Chapter Fourteen
Rill paced the inn. Inside and out. She toured the empty rooms and the common areas. She inspected the kitchen. She checked all the sidewalks, closets, and outbuildings. Everything was in tip top shape. There wasn’t even anything that needed tidied or repaired.
She stood, hands on hips, glaring at the apartment over the garage. The place where Owen would live when Auntie O returned to the inn. He wasn’t there, she’d checked. She had no idea where he was. He’d left a message that he would meet her in town in the morning for their charity work.
She needed to talk to him.
She needed to let him know that they were more than friends and that she wasn’t stringing him along or playing games. She liked him. A lot. Maybe, she loved him.
Her earlier reaction to his hurt, and her own confusion when she thought about being without him, told her she had deep, lasting feelings for him, and she wanted to discuss them with Owen.
She sighed and trudged back inside. It wasn’t even dawn yet and she was itching to get on with her day, just so she could see Owen and convince him that she cared.
“What do I do now?” she muttered as she hung up her coat.
She should open the letter she carried in her pocket, but couldn’t work up the courage to do it alone. She wanted Owen there with her. Beside her, supporting her. She wanted to see those bright blue eyes lending support to her decisions, not flashing in anger and hurt.
She had waited up for him. Watching the driveway and the apartment for lights. She’d tried to nap but was still awake when it was time to get dressed to work with Santa’s Elves. Despite his note saying he’d meet her there, she’d been hoping Owen would come home first.
Home.
Was this her home?That was the real question burning in her heart and mind.
She loved the inn. She adored the city. Both jobs suited her personality. They both gave her a deep sense of accomplishment and made her feel complete. She loved people and loved organizing. Work in both places was fulfilling. Could she be as content in Snowy Hollow as she had been in Saskatoon? There were too many factors involved in going forward with her life, each as important as the last. The one that nagged at her the most was believing she’d feel like a quitter if she left Saskatoon without chalking up a successful career first.
Strangely, despite the decisions she needed to make, her mind was stuck on Owen. That meant something, right? Could she live without him? He seemed to want a permanent, long-term relationship. Did she? Would he move to be with her? Would she give up her new job for him? Should she? Was there some kind of middle ground like Carrie suggested?
One thing she’d been taught by her parents and Auntie O was that life and love required sacrifices. The important thing to figure out was which sacrifices were the ones worth making and which would lead to future unhappiness.
“Dang it all anyway. This is too hard.” She opened and closed drawers searching for the perfect outfit for the day. She wanted to be pretty for Owen, but wanted an outfit that would stand up to the hard work of sorting food and toys and repacking them for distribution.
Deep in the back of her closet, buried amongst the clothing she’d left behind, she found a tunic length red knit sweater adorned with holly and poinsettia leaves. She’d modified the sweater in grade twelve sewing classes. She’d added the leaves and a short lacy trim to the bottom. It was flirty and fun, and the color looked divine on her.
Perfect. She’d look great and Owen wouldn’t realize she’d dressed to impress him. She completed the outfit with cute black jeans, knee high boots, and a pair of funky earrings crafted from little bells. He might not be there with bells on the way he’d joked when she invited him, but she would be.
She threw a few casual beach waves in her hair and spritzed on just a hint of her favorite perfume and declared herself ready. At least on the outside. Inside, she was still in turmoil. But she’d get through the day and enjoy his company, assuming he showed up. Meanwhile, she’d try to find a way to convince him that he was an important part of her life. Too bad she had no idea how to accomplish that feat. It might not be easy to get past the hurt she’d caused yesterday.
The drive to town was short, the roads were good despite the early morning darkness. The sun was up, but just barely. Their early, eight a.m. start was to enable the small group to get everything organized, hopefully, in one day.
Owen’s truck was in the community center’s parking lot when she arrived. Her heartbeat thundered into overtime. She took a few minutes to compose herself. She was high-school crush eager to see him but wanted to act like the mature adult she was. She practiced a few lines of greeting and conversation, grabbed the tray of cookies she’d brought, and headed inside.
The hall was packed. There had to be fifty people scattered amongst the stacks of food and gifts. She scanned the room for Owen as she headed for the sign-in desk to get her chore for the day. Her stomach clenched when she couldn’t locate him.
“Felicia, how are you?” she greeted the thirty-something redhead behind the desk. “Love that sweater.” Felicia’s sweater was bright green and printed with tiny snowmen all over.
“Rill! I’m glad you made it. Can you take the lists of families and start preparing the boxes? Each family needs three boxes, to start. One for food, one for toys, one for clothing. We’ve received a huge donation of hats, scarves, and mitts. There should be enough for every member of every family. Plus, we’ve got stacks of clean, used winter coats for distribution.” She took a breath. “The mayor’s office has compiled a separate list of who needs jackets. I’ve put Owen in charge of that. But not until after he’s back from picking up all the donation bins from local businesses.”
“Sure thing, I’ll get started on those boxes right away.” With half her attention seeking the missing Owen, she set to work organizing and labelling boxes for each of the fifty families who requested assistance. She noticed that a couple families were conspicuously absent from the list and went to notify Felicia.
“I noticed that the Jones, Sadaf, Whitehead, and Carpenter families aren’t on this list. Auntie O left a note that all four fathers are out of work. I was wondering if we should add them to the recipients and give them boxes anyway.” This was one place where the lack of secrets in a small town was beneficial. Their town was small, but the economic downturn had affected a lot of them.
“Good catch! I hadn’t noticed. You better set them up. We don’t want anyone to do without, not if we can prevent it. Donations are high this year, we’ll have enough to go around, even with the additions.”
She prepared the boxes and was busy sorting outerwear into sizes when something drew her attention to the side door. Owen used a pallet jack to push a large load into the community center. Snow dusted his hair and shoulders. He looked like he belonged on a romcom movie poster. He was delicious enough to eat. She kept working, but her gaze kept finding him. Snowflakes melted to water leaving his hair glistening. Her fingers itched to grab a towel and dry him off.
