Rescuing His Heart

Heather is a med student on the verge of getting her residency letter and she can't wait to see where she'll be working for the next few years.

The chemistry is definitely there, but he's the town butcher, and, well, Heather doesn't eat meat. Neither can deny the ever growing attraction to each other, and as Christmas break comes to an end, they must decide if they're willing to make things work, or if it's just a holiday fling that will end when the New Year begins.

 Heather checked her phone for the hundredth time as her family pulled into the hotel parking lot. Still no cell service. She was supposed to be getting a call at any moment for the job she’d interviewed for, and she was stuck in the middle of southern Idaho for Christmas. Why her parents had chosen to come here for
their vacation was beyond her. Yes, her Aunt Cassie lived here, but couldn’t they have chosen somewhere warmer? 

“Wow, this is beautiful. So much better than the pictures online.” Mom smiled up at what looked more like a mansion than a hotel. Which meant it most likely didn’t have Wi-Fi or a pool.

A cool breeze blew through the gardens, promising snow. Why they couldn’t be at the beach instead was beyond Heather. She should have gone with her roommates. Heather
pulled her coat tighter and grabbed her suitcase. Just a couple of days and she’d be out of here. She could handle that.

Leaves blew past them as they went up the walkway, her twin brothers rushing past her. Of course, they’d be excited. They were ten.

“You look about as excited as I feel.” Heather’s sister, Janie, smirked. 

Heather laughed and walked inside. Okay, so this was a little fancier than she’d expected. The decor was more up to date than she’d expected, and they’d obviously updated a lot of it. A large Christmas tree stood in one corner, decorated with hundreds
of lights, bulbs, and ornaments. Large wreaths hung at each window, and Christmas music played quietly in the lobby.

 Their room was upstairs and to the right. The twins would be with Mom and Dad, so Heather got to share with Janie. The room was small, but it was nice. They’d gone all out with decorating it, and best of all, the bed was comfortable. Heather snuggled under the covers, determined not
to get out until it was time to go back home.

“I’m going exploring. Want to come?” Janie pulled on her coat.

“I think I’ll take a nap. You go ahead.” And by nap, Heather meant digging into the book she’d been waiting to read.

Janie sighed and grabbed Heather’s blankets. “If I have to be here, so do you. Come on. Maybe there’s some cute guys around here somewhere.”

“Great. If you see any of them, say hi.” Heather tried to get the blankets back, but it was no use. At twelve, Janie was pretty feisty and tended to get what she wanted. “Fine.”

Heather grabbed her jacket. “But if they want me to country dance or whatever, I’m ditching you.”

Janie laughed. “It’s not like that’s all they do all day. Besides, I heard there’s a big pre-Christmas dance tonight.”

“How do you hear these things?” Heather stopped long enough to grab her wallet in case they
decided to go somewhere, then let Janie drag her out of the room.

“I’m small. People talk all the time when I’m around.” Janie didn’t let go until they were downstairs. “They were talking about it while we checked in. Oh, hey. Look.” 

A large poster was pinned to the bulletin board near the main desk. The dance would have a live band. Most likely country music. But it was better than sitting in her room all night. 

“Fine. We’ll go. But if the music is lame, we’re leaving early.”

Someone laughed behind her. Heather turned to find a rather good-looking guy standing there.
Too bad there was a ring on his finger, or this trip would have been a lot more interesting.

“I guarantee you’ll like the music. My wife is singing.” The man held out a hand. “I’m Patrick, by the way. I own this hotel, along with Rachel.”

Heather could feel her face burning. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know anyone was here. I’m Heather.” 

“Nice to meet you. And you’re . . .?”

“Janie. Your hotel is amazing.”

Patrick smiled. “Thanks. Rachel gets most of the credit. I need to get back to work, but I hope you two have fun. Make sure to check out the gardens.” He started walking away, but turned around. “Oh, and I highly recommend going to the dance tonight. You
won’t regret it.”

“I’m sure we won’t.” Heather steered Janie toward the back door so they could go into the gardens. The wind blew hard and cold as they tried to maneuver the paths. 

Janie stopped and turned back. “I think I’ve had enough air for today.”

Heather laughed and followed her sister back in. Hot chocolate and a good book in bed sounded like the perfect solution to her. She checked her watch to see what time it was. Perfect. It was still early enough in the afternoon that she could do just
that before dinner and the dance that she hadn’t decided if she was going to attend.

“Want to see what video games they have?” Janie pointed toward one of the front rooms of the hotel. 

“No, I’m good, but I bet you can find Eric and Sam there. I’ll be up in our room, trying to get warm.”

Janie took off without looking back. Apparently, she wasn’t too heartbroken that Heather hadn’t followed. Fair enough. Heather grabbed a packet of hot chocolate from the condiment table and ran upstairs with it. She had a book calling her name.

 ***

Heather groaned
at the knock on the door. She’d just gotten to the best part of the book. They were about to find out who the villain was. She climbed out of her bed and answered the door to find her parents standing there.

“Ready for dinner?” Mom glanced down at Heather’s pajamas and frowned. “You’re not going down to dinner in that, are you?”

Heather must have read longer than she’d thought. “Give me a sec.”

“Wait, is Janie in there? She can come down with us.” 

“No, she’s with Sam and Eric playing games downstairs. Just go. I’ll meet you down there.”
Heather closed the door and stared at the clothes in her luggage. She probably should have unpacked. Oh well. No time now. She grabbed a blouse and a nice pair of pants and changed, then checked to make sure her hair wasn’t sticking out all over. 

The dining room was already full when Heather made it downstairs. Dad waved his arm to let her
know where they were sitting. She weaved her way through the tables and sat next to Sam. 

“There are way too many people here to have them all staying at the hotel.” Heather opened the menu and glanced through the entrees. Strange. She flagged down a waiter. “I was looking for the vegetarian menu. Do you have one?” 

The waiter sighed and left, bringing back a menu a moment later. “There you go.”

“Thank you.” Heather glanced through the list and ordered eggplant parmesan. 

Snickering came from the table behind Heather, and she distinctly heard vegetarian among their
laughing. She turned to glare at them and met the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. She pushed past her momentary inability to speak. “Excuse me? It’s not polite
to laugh at other people’s choices.”

“It is when
that person clearly doesn’t understand that the hotel is owned by a rancher’s daughter. Which means most of the food that comes through this hotel is raised
by her family. Insult the food, you insult the family.” The man’s eyes danced as he spoke, annoying Heather further. 

“I don’t care what her farm raises, it gives no one the right to laugh.” Heather huffed and turned back around to find her family staring at her. “What?”

Mom leaned forward. “Don’t speak to people like that. It’s rude.”