Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 44474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44474 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
But there were no stinging regrets, no angst against the universe, or bah-humbug malaise. I was still…happy.
Don’t get me wrong, my heart was a little tender, but it was full too.
I loved Hudson, and somehow, I knew he felt the same way. Maybe not the L-word, but something close.
Someday, when he was ready to hear the words and let me in, I’d tell him. And maybe we could be something special.
For now, there was power in letting go.
16
HUDSON
Ichecked the locks and made sure I hadn’t left the Christmas lights on before tossing my duffel onto the passenger’s side seat. The steering wheel was icy cold, and the windows were glazed with a sheen of frost. It would take a minute or so to warm the truck up, so I pulled my cell out, intending to send a quick text to my mom. Or maybe I’d surprise her.
I’d lined up a few ranchers to take care of the animals, so…this was it.
Time to go home.
My fingers froze over the screen as “Last Christmas” blasted through the speakers.
What the fuck? I hadn’t turned the radio on…or had I?
Weird.
I set my phone aside to adjust the volume and was immediately hit with a memory of trudging through the Christmas lot with Moody. He’d been so cranky and grumpy and so fucking adorable. And the time he’d met Nelly and laughed his ass off in the kitchen…or when he put a Santa hat on and dared anyone to give him heck about it.
Heck. Yeah, that was Moody.
I swallowed around the ball of emotion lodged in my throat and blew out an exasperated breath.
He was right.
This was too much, too soon. We both came with baggage and fuck, it seemed heavier than usual right now.
On that melancholy note, I reversed the truck and veered past the ranch, heading west at the main street. A tactical error for sure. It would have been faster to go east and avoid the narrow winding roads that led to the coastline beyond. I had a long drive ahead of me and a plane to catch, but I stayed on course and fifteen minutes later, I spotted the exit for Christmas Town.
I should have kept going. I was already behind schedule, but like the very first time I’d passed the sign, something pulled me in.
Five minutes. Just one peek at the decorations. I’d take a pic for Mom, so she’d see how cool this place was.
I wasn’t going to park, but a spot opened up in front of the biggest tree on the West Coast and that almost never happened. I hopped out and snapped a few pictures of the tree, and another of the garlands and bows on the lampposts leading to Holiday Lane.
“So beautiful.”
So joyful. Like Moody.
Fuck, what was I doing?
“It sure is,” someone commented behind me.
“Oh, hey, Bud.” I gave the older man a lazy up-nod. “I was just taking a few pics for my family.”
“You should get one with Milt too.” Bud pointed at the Santa statue, then moseyed along. “Merry Christmas, Hudson.”
“Merry Christmas.”
I aimed my cell at the jolly Santa, but the sun’s glare made for a crappy pic. I moved closer and tried again, leaning in to read the inscription engraved on a plaque at the bottom.
“You were never lost. You simply made a detour.”—Milt Moody, Christmas Town’s original Santa and a firm believer of second chances and happy endings. May you keep the spirit of the season in your heart all year long.
The words blurred and bended, and my pulse skyrocketed through my veins. I swallowed around the grapefruit in my throat and read the dedication a second time…and a third. I studied the statue of the kind-faced man with a full beard, twinkling eyes, and round belly.
You were never lost. You were never lost.
Look, I was a fucking adult. I didn’t believe in Santa or in the stuff of childhood fantasies, but damn it, I believed in second chances, happy endings, hope, and love and—
“Moody.”
I raced to my truck and peeled out of my spot, leaving a vapor trail behind me as I turned up the hill into town. It was early, but there were customers in line at the diner and the café. The bookstore wasn’t open yet. He had to be home.
I punched the gas but came to an abrupt stop just as a van from Morningside Senior Center flashed its hazard lights.
Fuck. This was going to take a while. I clicked my blinkers to signal a U-turn when Moody strolled into view, head bent on his way to the bookstore.
And there went my heart. Boom, boom, boom.
My instincts kicked into triple gear. Move fast, now, don’t wait, don’t let the real thing slip away. I pulled my truck into a red zone behind the van and jumped out.
“Moody!”
He did a double take, adjusting his glasses as he squinted, and my God…he was beautiful.