The Starlight Inn by Lucie Ulrich

Author:Lucie Ulrich [Ulrich, Lucie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-62135-599-1
Publisher: Clean Reads
Published: 2017-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

A restless night on a blow-up mattress had Ella up early. She’d given Tillie the full-sized bed in the basement bedroom, while Ella had slept in the adjacent playroom. A good strong cup of coffee would get her day going. If only her body would cooperate and allow her to push off the six-inch mattress.

The door to the bedroom opened and Tillie stepped out, dressed in a pair of navy slacks and a white blouse. Her short silver hair was combed to perfection, and a dusky rose colored her lips.

Ella rubbed her eyes and forced herself to sit up. “You’re up early.”

“I’ve always been an early riser. Since we’re sharing the bathroom, I figured I should get done quickly.”

“Thanks.” Ella stood and stretched her back. “I was going to go straight for the coffee, but a hot shower sounds pretty good. Why don’t you go upstairs, and I’ll join you shortly?”

“All right, dear. I certainly wouldn’t object to a little baby-loving time.”

A pang of longing accompanied Ella into the bathroom. It wasn’t that she was ready for babies yet, but a relationship with the right guy would be a good start. Her thoughts flashed to Nick. He was nice, and a great kisser, but he didn’t exactly live around the corner from her. With her fledgling business barely off the ground, and now that she was going to actually move into a shop, it was probably best to chalk up her Christmas Eve encounter with the nicest guy she’d met in a long time as nothing more than a lovely memory.

Showered and dressed in jeans and her favorite green sweater, Ella entered the kitchen. The aroma of coffee and cinnamon greeted her and brought back fond memories of her mother. She inhaled deeply. “Mom’s cinnamon streusel coffee cake?”

Eva nodded. “It wouldn’t be Christmas without it.” She set the cake on the kitchen table. “When you told me you wouldn’t be here for Christmas morning I chose to wait until we could enjoy it together.”

“I don’t imagine that made Dad very happy.” Ella poured a cup of coffee and sat across from Tillie, who was carrying on a lively conversation with Brody.

“Daddy no longer eats sweets, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

“How upset was he that I couldn’t be here?” It hadn’t occurred to Ella until just this minute that there had been no mention of her birthday. No well-wishes, no gifts, nothing. She chose to bury the hurt.

Eva plated a piece of cake for her sister and set it in front of her. “He was disappointed.”

“But not surprised.” Ella sipped her coffee.

“You can’t put all the blame on Daddy. I was upset and threw a bit of a pity-party. He sort of fed off my reaction.”

It was typical of Eva to stand up for their father. She had always been the complacent one. Confrontation wasn’t in her vocabulary—at least not where their father was concerned.

Ella said a silent blessing over her breakfast. “We both know Dad has been upset with me since the day I quit working in his restaurant.

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