Now they simply expected him to screw up no matter what he did, no matter how much time had passed.

“It’s working out,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to lose my shirt. I’d never do that to Charlie.”

“Dad thinks owning a ski resort is a guy’s fantasy, like owning a sports bar or building hot rods,” India explained to Darcy. “Fun to pursue, but no way to make a living.”

“Anything that’s fun is immediately suspect, right, Dad?” asked China.

“Girls,” her mother said. “That’s no way to talk to your father.”

Logan glanced over at Darcy. “Aren’t you glad you’re here? Lucky you, getting a ringside seat to our family feud.”

She laughed. “Sounds more or less like my own family, except we’ve got more girls.” She turned to Logan’s father. “My firm brought one of our biggest clients to Saddle Mountain for a photo shoot. It was fantastic. I can understand why anyone would be suspicious that something so much fun could also be profitable.”

“I see,” said Al. “And how did the shoot turn out?”

“One of the best we’ve done all year. The client was thrilled, and Saddle Mountain gets a lot of exposure.”

“You should show us the footage,” said India. “We’d all like to see.”

“I don’t know...” Darcy ducked her head.

Logan was intrigued to see her acting reluctant about it. “Come on,” he said. “It’ll give everybody a preview of the resort.”

She hesitated. “It’s very commercial, aimed at selling gear.”

“But it was filmed right here,” said Logan.

“Okay, does your TV have a USB port?” When he nodded, she said, “I’ll be right back.”

Nice one, thought Logan as she fetched her wallet and pulled out a USB drive. She’d managed to deflect the conversation about resort finance by getting everyone to shift gears.

“All right,” she said, “barring any technical difficulties...” She slotted in the thumb drive.

“Did you really bring work with you?” Logan’s mother scolded.

“Just a little,” said Darcy. “There’s a big outdoor retailer trade show in January, so I’ve got some deadlines.” Logan switched on the TV with the remote, and the client’s logo came up along with adrenaline-pumped music. “This is a montage with video that will be featured on the client’s website and in their retail stores. It’s going to go live this weekend.”