Snowbound with Her Hero

Snowbound with Her Hero
Rebecca Winters

The best Christmas gift of allChristmas is approaching and a holiday in the snowy Alps with her young son should be a pleasure for single mum Crystal. But it means facing the one man who affects her like no other: brooding Frenchman Raoul Broussard. There was always a spark between Raoul and Crystal, but he is her late husband’s brother and she is determined to keep her distance.Yet with festive sleigh rides, toasty log fires and even a touch of mistletoe forcing her ever closer to Raoul, Crystal is forced to confront both the way he makes her feel – and the heartwarming way he connects with her son…

As the horses paced along in rhythm, the sleigh bells made their distinctive sounds while the sleigh swished and glided across the snow. The outing was one of sheer enchantment, carrying her back to that other magical morning on the ski slopes with Raoul.

The scene right now was too surreal for Crystal. She closed her eyes for a little while and just listened while she dreamed about what it would be like if he had any deeper feelings for her.

Finally, today, his kiss had brought her own feelings closer to the surface to be acknowledged. But Raoul wasn’t her lover.

The kiss he’d given her in the bedroom was something he’d done in order to wake her up to the possibilities of life. It hadn’t been prompted by the earth-shaking desire she had for him. When she’d told him she couldn’t accept his offer to run a ski school here, he’d left it alone. His calm acceptance gave her the proof he could compartmentalize his feelings for the good of the moment.

Dear Reader,

We’ve all heard the expression true blue. In terms of one’s overall character it means never wavering, solid, dependable for life!

In my novel, Snowbound with Her Hero, my heroine Crystal has learned to depend on her French brother-in-law Raoul, who in time becomes her best friend. When destiny throws both of them a curve, they realise there’s more to their deep, abiding friendship and loyalty than either had suspected. Now this true blue hero is faced with the greatest dilemma of his life. A choice has to be made that will impact upon his life and Crystal’s for ever.

Hopefully you’ll read this Christmas story to discover the choice he made.

Enjoy!

Rebecca Winters

Snowbound with

her Hero

Rebecca Winters

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

About the Author

REBECCA WINTERS, whose family of four children has now swelled to include three beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wild flowers, she never runs out of places to explore. They, plus her favourite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her Mills & Boon

novels, because writing is her passion, along with her family and church.

Rebecca loves to hear from her readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her website at: www.cleanromances.com.

No one loves the Colorado Mountains more than my son John, who started out on skis early in life and now flies down the slopes of Breckenridge like a champion. He’s a wonderful son, husband and father, and the source of inspiration for this book I’ve dedicated to him.

CHAPTER ONE

“PHILIPPE? OVER HERE!” Crystal Broussard waved to her dark blond six-year-old son. She stood next to her father’s car with the Marler Sports logo printed on the side. He came running out of the elementary-school entrance to the lineup of cars waiting. Being a Friday, the kids were out of school two hours earlier than usual.

Gusting winds had shifted from the southwest to the northwest, meaning a full-scale Colorado blizzard was on its way. Soon 10,000-foot Crystal Peak, her namesake, would be whited out along with the other surrounding peaks.

Crystal, who’d been put on skis as soon as she could walk, had been born in this 9,600-foot ski mecca and recognized the signs. The temperature had already dropped to the twenties. Soon the town of Breckenridge would be covered in even more snow, after several recent storms, the last one blanketing the area a few days ago.

It was good news for her father’s business. Skiers from around the world flocked here and spent a lot of money on ski clothes and equipment. She’d worked part-time for her father while Philippe finished kindergarten; but now that he was a first-grader she was working full-time.

She gave him a huge hug, forcing him to reciprocate before opening the back door for him. “I’ve missed you today. Hurry and fasten yourself in. I want to drive us back to the store before the storm hits.”

“Can’t we just go home?”

That’s all he ever wanted to do lately. Just go home and play quietly in his room …

“This won’t take long. You need a new coat. This afternoon a shipment of parkas came in. There aren’t too many in your size, so we need to get you in one you like before they’re put out on the racks and taken.” With Christmas in nine days, the last-minute rush for gifts would bring the shoppers in droves.

“I don’t want a new coat.”

“I know you don’t, but you’ve grown and the sleeves are too short.” Just now she’d almost said that the parka he was wearing had been bought in France, where they used to live, and he’d outgrown it. But she caught herself in time, afraid he’d go all quiet. She had a hunch he was hanging on to it because it was the one he’d brought with him when they’d left Chamonix.

Crystal needed to do something quick to help her son. Since school had started in the fall, he’d been less communicative. All she heard lately were troubled sighs coming out of him. He’d been a different child since his father’s death fourteen months ago. Eric Broussard, one of France’s great skiers, had taken a fatal fall during the downhill race in Cortina, Italy, and had died at the young age of twenty-eight, devastating everyone.

Two years earlier the Broussard family had already been plagued by the death of Suzanne, the wife of their son, Raoul. The Broussards were an institution that owned and ran the 100-year-old premier alpine mountaineering guide club in the French Alps. The two brothers had been very close. Probably—and this was Crystal’s private theory—it was because they’d never competed. Raoul lived for climbing and mountaineering. His wife, Suzanne, had shared his passion for the mountains. Eric only wanted to do one thing. Ski.

News of his passing sent the French ski world into mourning for a favorite son, but the hardest hit of all was to Crystal, who had to explain to a little five-year-old boy that his daddy wouldn’t be coming home.

Crystal had been two years younger than Eric when she’d met and dated him. That was at a time when she’d been a member of the national women’s ski team and had one bronze medal to her credit. After their marriage, they’d settled in Chamonix, France, where Eric had been born and raised on skis.

Two months after the funeral was over, Crystal had moved her and Philippe back to her parents’ home in Breckenridge, hoping it would help both of them to recover and move on. To her chagrin, Philippe had slowly gone into a shell and nothing seemed to bring him out of it, not even her two younger, fun-loving sisters, Jenny and Laura. They were in their early twenties and came and went from the house between ski races.

When Crystal had brought them back to Colorado, Philippe had a tantrum the first time her father tried to take him skiing. Crystal realized it was too soon. Maybe Eric’s death had put him off skiing forever. She hadn’t tried to get him on skis again. He’d skied with her in Chamonix, but she didn’t know if he’d really liked it or just did it because she did.

Lately she’d been doubting her own thoughts and feelings where he was concerned. Her boy was never enthusiastic about anything. At first she hadn’t expected enthusiasm or excitement from him. But this depression seemed to be growing worse despite all the love her family gave him. According to his new teacher, he didn’t even try to make friends with the kids in his first grade class.

The one time this fall she’d invited a boy for a play date after school, Philippe had been unwilling to share his toys or play at the nearby park. After the day had ended in disaster, she hadn’t tried it again. The other boy’s mother reciprocated, but Crystal knew it hadn’t gone well because she hadn’t called to make another play date.

It worried her he never wanted to talk about his father. He always brought up his uncle Raoul, the adored uncle who phoned once a month. But whatever they talked about, Philippe kept it to himself.

In the beginning he’d had conversations on the phone with his cousin Albert, but since school had started, things had changed. He didn’t articulate his wishes or worries and closed up if she tried to get him to discuss his feelings. Not even the grand-mère and grand-père he loved had the power to bring a lasting smile to his face or eyes. They’d flown over two different times to visit, once bringing his loving aunt Vivige with them, but he still remained aloof.

Molly, the mother of three and one of the long-time employees at her father’s store, had suggested earlier today that maybe he was upset having to share his mommy with her family. The comment had gotten Crystal thinking, deepening her guilt that she was failing her child somehow.

Here she’d believed that living with her parents and sisters would help Philippe feel secure and loved. She’d originally planned to get a condo close to their house. But a year later she was still staying in their family home because she’d hoped the closeness would help him to heal, but nothing seemed to be further from the truth.

What if Molly were right?

The thought devastated Crystal that he might be feeling shut out because of his perception that she paid too much attention to her own family. If she moved them to a nearby condo, maybe Philippe would like having her all to himself and he would start communicating more without anyone else around. Whatever it took, she was willing to try it because the next step was to seek professional help. They both needed it.

Tonight after she’d put Philippe to bed, she would discuss it with her parents and start looking for a new place. She would decorate it with the few furnishings from their condo in Chamonix that were still in storage. Philippe could help her.

Maybe seeing the things would make him open up. Naturally, when they’d first come back to Breckenridge, she’d tried to re-create Philippe’s bedroom to make him feel at home, but if he saw everything else, maybe that’s what he needed. It had to work. She was desperate!

Crystal drove into the town center of Breckenridge and parked around the back of the store. “Come on, honey.” Grabbing his hand, she led them inside the rear entrance. They walked over to the load of new parkas hanging on the rack ready to be rolled out on to the floor.

She lifted two and held them in front of Philippe. “Which do you like better, the blue or the green?”