Colton's Rescue Mission

She fell silent. He didn’t press her, and instead drank his coffee in silence.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, getting up quickly and heading toward the restroom. Right before she reached the short hallway that led to the ladies’ room, she turned and looked at him. “Please wait for me.” And then she disappeared behind the door.

For reasons he didn’t entirely understand, that broke his heart.

Had she said too much? Or not enough? Standing in front of the washroom mirror, Vanessa put her hands to her flaming cheeks. She needed to remember that Remy and Seth were related by blood, while she was merely a stranger who’d come to town for what now seemed to be entirely selfish reasons. Clearly, Seth would have been better off without her attempt at obtaining a respite from her guilt at the knowledge that she hadn’t handled their breakup well.

Turned out maybe that had been all in her head. She should have left well enough alone. And she couldn’t believe she’d almost revealed the fact that she and Seth had never even been intimate. If she had, then Remy would know what a cold fish she was.

During her brief engagement to Seth, she’d managed to deflect every attempt he made to get her in his bed. At first, she’d chalked it up to her sheltered upbringing, but she’d come to the realization she didn’t want him at all that way. She’d seen the way other women looked at him—he was a handsome man, after all. So it had to be her. With that bit of awareness, she’d understood they both deserved better.

But she’d lacked the courage to say that to Seth. Of course, the fact that when she’d called off the engagement, he’d been so furious that he’d punched a hole in the wall might have had something to do with it. He’d scared her so badly, and after he’d stormed out she’d had all her locks changed so he couldn’t come back.

He hadn’t. He’d hightailed it back to Roaring Springs, which had given her both relief and peace. Until she’d gotten the foolish idea that she needed to make things right with Seth so they could both move on.

All she’d managed to do was make everything worse.

Though she had learned one thing about herself. Apparently, she wasn’t as much of an ice princess as she believed. One look from Remy Colton’s hazel-green eyes set her on fire. She craved his touch, wondered about how his lips would feel on hers and imagined carnal scenarios she’d only previously read about.

Had she lost her mind? Seriously, she needed to get a grip on this ridiculous attraction she felt toward Remy. Talk about creating a huge mess! That’s what it would be if she even considered acting on these forbidden desires.

So nope, nope, nope. Luckily, Remy seemed oblivious to her feelings. Thank goodness. She needed to remember she simply needed his help to find a place to stay for one or two nights and then she’d be out of this town for good. Hopefully before she managed to make an even worse mess out of things.

Once she managed to regain her composure, she left the sanctuary of the restroom and went back to her table. Remy looked up from his phone and smiled. The warmth of it went straight to her heart.

Shaking her head at herself, she sat back down and took a sip of her hot cider. Though it had cooled down significantly, the drink still tasted delicious.

“I’ve done some checking,” he said. “We keep a family suite at The Chateau and since no one is using it at the moment, it’s yours.”

She stared. “A suite? That’s amazing.”

“And in case you’re worrying about the cost, we’re not going to charge you anything. You can have it for as long as you need it, within reason.”

Within reason. His caveat made her smile. “Don’t worry. I won’t be moving in or anything. I’d just like to ski the mountain once it reopens. And then I’ll be out of your hair.”

Gaze steady, he shrugged. “How long is up to you. No one will be using the suite until after the holidays.”

“Wow. Okay, thanks. I confess I’m a bit surprised you don’t have family coming in for Christmas, though.”

“We do. But they’ll be staying at Colton Manor,” he replied.

“Colton Manor?” She couldn’t help herself. “That sounds like something out of a movie about royalty or something.”

He laughed. “That’s closer to the truth than you realize. My family has this huge and utterly pretentious mansion where my uncle Russ and my aunt Mara like to entertain. My grandfather, Earl, has a separate suite of rooms all to himself.”

“Your father doesn’t live there?”

“No. He tends to do his own thing.”

“What about your mother?” Utterly intrigued, she leaned forward.

“Cordelia?” His mouth twisted. “She dropped me off on Whit’s doorstep when I was five. She has… substance-abuse issues. My grandparents basically raised me. And Cordelia has been out of the picture ever since I got legal custody of Seth.”

“That’s a lot to take in,” she mused. “You must have been so young yourself and yet still took on trying to raise your little brother.”

He shook his head, his expression distant. “I didn’t have a choice. I simply couldn’t leave him in that environment.”

She wanted to tell him how much she admired him for that, but kept it to herself. Remy clearly was a good, honorable man, and men like him weren’t comfortable with compliments on actions they considered to be second nature.

They finished their drinks in companionable silence while the snow continued to fall outside. She liked the way Remy put her at ease without even trying.

“Would you like another cider?” he finally asked.

“I think I’m done,” she said and stretched, even though she was reluctant to move. “Thank you so much for helping me.”

Wearing a pleased expression, he nodded. “We’ve solved your immediate problem. But I’m still worried about Seth.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” she began.

“Oh, he will, once he thinks about things rationally and calms down. But that’s not what I meant. I love him—he’s family I didn’t even know I had until fifteen years ago. But he’s had his share of troubles since we reconnected. He’s not always successful in conquering his demons.”

Intrigued, she grabbed her empty cup and stood. “You know what? Let’s both get another drink. On me this time. That’s a story I’d really like to hear, if you don’t mind sharing.”

“I don’t mind at all.” His steady gaze touched on her and she felt it like a caress. “Though I have to say, I’m surprised Seth never told you.”

She was, too, though she didn’t voice that thought. “I’ll be right back.”

Instead of a line, only one other person waited at the counter. She placed the order and paid, waiting just a minute until the drinks were ready.

“Here you go,” she said, placing Remy’s coffee on the table in front of him. She waited until she’d gotten settled back in her seat before she took a sip of her own hot cider drink. “Seth didn’t really talk much about his past. He always said he liked being an enigma.”

Though Remy raised one eyebrow at that statement, he didn’t comment. He drank his coffee, appearing contemplative, as if trying to figure out the best way to tell his story.

She waited patiently, enjoying the warmth of the room, the scent of fresh-roasted coffee, the delicious drink and the intriguing man seated across from her.

“When I was five years old, my birth mother dropped me off on my dad’s doorstep,” he began. “Whit Colton has always been a playboy. Still is, even though he’s well past fifty. He had no time for a son, but he made sure to take care of me financially, for which I’m grateful. His parents were delighted to have a grandchild to coddle, so they took care of me and loved me.”

He looked down, wrapping his hands around his coffee cup.

Unable to help herself, she made a sound of sympathy and reached across the table to put her hand on his. “That must have been hard on you. You were so young to go through such a thing.”

Remy grimaced. “It wasn’t easy. For years, I was convinced I must have done something wrong for my mother to send me away like that. And when my father didn’t seem to want to have much to do with me, well, that reinforced my belief that it was all my fault.” He released a ragged breath then went on. “As a consequence, I became very, very well behaved. Straight-A student, outstanding athlete, all of that. My grandparents cheered me on, encouraged me and treated me as if I mattered. Despite their belief in me, I always felt something was missing. So when I was twenty, I set out to find my birth mother.”

Vanessa gasped. “Did you have any luck?” Then, as she realized what that meant, she shook her head. “Of course you did. I’m guessing that’s also how you found Seth.”

“Exactly. My mother, Cordelia, was an ex-model, which is how she met Whit Colton. She became a drug addict, probably before she dumped me off on Whit.” He took a deep breath, his gaze faraway, as though he was lost in his memories. “Though she’d gotten married to Seth’s father, he also had drug problems and, worse, anger issues. She’d neglected Seth the way she’d neglected me, except he spent his entire life in that environment. Seth’s dad was abusive, verbally and physically, which in turn caused Seth to take out his anger on others, even animals. Though he was only fifteen, he started to have problems with drugs and alcohol too.”

Stunned, she covered her mouth with her hand. “That’s horrible. I had no idea. Seth never mentioned any of this to me.”