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ChapterOne
Eighteen Months Later
Birgit smiled proudly as she moved the award from behind the desk to the centerpiece table, already laden with tinsel and other festive Christmas decorations. She sat it squarely in the middle, allowing the gold award to become the centerpiece of the display. The engraved wordsBest Business of the Yearglimmered back at her proudly. It had taken sweat, tears, and yes−even blood, to getThe Winter Oasisrebranded intoThe Mystic Refuge,but they had done it, and they had done it extremely well.
“It looks perfect there,” Heidi said warmly, putting her arm around Birgit as she stood next to her.
“I think so, too,” Birgit agreed. “I know we usually keep it behind the desk, but I just thought with the holiday, it deserved a better spot.”
“Well, you picked the perfect one,” Heidi replied. “It’ll be impossible to miss when folks come in for the cocoa crawl.”
“Speaking of,” Birgit said, walking with her sister back toward the front desk, “are we decided on what we’ll be serving?”
“I think so, but let’s go check with Frieda to confirm,” Heidi replied.
They moved themselves gently around the throng of check-in clerks and guests around them and went through the double doors that led to the manager’s office, employee breakroom, and kitchen. Beyond that lay a small living space that their great-aunts used to occupy, and now was being used by Birgit. Frieda had a townhouse only a few minutes away, and Heidi had moved into one of the cabins on their parents’ winery that were normally rented out to guests.
The three of them had argued about very little once they’d decided on a new theme for the hotel, but the one issue that caused problems was the kitchen. Birgit and Heidi were adamant about not offering room service to guests right away; they’d thought it would be too much to take on. But Frieda had insisted, even offered to manage it, and it had ended up being a great asset to their place. When guests were done soaking in the hot springs behind the hotel, they always came in wanting snacks. And Frieda’s creative twists on charcuterie boards had quickly become a “point-of-stay” forThe Mystic Refuge.
“Hey, toots, how’s it going in here?” Birgit asked Frieda as she and Heidi walked into the kitchen. The stainless steel countertops were laden with all kinds of Christmas and holiday-themed treats to be handed out at the annual Leavenworth Cocoa Crawl tomorrow, which was the annual kick-off of the town’s winter festivities. There were cookies, peppermint brownies, toffees, fudge, miniature cakes, lollipops, and even candy canes. Frieda looked up from the batch of gingerbread men she was decorating and smiled.
“Busy,” she said sarcastically, going back to her work with her bag of icing. “If you’re looking for a charcuterie board, I have several already made in the walk-in fridge.” She nodded her head toward the large refrigeration unit and went back to her work.
“Not yet,” Birgit replied, already sensing her sister’s edginess. “We wanted to talk to you about what we’re going to serve for the cocoa crawl tomorrow.”
One of Frieda’s black brows perked up and she stopped icing her cookie. “You’re looking at it,” she said flatly.
“And it all looks great,” Heidi replied quickly, her fingers going nervously to her blonde braid. “But we just wanted to make sure we settled on the hot cocoa flavors.”
“We’re doing hot cocoa, too?” Frieda asked, clearly irritated. “You don’t think this mountain of snacks will be enough?”
“It’s acocoacrawl, Free! We have to have cocoa,” Birgit replied patiently, stepping protectively in front of Heidi. “And you don’t even have to make it if you don’t want to. I would be happy to do that. We just wanted to make sure you were okay with the flavors. We were thinking of mint and raspberry, and offering an additional option of having them spiked for a small fee.”
“Spiked?” Frieda asked with a dry laugh. “With what?”
“We could do peppermint schnapps with the mint, and a raspberry liqueur for the other,” Birgit explained. “I already called Chris, and he set a few bottles aside for us before he runs out.”
Frieda relaxed a little, her shoulders falling away from her ears, and she nodded.
“Actually, that sounds like a great idea,” she admitted. “Alright, I’ll make it work. But when you’re out, get me some fresh raspberries fromFarm to Tableif they have any. About six quarts. And more chocolate. I’m almost out. And see ifHeavenly Dairydoes an emergency delivery of milk and heavy cream, too.”
“What about mint?” Birgit asked, pulling out her small pad of paper to write the list down. “Or are you going to use extract?”
“Not necessary,” Frieda replied. “There’s plenty still growing in the greenhouse.”
“Sugar?” Birgit asked.
Frieda slapped a large, barrel-sized container beside her. “Already got loads of it,” she replied with a smirk.
Birgit nodded, put the notebook back in her pocket, and then once more looked around.
“Hey, Frieda?” Birgit asked, noticing something wrong with the picture.
“Hmm?” Frieda hummed, going back to her gingerbread.
“Where are the three new kitchen hires I just got for you?”
“I sent them home,” Frieda replied matter-of-factly, not looking up from her work.
