The Albright Hotel (A Frosty Season #4)

Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

I t was hard to believe Christmas Eve was already here.

Robby did his best to make it magical for his grandchildren. He led them to the local Christmas tree farm for a snowy carriage ride, where he placed them gently on cushions and wrapped them in blankets. He sat beside them with his arms around them and acted just as a grandfather should, yelling, “Yahoo,” and “Yippee!” as they screamed with joy. He remembered his own grandfather doing that—so many years ago now. He remembered his grandfather’s thick white whiskers and how Robby had always asked him if he was sure he wasn’t Santa himself. His grandfather had chuckled and winked, which had made Robby all the more curious. Maybe it really is him! he’d thought.

How he missed his grandfather around Christmas! How he missed his father!

The carriage ride whipped them through the grounds of the Albright Hotel. He hadn’t been emotionally prepared for that. But his grandchildren pointed and cried out, “Is that a castle?”

Robby said, “Yes. I suppose it is,” as he searched the horizon for Olivia. He spotted Olivia’s car in the parking lot, which meant she was inside. He tried to picture her. Maybe she was in the office. Perhaps she was at the front desk, ready with a big smile for guests.

How he longed to walk through the double-wide doors and storm up to the front desk and say…

What?

What did he want to say?

Adam and Stan were right. He needed to give it a rest.

After the carriage ride, Robby and his grandchildren got hot cocoa and went through the stables to say hello to the other horses, the ones “off for today.” His grandchildren placed their hands gently on the horses’ soft noses and whispered to them, saying, “Merry Christmas, horsey!” It just about broke Robby’s heart.

Maybe he’d always been too soft. But he was starting to like that about himself.

Everything was a little more beautiful for him because he opened his heart to it.

Stan, Adam, Imogen, and Bee finished Christmas shopping that afternoon and met Robby and the grandkids back at the house.

“Grandpa is probably exhausted,” Imogen said knowingly, picking up one of her kids and carrying him into the kitchen.

But Robby was ecstatic. It reminded him of when he’d been a little kid, expectant for Santa to arrive. They’d had very little money growing up. He’d always known not to expect much—even from Santa. But he’d still had magical mornings at the Christmas tree. Even after Mom died.

Just like every year, Robby planned to go to Christmas Eve service at church that night. It was set to start at seven thirty and end by eight thirty, which meant it was a little too late for the kids. Imogen decided to stay home with them and let everyone else go ahead. Bee said she’d stay, too.

Robby understood. This wasn’t their hometown. They wouldn’t know anyone at the church. Maybe they just wanted a quiet night in with their kids.

Robby led his sons into the church, where they grabbed the same pew they’d sat in ever since the boys were young. Addison hadn’t liked going to church. She hadn’t liked people “looking at them and judging them.” But Robby had always loved the rituals of singing the hymns and saying prayers all together. He thought it offered a sense of community you couldn’t get anywhere else.

A few minutes before service began, Brad, Maya, Phoebe, Aunt Veronica, and even Olivia arrived. Robby felt a stab of fear. The bartender turned pastry chef Vinny hadn’t been far from his mind since he’d seen him and Olivia at the wine bar. He’d wanted to go over to the Albright and dig around, but he’d also wanted to respect Olivia’s wishes. Maybe she had run away with the bartender in Vermont. Perhaps that was a story he would laugh at one day.

Ha ha, he thought darkly.

Service began. After the scripture, they sang all the best Christmas songs—

“Angels We Have Heard On High,” “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night,” and “Joy to the World . ” Robby’s eyes filled with tears. And for a moment, he was lost in the throes of memory, thinking about his mother in this very pew of the church and himself as a boy, holding her hand as the church shook with the power of their songs.

That was what Christmas was all about. It was about bringing past memories back to life. If only for a few moments.

Midway through the final song, Olivia turned to look at him through the darkness. The candlelight made her look even more beautiful, heartbreakingly so. Robby bowed his head as though to say, I’m sorry. I miss you, but I understand.

Suddenly, Olivia left her pew and hurried away. Robby twisted around, watching her, but already she was gone, out the double-wide doors. He knew she didn’t want him to follow her. But then again, why had she been looking at him like that?

Robby stepped out of the pew. Adam reached for him, his eyes filled with questions. But Robby had to go after her. Before he knew it, he was out in the crisp darkness, his good shoes wet with snow. Olivia stood on the sidewalk next to the church without a coat. She looked up toward a night sky filled with stars.

It was then Robby realized she was crying. Her face glistened with tears.

Did the bartender hurt her?

He doesn’t deserve her!

“Olivia?” Robby said. His voice got stuck in his throat.

Olivia turned to look at him. She didn’t seem surprised he’d come outside. She sniffed. Inside the church, the voices got louder and louder as they sang “Joy to the World.”

“I keep thinking,” Olivia whispered. “I keep thinking, ‘at least we tried.’ You know?”

Robby took a step toward her. He didn’t want to frighten her away, but he wanted to be closer to her. He couldn’t resist.

“Olivia, what happened?” he asked tenderly.

Olivia pressed the sleeves of her blouse to her cheeks to clean herself up. “Nothing. And everything, I guess.”

Robby hated how vague she was. But he wasn’t sure she owed him anything anymore. Maybe he didn’t owe her anything, either.

“I think when you left that night, you broke something inside me,” Olivia whispered.

Robby felt a lurch in his stomach. “When I left that night?” Confusion lent a sharp edge to his tone, one he wished he could take back. He sounded angrier than he was.

Olivia turned to look at him. She remained quiet.

The silence was gnawing at him. Suddenly, he felt out of his mind, and he cried out, “ You were the one who left!”

“I went for a walk!” Olivia shot back. “I asked you for an hour to clear my head. And in the span of an hour, you met someone else? Never in my wildest dreams would I have taken you to be someone like that. I am still completely shocked. Outraged.”

Robby gaped at her. He struggled to put together the pieces of that night. He’d been at the bar, then with Vinny, and then he’d gone back to the suite to find her all packed up and gone.

“Was it worth it, Robby?” Olivia asked. Her eyes shone in the moonlight.

Robby’s throat was tight. “I didn’t meet anyone else. There was nobody else!”

Olivia gaped at him. Robby’s head spun.

Tell her you were with her now boyfriend. Ask her about Vinny!

But now, Robby was beginning to doubt himself. Was he really sure that the pastry chef was the bartender from Vermont? He’d been under so much stress lately. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.

Suddenly, the church service was over. The double-wide doors burst open, and the congregation spilled into the street. Olivia was swept away from Robby and down a back alley, probably toward her car. Robby dropped forward and wrapped his hands around his thighs. He gasped for breath.

Suddenly, Adam and Stan were beside him.

“Are you all right, Dad?” Stan asked, whispering in his ear so that nobody noticed.

Robby bucked up and brushed himself off. He looked into Stan’s eyes, trying to come up with a reason for his weirdness. But before he could, Brad walked by and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, man. Merry Christmas,” Brad said.

On the other side of Brad were Maya, Phoebe, and Aunt Veronica. Robby smiled nervously. Don’t let them see how upset you are.

“Do you see Olivia anywhere?” Maya asked Phoebe. “Where did she run off to?”

Brad hung back with Robby as the Albright women headed into the snow to search for Olivia.

“She ran out in the middle of service,” Brad explained under his breath.

Robby nodded. “I saw her. I came out here to find her.”

There was no reason he couldn’t be honest with Brad. Brad had been there from the beginning. Maybe he could shed some light.

“She accused me of leaving her that night at the inn in Vermont,” Robby said softly. “But when I went back to our suite, she was the one who wasn’t there.”

Brad gave him a nervous smile. It was clear he didn’t know what to say.

“The girls don’t talk to me much about what’s going on,” Brad admitted after a pause. “Maya is careful with Olivia’s story. She doesn’t want to gossip.”

Robby sighed. “I guess that means you don’t know much.”

“Unfortunately, not. But I know she’s been hanging around with that pastry chef. I think she might be happy. I think she might be starting again?” Brad raised his shoulders. “I know it’s hard to hear. Trust me. I was single for such a long time. But I’m sure she’d want the same for you. For you to start over. Find happiness again.”

Robby flared his nostrils. But he couldn’t blame Brad for telling him the truth—his version of the truth, anyway.

“Thanks,” he offered Brad now. “I mean it.”

“Of course. I’d better head off to find the girls,” Brad said, walking away from Robby slowly. “Let me know if you need anything, Robby. Let’s grab a beer in the new year.”

Robby considered asking Brad if he knew where Olivia had met the pastry chef in the first place. He considered asking Brad if Olivia was honest about that.

But what was the point?

Olivia had made her choice. Maybe that choice made her storm out of church services and cry in the cold. But Robby had to respect that choice.

Adam and Stan approached from the side. Had they heard what he was talking about?

“Let’s head home,” Stan urged him. “I have a few more presents to wrap.”

“And we told the girls we’d watch It’s A Wonderful Life before bed,” Adam reminded them. “It’s tradition, no matter where we are for Christmas.”

Robby knew his boys were right. It was time to get cozy at home and welcome Christmas with open arms.

But something tugged at his conscience.

Something was still not right.