The Christmas Inn. Stella MacLean

time for was a walk around the grounds. She jumped up, hitting her head on the sloped ceiling. “Ow!” she muttered, rubbing the spot just above her hairline.

      “That’s what you get for agreeing to stay in this room,” she said to the empty space as she bent over, searching for her hiking boots. Pulling them on, she noted how dark it was outside, only the sliver of moon peeking through the blind. She hurried downstairs and out the front door. Taking a quick look around, she spotted a stone path leading to the side of the inn. She took it, past a cluster of spreading juniper toward the back. The path led to a stone patio where someone had removed all the snow.

      Near the edge on the other side of the patio, Ethan was on his hands and knees digging in the soft loam of a flowerbed, while making loud dump-truck sounds. Squinting around the poorly lit patio space she realized the little boy was out here alone. Except for Henry, who had settled in near the patio door, his chin on his paws, one ear flopped rakishly over one eye. He observed her carefully, his ears doing a flip-flop before settling back.

      She went over and knelt down beside the boy. “Ethan, what are you doing?”

      “I drive the truck,” he announced proudly, his blue eyes taking her in, a smile dawning on his face. “I need help. You push,” he ordered, getting behind the toy dump truck loaded with dirt and giving it a shove.

      She laughed. “You want me to drive your dump truck?”

      He nodded, then stepped back and nodded his head again.

      “Okay, here goes,” she said, pushing the truck along the edge of the flowerbed toward a spot where he’d clearly dumped other loads.

      He toddled along beside her, and when she stopped he pulled the lever that raised the box on the dump truck, spilling his load onto the ground.

      He promptly got behind the truck and with a cacophony of enginelike noises he drove the truck back to the spot where she’d found him. She hugged herself against the chill of the night air. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked, noting his fleece jacket partially zippered.

      “No!” he howled, looking up at her and scrunching his tiny face. “I’m not cold.”

      “Okay. Do you want to load the dump truck again?”

      “Yes.” He began shoveling dirt into the truck with his plastic shovel, and again she wondered if anyone in the inn knew this child was out here on his own.

      “Where’s your daddy?”

      He pointed to the tall windows overlooking the patio. Inside, she could see a cluster of tables covered with white tablecloths and candles, and staff moving around the room. The room looked so inviting with its twinkling chandeliers, the golden walls and dark trim. She went to the window for a closer look, only to attract the curious attention of one of the young female servers. Embarrassed, she wiggled her fingers at her, then turned away and went back to where Ethan was busily filling the dump truck.

      “Push,” he ordered, pointing at the truck.

      Dutifully, she knelt down and pushed the truck toward the dump spot to the tune of Ethan’s squeals of delight. They dumped the dirt out together, and then Ethan turned to her, a bright smile on his face. Wrapping his arms around her neck, he hugged her.

      Startled, at first she didn’t know what to do, but feeling his arms tighten, she hugged him back. What a wonderful feeling! How she missed this now that all her nieces and nephews were older. Feeling the warmth of the little boy’s body and breathing in his little-boy scent, she felt a strong sense of missing out on life....

      He sprang out of her arms. “You help me some more?”

      “Sure. But why don’t we go inside for a bit first?” she asked, the evening air cooling rapidly.

      “No!” He pushed his lips out in a pout. “I don’t want to.”

      She had begun to shiver and tucked her chin into the top of her jacket. “But it must be time for you to eat,” she offered, hoping to encourage him to go in with her. She got up, stretched her legs and moved toward the patio doors. “Why don’t you come with me?” she asked, glancing over at the sound of the door opening. Henry barked and ambled toward the door, slipping past the man back-lit by the light of the room behind him.

      Luke Harrison stood there, his face in partial shadow. “Oh, it’s you.”

      “Yes, I went out for a walk around the property and discovered Ethan playing with his dump truck.” Why did she feel nervous? Was it the detached tone of the man’s voice? Did he think she was trying to kidnap his son?

      “One of the serving staff told me a strange woman was out here, so I came to check.”

      “I’ve been called a lot of things, but until now ‘strange’ hasn’t been one of them,” she said, making an attempt at humor. After her previous encounter she wanted to make a better impression this time around, if only to ease his concerns over her being here alone.

      Moving toward her, he chuckled, a deep, sexy sound that made her body tingle. “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re strange.”

      “That’s a relief.”

      “Thanks for being here with Ethan. I got called to the phone and meant to return sooner than this.”

      Ethan had moved to stand between them, his head tilted back, staring up at them. “He’s going to be an engineer when he grows up,” Marnie said.

      “Or a dump-truck driver.” Luke glanced down at his son, then back at her. “I want to apologize for the way I behaved when we first met, but I was concerned about whether you’d enjoy your stay here with us. I don’t normally rent that room, and certainly not on such a special occasion. How is it, by the way?”

      She remembered the bump on her head, but didn’t mention it in case he tried again to convince her to move to the Chancellor Inn. “It’s…cozy.”

      “That’s one way of describing it,” he said, picking Ethan up in his arms and nuzzling his rosy cheek. “You’re cold, little buddy.”

      “I’m hungry,” Ethan said.

      “Maybe it’s time to go inside. Want to come?” he asked her, making her feel included, part of his world.

      “Sure.” She followed them inside, and was surprised to find the lobby bustling with activity. The first seating for dinner would begin momentarily, and the bar across from the dining room was filled with guests, most of them older than she was, all of them laughing and talking together.

      Luke carried Ethan to the office and stepped back, inviting her to enter the room first. “Have you met our housekeeper, Mary?” he asked, nodding to a woman seated at a tiny desk near the back of the room.

      “Nice to meet you,” Mary said, extending her hand in welcome.

      Marnie shook hands with her. “Nice to meet you, too,” she said, taking in this woman’s open, direct smile. She liked her immediately. “I’m looking forward to my stay here. And my room is—” she let her gaze drift to Luke—and only one word came to mind “—gorgeous. Though a little small,” she added, eliciting a smile from him as he lowered Ethan to the floor.

      “I’ll take Ethan for his dinner and maybe I’ll see you later,” Mary said, giving Luke a long sideways glance before taking Ethan by the hand and leading him out.

      “I’m hungry,” Ethan announced again on his way out the door.

      “How does mac and cheese sound?” Mary asked.

      “Yes!” Ethan could be heard racing down the hall despite Mary’s warning to slow down and wait for her.

      “He’s a sweet little boy. He and I had a great time outside.”

      “Thanks again for watching him. I don’t usually leave him alone like that, especially at this time of the evening.”

      “Not a problem.