“So you bought us a brand-new snowmobile?” MJ asked, her voice rising in disbelief she couldn’t hide.
“Well, I thought a place like this needs the right machine. For safety. For guests. For peace of mind.” He slid his hands into his coat pockets. “Just seemed like the right thing to do.”
The right thing? It was…well, she didn’t have a word for that level of generosity.
Her sister walked closer to the vehicle, stared at it, let her jaw loosen, but she seemed…stiff. Maybe uncomfortable, but who wouldn’t be at the magnitude of this gift?
“This is amazing and…amazing.” Cindy huffed an awkward laugh, but her smile faded. “I just don’t think we can accept this, Matt.”
“We can’t?” MJ asked, her fingers splayed over her heart, feeling the beat even under her down jacket.
“Because it’s…too much.”
“Well, I thought you might say that, and I didn’t mean to go overboard, but I want to give it to you.” He shifted his weight in his boots, looking like he might have actually practiced this speech. “Sometimes a gift is as much about the giving as the receiving. And it’s Christmas. So, Merry Christmas. Please accept it and use it in good health.”
“Oh, Matt.” MJ sighed, feeling a little lightheaded. “That is so gracious and kind. Thoughtful doesn’t begin to cover it. Thank you.”
Under his mustache, his lips pulled into a smile. “Hopefully, you won’t have to save another old man and young boy, but if you do”—he jutted his chin toward the snowmobile—“this should come in handy.”
Now,thatwas an understatement.
He glanced at Cindy, whose expression was softening, but still uncertain. “There’s a manual in the storage bin,” he said. “And the dealer said he’s happy to come out for a tutorial at your convenience.”
Cindy exhaled, her breath coming out in a puff. “I honestly don’t know what to say,” she admitted. “It’s extraordinary.”
“You need it, right?”
“Need it?” she scoffed. “Yes. It’s almost a liabilitynotto have one out here.”
“Then here you go.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, holding them out to MJ. “I’d say take her for a spin, but you probably want to wait until daytime. Although it has great LED lights.”
Somewhere under her happy shock, a little spark caught and flared—the way he saw what they needed, not because they’d asked but because he’d been paying attention. MJ’s heart tightened in her chest, a mix of gratitude and affection and, God help her, attraction.
There it was. The thing she didn’t want to admit.
“Won’t you come in and let us ply you with treats and maybe some mulled wine?” she suggested. “Please. Some tea and gingerbread cookies. Anything.”
He lifted both palms, apologetic but not evasive. “I’d love to, but not tonight. I’m going into town. But thank you.”
Cindy’s chin tipped a fraction. “Matt, please let us pay you something or…” Her voice faded as though she knew, like MJ, the plea would fall on deaf ears. “We’ll comp your cabin.”
“You will not!” he exclaimed. “I know about the tax money and all.” At Cindy’s look, he chuckled. “I got a tendency to blend into the background and I’ve been picking this sweet lady’s brain while she tried to cook…” He smiled at MJ. “I’m aware that you’re swimming against the tide. Now you can fly right over it on this fine vehicle.”
“But…”
He shook his head. “Honestly, I really just like it here and this…” He shifted his gaze to the snowmobile, a definite glow in his light brown eyes. “This makes me happy.”
He sighed out those words as if…as if he’d been searching for something to make him happy and somehow that had led him to a snowmobile.
“Well, I call it a Christmas miracle,” MJ said on a laugh, trying to lighten the moment.
He smiled, walking toward the snowmobile. “No miracles, just…good luck.”
“We’re so grateful,” MJ said, hating that she sounded like a breathless teenager and not a woman in her sixth decade of life.
“We really are,” Cindy add. “Grateful and overwhelmed.”
He tapped the headlight casing and smiled down at the beast. He glanced at her again, holding her gaze for a few heartbeats, then nodded. “Happy to hear that. Merry Christmas to the ladies of Snowberry Lodge.”
