Page 35 of The Christmas Keepsake
Something about the way Matt looked this morning gave Hollis pause. He was pale, amplifying dark bags under his eyes. He worked harder during the holidays. Everybody seemed to.
“Sure is,” Hollis said. “How’re you today?”
“Good.” Matt rubbed his gloved hands together. “Just wishing I was inside my own house by the fireplace and drinking coffee instead of out here, to tell you the truth.”
“Sounds nice.” But the words also sent off alarm bells in Hollis’s gut. Matt usually got his adrenaline from the jobs, not a coffee mug. Hollis glanced around. “Where are the others?”
“On their way. I asked you to meet me earlier than the rest of ’em.” Matt gave Hollis a meaningful look.
“You wanted to discuss something?” Hollis asked, feeling his body stiffen and his mind become more alert as it prepared.
“Yeah.” Matt gave a quick nod. “You’re at the top of my list for taking over the company when I retire,” he said, jumping straight to business. “I don’t need to tell you that you’re the son I never had. Not biologically, at least. In every other way, I think of you as my son. So does Sandy.”
Hollis’s throat tightened.
Matt patted a hand on Hollis’s back. “And I’m proud of the man you’ve become, Hol.” He took a long breath as he turned his attention to the Maynard Farm and beyond. “Construction is hard work, and I’m not sure I can handle the physical part of it much longer.” Matt glanced over.
Hollis smiled at him, but inside, he was frowning. He’d already told Matt many times about his plans going forward. Hollis had saved the money, made the contacts, and his mind had been set. Now he felt like he’d been hit over the head with this opportunity with Matt’s construction crew. Anyone in his shoes would be grateful for it. “Wow.” Hollis searched for the right words that wouldn’t offend Matt but also wouldn’t commit to what Matt was offering. “I feel honored that you’d think of me.”
“Of course you’re the first person I think of. You’ve earned this. There’s no one else I would even feel comfortable leaving the construction crew in the hands of. It’s only because of you that I can even consider stepping back.”
A sense of panic grew inside of Hollis like an unruly weed springing out of nowhere. He pulled a breath into his lungs, but he only felt more suffocated.
Another truck crunched along the gravel, grabbing both of their attention.
“There’s Rodney.” Matt made a show of glancing at his watch. “I asked Rod to get here an hour ago to help me unload the supplies.”
It occurred to Hollis now that Matt didn’t usually ask Hollis to get to a site early because he knew Hollis worked with his dogs during the morning hours. He always had one or two fosters that he trained in the early morning, just like he had Buster this morning. Matt had always worked with Hollis to support Hollis’s dog training “hobby.” That was the word Matt always used, and now it felt like a slap in the face.
“Better late than never,” Hollis said quietly, talking about Rodney.
Matt scoffed. “Since when did you become Mr. Positivity? Must be the Santa role that Mallory Blue somehow managed to get you to play.” Matt’s brow lifted subtly. “I don’t even need to ask how she got you to agree to put on a red velvet suit. My main question is how you got her to give you the role.”
That question kind of felt like a slap in the face as well. If Hollis was a stand-up guy enough for Matt to offer his entire construction crew, why wouldn’t Mallory offer him the lead in Nan’s play? “Trust me, it was her idea. Not mine,” Hollis joked, feeling anything but jovial.
“Hmm. Maybe that crush you’ve had on her all these years is finally being reciprocated, huh?” Matt chuckled.
Hollis cleared his throat and decided not to respond. He didn’t let things ruffle his feathers as much as they used to. But he still had to bite his tongue some days and work at not letting the Hollis of old, the one who acted before thinking, out.
Matt started to walk toward Rodney but stopped and turned back to Hollis. “Hey, I’m meeting with the Anderson family this evening to discuss a project they have for us early next year. Want to come with me?” Matt asked.
Hollis kicked the dirt at his feet as he tried to find the best response for the moment, until he could think about what Matt had said. Matt already knew that Hollis didn’t have plans to return to working construction full-time.
“Don’t tell me you’re still planning on opening that dog place.” Matt chuckled, leaving Hollis breathless. He didn’t wait for Hollis to respond. Instead, Matt headed toward Rodney, tossing out comments about Rodney’s tardiness.
Hollis stood there frozen, despite his hat and heavy flannel jacket. Matt had always supported him in every way that counted, except in this one. Why didn’t Matt understand Hollis’s passion for training dogs?
“Come on, son. Let’s get this show on the road!” Matt called to Hollis over his shoulder as he walked toward his parked truck, which was closer to the site. The supplies needed to complete today’s job were loaded in the back and needed to be pulled off in preparation for the work. And, in Hollis’s mind, this was his last official construction project, whether Matt liked it or not.
Chapter Eleven
Drama is life, with the dull bits cut out.
—Alfred Hitchcock
Mallory stared at Nan, who had been sleeping for the past forty-five minutes since Mallory had arrived. She had the journal in her lap and a bag with a couple of ornaments to hang on the tree.
The door opened, and Sheila, one of the nursing aides, walked in. Her gaze bounced from Mallory to Nan.
