Page 56 of A Gingerbread Romance

Ten minutes later, when Brett and Elaine were satisfied, he waved as they pulled out of the parking spot. They’d be heading back to Baltimore and wouldn’t be back until after the new tenants had begun construction on the restaurant. Then he hopped into his car and headed for Greta’s house.

She was probably just tired from the marathon of the Christmas season and needed a rest. Or maybe she was sick? He hoped not. Whatever the case, hopefully, she’d be willing to talk to him.

He saw her car in the driveway and headed for her front porch, his pulse picking up, then tapped at the door and waited, but no answer came. He peered into a front window, cupping his fingers over his eyes to block the glare of the midday sun.

It was dark inside. He knocked on the door again. Maybe she was upstairs? He waited, but still, there was no sign of her.

Okay, so the element of surprise was not an option. He took his phone from the inner lining of his suit coat pocket and swiped her name. The phone rang several times, but went to voicemail. He hung up with a sigh. He couldn’t leave what he had to say to her in a message.

Where could she be? He filed back across the walkway, past Greta’s snow-covered yard, remembering how he’d walked her home several times, under the stars, the happiest he’d been in years. Was she finished with him? Did he even have a chance of winning her back?

He reached his car, climbed in, and started up the engine, turning on the heater.

His head in his hands, he inhaled sharply at the ache in his chest. His attempts at keeping Greta out of his heart had come to nothing. She’d found her way in despite his best defenses, but he couldn’t give up now. There had to be a way to find her. He lifted his head with a sigh.

Who else might know of her whereabouts? He dialed Wade, but the call went to his voicemail, so he hung up.

He dialed Luke, who picked up on the second ring. Thank goodness. “Hey, Jon, how you doin’?” Jonathan didn’t miss the echo of surprise in his voice. Wade must’ve told Luke Jon had gone back to Baltimore.

“I’m fine, thanks. But hey, I’m in town again, and uh, sorry to cut to the chase, but would you happen to know where Greta is? I thought, maybe, since Chloe and Greta were getting along well, she might know? She’s not at work or at home, and I really need to talk to her.” Jonathan pushed a hand into his coat pocket and pulled out the square leather box, examining it as he talked.

“Yeah, she went skiing with Chloe.”

Jonathan’s brow rose. “Oh, right…” He’d forgotten, but that made sense. It was Tuesday, and they’d all made plans. Plans he’d broken. Another twinge of guilt shot through his system.

“Yeah, out to that waterfall we were all talking about on Christmas Eve. Dude, are you okay? Wade said you guys broke up, and so Chloe was trying to, you know, be a friend to her.”

Jonathan was quiet. “Wow, that’s really nice of Chloe,” he said, swallowing. What had he done? “Is Greta okay?”

“Yeah, she seems all right, from what Chloe’s told me, all things considered. What about you? Are you okay?”

Jonathan heaved a sigh of relief. “I’ll be fine, as long as I can talk to her—soon. When will they be back?” He chewed on his lip.

“Not until about dinnertime.”

Jonathan sighed, thinking. “Hey, are you busy right now? And can you get me out to that waterfall, Luke?” He needed to talk to Greta. He’d already wasted enough time.

“Uh, well, I’m at the resort right now, but I can get away for the afternoon,” Luke said. “But I’ve never been there, and it’s about an eight-mile run, each way.”

“Eight miles?” That sounded like a significant distance on skis, but he was in decent shape, and of course, Luke could set their pace. “When did they leave?”

Luke paused, maybe to check his watch. “Chloe texted me that they were hitting the trail about half an hour ago. But I haven’t heard from her since. They might not have service out there.”

Jonathan’s heart lifted, regardless. “So, we could catch up if we tried?” Was this a crazy idea? He honestly didn’t care. It would say a lot if he could show up where he’d told her he would when they’d talked about this on Christmas Eve. “What do you think?”

Luke was silent again. “I don’t know, Jon, because we’d have to drive out there first. It’s closer to my place, but if you’re in town, it’ll take you twenty minutes just to get to the trailhead.”

Ugh. With every passing minute, Greta could be hurting, and he couldn’t let his impulsive bad decisions hurt her any longer than necessary. “Shoot.”

He heard his brother’s heavy sigh. “Actually, wait. When I was checking the trail on the app this morning with Chloe, we noticed there’s another starting point, and it’s a lot shorter. Three miles to the falls.”

Jonathan’s heart leaped. “Really? And you can find it?”

“I should be able to,” said Luke. “Do you have the right kind of skis?”

“Sure don’t,” said Jonathan flatly. “Can I stop to rent them somewhere?” Although that would take a while. Precious time he didn’t have.

“We’ve got a few at the resort. I’ll grab you a pair. Gotta run down there and borrow some for myself.”

---