Chapter 10 - The Warmth of Home
An hour later, the dining hall was filled with the gentle, steady hum of holiday cheer.
My parents and Grant sat at a small table near the corner of the room, eating a simple meal of roasted turkey and warm bread. No one from Pinehaven’s high society was flocking to their table; no corporate sycophants were laughing at their jokes. They were simply three ordinary people learning what it meant to be humbled, sitting quietly in the warmth of a place they had once tried to lock others out of.
Grandma Helen sat in her high-backed armchair by the roaring stone fireplace, sipping spiced cider from a crystal mug.
Eli sat cross-legged on the Persian rug right in front of her, carefully placing multi-colored icing and sugar sprinkles onto a freshly baked gingerbread house.
I walked over, holding two mugs of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream and peppermint shavings, handing one to Grandma Helen and keeping the other for myself.
“You handled that with more grace than I ever could have, my girl,” Grandma Helen said softly, clinking her mug against mine.
“I didn't do it for them, Grandma,” I smiled, looking down at Eli as he laughed when a sprinkle rolled off the roof of his gingerbread house. “I did it so we could finally move forward.”
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The snow continued to fall outside, blanketing the majestic peaks of Pinehaven in a pristine, glittering white. But inside Cedar Ridge Lodge, the air was warm, sweet with the scent of cinnamon and pine, and filled with a peace that nothing could ever break again.
We were home, and the doors were open to everyone.
