Christmas With Carlie

The twins instantly hurried away and Carlie tried to look innocent as he turned to her. “Shall I come by around seven thirty this evening?”

“No, we’ll meet you there.”

“Fine. Is there anything else?”

“Yes. I need a tutor for the girls. The one I hired in Austin quit at the last minute.”

I wonder why, Carlie thought wryly.

“I also need a business center installed,” he continued. “Desk, a computer with dual monitors, a minimum of two additional phone lines, printer-fax machine and satellite communications. The downstairs bedroom can be used since it won’t be needed for a live-in tutor. I’ll be managing my business concerns remotely for the next six weeks, and contrary to what your website claims, there aren’t any business services in the suite.”

She stared. Had he honestly believed those kinds of facilities were installed in every building at Poppy Gold?

“There’s a courtesy business center available at Old City Hall,” Carlie told him firmly. “That’s what the website states. At this time of year we don’t book any business conferences, so except for a few guests checking their email, it’s empty most of the time.”

“I need one here in the suite.”

Carlie suspected her patience was going to be tested to the absolute limit by this guy.

“Mr. Forrester, the John Muir Cottage isn’t wired for that kind of technology. However, Poppy Gold has Wi-Fi and we can provide a multifunction printer for your visit, along with a computer since you apparently didn’t bring your own laptop. The existing phone line can be used to send and receive faxes.”

His features tightened. “I do have a laptop with me, but I keep it off-line when I’m outside my company’s firewall. I take it there isn’t a business supply store in Glimmer Creek where a new computer could be purchased.”

“No.”

“In that case, I’ll take the loaner until my assistant can arrange for the proper equipment to be sent.”

She nodded. “All right. As for a tutor, the school district has a list of people who do that sort of work. I’ll send a copy over and you can call them for interviews.”

“I—”

“Have a good rest of the day,” Carlie interrupted brightly. “I’m going back to my office now to get things started. If you get hungry, there are several restaurants that deliver. Just consult the information folder in the kitchen. We put a facility map in there, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding the sledding hill later. See you then.”

Carlie hurried away before she lost her cool and gave him a piece of her mind. Honestly, he wanted a full office in his suite? According to what Tessa had said, Luke Forrester was at Poppy Gold to help his daughters through Christmas, but how was he going to do that if it was business as usual for him?

* * *

LUKE CLOSED THE door and groaned. The coffee he’d drunk had carried him for an extra hour, but that was all.

At home he’d be working, no matter how little sleep he’d gotten the night before. Except for the rare times Erika had been on leave, he used the day after Thanksgiving to read reports and make calls to overseas associates who didn’t celebrate the US holiday.

As for Beth and Annie, they would have gone to the Austin zoo or aquarium with his parents. Curiously, becoming grandparents had changed Craig and Heather Forrester. A little at least. They were still irresponsible in many ways, but they tried to spend time with their granddaughters every couple of months.

He appreciated it. When he was growing up, they’d acted more like reckless playmates than dependable adults. Money was no longer a problem for them, either, since he’d quietly tripled the size of their trust funds and arranged for the trustees to disburse the payments monthly, rather than annually.

Inexplicably, his thoughts drifted to Carlie Benton. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so tired and distracted he might have handled their contacts with more grace. He certainly should have realized they wouldn’t have a business center in every suite at Poppy Gold Inns, but he’d grown accustomed to the kind of services provided by Caribbean villas and French châteaus.

Tilly often claimed he’d been spoiled by success and needed a dose of reality... Maybe this was her way of giving it to him.

Luke got up and found the informational folder Carlie had mentioned, flipping through it to acquaint himself with Poppy Gold’s amenities and those of the local community. Then he saw a reminder of the check-in and checkout times and sighed.

Apparently he’d made an ass of himself in more ways than one.

* * *

NICOLE FORRESTER PUT a warm compress against her infected ear and wondered how Luke and her nieces were getting settled in California. The pictures she’d seen on the internet of the Victorian community looked wonderful.

She’d always wanted to explore the Gold Country; stories of the 1849 Gold Rush had fascinated her as a child. Well, a lot of things fascinated her. She’d just never found a vocation that compelled her. Instead, she worked for her brother as a computer programmer. Luke paid his employees well and provided excellent benefits, but she hadn’t earned the job on her own merits. He also did ridiculously generous things like buying a new car every year for her birthday and paying off her condo, no matter how much she protested.

Her protective big brother. She adored him, though ever since Erika’s death, he’d been different.

Everything had been different.

Depressed, Nicole stuffed another pillow behind her neck. Sometimes it seemed as if she hadn’t achieved a single thing with her life. Certainly nothing like Luke, who’d made his first billion by the time he was twenty-seven. Everything he touched turned to gold. Soon afterward he’d gotten married and a few years later the twins were born. He seemed able to do anything, whether it was achieving wild success in real estate, playing the stock market or building a massive conglomerate company with dozens of subsidiaries.

Or finding someone who genuinely loved him.

Bored and vaguely discouraged, Nicole turned on the television and flipped through the cable channels. Finally she got up and put a DVD into the player. She hadn’t watched Forbidden Planet in a while and it would be a distraction. Normally she wasn’t so moody, but getting sick and being unable to travel with Luke and her nieces was lousy timing.

She was worried about Luke and just as worried about Beth and Annie. Annie was shy and introverted, while Beth plowed ahead, often thoughtlessly. They were young, but patterns were established early.

Nicole shuddered as she recalled a kid she’d met in childhood. The Forresters had been out of money as usual, so they’d invited themselves to stay with wealthy friends in South Carolina. Kira was the Lexingtons’ only child and had demanded her own way in everything. She was still like that...which might explain her four divorces.

The opening segment of the film began playing and Nicole relaxed. Some of the special effects were poor, but she loved old science fiction movies and Forbidden Planet was one of her favorites. It was great seeing Walter Pidgeon and Leslie Nielsen on the screen together—one older, one younger, and both equally delicious.

Yet in a way, seeing the character played by Anne Francis was discouraging. The woman was fearless, even if she wasn’t always likable. Nicole wished she could be more like that...strong, bold and unafraid. Instead, she tried to be invisible most of the time.

She pulled a lap robe over her legs. It was still just midafternoon and she ought to be doing something productive, but she wanted to recover and get out to California as soon as possible. Anyway, she was already packed and ready to go. She just needed the swelling in her ear to go down so it would be safe to fly.

* * *

CARLIE DROPPED BY the maintenance yard to see the loads of fresh evergreen that had been delivered that morning. The crew was sorting the branches, cutting them into usable sections and loading everything into containers for delivery to the various decorating work sites.

Lord, it really would be easier if Poppy Gold didn’t invite guests to help decorate. That way the evergreen swags and wreaths could be made ahead of time and be ready to go up first thing in the morning. Of course, it wouldn’t be as much fun, either.

Carlie inhaled the thick scent of pine and cedar. She loved Christmas and had always tried to be there for kickoff day. Her ex-fiancé’s indifference to her favorite time of year should have been her first clue that he was the wrong guy for her.

“What are you doing here?” asked Uncle Liam. He smiled at her, almost the way he used to smile before Aunt Meredith had died. They’d shared a wonderful marriage and had created Poppy Gold together. “Don’t you have enough to keep you busy?”

“I’m just stressed and wanted a sniff—nothing says Christmas like fresh-cut evergreen boughs.”

He gave her a hug. “Anything I can do to help?”

“I’m okay, just feeling sorry for myself. It’s an unattractive habit I’m trying to break.”

Uncle Liam was less depressed now, but the family tried to keep things upbeat around him. He left managing Poppy Gold to Tessa, though he still looked after the maintenance department, while Tessa’s husband had taken over the security division.

Thinking about it reminded Carlie that she ought to give her cousin a heads-up about Luke Forrester. As the Poppy Gold owner-manager, she needed to know what was going on. So instead of going straight back to Old City Hall, Carlie stopped at Tessa’s office in the train depot and found her cuddling little Meredith.