Free Smitten by Colleen Coble

up.”
    Natalie’s expression warmed. “I wasn’t sure if you were ready for one or not.”
    “After seeing my cabins being wrecked and rebuilt, you should know I’m ready.”
    He left them on the sidewalk while he fetched what he needed to hang the wreath. Conscious of Natalie’s gaze on him, he attached the hanger to the door, then took the wreath and positioned it.
    “Perfect,” he said, stepping back. “Go inside and tell Candy to give you a sucker, honey.”
    “Cherry ones?” Mia asked.
    “You bet. Take two.” He opened the door for her and caught another whiff of the lavender.
    Rose Garner came toward him. Her smile brightened when she saw them together. She glanced at Natalie. “I’m glad to see you don’t believe that nonsense circulating through town, Natalie.”
    Natalie’s face went pink. “Aunt Rose . . .”
    “Now, honey, we both know Lisa. It’s not being disloyal to speak the truth. I’m glad you finally have seen through your sister.” She stared at Carson. “You be good to my niece, Carson Smitten. And I’ll be glad to welcome you into the family.”
    Now it was his turn for his face to flame. He didn’t know what to say. “Uh, thanks, Ms. Garner.”
    She patted his cheek. “Glad to see you have a wreath on that door of yours.”
    “Thanks to Mia, of course.”
    “I think I’ll take Mia for ice cream, if you don’t mind, Natalie,” Rose said. “Is she around?”
    “That’s fine.” Natalie barely mumbled the words. “She’s inside.”
    “I’ll bring her back later.” Rose headed for the door.
    No way did he want to discuss their relationship with Natalie. Not now. “Sawyer called yesterday,” he said. “He was excited about the song idea. He’ll see what he can do. They were working on the guest list. So far it’s at five hundred people.”
    She clapped her hands. “Yay! This is going to be big, Carson. Which means maybe two hundred and fifty people will show up. You can usually assume half of your guest list won’t be able to make it, especially for a destination wedding.”
    She pursed her lips. “Though that statistic may not hold true for a celebrity wedding.”
    “He told me to count on about three hundred. The most my cabins would hold is a forty-eight, if we stuffed people in four to a cabin. And people won’t be willing to do that unless entire families are coming.”
    “So we have a problem,” she said.
    He liked the way she said we . “Any ideas?”
    She chewed on her lip and looked up and down the street.
    “We need some kind of hotel.”
    “But could it even be built in time?”
    “Probably not.”
    “I have an idea,” he said slowly, the seed taking root. “I have some acreage south of town. Uncle Howard wanted to do all he could to get this off the ground. I could ask him if he’d be willing to help me build a larger lodge there. Since I already own the land, things could proceed much faster.”
    “A large enough lodge is going to be expensive. Can he afford that?”
    He shrugged. “I can only ask.”
    “It will mean losing control over your property and taking on your uncle as a partner. Are you prepared to do that?”
    She seemed to really care how he felt. The realization warmed him. “I’m finding I’d do just about anything for you,” he said.
    A flush stained her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. “I’ll help all I can.”
    “I’ll need it. This is a much bigger project than cabin remodels.”
    She chewed on her lip. “My brother is an architect. He’s done big hotels for major chains. I could ask him if he’d do some freelance work.”
    “You’re kidding. That’s thousands of dollars.”
    “I think he’d be willing to help. We could give him some free advertising by telling the media he designed the lodge. I think he’d do it for a song.”
    He held her gaze. “You’re a good woman, Natalie Mansfield.
    When you believe in something, you are all in, aren’t you?”
    “Isn’t everyone?”
    He shook his