Vacation (31 page)

"Point taken," Brian laughed.
"What's up? You
wanna
grab a beer tonight?"

"Maybe tomorrow. I have a full
schedule today and had a long night last night."

"Did you score with that Terri
girl?"

"Was that her name? I kept having to
call her baby because I couldn't remember. Embarrassing."

I turned down a long back street that had
more snow than I should have been able to traverse through, but having done it
all my life, it was nothing new.

"Man whore."

"You know it." I pulled off into
the driveway and left the truck running idle. "Are we getting together
with the guys next weekend?"

"Yeah. Jared's bachelor party is
here, remember? They fly in Saturday morning, but he's
gotta
go see his folks for most of the day. Let's plan on taking him to the club that
night. Play a few games with the old bastard.”

I chuckled and realized that we were
likely to never grow up. "Sounds like a plan to me. I'm going to win, but
you know that."

"I do, but Jared doesn't. Let's let
him be surprised at how well you've honed in your sexual prowess."

"Sexual prowess? You're starting to
sound like one of those suits you wear." I chuckled. "Besides, I'm
still shoveling snow for a living. I need the right woman to sweep me off my
feet and pay for my shit."

"
Naw
,
you're just in a slump, buddy. You're going to keep saving up and when the time
comes, we'll get your resort up and running. Don't let the dream die. They
happen to be one of the only free things in life."

"Ski resorts?" I teased him.

"No. Dreams, you bastard. I'm going
to go live someone else's now. See you later."

"Later."

I hung up and got out of the truck as the
wind slammed against me. I wasn't living a dream, but a nightmare. Thankfully,
it only lasted eight hours a day.

Chapter
3

Chloe

My alarm decided not to go off the next
morning, which had me running around our small dorm room like my butt was on
fire. Jessie worked to help me get things together, but between the two of us,
I was still going to barely make my flight.

"I'll take you. You can't take the
car, anyway." She opened the door and pulled the largest of my suitcases
out into the hall.

I manhandled the other three somehow and
growled under my breath as hip hop music filled the hall.

"Why did we have a whole bottle of
wine last night? Who thought that was a good idea?"

I moved behind her as fast as I could,
luckily only stumbling over my luggage three times, but never actually hitting
the ground.

"Chloe! Where are you going?"
Three girls from the cheerleading squad moved out into the hall behind me.

"Home for the holidays. You guys have
fun."

"We will!" they yelled in unison
and I had to force myself to return their enthusiasm with a big smile.

"Wine is good for the heart,"
Jessie mumbled and moved out of the building, holding the door for me.
"Maybe it was just supposed to be a glass, but just think, we're all good
now for at least a few weeks."

I smirked and flinched thanks to the sharp
pain that laced my skull. "I'm praying I get a seat next to a businessman
who reads the paper the entire time."

"You in coach or are you flying with
the wealthy today?"

"First class. You know how my father
is."

I loaded my stuff in the trunk and got in
the car as quickly as I was able. Wine had never been a good choice for me, but
it was Jessie's favorite, so I had relented the night before. The queasiness
that sat in the center of my stomach reminded me why I should have denied her.

"Are you excited about seeing your
brother?" She got in the car and pulled out of the driveway before punching
the gas. I buckled quickly and gave her a wide-eyed look only to get a laugh in
response.

"Yeah. He's a total gamer, but I was
when I was younger, too. I still play with him, but no one knows that."

"Your secret is safe with me."
She winked and nodded to the Starbucks. "Want a coffee?"

"No, my stomach is killing me. We're
never going to make it in time, are we?"

"Nope. Might want to let your dad
know." She pulled into the Starbucks anyway. "I need something if
we're not in a huge rush."

"Get me a peppermint hot chocolate
and I'll pay." I handed her my card. She knew better than to combat me on
it. My father had enough money to go around and the majority of my monthly
budget went untouched. Therefore, I paid – a lot.

She ordered while I dug my phone out of my
purse and took a deep breath. Calling my father for something good was hard,
but having to tell him I hadn't met his expectations in any way, shape, or form
sucked horribly.

"Chloe. What's wrong?" His voice
was deep and filled with parental sternness.

"Missed my flight."

"How is that possible, seeing that it
leaves in forty minutes?"

"My alarm didn't go off, Dad. I set
it and of course on the only day this week that it mattered, it didn't
work." I pressed my fingers to my forehead and closed my eyes. The last
thing I wanted to do was start an argument with my dad over the damn alarm
clock, but no doubt we were quickly headed that way.

"Then you should have set two alarms.
The flight won't wait on you. It's called being responsible. These things cost
money." His tone darkened, leaving me feeling like a child again.

"I'll pay for the flight
change," I spoke through clenched teeth.

Jessie reached over and squeezed my hand,
mouthing, “
It’s
okay. Just breathe.”

"With what money, Chloe? Your card is
linked to my account. You're not working, remember?"

"I'll see you when I get to Aspen,
Dad. I'll text Parker just before I get on whatever flight I end up on. Thanks
for understanding. Hugs and kisses." I hung up and turned my phone on
silent as anger burst through me and tears filled my eyes. "Why the fuck
am I even going there?"

"Because you need to see your brother
and this is going to be a great way to get starter money for your
company."

"I don't want his money. He's going
to be up the crack of my ass the entire holiday and then he'll tell me why I
have something else to prove before he cuts me the check." I took my drink
as Jessie extended it to me. "And you know what else?"

"Tell me."

"
Him
investing in my company is a horrible idea. That means he has some kind of
control over it. Over me!" I was being overly dramatic, but I couldn't
help it. The bastard had been nothing but a thorn in my side and a constant
whisper over my shoulder that I wasn't good enough.

"Take a deep breath and drink your
hot chocolate. This is a win-win situation and your dad will always be the kind
of guy he is."

"He didn't use to be." I reached
up and wiped at my tears, thankful that I had no makeup on due to my lack of
time to apply it. "When my mom was alive, he was..." My throat
tightened and I shook my head. "Never mind. I don't want to talk about
this."

My mother's death had changed us all, but
having happened so long ago, I would have thought we could all move past it
enough to reconnect as a family. Parker and I had, but my father was an island
to himself.

"Maybe it's time to forgive each
other and help him start dating again. It's been eight years since you lost
your mom?"

"Yeah. I was sixteen." I wiped
the back of my long-sleeve t-shirt across my face. "I don't even know if
he's dated anyone."

"Maybe he's bitter, Chloe." She
offered me a kind smile, and I nodded, hating the painful emotions that raged
through me.

"Maybe. I'm grateful for his money,
but I think I'm just so pissed that he has nothing else to offer." I sniffled
and leaned back in my seat, unsure of what to think about the upcoming events
that had the power to change my life. "He's all I have, you know?"

"I don't know, but I'm here for you.
Find the fun and the good in this trip, okay? I know you, and if nothing else,
you're a positive person."

I nodded again and closed my eyes, laying
my hand on top of hers and trying to steel my resolve to be the bigger person,
no matter what.

* * * *

"I'm sorry about your situation this
morning, Miss Burke." The pretty flight attendant glanced up from her
computer to me and back down again.

"It's my fault. I should have set two
alarms, I guess." I shrugged and offered the woman a warm smile.

"No. These things happen to us
all." She pressed her finger to her lips and clicked a few buttons on her
keypad. "We have two more flights today. One leaves in three hours and the
next around five tonight. It's a late flight, which you might not want, but
it's up to you."

"A three hour wait or a nine hour
wait? I'm going with the three hour."

I pulled out my phone to text my father,
but decided against it. If something happened, God-forbid, and I had to text
him again, he would blow a gasket that was likely to hit me all the way in
California.

"Sounds good. I'll change your ticket
and we'll see you at gate B-25 in a few hours. Let’s get your bags checked in
for the new flight, then you can go grab you a good book and try to
relax."

She handed me the new boarding pass.
Getting my luggage checked in was a nightmare and a half, but everything had to
get out of the dorms. They closed down during the week of Christmas for
cleaning. Besides, I was done at UCLA, anyway. My time there was over and I was
on the road full speed ahead to growing up.

The thought was exhilarating and
terrifying all at the same time.

I took her suggestion after getting
through security. A romance novel and a Snickers bar would be more than enough
fun to get me through the short wait. My father would be angry, but he would
get over it. Besides, there would certainly be something else to stoke his
angst over before too long. Nothing I ever did was right. How anyone worked for
him was beyond me.

I checked my phone again as I slumped down
in a cold plastic chair and saw that I had a few texts from Jessie and one from
Seth, but nothing from my dad. That I expected him to start caring any minute
about how it might feel for me to be stuck at the airport alone was stupid. I
was a grown-ass woman, as he had reminded me many times over the last few
years, and honestly, he was right. I was twenty-three and had a Master’s
degree. I'd say that was pretty much grown.

After spending the first hour trying to
get into the romance novel and not getting anywhere, I pulled out my small
sketch pad and let out a long breath. I needed to work on a few new designs for
my spring line that I wanted to kick off my new venture with. I let my eyes
wander around, taking in the styles and color palates of the better dressed females
walking through the airport and let my mind explode with options.

My fingers scribbled furiously as I
sketched out three new tops and a short summer dress that would only do well in
warm weather states.

"Attention all United passengers on
Flight 2543. We're looking for anyone who might take a two-hundred-dollar
voucher to move to the five o'clock flight. We're a packed flight today and we
have a standby passenger who's in need of getting home. If you're willing,
please come visit us at the desk."

"Nope," I muttered and turned my
attention back to my drawing.

Someone dropped down in the seat next to
me with a loud sigh and I glanced over at the young guy appearing to be
nineteen or twenty.

He looked my way and nodded.
"Hi."

"Hi." I returned to my project,
not wanting to start a conversation with a stranger. I didn't like half my
friends and most of my family. Strangers were definitely out.

"That's pretty." He leaned a
little closer as his dark gray eyes moved across my sketch pad. He was
attractive, but in a rock star sort of way. The tats on his arms were done in
various colors, some of them beautiful and some not so much. He had to have let
a drunken friend do a few of them.

"Oh. Thanks." I set the pad down
in my lap and turned to him, resigning myself to a short conversation.
"You heading home for the holidays?"

"Trying to." He lifted a can of Sprite
to his lips and took a long drink. "My parents are in Maine and for some
damn reason, I'm supposed to stop through Colorado to get there. I've been bumped
from the flight, so it looks like a long afternoon."

"Sorry to hear that." I crossed
my legs and glanced down at my sketch pad, not really sorry at all.

"Yeah. That call they put over the
intercom was for me."

That got my attention. "Why are you
so desperate to get on this next flight? Are the connector flights all booked
up if you don't make this one?"

"There's that, and the fact that my
mother is going into emergency surgery at seven tonight." He shrugged,
turning his gaze away from me.

"Oh. That's not good." I didn't
want to dive into her personal business, but he was leaving me little choice in
the matter.

"She's been battling cancer for the
last two years, but I guess it's metastasized. She's not doing well." He
reached up and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose as my heart ran
cold.

His story was a little too similar to
mine.

"I'm so sorry. Maybe this surgery
will be exactly what she needs." My phone buzzed and I lifted it to my
face to read the text, grateful for the momentary break.

Dad: The change in flight was $200. I'll
add that to your ever-expanding tab.

"How much was the voucher for someone
willing to go later?" I moved to the edge of my seat as the desire to do
something good left me overwhelmed.

"Two hundred dollars, but
it’s
okay. I'm sure it will all get worked out."

"Watch my stuff." I got up and
walked up to the podium, sliding my ticket across to the flight attendant.
"I'd like to give up my seat to that guy over there and I'll take the
later flight."

"Are you sure, Miss Burke? You were
scheduled on the earlier flight and are already going to be arriving
late."

"I'm sure."

"
It's
first
class and the next flight only has coach."

"That's okay. I don't mind at all.
Just apply the voucher to the fee you charged my father for me missing the
first flight. Less for me to hear about later," I laughed, feeling good
about my decision.

"The fee has been waived, and we'll
just give you the voucher for your kindness."

"Oh no, I don't want it. Apply it to
the guy over there. Give him a break. I'm blessed as it is."