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Her eyes caught on Tommy's broad form as he moved around the room, ensuring everyone was comfortable. His protective nature made her heart tug toward him, reaching out as if drawn by an invisible force.
But since he was busy protecting and serving in a very unexpected way, she glanced away, finding Holly and Nick consoling their baby boy. Little Chris didn't seem to like how crowded the front room of his home was. He was too young to know his house was actually an inn... or that the inn was currently serving as a safe haven for people who didn't have anywhere to go. This time, when Grace felt a pull on her heartstrings, it was mixed with sadness and frustration.
Most of these people—travelers like herself—had come to Snow Hill for a festive escape, a break from the world. And now, they were trapped like rats by the relentless snowfall. The thought had a sense of confinement creeping in, and she quickly looked down at the book in her hands, trying to shake off the feeling.
"Does that mean there's still Wifi in here?" Abby suddenly asked, breaking into Grace's thoughts as her phone pinged with a notification.
"Yep, and thankfully, there's still power, too," Grace replied, digging through her blanket for the phone.
"It's a good thing Grandma Joan lit so many candles in here, or else I bet everyone would be really scared if the lights went out."
Grace nudged her with her elbow, loving that Joan was "Grandma" to Abby even though they weren't related by blood. "Don't worry, munchkin. If that happens, it's okay to be a little scared. We're all right here," she reassured the girl, who smiled before returning to her book.
Shifting her focus to the new email on her phone, her unease grew as she read the message. Unlike the others, the latest email from Snow Hill's Biggest Fan was blatantly scary.
Guess it shouldn't surprise me that even a force of nature couldn't keep you two apart.
Grace's stomach twisted as she realized what Tommy had meant when he'd made that ominous comment about the recent tone of the emails changing things. She hadn't understood, and she'd been nervously waiting for him to have time to explain it to her, but now it clicked.
Grace gulped, rereading the words before putting her phone down with a smack, startling Abby. Grace gave her an apologetic smile, only allowing herself to go back to her thoughts after Abby went back to her book.
The emailer was clearly referring to Tommy. She couldn't believe how naive she'd been about this. At first, she'd dismissed the woman as being overzealous, and then later, Grace assumed she'd offended the woman with something she'd written. It hadn't even occurred to her that any of this had to do with her as a person or who she spent her time with.
She bit her lip, internally berating herself for not realizing this woman had a personal issue with her. And... even worse, why hadn't Grace considered the woman's presence in the town? What if Grace had spoken to her in real life, and the woman was upset that she hadn't known who she was?
Panic set in asanotherrealization struck. How could the woman know that the storm hadn't kept Grace and Tommy apart unless she was here with them?
Grace breathed deeply, trying to settle her racing heart. The words of her book started to whirl into an unreadable black-and-white pattern, so she closed her eyes, telling herself there were other possibilities. Maybe she wasn't at the inn—in this very room. She could be anywhere in Snow Hill. Between the gossip mill in this town and the fact that the power lines still functioned, the woman could live two miles away andstillhear through the grapevine that Tommy was at the inn instead of on patrol. For that matter, maybe the woman worked for the police department, and that was how she knew.
But even as these logical thoughts flowed through her, Grace had a sick feeling she wouldn't be so lucky. It was far more likely that this woman was too close for comfort. And as she scanned the faces around her, Grace couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that someone here was watching her every move, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
But who could it be? And what did they want from her?
Grace's gaze swept over the cozy living room of the inn, taking in the faces of the people she'd come to know during her stay. Her heart beat faster in her chest, her mind racing with thoughts and suspicions. The woman had to be local, right? Why else would she push Grace to come to Snow Hill to feature the town she knew practically everything about?
Her irrational mind zeroed in on the women she'd had so much fun with over the last month.
It couldn't be Holly or Robin, could it? Or even Joan?
No.She'd grown close enough to those women that she would've sensed it if one of them was secretly Snow Hill's Biggest Fan.
Sure, she and Tommy had joked about it being Joan in an effort to get publicity for the inn, which could also be a motive for the town's resident movie star or the mayor's assistant. But since this was clearly about so much more than a simple publicity grab, none of her new friends—not even Joan—seemed to fit the bill.
She watched Holly laugh at something Nick said, then caught sight of Robin serving someone she'd never met. Her brow furrowed as she tried to find any hint of deceit or hidden agenda behind their warm smiles.
Her eyes darted between the two women.
Nope.
None.
They'd been nothing but kind and genuine since she'd arrived, and Grace couldn't think of a single thing they'd stand to gain from messing with her mind like this.
Grace's heart ached with guilt as she realized that she'd been comparing herself to Abby, a ten-year-old girl who seemed to possess a higher level of emotional maturity than she had been displaying lately. She had never experienced her parents' love the way Robin had told her Matthew loved Abby. And yet, Grace had spent her whole life pushing people away because she was afraid they wouldn't care as much about her as she cared about them. It seemed selfish when she thought about it like that.
"Are you okay, Auntie Grace?" Abby asked, her bright blue eyes full of concern.
Grace slowly turned to the girl. "Auntie Grace?"
