Page 14 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

Immediately, I understood her hesitation. The security risk of such an event being held here when threats had been madeagainst Mayor Morgan and his family was huge. I tensed my jaw, sinking my teeth into my tongue as I mulled it over.

“How set is she on having the ball here?”

Kitty clasped her hands together as she pushed off the pillar. “Set enough that she’s already called the old venue and canceled.”

Shit.

“Please tell me it’s doable,” Kitty said, stepping closer to me. “I know it’s sudden and Christmas is literally around the corner, so the planning is going to be insane, but it’s doable, right?”

How could I say no when she was looking up at me with those gorgeous doe eyes? “Have you spoken to Anders?”

“No,” Kitty replied slowly, and her gaze turned shifty. “I came to you first.”

Then it clicked. “You think I can persuade Anders to let this happen?”

“Yes!” Kitty smiled widely. “I mean, you’re scarier than him, and Anders always looks at you like he thinks you’re going to eat him. This is really important to me and the town, so if you can get him to say yes, then we can have it here and you can all do whatever it is you do to make sure this place is safe!”

“Kitty, do you understand how dangerous this could be? Hosting a ball at a venue is one thing because there’s less room, less risk, and we plan escape routes. Inviting people into your home?—”

“When people are sending death threats, yes, I know,” Kitty cut in, grasping my arm. “But having it here means people in town don’t need to travel, and then maybe Dad can finally see the damage he is doing. Surely, you have people you can call, other soldiers or something who can help?”

“Kitty. I’m here for you. I’m hired to protect you.” As I spoke, her smile vanished and I could see her deflate before my eyes. Ididn’t have the heart to disappoint her. “But I will talk to Anders and I will tell him plans have been changed.”

“Really?” That smile was back instantly, and she grabbed my arm, sending light shocks through my body. “Rook, you are amazing. This is going to be amazing!”

With that, she turned and hurried back into the art room where her mother’s squeals of delight mingled with hers. Affectionately rolling my eyes, I sent a quick message to Anders.

He met me in the kitchen while dinner was being served and frowned the moment he laid eyes on me.

“What’s so damn important?”

He’d been bristly toward me ever since I arrived. I suspected it was because he thought my presence meant the mayor thought he wasn’t doing a good enough job with security, and I didn’t care enough to correct him.

“Mrs. Morgan has had a change of heart about the venue for the ball.”

“What?” Anders’s frown deepened. “I’ve been working on that security plan for months. Why the hell is she changing it now?”

“She’s going in a whole other direction. It’s being hosted here now.”

Anders could have been knocked down with a feather. “You’re joking.”

“Nope. In the back ballroom. There’s a surveyor coming tomorrow to make sure the room is safe to house the increased guest list?—”

“Increased guest list? The fuck is going on? We can’t have it here. At a glance, the security risks are insane, and on top of all the people who have it out for the mayor?”

“Look, all I’m doing is passing on the change of venue, okay? The rest is up to you.” I shrugged one shoulder. “You’ve got teams you can call, surely. And the people protecting the venuecan be retrained here. Keep everyone on the lower floors. Use the back entrance to let everyone in so they don’t come through the house.”

Anders shot me a glare. “It ain’t that easy.”

“Isn’t it? I came up with all of that within ten minutes of checking out the ballroom. With three and a half weeks, I’m sure you can work some magic.”

“Listen here, you—” Anders was cut off by his radio clicking to life, and a fuzzy voice bled through, demanding his presence in the dining room. With a grunt, he hurried off, and I followed since the tone of voice from the radio sounded desperate.

We rushed inside to see Kitty standing with her arms around her mother. She was crying quietly into a napkin while Samuel paced back and forth along the row of chairs.

As soon as he saw us, he thrust his phone into Anders’s hands. “What the fuck is this?”

Anders looked down at the phone and, over his shoulder, I quickly read the email on the screen. It was like several other emails that had come through in the past few months threatening to burn the manor down with everyone inside if Samuel didn’t back down on the deal. The difference this time was that the threat also included details of a meeting Samuel was set to have in a few days, complete with a detailed threat about what would happen if the meeting didn’t call off the highway construction.

---