“That would be wonderful!”
Brayden offered her his arm. “Too beautiful a day to drive a block.”
“Indeed it is. You just might be a keeper, Brayden Young.”
* * *
Armed with coffee, Brayden had Mallory follow him back to the duplex and purposely parked in the front so she could admire the Christmas tree in Ava’s window. Because his focus was elsewhere, he didn’t notice the car parked outside his woodworking shop until he set Elsie free and they went around back.
“Oh, good,” Mallory said. “I was hoping to run into your mother. I knocked on her door earlier, but I should’ve paid attention to the do-not-disturb sign on the knob.”
“I think she had a conference call this morning.” Brayden shoved his hands in his pockets, uncertain what was to come of this unexpected visit. Another ambush? Or had Mom relented and decided to stay in Sunset Ridge a few more days?
Elsie trotted happily through the snow, flurries catching in her coat. The second Mom’s car door opened, the dog ran straight for her. Brayden didn’t bother hiding his smile as Mom shrieked. “She’s friendly,” he called out. “Unless you’re a tree branch.”
“What a lovely dog. I bet Ava just dotes on her, doesn’t she?” Mallory asked. If he wasn’t mistaken, she was fighting a laugh at Mom’s apparent discomfort with Elsie’s eager greeting.
“Elsie sneaks over to Ava’s back door every morning for treats.”
“Brayden, call your dog off!” Mom hollered.
He whistled for Elsie, and the golden momentarily froze before she trotted toward him.
“Such a well-behaved dog,” Mallory said, bending to welcome Elsie with mitten-clad pats. The complete opposite of his mom. “I’m a cat person myself, but this sweet girl could sway me.”
“Would you believe I got her at a shelter a year ago? Someone moved away and—”
“That’s horrible,” Mallory said, catching up to him. “Who would do such a thing? When we retired to Minnesota, we took Mittens and Smokey with us. Never would’ve dreamed of leaving them behind. Pets are family.”
Brayden put an arm around Mallory, mostly to annoy his own mom. But her scowl only lasted two seconds before her phone robbed her attention yet again. Another email. Another fire to put out. “I think you and I are going to get alongverywell, Mrs. Monroe.”
“Oh, Mallory please. Mrs. Monroe is my mother-in-law.”
“I’ll get the stove going in just a minute.” Unlocking his woodworking shop, he held the door open. Not unsurprisingly, Mom wasn’t dressed for an Alaskan winter. Her toes in those high heels had to be frozen solid. “Ava sells boots at the Forget Me Not,” he directed at his mom. “You should pick up a pair.”
“We need to talk.”
He kept his back pointed at her as he worked the stove, bringing it to life as Elsie trotted to her favorite window lookout via the steps and perch he’d built her this past summer. “Mallory, the plans for that desk are on that table over there,” he said with a nod. “Look them over. Let me know what you think. I’m going to show my mom the sanding room.”
Brayden led Mom into the smaller of the two working areas, closed the door, then waited.
Mom glanced at her phone, and with great struggle in her eyes, dropped it into her coat pocket. “If I agree to stay the weekend, will you come home with me? There’s a Sunday night flight—”
“That wasn’t the agreement.”
“I can’t stay beyond that.” Mom used her firm tone that let an employee know they’d overstepped their bounds, but it didn’t have the same effect on Brayden. He’d expected her to negotiate. It’s what she taught him, after all. “The Christmas party—”
“I already offered you a perfectly acceptable solution.”
Mom scoffed. “Sarra?”
He wished he didn’t know that Sarra was set on leaving the company. Keeping that secret frustrated him, but he wouldn’t betray Sarra’s trust—even if it meant Mom was about to lose not only her daughter, but one of her most valuable employees. “Yes, Sarra.”
“She doesn’t have enough experience.”
“She wouldgainexperience if you granted her the opportunity.” Brayden checked the wood stacked against the wall, wishing he led a messier existence so he could keep his hands busy. Mom could be one of the most stubborn people he knew, and it was going to cost her so much. “Either you stay through Christmas and we revisit this retirement conversation then, or you get on your flight now and find a new CEO to replace you.”
“Fine, you win.”
