***
Rachel gazed through the helicopter’s window, staring at the beautiful landscape. Snow covered everything, from the top of the tallest mountains, to the pine trees huddled together on the valley floor. Last night’s snowstorm had left its mark on the world, a mark that was far more beautiful and majestic from the air than it was from the ground.
Bella pointed to a herd of buffalo.
Rachel watched them lumber across the frozen field, looking for food that had been buried by the snow.
For as long as she lived, she’d never get tired of the simple beauty that surrounded her. Montana was the most magical place she knew, and the one place she would always call home.
“Look to your right,” John said through her headset. “Emerald Lake is over the next ridge.”
She kept her eyes on the scene unfolding below her. Big Sky Resort, one of the most famous ski destinations in America, was nestled in the mountains on the left-hand side of the helicopter. John had told her that Emerald Lake wasn’t far from the winter playground that attracted thousands of tourists to Montana each winter.
She wondered why he’d bought a parcel of land in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t seem like the type of person who’d enjoy the solitude or peace that came from being miles away from the nearest store.
The helicopter drifted over the ridge and Rachel’s mouth dropped open. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered into her microphone. The circular lake had frozen solid, but it still looked incredible in the mid-morning sunshine.
John didn’t reply, and she hadn’t expected him too. A person could lose themselves in the pure energy surrounding them, or if they were lucky, find something that was missing.
The helicopter carried them across the center of the lake toward an area covered with tall trees.
“Jacob and Molly’s property is over there,” John pointed to their left. “One of the other parcels of land is sold and the last one is still on the market.”
She held onto her armrest as the pilot landed on a snow covered plateau. “When are you going to move out here?”
John took off his headset. “We start building in early April. If everything goes to plan, we should move in around the end of September.”
Rachel opened her door and breathed in the cold mountain air. She looked around and smiled at a hawk circling in the clear blue sky. It was almost as if the rest of the world had disappeared and left them to enjoy the morning.
“Welcome to Emerald Lake,” John said from behind her. “What do you think?”
“I couldn’t work out why you’d want to live here, but now I know why. It’s absolutely stunning. If I had enough money, I’d buy the last parcel of land and live here myself.”
“If you keep working for me you could put a deposit on the land by next Christmas.”
Rachel laughed. “I told you I was being paid too much. Just be thankful that Bella’s going to school soon. You’ll be able to save thousands of dollars each week when you aren’t paying my salary.”
“I’m not paying you that much,” John growled.
“Are you sure?” She 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 going 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 brought 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 their house plans. 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 Franky,” Bella sighed. “He’s handsome and nice, too.”
John’s gaze dropped to his daughter. “Franky?”
“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 Franky. Rachel wanted to tell John that it was okay, that he didn’t need the frown that was on his face. Franky 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 Franky 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. Her blades sent a fine spray of snow into the air as she twisted and turned, dancing to the music filling her 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 woman 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.