Page 8 of Home for Christmas in July

“Griselda,” Holly says, “I want you to meet my cousins, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme Field.”

“What, no Parsley?” The fitness instructor cracks, and I can tell by the women’s faces that it’s not the first or even thousandth time they’ve heard that joke.

“Parsley’s the cat,” the blonde says. “I’m Rosemary.”

“This is Griselda Alexander,” Holly continues. “She’s the town’s fantastic fitness diva.”

Griselda smiles and doesn’t bother to be humble. “How nice that your cousins are visiting.”

“Yeah, they’re here to help with the Christmas in July open house. We had to stop in because Thyme is a yoga and Pilates instructor and personal trainer in New York City.”

Griselda eyes the willowy brunette who Holly’s pointing to. Judging by her expression, she’s giving Thyme a quick professional assessment. “Where did you train?”

“Oh, I was a psychology major in college, and I read this study about how yoga and meditation can help so much with stress. So I took a yoga class, mainly out of curiosity. I loved it, so after a while, I got my instructor’s certificate. Just for fun, really. Eventually, I started taking Pilates, and one thing led to another.”

Griselda meets this pat explanation with an arched eyebrow. “Really? You fell into a career as a personal trainer?”

The middle sister, Sage, pipes up. “Well, Thyme’s leaving out the part where our parents owed a loan shark a half-million dollars, put up the family business as collateral, and skipped town. So the three of us had to find a way to make a lot of money, fast. Thyme dropped out and started working as a personal fitness instructor for a very famous media mogul. Like, you’d know her name.”

Thyme gives her sister a look before chirping, “Anyway,this studio looks like so much fun. My cousins were telling me you offer loads of unusual classes. I’d love to do one while we’re in town if I have time.”

Holly and Rosemary say in unison, “We won’t.”

I peg Rosemary as the eldest sister of the cousins.

“We’re going to be very busy,” Holly explains.

Merry frowns. “I think Thyme knows how much goes into event planning, Holly. I mean, sheisa hospitality professional.”

Ivy turns to us, “Thyme basically runs the Resort by the Sea, the inn their parents handed over to them. The resort’s in New Jersey, so she oversees things from Manhattan.”

“That’s convenient,” I say.

“Oh my goodness,” Ivy’s eyes go wide. “We didn’t introduce you. I’m so sorry. This is Noelle Winters. She’s our town librarian. And she was Mom’s best friend.” At the mention of Carol, everyone’s smile dims a bit.

“She’s good friends with Dad, too,” Merry adds.

While I’m wondering exactly what she means bythat, Griselda starts yapping.

“Yes, she and your father were just?—”

Before Griselda can dime Nick out for hiding in the closet, I bring my tennis shoe-clad foot down on her bare one.

“Ouch! Winters!” she barks.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Griselda. I’m such a klutz.” I fake a sheepish smile.

“Tell me something new,” she grumbles.

I ignore that and turn back to the visitors. “I’m so glad you’re here to help your cousins.” Then I glance at Holly, Ivy, and Merry. “My offer stands. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“We will,” Holly promises. “But, between the six of us, we should have it covered.”

Ivy jumps in. “Oh, but you should come over to the inn for afternoon tea one day this week, Noelle. Rosemary’s husband is a homicide detective in Los Angeles. We know how you love murder mysteries. She could probably tell you some wild stories.”

My eyes light up. “Really?”

Sage laughs. “Not just Rosie. We’ve all been involved in some … crime dramas.”

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