Christmas In Icicle Falls. Sheila Roberts

      He was right. Olivia would do better. She’d try harder. “Maybe Meadow would like to help with breakfast. We only have a few guests checking in later today, so tomorrow will be easy.”

      “Good idea,” he said, grinning.

      That settled it, then. “Tell her to be in the kitchen tomorrow at six.”

      “How about you tell her?”

      After that moment in the lobby Olivia wasn’t particularly excited about facing her daughter-in-law, but she nodded. “All right.”

      She didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome when she went to her son’s little suite at the opposite end of the lodge. The look Meadow gave her shot her back to an incident in her childhood when she and a friend had snubbed another little girl on the playground at lunch. The hurt had come off the child in waves and Olivia hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything the teacher said the whole rest of the afternoon. Those same waves were coming at her now.

      “May I come in?” she asked.

      Meadow nodded and moved aside, opening the door farther.

      Olivia stepped in. The TV was on. Dr. Phil was working with a dysfunctional family. Olivia could almost hear him saying, You’re next, Mrs. Claussen. She cleared her throat. “Meadow, I’m sorry I didn’t think to invite you to come shopping with me today.” And sorry I didn’t want to think to!

      Meadow studied the roses on the carpet. “It’s okay.”

      Of course, it wasn’t, and the fact that Meadow was so quick to forgive only shone a spotlight on Olivia’s lack of kindness. “Maybe we can fit in an outing, just the two of us.” Penance.

      Meadow’s gaze lifted and the gratitude Olivia saw in her daughter-in-law’s eyes made her feel small. “Yeah?”

      “Yes. Meanwhile, I could use some help at breakfast tomorrow. Would you be up for that?”

      The girl was beaming now. “Sure. What time?”

      “We start serving at seven, so I need you in the kitchen at six.”

      Meadow’s eyebrows shot up. “Six?”

      “If that’s too early for you...” I’ll be off the hook.

      “No, I can do that,” Meadow said gamely. “I’ll tell Brandon we have to wait and go night skiing.”

      “Oh, if you had plans...”

      “No, no. I’ll be there.”

      “Are you sure? Because if you’re already busy...”

      “I can change my plans. Really. I want to help.”

      Olivia smiled weakly and tried not to think about the so-called help Meadow had been with the Thanksgiving Day meal. Well, they weren’t serving gravy at breakfast, so maybe it would be okay.

      “If you’re sure,” she said in a last-ditch effort to give Meadow an out.

      Except the one she was trying to give an out was herself. Once more that spotlight exposed Olivia’s own ignoble attitude. Who was the real ugly tree here?

      “Oh, yeah,” Meadow said, still smiling. “I’m sure.”

      Okay, the girl did seem to have a good heart. “Wonderful,” Olivia said. And darn it all, she was determined to mean it.