Snowed in on Main Street Read online

  Snowed In on Main Street

  Christmas in the City, Book 2

  Kasey Stockton

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Kasey Stockton

  Cover design by Blue Water Books

  First print edition: November 2019

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations for the purpose of a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  A preview of Snowflake Wishes, Holly Springs Romance Book 1

  Also by Kasey Stockton

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Mia Murphy pressed the phone to her ear. “I promise, everything will be fine. Enjoy the Arizona sun and don’t even think twice about Powder Peaks again. We will be fine.” Mia hung up the phone and sat against the counter, giving her friend and coworker, Ashlyn, a wide-eyed look of exasperation.

  “Janice again?” Ashlyn asked, her nose wrinkling.

  “Yes,” she said with feeling. “I’m ready to run the hotel. I’ve been ready for months. She needs to take a deep breath and just let it go for the week and realize that everything will be—”

  “Fine?” Ashlyn asked facetiously, pulling her frizzy red hair back into a scrunchy and lifting an eyebrow.

  “As a matter of fact,” Mia said, pushing away from the wall. “I believe it will be.”

  “Clearly.” Ashlyn sat back in her chair behind the front desk and picked up a pen, chewing on the end of it. “I just couldn’t figure out if you were convincing Janice of that or yourself.”

  Mia reached forward and pulled the pen away from Ashlyn’s mouth, her friend’s grin widening. “Professionally speaking, I’m sure everything will be great. Having to miss Christmas with my family this year because I’m working the whole week…that part I’m not looking forward to as much.”

  Ashlyn turned toward the computer and began typing. “Well, if it’s family time you’re missing, you can live vicariously through the guests. We’ve got a family coming in tomorrow and they’ve booked the Wasatch Room for activities nearly every day.”

  Mia didn’t want to sound like a know-it-all, so she let her friend continue. But she had gone over the guest list and general itinerary for the hotel at least a dozen times last week, making a special mental note of the important guests and their needs. They had one VIP coming for the week and Mia was prepared.

  This was her shot to prove to Janice she was capable of running the hotel and deserved the promotion to manager. The older woman had more and more reasons to miss work with her growing brood of grandchildren, and Mia knew she was the person for the job.

  Ashlyn continued, her eyebrows lifting as she spoke. “They will have the entire third floor, all four suites and one single room. And apparently coming to Powder Peaks Lodge is a tradition for them, so Janice added a few notes to the file of things you need to be aware of. I guess she gives them special treatment? They have a whole sugar cookie decorating event and we provide the sprinkles. And they have access to extra snowmobiles rented through Janice. It’s a whole thing.”

  “Good to know.” And good thing Mia already did know, or she’d be panicking right at that moment. “I better go double check all our vendor deliveries.”

  “Probably smart,” Ashlyn said, popping a piece of gum into her mouth. “I think the first of the guests arrive tomorrow.”

  They were scheduled to arrive tomorrow. But Mia noticed a few of them had changed their reservations to tonight. She didn’t bother correcting Ashlyn. She simply walked away, her low heels clicking softly down the wood plank floors. Letting herself through the door that led down to the basement, she picked up the clipboard hanging on the wall and slid her finger down the columns until she found the deliveries that had arrived and been stored earlier that morning.

  She could smell the laundry going on the other side of the room and nodded to herself. Things were falling into place. Up on the landing, she took the stairs toward the suites to check them again one final time.

  Her phone buzzed halfway through her perusal and she slid it on, accepting the video call.

  “Hey, Mom,” Mia said, walking through the suite slowly, checking soaps and drinks and ensuring that nothing was left in the drawers by the previous occupants.

  “Did you see the storm blowing your way?” Mom said, worry lacing her tone. “It already hit most of the Wasatch front and it’s confirmed to glide right through Park City.”

  That was one thing Mia hadn’t thought to check. “Shoot, no. How bad is it?”

  Her mom lifted her pale eyebrows, her lips closing into a thin line. That wasn’t good. “I know the Powells had to cancel their trip to Montana because they couldn’t get out of town.”

  “Maybe the storm left all its snow with you guys and will run out by the time it reaches me.”

  Mom didn’t look convinced. “You have extra blankets, right? And what about a full supply of food? I don’t like it that you’re up that mountain road, Mia. If you guys lose electricity and get cut off from everything, that could get dangerous.”

  Mia gave her mom a reassuring smile. “I just triple checked our stores and we have everything we need, and a backup generator, so I think we’ll be fine, no matter what happens. Besides, if it came to that, we’ve got a shed in the back with snowmobiles so someone could go for help. No one is dying up this mountain road, Mom, no matter how bad the storms get.”

  “I still don’t understand why you can’t find a nice resort to work at in Park City, instead of that tiny little mountain town. It’s just so remote.”

  Mia closed her eyes. She loved the lodge, and she loved her boss. Why work for a posh Park City resort when she could run a smaller hotel just up the road with such charm and charisma?

  “I’m happy here,” she said simply.

  Mom was silent a moment before saying, “Listen, I know you can’t make it home for Christmas this year, so I sent you a little something in the mail. Don’t wait to open it.”

  “I won’t.” Mia let herself into the final room on the row and placed the phone on the counter facing her while she checked the bathrooms. “And I’ll come home for a few days as soon as Janice returns from Arizona.” She picked up the phone, looking at her mom to prove her sincerity. “I am sad to miss Christmas, but I really couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”

  “I know, honey. I’m proud of you. I just wish you could be with us.”

  Mia placed the phone on the windowsill and checked the drawers beside the bed. “Hey, good thing I checked. I found a bouncy ball.” She turned and held it up for her mom to see the tiny, hot pink rubber ball that had been left behind in the drawer. It slipped from her fingers and bounced, hitting the wall and rolling under the bed. She groaned.

  “Dropped it?” her mom asked.

  “Yes,” Mia hollered, getting down on her belly to look under the bed. She grimaced. A hotel floor—even though she worked there and knew it was cleaned thoroughly and regularly—was not her
favorite place to be. She spotted the ball near to the center of the giant king-sized bed and considered the merits of leaving it there.

  The guests probably wouldn’t have any idea it was there, and she could ask one of the housekeepers to fetch it out with a vacuum hose when they next cleaned.

  But then the room wouldn’t be perfect. And this week, everything needed to be perfect.

  “You know,” she heard her mom saying on the phone, “I think I saw Harold Schuman at the gas station the other day with Nancy Farr. I think they might be dating.”

  “Well, for a man of his age, all I have to say is good for them,” Mia hollered back, her face pressed against the wooden floor.

  “I thought the same thing,” Mom said. “And I think if your dad was single at ninety-one and took a fancy to a nice woman, I wouldn’t be mad if he started dating her.”

  “How magnanimous of you.”

  “Elliot James?” Mom said, loudly.

  A ball of disgust formed in Mia’s stomach and her face fixed in a scowl. “Gross, Mom. I’m already lying on a hotel floor. Don’t send me over the edge here or I’ll lose my lunch.”

  “No, honey,” her mom said. “Elliot James.”

  Mia lifted her head so her mom could hear her better from across the room. “I heard you the first time. Now I’m kind of glad I’m missing Christmas at home. I’d rather get run over by Santa’s sleigh than run into him again.”

  She stretched her fingers, their tips grazing the ball. Scooting further under the bed, she reached as far as she could, tapping the ball so it would roll out the other side.

  “I mean, really. The guy is on every single channel lately. It makes me sick—”

  A throat cleared inside the room and Mia went cold.

  Pushing herself out from under the bed, she slowly lifted her head over the edge of the mattress and stared straight into the gorgeous green eyes of Utah’s sweetheart.

  And her ex-boyfriend. Elliot James.

  Blood pumped through her ears as her cheeks burned. Mom’s voice sounded far away when she spoke. “I’ll let you get back to work, honey. Nice to see you, Elliot.”

  “Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Murphy.” Elliot’s voice was just as deep as Mia remembered and it ran through her veins like ice water.

  But what was he doing here?

  Elliot stood in the hotel room across from his ex-girlfriend and drank in the sight of her. His heart rate increased as he took in her same blonde hair, same blue eyes and her dainty little nose, regardless of the fact that it was scrunched up in disgust—because of him.

  He allowed his mouth to form a small smile. His gaze drifted to her name tag and his eyebrows lifted accordingly. “Assistant manager? Nice.”

  Distaste brought her nose up even further. “We all can’t be TV stars, you know.”

  “What?” She’d misunderstood him. “No. I meant it. It is nice.”

  She nodded slowly and he could tell he wasn’t making any headway there. “So, you’d rather get run over by a sleigh—”

  “What are you doing here?” she said, her cheeks turning pink.

  So joking wasn’t the way to get into her good graces, either. “A family vacation.”

  “These suites are saved for the Caldwells.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “My mom’s side.”

  Her eyes lit up with recognition. “Right. So…is your whole family coming?”

  He glanced to the window and the snow steadily falling. He’d made it through Parley’s Canyon safely but with the weather report playing on the driver’s radio, he was wondering if his family would make it before the snow came.

  “That’s the plan,” he said.

  She brought her hands together in front of her in a businesslike pose and tilted her head. Her voice took on a robotic effect as she spoke. “Welcome to Powder Peaks Lodge. I won’t bother introducing myself since you already know my name, but I will be Acting Manager during the course of your stay. Please do not hesitate to call down to the front desk or ask for me directly if there is anything you find yourself in need of.”

  She gave him a bright smile, but he could see how it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Great,” he said. He could tell she wanted to get away from him. But after six years, he was oddly reluctant to let her go.

  Stepping out of the pathway to the door, he let her pass. And she did so with immense speed. No sooner had the door shut behind her, however, than a knock sounded on it.

  He stepped forward and opened the door, his heart thrumming in his chest at her return.

  “I left my phone,” she said, indicating where it sat on the windowsill.

  Elliot stepped out of her way and she retrieved her phone, giving him a wide berth as she sped past him again.

  This was going to be an interesting week.

  Chapter Two

  Lying flat on the rustic bed in the cabin-like room, Elliot turned on his phone again, as if checking one more time would bring in texts from his family. But nope. Still nothing.

  He blew out a breath before rising and crossing to the window. The view was nothing but snow-covered mountains and the other side of Hidden Hollow’s Main Street with its row of buildings nestled together like they’d been squeezed and squished into a mold. For such a tiny town, they had a decent array of restaurants on their miniature Main Street, and Elliot was looking forward to visiting some of them.

  He loved coming to Hidden Hollow for Christmas each year but passing through Park City to get there was bittersweet. The Olympic rings on the flags everywhere were a bold reminder of his failure.

  Frustrated, he turned on his phone again and located his mom’s number. Dialing, the call immediately failed. He moved it away from his face and checked the corner, feeling like a complete idiot when he noticed the tiny airplane symbol.

  He’d forgotten to take his phone off of airplane mode when his flight landed. Switching it back to normal, his phone immediately blew up with voicemails and texts from various people—family, friends, and coworkers.

  Elliot opened up his messages and scanned them quickly for pertinent information. He clicked the family chat and dread filled his body, slowly rising higher and higher as he read more and more.

  Messages back and forth between his parents—who were supposed to be carpooling with his grandparents—his older brother’s family, and his aunt and uncle all described how they were stuck in one way or another. His brother was the last to text, explaining that he made it out of town but couldn’t get through the canyon which led from his house to Park City.

  The only person who was as silent in the messages as he had been was his sister, Amy.

  Leaning back on the bed, he dialed his mom’s number again.

  She picked up right away, her voice sounding anxious. “Elliot, sweetheart, did you make it to Utah?”

  “Yes. Actually, I made it through Park City already.”

  She blew out a breath that filled his ear with static. “I wish I had the foresight to tell you to skip the lodge and travel straight home, but the roads are ice and there’s no way you’d get through safely.”

  “It’s fine, Mom,” he said, infusing his voice with more pleasantness than he felt. “I can stay here tonight and then find a ride out of here tomorrow.”

  She was silent, and he chose not to read into her skepticism.

  “Christmas is still four days away,” he said. “A lot can change in that amount of time.”

  “True,” she agreed. “And in the meantime, watch out for your sister. I’ve been calling her all day and haven’t heard anything back.”

  “Okay, will do.”

  “I love you, Elliot.”

  He smiled, suddenly wishing for his Mom to be in the room with him where she could wrap him in a hug and make him feel better. He blinked. He hadn’t wished for something so childish in a while.

  Well, since the accident, at least.

  He knew a desire for a moment to tell his mom who it was he’d seen crawling under h
is bed when he’d arrived at the hotel, but he didn’t want her to worry, so he kept it to himself.

  “I love you too, Mom,” he said, hanging up the phone.

  Standing, he pulled out his wallet and tucked his room key inside. If he was going to be stuck in Hidden Hollow alone for the night, then he might as well have some good food.

  “Ashlyn,” Mia hissed, slapping her hands on the counter. She was sure her eyes looked crazed, but she had no control over her emotions at present. She was doing her best not to implode.

  The redhead lifted her gaze, worry evident in the widening of her eyes. “What’s happened?”

  “Elliot James is upstairs.”

  Ashlyn immediately relaxed, a grin spreading over her lips. “I know. I checked him in. Can you believe Elliot James is staying at our hotel? He’s a day early but I went back through Janice’s notes and she amended the reservation a few days ago to say that he’d arrive today.”

  Mia leaned her elbows on the tall countertop and dropped her head in her hands. So his was the reservation which was arriving early. Why hadn’t Janice written his name with it? It had simply said, Caldwell VIP. “That would have been nice to know.”

  “What happened?”

  Mia peeked through her fingers. “I was checking out his room when he got there.” She bared her teeth in a grimace. “And video chatting with my mom.”

  Ashlyn’s face broke out in a grin.

  Mia continued. “And of all the people—”

  “Hello,” a deep voice said from behind her. “Ashlyn, is it?”

  Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.

  “Yes, Mr. James?” Ashlyn said, batting her eyelashes like a coquettish lady in a Jane Austen film.