“Oh, Justin, it’s lovely.”Merry’s voice drew his attention.
He turned to her.“Thanks.But I had a lot of help.Some of the seniors helped me paint the setting, and then the stage crew helped me put it all together.”
Of course, the kids had all left by now.And from the silence, he’d guess the disgruntled parents had also departed.He couldn’t say that he was disappointed to see them go.
“Well, it looks great.”Merry smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.She was probably still troubled by the shouting.“Thank you for all of your help.”
He nodded, not comfortable with compliments.
“By the way, did you know that Felicity is back in town?I just thought of her because you two used to always be involved with the Christmas play when you were kids.”
He hesitated, not sure if he wanted to tell her about his run-in with Felicity.Feeling Merry’s expectant gaze on him, he said, “We passed on the street.”
Merry smiled.“Wouldn’t it be great if we could convince her to stay in Kringle Falls?I know how much her mother misses her.”
He wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t open a can of worms.Because if he said that he wanted her to stay, Merry would take that to mean he wanted to get back together with Felicity.Seriously.Merry tended to go to extremes when she got excited.
And if he were to say that he wasn’t anxious for Felicity to stay, then Merry would probably lecture him on not being a good friend or some such thing.It didn’t matter what he said, it wouldn’t go well for him.Instead, he went the neutral route and merely gave a brief nod.
Merry started to walk away and then paused to turn back.“By the way, does your mother have a sewing machine?”
A sewing machine?“I have absolutely no idea.”
“No worries.I’ll see you later.”And then she was off.
As he hammered in a couple of nails, he was left wondering if Merry was going to plot to keep Felicity in town.Well, of course she was going to do it.He’d seen the gleam in her eyes.
“Ouch!”
He looked down at his now-red thumb.He’d totally missed the nail and instead hit himself because he was distracted by the thought of Felicity staying in Kringle Falls.He wasn’t sure this town was big enough for the both of them.
Chapter Nine
Lifetookonaroutine.
The following day, Felicity carried a box of new release books to the front of Jingle Bell Books.The shop would be closing soon, but she wasn’t in a rush to go home.Her mother wouldn’t be there as she had the evening shift at the hospital that week.
They saw each other for a few minutes in the morning.The subject of the house hadn’t been broached since the first time.They needed more than ten minutes to open that loaded subject.
Felicity pushed aside the problems with her mother.She made room on the bookshelf for the new books.She’d loved books ever since her mother would read to her as a baby.Within the pages of a book, she could escape into another world, another period of time, or simply another life.The last sounded really good at the moment.Maybe she should pick out a book to read that evening…
“Felicity, would you mind putting the children’s books on the lower shelves?”Connie’s voice drew Felicity from her thoughts.
She stepped aside so Connie could see the space she’d made for them.“I was just about to put them on the shelf.”
Connie nodded in approval.“It’s such a help to have you home for the holidays.I’ve really missed having you here.”
Suddenly, tears pricked the backs of her eyes.She blinked them away.“I’ve missed you too.”
“If things don’t work out in New York, you’ll always have a job here.”Connie walked away.
The breath caught in the back of Felicity’s throat.It was like Connie knew the truth.Was it possible?No.Felicity hadn’t said anything to anyone.And none of her New York friends knew anyone in Kringle Falls.She was just being paranoid.Nothing more.
But was this the perfect opening to ask Connie for her old job back permanently?She really should take her up on the offer.At least, until one of the jobs she applied for came through.
Her gaze moved to Connie, who was sorting books a couple of rows away.The shop was quiet.She opened her mouth to call out to her, but the words caught in the back of her throat.
Wordlessly, she closed her mouth.Doing that would mean admitting defeat.She wasn’t ready to do that.She was still holding out hope that one of the publishers or agents would give her a job.She had ten resumes out there.And her fingers were crossed that she’d land a new job by Christmas.
