My parents didn’t have relatives outside of a few distant cousins, so holiday dinners were never spent around a huge table with extended family when I was a kid. The house wasn’t full of joy as people exchanged gifts and jabs.
On Christmas morning, I would quietly open my perfectly wrapped presents while my parents watched from the couch, sipping their coffees and basking in the knowledge that they’d gotten me everything on my wish list. I would thank them after each gift, and after I’d finished opening them all, I’d give them quick hugs that I always wished lasted longer than a second, and they’d wish me a Merry Christmas then go back to bed for a couple hours while the turkey cooked. I’d play with my new gifts, alone in the living room, secretly wishing I’d gotten the one thing I’d only ever asked Santa for: a sibling, so I wouldn’t feel so alone all the time.
“Just think, this time next year we’ll have another new addition at our table,” Em declared after feeling the baby kick in Madeline’s stomach during dessert.
“I can’t wait, there needs to be more kids,” Daphne piped up from beside Sage. Everyone chuckled, and Nix ruffled her hair. “It’s boring being the only kid.”
My heart went out at that statement: didn’t I know it well. Daphne knew it, too. Before moving to Hartwood Creek and gaining cousins through Nix’s side, she’d been the only child. Sage had made a lot of effort hosting slumber parties with Daphne’s old school friends, but I knew it wasn’t easy for her, that she’d struggled being the younger mom in the group.
I made a promise to myself: that my baby would never know that kind of loneliness I’d grown up with. Even if I didn’t have a close bond with family through blood, I’d made my bonds with family by choice strong enough that my baby would never know the difference.
Chapter Seven
Noah
* * *
My fingers rapped on the Formica countertop as I waited for the coffee to finish percolating in the coffeemaker. I’d put on a fresh pot, anticipating Nellie’s arrival. I’d already had several cups, but that wouldn’t stop me from having another.
I’d barely slept the night before. After returning home from Christmas dinner at my parents’ house, I’d been unable to think about anything else but seeing Nellie today, and about how badly I wanted her to take the job.
I’d already decided I’d be offering it to her, regardless of her experience. My gut told me it was the right thing to do, and not because it would put her at a closer proximity to me.
Damien and Charlotte had overseen hiring Jeannine, and clearly, that hadn’t been the right move. I was sure that had I been there during the hiring process, I would have known she wasn’t a good fit for the resort.
My gut feelings about people were pretty accurate, and my gut feeling upon meeting Jeannine hadn’t been a good one. Ignoring the fact that she was always hitting on one of us—and it really didn’t matter which one of us—she made frequent mistakes, and I didn’t like her tone with the more difficult guests. She was also notoriously bad at the laundry portion of the job.
We had a lot of cottages, which meant we had a lot of laundry to switch over, even on a day-to-day basis. Housekeeping did what they could to stay on top of things, but a lot of the laundry fell on whomever was in the office.
I took a deep breath, reminding myself that my days of worrying about what Jeannine was or wasn’t doing were over. The next person we hired would be competent, I was sure of it.
The bell above the office door chimed, alerting me to the arrival of who I hoped was Nellie, and not Easton poking his nosey head in.
I left the staff room kitchen to see Nellie standing in the doorway and holding a folder in her hands. My breath caught as I observed her taking in her surroundings. She’d styled her hair in loose curls. She’d kept her makeup minimal and seemed to be dressed to impress in office-appropriate dress pants and a blouse.
“Morning, Nellie. Hope you had a good Christmas?” I said once I’d found my voice.
“Hey, yeah. It was good. Hope you did, too,” Nellie replied.
“I did,” I scratched the back of my neck, needing to do something with my hands to control the sudden urge to touch her. “Well, let’s get to it, shall we?”
I led the way into the dining room. It was where staff ate their lunch, and where we hosted our staff holiday parties and appreciation days. We also rented it out to guests if they needed a bigger spot for family functions while in town. It was decorated for Christmas, with a large tree in the corner near the stone fireplace. Stockings hung from the mantle, which was decorated with a heavy garland.
“Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right back,” I gestured to the table that I’d set up for our interview. The employee binder was there, along with the pamphlets I’d printed off about our resort. I went into the staff kitchen to grab the pot of coffee and the tray with creamer, sugar, and two mugs.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” Nellie said with surprise when I carried it in and set it down.
“Trust me, after yesterday’s festivities, I need it,” I laughed it off, pulling my chair out and sitting down. I poured myself a coffee, keeping it black but adding a couple scoops of sugar. I went to pour her some, but she shook her head.
“Er, no thank you. I don’t drink coffee,” she said, and I nodded in understanding.
“So, let’s get to it, shall we?” I said, lifting my mug and taking a sip.
“Shouldn’t someone else do the interview process? Given, things?” Nellie frowned, a little crease between her eyebrows appearing.
I knew she was insinuating that the night we spent together would somehow influence my decision in hiring her. Maybe she was right, but she was also wrong. If my gut told me it wasn’t the right fit, I’d listen to it.
The problem was my gut was already screaming at me that this was the best fit.
