She wrapped a hand around his arm in reassurance. And then, reluctantly, he pulled away.
It was time to find out why Dutch Rodgers had followed him to Crest Stone.
Chapter Sixteen
TILLY STRETCHED OUTa length of cream-colored ribbon before picking up the shears and snipping it in just the right place. Unable to sit still in her room, she had wandered out into the hotel, hoping to find something to distract her from worrying about Liam.
And she’d found the perfect distraction downstairs. A group of the ladies who worked in the hotel had set to work decorating the large Christmas tree in front of one of the windows, while another group moved slowly around the room, hanging cheerful ornaments and boughs of greenery. Not wanting to interfere, but also wishing to join in the fun, Tilly hung around the edges of the group at the tree until one of the ladies noticed her and asked if she’d like to help. Tilly had jumped at the invitation, and now she found herself in charge of trimming and tying bows that would be affixed to the branches.
The girl next to her did the same work, but with a length of red ribbon, and she hummed as she cut and tied. Over the course of the past fifteen minutes, Tilly had learned her name was Millie Sinclair, that she adored Christmas but detested snow, that she thought the fellow working at the front desk was awfully handsome, and that the potato soup the chef had made yesterday was quite possibly the best she’d ever had.
It was hard to get a word in edgewise with Millie, but that was exactly what Tilly needed.
“I can’t believe you’ve made so many already!” Another girl about Tilly’s age gathered up the finished bows. She had a bright smile and friendly demeanor and had introduced herself as Sarah Taylor.
“I used to help my mother decorate at home,” Tilly said as she set the shears down. A tiny pang of homesickness encircled her heart. She hadn’t given herself much time to think of her parents or her sister, and she realized now that this would be her first Christmas away from them. She bit down on her lip as she wondered what they were doing right at that moment.
“I did too,” Sarah said gently as she sat down next to Tilly.
“My mother never let me. She claimed I’d set the house on fire if I got near the tree,” Millie proclaimed as she frowned at a bow and untied it.
Tilly stifled a giggle. Even though she’d only just met the girl, it didn’t come as a surprise.
Sarah smiled before turning her attention back to Tilly. “Last year was my first time away from home. It was hard, thinking of my family celebrating the holiday and not being there.”
Tilly nodded, not entirely trusting herself to speak or she’d risk a tear falling. Instead, she stared down at the ribbon on the table in front of her.
“But what helped me was remembering that I had a family here too. All of these girls I work with are my family, even if we aren’t truly related. Everyone working at the hotel is. Do you have people like that here?”
“I have my husband. And my brother and his wife are here.”
Sarah squeezed her arm. “See, you have a family to celebrate with here already. I missed home, but when I remembered that, I felt much better. And then I was able to make all sorts of new wonderful memories.”
“Like that blizzard on Christmas Eve last year?” Millie said with a shudder. “All of that snow.”
“It was fun, after the people on the train were rescued. And then we had the weddings on Christmas Day,” Sarah said.
“That sounds wonderful,” Tilly said.
“Come, why don’t you help me find a place for these on the tree?” Sarah handed her a few of the bows.
Tilly spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the company of the other ladies. When they finished, the lobby would be resplendent in Christmas cheer.
But as the afternoon waned, and the light through the windows grew dimmer, the creeping fear she’d gone to sleep with last night stirred again.
