Sally gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry about a thing, sweetheart. Ollie and I will have a grand time."
Evie nodded gratefully, but another guilt gnawed at her insides as she headed out the door. She hated leaving Ollie, even for a few hours. Ever since Adrian left, she felt an irrational need to be with her son constantly, as if her presence alone could somehow make up for his father's absence. Still, somehow, it felt like she spent less time with him in reality, constantly having to rely on other people to watch him, just so she could juggle having a job with being a single parent.
She pushed the guilt away. She needed to put food on the table and a roof over their head. It was as simple as that. Okay, so the roof over their head was a bit of a stretch, since they were living with her parents in the big, rambling house Evie had grown up in, but that would change, eventually.
The crisp night air nipped at her cheeks as Evie hurried down the sidewalk toward Main Street. Frostvale was picturesque this time of year, with twinkling lights adorning every storefront and lamp post. But tonight, the festive atmosphere only heightened Evie's melancholy.
Voices drifted out of the town hall as Evie pushed open the heavy wooden door. The Frostvale Business Forum was already in full swing. Evie slipped into the back of the room, hoping to avoid drawing attention to her late arrival. The familiar faces of Frostvale's business owners were gathered around tables, their animated chatter filling the air.
She knew she hadn’t missed much; it was all gossip at the beginning of every meeting.
Evie's gaze swept across the room, landing on Shepherd Lawson's broad shoulders. He stood off to the side, arms crossed, his perpetual scowl firmly in place. Evie felt a flicker of irritation. Would it kill the man to crack a smile once in a while?
She edged her way toward an empty chair, nearly colliding with someone as she rounded a table.
"Whoa there!" A deep voice chuckled. "Careful, or you might end up with more than flour on your clothes."
Evie looked up, meeting the twinkling blue eyes of Asher Singleton. The owner of Frostvale's very traditional toy store grinned down at her, steadying her with a gentle hand on her arm. Looked like the gossip had already covered her own earlier debacle. Typical small-town scuttlebutt. It might be irritating if she didn’t know the town’s matriarchs meant well. They were just looking out for everyone in their own way… and that inevitably meant dishing the dirt.
"Sorry," Evie mumbled, feeling heat creep into her cheeks. "I'm a bit distracted tonight."
Asher's smile softened. "No worries. Everything okay?"
Evie didn’t doubt he already knew. If her flour fiasco had made the gossip, she was pretty damn certain Adrian’s latest antics had as well.
Not that there was any love lost between Asher and her ex. Quite the opposite, in fact. Adrian had always been incredibly rude about Asher's traditional approach. He'd claimed it was business suicide not to go digital and stock the latest tech toys.
There were so many times Evie had felt embarrassed on Asher’s behalf at Adrian’s cutting remarks. But Asher had never allowed Adrian’s prejudices to affect how he treated either her or Ollie. Something that made her like the perpetually cheerful man all the more.
Asher strenuously advocated keeping childhood magic alive in an age of video games and smartphones, and personally, Evie agreed. She and Adrian had had a massive row this time last year, when Adrian had wanted to buy their son a cell phone for Christmas, and Evie had objected for a multitude of different reasons.
A four-year-old didn’t need a mobile phone.
Ollie wasn’t old enough, or careful enough, or interested enough to look after it.
He didn’t need to develop a screen habit at such a young age.
Adrian had disagreed on all counts and gone ahead and bought him one anyway. He’d been outraged when Ollie was less than ecstatic about it, preferring the train set his grandparents brought him. And Evie, herself, had been furious since the wasted money could have been used on the kind of break Adrian was always denying them.
The phone ended up in a drawer, after Evie found it dead and gathering dust under Ollie’s bed in the new year.
In retrospect, Evie should have recognized that as the beginning of the end.
She forced a smile. "I'm fine. Just... a lot on my mind."
Asher nodded sympathetically, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Well, if you need a distraction, I've got some new toys in, that are sure to put a smile on anyone's face. Stop by the shop sometime. I’m sure you’ll find something young Ollie would love to find in his Christmas stocking."
"Thanks, I’ll do that," Evie replied, grateful for his kindness. This wasn’t Asher touting for business, he genuinely meant it… not that Ollie was going to be with her to open his Christmas stocking. Would Adrian even think to have one for him in the Bahamas? Or would Evie have to do some quick thinking to ensure his innocent belief in Santa wasn’t smashed far too soon?
The thought depressed her even more, and she sank into the chair with a sigh. The chatter around her faded as the meeting was called to order.
Evie shifted in her seat as Iris began outlining the festival schedule. Her mind drifted, only half-listening to the familiar rundown of events. The scent of pine and cinnamon from the holiday decorations around the room mingled with the lingeringaroma of coffee and pastries, and she had to force away a lingering sadness. It didn’t matter that her marriage to Adrian had run its course, that she knew it was dead and buried, and likely had been long before the inevitable break-up. He’d still been a part of her life for a long time. So long, she could barely remember a Christmas without him. And it wasn’t Adrian she was going to miss… he’d managed to spoil last Christmas, after all. It was the fact that things would never be the same again. That she had to face the inevitability of having to share her son during the festive season. That she’d lose out on seeing his happy, excited face on Christmas morning when he opened his stocking… while she’d be all alone. Just another day.
Evie's attention snapped back as Iris mentioned the bakery's contribution to the festival. She straightened in her chair, forcing herself to focus. This was important for her business.
"And of course, we're all looking forward to this year’s display from Frosted Sugar," Iris said, beaming in Evie's direction. "It's always such a highlight."
Evie nodded, mustering a smile even as her stomach clenched. Sugar! She still hadn’t come up with a plan after the chaos of the past few weeks. Time was running out. How was she going to pull that off with everything else going on?
