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The noise cut over the soothing sound of the Christmas music, and Noah picked up his cell from where he’d left it on a nearby table. He half expected it to be his father calling again, demanding another update, but instead, Hugh’s name popped up on the screen.
“Sorry. I should take this,” he informed Mindy, and she nodded before he turned and began walking through the house.
He clicked accept and then brought his phone to his ear, telling Hugh to hold on for just a moment so that he could find someplace quiet. Knowing that if the lawyer handling his aunt’s will was calling him, it was probably important, Noah decided to walk outside to get a little privacy.
He didn’t pause to pull on his coat, stepping out onto the front step of the large stairway that led to St. Nick’s Place. Noah wrapped one arm around himself as best he could, shrugging his shoulders up to his ears to try to conserve a bit of his warmth as he began to speak to Hugh.
“All right, go ahead,” he said into the phone. “What’s going on?”
“Well, I think I have good news,” the lawyer said on the other end of the line. “You didn’t seem particularly thrilled with the stipulation of having to spend three weeks in Snowy Pine Ridge, which is understandable, since I’m sure you’re a busy man. But after reviewing her will again, I believe you can take full control of the property now.”
Noah’s heart and stomach did a somersault. “Really? Now? But I still have a week left before I’ve put in the time designated in the will.”
“Not technically,” Hugh answered, his voice sounding muffled, and Noah could hear him rifling through papers. “In Theresa’s will, it says that to inherit the property you had to have spent three consecutive weeks in Snowy Pine Ridge. But it didn’t saywhen.”
The lawyer emphasized the last word and then paused, like Noah should be able to sort out for himself exactly what he was getting at. Unfortunately, Noah had absolutely no idea.
“Okay,” he said slowly. “But I don’t understand how that allows me to take control of the property early. We knew that I had to spend the time here, and that’s what I’m doing. Postponing it won’t help when I’m already smackdab in the middle of it.”
“You misunderstand me,” Hugh answered, his deep voice rumbling in Noah’s ear. “You stayed here as a kid, right?”
“Right,” Noah said with a nod, still unsure of what the other man was getting at.
“And you stayed here for multiple weeks in a row back in the day, right?”
Just like that, it all clicked. Noah hadalreadyspent more than three consecutive weeks in Snowy Pine Ridge. He had already met that stipulation when his aunt had passed.
“What does this mean?” Noah asked, his heart racing, although he wasn’t sure with what emotion.
“It means the property is yours to do what you want with,” Hugh said. “I could meet you at my office tomorrow to finalize everything. And then you can have someone come out and appraise—”
“No,” Noah interjected, cutting off Hugh’s words.
He had taken a few steps along the front of the house, his boots crunching in the snow as he approached the massive window at the front of the house that looked into the ballroom. The lights were still blazing brightly, illuminating the people inside.
Clark, Valerie, Lacy, and Derek were all now dancing in the middle of the room, laughing and having a ball. Mindy was in the corner, pretending like the record player was a DJ booth, calling out commands for them to do the macarena to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
The scene before him looked so inviting, like something that he truly, deep down in his soul wanted to be a part of. He couldn’t bear to ruin it all by thinking of the building plans for the industrial complex now.
“No?” Hugh repeated, snapping Noah out of his reverie.
“I don’t want to start just yet,” he answered hastily. “I need a little bit more time.”
“Okay. You’re welcome to take as much time as you want, but you really should— ”
“I have to go,” he said, interrupting the man again. Then he softened his tone and added, “But thank you for calling with the update. I appreciate it.”
Noah hung up the phone, then slipped it into his pocket. He stayed on the large front step for only a moment longer, allowing the cold to bite into his skin for a second before he turned and headed back toward the large door, opening it and striding in.
He could hear Mindy’s laugh filling the halls the moment he stepped inside, and Noah couldn’t entirely tell if it was the heaters in the house or the sound of her laughter that seemed to warm him and chase all of his worries away.
CHAPTERTWENTY
A few days later, Mindy looked out the window of Noah’s car, absentmindedly humming along with the music on the radio as he drove them once more out to St. Nick’s House. They’d been working on it non-stop over the course of the last week and a half, and now it was the day before the party, and they were set to put on the finishing touches to the decorations and do the big reveal of the lights.
“What will we do if when they go to turn the lights on, nothing happens?” Noah asked from where he sat in the driver’s seat, expertly navigating the narrow road that led to the massive mansion.
“What do you mean?” Mindy asked, turning to gaze at his face in the passing streetlights.
