Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,27

Lila asked, putting her arm around her. They all stepped inside the musty cabin onto the tattered entry rug, and Piper shut the door behind them against the cold wind.

Leading Eleanor to the sofa in her living room, Lila sat down beside her. Piper and Edie sat on the other side, and Piper took Eleanor’s hand.

“My body’s failing me, and I can’t do the handiwork I used to do. I’ve paid for questionable work on this place… I had a leak in another cabin and I just closed it off. It was going to cost about seven thousand dollars to repair. Fireside Cabins are aging. I’m not getting renters anymore, except for the odd few. The last couple that came requested a refund, and I can’t blame them. I’m so sorry that I misrepresented what I had to offer.” She sniffled. “I just don’t have the money or the manpower to keep the cabins and grounds at their best, but without renters, I never will.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a painful sigh, wiping her eyes.

“What are you going to do?” Edie asked, handing her a tissue from the box on the table beside the sofa.

Eleanor blinked her tears away, dabbing under her eyes. She took in another deep breath and straightened her shoulders. “I’m going to try to find a plumber, and then I’ll see what I can do about replacing your things, Edie.” Her lip wobbled.

“Don’t worry, I can cover the cost of anything of mine that’s been ruined,” Edie said. “Let’s focus on getting the leak fixed.”

“I don’t even know what that’ll cost… And where will you sleep?”

“It’s fine,” Edie replied. “Charlotte had to leave for work, so I can have her bed.”

“We need to see if we can get a deal from a local plumber,” Piper said.

“What if we did before and after photos and I gave him free advertising? It’s what I do for a living,” Edie told Eleanor. “I could even offer him a couple of commercial television spots. I can make a few calls to people I know in the business. They’re usually fine doing a favor for me here and there.”

“The only plumber I know is Judd Johnson,” Eleanor said tearfully.

“Yes, that’s right,” Lila said. She remembered the conversation with Theo and Rex about his daddy. “He does irrigation or something, along with the farming, right?”

Eleanor nodded. “He’s got so much going on with the farm and the business already though… I don’t feel like I could ask.”

“I know someone who might,” Lila said, a pinch forming in her shoulder. “But I’m not sure if he’ll help us…”

“Who is it?” Eleanor asked, and the hope in her face sat like a cinderblock in Lila’s stomach.

“Theo from the coffee shop.” She braced herself for Piper and Edie’s eye rolls.

Eleanor grimaced. “He’s a recluse and doesn’t really mingle with the locals. I went in once and he was less than cordial.”

“Want to try to talk to him, Lila?” Piper asked.

“I can try, but I’m not promising anything.”

Eight

“Back so soon?” Theo said when Lila approached the bar, as he loaded chocolate croissants into the front window at the register. His lips were set in their usual straight line of annoyance.

“Something’s happened and I need your help,” Lila said, happy the coffee shop had emptied out. This was going to take some time, so she needed his attention. “And you don’t have to talk to me to do it.”

“What is it?” he asked, the aggravation leaving his face but his expression remaining guarded.

“You know Eleanor Finely down the road, who owns Fireside Cabins?”

He stared at her, still holding one of the croissants he was loading.

“A pipe burst in one of her cabins and she doesn’t have the money to pay a plumber. I was wondering if you could talk to Judd Johnson for me. I heard you mention that he has a plumbing business. My friend Edie would offer free PR and take before and after pictures for advertising if he’d help us.”

“I doubt pictures of a wet rug will help his commercial farming irrigation business.” His words came out harshly, but a hint of compassion showed on his face. Looking at him wrestling with his emotions, Lila wondered why he was putting up such a wall.

Her shoulders slumped. “I know Christmas might not be a big deal for you, but it’s the season of giving and I can’t bear to see Eleanor in tears like she is. I want