LITMIR.BIZ

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different.

      Everything had been different.

      Depressed, Nicole stuffed another pillow behind her neck. Sometimes it seemed as if she hadn’t achieved a single thing with her life. Certainly nothing like Luke, who’d made his first billion by the time he was twenty-seven. Everything he touched turned to gold. Soon afterward he’d gotten married and a few years later the twins were born. He seemed able to do anything, whether it was achieving wild success in real estate, playing the stock market or building a massive conglomerate company with dozens of subsidiaries.

      Or finding someone who genuinely loved him.

      Bored and vaguely discouraged, Nicole turned on the television and flipped through the cable channels. Finally she got up and put a DVD into the player. She hadn’t watched Forbidden Planet in a while and it would be a distraction. Normally she wasn’t so moody, but getting sick and being unable to travel with Luke and her nieces was lousy timing.

      She was worried about Luke and just as worried about Beth and Annie. Annie was shy and introverted, while Beth plowed ahead, often thoughtlessly. They were young, but patterns were established early.

      Nicole shuddered as she recalled a kid she’d met in childhood. The Forresters had been out of money as usual, so they’d invited themselves to stay with wealthy friends in South Carolina. Kira was the Lexingtons’ only child and had demanded her own way in everything. She was still like that...which might explain her four divorces.

      The opening segment of the film began playing and Nicole relaxed. Some of the special effects were poor, but she loved old science fiction movies and Forbidden Planet was one of her favorites. It was great seeing Walter Pidgeon and Leslie Nielsen on the screen together—one older, one younger, and both equally delicious.

      Yet in a way, seeing the character played by Anne Francis was discouraging. The woman was fearless, even if she wasn’t always likable. Nicole wished she could be more like that...strong, bold and unafraid. Instead, she tried to be invisible most of the time.

      She pulled a lap robe over her legs. It was still just midafternoon and she ought to be doing something productive, but she wanted to recover and get out to California as soon as possible. Anyway, she was already packed and ready to go. She just needed the swelling in her ear to go down so it would be safe to fly.

      * * *

      CARLIE DROPPED BY the maintenance yard to see the loads of fresh evergreen that had been delivered that morning. The crew was sorting the branches, cutting them into usable sections and loading everything into containers for delivery to the various decorating work sites.

      Lord, it really would be easier if Poppy Gold didn’t invite guests to help decorate. That way the evergreen swags and wreaths could be made ahead of time and be ready to go up first thing in the morning. Of course, it wouldn’t be as much fun, either.

      Carlie inhaled the thick scent of pine and cedar. She loved Christmas and had always tried to be there for kickoff day. Her ex-fiancé’s indifference to her favorite time of year should have been her first clue that he was the wrong guy for her.

      “What are you doing here?” asked Uncle Liam. He smiled at her, almost the way he used to smile before Aunt Meredith had died. They’d shared a wonderful marriage and had created Poppy Gold together. “Don’t you have enough to keep you busy?”

      “I’m just stressed and wanted a sniff—nothing says Christmas like fresh-cut evergreen boughs.”

      He gave her a hug. “Anything I can do to help?”

      “I’m okay, just feeling sorry for myself. It’s an unattractive habit I’m trying to break.”

      Uncle Liam was less depressed now, but the family tried to keep things upbeat around him. He left managing Poppy Gold to Tessa, though he still looked after the maintenance department, while Tessa’s husband had taken over the security division.

      Thinking about it reminded Carlie that she ought to give her cousin a heads-up about Luke Forrester. As the Poppy Gold owner-manager, she needed to know what was going on. So instead of going straight back to Old City Hall, Carlie stopped at Tessa’s office in the train depot and found her cuddling little Meredith.

      Carlie’s throat ached. She was thirty-one, only a year younger than Tessa, and had hoped to be a mother herself by now. And she might be if Derek had been the man she’d thought.

      Instead, the morning they were supposed to get married he’d told her it was a mistake. Yeah, a mistake...he’d asked another woman to marry him. Incredibly, he seemed to think it wasn’t cheating since he’d decided to call off the wedding before sleeping with someone else. Or at least that was what he’d claimed.

      She wasn’t convinced. In the cold light of reason, Carlie suspected he’d seen an opportunity to marry into money and had taken it.

      So instead of being a wife and mother, she was an honorary aunt to the younger members of the family. She’d have to be content with that for now, because she wasn’t ready to let her heart get shredded again.

      Tessa looked up. “Hey, you look frustrated.”

      Carlie determinedly pushed Derek out of her mind. He hadn’t been a part of her life for more than a year and didn’t warrant the kind of energy she was spending on him. Perhaps it was on her mind, seeing how happy Tessa was with her husband. Gabe McKinley seemed to be Tessa’s opposite in every respect, but the way he looked at her and his new daughter...

      “Carlie?” Tessa prompted.

      “Sorry, my brain was somewhere else. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Luke Forrester isn’t particularly happy. Apparently he believed his family would have the entire John Muir Cottage. He also wants a full office installed in the Yosemite suite, including satellite communications.”

      Tessa blinked. “He couldn’t have been serious.”

      “Noooo, he was quite serious. He plans to run his conglomerate from Poppy Gold while staying here. Anyway, I told him about the facilities we do have and that he’s welcome to use loaner equipment.”

      “We don’t expect anybody to take abuse from a guest,” Tessa said quietly. “No matter what their circumstances.”

      Carlie shook her head. “He’s just demanding and his daughters almost make up for him being difficult. They’re adorable. I just wanted you to know since there’s a good chance he won’t be satisfied, whatever we do.”

      “Don’t lose any sleep over it. Maybe Poppy Gold will work its magic on him.”

      “I hope the magic works fast.”

      They chatted for another few minutes before Carlie got up and said goodbye.

      On the walk to her office, she called her parents, who expected her for dinner with her two brothers, home visiting from college over the Thanksgiving break. Between everything she had left to do and attending the snowmaking event with the Forresters later, she wouldn’t be able to eat with them.

      “I’ll send Quinn or Russ over with something for you to eat,” Mom offered instantly. When Leah Benton couldn’t do anything to fix a problem, she fed people.

      “No need. I have stuff in the office fridge and ate too much at lunch, anyhow. How is Dad? I wish he hadn’t worked today.”

      “You know...the usual.”

      Yeah, Carlie knew.

      Her father pretended everything was fine, but standing for so many hours as a traffic flagger made his chronic pain that much worse. He didn’t have to work—the settlement from the accident was enough to cover lost wages—but Mike Benton refused to take things easy. To his way of thinking, men worked to support their families. They didn’t live on insurance settlements.

      “Okay, Mom. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

      Carlie got off and hurried up the Old City Hall’s front steps. Inside to the left was a broad, curving staircase that rose

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