“Now you’ve given me some work to do. I’ll scan this year’s tours and see where I can squeeze us onto your timetable.”
Angie turned to face the passing summer homes. “I’m sorry about your father and about Christmas. It seems we have both losses in common.”
“You never said when your folks died?”
“Last Christmas, in Hawaii.”
Trevor grabbed her arm. She turned to face him and noted he’d gone pale.
“My father was in Hawaii, headed for the airport Christmas Eve when his taxi was involved in a multi-car crash. They rushed him to the hospital but announced him dead on arrival. It was a drunk driver – a teenager, not even old enough to drink.”
Angie heard the harshness in his tone. While her thoughts tried to decipher his information, she spoke the first thing that popped into her mind. “That’s why you struggle with your image of teens. And the drinking as well.” She could not help but feel relieved on the inside. He was not a recovering alcoholic and did not really hate all teenagers.
“The kid died before I could get there to kill him myself.” Trevor’s voice seethed with anger. “His face haunts me at night. A youthful, reckless moment of stupidity that caused multiple deaths.”
It hit Angie then. This tragedy sounded all too familiar and bizarre. That the dead man’s son should be sitting in the boat with her seven months later. She flinched when the sweet memory of Trevor’s kiss mocked her. He sensed her sudden reaction and reached for her hand. She withdrew it and glanced away to hide the tears that threatened to break loose. No! This relationship with Trevor would never work. He would hate her when he found out the truth.
“Frank,” Angie called out. “Our hour is up. It’s time to head back.”
A VISITOR
Trevor did not attend the owl event, and as much as Angie hated it, his absence brought relief. How could she go from being interested in a man to doing everything in her power to avoid him – all in one afternoon? She mourned the relationship that would never be. Angie groaned and threw down her pen for the hundredth time that morning. The shortest -lived romance in all of history. And she had her brother to blame for it.
It had taken all her courage to forgive Jerrod for being the drunk driver who’d killed their parents. With the flight home from Hawaii only hours away, the couple had been on a frantic hunt to locate him. They found each other – their final seconds staring face to face in a head-on collision. But she’d pushed the other victims to the back of her mind, unable to deal with all the losses. Now, old bitterness resurfaced. The troubled young man had destroyed her chance at love, even from beyond the grave.
Angie avoided Trevor whenever she popped out of her office. By mid-afternoon she was going stir crazy and needed fresh air. A trip to town would be a good escape. She made it to Main St. and could feel herself relaxing. People had congregated for the Christmas fair. The three-day event was included on the daily schedule of things for her guests at the Inn to do, and she wondered if she’d run into any of them. As much as she wanted them to enjoy their stay in Pineville, she hoped they’d chosen to spend the day at the beach.
She strolled at a leisurely pace, but none of the fun events appealed to Angie. Friends and neighbors tried to entice her to join in but she waved them off and continued to roam. The air was hot. The young Mr. Santa looked like he was melting as he bounced the children on his knee and Mrs. Santa was raking in dollars from eager men who wanted to steal a kiss from the mystery gal behind the curtain of their choice. Angie stood smiling when a voice from behind interrupted her thoughts.
“Our young Claus family are a hit at the fair,” Trevor said.
Angie swallowed hard, forced a smile, and turned to greet Trevor. “Yes, the teens are rising to the occasion and playing their roles as if they were born to it.”
“You didn’t show up for meals in the dining room today?”
“No, I had work piling up. I ate in the office.” She never told him the work remained incomplete. Her mind was not on business today and it was a full-time job to keep it from straying into forbidden territory, more so now with Trevor standing within touching distance. She turned back to the crowd of teens gathering around the kissing booth.
“Are you okay? Seem rather distant?”
“Fine. But I must be off. Grabbing a quick treat from a vendor, then heading home to tackle more work.”
“Are you upset that I was a no-show in the barn last night?”
“Mr. Dristoll. I have no right to expect anything from you. You are a free agent – come and go as you please.” Angie started to walk away, and he grabbed for her arm.
“So yesterday – the fun on the boat and the kiss – it meant nothing to you?”
“Be realistic. You will move on in a few days and we will probably never see one another again. It’s better we remain indifferent.”
“A very logical and non-committal road to take,” Trevor said, his eyes penetrating into hers with an intensity that caused her to squirm. “You never even checked your stocking. I put something in there, you know?”
Angie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She’d avoided the stocking on the mantle for that exact reason. She fully knew that he’d put something in there. “I suppose I forgot. How did your travelers enjoy the Christmas morning in July event?”
