Christmas at Holiday House - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,96
or wineglass they were holding and saluted each other.
“I have one more person to thank, someone who came in at the last minute when I was at my lowest point and rescued everything. Abigail, come here, please.”
Touched and embarrassed at the same time, Abby would have preferred to slip down the hallway to her room, but she couldn’t disappoint Winnie by doing that.
She stepped forward as the Silver Belles clapped hard for her. She had come to admire and respect these women and men, who had given up their time, resources and talents for something they cared about.
“You really did save the day,” Winnie told her later when they were finally alone with Lucy in the house. “We would have had to cancel the whole thing if you hadn’t come to our rescue.”
“I seriously owe you,” Lucy chimed in. She smiled, but it didn’t come close to reaching her eyes.
Something was wrong with her friend. Abby didn’t know what, but Lucy hadn’t been herself since the night before. She had come home from the gingerbread house contest late and had barely said two or three words to them before escaping to her bedroom. She had been gone early that morning and probably would have slipped back to her bedroom if Winnie hadn’t insisted she join them for the final night of tours.
Abby wasn’t the only one who saw it. She saw Winnie give her granddaughter a worried look.
Both of them were waiting for Abby to respond, she realized. “It’s been a joy,” she finally said. “I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a holiday season more.”
“I had fun, too,” Christopher said, sporting a chocolate mustache from what was probably his third cup of cocoa for the night.
Abby couldn’t have imagined a better Christmas season for him. From tree trimming to gingerbread competitions, skiing to building snowmen. He had experienced everything she might have dreamed for her child.
“Christmas itself is going to feel anticlimactic, I’m afraid,” Abby said.
“We won’t let it,” Winnie vowed. “It will be joyful this year. Not only will I have both Ethan and Lucy to share it with me but now you and Christopher. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have a child in the house again on Christmas morning. Won’t it be wonderful, Lucy?”
Lucy jerked her attention away from the fire she had been gazing into. “Absolutely,” she said. “Completely wonderful.”
Abby wondered if her friend even knew what she was agreeing to.
“Abby and I have been working on a plan for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, just like I had for Thanksgiving. A schedule, meals, timing of things. That sort of thing. But we can save that for another night, shall we?”
Winnie yawned hugely, which made Christopher smile until his smile turned into a yawn, as well.
“I don’t know about you girls, but I’m exhausted. I feel like I showed every Coloradoan through my house.”
“Not everyone. Just most of them,” Lucy said with a smile that looked strained.
What was bothering her?
“I can help you to your room and then get Christopher settled.”
“Take care of your boy,” Winnie insisted. “I’ll be fine. I don’t need your help. We can talk more in the morning.”
“I’m helping with the wedding tomorrow, remember?” Lucy said.
Winnie looked intrigued. “Oh, yes. The Russian bride that nice boy Daniel Fox is marrying. I didn’t have a chance to ask you how things went today.”
Was the wedding the reason Lucy seemed in such an odd mood?
“Good. I met Katya’s family and helped them get settled. We then took a sleigh ride this afternoon up to the frozen waterfall. They said it reminded them of home.”
“I want to go on a sleigh ride,” Christopher said, looking enthralled at the idea.
Abby rolled her eyes. They had done every possible Christmas thing but that.
“We might be able to arrange that before you go back to Phoenix,” Winnie said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She turned back to her granddaughter. “What a lucky break for Ethan and José that you have been able to help them out with such an exciting event. I do believe that this proves my point. You’re needed here. You should think about coming home for good.”
Lucy seemed to bite her tongue. This was obviously not a new conversation between the two of them and not one Abby thought her friend would appreciate. Lucy was happiest when she was exploring new things and meeting new people.
Lucy didn’t argue with her grandmother, though. “Sleep in tomorrow. You’ve certainly earned it,” she said. “You