by Elena Aitken
It was Shay who spoke first. “I thought maybe,” she said, “since Ryan clearly is suffering from a lack of skills”—she glanced at him apologetically but he only shrugged in response—“that maybe he should have instruction from the best.”
Julie narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “What do you mean?”
“I think you should show him how to do it.”
Ryan nodded in agreement. “Great idea.”
“I’ll go check on everyone else,” Shay announced and before Julie could stop her, she flitted off to do her duties.
Julie watched her daughter for a moment before she shook her head. “Not so subtle, is she?”
Ryan only shrugged again. “She seems like a good kid.”
“She is.” Julie stared into space for a minute more before she looked over at him. “So, you really want to do this?”
“Absolutely.” He couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do at that moment. Especially if it meant spending a few extra minutes with this woman he hadn’t been able to get out of his head all evening.
They jumped right into the craft, Julie expertly leading him in the steps. She really was a masterful teacher and more than once, Ryan found himself lost in her voice and the easy way she manipulated the craft materials. It was mesmerizing to watch her turn nothing more than a few pieces of random materials into an actual ornament.
“So, how are you doing?” Julie asked, interrupting his observation. He looked down at his hands and his own handiwork. It didn’t look anything like what she held up.
“Maybe not so great.” He laughed. “But it had nothing to do with the teacher. She’s been fantastic.” He held her gaze for a moment before she reached down and took the wine-deer—or whatever this was—from his hand to inspect it.
“It’s not a total loss. I think you might need a bit more glue here.” Her finger pushed the top cork and it bobbed uncertainly side to side. “Just put a dab of glue here.”
Ryan took the materials back from her and followed her instructions. Julie moved in closer, so her head was only inches from his. Her hair smelled faintly of vanilla and reflexively, he inhaled. With her so close, it was almost impossible to pay attention to what he was doing, and as a result, when he squeezed the trigger of the glue gun, intending to put a tiny drop on the cork, a fat glob fell out, directly on his index finger.
“Oh sh—” He caught himself, but dropped the gun and the craft as he waved his finger covered in the molten glue wildly in front of him.
“Stop. Give it to me.” Julie grabbed his hand and as he watched, she pressed one of her own fingers to the glue, both stopping the burn and fusing them together. “Better?” She looked up, under thick, dark eyelashes. All he could do was nod. It was better. The burn, totally gone.
“It hurts,” she said quietly. “I know. I’ve done it more than once.”
Ryan glanced down at their fingers, still joined together. Such a simple thing, yet it felt intimate. Really intimate. This woman, in the few short hours since he’d met her, had thrown him for a wild loop, and he liked it.
He could have stayed connected to her all night, but she peeled her finger off the glue that was now dried to his skin. “I don’t know why that works,” she said, “but it always seems to stop the burn. If it happens again, just press your fingers together and it should stop.”
“Again? I don’t plan on letting it happen again.”
She smiled sweetly. “Well, you have to finish your ornament, and by the way I’ve seen you handle that gun, something tells me it might happen again.”
“You’re not going to help me anymore? I was just thinking that maybe—”
“Julie!”
She spun her head in the direction of the voice.
“Are there any more red beads?” the woman called. “I want to make a Rudolph wine-deer.”
“That’s a great idea, Mona. Let me look.” Julie looked to Ryan one more time. “I’ll be back,” she said. “And when I am, I want to see a finished product.”
He move to salute and remembered at the last minute the strings of glue still hanging from his fingers. Instead, he nodded. “I won’t let you down.”
And he wouldn’t. Especially if it meant spending more time with her. Which was something he suddenly and quite desperately wanted to do.
3
It had been a long night. The ladies in the crafting session were definitely there for more than a few arts and crafts. They were looking for a good time, and they got one, too. Mostly because it meant staying up past midnight, drinking wine, laughing and gossiping. Julie had sent Shay to bed just after eleven, thinking she’d be able to clean up the rest of the supplies and sneak out, but the women had held on to her, involving her in their conversations about life and love until the wee hours of the morning. By the time Julie had finally snuck away, she’d been instructed in all the reasons she needed a man in her life and conversely, all the reasons she should stay single because men were nothing but trouble and anyone who told her she needed a man to make her whole was empty herself and not to be trusted. Ironically, everyone who had the first piece of advice for her also had the second.
By the end of the night, Julie was fairly sure that she could either become a personal escort or a nun, and according to her clients, either choice would be perfectly acceptable. More so than living the life she currently was as a single mom. “Not that there was anything wrong with that,” she was repeatedly told.
All she could do was laugh and shake off the advice. It was what she’d been doing for years, so why stop now? But it had been the spunky Mona who’d brought up Ryan. His presence had definitely not gone unnoticed by her, and she had a lot to say about him and why he was in the crafting room in the first place.
According to Mona, Ryan had designs on her and he was cute enough to nibble and she should probably lock that down. Whatever that meant. Of course, she’d laughed and brushed it off, but something the older woman said had stuck with her all through the night and even when she woke up the next morning. There was a reason Ryan had come back to check on the craft night, and it was definitely more than just checking on the audio situation. And she knew it, too.
Julie was still thinking of him when she made her way into the ballroom, where the brunch for Crafty Creations was laid out. It had been part of the offering for the getaway, and a perfect one as far as Julie was concerned because it tied up the event perfectly. People who’d never been part of such a thing didn’t realize the friendships that were created at such an event. But they were. And they were hard and fast. In fact, it wasn’t unusual for Julie to hear of really strong friendships that had come out of her craft nights and clubs. Women bonded over creativity. And wine. Usually when wine was involved, the bonding happened faster. There was no scientific study on it, but Julie definitely had enough anecdotal evidence. Either way, brunch would be a nice way to tie it all up.
“Julie!” It was Mona’s granddaughter Bria who called to her the moment she walked in the room. “Come here, darling, and sit for a minute. You’ve been working so hard. You deserve to take a load off.”
She did as she was told, but it would be only for a second.
“Now tell me,” Mona continued without missing a beat. “Have you had a second to find that young man we were talking about last night? I think he would probably just love to join—”
“Grandma. That’s enough. Leave the poor woman alone.”
Julie could have hugged the younger woman. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Mona; she did. But it had been a long night without much sleep and the last thing she wanted to be doing was fielding any type of interrogation about her love life. Or more accurately, her lack of love life. “I actually haven’t had a chance,” she said diplomatically. “You all kept me up way too late last night. And speaking of that.” Julie used the opportunity to stand up again. “How is it that you’re all looking so well rested? I’m absolutely knackered.”
Mona waved a hand dismissively. “When you
get to be my age, there aren’t enough days left to sleep them all away. Besides, rest won’t heal what ails you anyway. What’s the point?” Julie noticed the older woman cradle her hands in her lap. She’d noticed it a few times the day before, as well as the gnarled knuckles and the cramped-looking fingers. The telltale signs of rheumatoid arthritis. She nodded in sympathy.
“Well, I still do need sleep. A lot more than I got last night.” She laughed and added, “But it was worth it. You ladies were a lot of fun. And I was so impressed with the way you came together. Do you do a lot of multi-generation things?”
“Things with my granddaughter?” Mona looked at Bria and smiled with affection. “Absolutely. I’d much rather spend time with her than my own child. And we just met these other lovely folks here who feel the same way.” Mona waved her hand around the table encompassing a variety of mothers, grandmothers, and daughters.
“To be fair,” one of the women spoke up. “I like spending time with both my mother and my daughter. In fact, we’d really like more events like this to bring us together.”
“Really?” The gears in Julie’s head started to turn. She hadn’t thought of it before, but maybe there was a market for a generational retreat and she’d been missing out. “Does anyone here play around with family trees and ancestry?” It was an idea that had popped into her head after hearing some of the ladies at the grocery store talking about it the week before. They were really into it and it seemed to be a growing hobby. Was there a way Julie could turn it into a business opportunity?
“You know,” one of the younger women piped up. “I’ve been playing with my family tree on one of those websites. My father died without knowing who his real father was and—” She stopped herself and put her hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”
“No.” Julie smiled kindly. “I totally get it. Tell me more. You’ve been on the websites?”
Encouraged, the woman—Diane was her name—continued to tell her how she’d signed up for their free service and quickly moved to the paid one. But that wasn’t it. She’d learned so much about her history and her past that she wanted to somehow record it or create a lasting memory. More than just a website.
“Like a family tree?” Julie asked, thinking out loud. “Maybe something you could frame and put in the living room?”
“Yes.” Diane nodded. “Of course, it would have to be more than a simple tree,” she continued. “Maybe something that encompassed the history, or my father’s Scottish heritage. Nothing cheesy, you know?”
Julie nodded. She did know. It was a lot to think about, but definitely something that she could see potential in. Genealogy or ancestry retreats might be a great market. A place where multiple generations could not only get away together and spend quality time while talking about and learning about their past, but also commemorate the experience with a special piece that would tie it all together. Not so much a craft maybe as an art piece.
Yes. She was definitely onto something.
“Thank you, ladies.” Julie moved to excuse herself. “You’ve given me a lot to think about and I do hope you fill out your surveys afterwards. They’ll really help me for planning the next one. Enjoy your breakfast.” She gave a few hugs and accepted a few kisses on the cheeks and then she was finally able to move on to the next table, and then the next until finally she’d made a point to visit with everyone from the retreat.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Julie smiled as she slid into a seat next to Shay, who looked every bit the tired teenager who’d only just reluctantly pulled herself out of bed. “Nice of you to join us before noon.” She’d popped her head into Shay’s room before she’d left the suite earlier, and decided it would be a nice treat to let her daughter sleep. It was true that Shay was technically working for Crafty Creations, but she’d been doing a great job. There was no harm in letting her sleep a little.
“Sorry, Mom.” Shay reached for a cup of coffee. Since when did her daughter drink coffee? “I just couldn’t pull myself out of bed this morning. Did I miss anything?”
Julie watched for a moment while Shay poured half a jug of cream into her mug and stirred in at least three sugar packets. So much for coffee. “It’s fine,” she said. “There was nothing major going on anyway. But I did get a great idea for some future retreat ideas.”
Shay tipped her head, which demonstrated just enough interest for her to continue. “It would be a multi-generational thing,” she continued. “An opportunity for everyone to come together and bond while they work on some family keepsakes. I think it could be a really big thing.”
“Sounds good.”
“Right?”
Shay nodded. “Honestly, Mom. It sounds good. You should do it.”
“I’m going to talk to the staff here right away and see if I can book some space for next year. I don’t want to wait on this. If I can get some ideas going, I should be able to start booking it right away and strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.”
Shay grimaced as she took a sip of her coffee and added more sugar. “So you’re going to work this afternoon?”
“I’ll have to. For a little bit anyway.” It was the wrong thing to say. Shay’s face fell and she looked down at the tablecloth. “I won’t be long,” Julie added quickly. “But I really need to get this stuff ironed out before—”
“It’s fine.”
“Shay, really. It’s not like it’s going to be all day. I was just hoping to get it organized. That’s all. If we can book out an entire other retreat right away, it could be huge for Crafty Creations.”
“It’s fine, Mom.” Shay traced her finger along the seam of the tablecloth, and wouldn’t meet her eyes. It wasn’t fine.
“Shay, honestly. It’ll only be a few minutes. Thirty at most, and then we’ll be able to—”
“You know what?” Shay pushed back from her chair so suddenly, it tipped over. “It won’t be just thirty minutes and we both know it.”
Julie looked around the room and pulled at Shay’s sweater to get her to sit down. “Shay, people are starting to—”
“I don’t care. You said this would be a trip for us. A holiday that we could enjoy.”
“And it will be,” Julie hissed through her teeth. Shay rarely acted out with childish tantrums, but she was still a teenager and it did happen. Not usually with some absolutely imperfect timing, however. “But I still have to do a bit of work.”
“Of course you do.” Shay threw her napkin on the table with the drama that only a teenager could perfect and stormed out of the room.
She could have gone after her, but Julie knew well enough that the only thing that would come out of that would be more yelling. There was no point trying to force Shay to talk when she was worked up. Her daughter would calm down, and they’d go on to enjoy their trip, but there was no sense making things worse right now. Especially considering Julie had a room full of guests to tend to.
“I feel your pain.” A voice accompanied by a warm hand on Julie’s shoulder distracted her. She turned to see Mona beside her. “My kids perfected the guilt trip when they were young. It will pass.”
Julie nodded and covered Mona’s hand with her own. “I know it will.”
“Hang in there. She’s a great kid. She’ll be okay.”
* * *
It was after noon by the time Ryan was able to leave his desk. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to how busy the Christmas season was. There were always a million little fires to put out: employees calling in sick, or guest requests that always seemed a little more as if they required Christmas magic rather than a customer service representative. But it didn’t matter. Ryan loved his job. Even more so at Christmas because more often than not, he could make those requests come true. It was almost like playing Santa.
Even so, he was more than happy to get away from his desk and get some fresh air after checking another item off his list. From his office window, it looked like a beautiful winter day. The sun was
shining and the blue sky was the perfect backdrop for the snow-covered mountains. By all accounts, it wasn’t too cold, although that report seemed to change depending on who he spoke to and where they were from. He grabbed his knit cap and gloves just in case as he snuck out the back door and headed toward the frozen skating rink.
The skating rink was one of the most popular winter activities they offered at the Lodge, particularly over the holidays. With carols piped in through hidden speakers, a bonfire set up over to the side, and a hot chocolate bar with all the fixings, it wasn’t hard to see why. Ryan headed straight for the table where the hot chocolate and other goodies were set up. Everything looked as though it was right where it should be.
“Hi, Ryan.” Carly, one of his best seasonal employees, greeted him. “Can I get you a hot chocolate?”
He shook his head, although it was tempting. “Not right now. I just needed to get some fresh air. How are things going out here?” He scanned the table. All the supplies were well-stocked despite the fact that Carly seemed to be pouring drinks at a steady rate. “It looks pretty busy. Do you need some help? I can get one of the—”
“No problem, boss. I’m totally in control.” She smiled sweetly and Ryan nodded. She was definitely in control. From the moment she’d started at the Lodge, Carly had been more than competent, and he’d already tried to convince her to stay on after the season, but she was adamant about going back to school. He couldn’t really argue with that, so he’d settled for making it clear that she always had a job if she wanted it.
He made small talk with her for a few more minutes before he left her to do her work. Moving to the side so he wouldn’t be in the way, he took a moment to watch the skaters. The frozen pond was covered with mothers and fathers teaching their little ones how to skate for the first time, or older children who were leaving their parents behind as they quite literally skated circles around them. Of course, there were a few happy couples, arm-in-arm and making their way around the outside of the pond. He tried not to watch them too long. He was about to leave when he spotted a familiar girl.