Snow was already falling by the time the bus pulled back in front of the Inn's main entrance. Anya stood smiling while the guests filed off the bus, with snow slowly piling up on her shoulders.

She was shivering by the time she got the chance to stomp the snow off her boots in the warm comfort of the kitchen. Gloria appeared with a cup of steaming hot coffee to warm her up with the news that Eve was waiting for her up in her office.

Anya allowed herself a second sit at the long table pushed into the furthest corner of the kitchen, regaining feeling back into her fingers. It was when Manny appeared with his two nephews in tow, looking for lunch, that all her responsibilities and the jobs still yet undone that suddenly came back to mind and Anya used them as an excuse to exit the kitchen.

She found Michaela already seated at the conference table that took up one half of Eve's office, set before a large window that looked out onto the front-drive. She had come prepared for their business meeting, her computer open and ready to take notes. She nodded as Anya entered the room but returned to what she had already been working on.

A glance outside the window told Anya that the storm was already in full force. The snow was falling even harder than it had been when she was outside only ten minutes before. The sky was darkening and soon everything would be covered completely in white.

Eve appeared right at two o'clock, the set time for their business meeting and nodded for Anya to take the only chair free as she took her own at the head of the table.

"Alright, ladies. Let's discuss tomorrow night."

What followed next was forty-five minutes of details and logistics, all of them having to do with the Inn's big Christmas Ball the next night, the highlight of their season and the reason they were the highest-reviewed inn in all of the North Eastern United States.

After almost two hundred years of tradition, the Ball had long since had its own set procedure of how things got done. There was even a checklist. But as time moved on, as things advanced, items were continuously being added. Today's main concern was the storm raging on outside and how it would affect the festivities.

"What about the orchestra?"

Eve looked to Anya but it was Michaela who spoke.

"They arrived this morning. One of our shuttles met them at the airport and dropped them off at the house we rented for them in town. A shuttle will be sent to their house tomorrow afternoon to pick them and their families up in time to set up."

"Excellent. And the snow? Will that be a problem?"

"No." It was Anya's turn to prove herself efficient.

"I saw Frank on my way here. His team is ready to start plowing as soon as the snow slows, no matter what time tonight. The crew will be staying over up in the barn loft to stay on call. Frank's already coordinated with the team from town. They'll make sure their end is clear. The snow should have settled down by tomorrow morning. The villagers should have no difficulty making it up in time."

"Glad to hear it. Anything else regarding tomorrow night, then? Anya, you settled the menu with Gloria?"

"Weeks ago. She says she's good to go. I got her the last of her groceries yesterday. She's ready to hole up in her kitchen and cook until tomorrow night."

Eve smiled.

"That sounds like Gloria. Now I believe that takes care of that. Of course, tomorrow morning we will be having our private celebration up here in my parlor. One of the barn hands cut down a small tree for me and I took the liberty of decorating it. Gloria will have a nice breakfast for us prepared. I've asked Frank to join us if that's alright. And if there's nothing else to discuss..."

Eve's words trailed as she slowly packed up the spread of papers that had been laid before on the table. Before Anya could properly react to her announcement that Frank would be joining their small Christmas morning gathering, Michaela brought Eve's slow retreat to a pause.

"Grandma, before you go, I did have a few things I wanted to discuss."

"Of course, dear. What is it?"

Michaela sat up as straight as she could in her chair, taking a deep breath and hiding her hands in her lap to keep them from wringing.

"Well, on the topic of Frank, I had a really interesting conversation with him while we were gathering skates this morning and it got me thinking. There's a whole nearly-finished basement downstairs and it seems the only thing it's being used for is storage. Frank even told me about the lofts in the barn and how easily those could be converted into rooms."

As she spoke, her enthusiasm grew and her face brightened, her words coming out faster with each passing sentence.

"I know we're always booked to capacity, it seems as though we have a lot of extra space just going to waste. I did a little bit of research for our meeting and drew up a rough sketch of what we could do with both the basement and the barn loft. We could be adding on another twenty rooms possibly and opening up the opportunity for a younger crowd, you know, make this place more friendly to the hipster generation. I was thinking-"

"You want to renovate the basement? And the barn loft?"

Anya tried not to sound incredulous but was finding it different. She couldn't see how staying down in the dark pit that was the basement would be appealing to anyone.

"Yes. I do."

"That's not a bad idea."

Eve's words sent Anya's head flying in her direction, her eyes trying not to strain.

"With the right kind of marketing, we could really-"

"Do you know how much a project like that would cost?" Anya cut Michaela off. "Let alone thetime and space? We would have to shut down operation, at least part of it. People don't want to stay somewhere while it's being renovated."

"I'm aware of that."

Michaela's tone had grown icy at Anya's criticism.

"That's why I'm suggesting we launch a full-scale marketing campaign to bring in a younger crowd, expand your audience past families and the elderly. Make this place more of a destination, a boutique hotel, an inn experience. The flood of new customers for next year's Christmas alone would pay for your renovation costs and any money you would lose from being shut down for a few weeks in the spring, a time I know is a lag in traffic anyway."

Before Anya could open her mouth to try and poke holes through Michaela's well thought out points, Eve spoke.

"I like the way you think, Michaela. This is a very interesting proposition, one worth looking into. Right now is perhaps not the right time with so much already going on. Can we set a time to discuss, with Frank present, sometime after the New Year."

"Of course, Gran."

With the issue tabled, for now, Anya gathered her things to go but once again Michaela kept the meeting going.

"That does, however, bring up one other point I wanted to discuss."

After making sure she had Anya and Eve's full attention, she once again swallowed hard before she spoke.

"As you both know, I graduate Northwestern in May with a bachelor's in hospitality. I appreciate very much the time and energy you have both put into training me during my stay here. Anya, I know it hasn't been easy having me around asking me a million questions, especially when we hardly even know each other. But I've really enjoyed my time here at the Inn. Even just the chance to see this place, be here during the holidays, to experience in person all the stories my mom used to tell me about this place. It's been an honor."

Anya and Eve sat waiting through Michaela's pause, waiting for the 'but'.

"However, I do need to start looking for a job soon, a place I can start as soon as I graduate. If there's a management position waiting for me here, that would be my ideal situation. But if there's not, if there's no room for my ideas and expertise, then I'll need to start looking somewhere else."

The silence between the three women hung heavy over their heads for a long moment. Anya felt like the scum of the earth in the light of Michaela's sincere and genuine appreciation. Every time she had been short or rude to her cousin came flooding to mind and she suddenly felt two feet tall.

Eve was the one to break the silence.

"I would love to have you come on board here, Michaela. I think you've made an excellent addition to our team so far and you've proven yourself to be a hard worker. These plans that you've prepared sound thorough and well thought out and I'd love to have you involved in the renovation process, in whatever way possible."

Anya didn't miss Eve's pointed stare in her direction.

"I think-"

But before Anya could say exactly what she did think, Gloria burst through the office door, slightly out of breath.

"Hey. Um, sorry to bother you. But have you guys seen JJ? Or Manny for that matter? Anya?"

Before Anya could reply that she had no idea where Manny was nor did she care to know and she would be okay if she never saw him again, the look of panic on Gloria's face kept her mouth shut. Michaela spoke for the three of them.

"He told me he was planning on taking JJ out to the barn to see the new puppies Frank's golden retriever had last week. Maybe go look out there?"

Michaela's words did little to settle the nerves of the panicking mother.

"Frank. Yeah. Right. That makes sense. I'll go check with her. It's just, you know, with the storm and everything."

"Of course. We understand."

Eve's words seemed to soothe Gloria, even just a little bit. Anya got up from her chair and Michaela followed suit.

"We'll come help you find them."

"If Manny's with him, I'm sure they're fine."

Anya kept her doubtful gaze from shooting over her shoulder at Michaela.

"Michaela's right. He wouldn't ever let anything happen to either of his nephews. He loves them too much."

Gloria was nodding at Eve's words, her hands tied up in tight knots with one another. Anya laid a hand on her friend's shoulder and led her out of the room.

"Come on. Let's go find Frank."

They found Frank coming in from the outside, wiping the piles of snow from his jacket and hair, shaking off the cold as the warmth greeted him.

"Frank!"

The panic in Gloria's voice was impossible to miss.

"Have you seen Manny or JJ? They were supposed to be out in the barn with you."

"Yeah. Wait. They're not back yet?"

"No! What do you mean, yet?"

Frank looked from Gloria to Anya but saw the same look of panic starting to take over Anya's expression as well.

"They came out to see the puppies and I left them alone to play. When I came back from checking on the snowplows, Lacy and her puppies were all back on her bed, Manny and JJ were gone. I assumed they had come back inside."

Anya stepped into command as she could sense Gloria starting to fall apart.

"They didn't. As of right now, they're missing in the biggest snowstorm we've seen in a while. Frank, get all the barn hands bundled up in their snow gear and start searching the woods. Start with the woodpile and expand from there. I'll get whatever servers are around to double-check all the floors here at the Inn."

Anya didn't have to ask twice. Frank's jacket was on once again and his hat pulled low, the kitchen door swinging behind him by the time Anya had finished barking out instructions.

Anya put her arm over Gloria's shoulders and pulled her in tight as her friend started to cry. Anya caught Michaela's eye, speaking over Gloria's hair.

"Go get anyone you can find. Search everywhere. The basement. The attic. Start banging down guests' doors if you have to. If they're playing hide and go seek somewhere inside, I am going to kill Manny."

Michaela nodded and was off in a flash, using Anya's technique of yelling to gather the attention of the kitchen workers standing idly by.

Anya led Gloria to the bench of the large table the staff used to eat. She got her to sit and left her side for two seconds to grab her a cup of coffee, made up the way Anya knew she liked.

Anya stayed crouched by her side, rubbing her back and whispering reassurances while cursing Manny over and over in her mind. As the situation grew more serious with each passing minute they were not found, Anya's curses turned to prayers that they would be okay.

Michaela came racing back into the kitchen, out of breath.

"We can't find them. They're not inside anywhere. We searched everywhere."

"Look again! Get all the guests out of their rooms. They have to be somewhere."

"Found them!"

Everyone's eyes flew to the kitchen door as Frank burst through, letting in a solid three inches of snow with him as cold rushed in. Gloria leaped from the bench, her coffee cup nearly falling to the ground, Anya's hand stretching out to catch it at the last second before she followed Gloria.

Manny stood in the doorway covered in snow, holding tight a large bundle in his arms, both of them shivering, his lips blue.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Gloria didn't get to yell before Anya started, a loud smack resounding through the room as her palm met Manny's bicep. Manny winced as Gloria reached for the bundle in his arms, taking from him her youngest son. Held tight in JJ's arms was a small golden retriever puppy. Her child safe once more, Gloria's tears were gone and she started yelling orders at the servers who had paused to watch the reunion.

"Hot cocoa! Now! And warm milk for the puppy! Hot fresh coffee for Manny! Go! Now!"

Gloria's soft side came back out when she turned to her son, wiping snow from his hair and jacket, holding him tight as he shivered.

"Where have you been, baby? You scared mommy nearly to death!"

"The puppy ran out into the snow while we were playing with her. JJ ran after it to make sure she was okay. I ran after him. I found him before we found the puppy. He wouldn't let me go back inside until we made sure the puppy was okay. She got stuck on some barbed wire. Her whines helped lead us to her but we had trouble finding our way back in the snow. Frank found us trudging blinding through the woods."

"Thank you."

Gloria's thanks were sent to Frank, who humbly responded with a nod, taking his chance to exit the scene. JJ had his mug of hot cocoa and someone had passed Manny a mug of coffee, the puppy, happily oblivious to the trouble she had caused, slurping up her milk.

Michaela yelled for everyone to get back to work, pausing before leaving the room to return to work herself to speak to Manny.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks. Me too."

"Good luck."

Michaela gave a nod in Anya's direction before leaving. Manny took a sip of his drink and looked up at Anya from the edge of his mug. Her arms were crossed tight across her chest and her jaw was clenched tight to keep her eyes from watering in relief. She was trying to look mad and tough and was failing.

It would have been impossible for Manny to miss the expression of complete relief that had flooded Anya's expression before she put on a mask of anger and acted out in frustration.

"You were worried about me, weren't you?"

Anya's words tumbled out before she found the right response.

"I was worried about JJ."

"Sure. Let's go with that."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

His lips were regaining their color and a sly smile pulled them wide.

"You know what. You're gloating and I don't why."

"I was right. That's all."

"Right about what?"

Anya's tone was thick with annoyance. It was forced as all she wanted to do was start crying with relief.

"You do care about me."