Christmas at Prescott Inn

by Cathryn Parry

  The theme of the show was personal to Nathan and she’d planned to surprise him with it—to show her respect and goodwill for him and his inn. “Lynn, this is the best show I’ve ever been involved with. I wish you could see it. I know you would change your mind and find something for our troupe if you could just see what we’ve done—”

  “Emilie, all of these things sound intriguing to me. You were on the right track, it’s true. But the most important thing for Donnie was for the option to be picked up, and it wasn’t,” Lynn said patiently. “That doesn’t help our business. We’re not going to be sticking with this project after all.”

  So...they were all out of work. And at Christmas.

  Gaping in shock, she found it difficult to breathe. What about Katya? And Rosie and Gary and all the others?

  And Jason... She’d promised Jason he could be in their Christmas show!

  Tears prickled Emilie’s eyes.

  “What will become of us?” she whispered.

  Lynn’s voice was gentle. “We’ve talked about this, Emilie.”

  Emilie’s gut clenched. They had talked about this.

  “At the moment, I don’t have anything to give you. There simply isn’t another opening. Our ships’ casts are full.”

  “That...goes for the rest of the cast, too?”

  “It does,” Lynn said reluctantly. “And the Empress Caribbean isn’t scheduled to go back into service this season.”

  “But...what about all the publicity we’ve generated? Won’t it look bad for the company if we’re left out in the cold?”

  “Donnie has decided the termination won’t reflect poorly on us now—we tried in good faith to have your contract extended. Frankly, it’s on Prescott Inn now. They’re the ones turning you out in the cold.”

  Nathan. Nathan had done this.

  But why?

  “What if...what if we did everything in our power—absolutely everything we could think of—to change Nathan’s mind? Please, Lynn, could we reverse this decision?”

  “Emilie, I’m sorry.” Lynn sounded genuinely sad for her. “You and the troupe will be going home.”

  She let that sink in for a moment. Home, to Florida. Home, to start all over again.

  She felt desolate. And powerless. Everyone would be upset because she hadn’t been able to convince Nathan to take a chance on them.

  “When does he want us to leave?” she asked miserably.

  “He wants you to stay and fulfill the contract. But we don’t see any need for you to stay. The cruise line is paying your salaries until Christmas as a form of goodwill, whether you perform at the inn or not.”

  Lynn sighed. “Regardless, I’ll leave the decision to you, Emilie. If you want to pack things up and cut ties after the dress rehearsal tomorrow, then do it. There’s nothing in the contract that obligates you to the inn. In fact, I would strongly suggest leaving. If you depart now, then you’ll have more time to work on finding yourself a new assignment.”

  A new assignment? But where? And what about everybody else?

  “However,” Lynn continued, “if you want to stay and perform your shows until Christmas Eve, I’d understand. And that would let Nathan off the hook, that’s for certain. I imagine he’s booked quite a few customers expecting a skating show. Just know that you and your team are under no obligation to help him.”

  “I...don’t understand.” She’d hit rock bottom. “Was this worth anything for us, Lynn? Because I feel as though I gave it my heart for nothing.”

  “Emilie, it’s show business. It happens.”

  Not to her, it didn’t. Emilie never failed. She brought happiness to people. She didn’t let them down.

  “The kids are coming to the dress rehearsal tomorrow,” she remembered.

  “Record it for us, will you? I’ll keep the file with your portfolio. It will be helpful to refer to if we have jobs in the future.”

  Emilie just felt like crying. Tomorrow was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for the standard show—the same one they’d performed on the ship. The other program, the new one she’d designed for Donnie’s visit and for Christmas Eve especially, the one she’d hoped to give Nathan as a gift—that one wasn’t ready yet. And now might never be performed.

  Why, Nathan? she thought. Why was I not enough for you?

  But it didn’t matter why. Nathan had held himself back from her. She’d believed in him again, enough to trust him, but he’d pulled the rug out from beneath her once more.

  Her choice was obvious. She should be loyal to her troupe and let them go home to find work, disbanding them after tomorrow’s dress rehearsal performance.

  How? she thought. I can’t do this!

  Her job as ice captain was to be responsible for them. She’d always felt that if she just stayed upbeat, if she kept positive and kept people happy, then she would succeed.

  But she’d done all that, and in the end, she’d still failed. She really was a faker.

  So how was she supposed to operate now?

  “Goodbye, Emilie,” Lynn said. “Take care with the dress rehearsal. We’ll keep the video on file to show Donnie what you and your skaters can do, in the event that something comes up.”

  “Yes,” Emilie murmured. But she no longer believed that any of it would make a difference.

  She hung up with Lynn and turned off her phone. Then she climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her eyes. She honestly had no idea what to do.

  And what most frightened her was that she found she didn’t really care.

  * * *

  WHERE IS EMILIE?

  Nathan stood in the lounge, where the skaters were still mingling from the party that had taken place earlier.

  Everybody seemed to be in a festive mood—Emilie’s work. The Christmas decorations in particular had perked the whole place up. Two of the skaters were kissing beneath the hanging sprig of mistletoe. Jason’s mom had returned and was hugging him, and the little boy, wearing his birthday hat, looked happier than Nathan had ever seen him.

  Nathan had to turn away. Little did they all know, but their Christmases were about to be ruined.

  Gary walked past Nathan, chatting on his cell phone.

  Nathan touched his shoulder. When Gary faced him, Nathan asked, “Where is Emilie?”

  “Excuse me,” Gary said into his phone, and then covered the receiver. “I don’t know, Nathan. Did you call her?”

  “She’s not picking up her phone.”

  “Did you try her room?”

  He hadn’t. Not yet. He’d tried the gym, the lobby and the dining room, but not her room. “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “About a half hour ago,” Gary said. “She was altering Katya’s costume for the dress rehearsal tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” With any luck, Emilie hadn’t received Lynn’s call yet. Maybe Nathan still had time to ease her into the news. It wasn’t lost on him that a big part of his worry was the fact that he hadn’t been totally honest with Emilie—he’d been keeping the financial reality about the inn all to himself.

  That was the way he dealt with keeping them all safe—by shouldering the burden so they didn’t have to. He envisioned himself as a rock wall, because that’s what he’d thought he was supposed to be.

  Emilie was upbeat and enthusiastic and caring with others. He stayed grounded and contained. That was how he operated.

  But his methods hadn’t worked. After all he’d done to save the inn, its inhabitants and its workers, it was still being sold. He’d even made it worse, because if Emilie had received Lynn’s call by now, then she would think he’d betrayed her again. In fact, if he remembered rightly, he’d specifically reassured her that the inn was “financially viable.”

  Nathan groaned aloud. Just great. She would certainly think he’d made the decision personally. He woul
dn’t blame her.

  She would be devastated. Nathan couldn’t bear to see her that way. He didn’t want her to believe that he could betray her again.

  But looking at it from her point of view, what else would she think?

  She’d tried to open him up, to get him to talk about the truth and what was really going on, the feelings that bothered him, and he’d refused. His philosophy had been to hide any unpleasantness and act like a stoic rock.

  He had to show her he was willing to make some changes. If he ever hoped to convince her to stay with him, he had to show her how he really felt about her, and how positively she affected him.

  Nathan double-checked that his Jeep was in the lot. It was. Only then did he beeline to her hotel room.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “EMILIE?” NATHAN KNOCKED on her door. Not a peep came from inside her room. All around him the corridor was quiet.

  “Emilie?” He knocked louder. “If you’re inside, please open up.” He paused, waiting.

  The door slowly opened from the inside. Emilie’s tearstained face peered out at him. “It’s not a good time for me right now,” she said in a choked voice.

  “Emilie...” He wanted to crush her to his chest and comfort her. From the wounded look in her eyes, his worst fears were realized. Lynn had already called her, and he’d hurt her deeply. He had a hard, rocky trail to bring her back to him. “Please let me in. I really need to talk to you.”

  “Why?” she whispered. “You’re sending us away. You’re putting me and my troupe out in the cold.”

  “I don’t want to. Believe me when I tell you that it’s the last thing I want.” He put his hand on the doorjamb. “May I come in? Please.”

  She seemed to waver for a moment. Then she stepped back. “It’s your inn. You can do what you want with it.”

  That wasn’t the reaction he’d been hoping for, but he took advantage anyway. He stepped inside the darkened room. Cold, because he hadn’t let the inn temperatures be turned up too high.

  He suddenly felt ashamed. Emilie was shivering, wrapped in a blanket. The covers on her bed were rumpled, and he could tell she’d been huddled beneath the layers of wool and cotton coverings. Crying. In the dark.

  She wouldn’t accept comfort from him—he’d been the one who’d hurt her—but maybe he could provide comfort another way. He remembered how she’d been talking about missing the Florida weather.

  “May I take you someplace warm, Emilie? It’s cold in here, and that’s my fault. I’ve been a Scrooge for far too long. A Grinch who should know better.”

  “Can you bring our jobs back, Nathan?”

  He couldn’t. He shook his head sadly. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this. I’ve been keeping things from you because I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but now, I’m going to lay everything on the table for you. My investors are selling the inn. I received the news just before Lynn called. Emilie, it’s not just your troupe. The kids are being displaced, as well. I talked with the shelter right after I hung up with Lynn. It’s why I couldn’t talk to you first. I’m in agony over this.”

  Her hand went to her mouth. “The kids are leaving, too?” She looked at him with stricken eyes. “When?”

  “The day after Christmas.”

  “Poor Jason!”

  “I know.”

  “Poor Maria.” Emilie slumped on the bed, her head in her hands. Then she looked up at him. “Did you have any idea this could happen?”

  He couldn’t lie to her again. He couldn’t pretend any longer that everything was all right and nothing was wrong. That he was a rock who could protect people from disaster.

  “The inn has been in financial trouble,” he admitted, sitting facing her on the other bed. “And it was always unlikely we’d be able to stay open past Christmas unless I was able to perform a miracle. I’m sorry I lied about the financial viability of the hotel when you asked me. My investors made it clear that I was not to let on to anyone about the money problems.”

  She slumped further. Emotional pain radiated from her body.

  It scared him, because he’d never seen her this way. Not even when her ship had sunk.

  She looked as if she’d completely lost faith in him and the world.

  “Emilie, please don’t give up on me. I want to make things right for you.”

  * * *

  MAKE THINGS RIGHT? At each step of the way, he’d chosen his inn over her, and she’d been oblivious. Until now...when the worst had happened. When everything had fallen apart, and her troupe was on the street.

  So, yes, she had lost hope this Christmas.

  “Please come out to the Jeep with me,” Nathan pleaded. “I have someplace I want to bring you.”

  “Why? It doesn’t matter anymore. I won’t fight your decision. We’ll leave tomorrow after the dress-rehearsal show for the kids.”

  She would soldier on for that much. But that was all.

  “Don’t make a decision just yet.” Nathan stood. “And please don’t judge me until you hear what I have to say.”

  He placed her jacket over her shoulders and set out her boots for her to slip into. She felt so tired and defeated, she just didn’t have the energy to argue with him.

  And she wasn’t the least bit curious where he wanted to go. What difference did it make where he took her, anyway? If the inn was closing, then the inn was closing. She would never see Nathan again after tomorrow, and he knew it, too.

  It’s futile. But she was too beaten to fight, so she let him guide her down the hallway. His fingertips were lightly on her elbow, but she didn’t let that fool her. Their story together was almost finished.

  Outside, the weather was as harsh and cold as she felt inside. A biting wind whipped across her cheeks.

  Tears leaked from her eyes. The parking lot was gritty with winter salt crunching beneath her boots, and she was suddenly homesick for her familiar tropical home.

  At least, she would soon be back in Florida. Even if that meant moving into her mom’s spare bedroom until she got herself on her feet again.

  Nathan unlocked the passenger door for her. Then he climbed into the driver’s side, turned on the engine and cranked the heater to full blast.

  She got inside the familiar Jeep, too. Shivering, she put both hands against the heating vents.

  From Nathan’s expression, she could see he was sorry they’d ended up this way. Well, she was, too.

  “Lynn blindsided me today,” he said. “She called me before I had the chance to talk to you. She gave me a sales pitch to extend the contract, and I answered her the only way I could.”

  “Are you unhappy with the work I’ve been doing?” She found that she had to know the answer.

  “No, on the contrary, I...” He sighed. “I haven’t given up on us, and I don’t want you to, either.”

  She felt tears leaking from her eyes as she shivered in her seat. Even the heating vent was still blowing cold air. “I just w-wish I was warm.”

  Nathan put the Jeep into gear. “Put your seat belt on, Emilie.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “Someplace where you’ll be warm.” He set his chin. “Or, as close to warm as you can be here in the north.”

  She didn’t understand him. All she could think was that she’d been so intent that everyone else should feel happy this Christmas, that she had lost her way. He was right about one thing—she’d never expected that she would be the one to lose heart.

  * * *

  NATHAN WAS SERIOUSLY worried about Emilie. He’d never seen her so despondent. Through all the trials and obstacles she’d encountered, she’d always kept her optimism. She plugged onward. She never gave up, not even when she’d lost everything.

  He had to do something to convince her that there was still hope. This was his last-ditch effort to beg her not to give
up on him. Or on them.

  She leaned her head against the window, and though he couldn’t see her face, she seemed to be dully watching the road fly by.

  He drove out to the state road, and he pegged the accelerator so they were whisking along at fifty miles per hour. Green pine trees flanked them on either side, their branches gilded with the light dusting of snow from the day before.

  She didn’t seem too excited about the prospect of snow anymore. He hated that she’d seemed to lose her natural enthusiasm.

  “We’re almost there, Emilie.”

  She glanced at him, and her eyes were red and bloodshot.

  She was on the verge of tears. His heart cracked open in his chest.

  “Emilie, it’s not personal to you that we didn’t extend the option. It’s just business. It happens.”

  “But that’s where you’re wrong. It is personal. It was personal when you left me on the ship, and it’s personal that Lynn’s asking me to leave now because I gave her bad information.”

  “My partners didn’t give me a choice. I was asked to keep the situation quiet.”

  “That’s an excuse. If that were true, then you would have told me everything up front when we became partners in this project. But you didn’t. You wouldn’t let me in. You kept me separated from who you are and what’s really important to you, and just expected me to go along because I’m eager to please.”

  “Yes. Yes to all of it. You’re right.”

  Her mouth dropped open.

  He pulled into the parking lot of the place he’d wanted to bring her. “Let’s go inside.”

  She looked at the large, glass-enclosed structure and its sign that read L’Orangery, and gazed at him questioningly.

  He unbuckled his seat belt. “This is the largest greenhouse for miles around. There are orange trees inside, a whole grove of them. It’s the one local place that reminds me of Florida. And you.”

  “Why me?”

  “You used to wear an orange-infused scent. I used to come here and sit for a while when missing you became too unbearable.”