The Book Club Hotel(45)

Finally, she looked at Hattie. “Who is this?”

Anna felt a rush of embarrassment, but Hattie was warm and friendly and seemed not at all offended.

“That’s me, with my dad.”

“Your dad? He’s holding you. Swinging you in the air.”

“That’s right. He loved to do that. This is my favorite photo of him. He passed away seven years ago. I miss him every day. I was around four years old when that photograph was taken, but the weird thing is I remember that day clearly. It’s my earliest memory.”

Erica stared at the photograph for a long time. “You two were close.”

Anna shifted uncomfortably. This was becoming awkward. Why the personal questions? Since when did Erica show so much interest in a stranger? What was going on? Maybe this had something to do with Christmas. Maybe she was thinking about family. Although she rarely admitted it, she knew Erica had been deeply scarred by the way her father had treated her and her mother. His actions had pretty much defined her life.

Maybe hitting forty had affected her more than she thought it had.

“We were very close.” Hattie looked puzzled, but was still sweetly polite. “My mother died just after I was born, and my dad raised me alone. It was a special relationship. I feel lucky to have had that. Anna, you’re in the Forest Room. I hope you like it. Let me know when you’d like to hold your book club discussions and I’ll reserve the library for you. The only time it isn’t free is Wednesday evening.” She handed over a key, and then did the same for Claudia. Her gaze skated nervously back to Erica, who was still holding the photograph. “If you’d all like to follow me, I’ll show you to your rooms and have your luggage brought up.”

“We can handle our luggage, no problems,” Claudia said, grabbing her bags and Erica’s. She gave Erica a gentle push.

Erica looked at her blankly as if she’d forgotten where she was.

“Luggage. Checking in. Vacation,” Claudia muttered. “Any of these words ringing a bell?”

Erica put the photograph carefully back on the desk.

She looked pale and tired and Anna felt a twinge of real concern.

Was Erica unwell? Did she have some sort of health crisis going on?

It would be just like Erica to support all of them through a crisis and fail to mention her own.

“You’ve been so kind.” She smiled at Hattie, doing her best to compensate for Erica’s unusual behavior. “We’re all in dire need of a good break as you can probably tell, and we’re excited to be here. Lead on.”

They followed Hattie toward the stairs and wound their way up one flight and along a corridor.

“These three rooms are yours.” Hattie gestured. “The library is decorated for Christmas and there’s a log fire going in there, so if you wanted to have tea once you’ve unpacked, I could arrange that.”

Anna took a quick look at Erica’s frozen expression and decided they might need something stronger than tea.

“Thank you, but we might go for a walk. The town looked so pretty.” She decided that the sooner the three of them were alone, the better. “I’m sure you’re very busy, so don’t let us keep you.”

As soon as Hattie walked away, Anna removed the key from Erica’s numb fingers and unlocked the door.

“Let’s get inside.” She pushed open the door and sighed with delight. The room was light and airy, thanks to two large windows, which had views toward snow-covered mountains. There was a fire, a comfy chair for reading and a small desk tucked under one of the windows. “It’s gorgeous. What a dreamy place. Is this room okay for you, Erica? Do you want to check out the others in case you prefer one of them?” Maybe Erica was just thinking that the place wasn’t for her. It was quaint and quirky, and Erica’s preferences leaned toward sleek and modern.

Erica didn’t even look around her. She just sat down hard on the bed.

Anna looked at Claudia.

Claudia closed the door firmly so that they were alone.

“Okay, tell us what’s going on. And don’t say it’s nothing.”

“It was something to do with that photograph, wasn’t it?” Anna sat down next to her and put her arm around Erica. “Tell us.”

“Or is it this place? You’ve been acting strangely the whole journey. Tense.” Claudia sat on the other side of her, protective. “If it’s just too quaint and Christmassy, we can leave. Find somewhere else.”

Erica made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “You’d do that?”

“Of course.” Anna ignored the twinge of disappointment. The place was perfect, but this week was about people not places. Her friends. If it wasn’t perfect for Erica, then they would leave. “We love you. This is our special week. We want you to be happy and have fun. Is that what’s wrong? Is it this place?”

“Yes. No. Not exactly. Not in the way you think.” Erica rubbed her palm over her cheek and only then did Anna realize she was crying.

Erica. Crying.

Anna cried frequently. She cried at movies. She cried over books. She cried when she looked at photographs of the twins when they were little because they looked so cute, and those days had been so happy, and she was never going to have them back. She cried when Pete bought her flowers because it meant he’d thought about her during his day, and she cried whenever she drove away from her parents’ house after a visit because she loved them and they were growing older and she hated leaving them.