Page 86 of The Christmas Eve Delivery

“You don’t have to thank me for taking care of you. It’s my privilege.” I kissed her on the brow before stepping out.

The kitchen was not as fully stocked with food as I had hoped. The pantry was full of pre-packaged Danishes for the guests andthe coffee bar. I did find a loaf of frozen bread in the freezer, some eggs, and a cupboard full of spices.

When I escaped the town I grew up in, I was barely a young adult. I may have made my way in the world of property development, but I had never learned how to cook much more than boiling a hot dog and frying up eggs. I had all the ingredients for French toast, and that was one of the things I knew how to make.

I was in the process of cooking my first batch when Lydia came into the kitchen carrying the baby.

“It smells good, like cinnamon and syrup. What are you making?”

“You had bread and eggs, and coffee creamer actually works really great when making French toast.”

“French toast? I haven’t had that in ages. How was your day out with Dan?”

She moved one of the kitchen table chairs out so she could sit as she held the baby.

“Exhausting,” I admitted. “Good for the mind. Bad for the back. I am going to be sore tomorrow.” I stretched and rolled my shoulders. If my hands hadn’t been full of cooking implements, I probably would have tried to rub my neck. “I met a few folks in town. One nice lady gave me hot chocolate and cookies. Told me Dan has been taking care of Brookdale for years.”

“Evie and I were talking about that. Did he tell you any of his stupid jokes?”

“He did. He’s got a lot of them. I have the feeling he didn’t even break the surface to the well of jokes he’s sitting on.”

“Probably not. I don’t know if you know people like this, but they always tell the same stories and same jokes over and over again. Well, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Mayor Dan repeat a story or a joke. Not even at a town-hall meeting or one of the Historical Society meetings. And every story he has always seems to fit the situation.”

“He’s been paying attention to the people and this place for years. It’s different from what I grew up with,” I said.

“How so?”

“Economically depressed town with one factory as most residents’ source of work. Rampant alcoholism, drugs. It wasn’t a nice place. But Brookdale has people making sure this town stays a nice place. People like Dan. He actually suggested a property. As soon as the roads clear, I want to drive out and take a look.”

“What kind of property?” she asked.

“Apparently, there’s an abandoned lakeside resort not too far from Brookdale. If the infrastructure is already in place, I could go in, get it properly cleaned up and reestablished. I wouldn’t have to start from scratch or destroy buildings people want to keep.”

“Is that something you would consider? Renovating an abandoned site like that?” I shrugged.

“It sounds like a great opportunity to me. I haven’t found a location that I’ve liked half as much as I like Brookdale, and I have to be here for you. As long as it’s not swampland, I’ll consider it a win-win. I get a resort, your historical society saves the town.”

“What if the structures are in such bad shape and you have to build from the ground up?”

“I don’t see how it would be any different. I was already planning on building from the ground up here.”

“I think I know the place he’s talking about. It would be close enough that people could drive into town for restaurants, but we only have the diner,” she said.

“Attracting restaurants into Brookdale wouldn’t be as hard if there were a reason. Having a tourist resort not far away would be a very attractive reason.”

“Even if it was one of those all-inclusive places?” she asked. “Isn’t that what your lakeside resort would be?”

“Have you ever been to an all-inclusive resort?”

She shook her head.

“Some people go to those and never leave the property. Other people simply take the all-inclusive aspect as a suggestion. Besides, all-inclusive was not part of the original concept. Maybe once the snow is cleared, you can take a ride out there with me, and we’ll take a look at it.”

Lydia’s eyes went wide and her mouth made the shape of an O. The muscles in my back managed to get even tighter as I went into alert mode.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“I don’t have a car seat for the baby yet.”

---