A Christmas Family Miracle

All along he’d planned to drive Philippe to school every day. It would give him an excuse to be with Crystal, who never lighted long enough for them to have an in-depth conversation. Unfortunately her move to get a rental car had thrown him, but it didn’t change his intention of being there for his nephew. If she didn’t like it, that was too bad. Philippe wanted and expected to be with him now that he was here.

Like a wound that had been torn open again, his conversation with Philippe had brought all his agony to the surface, leaving him bleeding all over the place. He needed to do something about his turmoil or he honestly didn’t know how he was going to make it through the night, let alone the rest of his life.

CHAPTER FOUR

AFTER DROPPING Philippe off at school the next morning, Crystal drove to Broussard’s and parked around the side entrance reserved for the staff. The famous mountaineering shop looked like a giant chalet and catered to everything for the mountain climber, but it also carried ski clothes and equipment. Raoul’s office was on the third level at the other end. As she walked through the lower level to the ski shop, she doubted he was even at work yet.

“Eh bien—I can’t believe my eyes.”

She smiled. “Bonjour, Jean-Luc.”

The ski veteran who’d run the shop for years came around the counter and gave her a bear hug. “If it isn’t Crystal, as I live and breathe. You are a sight for sore eyes.”

“It’s great to see you, too.” He was like family to the Broussards. Jean-Luc had been a fabulous skier in his time and had given Eric a lot of pointers.

“What brings you in here?”

“I want to rent some equipment to go up skiing for a couple of hours.”

His brows lifted. “You didn’t bring your own gear?”

“Not this time. This was a spur-of-the-moment decision.” Thanks to Raoul, who’d infused her with the determination to get back doing what she did best.

“Well … let me fix you up. I’m afraid we don’t have your special skis, but I think I can find something for the famous Colorado champion.”

Before long she was outfitted with ski bibs and everything she’d need. He found an empty dressing room for her to change in and let her put her things in a locker in the back room.

Once she was ready, she put her skis and poles over her shoulder and started for the same side entrance. It was only a short walk to the Brévent cable car.

But she never made it outside because a tall, powerfully built man in a familiar black bomber jacket was just coming in, blocking her exit. She looked up at him and trembled. “Raoul—”

His hands shot out to grip her upper arms. At his touch, a jolt of electricity arced through her body. “I saw your rental car out there as I was driving around to the back.” She felt his gaze travel over her like a laser beam. “Give me a minute to get into my ski gear and I’ll go up to Planpraz with you. I haven’t had a good run on skis in weeks.”

Warmth flooded her system. It wasn’t just his physical presence that made it difficult to catch her breath. It was the fact that he was willing to drop everything to come with her. She’d always loved that trait in Raoul. His spontaneity at a moment’s notice made him such an exciting man to be with. Though it was taking an emotional risk, for once she didn’t question it because the negative tension between them seemed to be missing.

“I’ll wait outside the door for you.” Maybe it was the day, the air. All she knew was, she wanted to be with him.

His hands fell away, leaving her free to continue walking, but her legs felt like mush. If this was the way he was going to affect her, she didn’t think she had the strength to make it to the cable car, let alone ski. He was a wonderful skier and an even more wonderful companion when he was relaxed. Thrill after thrill darted through her at the thought of being with him like this.

She didn’t have to wait long before he joined her looking fantastic in his black ski outfit with the blue stripe up the side. They walked the short distance to the ski station in companionable silence before riding the cable car up the mountain. Soon Chamonix lay at their feet. She gasped softly at the phenomenal sight while experiencing an attack of exhilaration that she was seeing this with him.

This was her world! For a few years she’d forgotten. When she turned her head, her eyes fused with the cobalt blue of Raoul’s.

“You’ve got that look on your face, Crystal.”

“What look is that?” she whispered shakily.

“The one that used to be on all the billboards. The look that’s been missing. I’m glad to see it’s back. I’ll race you to the bottom.” His gaze reluctantly left hers before he gripped his poles and started down the run, exploding like a torpedo out of its silo past two other skiers.

She adjusted her goggles and pushed off, eager to catch up to him. They played like children, skiing the moguls down the steep piste. Sheer euphoria. She let out a joyous laugh and poured on the speed, flying past him. She eventually reached the bottom a few seconds faster than he did.

Crystal was still laughing for the utter pleasure of being alive and sharing this with him. When he skied over to her, his smile dissolved her bones. “You’re still the greatest thing going out here. If anything, I think you’re skiing better than you used to. You were loose. Fluid.”

Raoul. “You’re good for my ego.”

“I think you meant that.” His expression grew more thoughtful. “How about one more run before I have to get a little work done today?”

“You’re on!” she cried, delirious with happiness that he wanted to go again.

They skied over to the station and rode the cable car once more. It filled up fast. Raoul’s intense gaze found hers over the heads of the other skiers. His gorgeous eyes conveyed so many things, she felt giddy.

Their second run was even more exciting because Raoul was determined to win. And she let him.

He flashed her a crooked half smile while he waited for her to ski over to him. She hadn’t fooled him, of course. “Thanks for making a mediocre skier look like a pro in front of our audience. I owe you for that.” A small crowd had gathered to watch them.

She chuckled. “I’ve had the time of my life this morning.” For once she’d done something for pure pleasure. No cross examinations, no guilt she was trying to hide. She’d just gone with the moment because Raoul had made her feel so good.

“My sentiments exactly,” he said in his deep voice. It sent delicious chills through her body. She sensed this had been good for him, too.

They removed their skis and started walking back to his work, cocooned in their own world for the moment by the spell holding them after such a fabulous morning. Halfway there, Raoul’s cell phone rang. He had to pick up. When his black brows furrowed, she had to accept the fact that reality had intruded.

After he’d taken the call, his glance swerved to hers. “I’ve got a situation I have to deal with immediately.”

Inside she moaned. “You go on.”

“I’ll be in touch with you later.”

He took off like a shot through the crowd of skiers. A guide had probably called in because of an emergency. Raoul was always the first to respond and coordinate any mountain rescue efforts. She hoped he didn’t have to go himself. There was always a certain amount of danger, but after being with him this morning, her normal worry for him escalated to new heights.

She returned to the chalet and changed back into her street clothes. After thanking Jean-Luc, she left to get some lunch and do a little more Christmas shopping. Pretty soon it was time to pick up Philippe.

Crystal spotted him right away. For his second day at school he’d chosen to put on his dark blue pants and lighter blue polo shirt with the long sleeves. It wasn’t like Albert’s uniform, but Crystal could see the colors were close enough.

“Guess what, Mommy?” He’d just come out of the room with his cousin. “I’m in the school program, too. We’re going to be Christmas angels.”

“You are? How exciting!” She walked them to the car and they got in. “When is it?”

“On Saturday afternoon. We have to sing two songs.”

“Just you and Albert?”

“All the kids,” her nephew said.

“Which Christmas carols are they?”

“I don’t know. Uncle Raoul will help me practice.”

She looked at him through the rearview mirror. “We’ll get Aunt Vivige to teach you since she’ll know the songs Albert is working on.”

“But I want him to do it.”

“Honey, he doesn’t have the time.”

“He’ll help if I ask him.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.” She felt she was going under for the third time. Though her morning with Raoul had been magical, it had to end.

“You’re mean.”

“What did you say to me?”

“I’m sorry.” Here came the tears. While he sat there crying hysterically, there was a knock on the rear window causing both their heads to turn. It was Raoul.

She was elated to realize that he wasn’t out on an emergency, but she was surprised to see him here. Philippe unstrapped himself and scrambled out of the backseat into his arms where he sobbed even harder.

“Eh, bien, what’s wrong, mon gars? Do you feel sick today?” Anyone nearby would assume Raoul was the father attempting to console his son. The love he had for Philippe had always been the real thing and it was reciprocated a hundred fold.

Crystal had known fear once before around Raoul. Now she felt it even stronger to see the way Philippe clung to him. This affection for his uncle that had its roots deep in the past was reaching critical mass. With a sense of despair, she knew it would only grow stronger. She needed some advice about now.

His cute little face was all blotchy. “Mommy says you don’t have time to t-teach me some s-songs for the school program.”

“Of course I do.” Raoul turned his dark head in her direction. “Did you hear that, Mommy?” Raoul had turned his back on her, reminding her of their conversation outside the bedroom the other night when he’d told her Philippe could never be a burden.

This was so hard. Crystal resented being in the position of the enemy when Philippe was her son. But this wasn’t a situation where blame could be attached to any one person. Whatever she said right now would spell the difference between temporary peace or permanent chaos. It wouldn’t be fair to create more problems when Jules wasn’t even out of the hospital yet.

“I did. I just didn’t know if it was all right with you, Raoul.”

Crystal thought she saw a look of satisfaction enter Raoul’s eyes before he kissed his forehead. “There. Did you hear that?” Philippe nodded. “Have a treat on me.” Raoul pulled two small wrapped candy canes from his pocket and undid them for the boys.

Philippe put it in his mouth. “Mmm. This tastes good, like peppermint.”

“Yum,” Albert said.

“I brought them especially for you guys because I know you like that flavor.”

“Thanks!”

“You’re welcome.” Though he was speaking to the boys, his focus was on Crystal. After taking in her knitted blue ski hat, Raoul’s eyes narrowed on her mouth. Fire ran through her body, igniting her. It brought back the joy she’d shared with him earlier.

Maybe it was the cream-colored cable knit pullover he was wearing that made his eyes look inky blue in the afternoon light. Helpless to do otherwise, her gaze lowered to the jeans molding his powerful thighs. Her heart thumped hard as she took in his features again. To think any one man could be that handsome …

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Vivige pull up. Her daughters rushed toward her car. More than ever it didn’t explain Raoul’s presence. The thought—the hope that after this morning’s ski run he might be missing Crystal’s company—gave her a suffocating feeling in her chest.

Vivige opened her window. “Come on, Philippe, Albert,” she called to them. “We’re off to the hospital to see Grand-père.” The boys scrambled into her car. Philippe was perfectly happy again.

“I’ll feed the children dinner. See you two later,” Vivige murmured as she looked at the two of them.

After she drove off, Raoul’s gaze flicked to Crystal. Her pulse was galloping. “I came by here to catch up with you because I want to give you your prize.”

She smiled. “My prize? For what?”

His eyes held a mysterious gleam. “For letting me win in front of that crowd earlier.”

Crystal laughed. “You’re not serious.”

“Oh, but I am,” he insisted, “and I always pay my debts.”

Thump thump went her heart. “Where is it?”

“In town at Chez Pierre. We’ll go in my car. I’ll bring you back later.” He helped her out and they walked back to his car.

Before long they arrived at the charming bistro, one of many lining the streets of Chamonix. Chez Pierre was known for serving the best cheese fondue in town.

The host led them upstairs, where there were tables near the window with a superb view of the mountains. But the second they reached the next level, she let out a cry.

On the two walls facing each other were giant-sized colored posters, bigger than life. Above them were banners that read Vive les Broussards. One was of Eric in his famous tuck, heading for the finish line that won him his last gold.

The other one showed Crystal flying down the icy trek with her body perfectly aligned. She wore a smile beneath her ski goggles as she was coming in to take the bronze. Seeing herself at the height of her career in competition form was too much.

In front of the other people eating, she burst into quiet tears. Raoul slid his arms around her and pulled her close to him until she could get hold of herself. Crystal was so moved by his gift, she couldn’t find words.

“I didn’t bribe Pierre to put up that poster of you, ma belle. He’s had these in here forever,” Raoul whispered. His lips brushed her cheek, sending rivulets of longing through her body. “I wanted to bring you here before you left for the States. But it wasn’t meant to be then. It’s a testament to a world that still honors Chamonix’s best. That’s you.”

Overwhelmed by this incredible man, she kissed his jaw. “Thank you for believing in me.” After she eased out of his arms, he found them a table at the window. It had been reserved for Raoul Broussard.

Her heart jumped to think he’d planned all this. It was the most romantic, thrilling thing anyone had ever done for her.

Crystal never imagined the day would come when she’d be eating fondue with him like this while she soaked in the atmosphere he’d created by simply being Raoul. But as she ate the French bread she dipped in the bubbling mixture of Gruyère cheese and kirsch, she sensed something was on his mind. She couldn’t bear for anything to be wrong right now.

“What is it, Raoul?”

His eyes searched hers. “Did I make a mistake bringing you here?”

“Mistake?” she murmured in shock.

He cocked his dark head. “You’re so quiet, I couldn’t help wondering.”

“Wondering what?”

“Whether my good intentions backfired because seeing Eric’s picture here was too much for you.”

After what she’d experienced with Raoul today, she couldn’t hold back certain information from him. “Before we leave here, there’s something you need to know about Eric and me.”

“What? That he betrayed you?” he bit out.

Whoa. Where had that come from?

“No—” she answered honestly.

“He had a reputation with women before he married you.”

Raoul had never gotten this personal with her before; but since this morning, everything seemed to have changed.

“I know. My teammates warned me about him. He was known as the heartbreaker on the circuit, but I couldn’t help how I felt about him. We both had the same drive and the same daring, I guess. One day when he said, ‘Let’s get married right now,’ I just went with it.”

Shadows marred his features. “Then if it wasn’t another woman, what changed in your marriage?”

Crystal let out a shaky breath. “Was it that visible to everyone?”

“No,” he said quietly. “Only to me because Eric was my brother. It’s something I’ve never discussed with anyone.”

She put down her fondue fork. “You could say the existence of Philippe transformed my life. Until I discovered I was pregnant, I was selfish and didn’t think much about anything beyond Eric’s and my dreams of success. We were two people flying high and enjoying every minute.

“It pains me now to think we just went off and got married in Val d’Isère without telling either of our families. We cheated everyone out of one of the most important times in all our lives, but Eric insisted we didn’t have time for wedding plans and still make all our races.”

“Patience was never his forte, but it made him the world’s greatest skier.”

She nodded. “Still, in hindsight, it was extremely selfish of us. I should have insisted on a traditional wedding. Do you realize we didn’t even have one picture of us on our wedding day? Nothing to show for the biggest event in our lives. We were only in the mairie ten minutes, and then we were off to our next race in Courchevel so the paparazzi didn’t catch on. Sometimes I think about it now and it crushes me.”

“But that’s absurd,” Raoul responded. “No one cared. The family was thrilled you got married. My parents worried Eric might never settle down. I know your parents were happy. We talked at length about the two stars in our families joining together.”

Crystal shook her head. “Two selfish stars. We both agreed to put off having children while we were in our athletic prime, but even with protection, Philippe came along anyway.” She took a fortifying breath. “From the moment I became pregnant, my whole outlook on life changed dramatically.”

His features took on a chiseled look she didn’t understand.

“For once I had to think about someone else besides myself and Eric. The baby’s needs superseded everything else. I had to stop skiing, but I didn’t mind at all because this miracle of motherhood was going to happen to me. Though Eric was happy we were going to have a baby, he didn’t undergo the same transformation.”

Raoul’s eyes narrowed. “No. My brother developed that killer instinct early to be the top skier in the world. It never left him.”

He’d taken the words right out of Crystal’s mouth. “No. And at the height of his fabulous winning streak, my new priority was to be the best mother and wife in the world instead of the best female skier. I was determined to make a real home for us. Any hard times came when I saw Eric disappoint our son because he had to be someplace else.”

Raoul gave her a commiserating look that spoke of deep understanding.

“Eric went on doing what he was born to do, but our marriage began to suffer because we were on two divergent tracks. I loved him and didn’t blame him for who he was any more than he blamed me for my new role of motherhood. But with Philippe’s birth, I found out what I was really born to do.”

Except that her recent conversation with Raoul reminded her she could have a life off and on the ski slopes, too.

“I tried to salvage our marriage and begged him to move to Breckenridge with me. I thought that if he didn’t have your family and friends to depend on all the time, he’d come to rely on me again and we could recapture the love we’d once shared. But he didn’t want to leave home.”

Raoul wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin. “My brother was too entrenched.”

“Exactly. Eric was too comfortable with the lifestyle he’d known all his life. He couldn’t see that he was leaving Philippe alone too much. That drive in him took over and left us behind. I kept hoping things would change, but they didn’t. The truth is, though I never said the words to him, if he hadn’t been killed, I would have divorced him.”

Something flared in the recesses of his eyes. “That I didn’t know.”

“Does it shock you?”

He frowned, staring at her as if he’d never seen her before. “What are you talking about? I loved my brother, but another woman would have left him long before then.”

She shook her head. “Even so, forgive me if I sounded disloyal just now.”

A strange sound escaped his throat. “I’m the one asking for forgiveness for sounding judgmental of you the other night about Philippe.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Raoul. I have been punishing my son unwittingly by pretending I could erase the past.” But she’d found out that wasn’t possible, and her concern over Philippe’s future happiness was looming larger than ever.

She lifted her head. “Thank you for this incredible day. I’ll never forget you or your generosity. Now if you wouldn’t mind driving me back to the school, I need to get my car and go home so I’ll be there when Vivige brings him back.”

After dropping Crystal off at her car, Raoul drove home experiencing a new kind of pain. It wasn’t like what he’d suffered after Suzanne had died. Her death had been final. He’d had to accept it and get past it through sheer will and work.

But Crystal and Philippe were both breathtakingly alive and, worse, forbidden to him in the eyes of society and family. Raoul didn’t worry about either, but he knew Crystal did. After experiencing pleasure almost beyond bearing by being with her today, he could see his pain would go on and on with no end in sight unless he did something about it.

Desperate for relief, he reached for his phone and called his best friend. But all he got was his voice mail. Des could be anywhere, doing anything. Raoul left a brief message for him to phone, then hung up.

Desidiero Pastrana, a wealthy Spaniard and mountaineer from the Pyrenees, had arrived in Chamonix ten years ago to do some climbing. Raoul had been his guide and they’d struck up a friendship that had lasted and deepened over the years. They’d often traveled back and forth to do different climbs together, enjoying women until Raoul had met Suzanne.

When she’d been killed, Des had been there for him. They’d done a trip to Nepal that had saved his life. Raoul would always be indebted to him. Now he needed saving again because he was battling excruciating pain that was eating him alive. Des was the only person he could talk to about it.

Though he had a few other good friends, there wasn’t anyone else who had Des’s depth of character and understanding. He’d been through a hell as real as the one Raoul was going through now. Raoul could benefit from some of his wisdom.

After pacing the floor, he picked up the phone again, this time to call the nursing station at the hospital. The clerk answered. She told him the doctor had made his rounds and had given orders for the feeding tube to be taken out of Monsieur Broussard. He could go on soft foods in the morning.

Dieu, merci. Raoul thanked her and hung up. He’d needed to hear that good news, but it still wasn’t enough for him tonight. For once the solitude was killing him and Des might not get back to him for a while.

Unable to stand his own company, he put on his shoes and jacket, then left the house on foot for the nearest bar. He needed something to numb him so he could sleep. Anything at all to help him keep the lid on.

After Crystal left for Breckenridge with Philippe, he’d been in such a black void he’d had no interest in anything except to plunge into his work. That’s when he’d started making monthly phone calls to Philippe. It meant he could hear Crystal’s voice.

The talks with her son managed to keep him from going insane, but, by October, not even those ended up being enough. Finally one of his colleagues told him he needed to take a break, otherwise he would be no good on the mountain.

After his last unsatisfying few words on the phone with Crystal, he’d been on the verge of phoning her back to tell her he was going to fly to Breckenridge to see his nephew. Then his father had fallen ill and that’s when he’d firmed up his decision to go to Colorado and ask her to come back with Philippe.