Chapter Ten
Sleep was hard to come by that night, so it was no surprise that Caleb was up well before sunrise. His alarm had been set for five a.m. to help for the morning fireside chats and ensure the breakfast service ran smoothly.
It was a quarter ’til five when he forced himself out of his room.
His door closed too harshly, echoing in the long hall—the lights…
ugh, far too bright for this early in the morning.
The hair of the dog was all him, though.
He hadn’t gotten drunk in a very long time.
Sure, he’d drunk his share of beers when he was in his depressed state.
But never more than two in a sitting. Just enough to take the edge off.
He shielded his eyes as he walked under a fluorescent light. He needed coffee, stat.
He took the single flight of stairs down to the first floor.
He badged out at the door leading from the staff quarters to the lobby.
This early, it was eerily quiet. Evidence of last night’s revelry wasn’t hard to find.
Little bits of silver and red confetti scattered across the hardwood floor.
A half-drunk bottle of beer nestled against the base of a potted plant.
He picked up the bottle and started toward the kitchen.
A tinkling jingle of bells drew his attention to the lobby.
Where, of course, his mother stood behind the front desk, typing away at one of the computers.
The bells tinkled with every keystroke. “Mom,” Caleb whispered. “What are you doing up?”
She looked up from the monitor, half-hidden in the massive oak front desk. “Drinking already?”
He let out a grunt. “Someone left this in a potted plant last night. I saw it on my way in.” He pointed to the lipstick stain on the bottleneck. “Not exactly my shade, is it?”
Lainey reached across the desk to take it from him. “Hmm, it’s warm, too. I’ll take care of it. I was just tracking the shipment of Christmas presents to Emerson and Poppy. Olivia said they hadn’t arrived yet, and I wanted to see what the hold-up was.”
Caleb knew his ex-wife and mother talked. They’d never been each other’s biggest fans when he was married to Olivia. Now that Olivia was no longer his wife, their focus was the kids, and they seemed to get along better.
“You made sure a couple of my gifts were in there, right? The small ones?”
“Of course. They’ll open the rest at our house on New Year’s Day. I’m not taking down any decorations until all my grandbabies have celebrated with us.”
He frowned as a new wave of sadness overtook him. His mom didn’t miss the shift in his expression.
“Oh, sweetheart. Christmas is more than just one day. We all miss them. But now it’ll be extra special, right?”
His mother could be a royal pain in his ass, but there was no denying that she was the maker of Christmas magic, not just for the Ellises but for all Falling Leaves, as well.
“I know. I guess I’ve been trying not to think about it. Liv and Ashley deserve to have a Christmas with the kids without me butting in.”
She came around the desk and laid a hand on his arm. “You’re doing the right thing. We’ll FaceTime them together this afternoon when you get back from your little excursion with Emma.”
He groaned. Of course, the sweet moment couldn’t last. “Mom, seriously. She’s a guest. And I have kids—I can’t just date anyone willy-nilly.”
She rolled her eyes. “Who said anything about dating? My god, son. You dated one girl in high school. You married the one girl you dated in college. Maybe you should just have some fun before you look to settle down again. Who wants to go to their grave only having dated two people?”
“First of all, you’re excluding Melody, my middle school girlfriend.”
His mother took him by the elbow and led him away. “We don’t count the girl you dated while you were still singing soprano in the church choir. Don’t sidestep the point, Caleb. Emma is a nice girl.”
“And, as activities director, I should keep my distance. I’m an employee, right?”
After pausing to set up the chairs around the fireplace for that morning’s chat, they entered the dining room. It was still quiet at this hour, although he could hear the strains of Latin music coming from the kitchens.
“You’re not even technically an employee of the lodge. Did you and your sister work out what your hourly rate would be?”
He stepped toward the closest table and began lowering chairs. “Now that you mention it, no. She said she was going to get back to me about it.”
“I’ll make sure to mention it to them when I see them later today. But to get back to my point.” She set down a chair with a firm thud on the thick carpet. “This is a temporary job, with an end date. You work for Ellis & Daughter.”
Caleb let out a soft grunt. Sometimes, he wondered if he should discuss renaming the business with his father.
However, he realized if he did that, he was committing to staying in Falling Leaves and taking over the business when his father retired.
Something would have to change with the business.
Ellis & Daughter wasn’t so much a thing anymore.
Sabrina’s time was spent at Sky House. He wanted to take the business into a different direction.
He’d tried numerous times to put his plans onto paper, but all he’d end up with were a few bullet points before he gave up.
He glanced up to find his mother pulling down chairs at the next table. “How come Sabrina didn’t ask you to be the activities director? You’re here half the time anyway.”
Lainey’s sweater jingled as she spun around. “First of all, my official title is ‘Commander in Cheer’, for which I am paid an annual salary, thank you very much.”
She didn’t say the quiet part out loud, for which Caleb was glad. He had this job because he’d worried his family. And whether he wanted to admit it, they’d been right to bring him here. He’d needed to crawl out of his depressive state.
“I’m going to go get a hangover cure from the kitchen while you keep pulling down chairs. I think we could both use it after last night, hmm?”
His mother made off for the kitchen as Caleb worked in silence.
His mind automatically drifted to what he’d show Emma when they went into town.
Of course, he was sure Sabrina probably had some scripted tour in mind, but seeing as neither of them would be here when they left, he could play it by ear.
Spending another day with Emma was worth looking forward to. As long as he remembered to keep his heart firmly in its place.
* * * *
Emma met Caleb at the lodge van at nine sharp. She’d had some tea and a piece of buttered toast, as that was all her stomach would tolerate. She hadn’t drunk like that in years. Seeing Caleb gave her an altogether different sort of stomachache. That butterfly escaping its cage sort of feeling.
Caleb passed a to-go cup of coffee to her. “I hope you have an appetite. I have a treat in store for when we get to town.”
“The longer I’m vertical, the better I feel.” She nodded toward the van. “Is anyone else coming along? I just wanted to be sure if this was a casual thing or an employee/guest-sanctioned trip.”
Caleb chuckled. “Technically, it’s both.
We offer tours into town a couple of times a week.
Since it’s Saturday, there are usually other people who come along.
But we’re not the only ones fighting off the hair of the dog this morning.
” He took a sip of his coffee and gazed at her over his cup.
“That was a long way of saying it’s just us.
So, you can sit up front, or in the back if you want to feel fancy. It’s just a van, either way.”
She chuckled. “Front seat it is.”
Caleb swung open the driver’s-side door and leaned over as he placed his coffee cup in the center console. Emma tried hard not to notice how well his khakis fit his backside and broad thighs.
She failed.
He popped out of the car and walked around to open Emma’s door for her. “My lady.” He twirled with his left hand before offering it to help her into the van.
“You’d never know this was your first time offering this tour.” She slipped into her seat.
“I’ve been here long enough to overhear the old activities director’s speech before leading the tour. Because, of course, my sister has this tour timed down to the minute.”
Caleb closed the door and ran around to the driver’s side. Once he was buckled up, he turned to her. “I hope this doesn’t make me look hopelessly uncool, but I need to wear glasses to drive.”
She coughed to cover up the unintentional whimper that emanated. She was a total sucker for men in glasses. Instead of admitting this to Caleb and possibly freaking him out, she said, “Sure thing, Grandpa.”
“We’ve already established that our age gap isn’t glacial, thank you very much.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll just call you lodge man, then.”
“Hey, now, that makes me sound like the guy on the side of a paper towel roll or something.”
They came to the end of the long driveway. Caleb paused to look out for passing traffic before he pulled out onto the windy mountain road.
“I mean, I could see it? I’d ask you to cross your arms across your chest to be sure, but you’re driving right now.”
He chuckled. “The flannel uniform doesn’t help things, that’s for sure. Feel free to turn on the radio if you’d like.”
The van had an old-fashioned radio, like the one Emma had in her first car. When she turned it on, she found only static.
“Oh yeah, we might not get reception until we get further down the mountain. If you want to risk it, I think there’s a CD in there.”
She pressed play. After the slight whirr of the CD spinning, a familiar song came over the speakers.
“Oh my god, Dominick the Donkey.” Without thinking, she made a donkey noise before slapping a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I used to love this song when I was a kid.”
Caleb laughed. “This must be one of Brandon’s CDs. I’m pretty sure I remember his parents playing this song at a Christmas party when we were teenagers.”
“Wow, you’ve all known each other all that time?”
He shrugged. “Yes and no. Brandon and Sabrina were that usual story of a boy who loves a girl, the boy is a dick to said girl, then leaves for fancy Ivy League college when girl stays local. They reunited when they were renovating his family’s inn in town.”
“Of course, this town has an inn.”
He laughed. “We nearly have two. The Westmores, who bought The Peculiar Pumpkin from Brandon, are opening a book-themed hotel next year. Although they’re fighting with the town hall over whether it’ll be an inn or a hotel. It’s a whole thing.”
“The inn is called The Peculiar Pumpkin. Book-themed hotel? Oh my god, this place sounds amazing.”
“I don’t want to oversell it or anything. It’s still a small town in southwest Virginia with its own problems and a fair share of closed-minded dunderheads. God knows I ran from here as soon as I could. Now that I’m older, I can appreciate its charms.”
She turned toward the window, admiring the snowy landscape. “Do you think you’re back for good, then?”
The next song on the CD was Kelly Clarkson’s Underneath the Tree. She hummed under her breath as Caleb inched the van over a patch of ice.
“Yeah, I think I’m back, if not for good, a while at least.”
Emma had never been the small-town gal type.
Originally from Prince George’s County, Maryland, she’d spent most of her life in and around the DC metro area, aka the DMV.
She’d always lived no more than a fifteen-minute drive from a metro station.
She’d loved having the city at her fingertips.
But now, she wasn’t so sure. It would be rather depressing to get this chance for a big change, only to return to where she’d lived her whole life.
Only now she’d be on her own. Meaning, no more fancy Capitol Hill address. She’d probably have to get a roommate again.
Ugh.
She hated to admit that part of the reason she and Davis had stuck together was because they each got something out of the relationship other than romance.
She kept his life ticking along—he never had to worry about mundane things like picking up dry cleaning, organizing cupboards, or arranging maintenance on the car.
She contributed to the expenses of his condo, but he’d never made her go fifty-fifty. Mainly because he’d had the condo when they met, and he had no interest in living anywhere where they could split things evenly.
She’d been spoiled, that was for sure.
“You okay?”
She tilted her head toward him, enjoying his side profile while his eyes stayed glued to the road.
“Yeah, I was just thinking about how big city life is so different from small towns.”
He chuckled. “Believe me, I know that. I didn’t apply to any colleges within one hundred and fifty miles of Falling Leaves. I ended up going to Duke. Durham isn’t exactly a metropolis, but it’s a hell of a lot bigger than Falling Leaves. What about you?”
Their conversation drifted back and forth, each revealing little bits about their lives as they wound down the mountain.
Roughly five miles out of town, they passed an elaborate wooden sign. Falling Leaves, Five Miles Ahead was written in a homey font against a background of Christmas trees and snowflakes.
“Given the town’s name, autumn is our most popular tourist destination. But we’re trying to increase our Christmas business with the lodge opening. They’ve added a lot of events. Since it’s a Saturday, I suspect the town will be hopping.”
As they drove into town, Emma craned her neck like a little kid on a ride, trying to take in everything.
Silver Spring Street was the main drag in town. Although it was barely ten a.m., nearly every parking spot was occupied. All the storefronts, including the hardware store, were decorated with Christmas cheer.
Each light post was decorated with garlands and fairy lights, and billowing flags welcomed visitors to town for a country Christmas.
This was something out of a storybook. How had an ad on social media led her to this perfect, life-changing place?
“You’ve gone quiet,” Caleb observed.
She turned toward him, her gaze catching on grand Victorian manors as he rounded the corner. “It’s…perfect, Caleb.”
She half-expected him to make fun of her. Obviously, the magic had worn off for him, having grown up here. Instead, he reached over and gave her gloved hand a squeeze. Her heart raced at his touch.
“Wait until you meet the people. Then you may change your mind.” They shared a smile.
Oh, shit. She was down bad not only for this town but for Caleb, as well.