Christmas at Holiday House - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,9
November at The Lancaster Silver Bells, the crowning jewel in his family’s hotel group?
He also couldn’t forget the ugly implosion of his engagement just a month before the celebration.
“Brooke was never the right woman for you,” Winnie said. “I knew it from the beginning. The two of you never acted like an adoring couple, more like you were finalizing a pesky contract clause of some multimillion-dollar merger. You’ll find the right woman someday. A woman who can see beneath that all-business attitude to the sweet boy inside you.”
Perish the thought.
He did not want to talk about his broken engagement or his nonexistent love life with his grandmother right now.
“Get some rest. I’m going to move Abby’s car and then take off. If you need me, just call.”
“You’re coming tomorrow, right? You can’t miss Thanksgiving.”
“I’ll try. Don’t overdo.”
“When have you known me to overdo?” she asked rhetorically.
“I think we’re both too tired for me to start going through the list. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
With one more kiss on the cheek, he left the room. Abby’s door was still closed. He was glad he didn’t have to deal with this inconvenient and unwanted attraction, he told himself as he headed out into the lightly falling snow.
After moving her vehicle, he walked back out into the night and was almost to his SUV when his phone rang that he had a video call coming in. He recognized his sister’s distinctive ringtone and quickly answered just as he slipped inside the driver’s seat, out of the snow.
Bright sunlight filtered across her features and she looked to be dressed for the day. Chiang Mai was thirteen hours ahead of mountain time, which meant it must be early morning there.
“Are you furious with us?” Lucy asked.
“Why would I be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The high-handed Lancaster women are at it again, arranging things behind your back.”
He shrugged. “What else is new?”
Lucy made a face, looking more like the baby sister who used to follow him around when he would hang out with his buddies. “Don’t be mad. I know you want Winnie to move into a rehab center while she recovers, but she would have hated that so much, especially over Christmas. You know how much she loves the holidays. They’re kind of her jam.”
Anyone who had ever looked through the rooms at Holiday House would know that, since each room was packed full of Christmas-themed knickknacks.
“I’m not mad. The two of you act like I’m some kind of tyrannical monster who is going to stomp around destroying everything if I don’t get my way.”
She winced. “You know we don’t think that. You just...like to have your own way.”
Because his way was usually the right one. “I’m not completely unreasonable. I’m willing to give your friend a chance.”
“I trust her with my life. And with Winnie’s, for that matter. You won’t find anyone more compassionate or kind. Didn’t you find her nice?”
“I spoke with her for possibly five minutes total, so it’s a little soon to make a final decision on that. But, yes, she seemed nice.”
“She is. If I had the kind of hard knocks in life she’s had, I would be a bitter old crone by now, but Abby just seems to have more love to give everyone. You’ll adore her, I promise.”
Ethan was careful to keep his expression clear. “It doesn’t really matter whether I like her or not, does it? The question is whether Winnie will listen to her and take better care of herself. Our grandmother is getting older, Luce. Like it or not, she’s not as strong as she used to be. This tumble banged her up pretty good. The next one will likely be worse.”
“I know. I want her to be around forever. I know she doesn’t have that many Christmases left. That’s why I wanted her to be able to stay in her house for this one.”
“I get it. Again, I’m not completely heartless. I said I was willing to give Abby a chance. But you know as well as I do that Winnie won’t be the easiest patient. Nice or not, I hope Abby can be tough enough to stand up to her.”
* * *
After Ethan hung up, Lucy shoved her phone into the pocket of her trim sundress and opened the door to her classroom, where the students of her first class of the day were already waiting, though school didn’t start for another half hour.
“Good morning, Miss Lancaster,” they all said in perfect unison, and