Page 64 of Luke

"Sorry we put you in the middle of all this," she said.

"I'm not," he replied. "I'm glad I was here to help."

"Me, too." She wished he could always be there to help.

"Can we go home now?" Kaitlyn asked.

She was thrilled that Kaitlyn had finally referred to the lodge as home, but as they made their way down the mountain, she couldn't help wondering how long the lodge really would be home. Luke was an amazing man. He'd saved their lives. But would he keep the lodge just to give them a place to call home?

* * *

They made it back to the resort just past seven as the sun set behind the mountains and darkness fell. They'd barely stepped foot on the property when the first of the worried staff members saw their arrival and came running to greet them: Nancy from housekeeping, Tina from the front desk, Jeff the handyman, and Tom all hugged Kaitlyn and told her how happy they were she was back.

Kaitlyn seemed surprised at all the attention. She'd really had no idea that even with her bad behavior, the staff at the lodge cared about her and wanted her to be safe and happy. Liz had never been more proud of her employees. She tried to make light of the adventure, not wanting to put Kaitlyn through any more emotional explanations, simply saying that her niece had finally decided to try a hike, but next time she would go with someone.

After a quick stop to wash their hands, she and Kaitlyn met back up with Luke in the dining room. He'd already ordered everything on the menu, he told them with a laugh, which was fine with Liz, since she'd worked up quite an appetite in the mountains.

Val, the new interim chef, with their sous chef Michelle's help, had landed on her feet quite nicely, and soon they were digging into juicy barbecued ribs and chicken, salad, roasted vegetables, fresh fruit, and twice-baked potatoes followed by a three-layer chocolate cake.

Liz couldn't remember being so hungry. Kaitlyn and Luke also made fast work of the meal. After they finished eating, Kaitlyn went to take a shower, and Luke suggested they take their coffee up to the roof. She was happy to go with him. She needed some space to decompress and escape all the well-meaning questions from the staff, most of whom weren't buying the Kaitlyn-just-wanted-to-go-on-a-hike story.

When they reached the rooftop patio, she took a breath of cool, fresh air and felt immediately better. It was a lovely night, with temperatures still in the sixties.

She sat down on the bench and let out a sigh of relief. "This is good."

"I thought it would be," Luke said, sitting down next to her.

"I can't quite believe everything that happened since we were up here last night." As she finished speaking, her memories flashed back to the hours in Luke's bed. It seemed like a long time ago now.

"It's been a busy day," he said with a small smile. "And here I thought there'd be nothing going on."

"You brought the excitement with you."

"Not this time."

"That's true. Kaitlyn was a simmering pot just waiting to blow. I knew in my gut that her mom's birthday was going to bring up some problems; I just didn't know what to expect. And then Shari going into labor four weeks early was quite a surprise. Speaking of which…" She pulled out her phone. "I got this text when we were finishing dinner. It's from Brad. Shari just gave birth to our baby girl. Both doing great."

"That's excellent news."

"It is." She let out a breath as she put her phone back into her pocket. "I didn't even have time to worry about her, but I'm so happy she's all right. I'm also glad Val is a capable chef. Another small miracle. We've had several of those today."

"Yes, we have."

She looked over at Luke and felt a tremendous wave of affection and gratitude toward him. He'd been so calm, so confident, so unwavering through those panicked minutes when she'd realized the trouble Kaitlyn was in. "I don't know what I would have done without you today. I owe you big time."

"I think I like the idea of you owing me something," he replied, his lips curving into a smile. "But in all honesty, you did the hard part, Lizzie. You climbed down the mountain. You put your life on the line for Kaitlyn. All you."

"You're giving me too much credit. You had to pull us back up."

"No big deal. You're both lightweights."

"Well, I still can't quite believe it even happened. It's surreal. When I think of all the things that could have gone wrong, it makes my stomach hurt."

"Don't think about what didn't happen, only what did." He set his coffee mug down on the bench and then took hers out of her hand and set it down as well.

"I wasn't done with that," she protested.

"You'll get it back. But first, I want to collect on your debt." He leaned forward and touched her mouth with his in a kiss that was meant to be tender but immediately triggered a firestorm of heat within her.

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