Falling for Denver (Restless Hearts) Read online

  Five minutes later, my phone rang.

  “Hello?” I said, breathlessly. It felt like my world was spinning.

  “Emma?”

  Luke’s voice brought back a million memories. He had been one of those people that everyone instantly enjoyed being around. He was smart, funny, slightly nerdy, and it didn’t hurt at all that he was one of the best looking people I had ever seen outside of a magazine. Maybe the best thing about him was that he had no idea how amazing he was. I had been completely endeared to him back then, but had never thought much about it because of Jared.

  “Hey, Luke.”

  “So you’re thinking of moving to Utah?” He sounded slightly skeptical and I couldn’t blame him.

  “I need a change of scenery. We have all this snow in Chicago but no mountains.” I knew that I wasn’t giving him a good reason for my interest, but now didn’t seem like the best time to get into recent developments.

  “Valid point.” He said. I could hear him typing in the background. “What about Jared? Is he planning to come with you?”

  I knew that question would come up eventually. Better to get it out of the way now. “We broke up.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, not sounding at all sorry. “Well, the good news is we do have quite a few positions open at the resort. I can send you a list, but I kind of have one in mind if you’re interested.”

  “Sure.”

  By now, I was so intrigued by the idea of packing up and moving across the country that I would probably have accepted any job.

  “We need a new manager at our shop. Someone to oversee staff, handle inventory, do some small marketing stuff. It won’t be the same as a fancy office job in the city, but you’ll get to work with some good people.” Luke sounded almost apologetic. “Not to mention that you’ll get to work with me.”

  If I hadn’t already been convinced, that would’ve been the icing on the cake.

  “When would you want me to start?” I quickly tried to think about how long it would take me make arrangements for the move. Was it even possible?

  “Technically, you could start tomorrow.” He chuckled softly. “But I would imagine you need more time than that to make the move. How about the first Monday in December?”

  That was three weeks from now. Could it be done?

  “That sounds fine,” I said, my mouth working without referencing my brain. “Do you need me to fill out an application or something?”

  “I think I can make this hire on good faith. If you’re still the same Emma I remember from college, you’re more than qualified for this gig.” Luke said something to whomever was in the room with him. “Sorry to cut this short, but I need to be on another call soon. I’ll send you some information so you can make sure you really want to do this.”

  “I do,” I said quickly. “But I’ll look everything over.”

  “Sounds good. We’ll talk soon, Emma.”

  I hung up feeling a bit shell-shocked. In less than an hour, I had made a big decision that would alter the course of my life. Did I really want to go through with this?

  Rather than make a rash decision based solely on the dramatic last few days, I decided to make a trusty pro/con list about moving to Utah. It took me two hours to make what I felt was a thorough assessment. While I had a number of important items in the “con” column, there was one item in the “pro” list that trumped everything.

  I actually wanted to do it. For so long I had been worrying about my future, questioning my career and love life. I had never felt comfortable in my own skin and up until today, I’d had no idea how to fix that. But trying something new, even if it was a little crazy, terrified and excited me. It made me feel alive.

  For the first time in my life, I was doing what I wanted to do regardless of what other people might think. If it didn’t work out, fine. But I owed it to myself to take a chance.

  Now, I just needed to find a place to live.

  DECEMBER

  The next three weeks flew by in a blur. It took a ton of focus and organization, but I was able to make the move to Utah happen in just three weeks.

  When I officially accepted Luke’s job offer, I asked him for tips on finding a place to live. Lady Luck was smiling on me because it just so happened that he knew of the perfect place for me. His family owned two mountain homes at the resort. One had been his parents’ home. After his father died, he moved back into that house to take over the resort. The other home had belonged to his grandparents. They had died a few years back, but no one had the heart to sell the home.

  Luke was willing to rent it to me at a reasonable price, in exchange for me keeping the place in good shape. It was too good to be true.

  The second step was deciding how much stuff I wanted to take with me. I had kept my apartment pretty bare, thinking I would wait until Jared and I moved in together before I started purchasing a lot of things. That ended out working to my favor and I decided to sell the meager furniture I did own, rather than pay to have it moved. The house I would be renting was already fully furnished so it wasn’t worth the hassle.

  I boxed up some items to send through the mail and the rest I crammed into the back of my car. It was going to be a long drive to Utah, but I didn’t mind. My parents had both died when I was in high school, and since that time I had gotten used to being alone. I was pretty good at taking care of myself so a solitary drive across the country seemed like an interesting adventure.

  The day before I was scheduled to leave, Jared stopped by to pick up the rest of his things before I threw them in a dumpster. He was shocked when I told him about my plans.

  “You’re moving to Utah to work with Denver?” He was astounded. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Even more stupid than cheating on your girlfriend for three years?” I didn’t think Jared was in any position to start passing judgment.

  “Fine.” He exhaled loudly. “You have every right to hate me. But I still care about you, Emma, and I don’t want to see you screw up your life just because you are mad at me.”

  My face flushed in anger. “This has nothing to do with you.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever.”

  I watched him walk toward the door, expecting that I would be hit with sadness. This was probably the last time I would ever see him. Surely that should make me feel something? But I just felt empty inside.

  “Jared?”

  He turned, looking apprehensive. “Yeah?”

  “Why?” I had been wanting to ask him that since the moment I saw his lips on hers. What had I done that made him cheat? What did that other woman offer him that I didn’t?

  “I don’t know.” He looked at me sadly. “You didn’t deserve it, Emma. You’re a great girl.”

  “There must’ve been something?” I sounded a bit desperate. “I had to have done something that made you stop loving me.”

  Jared’s eyes widened. “I never stopped loving you, Emma. I still love you. I just stopped feeling that you loved me back.”

  He didn’t say it as an accusation or a judgment on me. Jared was just being honest about his feelings. I couldn’t even argue that he was wrong to feel that way. I suspected that somewhere along the way, I had stopped loving him.

  The door shut behind him without either of us saying goodbye. It didn’t seem right to use one word to end so much history. The best way I knew to put that past behind me was to dive into the future without looking back.

  The entire journey took four days. It was a twenty hour drive, and I broke up the ride into several two or three hour stretches at a time. Any more than that and my legs began to cramp and I got too tired.

  The Denver Ski Resort was located outside of Salt Lake City, not too far from the Wyoming border. It was my first time driving through the mountains and after I got the hang of it, I could see the appeal. Illinois was such a flat state it lacked a lot of the natural beauty you could find in the mountains. Our snow was dirty and salt ridden, our air
polluted.

  Luke had sent me detailed instruction on how to find the resort. He told me that I would be able to find him at the Welcome Center which was easy to find as it was the very first building I encountered when I pulled into the resort.

  It was still a little early in the season and many of the people I encountered on the way inside were workers, not guests. I asked one of them where I could find Luke and they pointed me to the back of the building.

  I expected to find some sort of office, but instead I found one large room. A few desks were scattered around and I scanned them all before I found Luke in the far corner. He looked up just as I started to walk over.

  “Emma!” A wide grin spread over his face. “You made it.”

  “Even despite my driving skills,” I joked. I wasn’t sure how I should greet him. We had once been friends, so a hug felt appropriate. But now he was technically my boss, so maybe that was too forward?

  Fortunately, Luke made the decision for me when he threw his arms around me in a tight hug.

  “Welcome,” he said, stepping back and holding me at arm’s length. “Still as beautiful as I remember.”

  “Stop.” I slapped his arm. “I see you’ve fully embraced the mountain man lifestyle.”

  In college, Luke had been clean-shaven and neatly groomed. It had very much fit the pre-med persona he gave off back then. Now, rough stubble covered his strong jaw and chin. His hair was shaggy and he wore comfortable clothes-jeans and sweatshirt that said Denver Ski Resort in bold red letters.

  “Too lazy to shave,” he said with a casual laugh.

  I had to admit that it looked good on him. “You can pull it off.”

  “Did you have a good trip?” he asked, sweeping an arm toward a nearby couch.

  “It wasn’t bad.”

  We sank onto the couch in perfect synchronization. I was surprised at how comfortable I already felt, both with Luke and in this strange new place.

  “After you get settled in, I thought I could take you on a tour of the resort if you’re up for it.” His blue eyes shone when he smiled at me.

  “That sounds nice.” I was surprised at the butterflies flapping up a windstorm in my stomach.

  “The house is about a ten minute drive up the mountain.” He gestured out the window. “I think you’ll like it. It’s a little outdated, but it’s in great condition. Plus you have a really great neighbor.”

  I detected a tease in his words. “I do?”

  “A very handsome, smart young man. I think you’ll really enjoy living by him.”

  “Let me guess, you?” I laughed when he nodded. “How close of neighbors are we talking?”

  “Don’t worry. There’s about a half-acre of land between us. But close enough for me to stop by if you need anything.”

  “How’s your mom doing?” I hadn’t talked to Luke about anything personal since his father’s death. I know that it had really shocked his family.

  His smile faded just a touch. “She’s doing pretty well these days. A few months back she decided she didn’t like living this far away from the city without my dad around so she bought a place down the mountain.”

  “So you’re all alone up here?” I teased. “How very brave of you.”

  “Not alone anymore,” he said meaningfully. “Ready to see your new home?”

  I followed his SUV up the mountain, wondering if my poor car was cut out for the snow. I decided to take it slow until I had a better feel for how it would handle the curvy, slick roads.

  It did take about ten minutes for us to reach the two houses. We passed the first one, which I assumed was Luke’s, and stopped in front of the second one. I gasped out loud when I saw it.

  The way Luke had described it, I was picturing a tiny log cabin. Instead, it was a winding, three-story house. The exterior was surrounded by outdoor decks with beautiful views of the surrounding area.

  “What do you think?” Luke asked proudly as I stared at it in surprise.

  “It’s amazing.”

  He pointed to my car. “Let’s get this thing unloaded.”

  Since I hadn’t brought much with me, it didn’t take long to unload my car. We dropped everything just inside the doorway, and when the last box was inside, Luke gave me a tour.

  The house was even more amazing on the inside. It had been decorated in a rustic, but cozy theme. Lots of throw rugs, fireplaces, and tapestries. Downstairs was a kitchen and living room, plus a small guest room and bathroom. The second floor was entirely one large master bedroom with its own seating area, fireplace, and giant bathroom with a Jacuzzi bathtub. It opened to a beautiful balcony.

  The top floor was my favorite. It had two more bedrooms, but also a giant multi-functional area. Lots of leather chairs and couches, another fireplace, a small kitchenette and bar.

  “Your grandparents went all out,” I said, taking it all in.

  “This is where the whole family used to gather for the holidays. It was nice to have a place where we could all hang out and not feel claustrophobic.” He pointed to the large glass windows that looked down the mountain. “We used to put the Christmas tree right there.”

  “It sounds pretty magical,” I said, thinking about my own lonely holidays. I usually ordered Chinese food and watched bad movies on Christmas. “Are you sure you don’t mind me staying here?”

  It was starting to feel like I was treading on sacred ground.

  “Not at all.” He smiled. “It will be good to have someone enjoying this house again. I hated the thought of it sitting here empty, but I never trusted anyone enough to rent it out.”

  “But you trust me?” I was touched.

  He gave me a serious look. “Don’t make me regret it.” Then he laughed. “Let’s go check out the resort.”

  I was happy to let Luke drive us down the mountain and around the resort. His vehicle was much better at handling the snow and curves.

  “Most of the homes are up that way,” he said, waving behind us. “We have some smaller rental rooms closer to Ground. That’s what we call the main resort area. That’s where you will be working.”

  It seemed straight forward enough. “Where do the other employees live?”

  “Some of them house-sit for the owners of the mountain homes. They live there year round, except for when the owners return a couple of weeks out of the year.”

  “What do they do during those times?” It seemed like a bit of a hassle having to pack up and leave for weeks at a time.

  “They usually just bunk with a friend. We also have some employee rental rooms available.” Luke turned into the main parking lot. “Okay, so you’ve seen the Welcome Center. We have three restaurants, a gift shop, we have a rental shop farther down the road by the lifts. There’s a spa on your right. And two bars.”

  “It’s almost like its own town,” I said. “Does that make you the mayor?”

  He laughed. “Something like that.”

  At the end of the road, he parked the car. “This is the store you’ll be running. I mentioned the rental shops, but this is an actual store. People can pick up winter gear, skis, boards, whatnot. We actually do pretty good business.”

  I started toward the door and was surprised when Luke didn’t follow.

  “Aren’t we going inside?”

  “You can start working on Monday.” He pointed back toward the bars. “Let’s go have some drinks.”

  It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I was beginning to think I would like having Luke as my boss.

  It was only mid-afternoon and most guests were still on the slopes or at the spa. Just a couple of men were seated at the bar. Luke waved to the bartender and led us to a secluded table in the corner. The bar was designed very much like a tavern straight out of a western movie. I loved it.

  “So what do you do for fun around here?” I asked, wondering if Luke spent all of his time on the resort.

  “Work, mostly,” he said with a grimace. “It took me almost two years to figure everything out after D
ad died. I finally feel like I’ve gotten to a place where I don’t have to work nonstop just to keep up.”

  “Are you dating anyone?” I had already done a little digging online, but I hadn’t been able to find the answer to that question. Not that I was interested in dating anyone right now.

  Luke’s eyes sparkled. “No, I’m not. The only women I encounter on a regular basis are my employees. I try to keep things professional.”

  “Does that include drinking with me?” I teased.

  The bartender brought over two mugs of beer without us needing to order. It was nice to know the boss.

  “You’re not my employee yet,” he said carefully. “Besides, we were friends first so this is different.”

  “If you say so.” I took a sip of the frothy liquid. “This is delicious.”

  “It’s an old family recipe.” He seemed pleased that I liked it.

  My head tilted. “How did I not know that your family has its own beer?”

  I tried to remember what personal conversations I’d had with Luke in college and couldn’t come up with many.

  “People look at you different when you tell them your family owns a ski resort and beer company. I didn’t want people to only be friends with me because of my money.” His eyes darkened. “Not that it mattered. I learned who my real friends were anyway after Dad died.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He sighed. “Did you know that only three people from college even reached out to me after it happened?”

  “Really?” I remembered that I had called him a week afterward to see how he was doing. Should I have gone to the funeral? At that time, I hadn’t thought he would want me there. But now I wondered if I had been wrong.

  “You were the first person to call me, and you didn’t even technically go to our school.” He studied his beer. “Derrick Cort called me a couple of days after that. And an old girlfriend, Sandy, sent an email. That’s it.”

  “You’re kidding!” I couldn’t believe that in a fraternity of 100 guys, only one of them had bothered to call him. “Wait. Jared came out with some guys to see you like a month afterward.”