Glynna Kaye - Mountain Country Courtship

“I can see why.”

This, in fact, was where her ex-fiancé’s sister, Barbie, was to be married in October. Thankfully, despite pressure from the girl’s mother, the bride-to-be hadn’t held Lillian’s runaway-bride act against Aunt Viola or canceled her booking after the aborted June wedding. But the notoriously spoiled young lady was proving to be something of a bridezilla in her demands—which had further spurred Lillian to keep at her aunt to approach her employer for upgrades. It was no secret that the inn itself didn’t hold a candle to the romantic draw of the garden. Seldom were guest rooms booked in conjunction with events held there—no bridal-party weekends and certainly no honeymoons or anniversary retreats.

Most repeat guests were those who’d warmed to Aunt Vi’s special brand of hospitality, not who craved the more tangible aspects of the inn itself.

Accompanying Denny as he silently wandered the garden walkways, Lillian watched him from the corner of her eye. Did he see what she saw—that the garden deserved guest accommodations to equal it? Maybe something unapologetically romantic, a style more in keeping with the traditional exterior than the blandness that was there now.

“I remember one year an evening Christmastime wedding was hosted here.” Her heart lightened at the memory, and she hoped it would touch him, too. “The garden was warmed with decorative patio space heaters, and the pines and bare branches of the deciduous trees were strung with twinkling fairy lights.”

She looked to him hopefully. But he was gazing down at his phone and didn’t respond. Lillian’s stomach knotted when he murmured an apology and stepped away for the third time that morning to take a business call. So much like Cameron. He hadn’t been able to stay in the moment longer than it took to blink twice, couldn’t keep his mind from drifting away to seemingly more important matters. Pity the woman who ended up wed to Hayden Hunter.

Yes, despite her feelings of animosity toward him, she’d checked out his ring finger.

Clearly, though, he wasn’t impressed with the Pinewood Inn, and seeing it through his eyes, she couldn’t fault him. It hadn’t gotten into its current condition overnight. When earlier in the spring she’d criticized her aunt’s employer for the neglect, Aunt Viola came to Charlotte’s defense, admitting that it was as much her own fault that things had gotten to this stage. Grateful for the opportunity to have a job she enjoyed and a nice place to live postretirement, she’d done her best not to be an albatross around her patron’s neck.

“Sorry for the interruption.” Denny joined her again, tucking away his phone. “You step out the office door for a few days, and suddenly nobody can live without you.”

As was the case with her former fiancé, undoubtedly that made him feel good about himself. Important. Indispensable.

“As I was saying,” she continued, “the winter wedding was lovely, with snow flurries setting a romantic mood for the exchange of vows.”

Could he picture that? Or was his mind focused on the drawbacks of the inn and alert to the nuances of her aunt’s flagging health? Thankfully, there was no need for a walker or cane this morning. But had he noticed how carefully she turned? How she occasionally gripped the back of a chair or casually leaned against a door frame to steady herself?

Please, Lord, don’t let Denny expect Aunt Vi to accompany him to the second floor. Her aunt hadn’t navigated the stairs since the fall that broke her hip. Realistically, despite her steady progress, she might never again see those upstairs rooms.

“Your aunt maintains this garden by herself? And manages the inn?” A probing, underlying skepticism seemed to edge his words.

“Mostly.” Or at least she had, up until last winter when Lillian had been given a crash course on innkeeping, and later gardening. “Breaking a hip is serious business, and while there are still limitations, she’s making remarkable strides.”

They were indeed blessed, for she’d read that each year 20 or 30 percent of the several hundred thousand who broke a hip died from the complications within a year. The vast majority never fully recovered, which made Lillian doubly grateful for the steady progress they were seeing.

“My mother will be pleased to hear that.”

“She has a housekeeper who comes daily, a woman who does the laundry, and a few others who fill in when she needs to be away for PT or other reasons. I help as I can.” Which ate up all her free time away from the library. “And, of course, she brings in someone to do the heavy work out here. But the garden design is all hers, based on how she recalls her own grandmother kept it. It had deteriorated considerably, of course, by the time Aunt Viola came here. I have before-and-after photos if you’d care to see them.”

“That sounds interesting.”

But it didn’t sound as if it interested him.

He tilted his head. “Taylor’s in school today?”

What did that have to do with anything? “She is.”

“And the two of you live—where?”

That was none of his business. Or would his mother frown on providing free housing to a great-niece and great-great-niece? It had never dawned on her that perhaps their residing here would be unacceptable once her aunt was more mobile. But she still had a long way to go. It was very likely she would never fully recover. “For the time being, we share the apartment with my aunt.”

“Because...?” He was probably fishing for confirmation that her aunt wasn’t fulfilling her duties at the inn.

“Aunt Viola and her sister—my grandmother—were the sole siblings in their family. The inn was sold when Aunt Viola was a young woman, and by the time their parents passed away, my grandma had married and moved elsewhere. Other relatives gradually left town to look for what they thought were better opportunities, as well. That left Aunt Viola on her own. I took a leave of absence after her fall last winter...and stayed on.”

He seemed to give that some thought, but she continued before he could misconstrue the situation. “I’m working as a library clerk part-time right now. The current library manager will be retiring soon, and I’m hopeful that as a degreed, experienced librarian, I’ll qualify for the position.”

However, a few days ago she’d heard rumors that another librarian might be taking early retirement from her job in Denver and would be returning home to Hunter Ridge—to apply for the opening.

“It’s commendable you’re assisting your aunt.” He studied her with evident concern. “But that’s a considerable sacrifice for a young woman with her life still ahead of her. Sequestering yourself in a no-prospects, sleepy town like this. I mean, you can only listen to the crickets chirp for so long, right?”

Irritation flared in Lillian. Having spoken like a true city boy, he smiled, confident of his assessment. Counting to ten, she bent to pluck a blanketflower, then twirled the stem between her fingers as she returned his measuring gaze.

“It’s not like that at all. I love it here. The beauty of the forest. Knowing your neighbors. Being active in a local church. My parents moved around a lot, so I spent quite a few holidays and vacations here while growing up. In fact, I’ve never thought of any other place as home. But prior to this year, I never dreamed I might get to live in Hunter Ridge. I’d like to remain here.”

“Not what I’d care to do, but to each his own.” He offered what could only be taken as a look of commiseration. “I imagine to keep your sanity you make frequent trips to Phoenix? Shopping? Professional sports? Live theater, museums and upscale restaurants? You know, keeping your finger on the pulse of civilization.”