Page 7 of Christmas at Pine Ridge Inn
“I might sit that one out,” Lila said. “I’m not much for the outdoors in winter.”
Sarah caught her eye and gave her a small, understanding smile. Not judgment, just recognition that it might be too much for her.
“The cookie baking is indoors,” Carol offered. “And you get first dibs on anything you bake.”
“Maybe,” Lila said noncommittally.
“Brady has offered to help us set up luminaries along the fence and down the drive too,” said Kendall. “We’re from Santa Fe,and it’s a big part of the Christmas tradition there that we hate to miss.”
Lila glanced at Brady, who was refilling water glasses at the other end of the table. His investment in the holiday experience for the guests was obvious, but he wasn’t exactly giving out the warm fuzzy vibes to match. He was handsome, that was hard not to notice with his tall, strong build and angular jaw. But he was a quiet man who seemed focused on just doing his job.
The conversation moved on to other topics—the weather forecast, recommendations for exploring the town, stories about Pine Ridge’s colorful history. Lila found herself listening carefully for anything that might aid in her investigation, but she simply didn’t have enough to go on yet. Hopefully, the visit to the yarn store would help.
After dinner, she excused herself and retreated to her room. The inn had grown quiet, other guests settling in for the night or gathering around the fireplace downstairs. Out her bedroom window, she noticed Brady standing at the fence where it appeared a section of the Christmas lights had gone dark. They really should change over to the strands that stay lit even when one bulb goes out. He would probably be about as receptive to that as the buffet suggestion though.
Lila sat in the wingback chair and looked past Brady down Main Street. A few people moved along the sidewalks, the warm light of the streetlamps illuminating them. Somewhere in this small town, could there be someone who remembered a pregnant woman from thirty-four years ago? Had she lived here or just been passing through when she bought the quilt?
The quilt sat on the end of the bed like a question waiting to be answered. Tomorrow, she would take it to Emily’s Yarn & Quilts and hope that Cynthia might know something useful. Tonight, she just had to figure out how to navigate the coming days ofChristmas activities she had no interest in joining without being rude to her hosts, who seemed like lovely people.
Outside her window, Brady’s silhouette moved up the drive toward the porch, and he appeared to glance up at her window, like he felt her eyes on him. Embarrassed, she pulled the curtains closed and began preparing for bed.
Lila was scared about what she might learn tomorrow. She was even more scared, however, of the chance that she might learn nothing at all. For the first time in her life, she felt like she needed to know where she came from, and Pine Ridge was beginning to feel like a nice place to have roots.
Four
Lila pulled back the curtains the next morning to find Main Street covered in a fresh blanket of white as the early morning light began to illuminate it. Fat flakes continued to drift down, transforming the town into a scene from a snow globe. She’d seen snow before during business trips to places like Tahoe and Park City, but in those instances, it was always an element to be dealt with, not a postcard-perfect picture to enjoy.
For a moment, she let herself appreciate the beauty of it. Then she remembered why she was here, and the familiar weight settled back into her chest.
Downstairs, the inn was still quiet. It was early, and breakfast wouldn’t be served for another hour and a half, but Carol had shown her a small nook on her floor with a couple of chairs and a coffee machine that made one cup at a time. In desperate need of her morning ritual, Lila padded down the hall in her pajamas and a robe hoping it was early enough to avoid running into anyone else.
However, she arrived to find one of the two chairs in the nook already occupied by Sarah, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug.
“Good morning,” Sarah said, smiling up at her. “You’re an early riser too?”
More like a poor sleeper, but Lila forced a smile. “Nothing a little coffee can’t fix.”
As she was waiting for the machine to brew her cup, Lila turned to look out the picture window Sarah was facing. The yard stretched out behind the inn for two hundred yards or more before it hit a mountainside, snow-covered pines dotting the landscape. There were two cabins in the distance, just at the tree line.
“Are those part of the inn too?” Lila asked. There was no separate driveway to them, only a path that had been partially covered by the snow, so she wondered if that was where Carol and Tom lived.
Sarah nodded. “One is Carol and Tom’s, and the other is Brady’s. I don’t think they spend much time there other than to sleep though.”
“Brady lives on the property too?” Lila was surprised. It made sense that the Brennans lived there, as most B&B owners lived on their properties. Brady must receive housing as part of his compensation package.
“Since he was a teenager,” Sarah said. “Carol and Tom took him in after his parents were killed in a car crash. I was here that first Christmas afterward and heard all about how the whole town came together for him. It’s a special place.”
That really did sound awful to have lost his parents at the same time before he was even an adult.
“Wow, you really have been coming here a long time,” Lila said, not sure what else to say. It felt weird knowing something so personal about a man who’d basically dismissed her earlier.
“I love Pine Ridge at Christmas,” Sarah said, not offering any additional explanation for her frequent visits.
Lila’s coffee finished brewing and she grabbed the warm mug, planning to take it back to her room. Before she could tell Sarah she’d see her later, the woman patted the arm of the chair next to her. “Come sit.” Sarah pointed out the window. “We have visitors this morning.”
Turning to look, Lila saw a doe and a smaller deer tiptoeing out of the tree line and onto the field between the cabins. She settled into the chair, cupping her mug with her hands. The deer moved gracefully through the snow, their breath visible as small puffs in the cold morning air.
“One of the benefits of being an early riser,” Sarah said softly. “I’ve seen moose and elk here too. I love having my first cup of coffee here every morning during my stay. Such a peaceful way to start the day.”
