Page 69 of Take Me Home for Christmas

“Oh, by the way,” he said, interrupting her pity party. “You were right about West.”

She didn’t see that coming.

“How so?” Hopefully, her suspicions about him not working on the book weren’t what he was alluding to.

“About him dealing with a lot of baggage. He showed up at our meeting earlier this week. West is working to address the issues haunting him.”

“Oh my gosh! That’s great. Thank you for inviting him.”

He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’re the one who put him on my radar. Any credit goes to you for caring.”

Elle had a little skip to her step as she headed into town. Perhaps West would finish his book after all. Her promotion was in reach. Finally, she’d have an accomplishment worthy of the McAlister name. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Helen Keneally’s face when she returned to New York a success.

Returned to New York.

Why did the thought make her stomach drop? The answer to her question sped by in one of the sheriff department’s cruisers, headed north toward the highway. She sighed.

“Why is life so complicated?” she asked the dog.

Midas responded with a nudge to her leg and a swish of his tail.

“Oh, you’re no help. You’ve only got one thing on your mind—dinner.”

As if to agree, the dog tugged on his leash, eager to get home to his waiting bowl of kibble. Elle took her mother’s advice, circumventing the town square and following the more direct route down Water Street toward the old torpedo factory that housed Gavin’s second-floor loft. The century-old brick warehouse was on the water, blocks away from the city pier. Gavin’s loft featured panoramic views of the town and the point where the Cape Fear River met the Atlantic Ocean.

Her father bought the building long before Elle was born. The bottom floor housed the offices of McAlister Construction and Engineering. Miles and his congressional staff now used that space for his local office. Across the hall was the Tiny Dancer Ballet studio. Elle’s childhood dance teacher, Audra Greaves, still owned it, but Ginger and Donella—both professional dancers—did most of the instruction now.

When she pushed open the double doors, Midas bolted up the stairs and through the doggie door without a backward glance.

“Love you, too,” Elle called after him.

She chuckled to herself as she turned to make her way back to the inn. A movement in the dance studio caught her eye. West was inside . . . wielding a tape measure?

Elle pushed through the glass doors. “Thinking of taking up dance while you’re in town?”

If her interruption of whatever the heck he was doing surprised him, he didn’t let on. “Your sister-in-law mentioned she could use an extra party guest or two for this week’s performance. Who am I to turn down an opportunity to take part inThe Nutcracker?”

She didn’t doubt his sincerity for one minute. “Mm. You don’t want to miss a chance to cross something off your list of cheesy Christmas experiences.”

The man smiled at her. A genuine smile like the ones that made Lois and Bernice blush. Heck, it was so unexpected, it almost made Elle blush.

“What are you really doing here?” she demanded.

His grin turned wily. “Working on a project.”

Elle slammed her eyes shut while she began silently counting to ten. The man had a project to work on,dammit. His memoir!

She snapped her eyelids up. “Helen Keneally was here today.”

Neither her announcement nor her tone seemed to faze him. He stretched the measuring tape across the floor.

“Do you even care, West?”

“Helen’s travel exploits are of no interest to me.”

“She was here looking foryou.”

A loud snap echoed off the high walls when he retracted the measuring tape.

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