the three men walked inside, with Travis honed in on Bella who had removed her coat and knit hat. She looked even more dazzling in a red sweater and tight jeans that showed off every curve of her lean body.
“Everyone, please stop decorating!” Bella announced to Helen, Colt’s wife, and their four kids who were busy trimming the monster blue spruce centered in the front bank of windows. Colt’s toddler must have gotten scared because she dropped the glass ornament she’d been holding. It shattered on the floor and she began to cry.
Her mom whisked her up and comforted her, but there was no calming the tearful child.
Helen threw Bella an angry look and immediately took the children into the empty back dining room. Most of the guests left for the day right after breakfast, so the inn was always deserted in the afternoons.
“That might have been a little harsh, honey,” Nick said, but Bella didn’t flinch.
“I’m sorry, but we have a flight out of here this evening. Decorating is a waste of everyone’s time. Of course, you already knew that, Dad, so I don’t get all of this.”
She opened her black briefcase, pulled out a stack of papers, and carefully placed them on a coffee table in front of the tufted brown leather sofa.
“He wanted everything to be perfect for you,” Travis said. “We’ve been working round the clock to make the inn look like it did when you were a kid.”
“Excuse me,” Colt said and followed after his wife and children into the back dining room. Dodge retreated out the front door.
“Thanks, but that, too, was a total waste of everyone’s time. There will be no Christmas celebrations at the inn this year.” She said it as though she had the final word on the issue instead of Nick.
Travis immediately turned to Nick who placed an elbow on the black walnut mantel at the far end of the room. A fire roared in the hearth behind him, warming the festive room. Nick didn’t flinch, smile or react. He merely stared at his daughter, stone-faced.
Travis decided to take another approach, rubbed his now itchy chin and spread a friendly smile across his face. “I don’t know what you might have planned, but that’s not exactly an option. Your dad and half the town have been gearing up for this Christmas for the last six months. The inn is booked to eighty percent capacity, and every event that takes place in this town for the next week all begin and end right here. It’s going to be the best Christmas Dream Weaver Inn has ever known.”
She folded her arms across her chest, and stuck out a hip. “Apparently my dad hasn’t told anyone that he’s sold the inn. I’ve brought the paperwork he needs to sign to make it official, but that’s only a formality.”
Travis felt as if he’d been sucker-punched in the gut. “That can’t be true. There’s some misunderstanding. Your dad wouldn’t sell his inn and not tell me. I’ve been repairing it—” That stopped him cold and he turned to face Nick. “You didn’t have me put in all that time, all that work so you could sell it, did you? What’s she talking about, Nick? You sold the inn? It can’t be true. You love this place. The town loves this place.”
“It’s complicated,” Nick said and plopped down on the sofa, running a hand through his graying brown hair.
Travis stood his ground. He had a lot invested in this Christmas and most of the planned events were his doing. He was not about to walk away and let hard-shelled Bella Biondi swipe everything away with her paperwork and city boots, no matter how fine she happened to look. He had a sinking feeling even a blowtorch wasn’t quite strong enough to get through to her. A flamethrower might be the weapon of choice.
Travis walked right up to Bella, stared into those gorgeous smoky eyes of hers, turned on the charm as thick as molasses and said, “Define complicated.”
“This is none of your business, Travis,” Bella said, looking straight into his eyes, as if she could see right through him. As if he was made out of cellophane.
“None of my business? I just spent the better half of two months repairing this place. Not to mention the effort my entire family made to decorate the inn for this holiday, and my sister-in-law Maggie launched a huge ad campaign to drum up business. The place is booked solid for the next two months and you think it’s none of my business? I think I have a right to know what’s going on and if this ‘sale’ you two are talking about is true.”
“Tell him, Dad,” Bella said turning to Nick who sat forward on the sofa as if it were his launching pad and he was about to take off.
“It’s true. I agreed to sell the inn.” His voice squeaked like an old rusty door hinge. Travis had a sinking feeling even Nick didn’t quite believe his own words.
No one spoke while Travis attempted to absorb the full effect of what was now finally sinking in as real.
“Wow. I never saw this train coming. And to think I was excited about your visit.” He slid his hat back on his head then moved it forward again, something he seemed to do whenever he found himself staring down a problem of major proportions. This here certainly constituted one of those moments.
“Can’t imagine why you would be,” she added, sounding as if his feelings didn’t matter.
The statement lay on him like a wet blanket on a cold morning.
He faced Bella. “A lot has changed since the last time I saw you.”
“We grew up.”
“Is that what you think this is?”
“Some of us matured, like fine wine.”
“Never could see all the fuss. I’m more of a beer man, myself.”
She looked him over and he felt a bit naked. “It shows.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You’re twisting my words.”
“You’re twisting my heart.”
“That would mean you still have one.”
“Darlin’, the lack of a heart seems to be your affliction, not mine.”
“There are no emotions in good business. It’s all about the bottom line.”
He stared at her pretty face—those smoky eyes, those full lips—and realized she had not only grown up but she had turned into someone he no longer recognized or wanted to know.
“You’re right,” he said, convinced now there was little hope of trying to understand the situation. “This is none of my business and I’ll be leaving you two to it.”
He turned to leave.
“Wait! Travis, don’t go,” Nick called after him, but Travis no longer wanted to play their game. She’d won this round and he simply had to learn how to cope with the facts. There would be no Christmas at Dream Weaver Inn this year.
Travis headed straight for the front door, opened it and walked outside
