Amber smiled.“Do you want to go in with the guys and choose a room?I can stay and help Charlie keep an eye on Ella.”
Olivia’s eyes widened and Nash wondered again at how lonely her life had been.Her eyes flickered over to the kids and her smile softened.They were now sitting in the space he and Charlie had cleared for the rink.His son was spinning around in circles, making Ella laugh.
Olivia smiled at Amber.“Thank you.That would be great.I won’t be long.”
Amber laughed.“No rush.I’m about to have some fun.Take your time.”
As they were moving, Charlie called out.“Olivia, get Dad to show you the pink room.I think Ella Mae will like it.”
She smiled.“I bet she will.Thanks.”
Gray offered to put away her groceries while Nash and Olivia took her things upstairs.
“There are eight bedrooms up here.Each one has a full bathroom.Outdated but functional and clean.And colorful.”
“Colorful bathrooms?”
Grinning, he turned into the room with the pink fixtures.Handily, it was right beside his room.“This is the one Charlie was talking about.”
Olivia looked around the room with a frown of confusion.Like all the rooms, the walls were cream, and the trim was white.He set down the suitcase and pointed.“Check it out.”
Olivia followed his direction to the bathroom and laughed with delight.“Pink fixtures?Are all the fixtures pink?”
He laughed.“Nope.This is the only pink room.The others are yellow, blue, and green.You don’t have to take this one.You can easily take another empty one.I’m right next door, and Charlie is across the hall.There are a couple of other empty ones.”
Olivia shook her head.“This is perfect.Charlie is right.Ella will love the pink.It’s her favorite color.”
Nash wondered if the sled he wanted to get Ella for Christmas had an option for a pink liner.
“You can set those bags down anywhere.I’ll unpack later.”
“There’s no rush, Amber and Charlie are with her.”
Olivia smiled wryly.“I know, but I’m so used to having her in sight.”
Nash nodded.“The first time I left Charlie with a sitter for a work shift, I think I checked in every twenty minutes.Drove my buddy nuts.”
Olivia laughed.“That’s the feeling.I’m sure she’s having fun, and I know she’s perfectly safe with the two of them.”
“But it’s still hard.”
She nodded.“It is.”
Nash gestured to the door.“Let’s head down.I bet she wants to see you, too.”
As they walked back down, Nash was able to get a better handle on the images that had been running through his head.Having Olivia’s bedroom right next to his might be what he wanted, but he wondered how much sleep he would get from now on.
Chapter10
House And Home
Olivia woke with a smile.An actual smile.
For so long, she’d been sad and afraid.Her dreams had been full of nightmares and loneliness for so long, it was unusual to wake happy.
A quick glance showed Ella sleeping soundly in her own bed.
Amber and Gray had found three small beds in the Inn’s attic and offered one to her.It was a handmade beauty that was decades old.Someone had carved flowers and apple trees into the headboard.She wondered how many children had used it before it had been sent to the attic.
