“Will the electrical affect the inspection? I still need to get the temporary catering permit.”
Ned grunted then slowly pulled himself out from beneath the sink. He replaced the bucket she’d put beneath the tap but didn’t turn the water back on. Flat on his back on the floor, he answered, “No. Just something that needs doing, and sooner rather than later, I’d say.”
Then, in Julie’s opinion, it was something for Klaus Miller to worry about. He was willing to buy the property as is, after all. He could fix it up.
Unless… what if he’d already decided to have the house torn down instead?
The thought hit Julie like a punch. Julie breathed shallowly through her mouth. She didn’t like the twist of emotion that wrenched through her chest at the thought. This inn was her childhood. It was her family’s legacy.
At least, it had been. But Gram couldn’t keep it up anymore. The Cozy Holly Inn was closed. It would never open to customers again, at least not under her family’s ownership.
Except for one last Christmas Eve party.
Still, Julie had just sort of assumed that Klaus would make the repairs and bring it back to functioning as an inn.
Julie squared her shoulders. “What about the plumbing? Can you fix that?”
“Yes, but not today.”
Julie tried not to show her dismay, but she must have failed.
He added, “I don’t have the parts. I’ll have to pick them up, and I’ll give you a call when I have the time to come back. We’ll get it done before the party, don’t you worry.”
With a groan she pretended not to notice for the sake of his dignity, he pulled himself into a sitting position and reached out to pat her hand. His skin was surprisingly smooth, considering his line of work. She smiled at him.
“Do you need some help up?”
“No, no. I can do it myself.”
Privately, Julie had other opinions, but she didn’t offer again. She did help by returning his tools, including the flashlight, to his toolkit. She offered the heavy case to him when he was standing.
Then she let him precede her down the hall to the front door, where he’d left his coat on the brass coatrack in the foyer. His heavy boots made imprints on the floor, but there was no way she’d been willing to tell him to take them off when he’d arrived. They were the kind that tied up to the ankles and probably took twenty minutes to tie or untie.
“Tell me more about these gifts Gram used to give out during the party?”
“Oh, maybe gifts was the wrong word. Party favors? They were small little things really, but they made the evening an extra something special.”
His answer made her feel only marginally more prepared. For Christmas party favors, she might put together anything from tree ornaments to Christmas cookies and candy canes. Actually, given her skill with baking—or the utter lack thereof—ornaments were looking very appealing. If she could find a ninety-nine-cent store that carried clear glass ornaments, she could cut up strips of wrapping paper and arrange them inside like swirls of ribbon. Maybe add the year of the party on the front with a paint pen or the wordsCozy Holly Inn. It would be something for Gram to remember the season too. Humming under her breath, Julie lagged behind to add the idea to her to-do list and grab a picture off the internet that illustrated the idea.
The internet, of course, was glacial out here near the living room.
“What a good boy you are,” Ned cooed ahead of her. He must have found the cat.
Julie held her phone in the air, even though she knew it probably wouldn’t help to find a better data signal.
Ned continued, “Waiting all this time for me to finish and not a bark from you. Here you go, you can go do your business.”
“What?” Julie shoved the phone into the pocket of her jeans. She glanced up in horror as Ned was opening the front door. “No, don’t—”
Too late. The cat bolted for freedom. Julie bit her cheek to keep from swearing. A white cat romping in the snow? It would probably take her a good half an hour to find him again—and that, onlyifhe wanted to be found.
She could leave him out there.
Bobcats. Bobcats, and freezing to death.
The loud bark of a dog froze her blood. “Oh, no. Not again.”
Without thinking, she brushed past Ned and slammed her sock feet into her new boots. As she reached the porch, one of the boots crumpled uncomfortably beneath her heel, she stopped to call after the cat.
