The Albright Hotel (A Frosty Season #4)

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

S aturday afternoon, Robby found himself at the annual Hollygrove Christmas Festival. It was fifteen degrees, but the sky was blue, and if you bundled up, you barely felt the chill. Barely. Like every other year, Robby had pitched in, building stages and booths for food, mulled wine, and hot apple cider. It was nothing to him. He loved giving back to his community. Plus, it was a distraction from the fact that he was no longer welcome at the Albright Hotel.

After nearly a year of backbreaking labor, he was no longer welcome at one of the most iconic sites he’d ever worked on.

Now, Robby strode through the Christmas Festival with his hands in thick gloves, saying hello to everyone as he passed. There was Winne, one of the owners of the Nettle Creek Inn, along with Bert, the hardware store owner. There was Calvin again, boasting about his upcoming marriage to his beautiful bride. In line for hot apple cider, he got to chatting with a woman a little bit younger than him named Margaret, who said her children just got over the chicken pox. “It was terrible,” she said. “I had to tape their hands with mittens.”

Robby remembered when his own mother had done that. He recalled doing that with his own sons when they’d gotten a nasty case the year after Addison left.

“At least they’ll be all right for Christmas,” she said. “They’ll be healthy enough to drive me up a wall!”

Robby laughed, but he wanted to tell her, Hold onto these moments. They’re precious. Pretty soon, your kids will be gone, and memories will be all you have left.

But suddenly, Brad strode toward him with a big smile.

Robby clapped Brad on the shoulder. “Long time no see!”

“I heard a rumor you were at the Albright Hotel grand opening party?” Brad said. “I was putting out a few fires during the majority of the party.”

“Metaphorical fires, I hope?”

Brad tugged his scarf and winced. “There was an incident with the furnace. We had the fire marshal come out and clear everything twice this week.”

Robby’s heart lurched. They’d never asked him to work on the furnace. Maybe he could have made sure it was safer.

“How was the first week of business?” Robby asked, paying for two glasses of hot apple cider and handing one to Brad.

“As far as I can tell, it was good,” Brad said. “I can’t help as much as I’d like.”

“You’re needed at school. Those kids would be lost without you.”

Brad laughed. “We did a lesson plan this week about Maine. The kids had to draw pictures of plants and animals who live there. It made me think about our trip last summer. What a time that was!”

Robby felt it like a dagger. He filled his mouth with apple cider, but it was too hot, and it burned his tongue.

He would have given anything to go back to that day.

It was early July. Robby, Olivia, Maya, and Brad had been up to their ears in Albright Hotel preparations for weeks. Tensions were high. Out of the blue, Maya announced they had to get out of town. “Otherwise, we won’t ever open this place because we’ll hate it too much.”

Maya booked them a cottage on the coast of Maine for just the four of them. Robby couldn’t believe his luck. He’d been dating Olivia for a few months at that point, but they hadn’t found a time to go away together. The fact that he was invited on an excursion with her sister and her sister’s serious boyfriend meant something.

Maybe it meant that he and Olivia were going to last.

At first, the trip had been a dream. The four of them had taken turns driving out there, then parked and gone for a long walk along the coast, swimming in pristine waters and eating snacks they’d packed beforehand. Robby couldn’t believe how gorgeous it was. Although he’d been born and raised in Upstate New York, he decided he could have started over in Maine as long as Olivia was with him.

Olivia had packed a black bikini. She was tan and strong, walking ahead of the four of them and forcing Robby to keep up with her. It seemed as though there was no limit to what she could talk about. She had a million topics up her sleeves.

Robby thought many times, This is the romance I’ve been waiting for. This is why I couldn’t date anyone after Addison left. It was all so I would be ready for Olivia.

Nights in Maine were wonderful. They cooked seafood and sat out late, drinking wine. On the fourth and final night, Maya and Brad turned in early, leaving Olivia and Robby on the porch. They watched as a storm rolled over the coast. Rain was nearly horizontal, and lightning burst through the sky. Robby wrapped his arms around Olivia and watched her as she watched the storm.

“I love you,” Robby had said.

And suddenly, Olivia had burst into tears.

Now, Robby shook out the memory and smiled at Brad. “Maine was awesome,” he said. “I’ll never forget that landscape.”

Brad’s smile was pained. Maybe he realized he shouldn’t have brought it up.

Suddenly, from the stage came the sound of Robby’s name. It echoed. Robby turned to see Jefferson speaking into the microphone. His eyes pegged Robby’s in the crowd.

“Robby! We have a situation. We need you.”

Robby gaped at him. He was flummoxed. Did they need him to build something?

“Mike broke his hand this morning,” Jefferson said. “We need a guitarist!”

Robby gaped at him.

Didn’t Jefferson remember?

Wasn’t it common knowledge?

Robby didn’t play publicly anymore. He hadn’t performed live since before Addison left.

Robby glared at Jefferson.

“Come on, Rob. We all know you’re still the best musician in Hollygrove,” Jefferson said. “Should I get the crowd in on it? Everyone, let’s bring him up here! Rob-by! Rob-by!”

Robby’s heart shattered at the edges. He alternated between annoyance and anger. How dare they?

But the crowd was too loud. They were too eager. He found himself walking up to the stage, taking a guitar, swinging the strap over his shoulder. He found himself in front of a crowd of a few hundred, all of whom smiled at him, eager to hear him play. Some of them hadn’t even been alive the last time he’d taken the stage.

Of course, he played the guitar almost every day. He still had all the chords in his fingers.

Jefferson muttered what key they were playing in. Robby nodded to say he understood, and then they were off, mostly playing cover songs, popular tunes that everyone knew. He felt as though he was about to cry. He was completely wrapped up in the music.

As he played, he couldn’t help but remember the first time he’d performed on stage. That was the night he’d met Addison.

If it weren’t for music, Stan and Adam might not be here.

They played for forty-five minutes. It passed in an instant.

But just as Robby played the final bars of the last song, he gazed out and found her.

Not Addison. Of course not.

But it was Olivia, peering up at him.

His breath caught in his throat. He nearly messed up the final note.

Her eyes glistened as though she were crying. Was it because of the music? He gazed at her, wondering, yet again, what had gone wrong. Why had everything gotten so twisted?

But that was when he realized she wasn’t alone. Beside her was the pastry chef from the Albright Hotel. He swung his arm around her and guided her away, away from the crowd, away from Robby. Robby removed the guitar from his shoulder and handed the instrument off to someone, but he didn’t know who. His eyes were bleary. The music had opened something up inside him. He had to go home.

Brad hurried up to him as he exited the stage. He clapped him on the back. “Man, that was incredible!”

Robby gaped at him. He wanted to say something about Olivia, but he didn’t want to sound pathetic.

So he said, “Thanks, man. I’d better hit the road.”

Brad frowned. After a pause, he said, “You’ll tell me if you need anything, right?”

“Sure. Of course.”

Brad let his hand drop from Robby’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Robby.”

Robby turned and dropped back through the crowd, past Christmas trees and mulled wine stands; past children dressed up in thick coats; past gingerbread houses and bright lights. He couldn’t move quickly enough.