Page 12 of Take Me Home for Christmas

“Don’t tell me they ran out of coffee at the inn?”

West’s smirk seemed to grow. “No. I enjoyed my first two cups of Lois’ coffee very early this morning. I thought I’d pop into town and meet the sorceress who whips up this delicious brew.”

He winked at someone beyond Hayden’s shoulder, presumably Lois. Hayden’s annoyance grew.

“Well then, you should be well-caffeinated and ready to work.”

West tapped his fingers on the laptop case on the table. “I do some of my best writing in quaint places like this one.”

Hayden suppressed a growl. No wonder Elle had lost her temper with the guy yesterday. West wasn’t going to goad him into something, though. That wouldn’t help Elle. He adjusted the campaign hat on his head and gave the man a half-hearted salute.

“I’ll let you get to it.”

“Oh, I plan to, deputy. But first, I’m going to mosey next door and sign up for that gingerbread house-making contest.”

“You’ll need a partner, Mr. West.” Lois eyed the man hopefully.

“I’ve already paired up with someone, my dear. But being new in town, I could use some folks in my cheering section. Can I count on you?”

The normally stoic barista nearly swooned when West launched a smile at her. The muffin Hayden had just devoured threatened to work its way back up. He needed to get away from the guy.

“Have a nice day, Mr. West,” he said as he pushed open the door.

“I’ll see you at the Turkey Trot tomorrow, I presume,” West said. “It’s a good thing I brought my running shoes.”

It’s on.

He didn’t trust his words right now, so he simply nodded and hurried out of the coffee shop.

ChapterFour

Elle stormedinto the kitchen of the inn. “Where is he?”

The three women working at various stations in the big room turned to stare at her.

“Elle! You made it home after all.” Lori, her sister-in-law, wiped her flour-stained hands on a dish towel as she waddled over to hug Elle. “Pardon my baby bump,” she said with a laugh. “Miles says I’m growing a humpback whale.”

“It’s better than the kickboxer this little girl was.” Her other sister-in-law, Ginger, bent down to kiss the head of the adorable baby girl fast asleep in a bouncy seat on top of the table.

Elle did the same, inhaling her niece’s perfect baby scent and feeling it calm her nerves a bit before she embraced Ginger.

“Where is who?” her mother asked coyly because there was no way she didn’t know the “he” Elle was referring to.

“West,” Elle bit out. “He’s not in the study.”

“Oh,” both her sisters-in-law cooed in unison.

“He’s kind of dreamy,” Lori remarked, “in a rugged, tortured-soul kind of way.”

“Mm-hmm,” Ginger agreed. “And that voice. So smooth. I can’t believe he’ll be around for the holidays.”

Elle coughed to cover the disgusted sound that threatened to escape. “He sent me on a wild goose chase for a specific brand of pencils.” She waved her hand, holding the neatly sharpened lead. “All so he could pull a Houdini on me.”

Her mother had the nerve to laugh. “I doubt it’s anything that nefarious. He mentioned something about the smells from the kitchen torturing him while he worked. He decided to walk into town to find a place to write that was—how did he put it?” She snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah,less dangerous to his senses.”

“Not to brag, but my apple pie has won several awards,” Lori said.

“And the turkey gravy your mother is making even has Hazel drooling and she doesn’t eat real food yet,” Ginger added.

---