One Regret

CHAPTER ONE

“Business or pleasure?”

The question caught me by surprise. “I’m sorry?”

The old woman standing next to me at baggage claim repeated her question. “Are you here on business, or for fun?”

“Oh. For fun, I hope.” My actual purpose for visiting Utah didn’t really fit either category.

“Visiting someone?” When she smiled at me, she reminded me of my grandmother and I was glad I hadn’t gone with the truth. She probably would have either been very confused or had a stroke if I had said, Actually, I’m hoping for pleasure. Lots and lots of pleasure.

“I’m here to see my boyfriend.” That, too, was not the truth. But it was the safest descriptor I could think of for William.

I spotted my suitcase and prepared to snatch it from the conveyor belt. Due to my extreme dislike of snow and cold weather, I had packed almost my entire wardrobe. My suitcase was heavy and it took a fierce tug to pull it down.

“How nice. A romantic weekend in the mountains?” My new best friend winked an eye at me. She eyed my suitcase. “You sure packed a lot of clothes for a romantic weekend.”

My mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry?”

“No need to be shy. I was young once, too.” Apparently, I was talking to Blanche from the Golden Girls. “My Harold and I used to have some fun weekends ourselves.”

“That’s nice.” My voice came out in a squeak. “Is Harold you husband?”

“We were together fifty years before he died.” She nodded at me wisely. “Do you know what my biggest regret is?”

“No clue.” I hoped it wasn’t going to be a revelation that would make my ears bleed.

“That we didn’t enjoy each other enough. We did in the beginning, but then we had four kids and everything changed. Our lives became so serious.” I reached down to help her with her much lighter bag. “This boyfriend of yours that you are here to see?”

“Yeah?”

“Enjoy him. Have fun. Life is so short.” When she looked at me, her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Trust me. I’ve lost my great love, but it’s not too late for you.”

Blanche had given me a lot to think about. I was glad that my trip up the mountain in the ski resort shuttle took almost an hour. I needed to get my thoughts together before I saw William. Was he my great love? I had no idea. But I did know I wasn’t ready to let him go yet.

“Where are you staying?” the shuttle driver, Roy, asked as we closed in on our destination.

“Um, Mountain Home 10?” I double checked the instructions Trevor had sent to my phone.

“Wow. You must be somebody important if you are staying in 10.” Roy let out a low whistle. “Do you know Mr. Connor?”

“You could say that.” I wondered if I really did know William. So much about him was still a mystery to me.

Our van climbed higher into the mountains. When we pulled off the main road, Roy stopped in front of an iron gate and reached through the window to punch in a code. The gate slid open and we continued forward. After about 100 yards, I could finally see William’s mountain home.

It was buried in the trees, but I could just make out all three stories. It had a winding deck on all three levels, and a slanted roof that was pure glass. Roy pulled the shuttle to a stop. “This is it.”

“Indeed.” I took a deep breath before opening the car door. Despite the hour-long car ride and three-hour plane trip, I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to say.

“Do you want some help with your bag?” Roy already had my bag out of the trunk. He gestured to the steep stairs leading up to the house.

“No thanks. I’ve got it from here.”

I took my time dragging my luggage up the stairs, partly because my bag was heavy and the climb was steep, but also because I was stalling. Even with my slow progress, I was still standing at the front door in less than two minutes.

Very slowly, I raised my hand to knock, but the door flew open before I could make contact.

“I thought that was you.”

William’s sister, Toni, stared at me with wide eyes. I returned her dubious stare, realizing for the very first time that I might actually be interrupting something important. When William had said he was going on a ski trip, I had just assumed he was going by himself, or with friends. It never occurred to me that it might be a family trip.

“Hey, Toni.” I smiled meekly.

She tilted her head to the left and looked me up and down. “William never mentioned that you were joining us.”

“It’s kind of a surprise,” I said.

She nodded, but still looked suspicious. “Okay. Come in.”