Page 317 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

“A handwritten note? Did you body-swap with a boomer?”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” Iris said, rolling her eyes. “No, but my brother might as well have. He insists on reading paper books instead of getting an e-reader, plus he’s a letter writer. He always wrote to me three times a week when I was at sleepaway camp, even though we talked on the phone. And—”

Victoria spat out liquid, spraying Iris and Maisie.

“Was that poison?” she shouted, pointing a finger at Dottie. “Did youpoisonme?”

“Of course not,” Dottie said calmly as Iris gave Victoria a disgusted look and grabbed some napkins off the countertop, silently handing one to Maisie.

“I should have warned you about Dottie’s ‘cures,’” Adalia said with a smirk that suggested she’d purposefully kept quiet. “They usually work, but sometimes they’re worse than what they’re supposed to fix.”

Victoria got to her feet, giving Adalia a look of wounded dignity. “I’m leaving, but you can be sure Lee is going to hear about this. Your father too.”

“I sure hope so,” Adalia said.

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself, Georgie?” Victoria said, lifting an eyebrow. There were flecks of red wineall over her white cardigan, which slightly undercut the lofty air she was trying to put on.

“Have a good night, Victoria. I’ve heard the spa at the Grove Park Inn is really nice. Maybe you’ll have more fun there.”

Victoria made an unpleasant sound that reminded Maisie of a cat coughing up a hairball. “If I wanted to go to a spa, I would go inManhattan.” She glanced back and forth between Adalia and Georgie. “Honestly, it’s as if the Buchanan blood skipped both of you.”

Adalia lifted her glass to Georgie, who clinked it with hers. “You honestly couldn’t have given us a better compliment,” she said.

Another withering glare, and Victoria stormed off, heels clicking on the stone floor.

“Toodles!” Adalia called out after her. “See you tomorrow!”

“How long do you think it’s going to take her to remember that we drove here together?” Maisie asked with a smirk.

“Now, girls,” Dottie said, a touch of admonition in her tone. “Your father is a Buchanan, yes, but don’t let that destroy your impression of the family. Your grandfather Beau was a good man.”

“I know, Dottie,” Georgie said.

Adalia just gave a “hm” and nodded. No doubt she was thinking of Beau’s crazy will, complete with enough stipulations to have nearly given his attorney a heart attack when presenting it to the Buchanans. Or so she’d heard. Maisie had liked Beau, but he’d been far from perfect. He’d been warm, though. Something Prescott—and probably Lee—clearly lacked.

“I’m going to head over to the bachelor party a little early,” Maisie said, pushing her nearly untouched tasting glass away. She tucked Iris’s note into her bag, giving her a private nod. “That okay, Dottie?”

“Yes,” she said. “I need to do some meditation to replenish my chi. That woman could drain all of the good energy out of a shaman.”

“You said it, not me,” Adalia said. She glanced from Georgie to Iris. “So it’ll just be us sisters, huh?”

Georgie grinned.

Iris smiled too, like she was trying to fight it but couldn’t quite muster the energy. “Does this mean I get to take part in the tasting?”

Adalia winked at her. “Maybe a little sip. But you’ll have to earn it by painting your toenails with us tonight and watching terrible chick flicks.”

“Done,” Iris said, quickly enough that it was clear the thought of an evening with Jack’s half-sisters didn’t sound so terrible to her anymore.

“Ready, Dottie?” Maisie said, grabbing the keys from Adalia.

“Oh yes, I’ve been preparing for this.”

“You’re intentionally leading us on, aren’t you? No one likes a tease, Dottie.”

Dottie just gave her an enigmatic smile, and they said goodbye to the others, Dottie whispering something to Iris before they walked off.

“You still think Lee is ‘a good sort’?” Maisie asked as they made their way to the Range Rover. “Because I’m thinking he must be a piece of work if he’s spent months dating that woman.”

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