LITMIR.BIZ

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tastes.”

      “I guess. Who knew I had such good taste? Well, except that I picked Brandon. He’s got a lot of class.”

      Something you either had or you didn’t, and Meadow didn’t. She had, however, shown good taste in marrying Brandon. There was no denying that.

      Irmgard came toward them now. She was in her late sixties, with a round face and an equally round figure to match. Her light brown hair was ratted into a style left over from the early ’60s and she wore a green dirndl.

      “Olivia, it’s been ages,” she said. “And who is this with you?”

      “This is my new daughter-in-law, Meadow.”

      “Ah, I heard Brandon got married. Such a lovely girl,” she said, looking Meadow up and down. “But much too skinny. Don’t worry, though. Your mother-in-law can make strudel almost as good as mine. She’ll get some meat on your bones in no time.”

      Meadow’s brows shot up. “Uh, thanks. I think.”

      “We need a dirndl for Meadow. She’s going to be helping out at the lodge,” Olivia explained.

      “Of course she is. Families stick together.”

      A not-so-subtle message from the universe?

      “Well, they should, anyway,” Irmgard continued. “My daughter—” here Irmgard gave a sorry shake of the head “—she married a man from Texas. Texas, can you imagine? It’s so hot down there. And they all speak with an accent,” she added in her clipped Germanized English. “Now it’s only me here. Olivia, you don’t know how lucky you are to have both your boys with you. And now a new daughter-in-law. Oh, how I wish my Alfred would get married and move up here.”

      Be careful what you wish for.

      “And now that you’re working at the lodge, you’re truly part of the family,” Irmgard said to Meadow. “So, let’s see what we can find you. I think something in blue. Don’t you, Olivia? Blondes always look pretty in blue.”

      “Yes, blue,” Olivia agreed.

      “What size are you? I’m guessing a six?”

      Meadow nodded and trailed Irmgard over to a rack of dresses. A few moments later she had an armful and Irmgard had sent her to a changing room.

      “What a lovely girl,” she said to Olivia.

      “She’s very pretty,” Olivia agreed.

      “And so sweet—and wanting to help out with the family business. Ah, you are so lucky.”

      She’s right, Olivia reminded herself. Both her boys were back home. She had one daughter-in-law who was perfect and another who...wanted to be here. That counted for a lot. So what if that daughter-in-law wasn’t exactly her cup of cocoa? Meadow loved Brandon and wanted to be part of things. Surely that balanced out laziness, crudeness and a lack of tact.

      The little dressing room curtain parted and out stepped Meadow in the blue dirndl, a very odd match with her overdyed hair and the butterfly tat that soared up over the neckline.

      “Oh, doesn’t she look pretty?” gushed Irmgard.

      “I look stupid,” Meadow muttered, pulling at one of the puffy sleeves.

      This was not the time to agree with her daughter-in-law. “You’ve got the perfect figure for that dress,” Olivia said. It was true. Meadow was slim and pretty in her own flamboyant way. “But maybe you’d like a different color.”

      Meadow looked like she’d just eaten a rotten nut. “I don’t think that’ll make any difference.”

      “We can find other things for you to do at the lodge if you don’t want to wear it,” Olivia offered. She could tell Brandon she’d tried. Meadow didn’t want to wear the dress.

      “No, no,” Meadow said quickly. “I’ll get it.”

      Olivia had to admire her for her willingness to step outside her comfort zone just to be part of the family operation. Give her a chance. She might surprise you. “All right. It really does look beautiful.”

      A few moments later Meadow was back in her clothing comfort zone and Olivia was pulling out her credit card to purchase the dirndl. “Actually, we’d better get two so you have one to wear when that one’s getting washed.”

      “Okay,” Meadow said. “But I’m paying.”

      “Oh, no. This is my treat.”

      “I really don’t mind. Anyway, I’ve got some money left from my mom’s—um, that my mom gave me.”

      Interesting. What had she been about to say? Her mom’s what?

      “What a good daughter-in-law,” said Irmgard.

      “Let me buy these for you,” Olivia said to Meadow. As if buying a couple of dresses would make up for her unmotherly attitude.

      “No, I’ve got it,” Meadow insisted and handed over three large bills. “I’ll take the red one, too.”

      Mission accomplished, the two women drove back to the lodge. “Thanks for taking me,” Meadow said.

      “Not much thanks needed since you wound up paying for the dresses yourself.” Olivia really should have insisted on paying for them.

      “It’s okay,” Meadow said. “I didn’t mind. And now when we get back, I can work the front desk,” she added cheerfully.

      “This will be a good day to start,” Olivia said. Check-in time was right around the corner and they had some guests arriving that afternoon. It being early in the week, there wouldn’t be so many that Meadow would get overwhelmed as she learned the ropes.

      If Meadow could master some social graces, it would be good to have an extra pair of hands. Now that December had arrived, the lodge was going to be full on weekends clear into the New Year.

      So would every B and B and motel in town. This was peak tourist season thanks, in part, to a yearly town tradition that had quickly become a tourist attraction. Now, every weekend during the month of December Icicle Falls hosted a tree-lighting ceremony and people came from all over the country to join the locals to watch the big tree in the center of town and all the surrounding buildings come alive with colored lights. The ceremony preceding the big moment was usually brief, but people loved it since it included caroling and a visit from Santa, who had plenty of grown-up helper elves on hand to pass out mini candy canes to all the children. The partying started well before the ceremony began, with vendors selling everything from roasted nuts to hot chocolate, local artisans displaying their works and, of course, a German oompah band playing. Skaters enjoyed the little ice rink in the town-center park, while shoppers swarmed the specialty shops and restaurants. It was a mob scene, with the streets and sidewalks packed, but that didn’t stop people from coming in droves. And the residents of Icicle Falls welcomed it because it kept their local economy humming.

      It didn’t take Meadow long to change into her new dress and when she reported for duty at the desk, she was smiling. “Brandon thinks I look hot in this,” she announced, clearly feeling much more confident in the outfit than she had in the store.

      “Well, that’s...good,” Olivia said. For such a slender little thing Meadow certainly had cleavage and, yes, the low-cut neckline showed it to advantage.

      “So, what do I have to do?” Meadow asked.

      “Make sure you swipe the guests’ credit cards when they come in. We don’t charge them until checkout but we keep the card information. We have our guests fill out this little form with contact information and their driver’s licenses. Each couple or family checking in gets two room-key cards. Oh, and we always tell them the hours breakfast is served.”

      “I can handle that.”

      “And, of course, we greet everyone with a smile. If a guest has a complaint, we’re

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