Page 3 of Fake It Till We Fall
He saluted me and thankfully, before he could say another word, followed Tilley out the door, leaving me mercifully alone with the thoughts I hadn’t been able to get out of my head since I’d heard the news.
Harper
The early Decembercold bit at my cheeks as I helped Grandma cross the plaza. After more than fifteen years away from the mountains, I’d forgotten just how sharp the winter air could be. Especially because I’d spent most of that time working on super-yachts in tropical climates.
My body wasn’t used to such cold.
“Your teeth are chattering, dear.” Grandma squeezed my arm. “I’m going to knit you a new scarf.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Harper, I’m eighty-two years old.” She stopped suddenly, causing me to jerk backward. “I don’thaveto do anything. I want to do it.”
I couldn’t help but smile and shake my head. She might be slowing down a little bit, but she was still the same feisty, stubborn grandma she’d always been.
“And you’re going to need some warmer clothes now that you’re back in Trickle Creek.”
I opened my mouth to correct her, but closed it again. There was no point in reminding her again that I was only back temporarily. Just until I could get the restaurant sorted out, put in some trustworthy employees, and figure out what was going on with Grandma’s health.
With any luck, I could pull off a Christmas miracle and figure all of that out before the holidays, and get on the first plane to the Mediterranean to start the new charter season.
Grandma shook my arm until I looked at her. “I won’t take no for an answer, Harper.”
“Don’t I know it.” I smiled down at her. “And you’re not wrong. It’s freezing out here. I can’t believe how much snow there is already.”
“This little dusting.” Grandma waved her hand around. “You’ve been gone too long, sweetheart. It’s only just beginning. It’s going to be a white Christmas.”
She wasn’t wrong. Christmas garlands and wreaths already hung from some of the light poles and most of the storefronts. The only thing better than seeing the plaza lit up for the holidays was seeing all those twinkling lights through the sparkle of the snow.
We kept walking, stopping only when we reached the restaurant, still bare of decorations. I mentally added it to my list of things to get done before the festival. By the looks of the heaps of lights and decorations still piled up around the plaza, I still had time to get my own decorations up.
“Let’s get inside, and you can talk to me over a cup of tea,” I told Grandma as I unlocked the glass door.
“Talk about what?” she said, like I hadn’t just spent an hour in the doctor’s waiting room waiting for her to finish up what she tried to play off as a routine appointment.
“The doctor,” I pressed.
She waved her free hand, dismissing the question like a fruit fly. “I lived a lot of years, Harper. Sometimes a woman just needs a check-up.”
I tugged my parka off and hung it on the rack by the door. “Grandma, that was more than just a check-up, and you know it. You said yourself that you haven’t been feeling yourself and?—”
“There’s nothing to discuss.” Her voice held a sharp edge I hadn’t heard in years. But before I could respond, her voice softened as she settled into one of the tables by the window. “Now, what is it you said about a cup of tea?”
I blew out a breath and shook my head. I knew better than to push the issue. I didn’t know anyone as stubborn as my grandma. The very fact that she called to tell me she needed me to come home spoke volumes. There was no way she’d do that if things weren’t serious.
Besides, I didn’t need to hear her say it to see how much help she needed. The evidence was all around me. It was shocking to see how much the once bustling, vibrant restaurant now seemed tired and old.
In the kitchen, I set the water to boil and grabbed the notebook with the lists I’d started making the moment I’d arrived a week earlier. The pages were filling up quickly. Even if I worked around the clock, there was no way I was going to get everything done before I needed to leave again.
I was definitely going to have to triage a few things.
With a quick scan, I circled “hang decorations” and “hire a head chef” before the water boiled.
Her eyes were closed when I returned to the dining room with two mugs of tea and my notebook. I watched for a moment, sure she’d dozed off, before her eyes snapped open again.
“Drink your tea, Grandma, and then maybe while I get ready for dinner service, you can go upstairs and rest.”
“I don’t need a rest.” She shook her head. “What I need is for you to go over that list of yours with me. We’ll be short-staffed for the holiday season if we don’t start hiring soon.”
