A loud crash caught his attention. The sound came from the other side of the wall. He knew there wasn’t another suite there—the carriage house only had the two, and Dena was upstairs. He grabbed his coat and went outside, then around the building.

The big garage door stood open, and Dena was up on a ladder in front of rows of shelving, pulling down big plastic bins. One was on its side on the concrete floor.

“What are you doing?” he asked, moving to the bottom of the ladder. “Get off of there. You shouldn’t be climbing up and down.”

She laughed. “Don’t say ‘in my condition,’ please. Last I heard, being pregnant doesn’t affect equilibrium, and I’m hardly off balance from the extra point-three pounds I’m carrying.”

She looked adorable. Her nose was red from the cold, and she wore a thick red sweater and jeans.

He softened his tone. “Get down, please. You can tell me what you want and I’ll get it down.”

“You’re being weird.”

“I’m the guest, so you have to do what I say.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, making her way to solid ground. “I only need those last three bins. I’ve already taken in most of them.”

He went up the ladder and carried the bins to the floor. They were bulky but lightweight and filled with holiday decorations.

“How many are there?” he asked.

“About sixty. The public spaces are pretty big, so we put up a half dozen trees. I had a couple of high school kids come in and help with that this morning, so they’re up and decorated. Now I just have the rest of it.”

“You’re doing this yourself?”

“I told you. I had help this morning. It’s fine.”

“You’re pregnant.”

“Have I mentioned it’s a lima bean, because it is.”

“You said you had a support system.”

She laughed. “Yes, for when I have the baby. Micah, you’re sweet to worry, but I’ve been doing the decorating here at the B and B for years. Before I inherited it, I worked here part-time. Even after I was teaching, I took shifts in the summer.”

It all sounded logical, but he couldn’t get past the fact that she was doing all this alone.

“You’ve got me now. I’ll run these inside. Then you can get off your feet and point to what needs to be done.”

“I don’t think so. Remember the guest thing?” She looked at him. “Are you deliberately being difficult?”

“I’m a talented guy. Take advantage of that.” At least, he used to be talented. On the bright side, helping her decorate meant that for an entire afternoon, he wouldn’t have to deal with his inability to write. That was enough of a win for him.

“Thank you. You’re sweet to offer.”