Chapter 13 Red
Red Starling surveyed the chaos exploding across Snowberry Lodge’s front parking loop on Christmas Eve afternoon with one simple goal in mind—to get in a vehicle that would not include an hour-long ride next to Bertie Kessler.
With the two kids running around, their dogs barking, and all the women fussing about who’d ride with whom, he knew he had to stake a claim and fast.
Red shoved his gloved hands deeper into the pockets of his coat and planned his move.
Cindy and Jack would bring Bertie, who looked ready to pounce on Red and grill him on the Four Pillars of Longevity again.
He’d gotten trapped yesterday and forced into a “gentle incline walk” up the east trail.
Gentle? A trip to the bathroom was gentle, God willing.
That walk was actual punishment that he still felt in his hips.
Cameron and Nicole? Possibly, but they were probably taking MJ and Matt and then he’d feel like a fifth wheel.
So that left Gracie, who didn’t appear to have a ride to the Live Nativity at Great Basin Veterinary Institute. She was busy with the dogs, checking her phone, keeping an eye on Benny and Olivia, who were currently knee-deep in a snowbank.
He edged sideways—quiet, stealthy, moving toward his granddaughter as she bent over to clip Newt’s harness.
Kids and dogs. Yup. These were going to be his people.
He cleared his throat. “You need a passenger, Gracie?”
She looked up and gave him one of her soft smiles. “Of course you come with us, Red,” she said, brushing snow off her gloves as she stood. She leaned closer and whispered, “That way you can escape Bertie.”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Only because she might make you walk to Eagle Mountain just for the cardio.”
He snorted. “No might about it.”
Gracie grinned. “Marshall is two minutes away and we can all fit in his truck.”
“And, uh, his…Olivia’s mother?” Bianca was nowhere to be seen, but Red had noticed she could pop up at unlikely times. When he saw her, it made his heart heavy to think he might be holding onto a secret that Gracie or Marshall should know. But he still wasn’t sure and he didn’t want to speculate.
“She said she doesn’t really ‘dig’ the smell of sheep and goats, and agreed to let Olivia go with us.” She grinned. “I promise, you’re safe.”
Marshall’s big black truck pulled up, rumbling up the hill with a muscular engine. Just the sight of him made Gracie stand taller, warmth blooming in her eyes.
When Marshall hopped out, his gaze scanned the group for Olivia, found her, then instantly shifted to Gracie. Red watched the two of them share a smile that reached both their eyes, the connection as real as a bolt of electricity.
Guilt squeezed his chest. He should warn her that Bianca was really up to no good. He didn’t want to see his sweet and trusting granddaughter get smashed under that woman’s expensive boot. When could he tell her? What could he tell her?
Olivia scampered toward Marshall, arms out, braids flying, “Daddy!” on her lips.
“There’s my girl!” He scooped her up and gave her a twirl, but his gaze went right back to Gracie, which only made Red’s old heart twist.
Tonight. He was definitely going to find some way to tell Gracie what he might have overheard. She could do what she wanted with that information—maybe nothing—but Red would have a clear conscience.
When Marshall stepped back from Olivia, he turned to Gracie, his whole expression warming even more as he reached for her.
“Merry Christmas Eve, gorgeous,” he murmured, both of them standing close enough for Red to hear the exchange.
“Red’s going to ride with us, too,” Gracie said after she hugged him.
“Awesome! There’s plenty of room,” Marshall agreed, walking to the back of his truck. “We can put the dogs—”
“Wait! Wait! Don’t leave without me!” The high-pitched cry broke over the commotion of car doors and barking, making all of them turn toward the road that led to the cabins.
Bianca Hampton—in a cheetah-print jacket and carrying a handbag that he suspected cost more than his first new car—came teetering across the snow in high-heeled boots.
He felt, rather than heard, a groan of defeat from Marshall.
“I decided I want to go!” she called, waving one hand overhead.
Gracie’s face blanched. Marshall’s smile vanished. Even Olivia’s eyes flashed with a silent uh-oh.
Bianca headed straight for Marshall, who subtly leaned back the way people do when a bee lands on their shirt and they’re trying not to freak out.
“Oh, my gosh, thank goodness I caught you,” Bianca gushed, slipping her hand around his arm like she was boarding one of the Titanic’s lifeboats.
“Olivia needs both her parents tonight. It’s Christmas Eve.
It’s our holiday. Our shared special time.
This Nativity…thing is such an important family moment. ”
Red bit back a groan of doom.
Marshall gently extracted his arm. “Bianca…it’s live, remember? That means…animals that smell and…”
“Poop!” Olivia said, making everyone laugh nervously.
“Right,” Marshall agreed. “And you don’t look dressed for—”
“I’m fine!” Bianca declared, wobbling prettily. “And, Marsh, it means something to Olivia for me to be there. Family memories? Hello? You want me to go, right, Livvie my love?”
The little girl let out a puff of breath, looking helplessly from one parent to the other. “Yeah…sure. I just don’t think it’s actually your…um, scene, Mom.”
“Then I’ll make it my scene,” she declared.
Or she would make a scene, Red thought.
Marshall cleared his throat. “I’m taking the kids and the dogs and Gracie. And Red, so I don’t really have room.”
If Red hadn’t heard what he thought he heard while he’d been hiding in that cabin, he’d have shown some class and instantly volunteered to ride with Jack and Cindy. But that would play right into this viper’s schemes.
Bianca clapped two hands dramatically over her heart. “But Marshall, it’s Christmas Eve! And I am legally supposed to be with her, so I’ll just keep her here with me and we’ll sit in the cabin alone.”
“Bianca.” He ground out her name in a way that sounded…like he’d said it that way a million times. “You can’t—”
“Just take me, Marsh. I can’t let her go without me. I need to be with her.”
Red rolled his eyes so hard he nearly saw his brain stem.
Marshall held firm. “Bianca, this event is very…small-town.”
“Right? Like I’m in my own Hallmark movie. Let’s get great pictures for my social media accounts.” She pushed by him, undaunted and clueless. “Olivia! Let’s go, honey.”
Marshall was visibly torn—a good man and a good father. It was obvious he wanted Gracie next to him. But Bianca was digging in with talons.
Gracie stepped forward, her face the picture of the very word she was named for…grace.
“It’s okay, Marshall,” she said. “Take Bianca and the kids. They’d hate to be separated tonight. I’ll drive with Red in the Sugarfall van.”
Marshall looked pained. “Gracie, no. Absolutely not.”
Bianca perked up, smug as a cat under a heat lamp. “Now, there’s a plan.”
“No, truly,” Gracie insisted, hiding her hurt like a pro. “You take the kids.” Her voice lowered. “It’s her Christmas Eve, Marshall. It’s fine.”
Red could see it wasn’t fine at all.
Marshall tried again. “Gracie—”
“I’ll follow behind,” she said, already turning. “See you there!”
Bianca practically floated into the truck, tossing her hair and trilling on about getting the right picture.
Gracie pasted on a smile that fooled absolutely no one as she and Red walked to the van.
The good news, Red decided as he pulled on a seatbelt—besides not being stuck with Bertie—was a chance to talk to Gracie alone and honestly.
They pulled away from the lodge, a light snow swirling in the van’s headlights.
For a full minute, Gracie said nothing, just stared straight ahead, her jaw set.
Red finally broke the silence. “You okay, kiddo?”
“No,” she said bluntly. “I mean…yes. I mean…ugh. Grandpa, I’m crazy about that man and he, well…”
“It goes both ways,” Red said simply. “A blind man could see how he feels about you.”
She sighed and gave a wistful smile. “I think you’re right.
And he did want to spend this holiday together to see how serious this relationship could be.
But that was when he thought Olivia would be in California with Bianca and we’d have some real quality time.
” Her voice cracked. “Then Bianca blows in like a blizzard and we are…hijacked.”
Red made a sympathetic grunt. “She’s truly a pest who won’t go away.”
Gracie moaned. “I’m trying so hard to respect that she’s Olivia’s mother—I really am. But she bulldozes over everyone and everything.”
Red stared out the windshield, debating what and how to tell his tale. His stomach twisted.
Gracie glanced over. “You’re quiet. That’s never good.”
He grunted. “I’m thinking.”
“About what?” she pressed. “Red? Are you all right? Do you feel sick or…”
He rubbed his hands on his thighs. “I’m fine. But, I gotta tell you something, and you’re gonna think…” He huffed out a breath. “I don’t know what you’re going to think, but if I don’t tell you, I’ll go crazy.”
“Red.” Her voice dripped with sympathy and worry. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”
He shifted and pulled the blasted seatbelt off his chest, wishing for the days when those things were optional. “I overheard something weird the other day.”
She frowned, waiting.
He sighed dramatically. “Because I was, uh, hiding in Bianca’s cabin.”
Gracie nearly swerved. “Excuse me?”
He threw both hands up. “Not on purpose! I ducked in because I was escaping Basic Training with Bertie. I literally hid from her in the first available place—moments before you and Bianca entered the cabin. I was in the hall bathroom.”
Gracie slapped a hand over her mouth, laughing. “Oh, my gosh, no! Red Starling, you are something else!”
“What I am is troubled by what I heard after you left.”
Some color left her cheeks as she peered at the road ahead. “What did you hear?”