Firelight & Forever (SnowDrop Inn #5)

Chapter One The SnowDrop Inn

Meri Bennet

If anyone asked, I would have told them I was organizing the library.

In reality, I was hiding behind a stack of fantasy novels and pretending the inn hadn’t opened for the day.

Snow fell softly outside the tall front windows of SnowDrop Inn, the flakes drifting down in quiet spirals that made the whole world look calmer than it actually was.

Inside, however, calm lasted exactly as long as it took for my mother to locate me.

I sat in the worn armchair beside the window with a mug of hot chocolate warming my hands and a book open in my lap.

The library smelled faintly of paper and lemon wood polish, which I preferred to the overwhelming cinnamon and pine that had taken over the rest of the inn for the holidays.

The shelves around me were filled with novels collected over decades, some inherited, some donated, and some purchased because I couldn’t resist buying them.

I was a bit of a book hoarder, although I preferred to think of myself as a book dragon, sitting over my collection of books. The truth was that I had more books than clothes.

Honestly, I probably had more books than anything else that I owned altogether.

The one I was reading was fantasy with dragons, swords, and a clever hero who solved problems by thinking rather than punching. The sort of hero who made sense.

Real people rarely did.

I read the same paragraph three times before it finally sank in.

Not because the writing was difficult to read but because my brain kept tracking the sounds drifting up from the main floor.

There were voices and footsteps. Someone, likely Lydia, was moving furniture.

The clatter of dishes from the kitchen which meant Jane was getting breakfast ready.

The inn was waking up.

I checked the clock on the wall and took another sip of hot chocolate. I might have ten minutes to myself, if I was lucky.

“Meri!” My mother’s voice carried up the hallway with the same precision as a church bell.

Nine minutes had apparently been optimistic, I thought with a sigh.

The library door opened and Mom Bennet stepped inside with the purposeful stride of a general entering a battlefield. She wore an apron over her flowery shirt that had too much color and tan slacks. Her dark hair pulled back neatly as though she had already conquered half the morning.

Her eyes moved immediately to the book in my lap.

“Meri," she said, “we open in thirty minutes."

I closed the book and set it on the table beside me, sliding it under a gardening book with a movement that would have been subtle if my mother weren’t watching with her usual perceptive gaze.

“I’m aware," I replied.

“Are you?” she asked mildly. “You always seem to be away in one of those books of yours."

Apparently owning a library didn’t grant one permission to read inside it, I thought ruefully to myself.

Mom stepped farther into the room and glanced around as though expecting to find some evidence of work completed in my absence.

“The garlands still need to be hung in the front hall.

Kitty is decorating the dining room and Lucy is helping Lydia with the guest arrivals.

I need you to check the breakfast supplies and make sure the fireplace logs are stocked. "

“That sounds manageable," I said. I wouldn’t mind going outside to grab the firewood. It was quieter outside.

Her eyes lingered on me for a moment. “And try to look welcoming today."

“I always look welcoming," I replied with a frown.

Mom gave me a long look that suggested she didn’t share that opinion.

“Guests appreciate enthusiasm," she added. “A smile, some small talk, and a welcoming attitude."

“I will do my best to appear enthusiastically functional," I dryly reTophered.

That earned a faint smile despite herself. My mother turned toward the door, already scanning the clipboard again. “Oh, and Meredith?”

“Yes?”

“Please refrain from hiding in here until after your shift."

I waited until the door closed behind her before retrieving my book and slipping it back on to the shelf. The hero was halfway through planning a rebellion and deserved better than being abandoned mid-strategy, but SnowDrop Inn had its own battles to fight.

I finished my hot chocolate, straightened my sweater, and headed downstairs.

The lobby looked exactly like a winter postcard. Pine garlands looped along the staircase railing and a wreath hung over the front door. Snow dusted the branches of the trees outside, making the whole scene glow softly through the tall windows.

Inside, however, the Bennet family was already in full motion.

Lydia stood behind the front desk speaking to a guest with her usual happy enthusiasm, the sort of energy level that made my mother proud while also making guests feel special.

My sister had a gift of charm and sparkle.

It was the best way that I could describe it.

Lucy leaned against the counter beside her at the computer making sure information was inputted correctly.

If Lydia was the welcoming factor of the inn, Lucy was the one who made sure it actually functioned.

Kitty, meanwhile, was balancing on a chair in the dining room doorway attempting to hang a string of small silver bells along the archway.

“I think it needs to be higher," she said to no one in particular.

“It is already higher than your reach," Lucy replied without looking up.

Kitty spotted me and brightened immediately. “Meri! Perfect. Hold this chair steady."

I crossed the room and placed a hand on the back of the chair while she balanced on her tiptoes, adjusted the bells.

“You know," Kitty said thoughtfully, “most people decorate during normal hours instead of five minutes before guests arrive."

“Most people do not live here," I murmured, thinking of how my mother could give last moment orders with the precision of a general while forgetting how to schedule anything in advance.

Jane came bustling out of the kitchen, a tray in her hands. “Morning, Meri. Could you check the kitchen inventory when you get a moment? We have two reservations for dinner parties and I want to make sure I have enough of everything on hand."

“I’m already assigned to help you. Mom found me," I explained.

Lydia smirked slightly. “She always does."

“Oh good. I’ll see you in the kitchen then," Jane smiled before heading into the dining room."

Kitty climbed down from the chair and stepped back to admire her work. “There, it’s perfect."

The bells immediately slipped two inches to the left.

Kitty reached up and fixed them before anyone else noticed.

The front door opened just then, letting in a swirl of cold air and a couple carrying overnight bags. Lydia moved forward with a welcoming smile while Lucy checked their names on the reservation list.

I watched the exchange for a moment, absorbing the details automatically. The scrape of luggage wheels across the floor. The faint scent of pine from the garlands. The murmur of conversation overlapping in different directions.

Busy mornings at the inn had their own rhythm. Once I understood the pattern, the chaos felt manageable.

Lucy handed the guests their room keys and glanced toward me.

“Meri, could you grab a spare blanket from the storage closet? A guest would like a lap throw in the reception room. She’s feeling a bit chilly and I’ve been tied up at the desk.

She’s a grandmotherly type, wearing a blue flowery blouse. "

“On my way." The sounds from the lobby faded slightly as I moved toward the supply closet.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out automatically to read a message from my agent Tara telling me the publisher was asking for an update.

They want to know if you’re going to make the deadline.

I have confirmed that you will be a panelist for The Enchanted Quill Convention.

We really need to talk about film rights.

I stared at the words for a moment before locking the screen again.

That conversation had been circling for months now, like a dragon that refused to leave the castle walls. My publisher seemed convinced that readers wanted to see the series adapted for film and Tara was rabid to convince me to sign over the rights to a studio.

Personally, I suspected readers mostly wanted Hollywood to leave it alone.

I shoved the phone back into my pocket and collected a colorful lap throw from the shelf.

Downstairs the bells Kitty had hung chimed faintly as the front door opened again signalling the arrival of another guest.

Saving fictional kingdoms was relatively straightforward.

Running a family inn during the holidays required considerably more strategy.

I sighed, hugging the throw to me and enjoying the softness of the knitted material for a moment.

I wished I could hide back in the library with this throw, deep in that book for the next two hours, avoiding life.

I was already dreading agreeing to The Enchanted Quill convention.

Normally I just signed books. This time, I would be part of a panel of authors, answering questions about the worlds in our heads that made it onto paper.

A heaviness settled in my chest at the thought of it. I shouldn’t have agreed. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be persuaded by Tara that this was a good move for my career.

“Meri, are you okay?” the concerned voice of my father broke into my thoughts.

I blinked, turning to see William Bennet holding a tool box, obviously on his way to deal with something that had broken down in this old inn that my parents had recently bought.

“I’m fine." I forced a small smile, hugging the blanket a little tighter before heading downstairs to the reception room. It didn’t take long to locate the guest and give her the blanket.

“There’s a leak in the upstairs bathroom!

If we don’t get it stopped, it’s going to start raining in the dining room!

” Mom whisper-hissed at me as she approached in a panic.

“I’m going to grab Lucy then try to find your father.

He’ll know what to do. You should take over for Lucy at the desk in the meantime. "

“He’s already upstairs…” I trailed off as Mom was already bustling out of the reception room. Shaking my head, I headed for the reception desk, only to hear Jane welcoming a new guest.

Obviously Lucy had grabbed Jane to take over her post. Where Lydia had migrated to, I had no idea. Jane at the front desk wasn’t exactly ideal. She had enough work in the kitchen.

I came into the lobby, fully prepared to take over, when I stopped in shock.

Aryn Levich was at my inn. A world renowned actor, chatting up Jane, who had no idea who he was because she was a social media hermit.

He was leaning on the counter as though he felt perfectly comfortable.

He had a knapsack slung over a broad shoulder, an errant curl of hair over his forehead, and a thousand watt smile that would make any dentist proud.

“I was hoping you would have something available," his deep voice said. “I know it’s late notice."

Jane hummed a little uncertainly. “Oh, I’m not too sure. Usually I don’t work the reception desk. Oh! There’s Meri. She’ll know what we have available."

They both turned towards me, Jane in complete innocence, and Aryn’s grin widening as he spotted me, as though he expected to see me. Which he couldn’t have. He was actor royalty and I was just me, Meri Bennet, the anonymous middle child, standing stuck in a doorway.

“Meri, could you help us?” Jane gently prompted.

“Yes, Meri, I would love some help," Aryn added, studying me.

Suddenly I felt like little red ridinghood facing the big bad wolf.