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Her gaze moved from the pup to him. “As tempting as that offer is, I think I’m going to pass for tonight. Something tells me that I’m not going to get much sleep.”

“Maybe I can keep you company.” When her eyes widened, he rushed on to clarify. “We could kick back in the living room and have a Christmas movie marathon.”

“That’s very sweet of you, but I have a lot of thinking to do. Goodnight.” Then she petted Mochi on the head. “Goodnight to you too.”

With the photo album tucked under her arm, she walked away. He felt as though he should do something more, but he didn’t know what that should be, so he took Mochi outside one last time, and then they went to bed.

As Shaun lay there in the dark, his thoughts kept returning to Leah. He hoped that this new discovery wouldn’t bring more pain to her life.

Chapter Sixteen

Bzzt... Bzzt...

Bzzzzzzzzzz...

The loud sound drew Leah from her dreamless sleep. Still groggy, she reached for her phone, which was charging on her bedside table. Her fingers moved blindly over the screen to make the sound stop.

Bzzt... Bzzt...

The unfamiliar sound continued. She pressed on the screen of her phone again. Still, the annoying sound continued, and it was so loud.

She pried her eyes fully open. She looked at her phone. It wasn’t her alarm.

She blinked. Sunlight streamed in between the closed slats of the blinds. Wait. The sun shouldn’t be bright yet. She lifted her phone and stared at the time. It said it was 7:37. What?

She scrambled out of bed, tripping over the blanket that was wrapped around her legs. It took her a moment to right herself.

Bzzzzzzzzz...

The high-pitched sound continued. What was that? She rushed to the window and looked out.

There was a group of men standing in her backyard near Shaun’s SUV. It took a second for her thoughts to crystalize, but then she recalled that the landscaper was scheduled to show up that morning.

She had to get out there. Her hand moved to her hair. She groaned. She couldn’t go out there looking like this.

She peeked through the blinds again. Shaun was out there. She ran to her closet. She yanked a Christmas sweater off the shelf as well as some jeans. In the bathroom, she skipped a shower. It would have to wait until later. She threw her hair up in a ponytail. There was absolutely no time for makeup. She washed off her face and dried it, brushed her teeth, and then she grabbed a warm pair of socks.

She headed for the door. She slipped on her snow boots and then shrugged on her red winter coat. She rushed out the door, feeling mortified that she’d slept in.

Of course, she had a legitimate excuse. She’d been up more than half the night, thinking about the fact that her mother had gotten married. Married...

Why wouldn’t her mother have mentioned this to her? Was the guy bad news? Had her mother been on the run from him?

Leah didn’t want to think that her father was a bad guy. She didn’t want to accept that sort of reality. But it made sense. It explained why her mother wouldn’t come back to Kringle Falls. It explained why her mother didn’t tell her about him. But...

It didn’t explain why her mother hadn’t told her about her grandparents or this inn. She inwardly groaned as she went out the door. She would think about it later.

The morning sun shone brightly, belying the fact that the temperature was below freezing. As she rushed over to the SUV, she could see her breath. She snuggled deeper in her coat.

By the time she joined them, the tree limb had been lifted off Shaun’s SUV. She cringed when she saw the damage, from the busted windshield to the bent fender.

Her gaze moved to a bucket truck that had been positioned near the tree that had dropped the limb. Actually, it was more than just a limb, it was more like half the tree. It was a big red truck with a white boom. There was a guy up in the bucket, cutting down more of the tree.

Just then Shaun spotted her. He strode over to her. “Hey, I’m sorry if we woke you up.”

She shook her head. “I should have been up a long time ago. My alarm must not have gone off. What did I miss?”

“They started back here because the garage said they’d send a flatbed over this morning to haul away my SUV.” His gaze moved to it. “It actually looks worse with the limb moved. I didn’t think that was possible.”