Wishes for Christmas

by Fern Michaels

  Gannon hated asking for time off so soon, but he didn’t really have a choice. Granda needed him, and he would crawl through barbed wire for the man. He loved him like a father, worried about him constantly since he’d up and moved out.

  Deep down inside, he knew the choice to infiltrate the inn surreptitiously was his and his alone. If Granda was ill, he would abandon his plans to find out exactly why the inn continued to be so successful and would spend the time to take care of him. He’d simply have to rethink his strategy, maybe hire a marketing firm to relaunch Draper’s. He would have to use his own funds to do this, but if that was what it took to keep the family business running, then that was exactly what he would do.

  Playing the role of a double agent, so to speak, working in enemy territory, wasn’t nearly as easy as he’d originally thought. His plan was to work at the inn during the day and continue at night to carry out his duties at the lodge. However, he was no longer so sure he could manage to do both without being discovered. Just this morning, he had seen one of the lodge’s regular patrons, who’d dined there two nights ago. While Draper’s didn’t have a five-star restaurant, Chloe’s held its own as one of the finest dining spots in Asheville. He’d seen Holly and some friends dining there on more than one occasion.

  Had she been there to spy? And if so, why hadn’t he noticed? Why hadn’t he noticed how gorgeous she was? He had sneaked a look at her ring finger and had seen neither a wedding band nor an engagement ring. Didn’t mean much these days, but if he ever chose to tie the knot, he would most certainly want his fiancée to wear his ring. Maybe he was a bit old-fashioned at thirty-five, but he still believed in courting a woman, as his granda had taught him.

  Holly a spy? It certainly wasn’t out of the question. He’d never thought of it before, but now he didn’t know. Maybe she was trying to beat him at his own game.

  But to what end? The inn was extremely popular with locals, as well as with guests from around the world. She didn’t need to snoop into the way his family ran the business.

  “Stupid,” he said out loud, glad he was alone in the Jeep. Not every person he came in contact with in his line of business was a snoop.

  Shamed by what he was doing, he put it out of his mind as soon as he pulled up to the gatehouse at the Haven.

  “You have a pass?” an elderly man wearing a dark blue uniform asked from his post, a brick structure that was the size of a small house.

  All family members of the residents had been given permanent guest passes. Gannon reached for his, which he kept in the center console, then held it out the window to be scanned. This was the Haven’s way of keeping track of everyone who came and went. He found that he actually liked the idea. As Granda had said, “It keeps out the riffraff.”

  When the gate opened, he wound his way through the maze of what he thought of as a small city.

  The windows of the various buildings throughout the community were decked out with giant green wreaths with red bows. The buildings had brightly colored lights wrapped around the lampposts. He drove past a house that displayed a giant Santa with his team of reindeer; the scene covered the entire front lawn. One house was preparing for a live nativity scene, according to the signs posted. A crew of several men on a cherry picker were placing giant stars on the rooftops. Seeing all this, Gannon couldn’t help but get into the holiday spirit. When he saw Grandpa’s condo, he slid the Jeep into one of the guest parking slips. He then exited the Jeep and walked to the entrance to the building.

  As soon as he stepped inside the reception area, he was hit with the strong scent of pine. He took a deep breath, laughed, and shook his head as he rode the elevator to Granda’s third-floor condo. They certainly had the holiday spirit here.

  Granda’s condo was down a long hallway, several yards away from the elevators. Smart, Gannon thought. He’d stayed in hotels where his room had been close to the elevators, and it had made for lousy sleep. Granda had picked his particular condo for two reasons. No one was above him, and it faced the golf course. Smart man, he thought as he rang the doorbell.

  Before he could raise his hand to tap on the door, it swung open.

  “Granda!” Gannon exclaimed. “What the hell is going on?” Shocked at his grandfather’s appearance, he mentally kicked himself for not having paid closer attention to his needs. “Are you sick? Should I take you to the hospital?”

  Granda, tall and thin, with chipper blue eyes and a head full of silver hair, suddenly appeared old and fragile to him.

  “No, no, and no. Now, young man, sit.” He nodded toward the small table that just barely fit into the condo’s kitchen. Granda liked an eat-in kitchen, said it reminded him of when he was a boy. Gannon thought the kitchen too small, but it was just for his grandfather. It was enough for one person.

  He sat down, waiting to hear what was troubling his grandfather.

  “You’re not gonna like this, kid, but I think my insulin is being tampered with.” He told him about finding the seal broken on a bottle and about how he’d felt after his morning injection.

  “Did the pharmacy bring you a new bottle of insulin?” Gannon asked, shocked at his grandfather’s claim.

  “Nope, and I don’t want any. I’m not taking this stuff anymore. It’s no good. Just like all those commercials you see on TV these days. After they tell you the side effects, the damned disease is a joke.”

  “Granda, you have to take your insulin. It’s life threatening if you don’t. You could go into a diabetic coma! You’re coming home with me.” Gannon felt like he was the father and Granda the child. He was imagining things. No one would tamper with his medication. Just the suggestion was ludicrous.

  “No, I am not. Look, I’m not crazy. I know what I saw. Here.” He went to the refrigerator and removed a bottle of insulin, then set it in the center of the table. “Now, look at this.” He used his index finger to point to the metal band. “See? It’s been pried open.”

  Gannon checked the seal, and it had certainly been opened, but he was sure it was his grandfather himself who had done the opening. He’d taken the medication!

  “I see, but you have to open it to use it,” Gannon tried explaining, and felt bad, but it was what it was.

  “I don’t break that seal, Gannon. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The way you take insulin is to shake the stuff up a bit, then stick the syringe in here.” He pointed to the top of the bottle. It reminded Gannon of a wine cork. “You draw the insulin out into the syringe. There is never a need to break that seal. It says so right here.” He pointed to the label.

  Gannon squinted to read the small print. When he looked at Granda, he didn’t see an aging old man. He saw a man who was sick because he wasn’t taking his insulin. And maybe there was something wrong with the stuff. People messed with medications all the time, but it didn’t necessarily mean the pharmacy was responsible. There had to be a rational explanation. But it would keep. Now he had to get his grandfather to a doctor; he needed his insulin.

  “Okay, so I’m wrong, and you’re right. It doesn’t matter now. What matters is you. You look bad, Granda. I hate to say it, but you do. Let’s get you to the doctor before they close for the day.” He’d wanted to say, “Before it was too late,” but he’d caught himself.

  “On one condition.”

  “Granda, we need to take care of your health right now. Anything else will have to keep.”

  “I’ll go, but we have to take Rex with us. He’s my neighbor and friend. I want him to go. He’s next door. I’ll call him and have him meet us downstairs.” Without waiting for Gannon to reply, Monty pulled his cell phone from his hip pocket and dialed.

  “I need to go to the doctor. My grandson is here to drive me. You want to ride along? Sure. Yes. Meet us downstairs, in the guest parking.” He ended the call.

  “He’s coming along. I knew he wouldn’t want to stay here. We were supposed to see that new Jason Statham movie tonight.”

  Gannon shook his head. “Sure. Let’s
just get out of here and find a fresh batch of insulin.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Gannon, his grandfather, and his grandfather’s new best friend, Rex, who just so happened to be Holly’s grandfather, headed for the closest urgent-care center.

  Leave it to good old Granda to make best friends with the person Gannon now thought of as the enemy.

  Chapter 9

  “Do you think we can pull this off?” Toots asked Sophie.

  “Us? Please. You’re kidding me, right? Compared to some of the other things we’ve had to do, this should be a breeze.”

  “We’re with those Vigilantes, the ones from the news. What if we’re caught and go to jail? Can’t you just see the headlines? WIFE OF LATEST BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND PSYCHIC SIDEKICK ARRESTED. I didn’t really think about that when I filled out that questionnaire. Maybe we should back out before it’s too late. If Phil and Goebel knew what we were up to, they would kill us. We wouldn’t have to worry about getting caught and going to prison. I’m not so sure they fell for the story we told them.”

  Sophie leaned over from her position on the sofa. “What do you mean? Of course they believe us. We’re going to spend two nights at the spa Tranquility. It’s our pre-Christmas gift to ourselves, remember? At least that’s what I told Goebel.”

  “I told Phil the same thing. But I’m not very happy about lying to him.”

  “Me either. So, let’s call them and tell them the truth. We’ll clear our consciences, then continue with the plan. What are they going to say?”

  Toots looked around the luxury suite. It was beautifully decorated and even had a ten-foot Christmas tree, which filled the rooms with its fragrant scent. She’d stayed in places just as nice as this and some even nicer, but this was homey. A nice mini-retreat. Yes, they’d walked away from their duties as hostesses in the holiday parade of homes. She and Sophie had agreed it would be good for both Phil and Goebel to have the experience of acting as hosts for two nights. Their adoring husbands had agreed, and now here they were, feeling guilty.

  “You really think we should tell them the truth?” Toots asked, her tone not quite as commanding as normal.

  “I think when we return to Charleston, we could tell them, just to see if Annie’s true to her word. Something tells me that when Annie said we weren’t to discuss this, she meant it. Look at us now. We’re doing exactly what she asked us not to do. If we want to be a part of this group in the future, we need to start by following the rules we swore we’d follow,” Sophie said. “If you can’t handle the deception, we need to back out now. These people are counting on us to do the job we signed on for.”

  “You’re right. I’m just having a bout of the guilts. Plus, I want to smoke. I forgot to bring my electronic cigarette,” Toots whined. “It’s such a nasty habit, but I swear, I’d give a thousand bucks for a smoke right now. A real one.”

  Sophie got up and went to the kitchen. “I’m making coffee. Annie said we weren’t allowed to call room service. Come in here and look for the cream and sugar. It’ll take your mind off smoking.”

  “Thanks for the reminder,” Toots said but headed to the kitchen. Sophie was right, though she wouldn’t tell her so. As usual, Sophie loved being right, but when you told her this, she never let you forget it.

  Sophie found a variety of different blends of coffee for the Keurig coffeemaker. Bold, sweet vanilla cream and pumpkin spice were among the more interesting ones. She took two servings of the pumpkin spice. It was her absolute favorite. Did Annie know this about her, too, or was it merely a coincidence? She supposed that everyone drank pumpkin spice coffee this time of year.

  Toots found half-and-half and sugar in the well-stocked refrigerator. “You think Annie had this room stocked, or is it one of the perks?”

  Sophie held out the box of pumpkin spice coffee. “You tell me.”

  Toots raised her eyebrows and put a finger to her lips. She ran out of the room and was back with the pad and pen provided by the inn. She quickly scrawled out the words, “This place could be bugged!!!”

  Sophie rolled her eyes and yanked the pad and pen from her. “Ya think???”

  Toots grabbed the paper and pen from her and wrote as fast as she could. “Then we are screwed, because we’ve been discussing this case!!! Let’s talk about something else now???”

  Sophie nodded and filled the machine with bottled water. “So, what did you get me for Christmas this year?” she asked, a big grin on her face.

  Toots shook her head, her auburn hair falling out of her topknot. “You’re really crude. You have no manners or etiquette. You know that, right?”

  “So you say,” Sophie quipped and handed Toots a mug of coffee. “I’ve been telling Goebel I want one of these fancy coffeemakers. Wonder if he’ll get me one? Of course, we can afford it, since we’re used to living such luxurious”—she dragged out the last word—“lifestyles.”

  Toots flipped her off. She filled her mug with lots of cream and sugar. Bad for her, but apart from smoking, it was her biggest vice, and she didn’t see it ending anytime in the near future. Of course, if their plans were to go awry, there wouldn’t be a future.

  What in the world had she been thinking when she’d filled out that questionnaire at the countess’s invitation? That was just it. She hadn’t been thinking at all. At least not like a grown woman. She’d been thinking of the thrill and the excitement of it all. Maybe she’d settled down too soon? She and Abby’s godmothers had been riding high for the past few years. Toots wasn’t so sure that settling down was the right choice for her. She’d been searching for something, again, and this time, there could be no going back.

  “What are you doing?” Sophie asked. She carried her mug to the living room area and sat back on the sofa. Toots followed her.

  Using her hand to mimic a slicing motion to her throat, Toots shook her head from left to right.

  “What?” Sophie asked in that fake-innocent way she had.

  “You tell me. It’s your specialty. Seriously. I am not joking. Do you see any trouble? With this?” She waved her hand across the room as if she were about to open a curtain to reveal a prize.

  “Aha! Okay, I get it, and the answer is nada. Trust me, I did a lot of . . . stuff beforehand.” She placed an index finger over her lips.

  “That’s a relief,” Toots said, sighing. “Though I don’t know why I never thought about asking this before we left.”

  “Toots, listen and listen good. I want to enjoy this cup of coffee. I want to enjoy these two nights as spies or undercover agents or whatever we are. And more than anything, I want you to stop worrying so much. We’re going to be just fine. Trust me.” Sophie spoke in a tone that left no room for doubt.

  Toots nodded and took a sip of her coffee.

  What, she wondered, had she gotten them into now?

  Chapter 10

  Holly arrived at the inn at six thirty, hoping to get a head start on her day. She hadn’t been able to sleep last night. With the holidays here, she really needed to sleep, because her days were going to be really long. She’d tossed and turned all night, questioning her decision to hire Gannon Montgomery. Two days, barely, and he needed time off. Had he been telling the truth when he’d told her the story about his grandfather? Though she couldn’t think of a reason why he would lie, still, there was something about him that didn’t ring true. And right now she didn’t have time to worry about it. If he didn’t work out, she would manage. Tears filled her eyes when she realized her thoughts were exactly like those of her mother. Her mother had always told her she could manage anything in the world. She smiled at the memory.

  This was the first night of the planned activities for the guests. She had arranged for a local craft store to set up shop in the Autumn Room, where the guests, both young and old, would make holiday wreaths. It sounded boring and old-fashioned, but they’d had a blast last year. She would need Gannon to stay late tonight. She hoped it wouldn’t be a problem.

  Glad to be alone in the office
, she would make it a priority to come in early during the holidays. Marlene didn’t arrive until seven thirty. The quiet was nice. She made a pot of coffee, turned on her computer, and printed out the week’s work schedule for the personnel office. She scanned the sheet, making sure the inn was fully staffed. Temporary workers were a must if she wanted to pull off a successful season. She should’ve had this out of the way, but Ava had had to leave, and she hadn’t gotten around to it. Ava usually did all the interviewing. She would miss her more than she could imagine, but she’d manage that, too.

  She took a sip of her coffee and made a face. “Ugh,” she said out loud. No wonder Marlene always insisted on making the coffee.

  “Holly?” Gannon called her name from the door, which she had left open, then entered her office.

  She whirled around, almost knocking her cup of coffee over. “Gannon, you scared me. Don’t you know how to knock?” Damn this man! He was irritating her.

  “I did, but you were busy making faces.” He offered up a slight smile. “Sorry.”

  Holly felt like she was twelve again. What was he doing here so early, and why was he sneaking up on her like some thief in the night?

  “Well, then, I suppose I owe you an apology. I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone. You startled me.” Once again, she was explaining herself to this . . . this man who was her employee! He should be the one doing the explaining.

  “I thought I could get an early start today,” he explained. “If you’d rather I come back . . . ?”

  “No, no. Please have a seat.” She motioned for him to sit in the chair, the one she was starting to think of as “his” chair. “Would you like some coffee?” she asked, then felt like slapping herself. She was the boss. He should be asking her if she wanted coffee.

  No, no, no! This wasn’t the way she normally acted. Why, her thoughts were downright mean. And she did not like mean. Though she did not like the effect Gannon Montgomery’s presence had on her, either.

  “Yeah, a cup of coffee would be great. I had a late night,” Gannon said as he accepted Holly’s invitation to be seated.