What The Heart Knows by Jessica Gadziala Page B

agreed, throwing a bit of dinner roll across the
table at James.
    “Alright,”
Meggie jumped up, seeming boundless in her energy. “I'm gonna
load the dishwasher one last time and we can call it a night. We are
gonna be super dead tomorrow so we can catch up on everything then.”
    “Why
are we going to be dead?” James asked.
    Emily's
eyebrows drew together and lowered. “Seriously?” she
asked. He gave her a genuinely uncomprehending look and she shook her
head. “Tomorrow is black Friday,” she explained.
“everyone will be heading into the bigger cities to do some
Christmas shopping.”
    “Oh,”
James said, feeling stupid. That made sense. The town really didn't
have a lot of options for holiday shopping.
    “So
you can soak your tired feet,” Emily smiled.
    “I
have a better idea,” he said, standing and reaching into his
pocket. He drew out a pamphlet and handed it to Emily. “I want
to go there.”
    Emily
took the folded paper with a furrowed brow. “The lodge? Why do
you want to go to the lodge?”
    “Elliott
is in some kind of negotiation with them. I'm just curious. I need a
guide.”
    Emily
looked over at Devon who lifted his hands out like he had no idea
what he was talking about. “I think Dev would be a better tour
guide,” she suggested. “seeing as his family owns it.”
    “Oh,
hell no, boss lady,” Devon said, shaking his head. “I am
not going up there. That's all on you,” he declared, kissed
Meggie on the cheek, and headed out the back door.
    James
sent her a confused smile and she shrugged. “Family,” she
explained. “So when do you want to leave?”
    “Tomorrow
morning. Eightish? We should be back by dinner time.”

Eleven

    She
walked into the kitchen at seven, bent on getting a few cups of
coffee in her before they hit the road. She hadn't expected to walk
in and find James already there, arms of his blue sweater rolled up
to his elbows as he carefully stacked the dishwasher with the rest of
the dishes from the night before.
    “Hey,”
she said, her tone curious.
    He
glanced over his shoulder at her. “It didn't seem fair to leave
Meggie with all the work. I thought I would get a head start on it
before we go.”
    Emily
nodded, walking over to the coffee machine. Of course he was up and
doing the right thing. Because underneath all the charm and
confidence, there was an actual decent human being.
    If
she were being honest with herself, she was looking forward to
showing him the lodge. It would be nice to get out of the inn. Out of
the boos/employee relationship. Out of the power struggle that would
always be a part of being at the inn.
    Emily
reached into the cabinet for her travel mugs and filled them.
    “So
I hear the lodge has a big draw,” James said, walking back,
holding out a piece of coffee cake that Lena had dropped off an hour
before.
    “Yeah,”
Emily said, handing him his coffee. “not usually this early.
But from December through March, they're typically at capacity. Which
we are thankful for because we get the leftovers who still want to go
and are willing to do the drive every morning.”
    “How
far is it?”
    “In
good weather... about half an hour. But it's a really steep hill so
if we have any kind of weather, people get stuck on either side of
the mountain. Sometimes they get our guests camping out there while
we have theirs here.”
    “That's
why Elliott wants to put the gondola lift thing between here and
there I guess.”
    “Really?”
Emily asked, surprised but hopeful at the prospect. It would mean a
lot more business for the inn. And the town in general.
    “Yeah,
actually... I think Lena said that that was Devon's idea.”
    “Wow,”
Emily said, thinking about Devon with his head in the clouds and his
eyes glued to his phone.
    “I
know it's hard to see past the hipster carelessness,” James
said, as if reading her mind. “but that kid has a lot of
potential if his family would let him make some decisions about