Page 6 of Promise Me This Christmas
“Larkin!”her grandmother admonished her.
Noticing her son was beelining to the crackling fireplace, Amy scooped him up.“I’m afraid Mr.Adlington hasn’t found much to his liking since he arrived.But I have to agree with him on the cookies.Maybe there’s something wrong with the oven.”
“That can happen,” Larkin’s grandmother agreed.“I ruined several of my husband’s favorite angel food cakes before I finally figured out my old oven was running ten degrees hot.”
“We have an oven thermometer so I can check,” Amy said.“In the meantime, I’m sorry about the cookies.I promise tomorrow’s will be better.Kris Krinkles is going to bake his classic molasses spice cookies before his afternoon shift as the Graff Hotel’s Santa Claus.”
“Kris Krinkles?”Larkin asked, amused.“Amy, is that really his name?”
“It’s what he likes to be called,” Amy said, not quite answering the question.“Hopefully you’ll meet him at breakfast tomorrow.”
“He came down this morning right after you left,” her grandmother said.“A lovely man, with a glorious white beard.All natural.He’s been the historic Graff Hotel’s Santa for years.”
“Then why doesn’t he stay at the Graff?”
“That’s a good question,” Amy said.“From what I gather, though, he’s been a Bramble House regular from the very beginning.”
The front door opened, and a gust of winter air snuck through the foyer and into the sitting room.A moment later Larkin heard the door close, and Amy’s husband appeared in the doorway.The little boy immediately clambered from his mother’s arms to his father’s.
Chet kissed his son’s chubby cheek, and smiled at his wife, before turning to the guests.“How are you ladies doing?Is the fire keeping you warm?”
“We’re very comfortable,” Larkin assured him.“But while I’ve got you and Amy together, I have something to tell you, and a request.”
“Oh?”Amy looked worried, but her husband just seemed curious.
“Marly Everett at theCopper Mountain Courierasked if I would write a profile on Bramble House for her Wednesday, Christmas Eve, edition.”
Amy exchanged a look with her husband.
“Sounds like free publicity to me,” Chet said.
“That’s exactly right,” Larkin agreed.“Marly wants me to cover some of the Bramble House history as well as the story of how you came to be the new owners.We’d also like to highlight your Christmas tea fundraiser.I was hoping the two of you could spare me thirty minutes or so for an interview?”
“It’s a busy time,” Amy said.She didn’t seem as enthused about the idea as her husband.“But maybe tomorrow, while Robin’s napping?He usually goes down around eleven-thirty.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Great.Do you ladies have plans for dinner?I’d be happy to make some suggestions,” Amy said.
“They already have a reservation.”A new voice sounded from the kitchen end of the house.A moment later Carson Wilcox entered the room, all six feet and four inches of him.“I fixed the garburator,” he told Amy.“And I heard the kerfuffle about the cookies, so I checked the oven too.It’s working fine.”
“Thank you,” Amy said.“That’s a really big help.”
“What’s that about cookies and the oven?”Chet asked.
“Let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll tell you,” Amy said as she followed her husband out of the room.
Meanwhile Larkin felt as if the world was spinning.Or was it her head?Was Carson some sort of appliance repairman as well as a rancher?And why had he said she and her grandmother had dinner plans?She noticed her grandmother smiling pleasantly and began to suspect there was a conspiracy going on.“Gran?”
“Carson invited us to the Graff Hotel for dinner.Doesn’t that sound lovely?”
No.It didn’t sound lovely.Larkin glared at Carson.She longed to tell him to forget it.She’d rather fast for forty days and forty nights in the desert than go to some fancy restaurant with him.But her grandmother looked so excited and happy, she didn’t have the heart.
Chapter Two
“Hey there, Lark,”Carson said.“It’s been a while.”
When he smiled at her, she had to look away.His smile had always been her weakness.It had a sweet quality you’d never expect from a such a masculine guy.
