“Does it matter? How big a bruise to the brain did you get?” Ezzie patted a hand against her heart. “Certainly, it matters. Now come inside. I’m fixing dinner. You’re both skin and bones.”
* * *
“YOU LIKE MY SON.”
Frankie nearly veered Dwayne off the road. “I’m sorry?”
Esmeralda Salazar shifted around in the passenger seat and faced her. The older woman possessed an elegance Frankie hadn’t anticipated. Her slim figure displayed the classic black slacks and bright emerald-green blouse perfectly. A thin gold chain around her neck displayed a dainty cross along with what Frankie assumed was her late husband’s wedding band.
“You like my son.”
Frankie heard herself gulp. “Mrs. Salazar—”
“Ezzie. Everyone calls me Ezzie, Frankie.” She pinned those same eyes her son possessed on her. “You like my son.”
“Of course I like Roman. Everyone likes Roman. He’s very easy to like.” There. That ought to satisfy her.
“He likes you, too. I can see it. A mother knows these things.”
If you say so. Frankie punched the accelerator and zoomed up the hill to the Flutterby Inn. Once she parked in front of the three-story Victorian structure, she paused and said to Roman’s surprisingly intimidating mother, “Mrs....Ezzie. Your son and I work together. We’ve become friends. That’s all there is.” Even if the man did kiss like a dream and leave her wanting more.
“Ha! You lie.” Ezzie snorted and pushed open the door. “Oh, this is lovely. Would you look at that. It’s like a postcard, isn’t it?”
Frankie climbed out of the vehicle and joined Ezzie at the base of the stairs. The Flutterby was indeed lovely. The historic inn had been through its paces over the decades, but in the last few years, under new ownership, it had been revitalized and had become a beacon both on the cliffs of the West Coast and as a major tourist destination.
With its bright yellow siding and glistening white trim, the inn was always stunning, but at the holidays? With the endless poinsettias planted around the expansive front yard, the icicle lights strung along the wraparound porch and every window outlined with tiny lighted stars, there was little more beautiful in town once the sun set. Tiny fairy lights twinkled in the flower beds and in the bushes surrounding the inn, all the way, Frankie knew, around the expanse of the building and vacation cabins at the back of the property.
“I can’t believe there are any vacancies,” Ezzie said as Frankie lugged not one, but two suitcases out of the SUV. “How lucky was that?”
It wasn’t luck at all, but Frankie calling in a favor with Abby Corwin, the inn’s manager.
“I could have stayed at the station, you know,” Ezzie told her as they climbed the wooden stairs. “It wouldn’t have been a bother. You have plenty of room there.”
All it had taken was one pained expression from Roman upon hearing that suggestion from his mom for Frankie to pick up the phone. She might be nursing a good mad at him, but she wasn’t heartless. Nor was she still in denial about her future with the Butterfly Harbor Fire Department. Gil might not be the most honest person, but she absolutely believed him when he’d stated he had every intention of closing the station house. Even if he changed his mind, she wouldn’t be getting the chief’s position. Ever. But that didn’t matter, not in comparison to losing the station. She’d fight with everything she had, everything she was.
And ignore the nausea and concern that continued to plague her.
“Oh, my. My, my.” Ezzie stopped just inside the door and clasped her hands to her cheeks. Her black hair glistened, as did her face against the flickering flames in the fireplace. “Where’s my phone? I have to take pictures to send to my sisters right away. This is just lovely. So, so lovely.”
Frankie left Ezzie fawning over the seashell-and seahorse-themed Christmas tree in the corner of the lobby and lugged the bags toward the desk. “Hey, Willa,” she greeted the part-time reception manager. “Is Lori or Abby around?”
Jasper’s older sister tugged at the edges of her gray cardigan and tucked her long brown hair behind her ear. “I’ll just let them know you’re here.”
“Great, thanks.” Frankie rapped her knuckles on the counter and watched Ezzie use her phone to take picture after picture of every inch of the lobby.
“I’ve seen this before, I know it.” Ezzie looked to Frankie. “Where would I have seen this hotel before? You!” She pointed and stalked past Frankie to where Abby emerged from the dining room. “You were married here. I saw it in magazines.”