Page 76 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

Dad lifted his head and paused pouring his drink. Despite his apology, the tension between him and Rook was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Some things were going to take months to sort out, but as long as Dad showed Rook the respect he deserved, I was happy to let them work at it.

“A solution to what, exactly?”

“I’m not a businessman, but I understand that butchering that deal when construction has already begun nets a loss on both sides. So what if you didn’t close down construction so much as… adjust it?”

“Adjust it?”

I couldn’t take my eyes off them as I slid my earrings into place. Rook had already told me his idea, and I thought it was amazing. I just hoped Dad saw it the same.

“Yes. Instead of destroying the forest and ripping up the tourist trade, you could enhance it. Do you remember the outlying safe houses I got approved when I started working here? Well, on my travels before I arrived, I noticed that the forest was filled with abandoned cabins.”

Dad nodded curtly, although I could tell he wanted to bite back at thedestroying the forestcomment. “From when this used to be primarily a river-fishing town.”

“Well, you can’t bring back the fishing, but you could renovate all of those cabins. And add more. Every single one of them would make a gorgeous holiday home. I can think of countless people just all over social media who would swarm to spend a few weeks at an authentic cabin buried in the forest, yet close enough to town for necessities. You’ve already got the construction permit, and the workers and the vehicles are here. All you have to do is readjust the goals.”

Rook spoke quickly and calmly, laying out what he was thinking, and my heart swelled with pride for him. Not only was his idea amazing, but it was also nice to see him taking such an interest in the town. It must be a guy thing because it was also like he was apologizing to my dad.

Earrings in place, I slid the cool metal bracelet onto my wrist and then finally turned around. Dad’s eyes flickered to me, and they lingered for a moment until he cleared his throat.

“You know,” Dad replied, “I’d had a similar thought myself.

“Dad,” I warned. The last thing we needed was his ego getting in the way.

“Not the cabins, exactly,” Dad continued quickly. His attention shifted back to Rook. “You know, that’s quite an idea. I hadn’t given much thought to those old things.”

“Mostly because you were going to destroy them,” I muttered quietly.

“Possible,” he sighed.

“It would be one hell of a tourist injection,” Rook said. “And I’ve spent only a few months with this town and its people, but they are incredibly welcoming to guests. Placing Silver Hills back on the map as a tourist hub can only be a good thing.”

Dad drank slowly, then he nodded and approached Rook. I tensed, watching as Dad raised his arm, but thankfully, all he did was place his hand on Rook’s shoulder.

“Tell you what. Once Christmas and New Year are out of the way, we’ll take a look at those cabins. Count them, see what damage needs to be repaired, and draw up a plan.”

While Rook remained tense, his smile seemed genuine. “I look forward to it.”

“Samuel! Samuel, where are you—there you are. Stop dilly-dallying!” Mom hurried into the room, flashed me a smile, and then grabbed Dad’s hand. “The Franks are here and I am not entertaining them by myself!”

With that, she swept him out of the room, and Rook puffed out a loud sigh of relief. I laughed and took his hand.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“You have no idea,” Rook muttered.

“Men,” I groaned. “You all make things so complicated.”

“Oh, really?” Rook caught me by the waist as I stepped away and swept me back against him. “I think I’m a pretty simplistic man. Because right now, I only have one thought in my mind.”

“Does it involve me and this dress?”

“Maybe.” Rook leaned in and pressed a very gentle kiss to my lips.

“Red looks good on you, Rook,” snorted a voice, and we turned to see Melanie had joined us.

“Melanie! Oh, my God, you look gorgeous!”

She wore a floor-length, figure-hugging silver dress that shimmered like water each time she moved. Attached to one of the spaghetti straps was a carefully applied badge statingCatering, and her hair was swept up into large curls atop her head.

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