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And then she asked Paul about her grandparents. She learned that her grandfather died of a heart attack when her mother was a junior in high school. She took it hard as he was the peacemaker and negotiator in the family.

A period of silence filled the dining room. Leah’s mind struggled to sort through all of the information she’d learned.

Her grandmother and mother were constantly at odds over such things as her mother’s taste in clothes to her staying out past curfew. It sounded like normal stuff for a teenager.

And then she wondered if her grandmother suspected her mother was pregnant when she left Kringle Falls. She couldn’t work up the courage to ask him.

At this point, Paul’s gaze moved to her. “Are you planning to return to California?”

She lowered her slice of pizza to her plate. “It’s what I was planning. I have to be back at the office right after the New Year.”

Paul nodded, but he didn’t say anything. Leah didn’t know him well enough to read his reaction to the news.

“What about the inn?” Tracy asked. “Will you sell it?”

Leah nodded. “That’s been the plan. There’s no way I could keep it and live in California.”

“That inn has been in your family for generations,” Paul said. “Miriam…uh, your grandmother, used to tell me stories about the old days. She was so proud of that place.”

Was this his attempt to talk her into keeping the inn? If so, did that mean he wanted to know her better? Her heart fluttered in her chest.

She wished that Shaun was there with her. She imagined him seated next to her, and he’d reach under the table to take her hand in his. He wouldn’t need to say anything. Just his touch would help calm her nerves.

When everyone was finished eating, Leah stood to help clear the dishes, but Tracy turned to her. “Leave it. The boys will clear the table.”

“But, Mom...” The boys moaned.

“Don’t but mom me,” Tracy said in her mom voice that made the boys quiet down. “And afterward, we have Christmas cookies to bake.”

“But I was going to play a video game,” Bobby said.

“First, cookies.” Then Tracy looked at her husband. “Why don’t you take Leah in the living room where you can talk? And light the fireplace. It’s supposed to be in the teens tonight.”

After Tracy and the boys disappeared into the kitchen, Leah turned to Paul. He was smiling and shaking his head. “She always seems to know what people need. I’d be lost without her.” Then he looked at Leah. “Would you like to stay and talk?”

Some one-on-one time with her father sounded perfect. “I would like that.”

He got to his feet. “After I get the fire going, I have an old photo album I dug out of the attic. Would you like to see it?”

“I would. Very much.” The answers she longed for were within reach. And so, while Paul got the fireplace going, she quickly texted Shaun.

Leah: Things are going well. How are things there?

As though he were waiting for her to message him, Shaun responded.

Shaun: Happy to hear it. Things are quiet here. Stay as long as you want. I’ve got your back.

Leah: Thank you

Shaun: Anytime

With the fire lit, Paul turned to her. “I’ll be right back.”

As he stepped out of the room, Tracy entered with two mugs. She looked around and then asked, “Where did Paul go?”

“To get some photos he wanted to show me.”

Tracy smiled and nodded. “He was up in the attic after he got home. He said there was something he had to find.” She held a mug out to her. “I hope you like hot chocolate.”