Page 57 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
Zac considered her words, his eyes lingering on the twinkling lights. “I’ll see.”
“No!Do it!” Paige replied, a hint of optimism in her voice. “Barb loves the kids, and this place feels so magical. I’m sure it’s just the place to bring out the best in people. Plus, it’s neutral ground. You’re not at the lodge or her place. Just two parents out having dinner and talking.”
Zac sighed, the weight of his secrets pressing down on him. “I know I need to tell her about Oscar. It’s just… I’ve kept it from her for so long, and now it feels impossible to bring it up.”
“You’ll find the right moment,” Paige assured him. “But for now, cocoa and ice skating.” She pointed to where lines of booths littered a road that had been closed off. “Then shopping and lunch.”
“Always thinking about your stomach.” Zac shook his head, taking Oscar’s hand in his, and they made theirway to the pond.
“Are we getting hot chocolate?” Oscar asked hopefully. “You know, the nice one like Emily makes with the marshmallows, candy cane, and bits of chocolate and caramel.”
“I don’t know if we’ll find something like that,” Zac told him. “But we can find something like it, maybe.”
“That’s good, too,” Oscar said. “Oh, look, that must be the pond.”
There weren’t too many people on the rink, but they got their skates, and Zac left Paige to help Oscar with his while he went to get them some hot chocolate. He was walking back to them when he spotted Barb, Heather, and Avery walking out of a hardware store across from the pond.
He got such a fright when he saw her that he nearly dropped the beverages. Zac stood transfixed as he noted how relaxed and happy Barb looked as she laughed at something Heather was saying.
His heart was beating so hard in his chest that he was sure they could hear it from across the road, and then, to his horror, Avery spotted him.
“Zac!” Avery called, waving.
He waved back and saw Barb’s smile slide from her face as her head shot around and saw him across the street. Zac stood dead still as he watched the three women cross the road to join him.
“Hi,” Heather and Avery greeted him with a smile.
“Barb mentioned you’d brought Oscar to Frisco,” Avery said and looked to where Zac had left Oscar and Paige. “I see you’re ice-skating.”
“Yes,” Zac said, nodding, his eyes meeting Barb’s narrowed ones for a few seconds before he turned to see Paige and Oscar walk onto the ice. To his surprise, Oscar was pretty good. “Oh, so he can skate.”
“Of course, he can ice-skate,” Heather said a little indignantly, glancing at Barb, whoseeyes widened warningly, but Heather grinned. “Barb used to ice-skate as a sport when she was at school.”
Barb shook her head at her friend. “She told us she taught Oscar as he was interested in playing ice hockey one day.”
“You’re all welcome to join us if you’d like?” Zac found himself saying.
“No, we can’t,” Barb’s words were sharp. “You enjoy your day with Oscar. We have a lot to do at the lodge to get ready for the festival.”
“Yeah, Barb’s right,” Avery said with a sigh. “Although I’d love to join you as I haven’t ice-skated in a while.”
“Maybe we can make a night of it sometime this week,” Heather suggested. “I’ll ask Jackie when she looks after the kids and eight of us if you would join us,” She looked at Zac. “We could have dinner, do a bit of night browsing, and some ice-skating.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Avery agreed and looked at Barb. “What do you say, Barb?”
“I’m not sure,” Barb said hesitantly, her eyes meeting Zac’s once again. “It depends on what night it is.”
“We’ll let you know if you’re interested, Zac,” Heather said, and he nodded.
“It sounds good,” Zac said, nodding and holding up the drinks. “I have to take this to Oscar and Paige before it gets too cold.”
“See you later,” Avery said as the three women turned and walked away, leaving Zac to watch them go.
He felt it was becoming symbolic watching Barb walk away from him, and each time she left, it felt like she was getting further away from him. Zac heard a squeal of laughter and turned to witness his sister hit the ice after trying to do a spin, and Oscar found it funny.
Zac pushed thoughts of Barb from his mind and went to the rink. “Are you okay?” he asked his sister as he leaned over therailing.
“She broke her butt!” Oscar laughed.
