Project Love (Cascade Brides Series) (25 page)

Faith had arranged for them to meet at a resort lodge
just outside of town. When Charity had first heard about the
location, she choked at the expense. But Hope had said the one night
accommodations were covered and to just show up.

Just show up
.
Easier said than done. Plus her excuse of begging off for cost
reasons had been obliterated.

A few minutes later, the lodge came into view—a long
expanse of building against a backdrop of snow-topped mountains,
flanked by acres of golf course. She'd never been to the lodge—it
had been rarefied air when she was a child. Now it took on the cast
of a reunion gone wrong.

Daniel pulled into a parking space and turned off the
car. He looked over at her, his brown eyes filled with concern. “How
are you doing?”

“
Peachy keen.”

A dark brow went up before he offered a reassuring
smile. “Thank you for letting me come.”

She let out a nervous little laugh. “I couldn't have
done this without you.”

He averted his gaze before returning to her. “You
don't know how much that means to me.”

Charity wished with all her heart that they were here to
spend time with each other, not face a disquieting past. As if
reading her mind, Daniel touched her cheek. She covered his hand.

“
No matter how this goes,” he said in a low voice,
“it won't affect my love for you.”

Blinking back the sting of tears at his kindness, she
leaned forward and touched his lips with her own. His other hand came
up to lightly cup her face. Charity leaned into the kiss, wanting to
absorb every drop of his tenderness against the ordeal that awaited
her.

When he lifted his lips, he said, “Let's pray.”

She watched his eyes drift closed, watched as he tipped
his head down.

“
Dear Lord, please be with Charity as she meets with
her sisters. Go before them, preparing their hearts so there's a
chance of reconciliation. And even if it doesn't go well today, plant
seeds for the future.”

When he said 'amen' and opened his eyes, he sent her a
questioning look. “Ready?”

She quirked her mouth. “Nope.”

Daniel smiled, undaunted. “Let's go anyway.”

Charity uttered a low groan and got out of the car.

When they reached the lobby, she scanned every face, her
heart in her throat. But the lobby was primarily dotted with older
couples, there for the golfing, no doubt. Trepidation kept her from
taking in the beauty of the lighted wreaths and garland decorating
the space, which at any other time would've delighted her.

Once they had their room keys, she followed Daniel down
the hall, nervously peeking over his shoulder for a stray sister
sighting. But they made it to their rooms without any problems. After
Daniel stowed his bag in his room, he joined her in hers and pulled
her into a hug. Charity held onto him, needing his solidity more than
she could've imagined.

“
So the plan is we meet for dinner in the lodge
restaurant.”

She sighed, enjoying the sound of his heart beneath her
ear. “Yep.”

“
You sound so excited.”

Charity tipped her head back. “No snarky comments
allowed while we're here.”

“
Noted,” he said with a grin. He checked his watch.
“It's an hour until then. What do you want to do?”

“
Hide out here,” she said without hesitation.

Daniel took her hand and led her to the sliding glass
door that opened out to the balcony. When he pulled the door open, a
rush of chilly air met them. She was glad for her wool sweater as she
followed him out onto the small place, populated by a small iron
table and chair set.

“
Are those the Sisters Mountains?” Daniel asked,
pointing to the peaks appearing just over a line of fir trees.

“
Yes.”

“
Do you know which is which?”

Reconciled to playing tourist guide for the moment,
Charity pointed to each in turn. “Faith, Hope, and Charity.”

He nodded. “I read up on the peaks a little before we
left. Faith is the oldest and most difficult to climb. Hope is a
little younger—which I don't get how that works—but is apparently
also the least studied.”

“
Maybe that's because she's the boring one of the
bunch.”

He sent her an arch
look. “So
you
get to
be snarky?”

“
Hey, it's my family,
and therefore
my
coping mechanism.”

“
Ah.” He looked back at the mountains. “Charity—the
so-called youngest—has a small crater lake called Teardrop Pool.”

“
Whaddya know.”

Daniel put his arm
around her and pulled her close. “It's going to be
fine
.”

Charity refrained from grunting. “You know Faith had
us pose for a picture representing the mountains...with our knees?”

“
Whoa. I can't imagine what that must look like.”

“
Um, knobby, scraped up knees held in positions that
mimicked the shape of the mountains. She was such a grump about it,
fussing that we weren't holding still. But I seem to remember it
turning out kinda cool. Of course no one would know knees equaled
mountains, but there you go. One of our rare moments of getting along
for a whole hour at a time.”

Her cellphone dinged. With a feeling of trepidation,
Charity fished it from her purse and checked the message.

We decided we should meet without the men first
.

The thought of facing
her sisters without the support of Daniel was unwelcome in the
extreme. She texted back.
Why?

Charity sent a tight look at Daniel while she waited for
a response.

“
Is anything wrong?”

She made a face by way of response. Her phone dinged.

Faith thinks it should just be us at first. Talk to
her if you don't like it
.
Room
215
.

Grrrr.
Fine.
When?

Now
.

Charity tossed her phone on the bed. “Apparently Faith
wants us to meet privately before dinner.”

A slight frown appeared on Daniel's forehead. “Why?”

“
No clue. Seems to me it would be better with the guys
because then we'd be forced to behave.”

“
Maybe that's the reason. She wants an organic
meeting.”

She put a hand on her hip. “Did you just use the word
'organic'?”

“
Uh, maybe.” He walked over to her and put his hands
on her arms. “I think it's a chance to get the awkwardness dealt
with up front.”

She bit back a rueful smile. “You're just squeamish.”

He dropped his hands, his expression relaxed. “I'll be
waiting to hear from you.”

“
I can't believe you're just letting me go. Aren't you
supposed to slay my dragons for me?”

“
You got this, Charity,” he said, his eyes
sparkling. “ I believe in you.”

Struggling to mask her distaste for the whole scenario,
she stalked to the door. But before she opened it, Daniel was there,
placing his hand over hers.

“
Aren't you forgetting something?”

Her attention shifted to his lips. When he leaned in to
kiss her, she had to admit his touch left her feeling a little more
confident.

He opened the door and stepped aside. Charity took a
deep breath, her gaze lingering on him for a moment longer. Then she
headed down the hall to room 215.

***

Daniel tried to be
sympathetic to Charity's concerns, but if truth be told, he was
looking forward to meeting her sisters. Despite her inability to hide
her feelings well, there were still unanswered questions he had about
her, and maybe getting to know her family would fill in the gaps.
There were also other advantages to the scenario—
if
Charity had a good experience.

He checked his watch then decided to head to the lobby.
Cooling his heels in a hotel room would do little to alleviate his
nervousness. After sending up another prayer for Charity, he left the
room and made his way to the lobby. The hotel interior was fashioned
from pine logs and soaring ceilings with massive glass windows that
looked out over the golf course, to the clustered firs and the
mountains beyond.

A few people criss-crossed the festive lobby area, while
others occupied the overstuffed chairs around a massive stone
fireplace that took up nearly one wall of the lobby. Daniel walked
over to one of the windows and blew out a breath. The soaring blue
sky edged by pinking clouds was beyond beautiful. But the view
couldn't calm the anxiety he felt in the pit of his stomach. Some of
it stemmed from fact that Charity had been put on the spot because of
him. He still felt bad about that. In his earnestness to get her to
reconnect with her family, he'd risked his own chances with her. Over
the last weeks she'd been a little distant. She didn't resist his
advances, but she didn't seek them out either. Had he quenched her
fledgling love? Had he damaged any chance of a future with her?

He didn't know.

Daniel reached into his pocket and touched the small box
there. He'd had the ring since before the auction, but there had yet
to be a moment to present it. His prayer was that this meeting with
her sisters would make her think of the future too. Of a future with
him. Regardless of whether the reunion was a bust.

His shoulders slumped a little at the gravity of the
situation, despite his attempt at levity with Charity. How long did
the sisters plan to take? What were they saying? What was their
reaction? How would Charity handle the confrontation—even if it was
friendly? Either way, they weren't just going to become best buds
overnight—as much as he might wish it.

After a few minutes, he became aware of someone talking
nearby. He stifled a stab of annoyance. Seriously, the lobby was
huge. Couldn't the men take their conversation elsewhere?

A moment later, he heard someone clear their throat.

“
Um, I'm sorry to intrude, but I have this hunch.”

Daniel turned around, only just barely schooling his
expression. Two men stood staring at him, their expressions
quizzical. “Excuse me?”

The taller one, a man with light red hair grinned. “I
heard you sighing over here, and I wondered if those sighs had
anything to do with a female.”

The other man, not quite as tall, had dark hair and eyes
and looked at his friend with a certain amount of surprise.

Daniel frowned at the redhead's forward manner. “I
don't understand.”

The redhead held out his hand. “Perhaps it would help
if I introduced myself. I'm Eric Bandon. Otherwise known as the
future Mr. Conrad.”

Conrad? Daniel's confusion cleared and he relaxed
slightly. “Faith or Hope?”

“
Hope,” he said with a grin. “My new friend here,
Shane Zadopec, is affianced to a Miss Faith. So I'm guessing you must
be acquainted with Charity.”

After shaking both hands, Daniel wondered if they were
as worried as he. “Yes.”

“
What we'd like to know,” Eric said with a smile,
“is did she come willingly?”

Daniel suddenly realized they suffered from the same
apprehension. “No. Not at all.”

“
Told you so,” Eric said to Shane. “Hope has been
like a cat on a hot tin roof the last few weeks. I'm hoping to still
have a fiancée at the end of this so-called reunion.”

Shane raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “It
was Faith's idea.” His expression echoed a guilty conscience. “More
or less.”

“
Better now than at a wedding, I suppose,” Eric
said. He waved to an empty circle of overstuffed chairs. “Why don't
we get comfortable while contemplating the fragile state of our
futures.”

They headed over to the chairs and once they were
settled, exchanged their basic information in that casual way men do
when measuring each other's worth. After fifteen minutes, Daniel felt
reasonably reassured that Eric and Shane were decent men and seemed
to have real affection for their fiancées.

After another twenty minutes he decided he'd like to
have them as in-laws.

***

Charity stared at the
door latch as if it were a snake waiting to bite.
How did I
get myself into this? No way would I have agreed to a meeting without
Daniel pestering me
.

She closed her eyes
briefly.
But I'm here now. Might as well get it over with
.
Raising her hand to knock, she paused midair when her phone dinged.
Charity opened her phone to see a message from Hope.

Where are you? It was now like five minutes ago.

Charity's fake mire
evaporated into one of ire. She had an impulse to kick the door
instead of knock, but no doubt such behavior would just be fodder for
her twin. She texted back.
I'm here
.