The Home Is Where The Heart Is Collection. Maisey Yates

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      “Well, it was supposed to be.” She forced a smile for Maddie, doing her best to ignore the flutters of panic taking wing inside her. “I guess they had a fire today.”

      She drew in a calming breath, trying to make her brain cells snap into gear so she could come up with a plan. The sleet seemed to sting harder with each passing second and the wind had picked up in the past few moments. Apparently the big storm the forecasters had been predicting—the reason she had come to town early instead of waiting until the next day or Sunday—had blown into Haven Point.

      Maddie shivered a little and Eliza was just about to take her back up the small hill toward the parking lot where she had parked when she spotted a familiar woman about her age in jeans and a sooty jacket, talking to a firefighter in turnout gear with the word Chief written on his helmet.

      When she saw Eliza and Maddie, the other woman’s eyes widened, looking huge in her lovely features that looked taut with stress and exhaustion.

      She cut off her conversation with the fire chief and headed in their direction. Though they had only met twice—once for Eliza’s initial interview and then the follow-up where she had been offered the job—the woman held out her arms and folded Eliza in a hug that smelled strongly of smoke.

      “You’re here. Oh, Eliza.” Her voice wobbled and her slim frame trembled, too, like a slender branch shivering in the wind. “I should have called you. I’m so sorry. It didn’t occur to me. I only... It’s been such a terrible afternoon. I thought you weren’t coming to Haven Point until tomorrow or Sunday.”

      She imagined receiving this sort of news over the phone and was almost grateful she had driven in early and had witnessed the damage for herself. “I wanted to beat the storm. Was anyone hurt?”

      “Not seriously. Thank heavens. One of the housekeeping staff suffered some smoke inhalation while trying to help us evacuate the guests. Other than that, everyone is fine. We were only about half-occupied and we were able to get everyone out quickly. It’s been a nightmare few hours trying to find other places for them all to stay.”

      What if this had happened a week from now, when she was in charge as the hotel manager? She hated even imagining it.

      “What happened? Do you know?”

      Megan rubbed at her red-rimmed eyes. “I was just speaking with Chief Gallegos about it. The investigators aren’t sure yet but all indications point to some kind of electrical event. They think it started near the guest laundry. It’s a miracle it happened when it did, on a slow week, first of all, and then late morning before the weekend guests checked in, when we were fully staffed with the maintenance crew and the housekeepers to help evacuate. If the fire had started in the middle of the night, things might have gone very differently. The situation could have been much, much worse.”

      Eliza could certainly appreciate that from Megan’s point of view. As far as she was concerned, though, the fact remained that her exciting new opportunity was now a pile of ash and debris.

      Megan suddenly spied Maddie, pressing her face now into Eliza’s wool coat to keep out of the wind. “But you. And Maddie. I’m so, so sorry.”

      She wore the same sorrowful expression that Eliza had seen on her friends and neighbors after Trent’s funeral.

      “I can’t believe this happened right before you were supposed to start. I’ve been so excited to have you on board, too. I just feel like we really clicked during the interview process. Your ideas were innovative and exciting, exactly what this old inn needed to shake things up.”

      Eliza heard the “but” and knew what was coming.

      “Obviously everything has changed. Oh, Eliza.” Megan’s eyes welled up and spilled over, trickling down her soot-grimed face. She pulled a bedraggled tissue out of her pocket.

      “I understand.”

      “I don’t know what we’re going to do. We have to close indefinitely. I guess that’s obvious. I need to speak with the insurance company to find out if we should rebuild what is left or raze the whole thing and start over. And to have this happen right before Christmas! I feel so terrible for my staff. Some of them have been at the inn since before I was born, when my grandparents owned it.”

      Though that leashed panic inside her wanted to break free and ravage everything, Eliza forced a smile, cuddling Maddie closer for comfort and warmth. “You obviously don’t need a new manager when you’ve got nothing for me to manage. Don’t worry. I understand.”

      Megan gave a little whimper and more tears dripped out. “I’m so sorry I dragged you out here. You quit your job and everything. Can you go back to it?”

      She wouldn’t, even in the unlikely event that they might hire her back. With the owners’ son firmly entrenched in the top managerial position and mismanaging everything from the linen orders to the payroll, she suspected it wouldn’t be long before the Diamond Street Inn would go under.

      “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She had no idea how, but she would figure something out.

      “Don’t cry. It will be okay.” Maddie spoke softly to Megan, looking bewildered at the situation but distressed, too. She was such a sweet little soul, always concerned about the pain someone else might be experiencing, whether at the hospital or on the playground.

      Megan gave her a watery smile, then reached down and hugged her. “It will be. You’re absolutely right. Not immediately, but things will eventually be okay.”

      “Is there something I can help you do now?” Eliza asked. “I can find somewhere to stay and help you cancel bookings or something?”

      “I appreciate that, but I’ve already got the front desk staff taking care of that. Thank heavens our computer system was backed up off-site and we can still access all those reservations.”

      “That is good news.”

      She squeezed Eliza’s hands. “Again, I’m so, so sorry.”

      “Stop apologizing. This wasn’t your fault.”

      “At least I can give you a small severance package. Something to tide you over while you look for another position.”

      Megan had already been so generous, offering to pay her moving expenses and including the apartment as part of her compensation package. Eliza didn’t want to burden her with one more obligation.

      “Don’t worry about it,” she said, even though that panic fluttered harder. She wasn’t destitute. She had some savings left, as well as monthly survivor benefits. She also had several solid years of experience as the assistant manager at the Diamond Street Inn.

      She wondered if she could possibly return the SUV and get her down payment back—but what would she drive to interviews if she did? Her sedan had been on its last bald tire.

      Job-hunting less than two weeks before Christmas wasn’t ideal timing, nor did she want to move her fragile child into some grimy pay-by-the-week hotel until she found a position and could lease a nearby apartment. Right now she couldn’t see any other choice.

      All in all, this might be another in a string of miserable holidays.

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