AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER SEVEN
Since the early winter darkness was setting in, and the route back to the cabin was unlit, Holly agreed to let Nick drive her back to the cabin, since he claimed to be going home, anyway.
She’d reluctantly admitted that her accommodation search had proved to be a bust, along with the additional problems with transport.
“I don’t know why you’re so resistant to the idea of staying with us,” Nick commented. “We’re more than happy to have you.”
“I just don’t want to intrude,” she admitted. “I’m a stranger… or a stray, as Kris put it.”
“Take no notice of Kris. We live in a Christmas village, and he’s Leavenworth’s resident Grinch.
“Besides, we’re not strangers anymore. I’d like to think we’ve moved on to being friends.”
Jaxon consolidated Nick’s opinion later that evening when he served up the most delicious lasagna for dinner. She wondered if he got it from the restaurant he worked at, but she was too polite to ask, instead just enjoying the good food and good company.
“So…” Jaxon threw a curious look at Nick, then turned his attention to Holly. “Crystal told me you gave her some good ideas to pass along to the management at the Winter Lodge and brought in some activities to distract the kids from playing up. She was pretty impressed with your ingenuity, I can tell you.”
Holly shrugged and savored a mouthful of the gooey, cheesy pasta goodness before responding. “It was just a stopgap to give her a breather. Kids get bored fast waiting for check-in. Especially when they’ve been cooped up traveling for a long time. It was an easy fix while the lodge is short-staffed and she’s having to cope on her own. She was pretty stressed yesterday.”
Jaxon rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. “Yeah, it’s not ideal. Crystal’s young and not as experienced as the other receptionists. Plus, she’s just working through winter break while she’s at college. It’s a lot to land on her shoulders.”
“It sounds like you know what you’re talking about, though,” Nick commented, eying her over the rim of his water glass. “She said you have other ideas, too.”
Holly chuckled, pulling apart a warm bread roll that she could have sworn was freshly baked as the yeast-scented steam curled into the air. “I guess habits die hard, even when I’m on holiday. I work in a hotel myself, so I see these issues on a daily basis.”
“You’re a hotel manager?” Nick’s brows shot up, and the interest in his gaze deepened.
“Oh no, not at all,” Holly denied with a wave of her hand. “Although like an idiot I did the job for my ex for long enough.”
“The ex who canceled your booking without telling you?” Jaxon asked with an edge to his voice. “He’s your boss, too?”
Holly couldn’t remember if she’d told him that or not, but she supposed it was possible his sister might have mentioned it. She nodded slowly. “He wanted me to work the holidays instead of coming here.” Leaning back in her seat, she grabbed the wine Jaxon had served with dinner, and stared into it. “Hell, maybe I should have done. It’s not exactly turned out like I expected.”
She pursed her lips and gazed into the depths of her glass without seeing. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “This was supposed to be my ‘once in a lifetime’ trip. All the things my mother and I dreamed about when I was young. This was as much to honor her memory as it was for me, but I thought I’d be sharing the experience with someone I loved…”
“But you didn’t postpone.” Nick filled the silence when Holly paused, melancholy squeezing at her chest.
It wasn’t really a question, but she answered anyway, resolve chasing away the blues that had seeped in. “No, I worked my butt off this year to swing time off at Christmas. I took shifts through every single other holiday, occasion, or event so I could come here. I even worked on my birthday. And almost all of those times, I did Kyle’s job while he took the breaks. God, I’m such a fool. He really played me, didn’t he?”
That wasn’t a question either. Holly already knew the answer.
“You’re still working for him?” Jaxon asked, a frown pulling his eyebrows together.
Holly took a large gulp of her wine. “I’ve been looking for something else, believe me,” she admitted. She didn’t want either of them thinking she was a complete sap. “I started searching the day we split up after he threatened to fire me if I didn’t cover the Christmas break. But I’m wondering if he’s had me blacklisted because I haven’t even scored an interview.”
“Bastard,” Jaxon hissed, his usually playful eyes sparking with anger, while Nick frowned and grumbled beneath his breath.
“I don’t know for sure,” Holly hastened to correct them. “It could be I’m not as employable as I think I am.”
“Tell us about the ideas you had for the lodge.” Nick steered the subject away from her job as if he knew how uncomfortable the conversation was making her, and Holly was thankful for it.
“Well, an entertainment space for the kids in the foyer, obviously. The potpourri decorating that side table smells great, but it’s not so practical when the kids throw it around, and it makes a mess. Plus, that just adds extra clean-up time to someone else’s job.”
She warmed to her subject, feeling a spark of familiar excitement. She loved coming up with practical ideas to make things run more smoothly. “And there’s enough outdoor space that they could even build a small, gated park. Somewhere safe for the kids to play. Since it’s next to the restaurant, it could work for both if the owners know each other.”
Jaxon and Nick shared an inscrutable look. “The lodge and the restaurant are connected,” Jaxon finally revealed. “There’s an internal entrance for hotel patrons, but it’s open to the public too.”
Holly’s smile grew. “That’s perfect then.”
