Page 29 of Dragged Home for Christmas

Anthony’s eyes twinkled. “Absolutely. And right now Mike needs someone who isn’t afraid to get down ‘n’ dirty,who’s willing to lend a hand, who—”

Sam glared at him, and Anthony mimed zipping his lips.

Mike scribbled some notes. “Then I guess we ought to get to work right away, seeing as we all have tasks to perform. First thing I’m going to do is see about the license for next year. Then I’m going to go through the hotel, looking at every room. I’ll assess what needs to be done to bring it all up to a decent standard.”

“I’ll do that with you,” Sam offered. “You just tell me what needs to be on the list.”

Mike flashed him a smile. “Thanks.”

Anthony stood. “Okay, girls, let’s get our asses in gear. There’s work to be done.” One by one the four men left the lobby, until only Ashley and Mike remained.

One glance at her face told Mike something was coming.

“Out with it.”

She blinked, then smiled. “You know me far too well. I just wanted to ask you why you invited me to pack up all my cares and woes, and come with you.”

He sighed. “We were both stuck in a rut back in Boston. No way to move forward and too much behind us to take a step back. I thought if the place was livable, we could stay here. If not, we could sell up and find something.”

“And now that you’ve seen this place?” She smiled once more. “You want to stay, don’t you?”

He nodded. “I think this could be a home for us.” Mike chuckled. “If we can survive the winter, we can survive anything.”

“And what about our four new friends? If—when—the hotel and everything else becomes a going concern again, and we’ve paid them back… What then?”

Mike hadn’t given much thought to the future beyond their immediate circumstances.

“Let’s see what happens.”

She laughed. “You do know they were prepared to do anything for you to let them stay, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know.” He turned and gave her a sharp stare. “You know I wouldn’t, right?”

“Of course. You couldn’t let them do that to themselves. Or to you.”

Mike considered the four men who’d sat drinking coffee with him. “It’s just… they’re so much different than I thought they’d be. I figured they were,youknow, literal squatters. I hadn’t expected them to know my uncle, or to have their lives wrapped up with his. To kick them out would be like telling family they had to go.” He sighed. “They might not be related by blood, but one thing does unite them—their love of my uncle.” He stared at her. “You know what? I’d be willing to bet he gave me this place so I’d look out for them too.”

“You could be right.” Ashley gave a big smirk. “By the way… I think one of them has taken a real liking to you.”

“What?” He waved his hand. “You’re imagining it.”

“I don’t think so. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. And who knows? It could be the start of something genuine.”

“Which one of them?” he demanded.

“Icouldtell you,” she said with a grin. “But I think maybe this needs to be something for you to explore on your own. Build together. Does that make sense?”

God, she could be aggravating sometimes.

But he knew she was right.

Ashley beamed. “I knew you’d see reason.” And with that, she sauntered in the direction of their room, humming to herself.

It didn’t stop him from wondering which one of them she was talking about.

And is it the one I hope it is?

Chapter 11

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