by Jenny Hale
“Charlie,” he said with an uncertain grin. “Please. Call me Charlie.”
“All right,” she said, looking him over with a content glance, making Scarlett wonder if Gran was warming to him. “Charlie, could I impose upon your evening and ask you to play for us? I can pay you in glasses of wine.”
“It wouldn’t be imposing. I’d be happy to.”
Blue came bursting into the room with an armful of wood and Loretta and Preston in tow, bringing a draft of icy air with them. The fire in the fireplace danced wildly in protest. “Power’s on in town,” he said, stacking the wood neatly on the hearth beside the fire. “I ran into these two while I was out.” He pointed to Loretta and Preston.
“I’ve got my portable generator in the truck outside,” Preston said. “Maybe we can use it for something.”
“Thank you, Preston,” Gran said. “If we could get a few more of the kitchen appliances running on it, I might be able to provide some light food. Perhaps I can warm up a pie or some cider.”
“I can help you,” Loretta said. “I can make sure the guests are comfortable and serve food if you need me.” She shivered, pulling her coat tighter despite the fact they were inside.
“Thank you, dear. You are lovely.”
Blue threw more logs on the fire, poking it until it was raging in the fireplace. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but once I get the rest of the fires loaded, I’ll inspect the grounds. It could be something on our lines specifically. Or maybe it’s just a breaker, and we can be back in business shortly.”
“I’ll help you check.” Joe came in with the small power source and hooked it up to the Christmas tree. The lights came alive, twinkling like stars in the night sky, glimmering off the shiny black piano top.
Charlie took a seat at the piano. “Do you have any sheet music, by chance? If not, I can improvise,” he said.
“There’s a book of Christmas carols in the drawer over there, Scarlett.” Gran pointed to the antique sideboard on the opposite wall.
“Perfect,” Charlie said, as Scarlett retrieved it and handed it to him. He opened it to a page in the middle and placed his fingers on the keys.
“I’ll put together a platter of cookies for now and brew some coffee,” Gran said, rushing out of the room.
Loretta and Preston followed her out to assist with any further tasks, while Blue and Joe went to the other rooms to load up the fireplaces with wood, leaving Scarlett and Charlie alone. The candles flickered around them, an overwhelming scent of vanilla and cinnamon filling the air. Charlie began to move his fingers along the instrument, playing effortlessly, his hands touching the ivory keys as if he were caressing them. Scarlett rubbed the goosebumps on her arms as she imagined those fingers moving along her skin. This time, she didn’t push the thought away or try to rationalize anything. Her affection for him was real, and she allowed herself to feel it.
“I’d forgotten how much I love to play piano,” he said, the melody dancing around them as he spoke.
She didn’t recognize the song.
He continued to play as he stole a glance at her, not missing a beat. “It’s relaxing.”
“Reading does that for me,” Scarlett said as she sat down next to him.
“I love reading too.” Charlie turned the page and continued. “I’d gotten so consumed with work that I didn’t get to do a whole lot to unwind. In fact, now that I think about it, I haven’t relaxed in about ten years.”
“And how does it feel to relax?”
“Weird.” He laughed. “And nice.” He sobered as his hands stilled, the song coming to an end. His eyes were sympathetic as they found hers. “I’m so sorry I can’t help you with the inn. I wish I could’ve had the answers for you.”
“You really don’t think you can do it?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
The last thing Scarlett wanted to do was to push Charlie back into that world. It was very clear to her that he wasn’t the person he had been when he’d built all those resorts. He’d changed, and forcing him back into it wouldn’t be good for him. He needed to find his balance, as Ato would say. What would be that new thing that got him out of bed every morning with a smile on his face?
“We should let Gran know,” she said, coming to terms with the situation. This was out of her hands now. Whatever happened to White Oaks would have nothing to do with her, and she’d just have to wait and see how things worked out.
“Let her get through the power outage before you throw something else at her,” Charlie said.
A couple of guests filtered in with Gran and Loretta right behind them, carrying the most gorgeous platter of confections. They set it down on the coffee table and offered the visitors some before getting their coffee orders. Scarlett noticed Charlie watching the interaction with interest as he played the next song. Gran and Loretta continued bringing in a few more platters, setting them around the room. Gran placed a coffeepot and holiday cups and saucers on the sideboard with cloth napkins, while Joe set up the lanterns he’d brought in.
Preston, who’d been in the kitchen helping Gran with her appliances, came into the room and took the cookie tray from Loretta, setting it in front of a group of women who were visiting on a girls’ trip. Scarlett knew that fact because they’d arrived wearing matching T-shirts with “Ladies’ Week” and the date printed on the front of them. Preston took Loretta’s hands and twirled her around the open space on the floor, the ladies swooning over him as he did. He pulled her close and kissed her lips.
“I didn’t know you could dance like that, Preston,” Gran said, settling back into one of the chairs by the fire once everyone had what they needed.
“Ah, I just never had such a wonderful partner before.” He gave Loretta another spin.
“You two look like you’ve been dancing together for years,” one of the ladies said.
“He learns quickly,” Loretta told them. “And the minute I first danced with him it felt like we’d been dancing our whole lives together. But everything with him feels like that.” The women all fell into lovesick grins.
The room was so festive that a bystander would think it was any other holiday evening at White Oaks.
Aunt Alice came in with the twins and an armful of board games, setting one of them up on the floor by the fire, while the other guests drifted in. Blue had finished stoking the fires and settled on the chair by Aunt Beth, who’d been talking to a couple in the corner. Joe joined in on their conversation. Gran, clearly energized by the atmosphere, had gotten back up and was fluttering around, laughing and talking with people, patting them on the back, smiling.
Scarlett paid attention to Gran. She made tonight look effortless, and to her it probably was. Being with people was her strength. As Charlie looked on, Scarlett wondered if the scene in front of him made him feel even more unsure than he had before, since he’d said he’d never really been around family.
Scarlett’s dad motioned for her to join him.
“Be right back,” she said into Charlie’s ear as he started another song. Then she headed over to Blue. “What’s up?” she asked him when she got to his chair.
“It’s difficult to tell, because I’m not an electrician, but it looks like the old power lines have weakened in the elements outside.”
“Weakened?”
“Yep.” He let out a huff. “A portion of our grid was exposed to the elements, because the insulation had deteriorated and nobody noticed.”
Scarlett bit her lip. Pappy would’ve noticed. The thought occurred to her that even if Charlie could’ve restored the inn, Gran would need a lot of help to run it without Pappy. Pappy had been a jack-of-all-trades, and those sorts of maintenance items came easily for him. Gran would’ve required a grounds staff as part of Phase One, to keep up with all the things that Pappy used to do. Not to mention, what would they come across when the renovations started? What else had deteriorated? Had Gran and Pappy ever had anyone check the electrical lines to be sure they
’d been installed correctly? The insulation? The plumbing? Projects on older structures seemed to unearth all kinds of problems. Had Charlie been ready for that possibility? It didn’t matter anyway.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“I don’t know who to call for this type of work. It’s an old system. Charlie has collaborated with electricians in his line of work, I’m sure. Will you ask him if he has any connections to an electrician who might have a specific knowledge of historical properties to fix it? We need someone who we can trust to give us a very reasonable price because we don’t have a lot of money to work with for the repairs.”
“Of course,” she said. “I’ll ask him now.”
“Thank you.” As she got up, he stopped her. “And Scarlett?”
Scarlett turned back to her dad.
“Since it’s on our end, it can’t be fixed unless we take care of it, and without any power, our guests won’t stay for long. Time is of the essence.”
Scarlett hurried over to Charlie to tell him what her father had found.
“I can call around,” Charlie said, concerned. “We’d have to go back to my house to get my laptop. Should we do it now or do you want me to keep playing?”
“I think we should move as quickly as possible.”
“All right.” Charlie finished the song he was playing and stood up. “Thank you for listening, folks,” he called to the group who’d now assembled in the living room. “I’m going to take a break to give you all time to talk. Have a wonderful evening.” As Scarlett followed Charlie toward the door, she saw Blue explaining to Gran. She just hoped Gran wouldn’t worry too much.
When they’d left, Scarlett noticed the White Oaks living room getting drafty, the cold seeping in despite the fire. It was even clearer when they arrived at Charlie’s, the heat so warm inside that it gave her a shiver.
“We never got our wine that your grandmother promised,” he said with a wink in her direction. Charlie, still in his coat, leaned down on the hearth and started the fire with a few of the logs stacked beside it. “I bought a bottle after I had nothing to offer you last time.” He righted himself and went over to the sink, which still appeared to be broken, and took a bottle from the fridge. He removed the cork, a hollow pop echoing in the room. “I’ll get us each a glass so we can settle in and start calling my contractors.” He pulled two glasses from the cabinet and filled them. “Will you grab my laptop from the table over there?”
Scarlett shrugged off her coat and hung it on the hook by the door. Then she grabbed the computer, holding it against her chest with both arms around it like she used to hold her notebooks when she walked to class in high school.
“You look really tense,” Charlie said as they went over to the sofa, eyeing her arms crossed over her chest.
“Sorry,” she said, loosening her grip and setting the laptop onto the table.
Charlie handed her the glass of wine. “Drink this,” he said. “It’ll help.”
His suggestion was cheerful, but she noticed the thoughts in his face as he looked down into his wine glass before drinking it. Scarlett wasn’t going to try to convince him to save the inn, if that was what he was worried about. Yes, tonight had made her tense, but Charlie needed time to find his place in this new life he was creating for himself, and she wasn’t about to force him to do anything he didn’t want to do right now. What she did wonder, however, was whether he had any idea what kind of new life he was after.
Scarlett took a drink of her wine and Charlie opened up his laptop, his documents popping into view as he clicked them open. “I think I’ll start with Five Star Electric. They’ve done some work for me on demolitions before—sort of unwiring things in old buildings and preserving the connections, replacing old wires, that sort of thing.”
“How much will they charge?”
He took a sip of his wine and then crossed his feet on the coffee table, leaning back with the computer in his lap. “That depends on the size of the problem. But I’ll take care of it,” he said, looking over at her with those dark eyes.
She leaned away from him to make eye contact, concerned. “You can’t continue to just give away money. At some point, you’ll need some to live on.”
“Let me worry about that,” he said contentedly.
“Charlie, despite the things you aren’t happy about having done, you have accomplished a lot of wonderful things. You used your intelligence to be productive, you learned from your experiences, and you made the choice to follow your conscience. You can’t keep holding yourself responsible for things that are in the past.”
“Where is all this coming from?” he asked.
“You’re doing so much for others that you haven’t done anything for yourself. You didn’t allow yourself a Christmas, you’re living in a cottage that needs more work than White Oaks, and you continuously give away money you need to repair it. You keep giving and giving, and while that is admirable and wonderful, it will run you dry as well. All the giving in the world won’t erase the guilt you feel. Only living can do that.”
Charlie quietly absorbed her words. “Let me worry about me,” he said, but his words weren’t blasé anymore. “I’ll be okay.” He sat up and pulled his computer toward him. “Let’s get back to the task at hand. I can probably get someone to come out and assess the damage and give us a quote, so we know how much it will cost to repair the lines. Then we can shop around for the best price.”
“We don’t have that kind of time,” Scarlett fretted. “The guests are going to start to get cold and go home. We’ll lose business and have to refund bookings, which we really can’t afford to do…”
He nodded, clearly thinking. “Getting someone out now, at this time of night, will be costly, and without daylight, chances are slim that they’ll be able to fix this. Especially if it’s due to weather damage. I’m not an expert, and perhaps someone will prove me wrong. I’m just giving you my honest opinion.”
White Oaks couldn’t continue on much longer like this. Scarlett was beginning to understand the urgency that her father must have already seen, which was why he’d called the meeting to sell in the first place. What would happen if the guests discovered that the outage was due to negligence on the inn’s side rather than an act of nature on the town power source? She didn’t even want to think about it, but they might have to close White Oaks for good, buyer or no buyer. There was no way she could let that happen.
Twenty-Three
Scarlett hadn’t slept well at all. When she’d gotten home from Charlie’s, she’d decided to brave the cold and spend the night in her room instead of staying in the living room by the fire like many of the others had done. She was completely under her sheet, duvet, and fleece blanket, and the cold still managed to seep below it, wrapping around her until her skin was numb. What must the guests feel like?
After Charlie had left a few messages with electricians last night, he’d offered to take Scarlett home, promising her he’d let her know as soon as he heard something. So when she saw his text waiting on her phone on the nightstand, she nearly catapulted herself onto the frigid hardwood floor to view it. Grasping her phone, she read his text: Come downstairs.
What? she thought. Scarlett checked the number again to make sure she hadn’t misread the sender through the fog of no sleep and chilliness. It was definitely Charlie. Then she noticed the time. She’d slept until after eight o’clock! Scarlett never slept that late. She padded into the bathroom in her fuzzy socks and slippers to brush her teeth. When she finished, she ran her fingers through her hair and went to the door of her room, headed downstairs.
When she opened the door, she nearly fell backwards, shrieking in fright before she regained her composure. There stood Charlie. His hand, which was raised to knock on the door, fell to his side, amusement on his face.
“Good morning,” he said, his gaze moving down her pajamas to her sock feet.
Normally, she’d be mortified by someone other than family witnessing h
er appearance first thing in the morning, but an unusual calm settled over her as if he’d seen her like that a hundred times before. Perhaps it was the fact that she felt totally herself with him, or that she was so thrilled to see him right then that she didn’t care what she looked like.
“Want to hear some good news?” he asked. But he didn’t get what he wanted to say out in time and instead, he pointed upward toward a quiet shushing sound that suddenly began above them. It was coming from the heating vents.
“Heat!” she said, her excitement making him laugh.
“I had a guy here by five this morning. The kitchen and guest rooms have had electricity for over an hour now.”
That was when she noticed the hallway lights were on. Impulsively, and out of utter relief, Scarlett threw her arms around Charlie in gratitude. And just as she realized she had, she felt his arms around her too. He held her affectionately and she was surprised he hadn’t pulled away. “Thank you,” she said into his chest, happy that he hadn’t.
“You’re welcome,” he returned.
Scarlett pulled away from him at last. “How much did it set us back?” she asked, afraid to hear the cost of the repairs.
“I took care of it,” he said happily.
“Charlie, remember what I told you last night?”
“Yes,” he said, stopping her with one finger on her lips, taking her breath away with the tenderness of his touch. He looked her in the eyes. “And you’re exactly right.” He turned around, headed toward the stairs. “When you’re ready, we’ve got breakfast waiting.”
We’ve?
The first thing Scarlett noticed when she entered the kitchen was the presence of Loretta and Preston at the table. They were sitting next to one another, holding hands and talking with Gran as she listened beside Charlie. Janie was cutting a pancake for Trevor. He looked so happy in his chair, still propped on cushions. Everyone else in the family was there as well, their plates empty, half-finished mugs of coffee and glasses of orange juice littering their places. Even Heidi was there, smiling strangely at Scarlett, her phone nowhere in sight. The whole picture was a bit of a jolt first thing in the morning, and Scarlett struggled to make sense of it.