A Golden Tree Read online

  Books by Fern Michaels

  Fearless

  Spirit of the Season

  Deep Harbor

  Fate & Fortune

  Sweet Vengeance

  Holly and Ivy

  Fancy Dancer

  No Safe Secret

  Wishes for Christmas

  About Face

  Perfect Match

  A Family Affair

  Forget Me Not

  The Blossom Sisters

  Balancing Act

  Tuesday’s Child

  Betrayal

  Southern Comfort

  To Taste the Wine

  Sins of the Flesh

  Sins of Omission

  Return to Sender

  Mr. and Miss Anonymous

  Up Close and Personal

  Fool Me Once

  Picture Perfect

  The Future Scrolls

  Kentucky Sunrise

  Kentucky Heat

  Kentucky Rich

  Plain Jane

  Charming Lily

  What You Wish For

  The Guest List

  Listen to Your Heart

  Celebration

  Yesterday

  Finders Keepers

  Annie’s Rainbow

  Sara’s Song

  Vegas Sunrise

  Vegas Heat

  Vegas Rich

  Whitefire

  Wish List

  Dear Emily

  Christmas at Timberwoods

  The Sisterhood Novels:

  Bitter Pill

  Truth and Justice

  Cut and Run

  Safe and Sound

  Need to Know

  Crash and Burn

  Point Blank

  In Plain Sight

  Eyes Only

  Kiss and Tell

  Blindsided

  Gotcha!

  Home Free

  Déjà Vu

  Cross Roads

  Game Over

  Deadly Deals

  Vanishing Act

  Razor Sharp

  Under the Radar

  Final Justice

  Collateral Damage

  Fast Track

  Hokus Pokus

  Hide and Seek

  Free Fall

  Lethal Justice

  Sweet Revenge

  The Jury

  Vendetta

  Payback

  Weekend Warriors

  The Men of the Sisterhood

  Novels:

  Hot Shot

  Truth or Dare

  High Stakes

  Fast and Loose

  Double Down

  The Godmothers Series:

  Far and Away

  Classified

  Breaking News

  Deadline

  Late Edition

  Exclusive

  The Scoop

  E-Book Exclusives:

  Desperate Measures

  Seasons of Her Life

  To Have and To Hold

  Serendipity

  Captive Innocence

  Captive Embraces

  Captive Passions

  Captive Secrets

  Captive Splendors

  Cinders to Satin

  For All Their Lives

  Texas Heat

  Texas Rich

  Texas Fury

  Texas Sunrise

  Anthologies:

  Home Sweet Home

  A Snowy Little Christmas

  Coming Home for Christmas

  A Season to Celebrate

  Mistletoe Magic

  Winter Wishes

  The Most Wonderful Time

  When the Snow Falls

  Secret Santa

  A Winter Wonderland

  I’ll Be Home for Christmas

  Making Spirits Bright

  Holiday Magic

  Snow Angels

  Silver Bells

  Comfort and Joy

  Sugar and Spice

  Let it Snow

  A Gift of Joy

  Five Golden Rings

  Deck the Halls

  Jingle All the Way

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  FERN MICHAELS

  A Golden Tree

  ZEBRA BOOKS

  KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Books by Fern Michaels

  Title Page

  A Golden Tree

  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

  Teaser chapter

  Copyright Page

  A Golden Tree

  Chapter 1

  Monday, November 30, 2015

  “You can’t just up and leave me like this!” Holly Simmons said into her cell phone. “It’s Christmastime, or did you forget?” she asked, exasperated.

  Ava, her assistant and best friend, giggled. “I’m pregnant with twins, my dear, or did you forget? The doctor has ordered complete bed rest for the next three months.”

  Holly looked at her computer screen, which showed just how overbooked the inn was this year. Holiday parties almost around the clock. The Grove Place Inn, owned and operated by the Simmons family for five generations, had just been asked to host the governor’s annual family Christmas party again this year. And if that wasn’t enough, several dignitaries from other countries were flying in simply to attend the governor’s “family” party. The state’s chief executive had reserved the entire third floor for his guests. Holly could only imagine what kind of party he’d throw for his friends if this was just “a little family gathering.” His exact words. She recalled last year’s party, the aftermath. It wasn’t pretty, but the guests had said it was the best party they’d ever attended. The governor had promised to host his party at the inn for as long as he was able. Holly would assign even more extra staff to the event to prepare for the unexpected.

  “Well, did you?” Ava persisted.

  “What?”

  “You did,” Ava stated matter-of-factly.

  Holly smiled. “How could I forget that my best friend since second grade is having twins?”

  “I can tell by your voice, you’re distracted and a bit overwhelmed. I knew you would be, so I took the liberty of narrowing the pile of applicants down to six. If someone is going to take over my job, I want to make sure that person is up to the task. Now, all you have to do is the final interview and choose the person you think will do the best job.”

  “Ava, you know as well as I do that no one can replace you. I realize you’re about to have twins, but when they’re older, you might want to return to work. I’m telling all the applicants this is only a temporary position.”

  “Of course you will. I might want to return to work . . . when they’re in college. Yes, please make sure to tell them the job is only for . . . let me see . . . That would be eighteen years, minimum.”

  Both women laughed. Friends since elementary school, Holly and Ava did everything together. Holly had gone to the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she’d earned her bachelor’s degree in business, with Ava at her side, majoring in the same subject. When she graduated, just like family members before her, Holly started working at the inn the very next day, wanting to continue the family tradition, and so did Ava. All Simmonses had
to start from the bottom and learn every single job at the inn. And all the Simmonses’ best friends, no matter how cute they were, had to follow the exact same rules as the family. Holly remembered her father telling her this when she’d asked if Ava could work alongside her.

  Of course, they all had known it was a given, as both Holly and her best friend had started working at the inn within days of turning sixteen, the minimum age at which they were legally allowed to become paid employees at the Grove Place Inn. They both had lived, eaten, and breathed their jobs. When it was time for college, they’d studied hard, both achieving 4.0 grade point averages and graduating at the top of their class. Wanting to take their education one step further, they’d agreed it would benefit them to earn master’s degrees in finance, as well. They did so by juggling their careers at the inn with their master’s studies, and in two years they both had advanced degrees in hand. They had returned to the Grove Place Inn and immediately started their careers.

  That had been eight years ago. Both thirty-one years old, they were total opposites outside the inn. Ava had married just three years out of college, a year after getting her master’s degree, while Holly had dated a lot but had had only one serious relationship. Sadly, Michael Strauss had been killed in a motorcycle accident right before she’d decided he was “the one.” Since then, she had avoided serious relationships. They hurt too much.

  “Holly, is something wrong?” Ava asked.

  Ava’s question jolted Holly back to the present, and she replied, “Yes. No. I’m just a bit overwhelmed right now. I’ll be fine once I hire a temporary assistant.”

  Ava giggled, her high-pitched laughter sounding like a squeal over the phone. Holly held the phone away from her ear until her friend’s laughter subsided.

  “I’m serious, Ava. I am not going to replace you. Who knows? When the babies are older, you might want to have an adult day. And if you do, your job will be waiting.”

  “You could be right. Though I won’t know for a while.”

  “Somehow, I can’t see you and Stephen confined at home together twenty-four/seven. I know how you like your space. Add in those two little bundles, and I can see you needing an adult day now and then.”

  More laughter. Holly rolled her eyes, for once glad Ava wasn’t in the room. She’d changed since getting pregnant, becoming much more emotional. She either giggled all the time or cried. Holly would be glad when Ava returned to her former, even-keeled self.

  “Stephen is converting that old junk room above the garage into his home office. That way, he won’t have to go to Starbucks to meet clients. So, it will be as if he’s gone, anyway. I like the arrangement. Gone, but close by if I should need him. Plus, he can invite clients over. I think it’s the perfect arrangement for now.”

  Holly wondered how long that would last. Stephen was thrilled at the prospect of fatherhood. She doubted he would spend a minute more than necessary in the new office. She didn’t tell that to Ava. She didn’t want to ruin her friend’s image of life after babies.

  “I’m sure you two will figure things out.”

  “Holly, what’s wrong? And don’t say, ‘Nothing, ’ because I can hear it in your voice.”

  Holly inhaled and raked a hand through her short brown hair. The holidays were going to be rough this year without her mother. She’d been dreading them since February, when her mother died unexpectedly of a massive heart attack. Why was it that those she loved had to be taken away from her too soon? If it weren’t for her father, her grandfather, and the inn, Holly would’ve preferred to skip Christmas altogether this year. And the year after. It was just too sad.

  Pushing her chair away from her massive walnut desk, Holly stood and walked over to the window, where she had an absolutely dazzling view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Looking at the majestic sight always calmed her. The sheer beauty, the totality of the mountains’ greatness, the vast array of trees—poplar, red maple, oak, and so many more. Holly couldn’t name them all. They had all but denuded themselves of their jewel-toned leaves, except for an occasional single deep red or golden leaf free-falling, with the powder-blue sky as its background. She always felt a momentary bit of sadness when the trees were naked and bare.

  Though western North Carolina didn’t have the treacherous winters found in the Northeast and the Midwest, she hated to look out this very window and see the limbs stripped of their autumnal glory. That was how she always thought of them. Glorious. Colors no one could re-create, not even an artist as skilled as Stephen. Though his title was graphic artist, he also painted phenomenal landscapes, but even he had yet to match the perfection of the colors the trees displayed in autumn.

  Holly finally spoke. “I feel like skipping the holidays this year. It just doesn’t feel right without Mom.” Tears blurred her vision, and the back of her throat tightened when she remembered the raw pain from the events earlier in the year.

  “Oh, Holly, I know how you must feel. Violet was like a mother to me, too. She’d want you to make this holiday as special as all the others. You do realize that?”

  Holly knuckled a single tear away before it could ruin her carefully applied makeup. “You’re right. I’m just being a big baby. I just miss her so much. And Dad is simply lost without her.”

  “Then we should devote this holiday season to her memory. Make it the best ever. She’d like that.”

  Ava was right. Her mother was the most kind-hearted, generous, and forgiving person she’d ever known. Next to her father, of course. It didn’t matter what had been tossed her way, be it a personal issue or a crisis at the inn, she had always handled herself and any situation with the utmost grace and dignity. The employees loved her almost as much as the family did. A truly bright star was lost the day she left this world. Another gush of tears filled Holly’s eyes, and this time she let them fall. Mom would understand her grief, of that she was 100 percent certain. And Ava was right. In her mother’s memory, she would make this Christmas season one of the best ever. Both personally and professionally.

  “I’m going to start interviewing for that personal assistant today. I’m going to need all the help I can get.” That was an understatement, but she didn’t want to upset Ava any more than she had already. I can do this, she decided.

  “That’s my girl. Now, remember, I picked the best of the lot, so make sure you’re thorough when you interview them,” Ava insisted.

  “Are you trying to tell me you missed something? Should I be aware of any one applicant’s qualifications over another?”

  “No, no, not at all! I think they’re all qualified for my job. Maybe more than I am, but you have to make sure you two fit. You know what I mean?”

  Yes, she did. She needed to click with whomever she hired. They could be the best in the business, but if there was a personality conflict, all the skills in the world would be of no use to her or the applicant.

  “I get where you’re headed. Basically, I need to like them, too. Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” Holly asked.

  “More or less,” Ava replied.

  “Then, I’d best get busy. I’ll let you know who the lucky girl is,” Holly said. After a hasty good-bye to Ava, she wiped her eyes with her hand and cleared her throat.

  It was now or never, she thought as she glanced at the small stack of applications that had been placed neatly in the center of her desk.

  Chapter 2

  Holly took a deep breath and quickly read through applicant number five’s qualifications before she asked Marlene, her secretary, to send the woman in. If anything, this Terri Anne Phillips was overqualified. Ava was right when she’d said some of the applicants were better qualified than she was. With a master’s in finance, an undergraduate major in business, and an undergraduate minor in math, Terri Anne just might be her new assistant. She liked the name. It sounded quite Southern.

  She buzzed Marlene. “Have Ms. Phillips come in now.”

  “Right away,” Marlene said. Her secretary had been working at the
inn ever since Holly was in high school. Her mother had hired the woman, and the pair had become the best of friends. For now, Marlene was the person whom Holly thought of as a substitute mother. Holly would be devastated when Marlene retired.

  Holly ran her hands through her short brown hair, quickly applied a touch of clear lip gloss, then smoothed her dark green skirt before standing up to greet her prospective new assistant.

  Marlene opened the door to the office, then closed it immediately after announcing Ms. Phillips.

  “I prefer to be addressed as Terri,” the woman announced even before Holly had the opportunity to offer a greeting.

  Holly nodded and motioned for the applicant with an attitude to sit in one of the plush wing chairs placed in front of her desk. “Please, sit down,” Holly invited in her most professional voice.

  Ms. Phillips—Terri, she silently corrected herself—stood at least five feet ten. Slender, with a model’s figure, she was everything Holly was not. Sleek, elegant, with long blond hair hanging to her waist. Holly looked for a bit of frizz, a split end, something to show that the hair was less than perfect, but she saw nothing. Terri wore a rich brown pencil skirt with a matching jacket cinched at the waist just enough to show her curves. She wore four-inch heels, which Holly knew to be an on-the-job no-no, but at this early stage, it wasn’t important.

  Holly skimmed over the woman’s résumé again and saw that she was not married and that there were no children. A dedicated career woman. She liked that.

  Elbows on her desk, fingers steepled, Holly began her interview. “You certainly have the requirements I’m looking for in an assistant. Actually, you’re overqualified.” She paused, waiting for Terri to speak. When she said nothing, Holly continued. “Your last employer, the Davis House, says you left for personal reasons. Do you mind telling me what they were?” The last thing the inn needed was some crazed ex-boyfriend stalking an employee.

  “Actually, I do mind. It states on my application that my reason for leaving is personal, and I prefer to keep it that way.”