Christmas at Holiday House - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,61
grandmother on the cheek, then surprised Abby by kissing her, too.
When he hurried off the porch to join his crew with handshakes and smiles, she watched him for a minute, then turned to find Winnie watching her with a particular gleam in her eye.
“What?”
“Nothing,” the older woman said, her pink hair a fuzzy cloud around her head. “Nothing at all. We should probably go in out of the cold, that’s all. With all that noise out there, that boy of yours is going to be waking up. I’m surprised he’s not already up looking for you.”
She spared one more look at Ethan, who appeared to be taking complete charge of the crew. He might be a polished executive by day but it was obvious he had no problem getting his hands dirty.
She shivered a little, thinking of those hands on her the other night, then hurried inside to make a few more pancakes for Christopher and get ready for the long day ahead.
* * *
She was so busy taking care of last-minute details for the evening ahead that she didn’t have a chance to talk to Ethan until a few hours later, when she bumped into him in the kitchen, grabbing another cup of coffee.
Dirt smeared his cheek, and sawdust from the chainsaw was sprinkled over his jacket. Her hands itched to brush it away, but she managed to refrain.
He had taken his beanie off, and his hair was plastered to his head.
She found she liked this side of him as much as she liked the man who could look so gorgeous in bespoke Italian suits.
“How’s it going out there?”
“We’re making slow progress. It’s a shame about the two pine trees she lost, but I had worried about their integrity as far back as last summer. They were a bit too pampered and never put down deep enough roots. There are a couple others that lost significant limbs. The good news is, none of them caused any damage to the house or the other structures on the property.”
“Oh, good.”
“It’s a miracle actually. I don’t know quite how. As I drove here and saw some of the other damage in town, I was afraid I would show up and find the roof collapsed.”
“What a relief.”
“We’re going to try to string the lights as best we can, but it probably won’t look as good as it was originally. I’ve talked to the original company that hung them, and they’re going to come out Monday to rearrange everything. I’m afraid that’s the best I can do.”
“It’s wonderful. Thank you so much, Ethan. Seriously.”
He smiled down at her and Abby felt breathless all over again.
“We should be out of here in a few hours. That should give you plenty of time before the first guests start arriving.”
She wanted to hug him, right there in the kitchen, but Mariah Raymond walked in before she gave in to the crazy impulse.
The other woman’s gaze lit up when she caught sight of Ethan. “Mr. Lancaster. I didn’t know you were here.”
Abby was startled at the sudden burst of possessiveness she felt toward Ethan. Where had that come from?
Ethan gave Mariah a polite smile. “My crew is cleaning up the wind damage outside.”
“I saw them when I pulled up. I didn’t realize they were from Lancaster Hotels. That is so wonderful of you.”
Mariah was definitely giving him a flirtatious look. Abby drew in a breath, annoyed at herself. Mariah was her friend. What did it matter to her if Mariah was interested in Ethan or vice versa? One heated kiss didn’t mean Abby had some sort of claim on him.
She would be leaving Silver Bells soon anyway, possibly as early as next week, depending on when Lucy could make it home, which was still up in the air.
Really, when she thought of it, the two of them would be good for each other. They would make a lovely couple. Ethan was so good with children. She thought of his gentleness and kindness with Christopher when they went tubing. He would be great for Dakota.
Somehow the rationalization didn’t make her feel any better.
The two of them talked a few moments more, then Ethan set down his coffee mug and reached for his work gloves.
“I’ll see you both later.”
“Will you be here tonight for the first night of our fundraiser?” Mariah asked.
Abby expected him to say no. She would have assumed Ethan wanted to stay as faraway as possible from his grandmother and her friends.