But you could do good things at Lancaster Hotels, too. If you don’t want to be involved on the business side, there’s always plenty to do for our charitable arm.”
“You know I’m not very good at staying in one place.”
“I know that’s what you’ve told yourself. But how do you know? You’ve been moving around constantly since college. Think about it, okay?”
“I like my life,” she said.
“I know. But who’s to say you wouldn’t like your life as much or more if you stuck around where people love you?”
She didn’t say anything, and he could only hope that meant she was absorbing his words as she said good-night and headed for her room.
* * *
Was he gone yet?
Abby stood at the door of her room, hand on the knob as she debated whether it might be safe to go into the kitchen yet.
Before Christopher had fallen asleep, he had been almost inconsolable to realize he had left his favorite road-grader toy at the table. She had promised she would retrieve it and place it with the rest of his vehicles so he could find it first thing in the morning.
So why couldn’t she make her legs cooperate to walk into the other room?
She knew why. She wasn’t sure if Ethan was still there, and she didn’t want to run the risk of facing him again.
She was such a coward.
She hadn’t heard voices for several moments, since she had heard Lucy go down the hall to her room and her door close. A moment later she thought she heard the outside door close.
Okay. He was probably gone. She could do this. With determination, she turned the doorknob and walked out into the hallway.
The grader would probably be somewhere around the table. She flipped on the kitchen light and nearly screamed when a dark figure appeared in the doorway leading to the great room.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Ethan said.
She willed her suddenly racing heart to calm down. “I didn’t expect to see you. I thought I heard the outside door.”
He gave her a long look, and she wondered if he could guess she had been avoiding him.
“I started to head out but then remembered that earlier today Winnie asked me to check on an electrical problem in one of the rooms on the second floor. I came back in like the dutiful grandson I am, then realized she didn’t tell me which room. I was debating either trying them all or forgetting the whole thing. You don’t know what she was talking about, do you?”
She could almost breathe normally again. “Yes. The power in the angel room keeps tripping. Every time it does, we have to reset the fuse in there. I wonder if it’s an issue with too many Christmas lights overloading the circuit.”
“That’s a possibility. The electrical lines in this house were all upgraded during the previous renovation but can still cause issues. It could be a fire hazard. I better take a look. It might be a two-person job. Want to give me a hand?”
“I... Sure.”
She didn’t. She wanted to rush back into her room and shut the door. But she wasn’t a complete coward. She could do this.
She followed him to the great room. The Christmas tree they had decorated, on a timer until midnight, still glowed merrily.
She couldn’t help thinking about the first time he had kissed her.
“It looks pretty good from up here, doesn’t it?” Ethan said as they reached the landing to the second floor.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Wonderful. I’ve never seen a prettier tree. Some nights I like to come in here by myself and just sit here with the fire in the hearth and the snow falling outside. I find great peace here.”
He smiled a little. “I can see why. I could use a little peace. Maybe I need to sneak over in the middle of the night to follow your example.”
“I’m sure Winnie would welcome you, as long as you gave her a little warning first.”
“Right. I would have to tell her in advance or she would probably clobber me with the Tongan war club she keeps by the side of her bed.”
“Her what now?”
He laughed. “You haven’t seen her war club?”
“I can’t say that I have. Why does your grandmother have a Tongan war club?”
“She picked it up at an estate sale somewhere because she liked the carving. She didn’t pay much, but a friend who collects antiques persuaded her it might be worth something so she