"Anya, the couple in Room 9 need more towels."

And just like that, Anya's little bubble of quiet was burst.

It was her own fault. She had forgotten to leave her walkie-talkie behind when she left the inn. She had moved 20 feet out of its constant rotation and she had made it ten minutes without being needed.

She let the first summons go. Anyone could get towels. Even the occupants of said Room 9, if they were smart enough to check underneath their sink.

It was the second summons that pulled on her sense of responsibility.

"Hey, Anya. Eve's looking for you."

At the sound of her grandmother's name, Anya let a sigh slip through her lips. Her eyes fell to the boots on her feet and the scattering of hay all around her. She took one last deep breath of the smell of fresh air, livestock, and peace that filled every inch of the antique barn around her. It was her one refuge from the wonderful chaos that existed 20 feet behind her.

She gave Tammy one good scratch behind the ear and the cow responded with a small 'moo' in return to show her appreciation. Her nose followed Anya's hand as it reluctantly withdrew itself from Tammy's head. Tammy's moo was less friendly calling after Anya as she turned her back on her old friend and heeded the calls coming from her walkie-talkie.

Anya passed the bucket of feed she had been using as an excuse to see Tammy to Frank, the man in charge of running the barn. With his customary silent nod of farewell, Anya wrapped her warm wool coat closer around her as she bent her head to meet the chill wind that rushed at her the second she stepped out of the confines of the warm barn.

She managed to lose most of the manure that had accumulated on her snow boots during her short excursion by stomping along the worn path that ran between the kitchen and the bright red barn situated only 20 feet from its back door.

Anya got two summons during the trek. One sounded like Gloria asking for a question about booking an extra guest and something about turnips. The other one came from Michaela asking for assistance at the front desk. Ignoring both the inn's chef and her cousin's request for assistance, Anya knew Eve's summons held priority over both.

Anya managed two seconds within the confines of the inn's kitchen before being bombarded with requests of assistance. With waitstaff and other employee's waiting on, Anya barely managed to stomp the snow off her boots. There was no time to shake off her outerwear or even hang up her jacket. It would take up too much time.

It was the Christmas season in Vermont and Anya ran the highest-rated inn in the entire Northeast. She didn't have a second to spare.

She swiped the snow from her black hair, gathering it up in a ponytail as she moved. A small herd followed behind her and Anya answered each of their questions as she made her way through the kitchen, past the pantry, barely skirting the inn's main lounge and all its guests by winding through the maze of tables being set for lunch in the dining room.

Gloria had gotten wind that Anya had stepped foot in her territory and came rushing out after her, bringing with her a rolling pin and a cloud of flour, a result of the biscuits being served for lunch.

"Anya! I need an extra bed."

"Can't help you, Gloria. It's the day before Christmas Eve. I don't have a single room free."

Gloria stopped, forcing Anya to do the same. She was the only person Anya would have stopped for. Gloria huffed a brown curl that had fallen free of her chef's hat out of her face.

"He doesn't need a room. Just a bed. Hell, he can sleep on a sleeping bag in the barn for all I care. Anything."

"Talk to Frank. See if he has any time to clean out one of the lofts in the barn. Your friend can sleep there."

"Thanks, girl."

Gloria hurried back to her kitchen, spewing a litany of commands, half in English, half in Spanish, all of which the staff could translate, her impatience universal.

Anya ignored the calls that followed her all the way until she reached the bottom of the stairs that lead to the second floor. She was in full view of any guest who bothered to glance up from what they were doing while occupying the main lounge and Anya's current state of attire didn't inspire much confidence.

She didn't dare check a mirror as she knew a mess would be looking right back. She didn't look like the cool, collected inn manager who ran a tight ship and commanded a crew of almost a hundred.

But the urgency in Michaela's cry stopped Anya short and as much as she cringed at the thought of moving to help her, Anya found her feet stepping down from the bottom step of the stairs and moving towards her cousin. She blamed DNA.

"Anya! Thank God."

The frown occupying her cousin's forehead relaxed as soon as Anya stepped behind the front desk.

"This couple says they have a reservation but I can't find it anywhere. They're from South Carolina and they drove all the way here and we don't have any extra space."

Anya made sure to smile at the couple standing in front of her, knowingly overcompensating for Michaela's anxious energy.

"Hi. Welcome to the Holly Inn. Name?"

"Davies."

The woman nearly blurted the name forth, her discomfort evident on her face, one hand on the small of her back, the other on her protruding stomach.

"Michaela, why don't you help this woman find a seat in the lounge. We have complimentary tea and scones ready for all guests. I can tell you both came a long way. Don't worry. We'll get this settled in no time."

Michaela raced to do something that made her feel useful instead of starring over Anya's shoulder. Anya watched out of the corner of her eye as Michaela helped the woman relax. She turned to the husband and asked for his first name.

"Joseph."

It took Anya another five minutes to get Joseph and his very pregnant wife's account settled and left Michaela to look after them. She finally found her way upstairs and ignored the pull to sneak off into her room, grab a shower, change into something respectable and look even a little bit presentable. Instead, she took the door right next to hers. She found what she expected to, her grandmother standing in front of her office window, staring out at the view before her.

Anya didn't need to announce herself as Eve had cat-like hearing and knew she had entered. Eve always knew everything. She didn't bother to turn around until Anya had taken the seat opposite Eve's.

When she finally did turn around, Eve moved to the coffee bar that lined on of her elegantly decorated walls and poured Anya a cup without asking and Anya thanked her with a set of widened eyes and a thirsty sip.

Eve gave Anya half a minute's rest, taking her seat and placing her glasses on the edge of her nose, glancing at a document before her on her desk. Having finished her cup of coffee, Anya sat up straight in her chair, leaning forward to match her grandmother's energy as they got down to business.

"The Davies's got checked in?"

Anya nodded.

"Room 12. Here until New Year's Eve."

"How far along is she?"

"Looks as though she's ready to pop but they plan to stay until New Year's Eve. He says he's got family in the area."

"Let's hope so. We don't need a Nativity recreation here. We're too busy."

"We have a family of five checking in this afternoon and that family of ten checking out."

"Perfect. Anything else?"

Eve lifted the glasses from her nose and lifted her gaze to meet Anya's. Anya found her own bright green eyes staring back at her, shining against a neat head of bright silver hair, the opposite of Anya's own dark black locks.

"No. We're looking good. Gloria says we're on track for Christmas night. She mentioned something about turnips but I can grab some the next time I'm in town."

"And Michaela?"

Anya could feel her smile tighten.

"What about her?"

"How is she holding up?"

"Well enough, I guess. She's the one who wanted to dive in headfirst into everything. I've seen her floundering. I'm surprised she hasn't drowned yet."

"Keep an eye on her. Make sure she's doesn't."

"Because I don't have enough on my plate already."

Eve gave Anya a stare that broke her gaze and sent her eyes down to her boots.

"She's your cousin, Anya. She's helping us out during our busiest season. It's the least you can do."

"Fine."

Anya worked hard to suppress the sigh of resignation but she knew Eve could see it on her face either way.

"Thank you."

"I'll have Gloria send up a plate for lunch unless you want to join me in the restaurant."

"Let's do that. It's good to socialize with our guests."

"You don't get to know them well enough from your perch, staring down at them as they arrive?"

Eve's eyes sparkled as she smiled, sending Anya a wink.

"Not as well as I could. Customer service is the only reason this inn has stayed open for over two hundred years. I won't be the Isaacs responsible for its demise not after so many before me have worked their whole lives to make sure these doors have stayed open."

Anya didn't dare roll her eyes at what was essentially her grandmother's mission statement. She got up to leave, making it to the door before Eve called to her.

Eve opened her mouth to speak but then seemed to change her mind on what she was going to say last minute.

"I couldn't do this without you, Anya. I'm proud of you and your parents would be too."

Now Anya's smile tightened for a whole other reason. She nodded in response to her grandmother's words of heavy praise and closed the door behind her before she let herself emotions get the best of her.

Before their faces could rise up out of their graves in her memory, Anya was interrupted with the sound of Michaela's call once again. There was a strong hint of subtle panic embedded in her voice to make Anya forget her need for a shower and a change of clothes. She followed the sound of activity down the stairs and stepped behind the front desk once again.

"What's the problem this time?"

To keep up a sense of calm, Anya started sorting through the pile of mail on the desk, setting aside what looked like a postcard from Australia to be read later.

"We have a family here that said they asked for three rooms but we only have them booked for two."

Anya took a glance at the screen that was causing the frown to reappear between Michaela's eyebrows once again. It didn't mar her dark complex in the slightest but it was a stark contrast to her usual smiling personality.

"The Christensen family. I took their reservation. They definitely asked for two rooms. Where did they go?"

Anya looked up to find no one starring down at her from the other side of the counter.

"They're conversing about how to kill me and make it look like an accident over by the front doors."

Anya couldn't help but laugh at the seriousness of Michaela's response and Michaela raised her eyebrows at the lightness with which Anya was taking the situation.

"No one's going to kill you, Michaela. Don't worry. I'll take care of it. I'm guessing they're the ones with the pile of expensive luggage?"

Anya was already moving towards the small group when Michaela nodded in the affirmation.

"Excuse me? I believe you were looking for some help regarding your reservations. I'm the inn manager and I'm here to settle any misunderstandings."

The group slowly turned, one by one, at the sound of her voice and her words. It was made up of what looked like a mother and father, their daughter and her husband and their young son. He was the last to turn to her way and Anya was met with an extremely familiar face when he did.

"My name's -"

"Anya?"

He finished her introduction for her and Anya found her eyes locked on a pair of icy blue eyes she hadn't seen in over two years, a pair she wasn't ever likely to forget.

"Luke!"

All thought left her head at that moment. Words abandoned her tongue and Anya had a vague feeling that the others in their group were trying to talk to her and explain their situation. One of them might have even commented on her appearance. Anya couldn't hear any of it.

Just as she was regaining coherent thought, snapping her jaw shut to look less like a fool, the front doors burst open, bringing in with them not only a burst of cold air and a gust of snow flurries.

Standing amid the cold entryway was yet another figure Anya hadn't seen in years, another unexpected guest, the one person Anya would have recognized anywhere.

His bright brown eyes were smiling as usual and the brown curls he shared with his sister were tangled with snow and hanging down over his forehead. He was already grinning being back in a familiar environment but his smile grew when he caught sight of Anya starring at him, dumbfounded.

"Hey, Anie! Merry Christmas!"

"Manny?!"

A/N:

So it begins...