James couldn’t help smiling at the mention of his daughter. It had been Brooke who was responsible for James and Olivia meeting. “No one’s like Brooke,” he said proudly.
“She is one of a kind, just like her daddy.”
James, who had spent most of his life playing Santa Claus, was as close to the real deal as a man could come. With his snowy white hair and beard, husky build and caring smile, he embodied the very spirit of Christmas.
“Thank you, my dear,” he said and gave her poor, tired foot a pat. “But, getting back to the subject of Meadow, I’m sure she has many redeeming qualities. All you have to do is look for them.”
“With a magnifying glass.”
“Olivia,” he gently chided.
“You’re right. I’m just having such a hard time warming to the girl.”
“I know. But this is the woman Brandon has chosen.”
Olivia sighed. “Yes, and you’re right. I need to make more of an effort for his sake.”
And she would. Tomorrow was another day.
Another busy day. They’d be decorating the lodge for the holidays. Meadow had been excited over the prospect and assured Olivia she loved to decorate. Hopefully, she’d be better at that than she was at helping serve food. And maybe this time she wouldn’t ditch them halfway through the job.
The next morning Eric was knocking on the door of Olivia’s little apartment in the lodge. “We ready to do this?” he asked James.
“Yep. Let’s start hauling up the holidays.”
And there was plenty to haul up from the huge basement storeroom where Olivia kept the holiday decorations—ornaments to go on the eight-foot noble fir they’d purchased for one corner of the lobby, as well as ones for the tree in the dining room, snow globes and red ribbons for the fireplace mantel and, of course, the antique sleigh that would sit right in the center of the lobby. It was a favorite with their guests and people were constantly taking pictures of it. There were stuffed teddy bears and antique dolls to ride in the sleigh, mistletoe to hang in the hallways and silk poinsettias to be placed on the reception desk. Decorating the inn was an all-hands-on-deck day.
“Where’s your brother?” Olivia asked as he set down the box of toys for the sleigh.
“He’s coming. Meadow’s just now getting up. They closed down The Man Cave last night and she’s pooped.”
So, she’d recovered from her earlier illness. How convenient. “Maybe she’s too tired to help,” Olivia said hopefully. Playing pool all night could be exhausting.
No such luck. Fifteen minutes later Olivia and Brooke were sorting through the first bin of decorations when Meadow dragged herself into the lobby accompanied by Brandon. She was wearing tight ripped jeans, complemented with a sheer blouse hanging loose over a low-cut red camisole that perfectly matched the patch of hair she’d dyed red. The rest was a color of blond that made Olivia think of light bulbs. Olivia could see the butterfly tattoo Meadow had over her right breast fluttering over the top of the camisole. Her holiday look was completed with a ring through her nose and one through her eyebrow. She made a shocking contrast to Brooke, with her soft brown hair and tasteful clothes. Now almost eight months pregnant, Brooke was wearing a long gray sweater accented with a blue silk scarf over her black maternity leggings and gray ankle boots. Meadow even looked like a total mismatch with Brandon, who was in jeans and a casual button-down black plaid shirt.
“I feel like shit,” she confessed. “I think those fish tacos were off.” She shook her head. “Now I know what they mean when they say ‘toss your tacos.’”
The queen of refinement this girl was not. To think Brandon could have had sweet little Bailey Black if only he’d gotten with the program. Bailey had carried a torch for him for years. Too late now. She was happily married. And Brandon was...trapped. So were the rest of them.
You’re going to have to make the best of it, Olivia reminded herself. Her son loved his new wife. He’d obviously seen something in her. She probably would, too. If she looked harder.
James and Eric arrived in the lobby, bearing more decorations. “You’re just in time,” Eric told his brother. “You can help me haul in the sleigh.”
Brandon nodded and followed the men back out.
Olivia pasted a smile on her face. “Well, girls, let’s get started.”
“All right. This is going to be fun,” Meadow said eagerly and opened a bin.
Eager and excited to help—that was commendable. And surely this was bound to go better than Thanksgiving dinner.
Meadow pulled out a pink ribbon ball holding a sprig of silk mistletoe and made a face. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s mistletoe,” Olivia explained.
“Mistletoe.” Meadow said it as if it were a foreign language.
“You’ve heard of mistletoe, right?” Brooke prompted and Meadow shook her head.
Both Olivia and Brooke stared at her in amazement.
“So, what is it?”
“You hang it up and then when you catch someone under it, you kiss him,” Brooke explained.
Meadow shook her head. “Why do you need a plant for that? If you want to kiss a guy, just kiss him!”
Good Lord. The child was a complete philistine.
Brooke smiled. “It’s a fun little tradition people enjoy.”
“Whatever,” Meadow said, unimpressed.
She was impressed with the sleigh, though. “Wow, that’s epic.” The minute the men had set it down, she climbed into it and tossed Brandon her cell phone. “Take my picture, babe,” she commanded and struck a rapper-girl pose, complete with the weird finger thing and the pout.
An older couple was walking through the lobby, and the husband stopped to enjoy the moment. “Now, there’s my kind of Christmas present,” he joked.
His wife, not seeing the humor, grabbed his arm and got him moving again. “Tacky,” she hissed.
Meadow flipped her off and Olivia’s cheeks heated. This girl was like a puzzle piece that had wound up in the wrong box. However were they going to get her to fit in?
Dear Santa, please bring me an extra dose of patience. I’m going to need it.
* * *
Sienna was still smiling when she went into work on Friday, remembering her fun evening of feasting, laughter and dancing. While the day had gotten off to a bad start, happily, it had ended on a positive note. And now she got to go to a job she loved. She had so much fun at Mountain Escape Books that her time there never felt like work, even when things were at their busiest.
The store was especially busy this day. In addition to shoppers enjoying Black Friday bargains, Muriel Sterling was there, signing copies of her newest book, A Guide to Happy Holidays.
Sienna took advantage of her employee discount and bought one. “I hope I can write a book someday,” she confessed to Muriel. I want to be just like you when I grow up. Gush, gush.
“We all have a story to tell,” Muriel said.
“I don’t know what mine would be.”
“You have lots of time to figure it out,” Muriel assured her. “You’re still young.”
“I keep telling Muriel to write a book about Icicle Falls,” said Pat, who was stacking more books on the table where Muriel was seated. “Maybe you’ll be the one to do