She tapped her finger against the mug and let her gaze slide to the window…in the direction of the closest cabin on the property, where Jack was right now.
She felt pulled to visit him, but surely he’d be over here for breakfast soon. In the meantime, she had to make sense of the numbers and be prepared for her next conversation with Henry Lassiter.
If she went ahead and decided to give Henry a very small percentage of the business, it would take them through the next couple of years and the renovations they so desperately needed to do.
If that fell through, they still had to pay that tax bill. Everyone was doing their share to solve that problem. Jack would do sleigh rides, Red had agreed to put that Santa suit on for one more year, Gracie was talking up the lodge, Nic was running a huge sale, and MJ was?—
“You’re doing that thing again.”
She whipped around. MJ was standing in her doorway, pointing at her with a spatula, her blue eyes twinkling.
“What thing?” Cindy’s gaze dropped over her sister’s slightly splattered apron with the Snowberry Lodge logo embroidered on the front.
“The thing where you stare at a spreadsheet like it’s going to transform into different numbers if you glare hard enough.”
Cindy groaned. “Is it that obvious?”
MJ shrugged. “I know you better than anyone. Which is why I saved enough batter to make you two waffles. You want?”
“More than life itself.” She pushed up, then hesitated. “Did Jack come in for breakfast yet?”
“It’s seven in the morning. Have you met Jack Kessler?”
She nodded, then cocked her head. “But he’s on East Coast time, so I bet he’s up. Why don’t you make those waffles for him, and I’ll take them over. I’ve had two people message us about sleigh rides, so we really should talk about a schedule. Also, we’re not paying him, so let’s feed him well.”
“Good call.”
Cindy followed her sister into the sun-warmed kitchen, leaning against the counter to watch MJ pour the batter into the waffle iron. Their few guests were in the dining area, chatting and enjoying a spectacular breakfast.
“So? Dare I ask the obvious?” MJ looked up with a sly smile.
“Does he want extra syrup?”
MJ laughed. “Come on, little sister. Truth. How do you feel about this surprise guest?”
Cindy hesitated, taking a sip of the cold coffee she brought with her, then putting the cup in the sink. The move bought her a little time to gather her thoughts.
“It was a shock,” she said. “And weird, though not in a bad way. A good weird, if that makes sense. Almost like he never left, which is just bizarre.” Of course, it had been Christmastime when they’d said their official goodbye.
She’d seen him a few times after that—when Nic graduated from college, and he’d come after Mom passed away. But it was that last Christmas that haunted her memories, a time so much like this one.
“He looks good,” MJ mused.
“Mmm.” Had Jack evernotlooked good? She remembered the day he’d come in to interview for a job at Snowberry—also during the holidays—and her father hired him to run the sleighs. He’d been off the skiing circuit for a year after getting injured and needed a little supplemental income until he could heal enough to give ski lessons.
She’d heard of him, of course—everyone in Park City knew Flying Jack—but she’d never met him until that day. She’d walked into the very office that she’d just left, and Red introduced her to their new sleigh driver.
It might not have been love at first sight, but it was a big, bad, juicy crush that she was happy to say went both ways.
“So how does that make you feel?” MJ pressed, oblivious to Cindy’s little march down memory lane.
She sighed. “I don’t know what to feel, MJ. I haven’t seen him in years, and now he’s back, talking about sleigh rides and laughing with Nicole like nothing has changed. It’s strange.”
“Do you think you’ll spend time together or just sort of exist around each other?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t hate him, you know. I’ve long ago forgiven him for his choice.”
“Does he know that?” MJ asked.
