The Christmas Miracle

Prologue

A/N #1 - It'll be a quick 2-day business trip to wrap up an acquisition for his eccentric boss. Rick's never bought a mountain, but how hard can it be? Then he encounters Kate Beckett. Entry for Castle Ficathon Winter 2022.

**Note**. This story was inspired by the movie Christmas at Holly Lodge (2017).

Katherine Houghton Beckett had grown up on their mountain outside Ganasby Butte, Colorado. Now with her world turned upside down, she knew of no other place that she wanted to return to during the most overwhelming time of her life. She had been born and raised here, and The Beckett Mountain Lodge was her home, and nothing was going to change that, not even the most horrific tragedy she could have imagined.

Kate Beckett's life tragically changed forever following an unexpected visit from two friends early on a Thursday morning.

Kate was in her senior year at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, pursuing a degree in business, when her guests' early morning visit threw her world into a tailspin.

Alarm bells went off in Kate's mind when she saw Kevin Ryan and Jenny O'Malley waiting outside her dorm room. The couple had visited Kate several times over her time at Colorado College, but they had never made an unannounced trip. Their sadness told Kate something terrible had happened. Kevin's quick actions kept Kate from crashing onto the floor when her knees buckled.

Kate was able to hand Jenny her door key, and Kevin helped Kate inside so she could sit on her bed.

Jenny had held her emotions in check for most of their ride down the mountain, but once she saw her best friend, all her efforts were for naught as her tears began to flow.

Kevin hadn't planned on dealing with two emotional women, as his feelings were also on edge. But he knew he would have to do what he had to do. So with his typical quiet and caring voice, Kevin told Kate Beckett the details of her parents' terrible accident.

Kate's parents were returning home from a short getaway to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary when they were involved in a fatal car accident during their last miles of travel up their mountain. The roadways were icy following a recent storm, and a minivan traveling down the hill lost control and ran head-on into the Beckett's four-wheel drive SUV.

The Beckett's SUV was one of the safest on the road, but the speed and direct impact of the collision with the minivan forced the Beckett's heavy vehicle over the edge and caused it to roll 100 feet down the mountain before it came to rest against a stand of trees. Both of her parents were pronounced dead at the scene.

Toward the end of his explanation, Kate's roommate entered their shared room and immediately knew something awful was going on. She had met Kevin and Jenny over the years but had never seen them with such distraught faces.

Maddie immediately sat on Kate's other side, gripping her friend's hand as Kevin recounted what he had just told Kate.

Kate, Maddie, and Jenny were sitting on the bed crying, with Ryan sitting on a chair across from them, holding his head in his hands. The accident happened late in the afternoon on Wednesday. Kevin and Jenny headed to Colorado Springs as soon as they could finish talking with local authorities, the Ski Patrol, and the State Highway Patrol. Since Kate's parents died in a car accident, the County Coroner had assumed custody of their bodies and taken them to a local morgue in Gunnison, about forty-five minutes from the Beckett's Mountain Lodge.

The Coroner had a very gentle demeanor and told Kevin and Jenny to get to Kate as soon as possible and take her home. He would be in direct contact with the only daughter of the Becketts after completing the autopsies of Jim and Johanna Beckett.

Kate Beckett had been back at her home for two days when the County Coroner made his promised visit. Fortunately, the Lodge had only a few guests, enabling Kate to deal with her loss in the relative privacy of the family's residential area of the Lodge. Dr. Barnes had checked in at registration, announcing himself and asking to speak to Ms. Beckett privately.

Jenny was covering the front desk and called one of the other staff, Mary, to cover for her while she escorted Dr. Barnes back to the Beckett's private residency. Jenny had quietly knocked on the main door to the Beckett family area, and when she didn't get an immediate answer, Jenny opened the door a crack and called out to Kate. Still hearing no response, Jenny walked into the area and found Kate wrapped in a heavy blanket, sitting in the large window seat, staring up at one of the ski runs that ran around the north side of their property. Jenny also noticed the breakfast she had brought to Kate earlier sat untouched on a small side table.

"Kate. I'm sorry to interrupt, but Dr. Barnes is here and needs to speak with you."

Kate turned and dropped the blanket from her shoulders, stood and ran her fingers through what she assumed was her mused hair, and politely greeted the doctor. Jenny turned to leave when Kate asked,

"No, Jenny, please stay. I think I am going to need your support."

Jenny never acknowledged the doctor's look but went directly to Kate's side before the two sat back on the window seat, with Kate motioning for the doctor to sit across from them.

To this day, Kate can't recall everything the doctor told her on that fateful day, but thankfully, Jenny was with her and helped fill in the voided spots of her memory after the doctor completed his report and left the two young women alone in Kate's home.

The following days were a blur, but with the help of her friends at the Lodge and her father's sister Teresa, funeral plans were in place, and the dedicated Lodge staff were going above and beyond to keep the facility operating in its traditional fashion.

Following her parents' services and after most of her family and friends had departed, only Kate's Aunt Teresa and the staff were there to help Kate through her first difficult hurdles of dealing with life without her beloved Dad and Mom.

Aunt Teresa was very strong-willed and felt that Kate needed to sell the Lodge and move on to something better suited for her than having to deal with the operation of the family business. Kate's Aunt had never been a fan of the Lodge, except when she would visit and knew she had free lodging. Otherwise, she could never understand how anyone could live in the mountains, deal with the cold winters, and be so far from civilization as she described Ganasby Butte, Colorado.

Kate's parents had always shielded their daughter from her Aunt's rants, but now, without them, Aunt Teresa felt she could better exert her opinions on her young niece.

Kate's Aunt Teresa soon learned that Kate Beckett had inherited her parents' determination and stubbornness. After listening to several diatribes from her Aunt, Kate had finally reached the end of her emotional rope and clearly stated,

"Aunt Teresa, I never realized how much you disliked our home. You always acted very comfortable and pleased whenever you visited. But maybe that was because of the free lodging."

Teresa huffed and said, "Katherine Beckett, where are your manners? That is no way to speak to your Aunt."

Kate sighed and bowed her head before continuing. "Aunt Teresa, I am sorry. But I can't sit here and listen to you as you degrade the work my parents put into this Lodge. Into our home. As you know, my Dad built this place over forty years ago. I was born and raised here. This Lodge is my home. And I have no plans to sell or leave my home. I hope you can learn to respect my feelings, but if not, we will part ways on this trip based on our differing opinions." Kate continued,

"I had hoped, being my Dad's only surviving sibling, that you would be more caring and supportive. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised."

Kate caught herself as she felt her temper rising and knew it would do neither of them any good to share the rest of her thoughts. As Kate got older, her Dad shared how his sister felt about the Lodge, not wanting her to be blind-sided if his loose-lipped sister said something derogatory during one of her visits.

As much as Jim wanted to tell his sister, she didn't need to visit if she felt that strongly about their family business. But Jim's wise wife, Johanna, would never allow her husband to take their conversations that far. Always saying, She is the last of your family, Jim. It would be best if you were patient with her.

So Kate Beckett and her Aunt Teresa parted ways, with Kate not hearing from her for over two years. Kate was never sure what brought on the unexpected contact, but one Christmas, Kate received a warm and caring Christmas card from her only Aunt, wishing Kate well and asking if she could visit sometime over the summer. Kate had immediately responded, recalling her Mother's words, and gracefully invited her Aunt to join them anytime over the summer.

It was now the fifth anniversary of her parents' car accident, causing Kate to experience a cascade of memories as that November date drew near. Kate was grateful that the dedicated staff all stayed on and helped Kate continue the traditions of the Beckett Mountain Lodge, and all were now preparing for another holiday season.

Kate's business degree had proved invaluable as she gained a lot of knowledge that she could now apply as the Lodge's sole proprietor. The business went well until the pandemic hit; as with most companies in the area and over the country, the Lodge saw a drastic drop in reservations. Kate worked every angle to keep the doors open and finally could see the light at the end of a dark tunnel. And if they had a successful Holiday season, she was sure she would have the Lodge, her home, back in the black.

Kate carried this knowledge alone. None of her staff were aware of the silent burden that Kate bore on her strong shoulders as they completed their final preparations for the arrival of the Lodge's Christmas Family.

A/N #2 - Thank you for joining me on this post-Christmas journey. I had much of this story written before Christmas, but then life stepped in and slowed my writing processes. I hope you will enjoy extending your holiday reading, as I will try to post chapters every day or every other day until it's complete. The story includes ten chapters plus a Prologue and Epilogue. Thank you again for reading my second Christmas story for this season. All comments and reviews are appreciated.