Dani started to call her mother at least five times as she trudged toward the Main House for her meeting with Wade, and each time she hung up before it started to ring. Her hand gripped the phone so tightly that if she hadn’t had gloves on, she was sure her knuckles would be white.

A truck? That letter? The key? What were her parents thinking? The truck she could just park somewhere until somebody needed it. That was no big deal, and they probably could use it come spring. But there was no way she could do anything about their additional request for at least a week—not since she had to do her own job and Wade’s, too. And hope that there weren’t any search and rescue calls.

Dang. She’d thought when Kelsi married Shane that she’d be off the twin hook thing. Sure, they got along, but they were so different, especially now that Kelsi was in full-blown mommy mode. It was sweet, just so completely foreign from anything she’d thought about for herself. She’d never given any thought to a husband, let alone children—and she was just fine with that. She’d thought Kelsi’s shadow would have faded, but with this—it had just exploded.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she stopped, ducking onto the side of the porch of the Main House. Might as well get it over with, and she pulled her phone from her pocket and pushed the green button.

“Mom, I just can’t—”

“It’s not Mom, Dani. It’s Kelsi.”

“Oh. What’s up?”

“Besides what was that all about? The letter? The key?”

“So you were spying.”

“You know I’m very curious. Always have been. You’d expect nothing less from a pro like me.”

Dani couldn’t help but smile. True.

“I can’t talk about it now. I’m just about ready to meet with Wade and I have a busy week coming up.”

“All right, but you just left that poor guy sitting there all alone. Mom said he could have a room, and he wants to stay for Christmas.”

Dani rubbed the back of her neck. “Not my problem.”

“Well, I know it’s not your problem but it’s our problem. For now, I sent him with the truck over to Wyatt so they can find somewhere to put it. I’m sure Elf can fit it somewhere in the bay. But I called to check and we’re booked solid. Completely.”

Dani plopped on the bench on the porch without even wiping away the several inches of snow. “What do you want me to do about it?”

“Come on. Have a heart. He seems like a nice guy. I know you just moved into your cabin but I’m pretty positive you haven’t unpacked yet.”

“So?” Dani said, tightening the knot on her scarf. “I haven’t had time.”

“Huh. Right. Well, what if you just close up the boxes I know you haven’t emptied and shove them in a closet, and you can move into my old room. We’ve renovated and rented out yours, but mine was a bigger challenge and Andrew hasn’t gotten to it yet.”

Closing her eyes, Dani could picture Kelsi’s room—and why it would have been a challenge. Pink wallpaper and feather boas glued to the ceiling would take a while to get rid of. No wonder Andrew hadn’t tackled it.

She sighed and glanced at the ceiling. “All right, but you know what you’ll have to do.”

“I can’t make your bed anymore. I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant people make beds all the time. Non-negotiable,” Dani said. “Just when you come in to work.”

“Fine, but I’m doing it for Mom, not for you. She obviously wanted him to stay. And besides, it wouldn’t hurt you to be nice to the man. A handsome one at that,” Kelsi said, and clicked off before Dani had a chance to respond. No doubt she knew what Dani was going to say.

She called Deena in housekeeping as she stepped through the door of the Main House, heading straight for the huge fireplace, the hand-placed rocks of the chimney reaching high toward the vaulted ceiling and a fire crackling inside it. They quickly made a plan for Deena to clean up Dani’s cabin—Kelsi was right, there wasn’t much in it. The refrigerator was basically empty and she’d been living out of a suitcase anyway, so it didn’t matter. Deena would deliver her clothes to Kelsi’s old room, and all would be well.

She rubbed her hands together in front of the fire for a second and turned to head to Wade’s office.

“Hello, Dani.”

Dani stopped at the sound of the soft voice and cursed her luck. She hadn’t noticed Jaclyn on the couch by the fire, although she should have known she’d be there as it was one of her favorite places.

“Hello, Jaclyn,” Dani said as she started again toward the back of the restaurant.

“Dani, I need to talk to you.”

“I’m busy, Jaclyn. You know about Wade, and I have to take over for him. He’s probably waiting for me...”

Jaclyn breathed deeply and Dani could feel her eyes boring into her back.

“As soon as you have a chance, Dani. It’s important.”

Fat chance, Dani thought. She loved Jaclyn, and her grandmother’s best friend had been a huge part of her life at one time. Snickerdoodles and milk never failed to improve her mood, but now was not remotely a good time—for anything Jaclyn had to say. She’d go by maybe after Wade came back to work next week, if she could.

She stopped briefly to talk to Erica, her new assistant, who she’d barely had time to train. She seemed okay, but Dani wasn’t really enjoying sharing her small office with someone else—anyone else. She quickly got her set up for the week and headed over to Wade’s office.

The room was empty when she entered—even with all the commotion this morning, she’d beat everyone. She started to read through all the sticky notes on Wade’s computer that Bernie would have left, trying to get a feel for what her week had in store when someone in the doorway cleared his throat.

She looked up quickly and her eyebrows rose as she saw Fred reaching up and tacking something green onto the doorway.

“What are you doing here?” Dani said as she plopped down into Wade’s chair. She’d thought they were finished at the cafe, and hadn’t expected to see him for a while.

“I got to thinking after I talked to your mom again that I could help you with Wade’s stuff this week. I know yesterday she’d talked to him about the Kids’ Korral and maybe I could help with that.”

He had a funny smile on his face that she hadn’t noticed before.

“Thanks, but I can manage. Andrew’s overseeing the Kids’ Korral anyway and we just signed the contract with Pulaski Construction. Wade mentioned it yesterday, and as far as I know that’s the last one Mom delivered. I got another assignment today that is more pressing, and I can’t even do that until Wade gets back on his feet.”

“Oh?” Fred said as he stood in the doorway, looking up.

Her eyes followed his and she realized what it was that he’d pinned up there. Mistletoe. Really? Well, he’d always kind of flirted with Bernie, so he was probably waiting for her to come in.

“Yeah. It involves Kelsi and I just can’t get to it. But thanks for the offer.”

“Was it something that Travis person told you about? I’d love to hear.”

“Honestly, Fred, I appreciate it. You’ve been very good to my family, but I think at this point it’s just easier if I manage this myself. I’m sorry Mom made you think you needed to help. I’ll fill you in next week during the Christmas activities. You’re coming, right?” she said as she shuffled papers into piles on Wade’s desk, sorting them as she went.

Fred’s voice brightened. “Of course I’ll come. Haven’t missed any Weston family Christmas festivities in years. Wouldn’t miss them. I’m particularly looking forward to the snowmobile race.”

Dani looked up and smiled. “Ah, thanks. It’s always my favorite, too. You racing this year in the staff race?”

“No, I can’t. Hurt my ankle,” he said as he twisted it and grimaced. “But I’ll be there to cheer you on. And if Wade’s better, maybe we can do our regular weekly meeting. Or maybe Trivia.”

“Thanks. Oh, I think I hear Bernie out there. Wade should be here in a minute. I’d better get to it,” she said, hoping he’d leave. He turned and looked out toward the restaurant and up at the mistletoe.

“You don’t have time to walk me out?”

Dani laughed. “When have I ever walked you out?” she asked as she turned back to Wade’s computer.

“Okay, then. See you next week,” Fred said as he took one last look up at the mistletoe and left, jumping in his truck and heading back to town.