Obviously that was the question of the hour. He turned to face Rosie, not bothering to force a smile. She’d see right through it, anyway. “I will be. It’s not like everything took a turn for the worse. It’s just more of the same now.”
“I’m still sorry it didn’t work out for you. I know it had to be a hard decision.”
“I know it was the right one,” he said, and the smile he gave her when she arched a doubtful eyebrow was genuine. “It really was and, yes, for me. I can’t let her go to strangers. Besides, you and I make a good team, right?”
She touched his face, nodding, and he really hoped she wouldn’t cry. “Yes, we do.”
“I’m going to sit down for a few minutes and relax. Is everybody in now?”
“Bob Watkins and his cousin are still out, but he told me they wouldn’t be back until nine or ten based on the trails they wanted to take. But everybody else is in.”
So he’d be up until at least nine or ten, but probably later. “Okay, thanks.”
He went into the living room, grabbing the TV remote on his way to the couch. But when he sat down, he didn’t hit the power button. He could hear Rosie moving around in the kitchen and the low murmurs of a television coming from a guest room.
Closing his eyes, he let the familiar sounds of the Northern Star wash over him. It was a good thing he was used to it, because he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“Excuse me?”
He opened his eyes and smiled at the woman who was staying in room three with her husband and two kids. Mrs. Grant—that was her name. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Grant?”
“I’m so sorry, but my youngest dumped his juice on the rug. It’s more than we can blot up with tissues and toilet paper.”
“It’s not a problem.” He stood up, still smiling. “I’ll soak up what I can tonight and I’ll steam it tomorrow.”
Back to work, he told himself. He might not have chosen this life for himself, but at least he was good at it.
Chapter Sixteen
One of the nice things about living in what passed for “downtown” Whitford was that everything was within walking distance. So, when the snow kept everybody from wanting haircuts or library books, Katie and Hailey were free to lock up and play hooky.
Katie was ready when Hailey called. She’d already swept and mopped and sanitized everything, since it was obvious this nor’easter was keeping everybody inside. Now she just needed an excuse to hang the Closed sign and she’d be done for the day.
Her cell phone finally rang. “I thought you’d never call.”
Hailey snorted. “If I wasn’t responsible for salting the walkways, I’d have been gone already. I called Paige and there’s no sense in going to the diner. Because Gavin rented her trailer, he offered to open the place, but it’s mostly just coffee and he’ll make sandwiches for the road crews or any random customers. But she won’t be there.”
“Well, I have food and drink and the library doesn’t.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
She’d just hit End when the phone rang again. Without looking, she answered and said, “What did you forget?”
“Is this one of those boyfriend tests?” Josh asked.
She laughed, though she was secretly thrilled to hear the word boyfriend come out of his mouth. It was the first time he’d used it. “I thought you were Hailey.”
“Sorry, just me. How’s business?”
“Funny. Business is so good I’m closing up shop. Hailey’s coming over and we’re going to eat junk food and watch TV for the rest of the day.”
“She’s walking, right? It keeps swapping between snow and sleet, so the roads might be slick.”
“Yeah, she’s walking. How are things with you?”
“I’m tired of moving snow, I can tell you that. But at least it’s not the weekend, so I don’t have to deal with people canceling at the last minute. I usually reschedule them instead of refunding their deposit—which we don’t have to do, but I do when it’s Mother Nature’s fault—but we’re pretty booked. Not easy to move people around.”
She’d been wondering more about his state of mind than his reservation book, but it sounded like he was in a good mood, so she didn’t push it. He’d called her yesterday morning and told her everything was okay with his brothers, but hadn’t said much about how he felt. If not for the damn storm, she could have driven over and seen for herself, but the storm had been a little more severe than they’d forecast.
“It’s supposed to wrap up by midday tomorrow,” Josh said. “It’s my turn to do the groomer run and I was thinking I’d go out tomorrow night so I can catch up on sleep Wednesday and Thursday nights. You want to go?”
“Sure.” She’d gone out with him many times in the past, but it had been a while and she hadn’t done it at all this year. Spending six or seven hours overnight doing eight miles per hour down the trail was best done with company.
“How about if I swing by about five? We can go to the diner, grab some dinner and get Ava to fill the thermos, and then we’ll head to the clubhouse.”