Wishes for Christmas Read online

  Phil shook his head, looking puzzled. “What did you say the name of the Post’s owner was?”

  “Annie de Silva. Why?”

  “Because I’m sure I’ve heard that name before, and not because she owns the Washington Post. Now, where have I heard that name? Darn it. This is going to bother me until I figure it out.”

  “Annie de Silva? Does she live in Virginia?” Sophie asked.

  “I think that’s where she said she lived. In a farmhouse not too far from Washington. She asked if I and anyone I wanted to bring with me could come to visit her after the New Year to talk about Hope for Heroes. Why do you ask, Soph?”

  “Because I know where Phil heard that name before. In fact, I am sure that we’ve all heard that name before, or at least heard about the group she belonged to. Do you remember reading about a group of women called the Vigilantes? They were pretty active until a few years ago, I think, and then they sort of disappeared.”

  “Yes,” said Ida. “I always wondered what happened to them. And now that you mention it, I think someone named Annie de Silva was one of them. How about that?”

  “Wow,” said Toots. “So that’s who asked to meet with me. Anyone want to join me on a trip to Virginia sometime next month?”

  Everyone agreed that a trip to Virginia sounded like a splendid idea.

  When the hoopla died down a bit, Chris surprised them when Charlotte and her three kids showed up for Christmas brunch. “Thanks to much research on my part and my wife’s, and mostly to Sophie’s psychic abilities and a rushed DNA test, I would like to introduce my very, very, very distant relatives, Charlotte Simonson and her three children,” Chris announced, grinning from ear to ear.

  No one said a word, but to all it made perfect sense. After learning of Sophie’s vision, and to what lengths she had gone to find out exactly what it meant, Chris was thrilled to have the Clay/Clayton bloodline continue, even though he detested the circumstances of life on the plantation all those years ago.

  Toots, always the ringleader, cleared her throat so loudly, they all turned their attention to her. “I would like to make a very important announcement.” She winked at Phil. “Would you do the honors?”

  “It would be a privilege.” Phil ran upstairs, and when he came back down, he asked Charlotte and the kids to gather in the kitchen.

  “I thought, what with all that has happened this month, you all might need a little something extra for Christmas this year.”

  Coming down the stairway was none other than Colonel Lamar Simonson.

  Charlotte raced over to be with her husband, and they wrapped their arms around one another, the kids squealing in delight. After they’d calmed down, Toots, with Sophie and Abby at her side, made one more announcement.

  “We collected enough money this season for Hope for Heroes. Charlotte, Lamar, you are now the proud owners of a brand-new plantation house.”

  More hugs and shrieks of joy.

  “I think this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” Charlotte said. “You’re like family. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you, but I love each and every one of you.”

  Everyone clapped, hugged, cried, and started speaking all at once.

  Coco, Frankie, Chester, Betty, and Barney began running in circles as they, too, were caught up in the excitement. They barked and ran around the house like they understood what had taken place.

  Of the many Christmases Toots had shared with friends and family over all the years, this was the best.

  Life truly was a blessing.

  “Girls, I think it’s time to seal our good fortune and welcome our new, albeit distant, relatives,” Toots said.

  One by one they placed their hands on top of each other’s, Abby and Charlotte, too.

  “On the count of three, when you’re good, you’re good!” They tossed their hands high in the air.

  And that was the godmothers’ Christmas Day.

  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.”

  Holly’s gut told her to end the interview immediately, but her keen sense of professionalism dictated that she see it through to the end.

  “Of course. So . . .” Holly tried to gather herself. She hadn’t been expecting such a blunt response from Terri. “So, tell me, what about this position appeals to you?” Holly asked.

  “It’s a job,” Terri replied. “Put simply, I am in need of a job, and when I heard you were looking for an assistant, I applied immediately.”

  Holly wondered if Terri Anne was purposely trying to see how far she could go before Holly told her the interview was over. Curious, Holly asked another question. “How well did you get on with your previous manager and coworkers?”

  A shadow crossed Terri Anne’s clear blue eyes. In a carefully controlled tone, she said, “What does that have to do with anything?”

  Holly’s eyes widened; then she took a deep breath. “Ms. Phillips, I think we’re through here. I will keep your application on file, with your permission, of course, and if I foresee the need to have you come in for a second interview, I will call you.”