Elle laughed. “I’m staying at the five-star ski resort on the top of the hill,” she said.
“Right,” Kelly said. “That place is like a thousand bucks a night.”
“What is it?”
“Well, you might think you’re at the ends of the earth up here, but people actually come from all over the world for the pristine ski slopes. They usually come in and out by helicopter, fly up to the top of the slopes by helicopter, and rarely venture out of the grounds of the hotel. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever served a single guest of the hotel here at the diner.”
“They’re too exclusive for the likes of simple townsfolk?”
“Exactly. Too exclusive, too rich. They’re from New York and LA. They’re here for the ski slopes, not the local cuisine. Some of my friends work there. They say we’re not missing much. Rich foreigners and businessmen who don’t know how to have much fun, other than a glass of port by the fire in the evening.”
“It does look pretty cozy,” Elle said.
Kelly shrugged. “You want cozy? I’ve got cozy.”
“Really?”
“If you’re willing to work for it.”
“What?”
“You ever waitress before?”
“Girl, I was born with a tray in my hands. I started as a dishwasher when I was still a kid. I’ve worked in more diners than you can imagine.”
“Well, as you can see, we’re kind of shorthanded around here.”
“You’re kidding me?”
“I’m not kidding, Elle. If you want a job and a place to stay, we could use you here.”
“You are kidding me,” Elle said, rising to her feet.
She could already feel the tears coming to her eyes but didn’t care. She was so relieved she wanted to kiss Kelly. Instead, she threw her arms around her and squeezed her tighter than was probably appropriate for a job offer of waitress at a small town diner.
“It’s not the Hilton,” Kelly went on, “but the local mechanic, Denny, rents some rooms nearby. Nothing fancy, like I said, but we could get you a room there.”
Elle just nodded. She was doing her best not to burst into tears. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, Kelly, yes. I’ll take it.”
Chapter 4
Elle
ELLE SLEPT BETTER THAT NIGHT than she had in a very long time. She felt safe not having to worry about Gris sharing her bed. Gris had always had a temper, but it had gotten a lot worse during the final year of the relationship, and the deterioration of her life had crept up on Elle a little at a time. If she’d realized all at once what kind of a guy Gris was, she’d never have allowed herself to get mixed up with him. But because it had happened little by little, over time, she’d allowed herself to build up excuses, one at a time, to explain his abusive ways.
She felt ashamed now for even allowing it to happen, and she realized the enormous emotional stress it had placed on her.
Just being in the little attic loft above some dingy bar owned by the local mechanic felt like a palace to her. Kelly had helped her light a fire in the ashy hearth in the corner. Then she’d showed Elle how to work the shower in the bathroom. There was no kitchen, just the bedroom with it’s own rustic bathroom, but there was a charred kettle that could be swung over the fire.
The bed was enormously comfortable. There might have been a blizzard outside, but there were eight warm blankets piled on the bed, and with the heat of the fire, the attic was warm in no time. Elle slept like a baby, and when she woke in the morning, she went straight to the window to survey the town in sunlight.
It was breathtaking. The view over the mountain pass she’d driven up was astounding. She hadn’t been able to appreciate the beauty of it all the night before, but now she could see for miles and miles over the tops of the pines. The grey rock of the mountains towered up over the valley like fortress walls. The air was bright and clear, so cold that sparkles of ice floated in it and reflected the sun.
“Thank you, God,” she whispered.
She wasn’t a particularly religious person, but she knew there was someone up there, and at times like this, she felt He was looking out for her.