Page 31 of Snowed Inn For Christmas

My stomach knotted at the thought of clearing the place out and putting it up for sale, especially when I realized how much work they had put into making it one of the most magical places I had ever been to.I always chalked that feeling up to being young and not knowing any better, but as I looked around the table at the family before me, their happiness wasn’t fake.It was as if the magic of the inn had seeped into all of them, making everyone forget about the danger that threatened to take all of it away.

Eighteen

Julie

The guys had decidedto put up Christmas lights outside and had been out there for twenty minutes, as my mother and I sat on the couch and watched.Daisy had started to not feel well shortly after breakfast and had fallen asleep between us while Duke laid on the rug beneath her, always guarding her.

My dad held up a strand of lights and looked at it, while Patrick shook his head, folding his arms over his chest and scowling.Gage looked off to the side and lowered his head, clearly not wanting to get into another fight with my brother.

I chewed my thumbnail anxiously as I watched them, hating that there was still so much anger and hostility between them.I used to say that nothing would ever come between me and my brother, but my stomach soured at the thought as I looked at Gage and felt my heart flutter in my chest.

I knew it was wrong to get involved with him—especially right now.But it was damn near impossible not to when we were walking sticks of dynamite, trying to avoid the flames that burned so strongly between us.I spent my teen years and early twenties being obsessed with Gage, only to tell myself nothing could ever happen because he was my brother’s best friend.Only things were different now, and I couldn’t talk my heart out of loving him like I used to.

“If you keep chewing your nails like that, you won’t have anything for her to paint when she wakes up,” my mother said, nodding to Daisy.

“She really does love painting nails.”I smiled and gently brushed a strand of hair off her face as she slept.“I can’t believe she got all of the guys to let her paint theirs.”

“Me neither.I can honestly say that I’ve never seen three manly men out there hanging Christmas lights with their pretty pink nails glistening in the sun,” she teased.

“She’s going to be so excited when she wakes up and sees the lights.I feel bad that Christmas has been off for her...”I let my voice trail as I realized that it was only a week and a half until Christmas, and I still didn’t have anything figured out for gifts.Now that my parents and Patrick were there with us, I needed to have gifts for them too, which only added to the stress I was already feeling.

“Gage mentioned to your father that he thinks the roads will be clear enough to head into town soon,” my mother said softly, staring out the window and smiling when she saw my dad pointing at both of the guys and frowning.“He really does love both of them like sons.”

“How were the roads coming up here yesterday?”I asked, clearing my throat as I shifted the topic away from how Gage has always felt like family to us.I didn’t need to think about him like that while still remembering the taste of his lips and how they felt trailing across my skin.

“Not too bad.A little icy here and there, but you know Patrick and his big truck.That thing can handle just about anything.”

“That’s good to know,” I replied, not thinking through my answer before it slipped out.

There wasn’t a time when I hadn’t been thinking about what we would do if Joel showed up here.My main priority was keeping Daisy safe.Nothing else mattered.But part of keeping her safe meant that we had a way to get the hell out of here if needed, and quickly.While my car had done alright for the most part on our way up here, I felt better knowing that my brother’s beast of a truck could save the day if needed.

My mind was racing, and before I could stop it, warning bells started flashing through my brain.

“Wait a minute—” I said, holding my hand up as my mother began to speak.“How did Patrick get his truck?I thought you guys flew into Seattle yesterday and rented a car to drive up to the inn?”

My mother’s cheeks flushed crimson as she looked out the window for someone to save her from having this conversation with me.Patrick had left his truck at my apartment because I had two parking spaces included in my lease.Since I didn’t need both, I told him he could use the other space to store his truck until he decided whether to sell it.