One Snowy Night (Sweet Home, Alaska #1) - Patience Griffin Page 0,47
the door wide and Courtney glided in. He didn’t wait for Hope to come to the door, but left it open a crack.
Courtney had made her way into the dining room and was spreading tile samples out on the table. She looked over her shoulder at him. “When I was in Fairbanks, I picked these up for you.” She smiled as if she’d done him a favor. “I thought we could get started on the floor right away.”
Hadn’t he covered this with her already? He didn’t want her help decorating.
Before he could answer, the front door creaked open and Hope stood there, frowning at the sight of him leaning over Courtney’s shoulder.
Hope had no smile for him. Nor was she dressed to the nines like Courtney in a winter-white coat and a blood-red dress underneath. Hope had on jeans, a secondhand-looking brown parka, and of course, her wary stare.
“Hey, Hope,” Courtney said brightly. “What brings you out to the lodge?”
Hope’s lips formed into a straight line as her eyes flashed murder at him. Finally, she spoke. “I’m the new housekeeper.”
He had to give her points for owning it. “Why don’t you start on Monday?” Donovan wasn’t completely insensitive.
“I’m already here.”
“What about the Hungry Bear?” Courtney said. “Are you just working here at the lodge for extra cash?”
Hope grunted noncommittally and then said to Donovan, “Where am I starting? Do you have a list of what you want me to do?”
Donovan ignored the list on the counter. “Give me a minute, Courtney. I want to get Hope started and then I’ll be right back.”
He left both women standing in their corners—so to speak—as he rushed to the utility closet and pulled out all the cleaning supplies he’d bought, including a bucket and a wet-dry mop.
As he walked back toward Hope, he felt sorry for her. She was acting brave and stoic, but it had to be humiliating to have Courtney witness her relative downfall.
He handed Hope the wet-dry mop. “You’re going to start in Wandering Moose Cabin.” He slipped out of his moccasins and started pulling on his boots.
Without waiting, Hope turned for the door.
“See you later, Hope,” Courtney said cheerfully. She had a lot more to be cheerful about than Hope. Courtney wasn’t going to have to pull down cobwebs, mop floors, and swab toilets.
Hope just gave a wave as she walked out the door.
When Donovan caught up to her he said, “I didn’t know Courtney was coming by.” He didn’t owe Hope an explanation, yet he kept going. “She just showed up out of the blue.”
“Sure.” Hope didn’t say it sarcastically, but he wouldn’t blame her if she had. It seemed too coincidental for Courtney to be there, even to him.
“She brought tile for me to look at,” he added.
“Oh, then you did find an interior decorator. Good for you.” She patted him on the arm, this time being sardonic.
“No.” He rolled his eyes, trying not to let it register that Hope had touched him. Through his coat, he could still feel the weight of her hand. “Courtney’s okay, but she’s the last person I’d want to decorate the lodge.”
When was the last time Hope had touched him? He pushed the thought from his mind. Shoved it hard . . . like thinking about Hope’s touch could be contagious.
They’d made it to Wandering Moose Cabin. The tiny porch was rotted, more so than the back porch of the lodge. “Be careful.” And to make sure, he took Hope’s elbow to keep her from falling through the steps.
She looked up at him, clearly insulted. “I’m not an invalid.”
“I know. I’m just not sure what the insurance covers.” Which was something he’d better find out.
He pried open the scratched and broken door, then went in first in case something was waiting for them. “Well, here it is.”
The place was in utter disarray. The beds were tossed and the table toppled as if Papa Bear had been there, something he’d have to ask Mr. Brewster about. Everything was coated in dust, a broken window let in the cold October weather, and there was a hole in the floor where animals had certainly crawled through. The bear probably scared them away. This was too much for Hope to handle on her own, something he should’ve bothered to check sooner. The structure seemed sound, but the place needed a lot of work. He would have to hire a professional to put the cabin back to rights.