Hidden Gifts Read online

  Contents

  Hidden Gifts

  Also by Elena Aitken

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Also By Elena Aitken

  Mistaken Gifts

  About Elena

  Thank You

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

  Hidden Gifts

  All Rights Reserved

  Copyright © 2012 Elena Aitken

  Version 1.4

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Your support of author rights is appreciated.

  Ink Blot Communications

  ISBN:978-0-9877457-4-3

  Also by Elena Aitken

  Castle Mountain Lodge Series

  Unexpected Gifts

  Mistaken Gifts

  Secret Gifts

  Goodbye Gifts - Coming November 2013

  The Escape Collection

  Nothing Stays In Vegas

  Drawing Free

  Sugar Crash

  Composing Myself

  Betty and Veronica

  Chapter One

  Castle Mountain Lodge was just gearing up for the busy summer season with only a few people milling around the lobby. As far as Bo Clancy was concerned, it was perfect. The last thing he needed to worry about was an audience on top of everything else. He paced in front of the fireplace and glanced around again for the staff manager. He’d been told that Carmen would be in the lobby, but so far he hadn’t seen her. It figured that just when he needed to talk to her, she would be busy. They still had a few weeks before the summer season was in full swing, which was good since it bought him a little more time to figure out what he was going to do.

  Bo had been set up to have another successful summer as the lead outdoor guide at Castle Mountain. He’d been running the summer program at the Lodge for the past three years and it was the perfect job for someone like him. Someone who’d rather be outside than in and, most important, didn’t have any family ties that would keep him from leading the overnight excursions. They were the most lucrative trips because of the tips involved, usually from the women. He’d gained a bit of a reputation as a flatterer and as a result was often specially requested to lead ladies’ groups. He never acted on his flirtations, at least not with the guests, but it didn’t hurt as far as the income was concerned.

  That was all going to change this year, unless he could figure things out. Bo looked at the couch, where Ella was sound asleep. Curled up with his big cable-knit sweater as a blanket, she looked impossibly small. Her blond hair was fanned over her tiny arm that was tucked under her head. Her blond eyelashes fluttered against her porcelain cheeks. Bo stopped pacing and stood transfixed by her every breath. It didn’t matter how many times he looked at the birth certificate and read the letter, he still couldn’t believe she was his. He bent to touch her, to push the stray hair off her cheek, but he pulled away at the last minute, a familiar voice intruding on the moment.

  Bo straightened up to see Carmen, accompanied by two other women, walking across the room. They stopped by the grand piano and he watched for a minute as Carmen gestured around the grand foyer. She seemed familiar with the petite, dark-haired woman—maybe they were frequent guests? But no, the other woman, the taller one, clutched a red binder in her hands. The Castle Mountain Lodge Employee Manual. He had one just like it somewhere in his bags. Not that he’d ever looked at it.

  Carmen had never been his biggest fan. Not since the first year they’d worked together and he’d slept with her roommate. He was fairly certain the roommate didn’t remember it—it had been years ago—but Carmen had been frosty to him ever since. When he’d discovered that she was now in charge of staff, he’d been dreading the conversation he needed to have because based on past history, she wasn’t likely to help him out.

  Bo took another look at Ella, still sleeping on the couch. “No time like the present,” he said aloud. He turned and crossed the room in three long strides. “Excuse me,” he said, interrupting the women. “Carmen, I need to speak with you.”

  Carmen turned, a fake smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes pasted on her face. “Nice to see you, Bo. I’m just in the middle of something right now. Maybe we can catch up later.”

  “It can’t wait,” he said. He flicked his glance to the other women and his gaze naturally landed on the taller of the two. She looked to be in her late twenties, which instantly intrigued him. Older than most of the women working at the Lodge and she was attractive, very attractive. But she definitely had the look of a city girl who wouldn’t know the first thing about stepping out of the mall and onto the trail. Despite her slender waist and curves that begged to have his hands on them, city girls weren’t his thing. Even if he were looking for a diversion, which he wasn’t. “I am sorry to interrupt, darling,” he spoke to her and turned on the charm. “You probably have a lot of questions about the Lodge and the mountains, after all, they can be intimidating. And I’m sure we can do our best to answer those for you later.” Without waiting for a response, he turned back to Carmen. “I do need to speak to you right now.”

  Carmen cleared her throat and stood tall. “Bo, this is Andi Williams and Morgan Pierce.” She waved at the two women in turn. “Andi is a good friend of the Lodge and Morgan will be working with us this summer.”

  He spared a quick nod but kept his eyes on Carmen. “Hi,” he said in the women’s direction. “Carmen—”

  “Oh, I’m sure a big important guy like yourself can answer all the questions for little ol’ me,” the voice interrupted him, and Bo turned back to the attractive woman, batting her eyelashes in jest. “And maybe when you’re finished,” she drawled, “you could protect me from all the big bad bears in the scary dark woods?”

  Amused, and more than a little intrigued, Bo tilted his head and examined the woman for a moment. She batted her lashes one more time before her eyes hardened and challenged him. He’d underestimated her.

  Next to her, the other woman stifled a laugh that Bo ignored. “I certainly didn’t mean to imply that you were incapable of taking care of yourself,” he said, a sly grin on his face.

  “Of course not.”

  The two faced off, neither willing to break the stare. For a moment Bo even forgot what he’d come to talk to Carmen about but before he had a chance to say anything further, Carmen reminded him of his purpose.

  “Bo, if you could just give me five minutes to finish up—“

  “No,” the woman said. Damn, he wished he’d been paying attention when Carmen introduced them. “It seems that—Bo, is it?” She waited for his nod before continuing, “It seems that Bo here has something very pressing to talk to yo
u about. I’m sure Andi can help me get settled.” She ran a hand through her hair; a nervous action that contrasted completely with her no-nonsense attitude and Bo had to hide a smile.

  Despite his vow to focus on Ella, he couldn’t ignore the familiar tug low in his belly.

  “You’re sure, Morgan?” Carmen asked.

  Morgan, Bo remembered. He made a mental note of the name; he wouldn’t forget it again.

  She smiled at Carmen. All the challenge and hardness that Morgan had shown him a moment ago was gone, replaced by a warmth that he suddenly wished was aimed in his direction. “It’s no problem, really,” she said. “Besides, Andi has been dying to show me some of her favorite spots.”

  “It’s true,” Andi said. “And it’ll give me a chance to enjoy the Lodge in the spring. Don’t worry, Carmen. We can see that you’re busy.”

  “Thank you both for being so understanding,” Carmen said, shooting a dirty look in Bo’s direction. She handed Morgan a piece of paper. “This is your room assignment. Your roommate should be there soon, if she’s not already. There’s just one more thing that I need to discuss with you. There’s been a little change in your job assignment, but…you know what? I’ll find you later to talk it over. Is that okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “It was a pleasure to meet you, Morgan,” Bo said in his most charming voice. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.”

  “I guess we’ll see,” Morgan said. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but Bo noticed the spark in her eye when she spoke. Was it a challenge? She looked as if she might say something else, but her friend took her arm and led her away. It was probably for the better. He needed to focus on Ella and a woman like that would only be an unwelcome distraction.

  ~ ~

  The moment they were out of earshot, Carmen spun on her heel to face him. “Bo, what the hell is wrong with you?”

  “It’s good to see you, too, Carmen.” His forced smile faded. “Congrats on your promotion, by the way.”

  “Stop it.” Her mouth was a hard line. “I see you still think your charm and good looks can get you whatever you want. But as you already know, it doesn’t work on me.” She tightened her grip on her clipboard.

  “You think I’m good-looking?”

  Contempt shot out of her eyes and he quickly readjusted his approach. Bo leaned his elbows on the shiny piano top. He was pretty sure that charm wouldn’t be enough to smooth things over with her; clearly, he’d been right.

  “I did get a promotion,” she said, ignoring him, “thank you. And I have a lot to do, so what’s so important?”

  “You know I’m looking forward to another busy summer up here,” he started. “I always accept this position over any others that are offered.”

  “And others are offered?” she asked with a wry smile.

  “You know they are.”

  “Okay.” Carmen crossed her arms over her clipboard. “I’ll admit it. You’re the best, but why do I feel like you need something? I can’t give you a raise, Bo. You already get paid more—“

  “I don’t need a raise.” He spoke quickly and glanced over his shoulder to the couch. “But I do need a favor.” Bo turned back to Carmen, who was frowning at him. “My circumstances have changed recently and I don’t think staff housing is going to be acceptable.”

  “Pardon me?” Carmen swallowed a bitter laugh. “Shall we give you a suite then?”

  “That would be great.”

  “I was kidding,” Carmen said dryly, her laughter cut off.

  Bo looked around the near-empty lobby and made a decision. He couldn’t hope to keep Ella a secret forever, and Carmen was his best hope—his only hope really— to make the situation more comfortable. “Okay,” he said. “Come here.” He grabbed Carmen’s arm and led her to the couch, where Ella was still asleep.

  “Who’s this?”

  “My daughter.” He said the word aloud for the first time. It felt foreign, but not entirely unpleasant, on his tongue.

  Carmen’s face clouded with confusion. “But she’s at least—“

  “Four. She’s four.”

  “I had no idea…”

  “Neither did I.” Bo gestured to an empty sofa.

  When they were settled where he could still keep an eye on Ella, Bo said, “You can see my predicament?”

  “I can see it,” she said. “But I don’t understand it.”

  Bo sighed. He couldn’t avoid the truth. “Ella’s mother just died. It was breast cancer and it apparently moved quite quickly.”

  “That’s terrible,” Carmen said.

  “It is.” Bo nodded. “I knew Tessa years ago when we were in college. I had no idea she was sick. Heck, I had no idea she was pregnant.” His gaze drifted back to the sleeping child as he thought of Tessa and how difficult it must have been for her to have a child on her own. They’d both been young and stupid. Obviously, too stupid.

  “You mean, you didn’t know?”

  Bo shook his head.

  “Then? How?”

  “I got a call from Social Services a few days ago. They told me Tessa had died about a month ago and left a child behind. Like I said, I had no idea that she existed, but apparently Tessa had laid it out quite clearly in a letter that she wanted Ella to live with me, her father. It took them a while to find me, I was—”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Oh, trust me, neither do I.” Bo ran a hand through his hair and looked Carmen squarely in the eyes. “Look. I know this is unusual, but I really would appreciate some help here while I’m figuring things out. I mean, obviously she can’t stay with me.”

  Carmen raised an eyebrow.

  “No,” Bo said. “She’s not staying with me. Well, I mean, she is. At least for a little bit, but I’m going to do some searching into Tessa’s family. There has to be a better place for her to live than—“ Bo stopped talking abruptly. Why was he telling her all this? He looked at Ella’s tiny body, her chest rising and falling with every soft breath. He ignored the pull in his chest and turned back to Carmen. “Anyway, I need a little help. Just until I can figure things out. Ella’s going through a tough enough time. She doesn’t need the drama of living in staff housing.”

  “You’re right,” Carmen said. “It’s no place for a child. But there’s really nowhere else.”

  It was a long shot, but he voiced his idea anyway. “I know you were kidding but, what about a suite?”

  Carmen half coughed, half laughed and quickly covered her mouth in an effort to quiet herself. After a moment, she regained control and said to Bo, “A suite? Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  Bo didn’t answer. Instead, he waited her out, his gaze fixed on Carmen’s face.

  “Bo?” Carmen blinked hard and wiped her eyes. “You know I can’t give you a suite. What about the other staff? The guests? The cost?” She flipped open her clipboard and started looking through the pages. “There must be an empty room available in staff quarters…”

  He still didn’t say anything. Carmen looked up. “I can’t give you a suite,” she said again. “Really, you shouldn’t even have a child here. This isn’t a—“

  “Look.” His voice was low, barely contained. “I don’t need to hear how you think I should or should not have Ella here. The fact is, she is here. Now can you help me out or do I need to find a new job for the summer?”

  Carmen tucked her clipboard under her crossed arms and matched Bo’s glare. “You wouldn’t leave.”

  “Try me.”

  Tension sparked around them as they continued their stare down. Bo hadn’t planned to threaten her with quitting. The fact was he couldn’t afford to quit. He needed his situation at Castle Mountain to work out. But Carmen didn’t know that. And he was counting on her not calling his bluff.

  A tiny noise, almost a squeak, came from the couch. The sound broke Bo’s heart, and the standoff with Carmen.

  In two quick steps, he was kneeling on the floor next to Ella. Hair mussed from her nap, her
brown eyes were still clouded with sleep, but were open wide taking in the big room. He reached out and tentatively tucked a stray hair behind her ear. He moved to hug her, or hold her hand or maybe just touch her again, but he pulled away. Bo’d never been comfortable around children, and that hadn’t changed in the last few days. The little girl didn’t seem to be any more comfortable with him, either, and she pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged herself into a ball.

  “Did you have a good sleep?” he asked.

  She nodded and jammed her thumb in her mouth.

  “Soon we can get settled in our room and then you can have a real nap, okay?”

  She nodded again.

  Ella had said only a handful of words since he’d picked her up. And the Social Services woman said she would only speak to the foster mother she’d been placed with, but even then, she didn’t say much. Not that Bo knew much about children, but he thought for four, she should be talking a lot more. Of course, maybe losing your mother and living with a foster family before being handed over to a total stranger was enough to make a little girl clam up.

  “Are you hungry? Do you want a snack or something?”

  Ella shook her head and turned to look out the window.

  With a deep sigh, Bo pushed up on his thighs and stood. Carmen was looking at him in that way that women have, when they’ve been affected by a small child or a puppy. The way that meant she was going to help.

  “So, I can have the suite,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

  Carmen nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. But it will only be for a few weeks until the busy season starts. And I’m going to have to charge you something for it.”

  “Take it out of my check.”

  She nodded and her expression turned to a frown. “Bo?” Carmen grabbed his arm and led him a few steps away from Ella. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do with her while you’re working? I mean, surely you don’t plan to take her on hikes with you. She’s so tiny.”