Sandra leaned closer and said softly, “Are you okay, Eb?”
The man’s normally controlled expression cracked, and emotions slipped out. No. Theygushedout.Somany “feels” she was afraid he might cry. Her heart ached for him, knowing how important it was for him to always appear calm and businesslike.
“What can I do to help?” she whispered.
With those simple words, the insecurity in his expression changed to relief, and his mask snapped back into place. Rue reached for him, and he took her.
Eb kept his voice low. “I could use some advice.”
“Then let’s take this outside. It’s a beautiful autumn day out there.”
“Brilliant suggestion. Thank you so much.” Eb said to his assistant, “Inez, would you mind grabbing my overcoat?” He turned to the receptionist. “And please keep Rue’s things behind your counter.”
“Sure thing, Mr. Grinchly.” The woman said the words demurely, but her eyes sparked with curiosity.
Inez quickly returned and handed him both his coat and an envelope. By the time the three of them were walking out of the building, Rue had dozed off, her head resting on Eb’s shoulder.
Sandra shot a final, longing glance at the ski lift. “It’s not too busy this afternoon, so we’ll have privacy if we walk the grounds.”
“There’s a nice bench down this path.” Eb pointed that direction.
They walked in silence, and Sandra figured he needed the time to collect his thoughts. However it was that Rue had come to be there, it appeared she’d just arrived. And poor Eb was still reeling.
Fortunately, no one else strolled nearby, and they had the lovely little area to themselves. As he eased on to the seat, Sandra scanned their surroundings. The dappled sunlight kept it from being too chilly, and the bubbling stream nearby made it a tranquil spot.
It seemed to work its magic on him because he relaxed even more. She tried not to be too obvious as she watched him. The tender way he brushed a curl from the child’s face showed Sandra she’d misjudged the man. It made for a sweet scene, and Sandra pulled out her phone.
“Do you mind if I take a picture? You two are adorable. I can send it to you.”
“Thank you.”
Sandra snapped the photo and attached it to a text to him. After returning her phone to her purse, she took a seat beside him.
“I don’t know where to start,” Eb finally said.
Those simple words held so much pain that guilt filled Sandra. During the ten months she’d known Eb Grinchly, especially at the beginning of their friendship, she’d thought him a closed-off, unfeeling man. Too often, his cool manner had reminded her of Seuss’s Christmas cartoon character the Grinch. Which hadn’t been fair. Now, before her, was proof of how she’d misjudged him.
“Start at the beginning.” She made her words soft and encouraging. “It’s usually the best place.”
The stiffness in his body eased but more out of defeat than relief.
“I met Paige Britton—”
“The actress?”
“Yes.” Eb said the word with bitterness. “It was nearly five years ago. She’d come here on vacation with some Hollywood friends. It was the break between Christmas and New Year, and I was taking time off from work to get in some skiing. We kept crossing paths, and Paige invited me to join them for lunch one day. Before I knew it, I was a member of their group.”
Sandra could see it. Eb was handsome in a soft-spoken, nerdy way. But she expected he’d been shy and not terribly experienced with women.
“And just like that, you were one of the cool kids.”
“It was intoxicating.” He gave her a weak smile. “When a friend of Paige’s paid some attention to me, Paige decided she liked me.”
“And you fell for her.”
“Like a brick.” Eb shook his head. “Everything happened so fast, and I just got swept up in it. I’d never been in love before, and I let myself believe she loved me too. They got bored with little Huckleberry Falls and wanted to do the New Year in Vegas. One of their friends had a plane, and Paige convinced me to fly there with them.”
Sandra had worked for Walt Kinkade for eleven years, and he’d never been into the Hollywood party scene. But she’d seen enough from the fringes to know what it must have been like.
