The fact was, today could bring everything down around him. The longer Rachel stayed at the lodge and near his family, the more opportunities there would be for them to find out about Scott. But what other choice did he have? Burst in before the gathering began and spill the news? That would make for great pictures. They just had to get through another day, and then they’d be in a better position to sit down and figure out what to do.
He showered and changed. With several hours available before the designated meeting time for portraits, he planned to take advantage of the time by working in the office. The short distance to the lodge didn’t make up for the cold, crisp air chilling him as he made his way to his office, choosing to use the stairs for the exercise.
Once there, it wasn’t easy to focus on paperwork. It almost worked, but Rachel was always at the corner of his mind, never far away. The hours dragged but time didn’t stop.
His phone alerted him to a new text.
Gabe: In the fireplace lounge instead of Grandmother’s apartment. Wants photos there, too.
Jonas gritted his teeth, but he had to admit it made sense—they had photos from her apartment on Christmas Day, and the lounge had an abundance of natural light. That would make it easier for Rachel.
Although nothing would make it easy if his family started asking questions. He had to hurry if he didn’t want her to face the rest of the Elkin family alone. He shoved the paperwork away from him and headed downstairs.
Walking into the room, he realized his grandmother had a good instinct for what would look good for the photo shoot. The lounge had two walls of windows, the morning light shining through and cascading a pretty glow over the room. It gave the whole scene a magazine layout vibe, something he needed to take note of for future advertising campaigns. Rachel stood in one corner, adjusting the settings on her camera. Scott was nowhere to be seen. More than likely with the in-house nanny, which was the best possible solution.
Seeing as everyone had arrived, it was time to get this over with.
“Brothers first,” Jonas announced, loud enough for Rachel to hear. Her head snapped up, her gaze seeking him out. Her surprise quickly turned into a smile, making his heart beat faster.
One by one, they each took turns in separate groups, sitting by the window and pretending to have conversations. Jonas laughed at Gabe’s jokes, the knot in his chest loosening with every moment that passed. Maybe it would all be fine.
No sooner had he started to relax than two figures appeared in the doorway. No one else noticed the new additions as they worked on rearranging themselves, his grandmother sitting down, and everyone falling in beside her.
Except for Jonas, that is. He noticed.
Lisa had arrived, Scott in her arms. The moment he saw his mother, his son brightened, pushing away from the nanny and trying to get down. Rachel went over and had a hushed conversation with her. The words no big deal drifted his way as he listened intently.
Except it was a big deal.
Lisa put Scott down, and he clung to Rachel’s leg. Tana, Lindsey, and Anna made an awww noise at the side of the room, finding Scott’s antic cute.
Rachel shook her head and laughed, waving them into the next group shot. “If you all sit down,” she said, “we’ll get a few more shots, and then we’ll move to more group standing poses. Remember, this is what I call planned candid, so ignore me and be as comfortable as you can. You could tell a funny story from the boys’ childhood, Elin.”
His grandmother’s smile lit up the room, and she launched into a story about the time Chase belly flopped off the high dive at a campground they’d gone to out west. It had been the first of many antics on the trip.
Jonas wanted to lose himself in the story, wanted to focus on the past, when things had been less complicated, but he couldn’t. They were going to notice. Any second now, they were going to notice that the little boy in the room looked exactly like him. Or they were going to notice that Jonas couldn’t stop stealing glances at Rachel.
Rachel, on the other hand, showed no sign of nervousness. No fear of discovery. It was up to him to keep them distracted. Jonas had a few stories himself that would serve the purpose. “What, nobody’s going to mention the cake?”
“Why would we do that?” Gabe laughed. “You’ve been telling us not to talk about that for years.”
“Now seems like an opportune time, if the object is to laugh and be natural.”
Chase cocked his head to the side. “You can’t be serious.”
“Tell us about the cake,” Tana insisted. “I’ve never heard this story.”
“I haven’t either,” put in Anna, still slightly nervous, but with a genuine smile on her face. She and Gabe had only gotten together over the holiday, but it had looked so easy. Well—not exactly easy. There had been the matter of her ex showing up at the resort and skeletons from her past getting dragged into the light, but they’d moved beyond all that. Gabe reached for her hand.
“I wanted to ask a girl to the prom,” Jonas said, and everyone turned to focus their attention on him. He didn’t like the story, but it was for a worthy cause. “And I thought I would be clever and make her a cake. I spent hours on it, but it turned out lopsided and weird. And this poor girl thought she was going to be getting a cake from the Elk Lodge kitchens.”
“Oh, Jonas,” Anna groaned. “Did she still go to the dance with you?”
“Yes,” he said. “But she told everybody about that cake, and for years, these guys repeated the story just to embarrass me.” Jonas stood up. “What about some photos with just the women?” he said, dragging his brothers with him to the side of the room. He felt Rachel’s eyes on him all the way.
“You don’t have to worry,” she called out. “I’ll get all the shots you need.”
Don’t worry. Well, he was worried. Scott made his way over to them, and Jonas met the boy halfway across the floor, waving his brothers to make their way to the windows. “I’ll join you all in a second.”
He took Scott by the hand and led him back toward Rachel. “Hey, kiddo, let’s go over here, by your mom. Rachel, why don’t we move on to portraits of—”
“Let’s take five,” Rachel called. “Everybody get comfortable, and I’ll be back in a few. Jonas, come with me—I need your help.” The tone of her voice didn’t bode well.
Rachel snapped her lens cap back into place and took Scott from Jonas.
He glanced back, the lines of tension on his face deepening as he noticed his family watching them with an unbelievable amount of suspicion.
“Now would be good,” she told him, keeping her smile in place.
Jonas followed her out to the hall. She set Scott down, letting him wander over to a nearby alcove he was intent on exploring. After double-checking to make sure everything was safe, she turned to Jonas, taking a deep, cleansing breath.
His eyes met hers, but then slipped away, glancing back toward the door. How could he look so strong, so powerful, and so worried at the same time?
“You’re driving me insane,” she declared. Shock filled his blue eyes, causing her heart to thump harder despite her irritation.
“I’m trying to help. There’s a lot on the line right now.”