Second Chance Christmas (The Colorado Cades) by Tanya Michaels Read Free Book Online

only take a moment.”
    Lodge business, huh? Elisabeth suspected that was code for maternal interrogation. Nonetheless she followed her mother to an unoccupied corner of the dining room. “I thought you and Kaylee were having lunch in town,” she said pointedly.
    “I told her she could pick any place she wanted, but you know how much she adores Chef Bates.”
    Elisabeth would never forget the first night she and Kaylee had arrived home after the funeral in Denver. Worrying that Kaylee had barely eaten in days, Elisabeth had been anxious to get some food into her. But the kid-friendly suggestions she’d offered—everything from grilled cheese to chocolate cake—had reminded Kaylee of things her mother used to cook. The girl had dissolved into body-wracking sobs. In a fit of desperation, Elisabeth had pulled out a container of leftover black ink risotto that she’d brought home from a fancy event at the lodge.
    Kaylee had been intrigued enough to try a bite. Even though she hadn’t immediately loved it, she wanted to know what else Elisabeth had in her fridge that came from Chef Bates. The six-year-old plowed through some lobster ravioli, then fell into an exhausted sleep on Elisabeth’s sofa. After that, finding exotic foods for her to try had become a coping mechanism for them. There would be no chicken nuggets like her mom used to serve for lunch or chocolate chip pancakes that Michelle cooked on her birthday. Luckily, lots of meals were exotic to a young child who’d never been outside of Colorado.
    Patti’s hazel eyes narrowed. “Maybe I would have done a better job of keeping her away from Justin if I’d known he was going to be on the premises. Why on earth is he here?”
    Because your other daughter is a lunatic . “We just had a few things to discuss. You know his sister, Arden, is a photographer? I’d like to do an engagement photo with Steven while he’s here this weekend. We might even hire her for the wedding.”
    “You want your ex-boyfriend’s sister to take your wedding pictures?”
    “Possibly. But I figured the courteous approach was to ask him first. So you see, our having lunch together isn’t noteworthy. I would have preferred keeping Kaylee away, though. Once the shock of losing Michelle started to wear off, she was crushed to realize Justin wouldn’t be part of our lives. I don’t want her to suffer that disappointment again.”
    Patti reached out and smoothed a strand of Elisabeth’s hair. “I know exactly how you feel. I’ve...never seen you so lost over a boy as you were when he walked away.”
    Boy? Elisabeth stole a glance back at their table. Justin Cade—thirty years old, sexy as sin and the best skier she’d ever met in her life—was no boy.
    “I don’t want him to hurt you again,” Patti insisted. “Are you sure you’re all right with his being here? Say the word, and I’ll have Javier throw him out on his ass.”
    Elisabeth covered her mouth with her hand to smother a giggle. “That won’t be necessary, Mom. All I need you to do is pry Kaylee away from him. Don’t worry, Justin can’t hurt me.”
    Dating him had been like a cruel vaccine. He’d done so much damage the first time around that now she was immune.
    * * *
    J USTIN HAD ALWAYS been fond of Kaylee Truitt. Yet he couldn’t help wishing that Elisabeth and her mother would finish their discussion and rescue him. The pixie-faced girl with her corkscrew curls and glittery purple sweatshirt looked harmless, but she had an uncanny knack for mixing the trivial and the tragic, always finding the cracks in his armor.
    She’d gone from telling him why the orange crayon at school was better than the blue one to demanding to know why he hadn’t come over to play since she’d moved to Cielo Peak. Feeling like slime, he’d stammered something about being busy and recently becoming an uncle, relieved when she moved on to asking if he’d ever eaten squid and if he knew the difference between squid and