Then there was Donovan. Hope hadn’t seen him since the incident at the lodge. Incident was a polite way of putting it; train wreck was more accurate. But Hope had seen Rick, as he’d been in the Hungry Bear often, mostly to pick up Sparkle, or to return her. But no Donovan. Hope wanted to inquire after him, but she held strong. She was, after all, born and raised Alaskan. Tough. Able to withstand anything. But not seeing Donovan was unbearable and felt like some painful déjà vu.
She crawled out of bed and headed for the shower. As she passed Ella’s room, she couldn’t miss the new sign posted on her door—Keep Out.
Hope gave it a sad smile. Today’s silver lining . . . at least her daughter was communicating again.
In the shower, Hope stood under the hot water until the tank nearly ran out. She felt guilty for that, too. Wasting hot water wasn’t a luxury she could afford.
She quickly dressed, wrote a list for Ella of things she’d like done around the house—though it might be in vain—and then hurried to the Hungry Bear to open up. Before she had even unlocked the door, trucks started pulling up. People who worked on Saturdays wanted to pick something up for lunch. An hour later, Piney came downstairs.
She had been acting strange all week and this morning wasn’t any different. She’d looked worried—and Piney never looked worried.
Hope checked out the last customer and went to the back. “Is something going on that we need to talk about? Are you unwell?” She’d tried every day to get Piney to talk, but Piney was mum. Which was so out of character for her. But maybe Hope was to blame. A lot of people weren’t speaking to her now.
The chime over the door rang.
“Go take care of Miss Lisa up front,” Piney said, chewing her lip. “I promise we’ll talk. Just not now.” Which was more than she’d said all week.
Hope had a sinking feeling that whatever Piney had to say wasn’t good, but she hurried to help Miss Lisa pick out the best two bananas in the produce section and to bring a quart of milk to the front for her.
While Hope was handing Miss Lisa her sack of groceries, Rick arrived.
“Sparkle should be down at ten,” Hope offered.
“Thanks. How are you this morning?” Rick had been asking this same question with the same concern each time he came in. He certainly hadn’t forgotten the dramatic reveal at the lodge.
“I’m okay,” Hope said, trying to deflect him with a perky employee-of-the-month act. “Can I help you find anything while you wait for Sparkle?
“Actually, I need to speak with Piney about hanging something on the bulletin board.” He held up a sheet of paper. “For Donovan,” Rick clarified.
Hope didn’t even try to look at what he had in his hand. She couldn’t care less. Donovan coming back to town had upended her family, and neither he nor his poster deserved her notice. If she had been sleeping a little better, and if her daughter were speaking to her, Hope might feel more generous toward Donovan. But none of these things were the case.
“Piney’s in the back.”
“Thanks,” Rick said, before walking down the aisle.
A few minutes later, he reappeared with a frown on his face and headed for the bulletin board.
“I have pushpins at the register, if you need them.”
He nodded silently and hung up the piece of paper. Then he turned back to Hope, looking utterly miserable, nothing like the ultra-positive Rick.
“Can I help with anything else?” Hope asked.
Rick looked around first, as if to make sure they were alone. “How about some advice?”
“That depends,” Hope said guardedly, in case Rick wanted to talk about Donovan.
“Piney seems to hate me. How do I get on her good side?”
Suddenly it all snapped into place—why Piney had been acting weird all week, and what she probably wanted to talk about. She was worried about Rick’s intentions toward Sparkle. Which made perfect sense. After all, rumor had it that Piney had fallen for a good-looking, sweet-talking oil worker who didn’t stick around . . . Sparkle’s dad. Though she didn’t normally show it, Piney must have had some pretty hard feelings about him taking off the moment Piney told him she was pregnant. But Hope couldn’t tell Rick any of that. It wasn’t her place. “There’s only one thing you can do. Be a good man and don’t mess with Sparkle’s emotions.”
“I’m not messing with Sparkle. I really like her,” Rick said. “It’s strange. The second I saw her, I knew I wanted to be near her.”
Just the way Hope felt when Donovan had moved in next door.
“Love at first sight,” she murmured.
Rick smiled eagerly, as if to say, You get it.
Hope wanted to quash that smile, tell him that love at first sight was bogus. That she was living proof of that.
“Piney seemed to dislike me from the get-go,” said Rick. “I don’t understand it. I’ve been polite, respectful. I’m a nice guy. Ask anyone.” He didn’t say Donovan’s name, but he didn’t have to. “Tell me what I gotta do.”
“Don’t keep Sparkle out all night, would be a great place to start!” Piney huffed, startling them both. “Sparkle is still healing from surgery. Did you know it takes twelve to eighteen months to mend internally after being cut open?”
Rick had it right. Piney didn’t like him.
“Two o’clock in the morning,” Piney muttered.
“Sorry, Ms. Douglas. It won’t happen again.” Rick looked genuinely contrite. “I was going to take her to a play tonight in Anchorage . . . The Little Mermaid. But I’ll cancel.”
Piney rolled her eyes. “Fine. Take her to the play. Sparkle doesn’t get a chance to do many things like that. Get her a hotel room of her own. And have her go there alone at a decent hour.”
Hope didn’t think Piney could have much control over the hotel situation. But then she kept talking.
“I’m only going to say this once. If you get my daughter pregnant, I promise you that you’ll regret it. I’ll make sure your nuggets are hanging above the door next to the chimes. Am I making myself clear?” Piney never made threats, but Hope believed her now.
Rick’s expression said he believed her, too. “Yes, ma’am.” He paused for a second. “I really like your daughter.” He looked as if he were going to say more but stopped.
Piney stared at him for a long moment. Then she scoffed, “We’ll see.”
Hope intervened. “Rick? Can I get you a cup of coffee and maybe a cookie to go with it?”
He smiled at her gratefully. “That would be nice. Thanks.”
She led the way to the diner and poured him a mugful. “Hang in there,” she told him before she headed back to the grocery side.
When Sparkle came down the stairs, Rick stood up. But Piney intercepted her at the bottom of the steps.
“You’re going to take the day off. Rick is here to take you to Anchorage.”
Sparkle smiled at Rick over Piney’s head.
“You have to promise me that you’ll get plenty of rest.”
Sparkle hugged Piney. “I will.”
Suddenly Piney spun around to address Hope. “We’re going to have our chat now,” she said.
“O-okay.”
Piney glanced over at Rick and Sparkle in the dining area but lowered her voice to be doubly sure they wouldn’t be overheard. “Hope, I hate to do this to you, but I have no choice. Sparkle’s medical bills are piling up. I’m just not sure what I can do about them.” She paused, looking pained. “I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to let you go.”
“What?” Hope had worked at the Hungry Bear for seventeen years, even through the decline of Sweet Home. “What am I going to do for a job?”
Piney reached over to the bulletin board, pulled down a sheet of paper, and handed it to Hope. “Your answer is right here.”
Hope looked down at the advertisemen
t—Home Sweet Home Lodge was looking for a housekeeper. The hourly wage was higher than Hope was making now, but there was no relief in what she was staring at. There was no gratitude. “I can’t do that.”
“You don’t have a choice, buttercup,” Piney said firmly. “When God shuts a door, He opens a window. In this case, the window leads to the lodge.”
“And begging Donovan for a job?” The paper crumpled as she shoved it back at Piney. “No, thanks.” There had to be some other way out of this predicament.
“What did I tell you years ago?” Piney said. “You’ve got to pull your big-girl pants up and do what has to be done.”
“That’s all I ever do,” Hope complained. It had been one bad break after another . . . the accident, Izzie and Beau dying, getting thrown out of the house, Mom and Dad’s divorce, the constant worry about money, Ella’s drinking. And now, Hope was out of a job.
Piney looked at her with pity in her eyes. “Do you want me to talk to Donovan for you?”
Hope crossed her arms over her chest. “Absolutely not.” Why couldn’t her life be like a romantic comedy—like Sparkle’s—where some rich guy stumbled over her doorstep and they ended up happily-ever-after, with three kids and a dog? Nope, Hope’s life was more like a Greek tragedy.
Piney smoothed the paper, laid it out on the counter, and pulled out her phone. “I’ll dial him for you.”
“No!” Hope reached for the phone, but Piney slipped behind the counter.
“Hello, Donovan. This is Piney.” She smiled over at her, as if Hope hadn’t hit an all-time low.
And then Piney did the most awful thing. “Hold on,” she said. “Hope wants to speak to you.”
Hope stepped back, but the magazine rack stopped her and Piney caught up. Hope fumbled with the phone and thought about hanging up . . . accidentally-on-purpose. But she had no choice, did she? She had to take care of her daughter. They had to survive. She shoved her pride down, one more time. She was pretty good at it by now.
“I see you need a housekeeper.” No hello, no greeting at all. She wasn’t in a hi-how-are-you kind of mood.
The silence on the other end went on for so long, Hope began to wonder if Piney was just pulling a prank on her. She held the phone away from her ear. “So, all this is some kind of joke?” she said to Piney.
“Hope?” came Donovan’s deep voice.
Hope rolled her eyes, put the phone to her ear, then turned her back on Piney, as if to have a private conversation. “What?” She wasn’t feeling very pleasant and was sure her tone conveyed it.
“I hesitated because I need someone full time at the lodge. As much as I’d like to give Ella a job, I need more than someone after school and on weekends.”
This was pure torture. Her pride went down in one large lump and she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to speak. But she did. “Not Ella. Me.”
“Don’t you already have a job?” Donovan asked.
Hope looked over her shoulder and glared at the woman who’d been a surrogate mother to her for the last seventeen years.
“Nope. Not since ten seconds ago. Piney fired me,” Hope said.
“Laid off,” Piney shouted so Donovan might hear.
“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.” Hope was still out of a job and would have to grovel to Donovan to get a new one. Everyone knew there were no jobs available in Sweet Home, the reason the place was pretty much a ghost town.
A thought hit Hope. Izzie was right. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if only she’d been grateful for all her blessings last night . . . like having a job. And not having to beg Donovan for a chance to be his housekeeper!
“Well?” Hope said. “Can I at least interview for it?”
“Hope,” Donovan said on a frustrated sigh, “I don’t want to hire you to clean up after me and the guests who stay here. It’s beneath you.”
Oh, that got her riled. “Nothing is beneath me! I think you’ve forgotten that here in Alaska, we have to suck it up and do what has to be done.” She had an idea. “And just so you’ll feel better, how about you give me the job, and I promise not to clean up after you. You’ll have to pick up your own clothes off the floor until you leave. Do we have a deal?” It felt like she’d stuck out her hand for him to shake.
“Sure,” he finally said, not sounding at all happy about the arrangement. “When can you start?”
Hope hesitated. Was she really doing this? Apparently she was. Piney was gathering up Hope’s coat and holding it out to her.
“Hope? Are you there?” Donovan said.
“I guess I can start right now.”
* * *
• • •
DONOVAN HUNG UP and looked around the lodge, then down at his feet. Boomer was tugging on his shoelace. He reached down and picked up the furball. “Wow. I didn’t see that coming. What a strange turn of events, buddy.”
He wished Rick hadn’t gone into town. It would be nice to have him as a buffer when Hope got here. Or for Donovan to have someone to talk to until Hope arrived. He didn’t know what he was going to say to her, even after eight long days of dwelling on little else.
For the past few days, he’d spied on Ella—his daughter. He still wasn’t used to the word. He’d found out when school started and ended and had sat outside Sweet Home High . . . to see evidence that she belonged to him.
But there was no denying it. The second Hope confirmed it, Donovan knew in his gut that Ella was his. She had super blue eyes, just like him, Dad, and Beau. Her hair was dark blond, just like his, too, not dark brown like Hope’s.
He took Boomer into the kitchen and sat him down in front of his water dish.
“Maybe I should just give her all the cash in my wallet when she gets here and send her on her way. We have too much history between us for her to work for me.”
But another thought hit him. Working at the lodge would serve her right for what she’d done to his family. But then Donovan remembered his promise to Beau, how he would forgive Hope. He could almost hear the universe laughing. Good luck with that!
Donovan frowned at the list he’d started of things to be done around the house and cabins.
“But she’d said she wouldn’t pick up after me.”
Boomer looked up at him.
“Yeah. I don’t blame her either.”
He needed to find a way to deal with her being here. “Maybe I’ll start her working on Wandering Moose Cabin. The farthest one from the lodge.”
Boomer whimpered and Donovan picked him up. “You know, if you didn’t need so much attention, maybe I wouldn’t need help at all.”
Boomer licked Donovan’s hand and Donovan lovingly scratched his dog behind the ears. “You’re a lot of trouble, but I’m glad you’re here. You’re a good listener.”
There was a knock at the door. Donovan trudged toward it, surprised Hope had gotten here so quickly.
He opened the door. Courtney! He looked past her but didn’t see Hope’s car on the road leading up to the lodge. He should get rid of Courtney quickly. He had a feeling it wouldn’t be a good idea to have her here when Hope arrived.
But then, he thought, Why should I care?
“Hey, Courtney, what’s going on?” he said.
She smiled brightly. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.” She hefted a rather large purse and leaned in, as if she were ready to walk over the threshold. “I have some things to show you.”
“Sure. Why not?” Why not pulled in behind Courtney’s red Volvo.
Courtney turned around and squinted. “Is that Hope McKnight?”
“Yes.” He didn’t have to explain to either woman why the other was here. Heck, he didn’t even know why Courtney was here.
He held the door wide and Courtney glided in. He didn’t wait for Hope to come to the door, but left it open a crack.
Courtne
y had made her way into the dining room and was spreading tile samples out on the table. She looked over her shoulder at him. “When I was in Fairbanks, I picked these up for you.” She smiled as if she’d done him a favor. “I thought we could get started on the floor right away.”
Hadn’t he covered this with her already? He didn’t want her help decorating.
Before he could answer, the front door creaked open and Hope stood there, frowning at the sight of him leaning over Courtney’s shoulder.
Hope had no smile for him. Nor was she dressed to the nines like Courtney in a winter-white coat and a blood-red dress underneath. Hope had on jeans, a secondhand-looking brown parka, and of course, her wary stare.
“Hey, Hope,” Courtney said brightly. “What brings you out to the lodge?”
Hope’s lips formed into a straight line as her eyes flashed murder at him. Finally, she spoke. “I’m the new housekeeper.”
He had to give her points for owning it. “Why don’t you start on Monday?” Donovan wasn’t completely insensitive.
“I’m already here.”
“What about the Hungry Bear?” Courtney said. “Are you just working here at the lodge for extra cash?”
Hope grunted noncommittally and then said to Donovan, “Where am I starting? Do you have a list of what you want me to do?”
Donovan ignored the list on the counter. “Give me a minute, Courtney. I want to get Hope started and then I’ll be right back.”
He left both women standing in their corners—so to speak—as he rushed to the utility closet and pulled out all the cleaning supplies he’d bought, including a bucket and a wet-dry mop.
As he walked back toward Hope, he felt sorry for her. She was acting brave and stoic, but it had to be humiliating to have Courtney witness her relative downfall.
He handed Hope the wet-dry mop. “You’re going to start in Wandering Moose Cabin.” He slipped out of his moccasins and started pulling on his boots.
One Snowy Night Page 12