Snowbound (4 page)

W
ILLOW AND
E
RIN
came into the kitchen right behind the boys, Willow with wet hair slicked to her head. If Erin had bathed, shed somehow kept hers dry.

John took orders for eggs and disappeared into the pantry.

Can we go outside after breakfast? Dieter asked.

Have you looked out the window?

Yeah, its still snowing. Major cool!

Do you know how easily you could get lost out there?

Come on, he coaxed. Wed stay right by the lodge.

Clothes are another problem. We cant keep asking Mr. Fallon to wash them so we can go out and play.

His face fell. Oh. Wow. I wish I had my ski stuff.

Personally Fiona would settle for a couple of pairs of clean underwear.

Well see, she said. Im going to offer to do the laundry this morning. Maybe we could do a load of wet stuff later.

They cheered just as John return from the pantry with a big bowl.

They want to go outside, she explained to him. Im concerned about our limited changes of clothes.

He thought he could come up with a few pairs of quilted pants and more parkas and gloves. The lost and found is full of gloves. And hats.

No surprise; those were the small items easy to misplace. She could lose a glove at home or in her car.

When she was done eating, she insisted on carrying her own dirty dishes to the sink and then he showed her the laundry room. Ill get a load running, she said with a nod. And Ill organize the kids to wash dishes. You shouldnt have to wait on us.

He opened his mouth and closed it.

What?

He shook his head. Justyou dont look like a schoolmarm. But you have it down pat.

Ive been teaching for five years now.

You dont look old enough.

Two personal observations in a row. Were either compliments?

Im twenty-seven.

So you started teaching right out of college.

Fiona nodded. Ive been working on my masters degree at Portland State for several years. Summer quarter and sometimes an evening class.

Better salary?

She sighed. Of course. But also, Im learning. I used to think I wouldnt be interested in administration, but maybe someday.

This was when the conversation was supposed to become reciprocal.
Yeah, I thought about minoring in education but

Even though he didnt say anything in response, he
didnt seem in any hurry to leave the small laundry room. In fact, she was suddenly aware of how close he was to her, and of how alone they were even though she could hear the kids voices coming from the kitchen. Not that she wasnt aware of him every time she saw him, but now she found herself noticing the deep chocolate shade of his eyes, the fact that hed apparently nicked himself shaving that morningand how fresh and puckered that scar was.

When her gaze touched on the scar, something flared in his eyes and he took a step back.

Before he could speak, Fiona said hurriedly, What about you? BeforeIraq. Were you career military?

For a moment he didnt answer, and she thought he wouldnt. Then, with obvious reluctance, he said, No. National Guard. Before, I was an engineer.

Really? Oh, no; had she sounded surprised? Please God he hadnt noticed. What kind? Did you design bridges?

I was a mechanical engineer. Mainly robotics to increase workplace safety.

From that to innkeeper. Shed meant the words to be light, but she could tell he didnt take them that way.

A muscle spasmed in his jaw. Thats right. Now, if youll excuse me?

Im sorry. I didnt mean

Nothing to be sorry for. He walked away, his limp pronounced.

Why had her asking about his past distressed him? Had he had some kind of breakdown when he got back from Iraq? Like the Vietnam vets whod gone to live in
the woods? Was the only difference that hed been able to afford to buy this place?

The kids were all in the kitchen, Willow as usual looking shy and apart from the group, Erin equally apart but serenely so. John was nowhere to be seen. Fiona carried a basket upstairs and collected dirty clothes.

Going back through the kitchen, she said, Boys, you get KP duty this morning. When everyones done eating, its your job to wash the dishes.

Inevitably Hopper grumbled, Why us?

Because were all going to take turns. She surveyed the table. Tabitha, Erin and I are going to make lunch. Willow, Kelli and Amy will do the lunch dishes. Dinner well discuss when it gets closer.

Smiling, she left them groaning and whining. Some of them had looked shocked enough, she had to wonder if they were required to do chores at home. That was the thing with a ritzy private schoolthe kids came from a whole different world than the one in which shed grown up. They were more sophisticated in many ways than the teenagers with whom shed gone to school. They compared Thai food at a restaurant to food theyd had in Thailand, snorkeling off Belize to experiences on the Barrier reef. They wore designer clothes, had every electronic gadget and drove BMWs the minute they turned sixteen.

But there were also huge gaps in their knowledge. They spoke of maids instead of having to carry out the garbage. She doubted most of them knew how to mop a kitchen floor or scrub a toilet. Maybe even how to wash dishes, although they were smart kidstheyd
figure it out. They seemed not to have been expected to be responsible for much of anything. She had one student in her U.S. History class whod wrecked two cars since March, and both times his parents had just bought him a new one.

Many of her students were great kids; some, like Erin, were clearly driven. But others were spoiled and simply marking time. She had two this year in Knowledge Champs that she suspected were merely padding their rsums for college: Amy and Troy. Amy was also one of the weakest participants. But Troy was different.

As a senior, he was on the A team. He was smart. But shed also found him to be lazy. He often missed practice. His grades were top-notch, but when she looked at his file she saw that he had participated in very few extracurricular activities in his first three years of high school. That had changed this fall, when he joined Knowledge Champs and won a part in the fall musical.

Well, it wasnt her business, but it would be interesting to see how they responded to her expectations if they were stranded at Thunder Mountain Lodge for long.

And even more interesting, she decided, as she set the washing machine to a normal cycle and started picking out light-colored garments, to see whether John Fallon opened up to heror started hiding out in his quarters.

Of course, she shouldnt care, considering shed never see him again after the snowplows came through. What was it hed said?
I prefer the solitude.
But then,
with the way he looked at her sometimes, she wondered whether that was true.

Would he tell her how hed been hurt if she asked? Or would he be offended by her nosiness?

She frowned and closed the lid on the washer. Probably the latter, and she wouldnt even blame him.

But she couldnt stop thinking about him. He was an enigma: an intelligent, well-educated man whod presumably had a high-paying job and yet was now cooking and cleaning up after strangers at this remote lodge, glad when he had his midweek solitude. A man who hid his pain, who had been dismayed by the sight of the woman and kids on his doorstep but had been kind in large and small ways since then. He was a man who looked as if he badly wanted to kiss her, and yet he seemed to have forgotten how to flirt.

More assumptions on her part, Fiona thought with a sigh as she headed back to the kitchen to see how the kids were doing with cleanup. She was tantalized by him, so, ergo, he must be attracted to her.

Because she was so irresistible, of course.

Another sigh. She was pretty on a good day, which this was not. True beauty, shed never achieve.

Face it: she was unlikely to have a shot at learning what had wounded John Fallon psychologically as well as physically. And, honestly, even if the attraction was reciprocal, where would they go with it, living several hours apart as they did?

Stick to fixing the kids problems.

Watch it! she heard one of the boys say, followed by the crash of a dish shattering on the slate floor.

Fiona winced and hoped the man shed been obsessing about was out of earshot. Clearly she would have to supervise the kitchen crews.

It might have been far more interesting to have been stranded here
without
eight teenagers.

G
ETTING THE KIDS
out the door was a chore, even after John went to the effort to round up a fair selection of parkas, gloves, hats and several pairs of boots. One girlAmydidnt want to go. John was sympathetic until she started to whine.

Its cold.

Come on, you gotta be on my team, Hopper coaxed.

I dont like getting cold.

But you ski! one of the other girls said in apparent surprise.

Her lower lip was getting pouty. Not when its snowing like this.

Troy Thorsen grabbed a hat and put it on her, pulling it down over her ears even as she shook her head madly, fighting him. You have to come out, or we wont have even sides.

She yanked it off and threw it at him, her eyes flashing. I dont
have
to do anything.

Their teacher intervened. No, you dont. Amy, if youd rather stay inside, thats fine. Mr. Fallon has a good library. You can pick out a book and read in front of the fire with me.

But, Ms. Mac! the skinny kid protested. Arent you coming out?

Are you kidding? Not a chance.

Bummer, somebody muttered.

Kelli sniffed and pointedly turned her back on Amy. Lets just go out. It doesnt matter if sides arent even.

Yeah, a couple of them agreed. All began zipping parkas and donning hats.

Amy smiled at Hopper, the boy shed been hanging on. You could keep me company. We could play a game. Or, like, explore the lodge.
Be alone,
her tone promised.

Yanking on gloves, he missed the full wattage of her smile and possibly her implicit promise. Nah, its going to be cool out there. Ill see you later, okay?

Standing to one side, John saw anger flare on her face.

Then, Oh, fine! she snapped. Ill come already. She appropriated a parka the girl in braces had been reaching for, picked out a faux-fur headband that left her hair to ripple down her back and chose gloves.

Cool! Hopper declared, as oblivious to the cold-shoulder she gave him now as hed been to her earlier, flirtation.

Coatlessshed loaned hers to one of the girlsFiona followed them out onto the porch. Remember, youll stay right in front. I want to be able to see all of you whenever I glance out.

Yes, Ms. Mac, they all said dutifully, meanwhile rolling their eyes.

Shaking her head, she came back inside and shut the heavy front door. Want to bet on how long they last out there?

Im going to say ten minutes for the one who didnt want to go.

She laughed. Hopper may live to regret not falling in line.

Or be very, very grateful he ticked her off early on.

This smile was wry. Amy is a bit of a handful. Shes an only child, which doesnt always mean spoiled

But in Amys case does, he said bluntly.

I shouldnt have said that. She seemed perturbed at the idea of criticizing one of her charges. Im an only child myself.

Interesting. He wouldnt have guessed. Nodding in acknowledgment, he changed the subject, If youll excuse me, I have work to do.

Can I help?

He shouldnt succumb to temptation. Spending time alone with her wasnt smart. But she was not only the first woman to interest him since hed landed stateside, she was also the first person of either gender hed had any inclination to talk to.

So he said, If you want to clean bathrooms.

He was ashamed of himself for sounding ungracious. Shed been more than generous in getting the whole group to help out. Once upon a time, hed known how to make pleasant conversation. Not so long ago. Before

John willed his mind to go blank.

Fiona helped hold him in the here and now. Our bathrooms? She sounded horrified. We can clean them ourselves.

Well just do a quick swipe. Before your charges come in and need hot baths again.

Oh, dear. They will, wont they? She nodded.
Fine. But they wont have made their beds, either, and were not doing that for them.

She sounded so fierce, a trace of amusement stirred in him. He hardly recognized it. Hed lost his sense of humor along with so much else in Iraq.

Climbing the stairs, he asked, Are you going to be in trouble over this?

With the school, you mean?

He nodded.

I dont know. I hope not. I did call my principal before we left Redmond, and he agreed that it made sense to take the alternate route. And it
wasnt
snowing, and forecasters were off by hours about when the storm was supposed to reach this far north.

She wasnt trying to convince him, John guessed, but rather herself.

Her voice went quiet. Maybe I deserve to lose my job. We could have all died. I used poor judgment.

Hed been harsh yesterday, and now felt like the worst kind of hypocrite. His own misjudgment had resulted in horror. Maybe shed been lucky, but her error had been mild in comparison.

BesidesHed been surprised himself yesterday afternoon to walk out of the grocery store and see snow falling so soon. His own drive back to the lodge had been treacherous.

Theyd reached the hallway above.

I suspect there are travelers stranded all over. You may not be the only Knowledge Champs team that got in trouble. From what you said, high schools all over Oregon had sent kids.

Her eyes widened. Oh, no! I didnt even think about that. Two groups came from Portland and one from Lincoln City over on the coast. What if? She pressed a hand to her throat.

Nothing you can do about it. Okay, that didnt help, John saw immediately. He tried again. Eight kids is enough for you to take responsibility for.

I cant help worrying. Oh, I wish we could get some news coverage!