Page 6 of Stranded in A Small Town Christmas
Donovan
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Even with the Jeep’s wipers struggling to keep the windshield free of the sleet and freezing rain coming down, it looks like Natalie’s driven us to the set of one of those Christmas romance movies my mom and Judy love to watch. They have special coffee mugs and blankets and everything.
They’d certainly love this place. Snow-covered wreaths hanging on every pole. Christmas lights draping from every eave and framing every window. Many of those windows also have electric candles glowing behind the glass, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the town of Charming Lake piped Christmas carols out through hidden speakers.
“I should warn you there might be a lot of people at the inn when we get there,” she says, pulling my attention away from the live-action Christmas card I’m suddenly a part of. “Not regular guests because we’re more of a summer town, but the entire family gathers there when something’s going on, like preparing for the Christmas parade.”
“So that inn is full of your family members right now?” I’ve watched enough Christmas comedies with my mom to know an entire family gathered under one roof for the holidays will inevitably be a disaster. I’m too tired to be collateral damage in a festive family feud.
“It is. We mostly like each other, though, so it’s not as bad as it sounds. Aunt Marilyn can be a little high maintenance, but she’s who I was dropping off at the airport.”
“Do you live in it full time?” What I really want to know is if she has a husband—despite the lack of a wedding ring—or a boyfriend, but asking might cause her to think I’m interested in her. Which I am, but I don’t want her to know that.
“Yes, I have a room on the third floor. There are four guest rooms on the second floor and one that’s handicap accessible on the first floor. My Nana Jo is staying in that one this weekend.”
“Does anybody else live there?”
She laughs, shaking her head. “I’m the youngest of four. After my brother and my sisters moved out, my parents realized they really hate stairs, and they bought a little ranch on the edge of town before I could move out. Last one standing stays.”
“Did they ask you first?”
“They didn’t have to. I’ve wanted to run the inn since I was a little girl. I even had my own stool behind the reception desk back when I was too short to see over it.”
Interesting. I couldn’t wait to get out of the small town where I was born and raised. Of course, I didn’t grow up in a charming inn in a charming town on a charming lake. I’m from a mill town with a long-closed mill where there was very little money and not a lot of charm. Most of the residents lived there because they couldn’t afford to leave.
“Keep your fingers crossed we make it up the driveway,” she says, waving her hands at an enormous Queen Anne house on a hill overlooking the lake. I’ve spent time in the Hamptons because that’s where the summer schmoozing takes place, and this house would almost rival the estate homes there.
I know the Charming Inn probably got its name from being located in the town of Charming Lake, but I have to admit charming’s a good word to describe it.
Twinkling white lights are strung along the eaves of the porch that wraps around the front and there’s an electric candle glowing in every window, of course. Green garland accented with white lights is looped around the railings of the porch, including the built-in gazebo on the corner, and climbs the supports. A matching wreath graces the door, and the look is welcoming and elegant.
Adding a festive splash of color is a very tall tree in the front yard wrapped in traditional, multicolored Christmas lights.
I don’t allow myself to close my eyes or dig my fingernails into the top of the Jeep’s door panel as Natalie finesses the vehicle up the untreated drive. I’m not an anxious person by nature, but I’m usually in the backseat of a very large SUV, staring at my phone. Being in the front seat of a small Jeep in a winter storm is hell on the nerves.
When she pulls into a parking spot reserved by a sign proclaiming it’s for the employee of the month, I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“Employee of the month, huh?”
Natalie laughs. “Yup. For the eighty-third or fourth month in a row.”
She hasn’t turned off the ignition yet and I don’t really care if she does. Now that we’re off the roads and safe, I’m in no hurry to go inside. I’d rather sit in the warm Jeep, alone with Natalie.
I don’t understand what’s happening. Now that we’re here, I should call the airport to see if they’ve found my briefcase. The time between putting the case under the seat and now is the longest I’ve gone without checking my phone for potential business fires since my first smartphone, and I should be twitching with the need to touch base with my email account. I need to confirm my mom and Judy have returned to the resort safely. I need to regain some semblance of control.
But my muscles have relaxed. I’m calm. And with the twinkling lights reflecting in Natalie’s eyes, that drive to work—to push and grind and never let up—seems to have abandoned me for the moment.
Maybe under some other circumstances, I’d be tempted to lean in. To touch her hand and deepen the connection between us. When the time was right, I’d kiss her and free her hair so I could bury my fingers in it.
But the connection’s all in my head. The only thing this woman wants from me is one hundred thousand dollars, and I can’t let myself forget that.
Chapter Five
Natalie
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