matter-of-fact tone. “Can’t I stay up until the people go home?”
“This was the last tour for the night, honey. But guess what? They’ll happen again tomorrow. We get to do it all over again.”
“Can I have four more cookies tomorrow?”
She smiled and shook her head. “With all these cookies every night, we’re both going to be as big as a barn. We won’t be able to fit into our car to drive back to Arizona.”
Ethan didn’t like the reminder that they would be leaving soon and neither did Christopher, at least judging by his sudden scowl.
Abby ignored her son’s expression. “Come on. Time for a bath and then bed.”
Christopher cocked his head, looking crafty suddenly. “Can Ethan read me my story?”
“Me?”
The boy nodded. “We’re reading all the Christmas stories. Winnie told me some of them were yours and my friend Lucy’s.”
“That’s right. Lucy is my sister.”
“I like all your stories. You can even pick what we read.”
Abby didn’t look thrilled at that idea. “Honey, Ethan has been here all evening after working all day out in Winnie’s yard after the storm. I bet he would like to go home today. Maybe he can read to you another night.”
“I don’t mind,” Ethan said quickly.
“Yay! I’ll get into my pajamas fast.” He raced off in a blur.
Abby sighed. “You really don’t have to read to him. He will understand if you change your mind and decide to go home.”
“Why are you so convinced I don’t want to do things? First drying the dishes, now reading to Christopher. You might be surprised at the many things I can accomplish in a day.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised at all. But most of those likely don’t include indulging a boy you hardly know. You’re the CEO of Lancaster Hotels. No doubt you pay people to tell other people to tell other people to do things like dry the dishes.”
Did she hold his job against him? He couldn’t tell by her tone. “I learned early that I can’t ask anybody who works for me to do something I’m not willing to do myself. I’ve worked in all areas of the hotel, including spending a few days in housekeeping. It makes good business sense. I ask everyone in management to be familiar with everyone else’s job. How can I expect them to know how to manage people if they don’t know what benefit those people provide to the company?”
“That sounds like a smart business model. I wish more hospital administrators could work with patients for a day so they could remember our job isn’t about counting tongue depressors but about helping people heal.”
He would like to see her in action. Judging by the care she took of Winnie, he could only surmise that Abby Powell was a dedicated, passionate nurse.
Before he could say so, Christopher barreled back into the kitchen holding a stack of books. “I washed my face and brushed my teeth and I’m all ready for a story now.”
Ethan tousled his hair, looking forward to the next few minutes more than he had anything else all day.
“Great. Lead the way.”
* * *
Abby stood in the doorway of Christopher’s bedroom, listening to Ethan reading in an animated voice one of their own books, one of Christopher’s favorites, about a reindeer named Snowball who ended up saving Christmas.
Who would have guessed that a busy, important executive like Ethan could be so patient with a little boy who was well on his way to developing hero worship for him?
She thought of her impression of Ethan the first time they had met—of an arrogant, hard man who wanted to put his grandmother into assisted living for his own convenience.
First impressions rarely showed the entire picture, which seemed to be an important life lesson she needed to learn over and over again.
During the past few weeks, she had discovered that Ethan was a man of strength and character who cared about his family, his business, his community.
She was fiercely drawn to him, though she knew it was foolish and she was bound to get her heart broken.
“‘Christmas bells rang out through the night, pure and sweet. In the reindeer barn beneath the brightest star, Snowball stretched out in the hay and finally closed his eyes and let the bells sing him to sleep, knowing he had helped the world find peace.’”
“The end,” Christopher said sleepily.
“The end,” Ethan agreed, closing the book. “That’s a great story.”
“It’s my favorite. I like all the Snowball books. And the movie. Maybe you could read me