An Alaskan Christmas. Belle Calhoune
to focus on other than the woman seated to his right. She placed a bowl of soup down in front of him, along with a hearty-looking sandwich with kale chips on the side. Finn shot her a look of gratitude. Sophie winked at him. As his friend, she knew his financial situation was dodgy. This was her way of helping him out.
Finn took a huge bite of his sandwich, then sampled the lobster bisque, one of Cameron’s specialties. He flashed Sophie a thumbs-up sign.
Instead of heading back to the kitchen, Sophie stood at the table with a concerned look etched on her pretty features.
“What’s wrong, Sophie?” Jasper asked. “You look like you burned something in the kitchen,” he teased.
Sophie’s eyes darted over to Maggie. She bit her lip. “Agnes Muller just called. She knows it’s Jasper’s tradition to bring folks over to the Moose to welcome them to town, so she figured you might be here. She said she’s been trying to reach Maggie since this morning.”
Maggie looked down at her phone and let out a sound of frustration. “Oh, I had my ringer off. She’s going to be Oliver’s babysitter when he starts kindergarten in a few days. It’ll only be for a few hours in the afternoon since he’ll be in school till the early afternoon, but since I want to get the store up and running quickly, she’ll be a big help.” Maggie stood up. “Let me go call her back in case it’s something important.”
Finn’s gaze trailed after Maggie as she walked over to a private area of the café to make her phone call. Even from a distance of twenty feet, Finn could tell something was wrong. Maggie’s face crumpled. The look of distress stamped on her face was evident.
He looked away, reminding himself it was none of his business. The last thing he wanted to do was get wrapped up in somebody else’s problems. The good Lord knew he had enough of his own to focus on.
“Did something happen to Agnes?” Hazel asked Sophie. Her brows were furrowed, eyes full of worry.
“She didn’t say too much but she’s at Liam’s clinic,” Sophie answered, referencing Dr. Liam Prescott, Jasper’s grandson and brother to Cameron, Boone and Honor. “She wanted to talk to Maggie first, but she sounded pretty weak, if you ask me.”
Hazel made a tutting sound. “Lots of folks have been coming down with the flu. I pray she rebounds quickly if that’s what’s ailing her.”
All eyes were on Maggie as she returned to the table. It was evident something had happened to turn her sunny mood into a somber one.
“Is everything all right?” Finn asked, the question hurtling off his lips.
Maggie pushed her hair away from her face with a trembling hand. “Agnes took a bad fall this morning. She sprained her ankle and she’s on crutches. There’s no way she’s going to be able to watch Oliver now while I’m working, which puts me in a real bind.” Maggie threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
* * *
Maggie’s stomach was tangled up in knots as she provided the explanation about Agnes’s ankle. She felt a little numb. Her mind was whirling to try to come up with a plan B. Although she felt terribly for Agnes, she now had to worry about getting a replacement for the woman she’d hired as a sitter. Oliver was a great kid, but at his young age it would be hard to keep him entertained while she worked nonstop to get Keepsakes in tip-top shape. In order to capitalize on the Christmas season, Maggie needed to open up the shop as soon as possible. And after seeing the worn sign outside the shop, Maggie had the feeling her work was cut out for her.
The ramifications of the situation roared through her with a mighty force. Finding Agnes had been no easy task. This was a small town with few options for part-time childcare.
She sank back down into her seat and stared mindlessly at the table. She didn’t want to panic about the situation, but she had no idea what she was going to do. Maggie needed the income from Keepsakes. Although Uncle Tobias had left her money in his will, she knew the importance of establishing a nest egg. She planned to stash most of the money in a bank account and live off her proceeds from the store.
Maggie glanced over at Oliver. Thankfully he was in his own world, munching on his pizza and seemingly oblivious to the unfolding drama. He was so sensitive these days. She didn’t want him to worry about who would be taking care of him while she was at work.
“We’ll just have to find somebody to fill in for Agnes,” Hazel said. Maggie had the feeling Hazel was trying to sound chipper for her benefit.
“That might be easier said than done,” Jasper responded with a frown. “Why don’t you write down the particulars? Hours and salary. Anything you feel is pertinent to the position. I’ll circulate it around town hall and see if anybody bites.”
Maggie let out the breath she’d been holding. The mayor of Love was making it clear she wasn’t alone in this. Gratitude rose up inside her. She’d felt so terribly isolated and alone for the last year. It was nice to know things in this town might be quite different for her and Oliver.
Maggie ferreted around inside her purse and pulled out a small notebook and a pen. When she was done writing, she ripped the page out and placed it down on the table before sliding it toward Jasper.
He looked up at Maggie and twitched his eyebrows. “Not many hours since it’s an after-school position, but I’ll post it up. You might get a teenager looking for hours like this.”
A teenager! How in the world could she leave her son with someone so young? Maggie knew it wasn’t out of the ordinary, but in her world it was. Being overprotective of her son was a by-product of having her husband taken away from her in such a tragic way.
“I appreciate anything you can do. Problem is, I need to hire someone as soon as possible. I need to get this resolved so I can get the shop up and running.” Maggie felt her voice becoming clogged with emotion. Everything had been working so smoothly until this rug had been pulled out from under her.
Anxiety grabbed ahold of her. Despite her desire to be courageous, she found herself faltering. For most of her life, Maggie had struggled with anxiety. It tended to rear its ugly head in times such as this one when she felt things were spiraling out of her control. Other times it just struck her out of the blue. She took slow breaths to steady herself, reminding herself that she wasn’t dying or in danger, even though it felt like it when anxiety overwhelmed her.
“I think you need to get some rest, Maggie. You’ve been traveling all day and pretty soon jet lag is going to settle in.” The rich timbre of Finn’s voice startled her. For the most part he’d been sitting at the table as a quiet observer. His green eyes were sure and steady as they locked with her own. “I think a good night’s rest will help you.”
Maggie nodded, knowing his words were true. She wanted to check out their new house and unpack some of their things and take a hot shower before crashing. Oliver needed a bath and a good night’s sleep. “That’s a good idea,” she said, feeling grateful to Finn for sensing she was at her limit. She looked over at Oliver. His eyes were beginning to droop. She felt a twinge of guilt for not noticing how tired her son looked.
“I’d like to get going. Oliver is about to conk out. I’d appreciate a ride over to the house,” Maggie said.
Jasper jumped to his feet. He bowed in Maggie’s direction. “Jasper Prescott at your service. Get your coats on and I’ll drive you over there.”
Finn stood up from the table. “Why don’t I drive them home, Jasper? I already have their luggage in my car,” Finn suggested. “It’s in the same direction as my house.”
“Perfect!” Hazel said in a boisterous voice.
“Thanks, Finn,” Jasper said, slapping Finn on the back. “There’s a booster seat by the doorway. We picked it up the other day for Oliver based on Maggie’s instructions.”
“I’ll grab it on my way out,” Finn said.
“Let me just