Diana walked into the kitchen and sighed. “It’s a lot warmer in here.” Taking two small boxes out of the bag, she handed one to Katie. “This cake is for you. It’s caramel deluxe.”
“Yum.”
“And for Barbara we have vanilla cream and huckleberry swirl.”
“That sounds divine.”
“It’s Ethan’s favorite.” Diana took the last two boxes out of the bag. She handed one to Penny and left the other one on the counter.
Penny made everyone a cup of coffee. “I’m glad it’s your turn to get married. It’s much less stressful being a bridesmaid than a bride.”
Katie’s cell phone pinged.
Barbara looked at her. “Is that your agent?”
Penny and Diana looked at each other.
“What does she want?” Penny asked.
Katie’s heart sank at Penny’s hopeful expression. “Nalini’s emailing a contract for me to review.”
Diana’s eyes widened. “And you didn’t tell us?”
“It’s not one hundred percent guaranteed. The publishing house was still considering my manuscript when she last spoke to them.” Katie opened the email and wished she hadn’t.
Barbara took one look at Katie and sighed. “Are you okay?”
Taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face. After too many rejections to count, there was no point getting upset. “I’m all right. The publishing house loved my manuscript, but it isn’t what they’re looking for.”
“That’s crazy,” Diana spluttered. “You’re a wonderful writer.”
“It’s okay. Let’s forget about the email and talk about the inn. What’s happening this week?”
Barbara gave her a hug. “You’re fierce as well as courageous. Don’t let the email get you down.”
“I won’t.” Regardless of what she’d said, a heavy weight settled on her shoulders. It didn’t matter how many times she told herself the rejection letters didn’t matter—they did. All she’d ever wanted to do was write stories for children. She’d spent three years studying creative writing, honing her skills until she was ready to submit her best manuscripts to agents. With more enthusiasm than was healthy, she’d naively thought that editors from every major publishing house would want to buy her books. But that hadn’t happened.
Her parents and sisters had done so well in their chosen careers. But, here she was, still trying to publish a book after years of trying. Even for someone who was usually positive, the constant stream of rejection letters made her feel like a failure.
Diana sat at the table. “I have some news that will take your mind off the email. If everyone’s happy for Ethan to look after our guests, we can visit my friend in Kalispell on Wednesday.”
Katie’s imagination leaped to her sister’s Christmas Eve wedding. Originally, Diana wanted a fairy theme, but that changed when Ethan saw what he’d be wearing.
Instead, they chose a Christmas theme and, to add a touch of whimsy to the occasion, the bridal party was renting their dresses from a theatrical company.
Barbara bit into her slice of cake. “Is your friend able to put some costumes aside for us? With all the Christmas parties happening, they might not have any dresses left by the time we get there.”
“We discussed that this afternoon. She’ll hang a few of her nicest ones in a special storage area for us. Mom and Dad are coming, too.”
While everyone was enjoying their cake and a hot drink, Barbara opened her laptop. “We’d better start our meeting. The first item on the agenda is our guests.”
As they talked about the bookings and the specific requests each couple had made, Katie pushed aside her disappointment and tried not to think about the email. She had a lot to be grateful for, and at the top of the list was her family.
Another rejection letter wouldn’t make her any less determined to publish her stories—even if it took her until she was eighty years old.
* * *
Peter leanedback in his office chair and stretched. The view of Flathead Lake from his friend Zac’s house was stunning. Even with a blanket of snow covering the surrounding mountains, everything looked fresh and crisp and almost too good to be true. It was a lot better than the concrete jungle he’d left behind in New York City.
