“Some friends of mine, Graham and Dale, are going away for the winter. They’re looking for a house sitter, and I told them you’d be perfect. They live right on the edge of town, so it will be easy for you to get around.”
“That sounds promising,” I said, a spark of hope flaring up in my chest.
“There’s not much to do in the garden this time of year, but they have a little Yorkie who needs taking care of.”
“Oh, I love Yorkies. They are adorable.”
“What are you doing later today, around three?”
“Nothing.”
“Great! Why don’t you meet me back here, and I’ll drive you over to the house.”
“Okay, thanks, Rosie.”
“Still working away on your book?” she asked. She set the tart down on the table and poured coffee into my mug. I wrapped my gloved hands around it, watching the steam rise up in wispy white coils.
“Yeah, I think it’s going to be a collection of short stories.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it, then.” She flashed me a warm smile. “Oh, by the way. I read that book you gave me, A Snowflake in a Snowfield.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What did you think?”
“It was beautiful. Read the whole thing in one sitting. That kid sure is talented.”
“I thought you might like it.” I couldn’t help feeling a flush of pride.
She shot me a cautious look. “Have you spoken to him at all?”
“No.”
“You still miss him, though.” I nodded, and she gave me a sympathetic smile. “You know, missing someone can sometimes be the best thing for a writer.”
Later that afternoon, I met Rosie outside the diner, and we walked around back to her old pickup truck. A short drive later, we arrived at the house, and Rosie pulled into the driveway. It was a charming chalet made entirely from timber, and it reminded me of a gingerbread house, especially with its quaint sloping roof that was heavily caked with snow.
“It’s pretty,” I said.
“The lake is about a five-minute walk from here. It will be frozen over in a month or two. The locals even skate on the outer edges.”
“Skating’s not really for me, but I bet the view will be stunning.”
We walked up the drive and knocked on the wood-paneled door.
A few moments later, it swung open, and we were greeted by a burly man with a heavy beard wearing a red-and-white checkered shirt.
“Rosie!” he roared, pulling her into a bear hug. He swung his head back. “Dale, they’re here!”
“This is the girl I was telling you about,” said Rosie when he let her go.
I heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and another man appeared at the door. He had closely cropped hair, and his clean-shaven face was framed by a pair of rimless glasses.
“Audrey, this is Graham, and this—” she motioned to the man in glasses, “is his partner, Dale.”
“Hi,” I said.
“She’s gorgeous,” said Dale, planting a kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you,” I laughed.
A little Yorkie poked her head from behind his ankles. He scooped her up. “And this little thing here is Apple.”
“Hi, Apple.” I reached down and stroked her head. She tipped her head back and licked my fingers.
“Come in, come in,” said Graham, and we followed him inside.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” I said, as my eyes took in the wooden beams and their quaint triangular formation. Expansive windows opened to a stunning view of snowcapped mountains and fir trees dusted with white. The place was immaculate and beautifully decorated with antiques, Persian rugs, and charming lampshades; it was full of warm hues of red, pink, and earthy browns. A large cream-colored couch wrapped around a roaring fire in the center of the room. My heart gave a small flutter of hope. No more cold, damp nights at the motel if this worked out for me.
Graham walked over to the bar and came back with two drinks in his hand.
“These are our famous Pink Flamingos,” he said, handing one to me and the other to Rosie.
“Oh, these are legendary,” she said, taking a sip from her neon-green straw.
I took a sip of mine. It tasted like a mix of cotton candy, grapefruit, and Cointreau.
“Yum,” I exclaimed as Dale winked at me.
We settled ourselves on the couch, and Apple bounded up into my lap.
“She likes you,” said Graham. “That’s always a good sign.”
I smiled. “I like her too.”
“So, Audrey, I suppose Rosie has told you we’re looking for a house sitter while we’re away for the winter.”
“Yes, she has.”
“Our regular girl pulled out last minute. Met some guy and took off with him to Spain—all quite sudden. These whirlwind romances.” He rolled his eyes. “So we were in a bit of a fix until you showed up.”
“It was meant to be,” said Rosie.
“It seems that way, doesn’t it?” He smiled. “Now, Audrey, I’m sure you’re a model citizen, but we’ll need two references from you. It’s just a standard thing we do.”
“That’s fine. I was house-sitting in Sydney for my best friend’s uncle. I can get a reference from him. And I’m sure my editor, Sam, would be happy to provide one as well.”
“Perfect!” said Dale, clapping his hands together. “Let’s talk about payment.”
“Oh, no, I’m happy to do it free of charge, honestly. I mean, you’re the ones who are doing me the favor. It’s been really hard finding a place, and I’ll be glad to get out of that motel.”
“No, no, we insist.”
“No, really—”
“Oh, darling,” said Dale, his hand on my arm. “We don’t mind at all—honestly.”
Graham chimed in. “Well, if it would make you feel better, why don’t you do a little work for us on the side as well?”
“Work?”
“Of course!” said Dale, his eyes lighting up. “The antiques.”
Graham turned to me. “Dale and I import antiques, and we have a whole shed full of them that need some TLC. So if you’d like, you can work on them while we’re away. That would be perfect, actually. What do you think?”
“I’ve never worked with antiques before. Is it hard?”
“Not at all.” Graham waved his hand. “Easy as pie. We just need to have them cleaned up and oiled. Dale and I will take you through it.”
“Sounds great! I’d love to make myself useful while I’m here.”
There was a ding sound.
“Aha! The Bombe Alaska’s ready,” said Dale, jumping to his feet. “Can you give me a hand, Gray?”
“Sure.” Graham followed Dale into the kitchen.
“They’re smitten with you,” Rosie announced when they were out of earshot.
“I feel terrible about taking their money. Look at this place; I feel like I should be paying them.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, Audrey,” she said, patting me on the knee. “They’re just thrilled to have found someone on such short notice. Besides,” she winked, “they won’t miss the money, if you know what I mean.”
I looked around at the lavishly decorated room and nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Well, hopefully I can make it up to them with the antiques.”
“That’s sweet of you, honey. They would really appreciate that.”
The two men came back with four slices of the Bombe Alaska served on bone china plates. Dale handed one to me along with a spoon.
“Dig in.”
“You’re in for a treat, Audrey,” said Rosie. “Dale makes the best Bombe Alaska.”
“I’d have to agree with you there,” said Graham.
I took a bite. It was phenomenal. The sponge was soft and sweet; the dark chocolate ice cream was a perfect companion to the orange-flavored meringue.