All alone.
“You, too, Mr. Reed.”
CHAPTERNINE
PARKER
“How’s our guest of honor doing?” Grandma Estelle asks as I curl the ribbon on the end of a bouquet of balloons, setting the weight anchoring them in the center of one of the dozen tables.
Over the past several hours, my staff has helped to transform the barn into a wonderland for kids, complete with both a cotton candy and popcorn machine. The tables overflow with treats — colorful candies, chocolates wrapped in festive foil, cupcakes with swirls of buttercream frosting, and skillfully decorated gingerbread men.
“As far as I know, he’s doing well.”
“And he’s still here?” she presses, despite knowing the answer.
Even if she hasn’t seen him walking around the property like I have, she could easily log into the reservation system and see that he still shows as a registered guest.
“He is.”
“Hmm.”
“What?” I snap my eyes toward her as she moves down a line of goodie bags, adding a container of Play-Doh into each one.
“The way you were talking the other night, I figured he’d be gone by now. You seemed quite insistent that you were going to chase him away with all the Christmas frivolity.”
I shrug, following Estelle with fidget toys and placing one in each bag. “He’s harmless.”
Estelle comes to an abrupt stop, causing me to almost ram into her. “You like him, Parker Ellen Holley.”
I roll my eyes, avoiding her stare. “That’s ridiculous. He’s the enemy, remember?”
Although he doesn’t feel like the enemy anymore. He hasn’t since I watched him walk away on Thursday night.
Granted, I haven’t spoken to him much over the past few days, apart from at the tree lighting ceremony. But I’ve seen him roaming the ridge, watching him with a little too much interest as he took photos of the various Christmas decorations. Or as he listened to a local a cappella group sing Christmas carols. Or as he joined some of my father’s friends in their daily chess game on the veranda.
The animosity overwhelming me when he first showed up here has decreased. All because I caught a glimpse of the human side he’d been hiding beneath his gruff, uncaring exterior.
But should that make any difference? He still wants to buy this place from me. Then again, it’s not like he’s trying to screw me over. If anything, he’s trying to help me out of this impossible position I’m in. I know selling is the smart thing to do. I’m just not sure if I can give up on my parents’ ranch. Not yet. Not until there’s no chance of saving it.
“He didn’t look like the enemy when you two were dancing together the other night,” Estelle remarks, pulling me out of my conflicted thoughts. “The chemistry was straight fire.”
“Straight…fire?” I repeat, wondering where Grandma Estelle heard that term.
Probably from a few of the younger guests.
Or maybe even one of her romance novels.
Perhaps a monster or alien romance. According to her, she’s been reading quite a few of those since the other night.
“Haley thought so, too.”
“Don’t pull Haley into this. She’s not here to corroborate.”
“Do you want me to call her? She’ll tell you the same thing. There’s something there between you two.”
“He’s a guest here. Soon, he’ll be gone and I’ll never have to see him again. If you ask me, that day can’t come soon enough. So if you don’t mind—”
My statement is interrupted when the door bursts open. Heidi, my front desk manager, barrels toward me. Her face is flushed with panic as she struggles to catch her breath, probably having run all the way out here from the inn.
