by Susan Page Davis, Darlene Franklin, Janelle Mowery, Lynette Sowell
She finally turned to Jayne. “I don’t know how you do it, but this room is amazing. I almost feel like I know you just by how you decorate.”
“I’m glad you like it.” She motioned to a small table with two chairs. “Since the children still seem enthralled with their rooms, how about we sit and go over our ideas and see how they’ll mesh?”
They’d just gotten started when a boy about the same age as Jennifer and Brandon poked his head through the doorway. Jayne smiled and waved him in.
“Andy, I’d like you to meet one of our guests. This is Miss Minter. She’s the nanny to Jennifer and Brandon, whom you’ll meet soon.”
The words were no sooner out of her mouth when the children raced into the room. They slid to a stop and gaped. Stephanie smiled at Jayne.
“Hey you two, come meet my son, Andy.”
Jayne made the introductions and, typical of the young, they took to each other right away. Andy leaned against his mother. “Can I show them the barn?”
The tone of Andy’s voice made Stephanie want to tag along, especially if Jayne decorated the barn even half as much as the inn.
Jayne touched her arm. “Do you mind or would you rather wait so you can join them?”
“No, let them go. I’ll find them when we finish.” Besides, this vacation was for the children.
The three ran out of the room. Jayne called after them, “Make sure you wear your coats.”
Stephanie shook her head. “I was about to say the same thing. Funny how we have to tell them that.”
“Even funnier, they would have gotten all the way to the barn before they realized they were cold.”
They laughed, then got down to work. Half an hour later, Jayne leaned back in her chair.
“You’ve really done your homework. Adding your ideas will make the events I’ve planned even better. Trying to add the real meaning of Christmas to a pirate theme hasn’t been easy. This is going to be great.”
“Good. I’ll enjoy working with you.” She glanced at the window. “Oh goodness. It’s almost dark. I should go check on Jen and Brandon.”
“Tell you what. Go look around the grounds and see what you want to use for your plans. I’ll round up the kids and get them cleaned up for dinner. In case you ever need one, you can always find a battery-charged flashlight on the wall next to the door.”
“Great. Thank you.”
On the walk outside, Stephanie listened as Jayne sketched out the layout of the grounds, and watched her head to the barn. The bottom half of the building was of stone much like the inn, with the top half made of wooden planks. Half tempted to follow Jayne just to see the ship she’d mentioned during their talk, she instead wandered toward the nativity set. Handcrafted from wood, the collection was impressive in the details, from the expression on each face to the wrinkles and nails on the hands. Stephanie almost felt the need to introduce herself as she resisted the urge to touch each piece. She knelt in front of the baby Jesus and traveled back through time to the night of His birth. Warmth filled her chest at the thought of the precious gift.
She touched the manger then looked underneath. She’dneed help with her plan but it looked like it would work. As much as she wanted to stay, she needed to see more of the grounds. By the time she made it to the barn, Jayne and the kids were gone. They’d left the lights on, though. The ship Jayne and her staff had built for the skits was just as incredible as the nativity set. They’d outdone anything she could have imagined. From windows for the cannons all the way up to the masts, it was as if they’d taken a ship from one of the many movies and landed it in their barn. She couldn’t wait to see the skits Jayne had planned.
A glance at her watch sent her scurrying for the inn. Before she made it to the back door of the house, lights glistening off the icy lake caught her attention. The sight kept her feet moving until she stood at the gate to some steps leading to the lake’s edge. She dropped onto the nearby concrete bench and wished once again she had her camera. As beautiful as it was here, this wouldn’t be the last time she’d fight that wish.
One day, Lord. You know the desires of my heart, and I know I’ll one day have another nice camera.
“Stephanie! What are you doing here?”
At the familiar voice, Stephanie’s heart threatened to pound from her chest as she turned to face Matt.
Chapter 2
The porch light shining behind Matt’s head glowed like a halo. Or maybe it just looked that way because Stephanie still loved him. She wanted to run up the porch steps and wrap her arms around him, but no doubt he wouldn’t allow any kind of embrace. By his expression, he still wore his hurt close to his heart.
He made no move to join her. “How did you know I was here?”
“I didn’t.” She headed toward the porch. “I’m here with the Tolliver family.”
His frown deepened. “I don’t understand. Are you related or something?”
She climbed the steps and stopped in front of him. After two years, all she wanted to do was touch him. He shoved his hands into his pockets. She took a breath and shook her head. “I’m their nanny.” She paused and examined his face. “How’ve you been?”
He tilted his head. “You left to make your fortune as a famous photographer. How’d you become a nanny?” He took a step back. “Never mind. It’s not my business.”
He turned to leave. Stephanie reached out to him, touching his arm. He stopped.
“I’ll tell you the story if you have the time and would like to hear it.” When he glanced at her, she motioned to theporch swing. “There’s something I’ve needed to say to you. I’d like to do it now if you’ll let me.”
He stared at the swing in silence for several moments then sat as close to the end as possible. Following his lead, she sat at the other end, giving him his space. She pulled her stocking hat down around her ears then shoved her gloved hands in her coat pocket. He wasn’t wearing much of a coat.
“Are you warm enough? We could go inside.”
“I’m fine.” He stared straight ahead, his foot pushing the swing into a slow rock. “You highlighted your hair. It looks nice.”
“Thank you.” This was hard. Even harder than when she faced her family so long ago. She gazed at the lights glistening off the ice and took a breath. “I know I hurt you, Matt, and I want you to know how sorry I am. What I did was selfish and thoughtless. Stupid.” Her throat swelled as tears threatened. “I was so stupid.”
“What’s your last name?”
“What?” She looked at him. “It’s still Minter.”
“So you didn’t marry that guy?”
Oh wow. His pain was worse than she thought. “I didn’t go to New York with Larry to marry him.”
“So you were just using him.”
She blew out a long breath, creating steamy little clouds. “Yeah, I guess so. And I just ended up getting used.”
He finally looked at her. “How so?”
She made a face. “Our second day in the city, he sent me out to get some food, and when I returned, he was gone—along with all my photography equipment, including the antique cameras my grandpa gave me.” She took anotherbreath. “And there I was, alone in a big city with no money and no equipment to make money.”
“Why didn’t you just come home?”
“More stupidity. But mostly I was embarrassed. It took me almost six months before I could face my family.” She shrugged. “Of course they forgave me, but I couldn’t forgive myself.”
“How did you survive those first six months?”
She lifted one corner of her mouth. “I wandered down the streets looking for work. I saw a help-wanted sign in the window of an ice-cream parlor. They hired me on the spot. Must have been the desperate look on my face. Or maybe it was my growling stomach.”
The corners of Matt’s mouth lifted. “Ice cream, huh? Did they know you could eat them out of business?”
Stephanie laughed, glad to see even a slight smile from Matt. “I kept that bit
of news a secret for all of about two weeks. But thankfully by then, the family that owned the shop had taken me under their wing and overlooked that little weakness. They let me live with them until I could afford a place of my own.”
“How did you come to be with the Tollivers?”
“They’re friends of the family who hired me, the Vickers. When the Tollivers’ other nanny got married, the Vickers told them they should hire me. I’ve been with them for almost a year. The kids are great.”
“And your plans to get rich and famous from photography?”
She looked across the frozen lake again, remembering her wish for another camera mere minutes ago. “Gone. Nolonger important to me. Oh, I want to own another nice camera again because I love taking pictures. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished for my cameras back because of scenes just like this. This place, this house, it’s all beautiful.”
She could feel him staring and turned to meet his gaze. He gave a slight shake of his head.
“You’re different. I can hear it in your voice.”
“I’d like to think I can learn from my mistakes. And the Vickers had a lot to do with it. They were a great help.” There was so much more to tell, but she wanted to know about him, what he’d been doing the last two years. “How about you? How’s your carpentry business? You here visiting Jayne for Christmas instead of spending it with your parents?”
Matt put one arm along the back of the swing and propped his ankle on his knee. “I moved my business from Pennsylvania to here. Jayne called one day and told me her idea of using this inn for special Christmas packages, calling it Christmas Any Time. She said she needed someone to build sets for some visitors’ wishes, like a pirate ship for instance.”
Stephanie turned in the swing. “You built that? It’s incredible. You did a great job.”
He smiled. “You saw it? I think it’s been my favorite set so far.”
“This wasn’t your first set?”
“No, Jayne had a special request a few months ago.”
“What’d you have to build for that?”
He looked down at the porch flooring. “A little boy had cancer.” Matt’s voice was low and soft. “He loved the story Jack and the Beanstalk, but he was too sick to take part in an actual event, so his parents asked if there was any way we could reenact something similar.” He shook his head. “I about broke my neck coming down the beanstalk after Jack.”
She raised her brows and tried not to laugh. “You played the giant?”
He shrugged. “I did the best I could.”
“I bet it was great.”
He shrugged again, then stood. “I’ve got a few more things I need to do before tomorrow. I want that boat in shipshape.”
She laughed as she stood next to him. “That was bad.”
“I know.”
“You need some help?”
A dark form came around the corner of the porch. “There you are, Steph. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Before she could recover from her shock, the man raced up the steps, grabbed her in his arms, and spun her around, ending with a loud, smacking kiss. She struggled to get free and was released. She stared, unable to believe her eyes, then turned to Matt. His nostrils flared and his eyes flamed. With a nod, he descended the step and disappeared around the house.
Matt couldn’t get away from Stephanie fast enough. She hadn’t changed a bit. She’d only become a better actress.
He stomped across the yard and entered the barn. Was he more angry with her or himself? How could he have softened enough to let her hurt him again? He flipped on the lights and stared at the ship. The excitement of workingwith the young pirates had dimmed. Might even be gone, because now he knew he’d also be working with Stephanie. If Jayne knew she was coming and didn’t warn him …
He ran his hand across the ship’s facade. He’d worked hard on getting it just right, spent hours on the Internet downloading pictures to use as guides. He’d poured himself into this task just as he’d done in all the others—since Stephanie ran away to New York, and working with wood was all he had left.
A week. Only a week. He could manage to put up with seeing her that long; then he could get back to living again. He hadn’t done that in the last two years, but now it was time to start.
“What are you doing here, Greg?”
“Oh now, is that the way to greet your future husband?” Stephanie gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. “I’m not marrying you.” I don’t even like you. “Did Steve invite
you?”
“Why else would I be here?”
“Because I wouldn’t put it past you to just show up and hope they’d let you stay.”
Greg put his hand over his heart. “Now you’re just being mean. Why do you want to hurt me?” Grrr. “I’m going to find Steve.”
Greg grabbed her arm. “Hold on. I really was invited. I take it by your reaction my brother didn’t tell you.” “Steve never said a word.” Or I wouldn’t have come. “Probably because they knew you wouldn’t come.” He shrugged. “I heard about their pirate theme and thought it would be fun. I could help them walk the plank and swing from the mast.”
“Or hang by the neck until dead.”
Greg laughed. “Or there’s that.” He nudged her with his elbow. “I really rub you the wrong way, don’t I?”
“You have a certain knack.”
He stepped around to face her. “I just want to be with you. Like I’ve said a hundred times, I’m in love with you.”
“And like I’ve said a hundred times, get over it. I don’t love you, nor will I ever.” She tilted her head as she peered up at him. “Why can’t we just be friends?”
“Because I’ll always want more.”
“This is all you’ll ever get.”
She slipped past him and entered the inn. Why was it so hard for him to take no for an answer? She’d started off being nice, kind in her refusals. Now she had to be blunt and it still didn’t help. Worse yet, what had Matt thought? He looked pretty mad. All the progress they’d made tonight was destroyed because of one thoughtless act. For the second time. Her running off in a selfish act was the first. She may never get a third chance.
Chapter 3
What do you mean, I have to work closely with Stephanie? Why can’t you do it?” Matt propped his forearm on the table and leaned toward his cousin. “Did you know she was coming and didn’t tell me?”
Jayne made a face. “No, I didn’t know she was the nanny. And I would have warned you she was here if you’d have come inside first.”
He sat back in his chair. “Yeah, well when I thought it was her, I couldn’t help it. I had to know for sure. Besides, you could have called.”
“I’ve been a little busy.”
He tapped the tabletop. “What is it she needs done that requires my help?”
Jayne smiled. “She’s got some great ideas, Matt. Wait till you hear them.”
“I’m waiting.”
“I’d rather you hear them from her.”
“Why?”
The kitchen door opened. Stephanie stopped when she saw them sitting at the table. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
Jayne stood and motioned for her to sit. “You’re not interrupting. Have a seat. I’ll get you a cup of coffee while you fill Matt in on your plans.”
Stephanie didn’t move but stared at Matt. He wanted to strangle his cousin for putting him in this position. Instead, he nodded toward an open chair. Stephanie’s smile was timid as she sat.
He was feeling mean and Stephanie became his target. “Is your boyfriend joining us?”
Stephanie frowned. “My boyfr—” Her mouth formed an Oh. She placed her elbow on the table. “Greg isn’t my boyfriend. Never has been. He’s Steve Tolliver’s brother.”
Matt looked at Jayne, who nodded. He narrowed his eyes. Jayne needed to be a little more forthcoming with information. He returned to Stephanie. “If that’s the case, d
on’t you think Greg’s a little too familiar with his brother’s nanny?”
“Yes, I do. And I’ve told him as much, repeatedly.”
By Stephanie’s expression, there was more to the story, but her answers removed his edge. Not to mention she had that innocent look again. He took a breath. “Jayne tells me you need some help with plans for the kids.”
“Do you have time?”
“I took the week off to be here for any help needed.”
Jayne set a cup of coffee in front of Stephanie and refilled his cup. “Would you like some cream and sugar, Steph?”
“She likes it black.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Matt wished he’d have bitten his tongue. He caught the raised eyebrows on Jayne’s face and scowled.
Jayne set the carafe in the middle of the table. “I’ve got to finish breakfast. You two get the plans hammered out.”
As Stephanie laid out her thoughts on the treasure hunt, Matt grew more impressed. She’d given everything a lot of thought. He raised his brows at how she wanted it to end.
She leaned back, her expression hopeful. “Do you think it’s possible, or have I gone too far?”
Matt stared at the table trying to picture how he’d be able to make her idea possible. “So the kids will be opening their gifts Christmas Eve?”
“Only some of them. They’ll get the rest Christmas morning.” She made a face. “You don’t think it’s possible, do
you?”
He ran his hand across his chin. More than ever, he wanted to make it happen. “Let’s go out and take a look.”
Jayne stopped stirring the scrambled eggs. “Will the family be down soon?”
“Oh I’m sorry, Jayne. Yes, Emily said to tell you once they were all dressed, they’d come down together.”
“Great. While you’re out there, Stephanie, be sure to tell him the rest of your ideas.”
Matt waited for her to get her coat then led her outside. “What other ideas? Are they anything like this treasure hunt?”