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the room.
    “I’ll be seeing you later?” Paul asked Carol.
    She felt the warmth in her cheeks in spite of herself. “That would be nice. Thank you.”
     
    Paul stopped Beth when she was nearly to the stairs. “Leaving so soon? I was hoping you’d join the others by the fire.”
    She sighed, her face falling. “I’m sorry, Paul. I wish I could stay. The truth is, I’m not feeling so hot.”
    He studied her with concern. “Is there something I can…?”
    “Oh no. No, thanks. It’s just a migraine. I get them from time to time.”
    “I know how debilitating those can be. Nancy used to get them too.”
    “I just need to take a pill and chill for a while.”
    He nodded with sympathy. “Feel better.”
    She brought her hand to his cheek. “You really are a very good man. That part hasn’t changed.”
    “Thanks, Beth,” he said hoarsely.
    “See you tomorrow?” She looked into his eyes.
    His Adam’s apple rose in his throat. “I look forward to it.”
    Paul watched her walk slowly up the stairs, wondering what was becoming of him. Could it be that the old feelings he had for Beth were starting to resurface? Or, was it more that he’d been alone so long that the attentions of any beautiful woman would tug on his heartstrings?
    One way or another, it didn’t really matter, did it? He was halfway through his life and certainly not in the market for romance. All he needed to focus on now was seeing this inn through its final holiday season as successfully as he could. Daniel was leaving for college soon, and Paul would be starting his new life in Montreal. Tons of great fishing and lots of peaceful sunsets were coming his way. Those would be plenty to keep him company.
     
    Carol set down her merlot, thinking maybe she shouldn’t have accepted the second glass. She felt light-headed enough from their exhausting journey and trying drive through the North Woods.
    “What keeps you busy in Virginia?” Velma asked. She wore a flower-patterned blouse with a complementary indigo headband. Carol had just recently gathered that she was Paul’s mom, so she had to be in her sixties, though her dress and demeanor indicated otherwise. She certainly had a much younger boyfriend on her arm, but it was clear they were companionable and comfortable in each other’s company.
    “I’m a schoolteacher,” Carol answered. “Ninth grade English.”
    “That’s a tough subject,” Zach said.
    “And we’re grateful to have folks like you out there doing it,” Paul added, offering to refill her wine.
    She declined with a shake of her head. “I don’t think I’d better. Two’s my limit.”
    “It’s good to know your limits,” Paul said, his dark eyes dancing. Carol’s breath caught in her throat. She knew he was just being congenial, but when he sat this close—just on the other end of the sofa—she found it hard to concentrate. She tried to remember the last time she’d even been on a sofa with a man, but somehow couldn’t recall. She really had built a more sequestered life for herself than she’d realized.
    She leaned toward Ashley, who was contentedly working a jigsaw puzzle on the large coffee table, an empty cocoa mug at her elbow. “Honey, I think it’s time you got ready for bed.”
    The little girl rose reluctantly as strains of Guitar Hero wailed from the next room. “What about Will?”
    “He’ll be up in a bit,” Carol said with a kind smile. “He is a little older, you know.”
    Ashley politely told everyone good night, then sadly traipsed up the stairs.
    “Cute kid,” Zach said. “I never had those kinds of manners at her age.”
    “Yeah, and you’re still working on them now,” Velma teased.
    “Oh, now, Mama Bear.” He leaned forward to nuzzle her neck, and Paul blinked hard.
    “I’m awfully glad we could fit your family in,” he told Carol.
    “Me too,” she agreed. “It’s good we got here when we did. The weather only seems to be getting worse.” As if to accentuate her