Second Chance Christmas Cracker Crush (Christmas Kisses & Cookie Crumbs)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“ A ll right, Tris,” Ophelia McHenny said, grabbing her coat behind the counter. “I’ll be back this evening after I’m done going on nursing home visits with the ladies’ aid, okay?”

“That’s fine, Mom,” Tris said, jotting down a note to herself to remember to check the dryer and get the towels out of it in ten minutes. “Don’t forget I have to leave at six to go play for Margo’s family dinner.”

“I’ll be back in plenty of time,” her mother said, patting her arm. “Are you sure you’re okay? We do have several guests checking in this afternoon.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” Tris said, ignoring the fact that her mother treated her like she was twelve instead of thirty-two. Except when her mother remembered that she wasn’t married and went off on all the eligible men in town.

Her mother smiled. “I know you will. I just…like to make sure everything is taken care of.”

“That’s fine, Mom. That way, there’s two of us taking care of everything.”

Her mom left, and Tris didn’t exactly breathe a sigh of relief, but she did appreciate the peace and quiet, for a few minutes anyway.

The holidays were always busy at their bed-and-breakfast in Mistletoe Meadows, and the last few weeks had been almost nonstop with getting everything decorated, cleaning rooms, manning the front desk, and making sure that guests had everything they needed in order to have a five-star stay.

That was Tris’s goal, to make sure that guests considered their stay five-star and left a glowing review. That was the lifeblood of their business.

She had just finished setting up the music playlist that would be pumped to the speakers and all of the common areas of the bed-and-breakfast for the afternoon when the bell jingled over the door and a tall man in business attire stepped in. His shoulders were hunched against the cold, and he carried a briefcase and an overnight bag as well as a garment bag.

He looked around the small waiting area and then walked forward to the desk.

“Welcome to Mistletoe Meadows Bed-and-Breakfast. Can I help you?” she asked, noting on their system that there were several gentlemen who were supposed to check in that afternoon. One room had been reserved by Margo Ames’s wedding party and did not have a name next to his reservation.

“Fisher Ames. My sister was supposed to make a reservation for me.”

“Oh. Fisher. I didn’t realize this reservation was for you. I’m Tris McHenny.” Tris was surprised that her voice held as steady as it did. She and Fisher had history, and most of it wasn’t the best.

“Tris McHenny?” Fisher said, his eyes widening and his voice holding disbelief. “I would never have recognized you.”

“Well, it’s me,” she said, lifting her shoulder and keeping her professional smile in place. She was not going to let the crazy butterflies that had all of a sudden decided to take flight in her stomach derail her from her job.

“It’s good to see you again,” Fisher said, like he wasn’t remembering the last time they’d spoken at all.

“Yeah. It’s great.” She tried to sound like she meant that. “So, about your reservation. It’s all paid for, and you’re going to be in room number seven.” She grabbed the key. It was an actual key, shaped like a candy cane. It was one of the small changes Tris had made over the years as her mother had given her more and more responsibility at the bed-and-breakfast.

She told him the rules of his stay and where breakfast was located and the times that it was served, buffet style.

“All right,” he said as he took the candy cane key from her.

“I do ask that you sign this waiver, stating that if anything is damaged, you’ll be held responsible and also committing to no smoking in the room.”

She held the piece of paper up in front of him, and he took a pen with a Christmas tree sticking out of the top of it and initialed and signed his name where she requested.

“I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that you’re here. I’d forgotten your parents owned the bed-and-breakfast.”

“Yeah,” she said, not bothering to tell him that her father had walked out on her mom after thirty-one years of marriage and moved in with his girlfriend.

If he stayed in town for more than five minutes, he would hear it from someone else.

It happened several years ago, but that kind of gossip didn’t die down easily.

As he handed the paper back, she noticed that he wasn’t wearing a ring. She also noticed that he didn’t have anyone with him, as much as she didn’t want to notice any such thing.

“Oh. You’re a little early checking in, and the towels aren’t quite done. I’ll run some to your room as soon as the dryer finishes.”

They could both hear the dryer running in the laundry room right behind the front desk.

He nodded his head, apparently as disinclined as she was to make small talk.

He paused as he shouldered his bag and turned. “It was nice to see you again.”

“Yeah. Great to see you again as well,” she said, thinking to herself that maybe it was the truth. It was interesting to see what a handsome and successful-looking man he had become.

Margo had talked about her brother, living in Richmond and working in a successful business there. Tris had been happy for him, but every time his name was mentioned, she got a little pain in her stomach. She always kind of thought that maybe she and Fisher would be more, but there had been the great cookie debacle of their senior year, and neither one of their parents had been very understanding about it.

“I’ll watch for you to come with the towels,” he said.

As he spoke, the buzzer on the dryer rang.

“I’ll be in with them shortly. I’ll need to fold them, but it shouldn’t be long.”

“Great,” he said, the ring of his phone carrying through the air, and as he turned, he put it to his ear.

“Hello,” he said as he walked away.

Tris watched him go. Surprised that even after all these years, he could still make her heart beat a little faster. She didn’t typically have that problem with any of the guests she checked into the bed-and-breakfast. She also didn’t have a problem standing and watching them walk away, she thought to herself as she realized she’d been staring at his backside until he disappeared down the hall.

She tore her eyes away and made a note on the paper, checking his name off and reminding herself to pay attention to her job and not be distracted by an old almost-boyfriend.