Page 12 of Maybe This Christmas
He closed the door, and she sipped her coffee quietly, enjoying the sounds of the forest waking up.
* * * *
It was too late to hide from the familiar voices creeping up on Caleb as he helped ready the lodge for breakfast.
Besides, that uniform was too snug to handle all that maneuvering.He worried the seams on his too-tight shirt or khakis would burst.Sabrina had promised to order in a larger size, but with it being Friday, he’d be stuck in the too-tight uniform over the weekend.
“Why, Caleb, don’t you look as handsome as the day is long?”Babs Dodge called out.She meant nothing by it—after all, she’d known him since he was in diapers—but Babs seemed to live to make Caleb uncomfortable.
He groaned and continued pulling the dining room chairs down.“You mean not very, right?Considering these are the shortest days of the year.”
Babs snorted and poked Inez Munoz in the side.“You always said Caleb was the cleverest of the Ellis children.”
“Isn’t it time for you two to have a hot flash or something?Leave my son alone.”Lainey Ellis rushed up to brush imaginary lint from his flannel.“Is this the biggest size your sister has in stock?It looks a little snug, Bug.You don’t want to give old ladies like Babs ideas.”
Caleb hated his childhood nickname.Thankfully, everyone else in the family had given it up.
“I can hear that,” Babs said.There was no malice in her voice.The biddies—aka Falling Leaves’ Coffee & Knitting Society—where very little knitting took place, but gallons of coffee were consumed—had been friends for years.Even the newest members could count their time in the society by years.
“My outfit is fine.”He gently moved his mother’s hand from his biceps.As if the universe was in on some comical joke, a button popped off, then pinged off the carpet onto his shoe.
“Well, I can sew that on for now.But, Inez, will you go hunt down Sabrina or Brandon?There’s got to be some bigger clothes around here somewhere.”
“Mom, stop.I already talked to Sabrina about it.”Caleb moved away from her to continue pulling chairs down.“What are you doing up here so early, anyhow?”Falling Leaves was nearly forty-five minutes south of the resort, which meant that the biddies had hit the road well before five a.m.
“Get to our age, and you’ll find out how easy it is to sleep through the night, Bug.”
“Why don’t you tag along with Inez and see if you can find Sabrina?I need her anyway.It looks like her morning shift lead is MIA.”
To that, his mother rolled her eyes but did as he asked.
Caleb hurriedly finished setting up the dining room before heading into the kitchen to help the staff prepare breakfast.
Luckily, this was a practice he’d done countless times before.He’d be on-site finishing up construction and get roped into helping in various roles around the resort while they worked out the kinks.He didn’t mind kitchen work.Why couldn’t the manager here quit?He’d be much happier working behind the scenes.
Although Sabrina was easing him into things, the thought of entertaining a group of guests still made him want to barf.He had middle-child issues.Both Sabrina and Sebastian could command a room whenever they wanted.
Caleb would much rather slide into the background.Like right about now, as Inez caught him in her sights.
“I’m busy,” he told her as she approached.“Unless you’re willing to throw in a helping hand back in the kitchen.”
Inez owned The Over Easy Café in downtown Falling Leaves.She used to take on every role from cook to hostess until her kids recently stepped in and took over.Now, she only worked a couple of days a week, meaning her penchant for gossip had increased a hundredfold.
“You can talk while you work.”She couldn’t help herself as she set serving spoons in front of one of the chafing dishes.
“I can, but I really don’t want to.”
To that, she snorted.“Tough luck, buddy.I was just sizing you up to see if you’d fit the Santa costume this year.”She produced a sewing kit from her purse.“Take your shirt off.”
That this was the first person to make this kind of command of him in—well, months—was unsettling, to say the least.
“I’m not taking my shirt off in the middle of the dining room, Babs.”
“I can see you’re wearing an undershirt.The longer you argue with me, the longer this will take, so come on.”
“Fine.But keep your opinions to yourself.”
She glanced up at him as he unbuttoned his shirt.He braced himself for some kind of well-meaning fat joke.Sure, his jobs with Ellis & Daughter and at the inn were physical, but he hadn’t seen the inside of a gym in a long time.Olivia called him “slightly fluffy” and assured him thata lotof women liked that look.
