One Snowy Night (Sweet Home, Alaska #1) - Patience Griffin Page 0,71

up with your baby daddy.” Izzie grinned. “Who better than her father to help your daughter with her drinking problem?”

Chapter 14

DONOVAN SCRATCHED BOOMER behind the ears while he sat in the old recliner. There was nothing like the unconditional love of a dog to soften his troubles.

“So the town council has demanded the impossible,” Rick said. “We’re smart guys. We’ll figure out how to get six to eight months’ worth of work done in seven weeks.” He flipped open his laptop. “We’ll start from scratch. You know how much I dig Gantt charts.”

“Freak,” Donovan kidded him. He set Boomer on the floor and went to the dining room table to join his friend.

“We all have our thing. Mine just happens to be spreadsheets,” Rick said, not offended at all. “I think you’re the freak because you’re all about coding.”

But no computer code was going to fix this mess or carve an escape hatch into the wall Donovan had been backed into. Maybe rebooting the Christmas Festival’s Wines of Alaska was a dumb idea and he should cut his losses. Hope certainly thought so. She would probably be happier if he just winterized the lodge and left town until spring, when he could put it on the market.

“What should we tackle first?” Donovan asked.

“Open up the pictures you and Courtney took of the hardware store and show me what needs to be done. Tomorrow, I’ll drive into town and take a look myself. With Sparkle as my tour guide, of course.”

“Of course.” Donovan stared at him for a long moment. “I have to say that I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I know. I’m besotted.”

“I can’t believe you used that word. You’re sounding like a girl.”

Rick shrugged, not threatened. “I’m feeling like a man who’s found his one and only. And you?”

“Let’s get down to work.”

They stayed up half the night, drinking coffee and planning, but the deadline was still out of reach.

“There’s no way we can get it done,” Donovan concluded. “Even with the four of us—you, Sparkle, Hope, and myself—working twenty-four hours a day.

Rick glanced up from his laptop. “We will. I’ll hire workers in Anchorage or whatever big city is the closest.”

Donovan shook his head. “But how are you going to get them here on such short notice? According to your Gantt chart, you needed a crew here four weeks ago.” Donovan felt defeated.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of the details. The good news is that you know how to swing a hammer. I bet Hope and Sparkle do, too.” He held up his hands. “I’m much better at typing but I’ll do what I can. You go to bed. I’ll stay up a while longer and order supplies.”

“I can help with that,” Donovan said.

“No. Sleeping Beauty is getting cranky and should get some rest.” Rick gave him a concerned look. “I promise it’s all going to work out.”

“I doubt it.” Donovan pushed back his chair. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” He grabbed Boomer and headed upstairs.

Once he got to the top landing, he glanced at Hope’s door for a second longer than he should’ve. He couldn’t believe the crazy mess that had brought her here but was glad that she was. He went to his room and settled Boomer at the end of his bed. But when he lay down and stretched out, he couldn’t sleep for thinking about the impossible deadline. Or was it the four cups of coffee keeping him awake. Or it might be that his houseguests—Hope and his daughter—were sleeping soundly across the hall. Like a strong wave taking him unaware, he was hit all over again. He and Hope had a daughter! The thought was overwhelming, yet he was pleased to no end. Ella was a mixture of energy, sass, angst, and joy, especially when she played with Boomer. She reminded him of his grandmother. Of Hope. Of Beau. And the best of him. God had dropped a miracle in his lap and Donovan was grateful.

Yet he was aware that if he hadn’t come back to Sweet Home, he might never have known about Ella. Anger at Hope welled up again. But Father Mike had said not to expect forgiveness to be a one-and-done. Forgiveness was a process. Which required patience and lots of practice. The payoff was relief from the pain of the past.

Donovan finally dozed for a couple of hours before his alarm went off. He was so wiped out he was sure no amount of coffee