Read Their First Noel for Free Online

brown leather chair across from his desk.
    She turned away, more interested in the books andphotos on his bookcase than in sitting down. “I think better when I’m moving, if that’s okay.”
    â€œOkay.” The wheels on the stiff-backed black chair on Andy’s side of the unadorned metal desk creaked as Andy dropped into it. Paper crackled. His boots scuffed over the industrial-grade gray carpet. “I’ve gone over the drawings you gave me of what you want the finished building to look like.”
    â€œUh-huh.” In contrast with the unremarkable decor of his dingy office, the books and objects on his bookshelf presented an intriguing mosaic of business, cultures, faith and family history. She peered closer at a photo in a handmade frame of a red-haired woman hugging Greer. “Is this your mom?”
    â€œYeah.” He barely looked up then went straight back analyzing her notes and sketches. He thumped the paper laid out on his desk. “I think the issue with the roof and keeping the second story stable can be solved with one pretty basic change.”
    â€œReally? Great!” She dragged her fingertips along the spines of his books. The topics ranged from architecture to vintage designs to a collection of works by C.S. Lewis. “Were you able to figure that out by comparing what I came up with to your actual blueprints of the inn?”
    â€œI don’t have blueprints of the inn.” He folded his arms over his chest. “The old place has been worked on and passed from owner to owner over the last six decades. No blueprints exist anymore, as far as I know.”
    â€œOh.” She turned to face him. He looked so substantial standing there. “Then how are you doing all therenovations on the place to make it like it was before the fire?”
    He cocked his head. “The fire didn’t actually destroy the inn. The fire started in one of the little guest cottages and took out all six of them. The embers from that reached the back of the inn to the kitchen and office and they burned. The dining room suffered a lot of water damage but everything else was saved.”
    â€œThat’s how all the records were lost and why the kitchen is in such great shape.”
    â€œYep. The cost of that and of cleaning up forced the original owner to sell and since then four different people have tried to get it up and running. They were able to fill enough rooms to get by, but they didn’t get good word of mouth. I think that’s because no one did anything but cheap cosmetic repairs, no one…” He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead obviously trying to find the right word.
    â€œLoved it the way you did,” Corrie offered.
    His eyes practically popped open. “I was going to say no one else had my vision for the place, but yeah, you pretty much summed it up. I have a special place in my heart for that old inn.”
    â€œSo, let’s do it justice with my contest entry.” She slapped her hands together and rubbed them as she finally came to the desk, ready to get down to work. “What can we do to get my version of the place to hold together?”
    â€œEasy. It’s all about what we call the bones of the structure, and about your foundation.” He stabbed his finger here and there on the page. “Looks to me like you’re relying on fitting pieces of gingerbread togetherand gluing them in place with frosting when what you should do is use a wooden framework or maybe a Styrofoam model.”
    â€œThat would be perfect!” She angled her shoulders back and rolled her eyes. “If I wanted to get disqualified before I even got the entry in the door.”
    â€œDisqualified?”
    â€œAccording to the rules—”
    â€œThere are rules?”
    â€œOf course there are rules.” She scrunched up her nose. “It’s a contest, silly.”
    â€œNo, I mean there are rules and you