“Really? You probably want to think about it.”
“I don’t need to think about it. I’d love you to join the team. How could you doubt it? We think alike. We want the same things. We’re both excited to try new things. I can’t wait to brainstorm more ideas with you.” Hattie’s eyes shone. “You coming here is the best thing that has happened to me in ages.”
Claudia felt a lump form in her throat. She hadn’t been anyone’s best thing in a long time.
“You need to get out more.”
“I intend to.” Hattie gave a smile. “My big date is tomorrow.”
“Right. Hair and makeup time.” Claudia straightened her uniform. She felt energetic and ready to go, as if someone had changed her batteries. “So you’re interested in making this permanent?”
“More than interested. I’ll sort out a contract right away. What about accommodation? After you and your friends check out, we’re fully booked but you’re welcome to stay in the Sugar Shack behind the inn. It’s not fancy, but it’s warm and comfortable. Brent intended to do it up and turn it into a rental to give us another strand of income, but Chef Tucker insisted that we provide him with accommodation as part of his package, so he was living there. You’re welcome to it.”
“I don’t want to deprive you of an income generator.”
“For now it’s sitting empty. I’d love you to use it. I’ll ask Chloe to make sure it is cleaned and stocked.”
“Chloe has enough to do. I’ll do it myself this week. It will be fun. Thank you.” She was already planning what she could do with it to make it feel like home.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Hattie sighed. “You’ve saved me.”
Claudia thought about the kitchen, with its gleaming pans and spotless work surfaces. She thought about the first moment she’d seen the inn, cloaked in snow and dressed for the holidays.
In a way, she hadn’t been honest with John. She was in love, but not with a man. She was in love with a place, this special, wonderful place and the people who worked here. She was in love with the promise of a future, a future that excited her.
She took a breath and smiled at Hattie. “I’m completely sure that you’re the one who has saved me.”
TWENTY-THREE
Hattie
Noah picked her up—not in the family truck with Peterson’s Christmas Trees emblazoned on the side, but in his own car, which was sturdy enough to cope with all weathers and all challenges. A bit like Noah himself, Hattie thought as she slid into the passenger seat. She was sure that somewhere behind her Lynda and Delphi had their faces pressed to the window, watching. She didn’t look. This was nerve-racking enough without acknowledging her audience.
“Are you warm enough?” Noah looked at her, gloved hands on the steering wheel as he waited for her to fasten her seat belt. The streetlight sent a wash of light across the interior of the car, highlighting the thick layers of his hair and his broad shoulders. His gaze lingered on hers for a moment and then he smiled. “You look great.”
“Thank you.” She decided not to admit that Erica and Anna, with Delphi acting as chief assistant, had spent an hour on her hair and makeup.
“You also look nervous. It’s just dinner, Hattie. A relaxed evening with a friend. And it’s no one’s business but ours.” He reached across and squeezed her hand and she sat for a moment, feeling the reassuring pressure, and thinking about that night in the barn, remembering the heat, the need, the sheer desperation and the giddy realization that she was still capable of feeling something that wasn’t sad or dark.
And she realized that she wasn’t nervous of what people would think, but of what she might feel.
“A relaxed evening sounds good. Just what I need.” She croaked out the words, feeling a delicious rush of anticipation. Would she even be able to eat? There was so much tension in her stomach she doubted there was room for food. “How is your mother?”
He let go of her hand, started the engine and headed toward the road. “Annoyingly interfering, but don’t worry about that. Hopefully, she won’t follow us to the restaurant and spy on us through the window.”
She laughed at the thought of it. “I love your mother.”
“She loves you back.” He stopped at an intersection. “But that doesn’t mean she isn’t capable of overstepping.”
She remembered her dad telling her that it didn’t matter how old your child was, they were still your child. “I expect she does this to you all the time. Tries to engineer dates.”
“This is the first time.” He kept his eyes on the road, leaving her to handle that revelation.
If Lynda had never interfered before, why now? Why her?
She stared at the side of the road, focusing on the gleam of snow picked out by the headlamps. She was overthinking things as usual. Dinner with a friend. That was it.
And it was good to leave the pressures of the inn behind for an evening.
Good to be with Noah.
The interior of the car was snug and her coat was thick and warm. Underneath those layers of wool she could feel the sensual slide of the green dress against her skin.
“I thought we’d get away from town,” he said, “that way we can both relax, and you won’t be worrying about who might be watching.”
“I don’t care who is watching.” She turned to look at him and saw the hint of a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.
“That’s a relief, because no matter how careful we are we can probably guarantee that next time we’re in town for something, we’re going to be asked if we enjoyed our evening.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“I turned my back on big city living a long time ago, but I’m still getting used to the fact that folks around here know everything about you, and most likely everywhere you have visited in the past couple of weeks. Take yesterday—” He adjusted his grip on the wheel. “On my way to deliver a couple of trees to a family who lives on the other side of the valley, I called at the pharmacy to pick up painkillers for my father. His shoulder bothers him when the weather is cold. There were only two other people in the place, but by the time I returned home he’d had several phone calls, a casserole delivery, a tray of freshly baked brownies and several offers of help on the farm.”
She had no trouble believing him. “That’s great, but imagine if you’d been picking up something embarrassing.”
“Obviously, I’d drive to Boston. If it was really embarrassing I might have to fly to Alaska.”
She found herself relaxing. “When I discovered I was pregnant, Brent and I decided to keep it to ourselves for a while, but someone had seen me buying the pregnancy test.”
“Don’t tell me—you arrived home to find a baby outfit on your doorstep?”
“Almost. On my next trip into town, four people asked me how I was. And one actually pointed out that it would be a lot of work having a baby while trying to renovate the inn and start a business.”