Sealed With a Kiss (13 page)

“Are you sure?” Rachel bit her bottom lip.
She had to remember to keep their relationship professional. No
flirty talk allowed. John’s gaze traveled to her mouth, then back
to her eyes.

Bella clambered out of the helicopter and
stood beside her dad. Her laughter echoed around the mountains and
helped ease the tension between Rachel and John. “Isn’t this the
most amazing place you’ve ever seen? In the summer, I’m gong to
swim with dad in the lake. I’m not allowed to go on my own, but
that doesn’t matter. Tank and Tanner could go with me if dad’s at
work. Mrs. Daniels doesn’t like swimming, so I guess she won’t want
to come. I wonder if she’d be okay watching me?”

“I’m sure Mrs. Daniels would watch you while
you were swimming,” Rachel said. “Do you want to show me where your
home is going to be built?”

Bella walked across to Rachel and held her
hand. “I think it’s over this way.”

John put the house plans he’d bought with him
under his arm. Rachel could feel his gaze on her, watching where
Bella was taking her.

“How do you know where you’re going?” she
asked Bella.

“I’m kind of guessing. Last time we came out
here it wasn’t snowing as much. There were big orange pegs in the
ground. Dad showed me where each room was.” Bella stopped in the
middle of the plateau and looked around. “I think this is it, but
I’m not sure.” She looked at her dad. “Is this the right spot?”

John walked toward them. “You’re standing on
the front porch,” he said with a smile. “If you’re not careful,
you’ll be walking in the front door with your wet shoes on.”

Bella took a step forward and smiled. “Will
you tell Mrs. Daniels that I nearly tracked snow and mud
inside?”

John bent down and kissed the end of Bella’s
nose. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

Bella looked at the papers under his arm.
“Show Rachel the drawings, dad.”

Rachel watched Bella’s face as John unwound
the papers. She was so excited that she was practically hopping on
the spot.

“This isn’t an exact measurement,” he said.
“But if you walk forty feet that way, you should see the view from
the living room.”

Rachel counted out forty feet as she moved
away from him. “Tell me about the living room. What will it look
like?”

John glanced at the architect’s plans.
“There’s a big stone fireplace down one end of the room. There’ll
be enough seating for at least ten people. The inbuilt sound system
will make everything you’ve seen look like it was around when Noah
first thought about building an ark.”

Rachel smiled. “You seem overly sure about
that.”

John shrugged. “I’m a gadget man.”

He didn’t need to add that he also had enough
money to buy exactly what he wanted. “Can you walk outside from the
living room?”

“There’ll be two sets of oversized French
doors.” John followed Rachel’s footprints. He looked down at his
plans, then held his arms out toward the lake. “The first set is
here. The second set is six-feet further along.”

Bella waved her arms in the air. “And over
here is dad’s office. It’s at the front of our house so that he can
see who’s coming and going.”

Rachel looked at John. “A regular Sherlock
Holmes. Who do you think is going to come out here without calling
you first?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a school teacher
who’s looking for somewhere away from other neighbors so that her
drama club can practice their singing?”

Rachel tapped her finger to her chin. “The
only problem I can see is making sure all of the children leave.
They’ll like it so much that they’ll want to stay.”

“We’re going to have lots and lots of
bedrooms,” Bella said excitedly. “Do you think the drama club would
really come out here to practice?”

Rachel looked at the lake. “As long as we
could get enough parents to drive the children to Emerald Lake, I
think they would.”

“That would be so great,” Bella sighed.

“Show me the rest of your home,” Rachel said
quickly before Bella planned the first visit. “Where’s the kitchen
and dining room?”

Bella stomped across to her dad, knees bent,
wading through the ankle-deep snow. “They’re over here.” She took a
few more steps, then spun in a circle with her arms wide. “Mrs.
Daniels helped plan out where everything will go. We’ll be able to
see the lake when we eat breakfast.”

Rachel walked across to Bella and imagined
sitting at a table, soaking in the beauty around them.

“When we came out here in the fall, a flock
of geese were living on the lake. Mrs. Daniels said they might have
babies one day and I’ll be able to see them.”

“You could take a photograph of them and show
the children in your class.”

Bella nodded. “I’m going to have a kitten,
too. Come and see where my room will be.” She held Rachel’s hand
and walked no more than a dozen steps away from where they’d been
standing.

John watched his daughter with a tender
smile. He caught Rachel staring at him and she could have sworn a
blush skimmed his cheeks.

“This is my room,” Bella said proudly.
“Except it’s in the air at the moment. You have to pretend that
you’re upstairs.”

“It’s a lovely room.”

Bella looked around what would be her
bedroom. “It’s going to be pink,” she whispered. “But I’m not
telling dad because it’s going to be a surprise.”

Rachel smiled. Bella’s favorite color in the
whole world was pink. She had pink stockings, pink sweaters, and
even a pink lunch box. John would have to pull out his best acting
face to look surprised when Bella told him.

“Dad’s bedroom is over there…” Bella waved to
her left, “and there are four other bedrooms along the
landing.”

“Four?” Rachel pretended to be surprised. It
made sense to build a house with more rooms than John and Bella
needed. With Big Sky resort so close, and another amazing ski
season underway, John’s family and friends could easily make his
home their vacation base.

Bella pulled Rachel closer. “I’m going to get
lots of brothers and sisters one day.”

The plans in John’s hands fell to the ground.
He picked them up and quickly glanced at Rachel. He cleared his
throat and looked at his daughter. “I don’t know if that will ever
happen, Bella.”

“I overheard Poppy’s mom say you’re a catch.
What does that mean?”

John’s eyes widened. He looked so flustered
that Rachel smiled.

“It means your dad’s handsome and nice.”
John’s gaze stayed on her. Rachel’s heart raced. She tried to think
of something else to say, but the look on John’s face was turning
her brain to mush.

“Like Frankie,” Bella sighed. “He’s handsome
and nice, too.”

John’s gaze dropped to his daughter.
“Frankie?”

“From drama club,” Bella said with a smile.
“He’s got the most beautiful voice ever.”

Bella had been to drama club three times and
she’d loved every minute. She enjoyed the company of the other
children, including Frankie. Rachel wanted to tell John that it was
okay, that he didn’t need the frown that was on his face. Frankie
was a really nice boy. If John made a big deal out of what Bella
had said, it could spoil the friendship that his daughter was
making.

Rachel walked across to John and stood in
front of him. “Tell me about the rest of the house. What room is
your favorite?”

His eyes narrowed.

“Remember that you’re handsome and nice,” she
whispered. “We can talk about Frankie later.”

John’s blue eyes held hers, softened, then
left her spellbound. All of the talk about children and boyfriends
was making Rachel’s thoughts go to places they shouldn’t. It was
bad enough that she was attracted to her student’s dad. Worse that
she was attracted to a workaholic.

John sent her a questioning glance before
opening the house plans. “My favorite room is the living room.”

He showed her the last page of the plans and
she sighed. “It’s lovely.” The architect had made a
three-dimensional image of what the living room would look like.
With its exposed timber ceiling, stone fireplace, and slate floors,
it was the kind of rustic hideaway that anyone would enjoy coming
home to.

“The floors are heated. You’ll be able to
walk around in bare feet in the middle of winter.”

Rachel moved closer, studying the colors the
architect had chosen, the way he’d placed the furniture and
fittings. “I like the shape of the sofas and chairs.”

“None of the paint color or furniture has
been finalized. I’ve got to let our interior designer know what we
want.”

“It’s going to be a beautiful home no matter
what you choose.” She looked at the plans, then across at the lake.
“You’ll see the entire lake from the living room.”

John nodded. “The building sites for the
other properties are closer to the water. By being back from the
lake, we get more of a panoramic view and it keeps Bella that much
further away from the water.”

“You’re worried about her?”

John’s gaze caught hers. They were standing
close, closer than Rachel realized. If she’d stood on tippy-toes
she could have kissed the frown off his face, taken away the worry
clouding his eyes.

John’s gaze lingered on her mouth. “I’m
always worried about Bella,” he said gently. “She means everything
to me.”

Rachel jammed her hands into her pockets in
case she was tempted to pull him close. She took a step backward
and focused on the house plans. “The architect has done a wonderful
job. Bella’s going to love living here.”

John opened his mouth to say something, but
Bella rushed across to them. “Look at the lake.”

Rachel turned to see what Bella was so
excited about. Close to shore, further around the lake, someone was
ice skating. Their blades sent a fine plume of snow into the air as
they twisted and turned, dancing to the music filling their head.
“Do you know who it is?”

John shook his head. “Maybe she’s a friend of
Jacob and Molly’s. She’s closer to their property than ours.”

Rachel held her breath as the ice skater
jumped into the air. She twisted into a spin, landing safely with
one leg extended and her arms open wide.

Bella looked up at her dad. “Can we go and
see her?”

“She’s too far away. By the time we get down
there, she’ll probably be gone.” John looked back at the skater.
She was turning slowly in a figure eight, cutting the ice like
someone who’d been born on skates. “Next time I’m talking to Jacob
I’ll ask him if he knows who she is.”

“Do you think I could learn how to skate?”
Bella asked her dad.

“After you start swimming lessons,” John
promised.

Bella looked at the lake. “I bet she’s skated
in the Olympics.”

The wistful note in Bella’s voice made Rachel
smile. “You could write a story about an ice skater tomorrow. She
could have all sorts of adventures.”

“She could be an ice skater who’s a
princess.” Bella held her dad’s hand. “A handsome prince could
rescue her from something terrible.”

John put the house plans in his pocket and
lifted Bella into his arms. “Before any rescuing takes place, do
you want lunch? Mrs. Daniels made us a picnic.”

Bella wiggled free of her dad’s hug. As soon
as her feet hit the snow she ran toward the helicopter. “First one
to the helicopter gets to choose a cookie.”

John looked at Rachel and grinned. “What do
you think?”

Rachel didn’t wait to find out whether he was
talking about a picnic or something else. She started running after
Bella, determined to put more than distance between John and her
feelings for him.

Some things were better left undone, and this
was one of them.

CHAPTER SIX

John closed his eyes and rested his head on the back
of his brother’s sofa. This last week had gone from bad to worse.
The only good thing to come out of everything had been the trip
with Bella and Rachel to Emerald Lake.

Grant nudged his feet on his way past. “You
can’t fool me. You’re not asleep, you’re avoiding my
questions.”

“Which one?” John opened one eye. “And if
it’s the one about my non-existent love life, then you’re not going
to get any answers.”

Grant grunted. “Fine. Start with the teacher.
Does Rachel enjoy working with Bella?”

“Of course she does. What’s not to like?”

“Oh, I don’t know. The gorilla beside me
could have some kind of influence on her happiness. I heard you
went to Emerald Lake the other day?”

That got John’s attention. “How did you find
out?”

“Mrs. Daniels,” Grant said smugly. “I called
her to see where you were. She told me you’d taken a helicopter out
to the lake. Did you see much apart from snow and ice?”

“Scoff all you like. I wanted to see what the
view from the house would be like in winter.”

“You took a helicopter out for that? You’ve
got more money than common sense.”

“Probably,” John muttered. “So how’s the
world of mountain rescue?”

John’s brother had been a volunteer with the
Gallatin County Search and Rescue Team for the last eight years.
He’d seen some horrific accidents, but he kept going back, year
after year, to help the people who needed it.

Grant put his mug of coffee on the table in
front of him. “Avalanche season is well and truly here. We had a
fatality on Sunday. A family was out on their snowmobiles and
triggered an avalanche. Their teenage son was killed.” He shook his
head. “You think they’d learn by now. We’ve been issuing warnings
all week for where the avalanche happened. They had all of the
safety gear you can buy, but it didn’t help their son.”

“How was the team after you got back?”

“Not great, but they managed to pull two of
the family out, so that was something. You changed the
subject.”

“Didn’t work for long.”

Grant pointed at the newspaper. “The fighting
in the Middle East looks as though it’s getting worse. Another five
soldiers were killed in separate suicide bombings last week. Do you
think your drone can help?”