The Heart of Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

she acting unusual? “No, just the day-to-day stuff,” she said. “You know how tough it is to survive the off-season.”
    “But I thought you were feeling encouraged. We’ve been full almost every weekend, and we were full last night, on a Thursday. That’s better than a year ago. Offering afternoon tea has definitely improved our occupancy rate.”
    The tea had been Eve’s idea. Besides the boost it gave her business, she enjoyed going to secondhand shops looking for vintage items she could use in unexpected ways. Most recently she’d been collecting old plates and fastening them to various candleholders and other bases to make elegant stacking trays or elevated dishes.
    “With luck, word will spread and our tea will really bring in some business when spring hits,” she said. As Cheyenne had mentioned, they’d already noticed a spike. “But we have to get by until then.”
    Fortunately, A Room with a View was no longer undercutting her prices. For months after it first opened, the owners—a European couple relatively new to the area—had tried to drive her out of business. They’d finally given up, but she wasn’t under the illusion that they’d backed off out of kindness or compassion. They must not have had deep enough pockets to continue.
    Thank God. She couldn’t have hung on much longer. As it was, only the nineteenth-century mystery of Little Mary’s murder, and the rumor that her ghost might be haunting the place, had saved the inn from foreclosure.
Unsolved Mysteries
had come out to film an episode, and the publicity from that had enabled Eve to continue to pay the mortgage.
    “How’s Deb getting on with breakfast?” Cheyenne asked.
    Hungover and sleep-deprived, Eve hid a yawn. “She was doing okay when I checked on her a few minutes ago.” Fortunately, their “new” cook had been with them for nearly six months, so she was well accustomed to the demands of the job.
    Cheyenne’s chair creaked as she settled in. “I can’t remember—what’s on the menu?” She sniffed. “Whatever it is smells great.”
    “Ricotta pancakes with lemon curd and fresh raspberries. A fruit and yogurt parfait with handmade granola. Two sausages and fresh-squeezed orange juice.”
    “Oh, right.” Cheyenne gave an exasperated laugh at her forgetfulness. She was the one who’d planned this particular meal; she’d chosen the ricotta pancakes last week. “I take it the taste-test went well yesterday?”
    “Those pancakes are delicious!”
    “I can’t wait to try them.”
    Eve glanced at her watch. “Most of our guests signed up for a nine-thirty breakfast. We should go to the kitchen in another twenty minutes or so to help Deb.” They had only seven rooms, but with such a small staff—three of them to cook, handle the food and clean during the day and two people who traded off as night manager and covered for Eve when she was gone—it could be tricky to get everyone served at once.
    “Are most of them eating in the dining room?” Chey asked.
    “All but 1 and 5.” Room 1 was the smallest. Located at the back of the inn, it overlooked the garden, arbor and hot tub. Room 5 was their wedding suite, or could be turned into one if they had a bride and groom.
    “Maybe we should do a sign-up sheet with two slots for each half hour so that the most we’ll ever serve at one time is—”
    The buzz of Cheyenne’s phone interrupted. When she looked down at it and fell silent, Eve twisted around to see why.
    “What is it?” she asked.
    “Kyle texted me.”
    “Where was he this morning?”
    “He says he had to give Noelle her spousal maintenance.”
    Eve froze at the mention of Noelle. She didn’t want Kyle coming into contact with his ex-wife. Not so soon after last night. She was hoping that, with the passage of time, Noelle might forget what she’d witnessed—or forget to say anything about it. “His spousal maintenance isn’t due until the middle of the month. He’s told us that more than