Page 44 of Healing Hearts at the Christmas Inn
Her father's head appeared from the office doorway. "Who was that? Did I hear the phone ring?"
"It was no one," Jane told him, her mind reeling as she kicked the phone cord out of view with her foot. "Wrong number."
Jack frowned and sighed. “I guess it was too much to hope for a booking.”
Her heart sank for him as she crossed to him and kissed him on the cheek, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
"You never know, things could turn around at any time,” Jane pointed out. “Well, I'm off to bed. Night, Dad."
As she headed to the house and her bedroom, Jane's hands were shaking. After thirty years of silence, why now? Why tonight, of all nights, when she'd just agreed to bring the ballroom back to life? When she’d just found a reason to look forward to tomorrow?
She reached her bedroom door and paused, looking back down the hallway in the direction of the inn.
The words her grandmother always said rang in her ears:The inn had a way of bringing people exactly when they were needed.
But what about the people you never wanted to see or hear from again?
14
HOLLY
The sky was still more gray than gold when Holly stepped onto the boardwalk, her running shoes silent against the weathered planks. The air was cool and damp, carrying the sharp scent of salt and something indefinable that seemed unique to this stretch of coast. She'd slept better than expected, considering how her mind had raced after dinner with Jack the night before.
Coffee. They'd had coffee in the inn's small library after Trinity had gone to bed, Charlie had disappeared to take another work call, and the other guests had retreated to their rooms. It should have been awkward—two strangers making polite conversation—but it hadn't been. Instead, they'd talked for nearly two hours, planning activities for the families. What they'd do separately, what they'd do together.
Most of it ended up being together.
The Nights of Lights tour through the historic district. The Christmas tree lighting ceremony tonight in the plaza. Carriage rides down cobblestone streets lined with buildings older than the country itself. A present hunt Jane was apparently planning for the kids. The annual ice skating rink at Anna Maria Park—temporary but beloved, according to Jack. A cookie decorating workshop at a local bakery. Watching the boat parade from the marina.
Holly planted her hands on the boardwalk railing and leaned into a calf stretch, feeling the pull along the back of her leg. The ocean rolled out before her, restless and dark, the horizon just beginning to lighten. She switched legs, her mind drifting back to the easy way Jack had smiled when she'd suggested the families do most things together. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like they'd been planning holidays as a unit for years instead of days.
It should have felt strange. Instead, it felt right.
A blur of brown caught her peripheral vision, and Holly straightened just as Duke came bounding up the boardwalk. The Great Dane skidded to a stop in front of her, tail wagging furiously, and pressed his massive head against her hip in greeting.
Holly laughed, scratching behind his ears. "Good morning to you too, buddy."
"Sorry." Jack's voice carried across the distance, breathless and warm. "He saw you from halfway down the path and took off like a rocket."
Holly looked up to see Jack jogging toward them, his dark hair slightly mussed, wearing the similar running gear he'd had on yesterday. Something in her chest did a small flip, which she firmly ignored.
"I don't mind," Holly said, giving Duke one last pat. "He's excellent company."
Jack reached them, slowing to a walk to catch his breath. "Ready?"
"Ready."
They started off together, Duke loping ahead to investigate whatever caught his attention—a piece of driftwood, a cluster of seaweed, the ghost crabs that skittered across the sand. The rhythm of their footfalls synced almost immediately, comfortable and easy.
For a while, neither of them spoke. Holly let herself settle into the run, feeling her muscles warm, her breathing deepen. The sky continued to lighten, painting everything in shades of rose and amber.
Finally, Holly glanced at Jack. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course." Jack glanced at her curiously.
"Is being an innkeeper what you've always done?" Holly asked him.
Jack's stride didn't falter, but something shifted in his expression. "No. I'm an architect. Or I was." He paused, as if weighing his words. "I had my own firm until about twenty years ago. Then..." He stopped, then pushed forward. "My business was taken from me."
