A Christmas Homecoming (8 page)

“Touché. As for taking care of my brother’s kids, don’t let them take advantage of your kindness. You work for my mom, not Judy.”

“Technically true, but your mom was their childcare until she had her stroke, so I inherited them.”

Ah. Now he understood. Then why was his mom so negative toward Bailey? It made zero sense. He needed to get his mother to see reason and the big picture—their company needed Bailey whether Mom would admit it or not. Her health was not improving, and Bailey was the glue that held the designing part of the family business together. “I took the liberty of purchasing us each a lift ticket up to Pine Marten Lodge. The view from The Cirque restaurant is pretty amazing. Plus, I hear they have great pies.”

Bailey grinned. “That sounds wonderful. We skipped dessert today, and I’ve worked up an appetite. Didn’t you enjoy the pies I bought?”

He patted his stomach. “I did, but I’m a bit of a dessert hog.” He almost laughed at how wide her eyes grew. Clearly he’d taken her by surprise.

They stood in line and were soon whisked up onto the chairlift. The snow stopped, but a brisk wind shot cold that reached his bones. Skiers swooshed down the mountainside below them. “It’s colder than I expected.”

“Me too,” Bailey said.

A few minutes later they stepped off the chairlift. He’d read the restaurant was the highest in Oregon at 7,800 feet. On a clear day, the view must be amazing.

Bailey’s teeth chattered, and her body shook as they walked toward the building.

“Are you okay?” The long ride up had been breezy and especially cold—so much for warming up. Maybe his great plan wasn’t so wonderful after all. The lodge down below would have been fine. He hadn’t intended to turn her to ice.

She nodded and picked up the pace toward the lodge. Good thing it was close to the lift. He lengthened his stride to match her steps to the entrance. Hot air smacked him in the face as he followed Bailey inside.

“It feels so good in here. I might even start to feel my toes again, if we stay very long,” she said through chattering teeth.

He chuckled. “Good point. We should order pie and tell them to keep the coffee coming.”

“Sounds perfect.” They sat at a table beside a window. Bailey caught her breath. “Look, it’s starting to snow again. I can’t believe this view.” Her rosy cheeks matched the excitement in her voice. “It’s so beautiful up here.”

“Mmm.” His gazed rested on her. “You don’t come up here often?”

She shook her head. “Never. I don’t ski. Besides, your mother keeps me very busy, especially now.”

“About that. I’m worried about her. She’s not herself.” He knew the chances of her health returning to its pre-stroke condition weren’t likely, but he still held out hope she’d one day be the person he remembered before fleeing to France. “Her demeanor is completely changed. What happened?”

Bailey pressed her lips tightly together as if debating her next words. Her gaze met his. “I think she’s angry and embarrassed. It must be frustrating to be dependent on others for simple tasks. I’m not an expert in psychology, but I know I’d be angry to be stuck in that situation, and way past embarrassed.”

His mother’s insistence that he find a replacement for Bailey seemed to support her observation. Could it be Mom was embarrassed that her assistant had to help her with personal needs? “Now that you mention it, you could be right. My mom is a prideful woman, and I’m sure asking you for help was humiliating.” While they ate their apple pie in silence, he couldn’t help but wonder why Bailey continued to be so kind to his mom considering everything. He wanted to ask why she didn’t quit and go work for their competition, but he didn’t want to put any ideas in her head if she hadn’t thought of it already.

Bailey was a huge asset to his family and their business, and he didn’t want her to leave. He’d viewed some of her work via the gallery Mona kept online and was quite impressed with Bailey’s vision. Now if he could only get his mother to realize what they had in her. How could he convince his mom that Bailey was an asset and not a liability?

Bailey stood in the middle of the cold basement the day after Thanksgiving. Sore didn’t begin to describe how she felt. Who would have thought inner tubing and playing in the snow could make her so uncomfortable? She definitely needed to join a gym. She was too young to feel like this.

She looked around the dusty space and blew her breath out in a puff. Why her boss stored Christmas decorations in this damp space she would never understand. She bent and groaned as she hoisted a plastic storage box into her arms then trekked upstairs to the main level. One thing was certain, she would work off yesterday’s feast with all the trips she would be taking up and down the stairs today.

Too bad no one was around to help. Stephen had taken Mona to physical therapy, so she’d have the place to herself for the next couple of hours.

She stood amongst a dozen boxes. How could she do this alone? It had taken Mona and her days to deck out this place for Christmas last year. She needed her own assistant, but no way would she ask for one. Mona was in an even worse mood than usual when she’d left the house for her appointment, and she was never pleasant after physical therapy.

At least Bailey knew exactly how her boss liked her house decorated. She connected her iPod to the speaker on the main level then cranked up the volume to her favorite Christmas album and sang along with
Angels We Have Heard on High
. From the top of a twelve-foot ladder, she hung mistletoe above the entryway and topped it off with a delicate red bow.

As she climbed down the ladder, she spotted a man walking to the door. She looked more closely and frowned.
Why is Spencer here?
She pulled open the door. “Long time no see. Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” He brought his hands out from behind his back.

She sucked in a breath. “Who are the flowers for?” He held a bouquet of red roses.

“You. And they’re not from me.” He quickly added after thrusting them toward her.

“If they aren’t from you, then who?” She suddenly realized how cold it was outside. “Come in for a minute and warm up.”

“Okay. Sure.” He followed her inside and closed the door behind him. He blew out a slow whistle. “This place is something else. Are you the decorator?”

“I did the Christmas stuff.” She pulled the card from the bouquet and placed the flowers on a nearby table. “Roses for a sweet lady.” She turned the card over. “It doesn’t say who they’re from.”

“Looks like you have a secret admirer, Bails.”

“I thought we agreed to Bay or Bailey. Not Bails.”

“Just kidding. Well, my work here is done. I’ll be seeing you.”

“Wait! You must know who they’re from.”

He shook his head. “Beats me. They were sitting on Mark’s desk. I had to head out this way for something else and offered to drop them by. And before you get weird, I asked, and they are not from Mark.”

“Good. I’d hate to tell Nicole she was engaged to a scoundrel. But why would they be at the police station, and why would they be on Mark’s desk?”

“It’s a mystery to me.” Spencer turned toward the door. “Catch you later.”

“Okay. Thanks. ’Bye.” She found a vase for the flowers and put them in water. The flowers, though a kind gesture, kind of creeped her out. Why would someone leave flowers at the police station for her? Then again, if the person had access to Mark’s desk, he couldn’t be too bad. At least that’s what she wanted to believe. Spencer sincerely seemed to be clueless about who they were from, but how could that be?

On her way to get the ladder she noticed the mistletoe had fallen. It looked as if she needed to try again. She climbed the ladder and retied the ribbon around the hook in the ceiling. The flowers situation troubled her, even though it should have made her happy. After the incident with the silver car she’d been on edge, which was irrational, but she couldn’t help herself.

She leaned back to make sure the mistletoe looked perfect. The ladder wobbled. She grasped the edges with both hands, and then her world teetered. She squealed and squeezed her eyes shut. The ladder jerked to a stop and righted.

“Easy there.” Stephen braced the ladder with both hands. “How about you come down from there before you break your neck?” He stayed planted at the bottom.

“Stephen.” Her heart thumped wildly. “Thank you! I didn’t hear you come in. Where’s Mona? Wait, how’d you get in? There’s no way you came in that door without me noticing.”

He shook his head. “I saw you through the window, so I used the door in the kitchen. My mom is at the hospital. The physical therapist had a concern, so she insisted my mom see her doctor. It turns out Mom has a blood clot in her leg, as well as an infection.” Worry filled his eyes.

“Oh, no!” Bailey climbed down one rung at a time, doing her best to ignore her sore muscles. Her foot missed the next. She gasped.

“Easy now. Raise your foot an inch and you’ll be there.”

She felt for the rung, found it and climbed the rest of the way down.

Stephen released the ladder and took a step away once her feet were nearly on solid ground.

She turned to face him, resting a hand on his arm. “Is there anything I can do?”

He shook his head. “I stopped by to pick up a few things she asked for. Mom’s doctor admitted her.” He took another step back, causing her hand to drop off his arm, then stopped. “My mother always spoke highly of you and your work before her accident. I hope you will stay on, but it’s only fair you should know that she’s asked me to replace you.”

Bailey gasped. “Are you firing me?”

Pain crossed his face. “No. I . . . I’m sorry. This isn’t coming out right. That’s not what I was trying to say at all. I meant the opposite, in fact. I’ve looked at your online portfolio, and it’s exceptional. You are a talented designer whose time is more than likely being wasted as my mom’s girl Friday.”

“Oh.” So he liked her work, but why did . . . She shook her head. “I’m very confused. Why does Mona want to get rid of me?”

“I believe you were right about the reason her attitude has turned hostile toward you. My mom is a prideful woman and asking you to help her with personal matters has been humiliating for her. Seeing you reminds her of that and rubs salt into her humble pie, and it doesn’t taste good.”

So she’d been right. Mona was acting out because she was embarrassed.

“However, regardless of what Mom wants,
we
need you. Our clients know you, and you know our business. I’d like for you to put feelers out for an assistant for yourself. My mom won’t be able to work in the foreseeable future, and we need to keep things running as smoothly as possible. You’re in charge of the design aspect of the business now, and you’ll need someone to take care of running errands and whatever else you did for my mom. Once she is able to come home, I’ll hire a nurse or a companion with medical training to live here, so you’ll be relieved of her care. That ought to ease the tension between the two of you.”

Bailey opened her mouth, but no sound came out. He wouldn’t ask her to find an assistant if he thought his mother was going to recover. “How serious is this infection and clot?”

“It’s not good. She could die if the clot goes to her heart.” His voice caught, and he cleared his throat. “The doctor thinks we caught the infection in time. If we did, then depending on the blood clot situation, she may be home in time for Christmas, but he warned that I needed to make other arrangements for the business. Apparently, the stress is too much for her health.”

“I’m so sorry, Stephen. If there is anything at all I can do other than finding an assistant, please let me know. Your family is like a second family to me, and I want to help. What will your mom say when she finds out you didn’t fire me?”

His gaze cleared, and it looked as though he saw her with new eyes. “I’ll tell her how it is. I’m hoping she will come to her senses. Thank you, for not getting angry and for offering to help.” He rushed past her and up the stairs. He stopped at the top and turned. “I’ve thought of something you could do.”

“Anything.” Anyone willing to stand up to Mona on her behalf had her loyalty.

“Make this the best Christmas ever. And let me know what you need. Oh, and if you don’t mind continuing to stay at the house, it would make me feel better knowing this place isn’t empty.”