Page 17 of Promise Me This Christmas
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As Amy carriedRobin—all bundled up in his snowsuit, hat, mittens, and boots—down the stairs, she noticed her brother and Larkin having an intense conversation by the Christmas tree.Carson reached for Larkin’s hand and held it.When the couple noticed her, they broke apart.Larkin slipped into the library while Carson strode over to take Robin out of her arms.
“Here’s my buddy!All ready to go sledding, little guy?”
“Zoom, zoom!”
“Don’t let him go too fast,” Amy cautioned.“He’s only one—practically a baby.”
“I’ll be careful,” Carson promised.“And we’re not going far.Just to the park around the corner.”
Amy kissed her son’s pudgy cheek.“Have fun with Uncle Carson.”She watched them go with some trepidation.This was what she had hoped for, right?That Carson would bond with his nephew.And he had been helpful with the garburator and checking the oven the other day.Yet she still had the feeling he had other reasons for booking into Bramble House for Christmas, and after seeing him with Larkin, she now knew what that reason had been.How had he known Larkin would be here?He must have seen something on her phone.She remembered being at Whispering Pines the day Larkin had called with questions about the accessibility features in the Mable Bramble room.
Amy glanced through the glass panes in the library door.Ethel was in one of the armchairs by the window, reading her Stephen King, while Larkin sat next to her with her laptop, typing away.
Leaving them in peace, Amy headed for the kitchen.All was quiet in the big, old house.Chet had already gone to work, the Kettles had left for skating, and Gibson had gone in search of a “real” library.But when she opened the door to the kitchen, the sound of cheerful conversation greeted her.Shelley had just arrived and was hanging up her coat in the back closet, while Jo and Kris stood on opposite sides of the island, both in white aprons, laughing about something Shelley had just said.
“What’s so funny?I could use a laugh this morning.”
Shelley pulled out the portable vacuum cleaner.While Ella cleaned the guests’ rooms and refreshed the towels, Shelley had taken over keeping the common rooms and the stairs clean.“I crossed paths with that cranky old Gibson this morning.Some neighborhood children were out playing in the snow and one of them hit him square in the face with a snowball.You should have seen him sputter.”
Amy chuckled, then her conscience made her ask, “He wasn’t hurt, I hope?”
“It was a soft snowball.Disintegrated on contact.But it was lovely to see him all flustered.Does anyone else find him a stick in the mud?”
When Kris said, “He’s on my naughty list,” Shelley and Jo laughed again.
Amy smiled but then felt compelled to remind them of one of the B & B rules.“We shouldn’t talk ill of our guests behind their backs—but I agree Gibson is a challenge.Thank you all for putting up with him with such grace.”
Shelley shrugged.“You’re the one who has the most dealings with him.I just try to keep out of his way.”She took the vacuum to the dining room, and soon Amy could hear the sound of the powerful little motor, sucking up all the crumbs from that morning’s breakfast.
Remembering Gibson’s nasty comment from that morning, Amy powered the espresso maker back on.While she was waiting for it to heat up, she watched as Jo rolled out her scones and Kris added the spices to his cookies.Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and then something from a small jar he kept in his pocket.
“What’s that?”
He winked at her.“Christmas magic of course.All my cookies need to have a dash of it.”
Amy smiled fondly at him.“I’m so glad you always stay with us over Christmas, instead of at the Graff.”
“The Graff is too grand for me,” he said.
“Isn’t there more to it than that?”Jo asked.“Back when Mable Bramble was alive it seemed to me that the two of you had a special friendship.”
“Really?”Amy asked.“Wasn’t Mable a little old for you, Kris?”
He laughed.“A decade or two.Besides, I’m happily married.”
He’d told Amy previously that his wife preferred not to celebrate Christmas, for reasons that were tied to her disappointment about never being able to have children.Instead, she liked to spend the winter months playing golf in Arizona.Kris usually left right after his gig at the Graff to join her.
“Mable was known for her sharp tongue,” Jo said.“Yet she always had a soft spot for you.”
“Ah well, now that she’s gone, I guess there’s no reason to keep my secret.Back in the day my father used to date Mable.He even asked her to marry him, but she got her back up about something and turned him down.”
“Really?I bet Mable lived to regret that.I didn’t realize your family was originally from Marietta,” Jo said.
“We weren’t.Dad had a summer job here when he finished school.When Mable turned him down, he took a job offer in Missoula and shortly after that he met my mother.They were happy together, but when she passed, Dad told me about Mable.I wouldn’t say he still held a torch for her, but he did remember her fondly.He told me so many stories of those days that when I took the Santa job at the Graff, I decided to stay at Bramble House so I could meet her.”
“Have you told the Carrigan girls?”Jo asked.“They always wondered why their aunt never married.”
