“The rest of the week?”
Carter’s lips twisted. “The office coordinator had the same reaction. You’d think I never took a vacation day.”
“You don’t.”
“It’s fine. We’re fine. And you will be, too,” Carter promised. “But you have to follow Dr. Wallis’s instructions.”
Karen puffed a sigh. “I will.”
Before Carter reached the door, she called out to him.
“Carter? One more thing.”
He paused, looked over his shoulder. “Okay.”
“I know you prefer to stay in the background...but don’t forget we have a guest.”
Carter almost laughed.
As much as he’d like to, he had a feeling that forgetting about Ellery Marshall would be next to impossible.
Chapter Fifteen
Ellery heard the soft tread of footsteps down the hall and her traitorous heart fell into rhythm with the beat even before Carter walked into the kitchen.
His gaze swept over the hedge of brown paper bags lined up on the island. “What’s all this?”
“I took a screenshot of Karen’s grocery list and picked up a few things at the store on my way—” Ellery almost said home “—back here.”
“A few things?” Carter’s lips twitched. “It looks like there’s enough food to take us through the winter.”
“Through the end of the week at least.” Ellery tried on a smile and hoped Carter didn’t notice it didn’t quite fit right. “Karen planned to do a lot of baking this week, so I doubled up on some of the pantry staples.”
Carter reached into one of the brown paper bags and pulled out a small plastic container. Shot a look of disbelief at Ellery. “Glitter is a staple?”
“They’re sprinkles,” Ellery corrected. “For decorating Christmas cookies.”
Carter inspected it more closely. “Anything that looks like it glows in the dark can’t possibly be edible.”
“Not only edible, but delicious.”
Carter didn’t look convinced but he set the container on the counter and took a quick inventory of the rest of her purchases. “I don’t see any frozen pizza.”
He was teasing her. Wasn’t he? It was hard to tell when the man didn’t crack a smile.
“Um...no. I saw pizza on the list and bought the ingredients to make them from scratch.”
“I’m pretty sure Mama Francesca follows the same recipe before she distributes them to grocery stores all over the world.”
Definitely teasing her.
Now would be the time to confess that she was leaving, but Ellery found it impossible to talk when she couldn’t breathe.
Carter must have felt the change in the air, too, because he frowned.
Bea skipped into the kitchen. She’d changed into bib overalls and a turtleneck, her pigtails adorably askew. “Whatcha doing?”
Ellery was wondering the same thing. But Carter—bless the man and his “just the facts” conversational style—didn’t seem to have trouble answering the question.
“Putting away groceries.”
Bea went up on her tiptoes and began removing cans from a bag. “I’ll help!”
“I believe those belong on the second shelf of the pantry,” Carter said.
Bea tipped her head back. “I can’t reach that high.”
“Really? Are you sure?” Carter swept his daughter off her feet and lifted her in the air, holding her steady while she carefully placed a can of tomatoes on the shelf.
Father’s and daughter’s palms connected in a victorious high five.
“We need another one, Miss El’ry!” Bea instructed.
“Coming right up.”
Together they formed a small but efficient assembly line.
The simple, everyday task of putting away groceries, working alongside Carter, shouldn’t have felt so normal. So...right.
Neither should this unexpected—and undeniable—attraction to Carter.
“Those go in the refrigerator!” Bea chortled.
Ellery looked down. Felt the heat rush into her cheeks when she realized she’d been about to hand Carter a bag of carrots.
“Of course they do.” Ellery expelled a weak laugh to cover her mistake and promptly made another when she dared a look at Carter and saw the speculative look in his eyes.
Almost as if he were trying to figure out what had distracted her.
Bea wriggled out of Carter’s arms. “Can I give one to Sugar?”
“I think she’d like that.” Ellery skirted around Carter and made a beeline for the sink. “I’ll wash them off first.”
Even with her back to Carter, Ellery was acutely aware of his presence as he transferred the produce to the bins in the refrigerator.
Bea’s strangled cry had both her and Carter whirling around.
She sat on the floor, hugging a pair of ice skates against her chest. “Are these for me?”
Oops. Ellery had forgotten that not all the bags held groceries. She’d spotted the skates in the window of a store called CJ’s Variety. Made from snow white leather and sporting pink laces and sparkly pompoms, they could have been designed with Bea in mind.
“Consider them an early Christmas gift.” Ellery smiled. “Do you like them?”
“They’re the bestest ever!” Bea sprang to her feet and held them up for Carter to admire. “Now we can go skating on the pond, Daddy.”
Carter’s gaze bounced from the skates to the window and his jaw tightened. Ellery suddenly realized the pond was buried under several feet of snow. Snow that would have to be removed before testing out a new pair of skates. Ellery’s purchase had inadvertently created more work for a man who already had too much on his plate.
Or was Carter upset that she hadn’t asked permission to buy Bea a gift?
“Can I try them on, Daddy?” Bea begged.
“Maybe later.” Carter tweaked a golden pigtail. “You can play outside while I shovel the walkway.”
“I’ll show Snowflake my skates.” Bea dashed over and threw her arms around Ellery’s waist. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Ellery’s eyes met Carter’s over Bea’s head but there was no sign of a thaw.
So. Not only did she have to say goodbye, she owed him an apology, too.
After Carter ushered Bea out of the kitchen, Ellery tackled a few of the things on Karen’s to-do list and whipped up a simple omelet in case her appetite had returned.
She’d planned to slip in and leave the tray without disturbing Karen, but the innkeeper was sitting up in bed, her head nested in her arms.
“Karen? Are you feeling worse?” Tea sloshed over the rim of the cup as Ellery hurried to her side. “Should I call Carter?”
“No. Everything is fine.” Karen tucked a limp strand of hair behind her ear. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I couldn’t sleep so I decided to pray instead.”
Ellery nodded. She’d been doing a lot of that lately, too. In a way, she and Karen weren’t so different. They were in situations where they felt helpless. Where they had to make a conscious decision to trust.
“You’re a believer, aren’t you? I can always tell by a person’s eyes.” Karen smiled. “And what they do with their hands.”
It sounded like something Ellery’s mom would have said. Candace Marshall lived what she believed. Everything she did flowed out of her love for God and the people He put in her path.
“Ellery, may I ask you something?”
Something in Karen’s tone set off a warning alarm. “Of course.”
“It’s almost Christmas. Why aren’t you with your family?”
It was the last question Ellery had expected but there wasn’t a hint of accusation or suspicion in Karen’s eyes. Only kindness.
“My parents... They died last
winter. I’m an only child—” It was true and yet it wasn’t. The urge to tell Karen everything welled up inside Ellery, but she forced it down, along with the lump rising in her throat. “I needed some time...” Time to find the truth about my past. My brothers. “So, I came here.”
Karen’s hand folded around hers. “I’m so sorry about your loss,” she said softly. “But it’s a testimony to your parents’ influence that you allowed the pain to draw you closer to God rather than away from Him.”
Ellery wondered if Karen was thinking about Carter.
“You said you needed peace and quiet,” Karen continued. “But God knew we needed you. I’ve been running this inn for twenty years and I know for a fact there’s never been a guest who could handle my son, my precious but active granddaughter and the menu for a high tea.”
Ellery felt the color rise in her cheeks. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Maybe too much.
“I can tell. I know a kindred soul when I see one.” Karen took a sip of tea. “Which is why I want to hire you.”
“Hire me?”
“Yes.” Karen’s voice was surprisingly firm for someone too weak to get out of bed. “Only for a few days. Until I get my strength back again. There will be guests arriving in the next day or two and as much as I love Carter, he is more comfortable in a squad car than the kitchen.”
Ellery opened her mouth. Closed it again. She didn’t know what to say.
“You don’t have to decide right away.” Karen squeezed Ellery’s hand. “Take some time and think about it.”
If Jameson were here, the attorney would say the suitcase on the floor next to Ellery’s bed, packed and waiting, meant the decision to stay or leave had already been made.
But what if God had other plans?
Ellery had been praying He would show her what to do.
What if she wasn’t supposed to leave yet?
“I won’t be upset if you say no,” Karen said, misinterpreting Ellery’s silence for reluctance. “I realize it will change things, but right now I need someone I can trust to hold things together.”
Ellery wasn’t sure that person was her. Not when her dream of reuniting with the only family she had left was falling apart.
Not when she was falling for a man who’d made no secret of the fact that he didn’t believe in dreams at all.
* * *
John Wayne made this look so much easier.
Carter might not be a cowboy, but he’d been trained to assess and defuse potentially volatile situations. And something in the way Sugar’s ears lay flat against her head told Carter the mare wasn’t too keen on sharing her stall.
“Housekeeping,” he said, holding up the rake as proof. “All I need is five minutes and then you can go back to whatever it was you were doing.”
Behind him, Bea giggled.
Carter was tempted to call the Kanes and complain they’d missed a spot, but he wasn’t in the mood to decipher the brothers’ secret code of veiled comments and knowing looks.
He tried another approach. “Bea, hand me another carrot, please.”
“They’re all gone.”
“Resorting to bribery again?” The question, accompanied by a low laugh, brought Sugar’s head around.
Carter glanced over his shoulder and the air emptied from his lungs.
Ellery had changed clothes before coming down to the barn. She always looked beautiful, but in leather boots, a pair of faded jeans and a fleece-lined coat that looked suspiciously like the one Carter had stashed in the hall closet months ago, she looked more approachable than she did in cashmere.
More...kissable.
Whoa.
Carter put those thoughts on lockdown before they could lead him into dangerous ground.
“Daddy is talking to Sugar,” Bea informed Ellery in a whisper. “But she’s not being a good listener.”
Carter could see Ellery struggling to wrestle down a smile as she joined him in the stall.
“Hey there, girl,” she crooned. “How about a little bedtime snack before we tuck you in for the night?”
The horse nickered an agreeable reply.
“Bea? Will you scoop some grain into that metal pan on top of the feed bin, please?”
Bea shot into action and returned a few moments later. She handed Ellery the pan. Sugar stretched out her neck to investigate its contents and her ears lifted in approval once again.
Ellery responded to Carter’s incredulous look with an innocent shrug of her shoulders.
“Everyone likes a bedtime snack.” She neatly divested Carter of the rake before he could protest. The stall was clean before Sugar finished vacuuming up the oats.
“There.” Ellery ran her hand over the horse’s mane before backing out of the stall. Carter followed and slid the door back into place.
“Is it okay if I give Snowflake some oats before she goes to sleep, too?” Bea asked.
“That’s a great idea.” Without hesitation, Ellery sprinkled a handful of the grain into the pan for Bea’s snow horse.
“Stay close to the house,” Carter called out of habit as she dashed for the door, the tail of her pink stocking cap lifting like a windsock, buoyed by the force that was Bea.
The barn door closed, sealing him and Ellery inside.
Suddenly, Carter felt as jittery as a new recruit on his first underwater dive.
The pull of physical attraction he understood. The chemistry between him and Jennifer had burned as hot as a brush fire and died just as quickly. This felt different. Spending time with Ellery made Carter think about the future, not the past.
“I’ll get some fresh bedding.”
Sugar wasn’t his responsibility, but Carter had to do something to keep those unruly thoughts in line.
Ellery stepped in front of him and blocked his path. “I’m sorry.”
Carter frowned. “For...”
“The ice skates. I should have asked you before I gave them to Bea,” Ellery said. “But pink laces and pompoms? I couldn’t resist. Your reaction when you saw them... It was obvious that I...I’d overstepped.”
Chapter Sixteen
And here Carter thought he’d become such an expert on hiding his emotions.
He pivoted toward the window and looked outside to make sure his daughter hadn’t wandered from view. Bea was deep in conversation with her snow horse, gently patting the dishmop mane, mimicking Ellery’s affectionate gesture toward Sugar a few minutes ago.
“There’s no need to apologize,” Carter said, hoping that would be the end of it. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Ellery moved closer and Carter felt his gut tighten.
How was it that she’d picked up on some subtle, nonverbal cue when they were in the kitchen and totally missed Carter’s need to put a little space between them now?
“What, then?” Ellery touched his arm and Carter’s heart short-circuited like a faulty string of lights on a Christmas tree. “Is it because you have to clear snow off the pond for a rink?”
Carter wasn’t sure he could tell Ellery that he was angry with himself, not her.
Ellery’s purchase wasn’t about crossing boundaries or adding another project on an already packed to-do list. It was pure, undiluted guilt.
“How did you know Bea wanted skates?”
Ellery’s brow furrowed as if she were trying to decide whether it was a trick question.
“Page three in Isabella’s Best Christmas Ever?”
“Isabella’s what?” Had he missed something else?
“The book Bea wrote.”
There was his answer.
“She didn’t show that one to me.”
Ellery didn’t look horrified or disgusted that Carter had had no idea his daughter was an author.
“It was an activity at the library,
” she explained. “Maddie asked all the children to write down the things that would make this the best Christmas ever.”
Carter closed his eyes for a moment. It was the wishing bell all over again.
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“Why?”
Carter was used to asking the questions. He wasn’t sure whether to be amused or annoyed that Ellery had turned the tables on him.
“When we got home from the parade that night, Bea told me she’d wished for a real horse that looks like Snowflake...”
Understanding dawned in Ellery’s eyes. “Sugar.”
“How do you explain a coincidence to someone with an imagination like Bea? Someone who thinks the world is this beautiful place when you know...” Carter pushed aside the dark images that flooded his mind. “When you know it isn’t. I do my best to protect her but—”
Carter felt like he was failing at that, too.
“Protecting Bea is part of your job as a father,” Ellery said softly. “But it doesn’t mean that you stand on the perimeter of her life and keep watch. Bea needs you to be with her.”
Carter was afraid of that, too.
“Mom is more comfortable with the sunny side of life,” he muttered. “I’m sure you’ve figured out I’m not wired that way.”
“I figured out you use that as an excuse to keep your distance from people.” Ellery met his eyes. “Including your own daughter.”
Had Carter really thought Ellery was as harmless as one of Bea’s stuffed ponies? Because right now, every word she said fell like a hammer blow.
“Bea is...amazing. There’s too much at stake. I don’t want to make a mistake and fail at parenting, too.”
“You will make mistakes, Carter. You’re human. But I’d rather make mistakes than have regrets. And you...you have a lot to give.”
The fact Ellery was extending grace that Carter didn’t deserve somehow made it worse.
“Not according to my ex-wife.”
Had he really just said that out loud? Judging from the expression on Ellery’s face, he had.
“She was wrong.” Ellery sounded so certain, Carter was tempted to believe her.
The Holiday Secret (Castle Falls Book 4) Page 12
