Snowed in on Main Street

by Kasey Stockton

  “Where are the cranberries?” she asked Elliot.

  “Rosa said she had to go back for them. And another bowl of popcorn.”

  “First name basis already?” Mia teased, crossing the room to stand on the other side of the table from Elliot. She crossed her arms over her chest. “You get friendly really quick with the staff.”

  His smile slipped momentarily. “It helps that everyone here wears a nametag.”

  “Touché.”

  “Did I hear there are Christmas activities in this room?” Mrs. Bruin called as she stepped inside.

  “Yes,” Mia answered, placing sewing kits at each chair. “Welcome. Please choose a seat and we’ll get started.”

  Mrs. Bruin crossed the room and pulled out the chair directly next to where Elliot was standing. Mia bit back a chuckle at the woman’s eagerness and wondered if Mrs. Bruin had ever watched an episode of My Crazy Family or if she had merely taken a liking to the handsome guest.

  When Elliot glanced up and caught Mia’s eye, they shared a moment of silent humor when both of them lifted their eyebrows at the exact same time as though they were communicating: this is interesting.

  The Kirkpatrick family joined them next, filing into the other side of the table and were shortly followed by Rosa with bowls of cranberries stacked on top of a third enormous bowl of popcorn. Mia took the bowls from the cook’s arms. “Thank you, Rosa.”

  Rosa said, “It was nothing,” and turned to go.

  Mia cleared her throat, placing the bowls of cranberries beside popcorn at each table. “We are going to be stringing garland today to decorate the lodge.” She finished passing out the miniature sewing kits. “If you need help, I can assist with getting your needles started. And my only piece of advice is to be gentle with the popcorn. But otherwise, have at it.”

  Chatter grew louder among the patrons as they began to work. Amy showed up about ten minutes later with both of her children and they claimed a table of their own. Mia sat across from Amy after she handed out sewing kits and offered to help the kids with their needles.

  “That would be great,” Amy said, untangling her string. “I don’t think I’ve done a garland like this in years, Mia. What a great idea.”

  Taylor untangled her own thread, her eyebrows drawn together as she focused on the task. “What do we do with it when we’re done, Mommy?”

  “They can go on a Christmas tree or a mantle,” Amy said.

  “Or,” Mia added, “you can hang it in the hotel room if you want to decorate your own space.”

  Taylor’s face brightened. “Oh, can we, Mommy? I want one above my bed.”

  “I want one above my bed, too!” Boston added around a mouthful of popcorn.

  Taylor shot her brother a sassy smirk. “You won’t get one above your bed if you eat all the popcorn first.”

  “Be nice,” Amy admonished.

  “Unless I help Boston,” Mia said. “What do you think, buddy?”

  “Yes, please,” he answered around another fistful of popcorn. It was a good thing Rosa made so much or there wouldn’t be enough for both the snacking and the garland.

  Holiday music played in the background as the hotel guests chatted amiably and strung their garland. Amy was halfway through her length of thread when she paused and looked at Mia closely.

  Mia hesitated halfway through poking a piece of popcorn with her needle but Boston took over sliding the popcorn down the thread. “Do I have something on my face?”

  “No,” Amy said immediately, shaking her head. “I was just trying to remember when I saw you last. That’s all.”

  Probably six years ago, Mia thought. Once Elliot completely dropped her, she’d turned around and dropped his whole family. It was something she regretted periodically over the years as she heard about weddings and births and wanted to catch up with people she had grown so close to while she’d dated Elliot. But at the time, it was easier for her to have a clean break. She had been part of Elliot’s life for four years, and that was a long time to have invested in his family.

  “I think Taylor was a baby when I saw you last,” Mia said, attempting to be diplomatic.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right.” Amy focused on the cranberry in her fingers, but her needle didn’t move. “What a shame,” she said quietly, and Mia wondered if she was supposed to have heard it or not.

  Mia glanced around the other tables and the guests who were cheerfully stringing their garlands. She would have patted herself on the back for coming up with a successful activity in under twenty minutes, but that would draw weird looks, so she refrained.

  By the time the garlands were finished, however, no one stood to leave the room. Mia and Taylor were the last to work on their threads, but Mia found, with interest, that the other table was comfortable and content, chatting and snacking on leftover popcorn—Mrs. Bruin more than most, the way her adoring gaze kept falling on Elliot.

  Mia leaned forward. “I think your brother has an admirer.”

  Amy’s eyebrows rose and she turned to look at the other table. Mrs. Bruin was gazing up at Elliot like a lovesick woman and Amy burst out in laughter, spitting popcorn pieces all over the table.

  “Ew Mom!” Boston said, backing away from the wet popcorn pieces.

  Amy kept laughing and Mia chuckled as she got up to fetch something to wipe it up with.

  When she returned from the supply closet with a roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaning spray, she jumped again to find Elliot standing in the hallway precisely as he had when she’d come upon him earlier—James Dean style. Leaning back, hands in pockets.

  She tried to pass him, but he put out a hand to halt her. “Can we talk?”

  She lifted the paper towels and cleaning solution. “It’s not a good time.”

  Elliot nodded, but his face was resigned. Her stomach dropped at his disappointment and the knowledge that she had caused those feelings. But why wasn’t he getting the message? If she wanted to talk to him, she would have done so already.

  “Maybe later?” he asked.

  Mia paused before going back in the room. “Elliot, I tried to give you a chance last night to explain yourself and you didn’t really say anything. It kind of feels pointless.”

  She pushed the door open and stepped inside. By the time she’d cleaned up the mess and announced that afternoon’s activity, she’d glanced back to the door at least forty times.

  And Elliot never came back inside.

  Chapter Eight

  “You could show Mia you still love her with a grand gesture,” Amy said, lounging on the couch in her suite. Her kids were both glued to the television where the classic Grinch movie was playing, and Brandon was still out of commission in his room. Luckily their suite included a bedroom with a door so Brandon could rest in complete privacy.

  “I didn’t ask for advice,” Elliot said, spearing his sister with a look. “And I don’t still love Mia.”

  Her eyebrows lifted but she didn’t back down. “Then tell me more about Sophy Grant. You know, for having a famous brother I really get none of the perks.”

  “What perks are those?”

  “Red carpet events. Premieres. Meeting famous people.”

  “I don’t really do much of that,” Elliot said. Which was true. He did the bare minimum when it came to publicity. “And I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but those photos with Sophy were a one-time thing. The date went horribly, and we never pursued a relationship.”

  “Hey, I can dream, all right?”

  “About Sophy Grant?” Elliot asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “No,” his sister said at once, “about my brother being cool enough to date someone famous.”

  Elliot chuckled. “Drop your expectations. I won’t ever be that cool.” And he didn’t want to be. The expectations placed on his shoulders after he began dating Sophy were too much. And subsequently, the relationship hadn’t lasted long.

  Amy’s gaze flitted across the room, landing on he
r children. “Mia said there was going to be a movie in the Wasatch Room at four. I guess there’s a really nice projector and the hotel has a small collection of holiday films.”

  “Nice.”

  “Should we go?” Amy asked, carefully keeping her gaze on her children. She wasn’t fooling him, though. He knew she was waiting impatiently for his answer.

  Elliot executed a small shrug, his attention on the TV, just like the kids. He wondered if he was even fooling his sister. Of course he’d want to go. Any time he got to spend around Mia was equally hurtful and thrilling. He didn’t quite know where he was going to land when the week was through, but after six years of silence from her, one thing was abundantly clear: he really, really missed having Mia in his life. And the dumbest part was that he hadn’t even realized it until he was around her again.

  He was such an idiot for letting her go. But he hadn’t been in his right mind.

  “Then let’s just hang out here,” Amy said, nestling into the couch more. “The kids are already watching a movie and I’m satisfied.”

  “Sure,” Elliot nodded, trying to figure out a way to slip out of the room without being obvious.

  Amy surprised him a minute later by saying, “Did you hear about Adam’s scholarship?”

  “No,” Elliot said. Their older brother, Jake, didn’t usually call Elliot with updates about his family.

  “He got a full ride to the University of Utah.”

  Elliot was suitably impressed. His eyebrows rose and he tore his gaze away from the Grinch shoving a tree up a fireplace. “I didn’t realize the kid was even in high school,” he confessed.

  Amy rolled her eyes. “Your nephew, you mean? He’s a junior. He’ll graduate early.”

  “Why didn’t Jake put that in the family chat message?”

  “Who knows,” Amy said, burrowing further down on the couch. “Probably because he told most of us at a Sunday dinner.”

  Elliot tried to swallow his annoyance, but the more he considered it, the more irritated he grew. If he was living at home, he would know these sorts of things. He would be going to those bi-monthly family dinners. But he wasn’t anywhere near Utah anymore. He lived in LA now. The least his family could do would be to inform him when important things were going on in their lives.

  Standing, Elliot picked up his phone and shoved it in his pocket. “I need to go for a walk.”

  “Okay,” Amy called, a suggestive smile on her lips. If only she realized he was leaving due to discomfort and not a desire to see Mia.

  But still, his feet automatically carried him down the stairwell and around the lobby toward the Wasatch Room. The hallway was dark when he approached with white and blue lights spilling from the room and reflecting on the wall, indicating the movie had already begun.

  It didn’t surprise him in the least that the movie Mia chose to play was Miracle on 34th Street. She had always loved old movies. He’d given her a hard time in high school when he’d discovered the James Dean poster on her wall. But she was relentless in her abiding love for Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She’d had a shelf full of black and white movies from “the golden era,” as she’d put it.

  Elliot peeked inside the room and found Mia sitting on one of two sofas. The furniture looked familiar and he was pretty sure it was from the parlor. Mrs. Bruin sat on the other end of Mia’s sofa, and Mrs. Kirkpatrick had a seat on the other one beside her son. There was no obvious space for Elliot to sit, so he hovered in the doorway, determining whether he wanted to go in or not.

  But Mia was in there, her head leaning on the back of the sofa. He stepped inside.

  Everyone turned to look at him as he approached the couches. Mrs. Bruin immediately shooed the dogs from the cushion between herself and Mia. Elliot watched it happen with reserve and then looked to Mia, but her face gave nothing away. The movie had already begun and he didn’t want to cause a scene, however, so he just took the seat Mrs. Bruin patted suggestively and attempted to settle in.

  “You missed the beginning,” Mrs. Bruin said, leaning over, “but it shouldn’t be too hard to catch yourself up.”

  “I’ve seen the movie before,” he informed her with a smile, hoping his closed lips would portray to the older woman precisely how quiet they should be.

  She got the hint and settled into the couch, returning her focus to the movie.

  Elliot was ultra-aware of Mia’s proximity. Her elbow brushed against his arm as she reached forward to pick up her dog and settle him on her lap, and Elliot drew a sharp breath. It was torture to be so near her and yet still feel so emotionally distant. Was this really that much better than sitting up in his hotel room waiting for the snow to stop coming down and the road to be fixed?

  Elliot hazarded a glance at Mia and her soft smile while she watched the movie, her hand stroking her pug’s head, warmed his soul.

  Yes. This really was much better.

  Mia stroked Pug’s head, doing her best to keep her attention on the movie. But it was difficult with Elliot sitting so casually beside her. She thoroughly enjoyed Miracle on 34th Street, but it seemed to drag now. By the time the movie came to a close, Mia let Pug on the floor and shot up before Elliot could waylay her with any conversation.

  “Warning,” she announced to the occupants of the room, “lights are going on.”

  She turned on the lights and moved to the projector to begin putting it away.

  “Thank you, Ms. Murphy,” Mrs. Kirkpatrick called as she led her son from the room. He followed his mom, blinking rapidly through a yawn. He had likely just woken up. Which made sense. Mia had wondered how the kid had sat through the whole movie without leaving.

  The movie hadn’t been as successful as the garland activity. Mia filed that bit of information away for future use.

  “Have a good evening now,” Mia said.

  Busying herself with the projector and its case, Mia didn’t notice when Elliot approached her. Gray leather shoes appeared out of the corner of her eye and she followed them up to his face.

  “Mrs. Bruin asked me to inform you that she won’t be needing her cake tonight,” Elliot said with amusement. “She would have told you herself, but she needed to take her dog outside.”

  “She didn’t call for it last night, either,” Mia said absently. “I wonder if she’s sick of it.”

  Elliot shrugged, his green eyes sparkling with amusement. “Need a hand?”

  Mia should say no. She should ask him to leave. Any self-respecting woman would continue to push him away, right? She opened her mouth to ask him to give her space and said, “Sure. Want to put the projector in that case?”

  Elliot moved to do so right away, and Mia crossed the room to put up the screen by a button near the sound panel. What had gotten into her? She should have pushed him away. Apparently she was a glutton for punishment.

  “Are you working through Christmas?” Elliot asked from across the room, his voice echoing slightly.

  “Yeah. I’m covering for my boss while she’s in Arizona visiting her family for the holidays.”

  Elliot nodded. He held her gaze for a moment before focusing back on the task at hand.

  “And it’s a lot more pressure than I expected.”

  He didn’t respond right away, and Mia leaned against the wall, watching the screen rise slowly into the ceiling. She kept talking, though she didn’t know why. It was just comfortable with Elliot. Even after all of the pain and heartache and years, being around him was easy—though she hated to admit it, even to herself. “It’s not too much pressure, of course,” she continued, “but being assistant manager is so easy because I can always pass on the difficult things to Janice.”

  “You’ve handled everything really well so far,” Elliot said. “As far as I’ve seen.”

  Mia shot him a self-deprecating smile. “There hasn’t really been anything terrible so far.”

  “Besides being snowed in and stuck in this tiny town surrounded by nothing but a broken road and mountains.
”

  “Yeah, besides that,” Mia agreed with a chuckle. “But it’s been manageable.” She reached over and tapped her knuckles on the wood paneling.

  “Still superstitious?” Elliot asked with a grin.

  Mia shook her head but smiled in a teasing manner. “Maybe. Do you still make a wish when the clock says eleven-eleven?”

  Elliot closed the projector case and held her gaze. “I do.”

  “Has it ever worked? Making a wish on the clock?”

  “Not yet,” Elliot said, shaking his head. He started walking toward her. “But it will soon. I hope.”

  Mia leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Why do you always do that around me?” Elliot asked, coming to stand directly in front of her. His eyes were serious, set on her with purpose.

  “What are you talking about?”

  He pointed to her arms. “Every time we talk one-on-one, you cross your arms. What are you guarding yourself from?”

  Mia dropped her arms to her sides. If she was protecting herself from Elliot, it was subconsciously done. Not that it wasn’t necessary. “You,” she said.

  Elliot arched one eyebrow and Mia took the opportunity with him so close to examine his face. He hadn’t shaved in a few days and the scruff was attractive, making him look the rugged snowboarder he was when she’d dated him all throughout high school and their first year of college. Something about him looking more like the guy she’d loved tugged at her heart and Mia swallowed hard.

  The fire in Elliot’s eyes was speaking to her, but she didn’t know what he was trying to say. Her gaze flitted away from his face, unable to handle the intensity she saw there.

  “I should probably get back,” she said, her voice low and strained. “I’ve got to take over the front desk for a while this evening.”

  “I’m sorry, Mia,” he said softly, his voice so low she leaned in without meaning to. He reached for her hand and she moved it away, but not before his fingers grazed her own. Shivers ran up her arms and sent a tremor through her shoulders.