That Holiday Feeling (Virgin River #8)(45)

Unfortunately the memory of his suggestion that he join her and the sensual feel of the water against her skin combined to make the bath far less relaxing than she’d envisioned. In fact, she concluded as she stepped from the tub and wrapped herself in a thick terry-cloth towel, it really was too bad that she wouldn’t find Trace waiting for her in her bed. Thank goodness they were going caroling in a couple of hours. It was definitely going to take a blast of icy air to cool off her wayward thoughts.

“Quiet,” Trace admonished Hannah when they heard Savannah moving around upstairs. Since they were due to leave for the caroling in less than a half hour, he figured they had five minutes, maybe less, before she started down from the private quarters on the third floor. He squeezed Hannah’s hand. “Not a word till she gets all the way down and sees what we’ve done.”

They’d only made a dent in the work that was needed to put Holiday Retreat back into shape for guests, but the outside of the front door and the exterior trim were now a bright red, the brass fixtures glistened and the foyer and living room floors were polished to a mellow sheen. Hannah had even fashioned some greens and ribbon into a decoration that had been hung from the brass knocker. In his opinion, with just a little effort, they had made a vast difference in the appearance of the inn. It looked as it had on his first few visits, before Mae had let some of the maintenance slip.

Beside him, Hannah was practically bursting with excitement as they waited for her mother.

“I should open the door,” she whispered. “Otherwise, how will she know about the paint and the decoration?”

Trace grinned at her. “Good point. Why don’t you sneak out the back door, run around to the front and open it when I give the word that she’s almost down the steps. I’ll make sure it’s unlocked.”

Hannah took off, thundering across the floor in her eagerness.

“Don’t forget your coat,” Trace called after her just as he heard Savannah’s footsteps descending from the third floor to the second.

Since he didn’t want Savannah to miss Hannah’s grand entrance, he stepped into view as she started down the last flight and blocked her way. She paused halfway down, regarding him warily.

“I am not going back up,” she told him.

“Never said you should.”

“Then why are you standing in my way?”

“Am I in your way?” he asked, still not budging.

Savannah sighed heavily, just as Trace heard Hannah hit the porch running.

“You look lovely,” he said in a voice meant to carry outside.

Her gazed narrowed. “Announcing it to the world?”

“Why not?” he said. “It’s worth announcing.”

At that instant he heard Hannah turn the doorknob. He stepped aside as the door burst open.

Clearly startled, Savannah looked straight at her daughter, then caught sight of the freshly painted door. Her eyes lit up.

“Oh, my,” she said softly. “It’s beautiful.” She looked from Hannah to Trace. “Is that what you two were up to?”

“Only part of it, Mom,” Hannah said. “Come down the rest of the way and look around some more.”

As soon as Savannah stepped off the bottom stair, she glanced around, her expression puzzled.

“Down,” Hannah said impatiently.

Savannah’s gaze shifted to the floor with its brand-new shine. “What on earth?” There were tears in her eyes when she turned to Trace. “You did this? That’s what I heard down here? I couldn’t imagine the wood ever looking like this again. It’s beautiful.”

Hannah beamed at her. “I helped, Mom. Trace and I did it together.”

“It’s just a start,” Trace said. “We only had time to do the foyer and the living room. We’ll do the dining room tomorrow.”

The tears in Savannah’s eyes spilled down her cheeks. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“You could start by not crying,” Trace said mildly, stepping closer to brush the dampness from her cheeks. “We wanted to do something to help. Hannah made the decoration for the door. She’s got a real knack for that sort of thing.”

Savannah’s gaze shifted to the greens. “Trace is right, sweetie. It’s absolutely beautiful. Aunt Mae would be so pleased with all of this.”

She turned to Trace. “I know you did it for her, but thank you.”

It had started as something he wanted to do for Mae, but that wasn’t how it had ended up. Trace realized he had done it to put that sparkle into Savannah’s eyes, the sparkle that shimmered even through her tears.

“It was the least I could do,” he said. “Now, do you want to admire our work some more, or shall we head into town for the caroling?”

“Let’s go,” Hannah said at once. “Mom can look at this forever when we come home.”

Savannah laughed. “So much for savoring the moment.”

“I made you laugh,” Hannah gloated. “That’s a whole bunch of points for me and hardly any for Trace. Those sundaes are mine!”

“Ah, well,” Trace said with an exaggerated air of resignation. “I suppose the art already on my office wall will have to do.”

Savannah was quiet on the ride into town. Too quiet, in Trace’s opinion. When they’d finally found a parking place a few blocks from the town square and Savannah was exiting the car, he pulled her aside. “Everything okay?”