Page 39 of The Christmas Lodge
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Lacy was coming to love the smell of fresh paint. It was never something she’d really considered before, but as she’d worked on the mansion day in and day out for the past couple of weeks, it had taken on almost a perfume-like quality, symbolizing fresh starts and a job well done. She dipped her roller brush back into the painting tray, which was currently full of the shade Fresh Cream for the dining room. It was a delicate off-white color that evoked warmth and cleanliness, and it was already making the room feel bigger than it had before.
Humming softly to herself, she began rolling another portion of the wall, leaning into the task and losing herself in the predictable rhythm of it. She’d hardly expected to enjoy the tasks required to resurrect the mansion to its former glory, but much to her surprise, she did. Yet another way Snowy Pine Ridge was filled with the unexpected. She’d even begun to gain new muscle tone from all of the cleaning and sanding and painting. Sure, she had an expensive membership at a boutique fitness studio in St. Louis, but the muscle tone she had gained over the past couple of weeks came with the added satisfaction of knowing she had built it through good, old-fashioned hard work.
The sky outside the windows of the mansion was dark by now, but Lacy kept on painting. She was determined to finish the dining room before she went back to the inn for the night, even if it was later than she usually stayed at the mansion. Knowing she would soon throw a massive party within its walls was an extra motivating factor, and she knew she likely had more long days like today ahead of her. She’d arrived at the mansion with the sunrise and worked steadily all day, stopping only to scarf down a quick lunch and drink some water.
But it’s all starting to pay off, she thought, dipping her roller into the tray again.The house is already so different from when I first arrived.
And it was true. As she continued painting, her thoughts drifted through the litany of projects that she—or a contractor from town—had already accomplished. Lacy had sanded and stained the original hardwood floors, a contractor had replaced the broken windows, the plumber had made needed repairs, and Lacy had of course scrubbed and cleaned and painted until her entire body ached. And, of course, she had spent a good deal of time decluttering and staging the usable furniture. It had been even more work than she’d originally anticipated when she’d first seen the mansion, but she took enormous pride in what she had accomplished, and she had to admit to herself that she was beginning to not just admire the old mansion, but to love it.
Of course,she reminded herself,the work is far from over… I still have an entire party to plan.
She’d already begun making a list of things she needed to order, and she planned to source garlands, Christmas trees, and a truly staggering amount of candles the next day. That was just the beginning, though.
With everyone in town welcome to attend, she would need to make sure there was plenty of food and that the mansion looked its absolute best—both to make the party a success, but also to show everyone in Snowy Pine Ridge that it was the perfect venue. Word-of-mouth referrals were one of the best marketing tactics, and this party was an opportunity to spread the word very, very quickly about the mansion. Or, at least, she hoped it would be.
As always, doubts tried to rear their ugly heads, warning her that the party was a waste of time and money, that the mansion would never take off as a venue, and that she was making a foolish investment.
She pushed the thoughts down, dipping the roller into the paint tray with an angry vengeance and taking out her inner fears and frustrations on the dining room wall. She would be cautiously optimistic, she decided fiercely, but she would not give way to her doubts fully. Determined to think about something else, her thoughts instantly jumped to the other topic that had been circling in her mind constantly throughout the day: the locked box.
Emma, accompanied by Colette, had dropped by the inn the previous evening and given her the box. It had taken all of Lacy’s willpower to maintain her self-control, accept the box with thanks, and maintain the semblance of a normal conversation until the two women had left. As soon as her bedroom door had closed behind them, however, she had dropped to the bed, shaking, as she stared at the box.
Curiosity, fear, grief, and even some excitement… so many emotions had tangled themselves up inside her as she looked at it, even though she couldn’t open it yet.
What if she got her hopes up only to have them dashed and disappointed once again?
She felt equal parts the hopeful little girl she used to be and the somewhat jaded woman she had become. The vulnerability frightened her a little. Finally, she had placed it out of sight under the bed and slept fitfully, then she had woken before dawn to throw herself into work at the mansion.
A bark and then the sound of boots coming up the front steps pulled her from her once-more spiraling thoughts, and she set the paint brush down and hurried to the front door just as Derek was lifting one hand to knock. Smiling, she pulled the door open and beckoned him inside, Missy in tow.
Missy barked again, clearly only just restraining herself from throwing herself at Lacy. Her smile widening, Lacy dropped to her knees and opened her arms to welcome the fluffy puppy, who launched herself into Lacy’s arms and covered her with kisses.
“Burning the midnight oil, I see,” Derek commented with a crooked half-smile as he peeked into the half-painted dining room.
Lacy scooped Missy up and rose to join him in the dining room doorway. “Midnight oil? It’s just past eight o’clock! I’ve worked far later nights back in St. Louis.” She snuggled Missy closer and dropped a kiss to the puppy’s furry head. “What brings you two over tonight? You know, since it’s so late and all that?” she added with a teasing grin.
“Well, Missy here is a ball of energy, as we both know, and she needed an extra walk tonight to calm down enough to sleep. Besides, I was busy training one of my teams today, so she didn’t get much one-on-one attention. When we were walking past and saw the lights still on, Missy begged me to stop by so she could see you.”
Lacy laughed aloud at that. “So it was just ‘Missy’s’ idea then?”
“Okay, okay, fine. It wasmebegging Missy to stop by for a visit. Are you happy now?”
“Since you admitted the truth,” Lacy teased blithely, “I’m very happy, yes.”
Derek rolled his eyes but he couldn’t hide his grin. “Seriously, though, why are you still here working? The house will still be here in the morning.”
“To be honest, I stayed late so I could distract myself.”
“Distract yourself…? From what?” Realizing he might have been too forward, Derek hastily raised his hands. “Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.”
“No, no, you’re fine. I was going to tell you anyway.” Lacy took a deep breath. “Emma gave me the box Nicholas left for me.”
Derek raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
Lacy nodded. “She and Colette brought it by yesterday afternoon.”
“Wow… so they found it.”
