“I understand.”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. We have to close indefinitely. I guess that’s obvious. I need to speak with the insurance company to find out if we should rebuild what is left or raze the whole thing and start over. And to have this happen right before Christmas! I feel so terrible for my staff. Some of them have been at the inn since before I was born, when my grandparents owned it.”
Though that leashed panic inside her wanted to break free and ravage everything, Eliza forced a smile, cuddling Maddie closer for comfort and warmth. “You obviously don’t need a new manager when you’ve got nothing for me to manage. Don’t worry. I understand.”
Megan gave a little whimper and more tears dripped out. “I’m so sorry I dragged you out here. You quit your job and everything. Can you go back to it?”
She wouldn’t, even in the unlikely event that they might hire her back. With the owners’ son firmly entrenched in the top managerial position and mismanaging everything from the linen orders to the payroll, she suspected it wouldn’t be long before the Diamond Street Inn would go under.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She had no idea how, but she would figure something out.
“Don’t cry. It will be okay.” Maddie spoke softly to Megan, looking bewildered at the situation but distressed, too. She was such a sweet little soul, always concerned about the pain someone else might be experiencing, whether at the hospital or on the playground.
Megan gave her a watery smile, then reached down and hugged her. “It will be. You’re absolutely right. Not immediately, but things will eventually be okay.”
“Is there something I can help you do now?” Eliza asked. “I can find somewhere to stay and help you cancel bookings or something?”
“I appreciate that, but I’ve already got the front desk staff taking care of that. Thank heavens our computer system was backed up off-site and we can still access all those reservations.”
“That is good news.”
She squeezed Eliza’s hands. “Again, I’m so, so sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. This wasn’t your fault.”
“At least I can give you a small severance package. Something to tide you over while you look for another position.”
Megan had already been so generous, offering to pay her moving expenses and including the apartment as part of her compensation package. Eliza didn’t want to burden her with one more obligation.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, even though that panic fluttered harder. She wasn’t destitute. She had some savings left, as well as monthly survivor benefits. She also had several solid years of experience as the assistant manager at the Diamond Street Inn.
She wondered if she could possibly return the SUV and get her down payment back—but what would she drive to interviews if she did? Her sedan had been on its last bald tire.
Job-hunting less than two weeks before Christmas wasn’t ideal timing, nor did she want to move her fragile child into some grimy pay-by-the-week hotel until she found a position and could lease a nearby apartment. Right now she couldn’t see any other choice.
All in all, this might be another in a string of miserable holidays.
Emotion welled up in her throat and she was very much afraid she would burst into tears like Megan.
“I have your cell number. I’ll be in touch as soon as things settle down,” the other woman said.
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Hey, Megan,” the fire chief called. “Do you want us to put up temporary fencing to keep out the looters?”
“Looters. I didn’t even think about that. I’m sorry. I need to...”
“Don’t worry about us,” Eliza said firmly. “I’m going to go get Maddie out of the cold. Good luck with everything.”
She gave Megan a hug, very sorry suddenly that she wouldn’t have the chance to get to know the other woman better. She had been certain they would have been friends—and she could always use a few more of those.
The wind and sleet had died down a little while she had been speaking with Megan. The calm before the storm, maybe? She should climb into the SUV she could no longer afford and drive back through the mountain passes toward Boise before the snow began in earnest, but she didn’t trust herself to drive right now, with her emotions in turmoil.
With the vague intention of grabbing a bite to eat at one of several restaurants she had spied in the town’s small commercial district, she headed away from the scorched remains of the Lake Haven Inn.
“Was that lady sad because her hotel burned down?” Maddie asked after a moment.
“She was. It’s been in her family for many years.”
Eliza had learned during the interview process that Megan Hamilton had had no inclination or aptitude to run the hotel after she’d unexpectedly inherited it. Her interests lay elsewhere, Megan had told her, which was why she had hired Eliza in the first place.
“We can’t live there now, can we?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Where will we put all our boxes?”
“Why don’t we grab a bite to eat at that diner across the street from where we parked and we’ll try to figure out our options?”
“Do they have macaroni and cheese?”
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised.”
They headed for the crosswalk and waited for the light to change. Eliza took a moment to look around, cognizant of her surroundings for the first time since she had seen that pile of rubble.
She could see the downtown business owners had done their best to decorate their charming little clapboard-and-brick storefronts. Lights hung on nearly every facade and most had Christmas trees in the windows. A few had ornaments with nautical themes, in keeping with the vivid blue of the lake that dominated the view in every direction.
“Mama, the light is green. Green means go,” Maddie declared.
“So it does.”
Maddie slipped her hand free of Eliza’s and scampered ahead of her into the crosswalk. Eliza followed close behind her, keeping an eye on a black SUV headed down the hill toward them.
The SUV was slowing down, she saw, the driver hitting the brakes in what should have been plenty of braking distance but her insides suddenly froze.
The vehicle’s tires spun wildly, ineffectually, unable to find purchase on the road. He tried to turn into the skid but she could tell in an instant he wasn’t going to be able to completely stop in time—and he was sliding straight for her child.
No. This couldn’t be happening!
“Maddie!”
