Wow. That was more words than she’d said to him in all of November.
“Well, it’s a huge space. I love the ceiling fans you picked out. And the chandeliers! You have exquisite taste. I can’t wait to see them hung.”
“Thanks. They were a real bargain.” She’d gotten them secondhand from a hotel on Squam Lake that had gone out of business. He’d extracted that bit of info from Meg.
“We appreciate the way you watch every dime as if it were your own.”
Lauren’s smile warmed another ten degrees. “I enjoy scavenging for deals. It’s second nature to me.”
Mom headed to the freezer and opened the door. “Your dad’s craving ice cream. If I keep it upstairs, he’ll eat the whole container when I’m not looking.” Ever since his heart attack Mom monitored his diet—a service to which his dad reluctantly submitted himself.
She grabbed the container, shut the freezer door, and headed from the room. At the threshold she turned, meeting Lauren’s gaze. “Oh, honey, I almost forgot to ask. Are you busy tomorrow?”
“Not really. Only two cabins are occupied and no one is checking in or out. Why? I was gonna scout out some white gauzy material to drape from the barn ceiling, but that could wait.”
“Oh, good. I have a lady near Colebrook who’s painting some Christmas decorations for me and they’ll be ready tomorrow. I’m so eager to see them, but in the morning Tom and I are heading to visit friends in Bartlett, and I want to put them up Friday.” The day after Thanksgiving.
“I’d be happy to pick them up for you. Just text me the address.”
“Thank you, honey. I’ll see if Meg can work from the office tomorrow in case one of the guests needs something or we have a last-minute check-in.”
Lauren beamed. “Perfect. I can’t wait to see this place all decked out for the holidays.”
“I just love Christmas. Oh, Jonah, you’ll need to tag along with her—you don’t have classes tomorrow, right? Those decorations are gonna be heavy.”
Jonah perked up.Way to bury thelede, Mom.He would’ve grabbed this opportunity even if he’d had to ditch a final. “No problem.”
Lauren’s smile had faltered. “I’m sure I can handle it. I’m stronger than I seem.”
“Oh, they’re much too unwieldy for one person, dear. They’re large wooden cutouts: Mr. and Mrs. Claus, cute little elves, Rudolph, a sleigh, and a toy factory. She’s making me a nativity too. They’re so darling. Meg found her online, and since we had such a great year, I decided to go all out. The kids are gonna love it!”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I’ll send you both the address. You can take the property truck or Jonah’s, whichever you prefer. I’ll leave the check in the office tonight.” She glanced down at the container. “I’d better get this ice cream to your dad before it melts. Have a good afternoon, kids.”
As soon as she cleared the doorway, Lauren glared at him.
He held up his hands, palms out. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t have anything to do with this.”
There was no smile on her lips, frosty or otherwise, as he slipped from the room, following his mom. He had an idea to run past her.
He found her at the foot of the steps. “Real smooth, Mom.”
She blinked at him with her innocent brown eyes. “What?”
“You’re not fooling anyone with this spontaneous field trip—not that I’m complaining.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay. Well, listen, I was thinking about the barn venue. What would you think of having a New Year’s Eve party out there for the community? It might be an effective way of getting the word out about the venue if the locals see it firsthand.” Not to mention distract him from the fact that Lauren was gone.
“That’s a great idea. You should run with it. Let me know how your dad and I can help.” She started up the stairs again.
She seemed on board with the idea. But even though he was graduating next month, he still sensed she was less than thrilled about his taking over the resort. Maybe it was time to settle this once and for all. Get it out in the open like Lauren had suggested weeks ago. He was tired of carrying this weight.
“Hold up, Mom.” He caught up with her midflight where she stared at him expectantly. “You’re okay with me taking over the resort at the first of the year as we agreed—right?”
“Sure, honey. You do a great job around here, and if that’s what you really want, your dad and I are on board.”
