“You’re too young to see this. Start talking, Kayla.”
“It’s not bad news,” Kayla said to Elizabeth. “First, the cabins...” She spoke fluently, not once glancing at the notes she’d made as she painted a visual picture of how she saw the cabins being used.
When she finally stopped talking, the only noise in the kitchen was the bubble of food on the stove and the gentle click clack of Alice’s knitting needles.
Walter put his beer down on the table. “I think—”
“Gramps—” Jackson gave him a warning stare and his grandfather glared back.
“What? If I can speak without being interrupted, I was just going to say I think it all sounds great.”
Jackson stared at him in disbelief. “I’ve been telling you some of this for months. You told me I was an idiot.”
“If you’d explained it the way Kayla did, maybe I wouldn’t have thought you were an idiot. She needs to give you a few lessons in communication.”
Kayla tried not to smile. “Moving on, I want to—”
“Wait a minute—” Jackson held up his hand, his eyes on his grandfather. “So are you finally going to quit telling me to knock the cabins down?”
Walter O’Neil looked innocent. “Y
ou heard the woman—they’re part of the magic of Snow Crystal. What would be the point of knocking them down? They’re up now. They might as well stay up.”
Kayla cleared her throat. “I’d like to—”
“So you admit they were a good idea?” Jackson’s gaze was locked on Walter, and Elizabeth sighed.
“Why does there always have to be a winner? Just ignore them, Kayla, and carry on talking. If you wait for silence in this house you’ll be waiting forever.”
“I’ve finished. Here’s my Christmas gift.” She handed out the proposals, neatly bound by Stacy and tied with a red bow to add a festive touch. “Read them, and then I’ll answer any questions.”
Jackson immediately turned to the back page and scanned the cost breakdown.
“I like the ribbon.” Alice twisted it around her fingers. “People think there is only one shade of red, but they’re wrong.”
Kayla handed the last proposal to Tyler. “You should knit a jumper that color, Alice.”
“Just don’t knit it for me.” Tyler winked at Jess and then everyone started talking, and Kayla fielded their questions until finally Elizabeth stood up and pulled her into a warm hug.
“Thank you for working so hard. Between you and Jackson, I know things will be all right—”
Kayla felt her throat close as she returned the hug.
You and Jackson.
“Just doing my job.”
“You’ve done much more than that. You could have sat in your cabin, but you’ve been out there every day, joining in.”
“I’m a terrible skier—”
“You truly are,” Tyler said, and then caught Jackson’s eye, “but we can work on that.”
“She is also a terrible cook,” Élise said, “and we will not be working on that because I do not have the patience. I would kill you and that would lead to bad feeling, but fortunately you have your own job and you’re good at it so you don’t need to work in my kitchen.”
Kayla eased herself out of Elizabeth’s embrace.
“That’s it.” She stared down at her copy of the proposal, realizing with a lurch that this part of her job was done. “If you have any questions, Jackson can always call me.”