"At least we still have a few of the regulars," Maggie said, trying to cheer me up.
I turned my head and stared at the old couple sitting by the fireplace: Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, our grandparents' friends. I wasn't sure if they liked coming here or if they just did out of some type of obligation.
"I don't think three people can sustain us all season," I said with a dry smile. "Maybe we should sell."
"Everett Winters, over my dead body. Mom and Daddy would never allow it."
"Well, they aren't here anymore, are they? They don't have to deal with all the bullshit and stress to just keep the doors of this place barely open." My anger was running high. I was so sick and tired of constantly worrying about things. One look at my sister and that anger, her bottom lip quivering and her eyes misting over with the threat of unshed tears, and I immediately regretted my tone. "I'm sorry," I said, placing my hand on Maggie's. "They offered us a lot of money, Mags. Enough for us to open multiple businesses. I’m just not sure if this is worth it anymore."
"You didn't have to come back. I could have managed on my own," she spat.
"Maggie, you were about to fall completely apart after the accident. I had to come back. You're all I had left."
“I just can’t lose this place. It’d be like losing them all over again,” Maggie said, wiping a tear from her eyes. I went around the counter and put my arm around her, pulling her to me.
“I know.” They were the only two words I knew to say. “I’m going to deliver this piece of pie and check on Mr. and Mrs. Phillips. We need to make sure our only customers never desert us.” I hated seeing my sister sad. Ever since I was little, seeing women cry was the worst thing in the world to me. I would have done anything at that moment to just see her smile. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
That was when I saw her. She looked like a damn angel, dressed in white from head to toe, long blond hair that seemed to sparkle, a face that would make a man fall to his knees, and curves for days.
"I've never seen her before. Have you?" Maggie asked, and I couldn't even process her question. I stood there in a daze, wholly taken aback by this woman. "Everett," Maggie said, shaking me. "Hello?"
"Huh, what?"
"What's gotten into you? I said I've never seen her before. Have you? That lady who just walked in."
"Trust me, Mags, if I had ever seen her before, I would never forget her."
"Please don't drool all over her. She looks like she has rich friends, and we need the business."
"Mags," I said, turning to gaze at my little sister's worried face. "I don't drool over anyone, but she's nice to look at," I said, trying to play it cool, when in reality, I felt like I had died and gone straight up to heaven.
“Then don’t stand there like a moron; go and greet her. Get her a table. Here,” Maggie said, taking the pot of coffee from me and putting a new one in my hand.
“What are you doing? That pot was only fifteen minutes old.”
“Give her the good stuff. She probably is used to those fancy coffees.”
“So?”
“You and I both know the fresher the pot, the better it tastes,” Maggie said, glaring at me as she rested her hands on her hips.
“You sound just like Dad,” I said, the laughter escaping my lips.
“And you know he was always right.”
“Thank God Mom isn’t here to hear you say that.”
“Don’t keep her waiting,” Maggie said, gesturing toward the angel with her head, being as subtle as a sledgehammer. When I turned my head, the angel smiled at me, and I was a goner right then and there.
“Welcome to Winter’s Lodge,” I said as she approached the counter. “Would you like a table?” I knew I sounded stiff, robotic, but the girl was so damn hot that I felt like I was losing my damn mind. Never in my life had I ever reacted like this to a woman.
“Yes, that would be great. Thank you,” she said, and I swear her voice was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
My Book
Other Books in the Mistletoe, Montana Series
You can find the rest of the Mistletoe Montana series below. Each story is a complete standalone romance and FREE with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Book 1 L.Nicole- — mybook.to/SantasCookiesLN
Book 2 Frankie Love — mybook.to/WinterVibesFL
Book 3 Hope Ford — mybook.to/HerChristmasSoldierHF
Book 4 Jenika Snow — mybook.to/HisBigPackageJS
Book 5 Beatrice Brae — mybook.to/SantasGiftsBB
Book 6 Tory Baker — mybook.to/HisSnowAngelTB
Book 7 Lena Lucas — mybook.to/StuffedLL
Book 8 Elisa Leigh — mybook.to/HisChristmasPromiseEL
Book 9 Winter Travers — mybook.to/TangleMyTinselWT
Book 10 Scarlett Winters — mybook.to/ChristmasWishSW
Book 11 Sandy Alvarez & Crystal Daniels — mybook.to/WhiskeyHoliday
Book 12 Xavier Neal — mybook.to/SleighBrideXN
Book 13 Leslie Wilder — mybook.to/naughtyniceLW
Book 14 Mila Crawford — mybook.to/NicsCandy
Book 15 Jordan Marie — mybook.to/ChristmasCarolJM
Book 16 Amelia Wilde — mybook.to/HisHolidayDareAW
Book 17 Esther Schmidt — mybook.to/ColdKilljoyES