The Christmas Inn Read Free

into a young man, to face each moment with her
inexhaustible enthusiasm. In those early weeks after her death, he sleepwalked
through each meaningless day. His only connection to the world around him was
Ethan. All those lonely months had been made bearable by the presence of his
little boy.
    But there was a part of him that couldn’t forgive his wife’s
reckless behavior. She’d insisted on driving to Boston to do some last-minute
Christmas shopping and hadn’t heeded his warning to stay there until the ice
storm had passed and the roads had been cleared. As much as he tried, it had
been hard for him to understand how she could have acted the way she did,
knowing the risks involved. The kind statements from their friends about how
Anna did what she thought best were drowned out by the heartbreak of life
without her.
    “Are we ready to start trimming the tree?” Mary asked, reaching
for Ethan.
    Luke hugged his son before putting him down. “Don’t know about
you, but it will be the bright spot in my morning.”
    Ethan nodded so vigorously his elf hat fell off, and he raced
from the room.
    “Where does he get the energy?” Luke asked.
    “Kid power is what I call it.” Mary chuckled as she rescued the
hat. “And I should know.”
    “By the way, how’s Troy doing at college?”
    “Not bad for his first term. Better than his sister and brother
did. Peter and I were figuring out the amount of free cash we’ll have once Troy
is out of school. We’ll be living well, let me tell you,” she said, a smile
spreading across her round face.
    Luke had never thought that far ahead: he’d been too busy
keeping his life on an even keel and working long hours at the inn. Because of
the good friends he’d made since he’d come to work at the inn, he wanted to stay
on there for the long term, and maybe someday own an inn like his grandfather
had. Owning an inn was not the career his parents had dreamed of for their only
child. His father had wanted him to get a law degree and become a partner in his
law firm—a profession Luke had no interest in, despite his father’s love for
it.
    “I’m sorry your parents can’t come for Christmas this year.
Ethan is growing up so fast, and Christmas is all about children.”
    “I am, too, but it seems they have a prior commitment to spend
Christmas with friends in Australia.”
    It hurt to say those words, words that only increased the
disconnect he felt where his parents were concerned. He’d tried to get them to
be more involved in Ethan’s life, and they’d made promises they hadn’t kept. And
now with it being Christmas…
    “The FedEx truck will be here tomorrow,” Mary said, as if she
were reading his thoughts. But in all honesty, it would shock him if his parents
had the foresight to send a Christmas gift to their only grandchild.
    “We’d better get out there before Ethan hangs all the ornaments
on one branch,” he said, remembering last Christmas when he’d let his son
decorate a small tree for their apartment, and Ethan had hooked every ornament
on a branch near the bottom of the tree. Luke had left it that way and had
emailed several photos of Ethan’s efforts to his parents in Hong Kong.
    They walked together to the front hall, where a throng of inn
guests and local residents had already gathered around the tree. A group of
carolers from Wakesfield had arrived to provide the entertainment, filling the
large entry hall with familiar Christmas songs. Luke made his way through the
crowd to the tree where Ethan was attempting to string a garland of colored
popcorn onto a branch. “Hey! Don’t pull the tree over,” Luke warned, kneeling to
help him.
    “Daddy, I love popcorn,” he whispered, bringing the strand to
his mouth. “Want some?”
    “You can’t eat that. It’s a decoration for the tree.”
    Ethan’s lips formed a pout. “I’m hungry.”
    “You can’t be.”
    Ethan ignored him as he pulled on the strand of popcorn.
    “Here, let me help,”