feel that in her—she had a moral compass that guided her.

  “Thanks,” Ben said. “And honestly, I don’t know how grateful I should be for that. Maybe I should be floored by your generosity after our history.”

  Angelina laughed softly. “You should be.”

  “Then let me make it up to you.” He put down the ice cream and turned toward her. “I’m serious.”

  “How?” she asked.

  “Let me help out. I mean—I can build fires, carry wood, be your muscle around here.”

  “I should turn you down,” she said, but there was something soft in her tone.

  “But you won’t,” he said. “You don’t need my messed-up brain. Just use me for my body...and my guilt over whatever I did to make you resent me this much.”

  Angelina rolled her eyes. “Fine, I will use you for your brawn—not your body. You’re no longer my husband, Mr. King.”

  Ben’s head was starting to hurt again—a dull thud at the front. He put the lid back on his ice cream and handed it over to her. “Let’s sneak down tomorrow night and finish this.”

  “Are you flirting?” she asked.

  Was he? He probably needed to take a couple of Tylenol for the pain and sleep it off. But Angelina was beautiful, enticing, interesting... She might be the only woman he could claim to know at this moment in time, but he had a strong feeling that she was special.

  “Am I allowed to?” he asked.

  “No.” She arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Then absolutely not.” He shot her a grin. “I’m serious about helping you out, though. Tomorrow morning, just tell me what you need, and I’ll do it.”

  “I might take you up on that.” Angelina’s gaze moved up to the bandage on his head. “I have a feeling that some solid sleep would be good for you, though.”

  He couldn’t argue with that. “Probably. I’ll turn in.”

  Angelina smiled but didn’t answer, and Ben headed toward the door. He might not have his memory, but he did have a sense of when to walk away. He liked her. And he liked the way he’d made her smile.

  He wanted to do that again.

  * * *

  ANGELINA TOOK ANOTHER bite of ice cream, watching the door swing shut behind Ben. She let out a slow breath.

  She couldn’t blame him—he didn’t remember. But did he have to be so charming? This would be easier if the accident had made him sour or angry. Instead, he was the same smiling, intoxicating man who’d swept her off her feet fifteen years ago, and her heart was reacting the same way it had back then.

  “Not helpful,” she murmured, and she put the lid on her ice cream and returned both cartons to the large freezer.

  Angelina wasn’t so easy to impress anymore. She was older, wiser, more cautious. She’d been through a lot, and while she knew that she could survive some incredibly painful things, she was smart enough not to want to repeat them. The point in life was not mere survival. She’d grown too far beyond that to go backward.

  Angelina should really get to bed, too. It would be an early morning. The kitchen employees were going to need a hand with the morning prep, and Angelina was starting to worry about the stock of firewood. They’d worked through half of it already, and the next morning, she’d be starting a new fire just to warm the place up. The deep freeze outside was making the old furnace work overtime, and while everything was still technically heated, it wasn’t as warm as it could be. The fireplace would help with that.

  She made a mental list. They would need to shovel a path to the firewood and restock. There was one section of roof that had always had some trouble shedding snow, too, so they’d need to get up there and shovel the heavy snowfall off. Likely, she’d do it herself, she decided as she flipped off the kitchen light and headed out the swinging door into the dining room.

  All was neatly arranged, ready for the next day, and that sight always did something to soothe her. She liked being prepared, knowing what to expect, and knowing that whatever came up, she could handle it. That was what made her a good manager.

  Marrying Ben had been her one wild fling, when she’d followed her heart and hoped for the best. It hadn’t gone well, and she’d settled back into her well-worn ways, preparing, planning, creating... She was good at this job. She felt safe here at the resort, carefully building up a vacation spot she’d personally love to visit. So far, her strategy had worked. Maybe even a little too well, considering she had guests who had refused to clear out for this storm.

  She headed for the front door and checked it one last time. They were locked up tight. She’d left her office unlocked when her ice cream craving hit, and she went to lock it up now.

  Angelina stepped inside to turn off the light, but she spotted Ben’s lambskin, fleece-lined coat flung over the back of her visitor’s chair.

  She picked it up to bring it to him, but as she hung it over her arm, a thick manila envelope fell out of an inside pocket and landed on the floor at her feet.

  Ben might need this—once his memory returned, at least. And maybe it would help jog something for him. She picked it up and noticed that the flap wasn’t sealed. This was personal—going through Ben’s belongings was an invasion of his privacy.

  And yet, he was here in her lodge, no memory of his family, of his history, of any pressing responsibilities he might have...

  She knew it was wrong, but she peeked inside all the same, and the document she saw not only looked legal, but she spotted Mountain Springs Resort in the lettering. That did it—she pulled out the sheaf of papers and smoothed them out.

  Offer to Purchase and Earnest Money Deposit

  On this day of ___, King Real Estate Developers offers to purchase Mountain Springs Resort, henceforth referred to as The Property, from Angelina Cunningham, henceforth referred to as The Seller, and delivers to the Buyer’s Brokerage, or agrees to deliver no later than four (4) calendar days as Acceptance (as described in Section 23) Earnest Money in the amount of $____ and in the form of ______...

  Her stomach dropped. She recognized these papers—they were an offer to buy her resort, and the amount for the sale was left empty. So that was why Ben King was here—he’d come up to Mountain Springs to buy back the resort.

  Her breath caught in her throat, and the first emotion to punch through the fog of shock was blistering anger. He wanted this property back? After she’d grown it, developed it and turned it into the success that it was?

  The King family had signed a run-down mountain lodge over to her in the divorce settlement...a settlement that they were only too eager to sign off on because Ben had foolishly, in their minds, married her without a prenuptial agreement, and a run-down lodge was a small price to pay to get rid of her quietly. In return for this lakeside land and the lodge, she’d signed that nondisclosure agreement, agreeing to never divulge any information about Ben or the family that would damage their image. She was allowed to tell people that the relationship hadn’t worked—that much was obvious—but beyond that, it was a minefield. She’d agreed—she wasn’t petty enough to try to ruin her ex-husband’s good name anyway. She’d told her friends why she got divorced—the money got in the way—but anything else she’d kept vaulted.

  Besides, it had been kind on Ben’s part to give her all this land. She hadn’t been able to afford the caliber of lawyer he could in their divorce, and he could have dragged her through court until she was completely broke, but he hadn’t. He’d asked what might help her move on, and she’d said she wanted to start her own business. In fact, she’d hoped to run a bed-and-breakfast. All she’d wanted was a house with character in the town of Mountain Springs. The lodge was Ben’s suggestion. His family happened to own it.

  Was it guilt over how they’d ended? Sentimentality over some residual feelings for her? Whatever it was, with this lakeside property in her name, she’d been able to secure a loan that allowed her to begin renovations, and Mountain Springs Resort was born.

  And now the King family wanted it back badly enough that they’d sent in Ben to convince her. That thought chilled her. And if they wanted this land back, how far were they willing to go to get it?

  Except Ben had no memory of any of this. If he did, there was no way he’d have left his coat in her office to have those papers discovered. Was that why they were willing to leave Ben here in the middle of a storm?

  Angelina’s gaze dropped to the papers again, and she flipped through them. That blank space for the dollar amount was brazenly empty, so she had no idea how much they were even willing to offer her to sell them this property back... For just a moment, she did a little bit of mental math.

  Did the amount matter? If they threw a filthy amount of money at her, would she take it and leave Colorado? Start over somewhere else?

  How much were they talking?

  For a moment Angelina stood there immobile, thinking about the number of zeros it would take for her to sell, but she couldn’t do it. This resort wasn’t a moneymaking scheme. And it wasn’t just an investment...it had become so much more than her livelihood. This was her healing, her freedom, her foundation for a whole new life.

  This resort had become a place of healing for other people, too. It was as if there was something in the water of Blue Lake, something in the deep mountain springs that fed it, that awakened spirits and reminded women of their worth all over again. The Second Chance Dinner Club, her group of friends who got together on a regular basis to eat amazing food, drink good wine and support each other through the hardest parts of their lives, were a testament to that magic.

  Angelina tucked the pages back into the envelope and slid them back into the pocket of Ben’s coat.

  When his memory came back and Ben asked her to sell the resort that she’d poured her grief, her sweat, her inspiration and her lifeblood into, she was going to tell him clearly and concisely, no.

  Mountain Springs was not for sale.

  Angelina Cunningham didn’t have a price.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ANGELINA STOOD IN the dim light that came in through her open office door, her mind spinning. Ben’s memory was gone—she was sure that wasn’t a ruse. He didn’t know her, and he didn’t know about those papers in his coat. She knew Ben and he’d never been that good of an actor.

  The coat would be safe enough in her office. Angelina put it back over her chair and locked the door behind her.

  Would she tell him that she’d seen those papers? She wasn’t sure yet. She’d see how things played out.

  Angelina headed down the hallway toward the foyer. This was the quietest this lodge had been since the last snowstorm had whistled through this mountain valley. The empty lodge always unsettled her. As a business owner, every setback, even one caused by uncontrollable outside forces, felt like it could be the last. It was the cautious part of her nature that panicked at times like these, even though she knew that as soon as the blizzard had run its course, they’d fill right back up again.

  Angelina headed through the foyer and up the broad staircase. Ben King had come to buy her out... That fact lay heavy inside of her. He knew exactly what the place meant to her. This lodge had been her entire divorce settlement, her fresh start, and he wanted to take it back? How could Ben, of all people, try to do that to her?

  At the top of the stairs, she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. She was no longer the young ex-wife trying to find her way. Angelina Cunningham had a reputation for excellence now. She’d built something she was proud of. She couldn’t forget how far she’d come.

  Angelina looked behind her, down the hallway of suites, and she noticed the young woman who was part of the snowboarding group. She was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall. There was something in her posture that spoke of exhaustion, and sadness.

  “Is there anything you need?” Angelina asked.

  The young woman wiped her cheeks with the palms of her hands and stood up. She’d been crying.

  “I’m fine. Just...getting some space,” she said.

  She was the only woman traveling with a group of rowdy young men, and that in itself was reason to be cautious, in Angelina’s experience. She turned away from her own suite and headed in the young woman’s direction.

  “Are they giving you a hard time?” Angelina asked.

  “My boyfriend is being a jerk,” she replied with a shrug. “What else is new, right?”

  “What’s your name?” Angelina asked.

  “Elizabeth,” she replied.

  “Elizabeth...” Angelina nodded. “Do you want your own room? I can arrange that for you right away—”

  “No. I’m fine.” She looked down at her cell phone. “I was hoping to get some cell service out here.”

  “No luck,” Angelina said softly.

  “No...”

  This young woman was on her own right now, and there were times when female companionship was a lifesaver. Angelina could wish her a good night and leave her be, but she wouldn’t feel right about that.

  “How long have you been dating?” Angelina asked.

  “Three years.”

  “Long time,” Angelina said.

  “Yeah, it is.” Elizabeth eyed Angelina hesitantly for a moment, then sighed. “I was expecting a proposal this trip.”

  There was whooping laughter from one of the rooms and the TV was turned a bit higher.

  “With all his buddies around?” Angelina asked.

  Elizabeth looked toward that door as there was another eruption of laughter. “It was supposed to be just the two of us. A trip to the most romantic resort in Colorado... His buddies were a last-minute addition.”

  Angelina nodded. “I see. I’m sorry.”

  Elizabeth shrugged. “What can you do when his best friends decide to crash the trip and make some ‘epic weekend’?”

  Dump him was the first thought that came to mind, but Angelina doubted that advice would be welcome. But Elizabeth just might need time away from all that testosterone.

  “I’m not quite ready to turn in,” Angelina said. “Do you want to go downstairs with me and chat?”

  “Yeah?” Elizabeth frowned slightly. “You’ve probably got other things to do.”

  “I’m sure that you’d be calling a friend or texting someone your woes right about now if you could get a cell phone signal,” Angelina replied. “Besides, I was your age once upon a time. A very long time ago.”

  Elizabeth didn’t seem to catch the irony in Angelina’s tone because she nodded soberly. “Okay, that would be nice.”

  “So tell me about you,” Angelina said as they headed back down the staircase.

  “Um...I’m in my last year at University of Denver. I’m taking my bachelor’s degree in biology. I graduate in May.”

 

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