“What’s the matter?”her mother asked.
“Uh… Connie wants me to go in early.A delayed shipment of books finally came in.She’s worried they won’t sell before Christmas.She wants to get them on the shelves as quickly as possible since we’re in the height of Christmas shopping.”
Her mother nodded.“I can understand.”
Felicity’s gaze moved to the pancake batter.She felt awful that her mother had gone to such effort, and now she had to run out before they could have breakfast together.Maybe she should have told Connie that she couldn’t come in early.
As though her mother could read her thoughts, she said, “Go get ready.I’ll have the pancakes done by then.You can eat them before you dash out the door.”
Her gaze met her mother’s.“I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem.I totally understand.After all, I, uh, am going to be working this weekend.”When Felicity sent her mother a disappointed look, her mother said, “I’m sorry.I thought we’d have more time together.The flu just keeps spreading.”
“Aren’t you worried you’ll get it?”
“I had it before you got home.Hopefully, I won’t get it again.”
“I thought we’d get to spend time together.”Felicity felt disappointed and a little angry that they only got to spend a few minutes at a time together.
“I’m really sorry.”Her mother lowered her gaze to her coffee mug.“I promise we’ll spend time together before you leave.”
Her mother kept telling her that, but Felicity was starting to doubt her words.“Christmas is only a week away.”
“I know.”Her mother smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.“Well, you better get ready.”When Felicity glanced over at the puppy, her mother said, “Don’t worry about her.I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Thanks.”
Felicity headed to the shower.All the while, she wondered if her mother was really that busy or if she was trying to avoid her.Was this her mother’s way of paying her back for being absent over the last year?
The thought weighed on her.As the hot water rained down on her, she thought back over the past couple of years since her dad died and how she’d let a lot of her mother’s calls go to voicemail because she’d prioritized her work over everything else.She thought about the holidays where she’d sent a gift but didn’t offer the gift of her presence because once again, she’d made her job her priority.
It was only now that she was able to admit that she’d stayed away from Kringle Falls because work was easier to deal with than the loss of her father.Being home—in the house where she’d grown up—was hard.She’d been hiding from the pain.
Her anger with her mother dissipated with the steam from the shower.She only had herself to blame for the distance between them.If their relationship was going to be fixed, she needed to be the one to make the first move.
But how?As she dried off, she gave it some thought.And then she had an idea…
Chapter Nineteen
Hismindwasracing.
All day Justin had been thinking about reworking the storyline of his current manuscript.He felt as though the gates to his imagination had been yanked wide open.The ideas were gushing out.
While at work, he’d made story notes on his phone.He’d been anxious to go home and type out everything he’d come up with.It was amazing how much brainstorming he was able to accomplish while he’d been tuning up the old plow truck.
With the work day finally over, all he had to do was pick up Sunny, and then he could head home to write.Speaking of Sunny, he would have thought Merry would have found the pup a home by now, but each time he spoke to her all she said was that she was working on it.
He parked and headed inside Jingle Bell Books.Today, there were a number of customers browsing through the shelves.Other people were in line at the checkout.Felicity’s gaze lifted and briefly met his.The smile that came over her face caused his heart to beat faster.Much too soon, she turned her attention back to the customer in front of her.
He swallowed hard.Maybe he could just grab Sunny and be on his way.He’d already stopped at the pet store and picked up some more dog treats as well as a chew bone.He had no idea what he was buying.He just had to hope Sunny would like what he’d picked out.Right now, they were doing a lot of trial and error.
He made his way past the line of customers and looked behind the counter.There was no puppy.How could that be?This was where Felicity kept the puppy when they got busy.And then he had a thought.What if Merry found a family for Sunny?
Instead of the relief he thought he’d feel, he felt a pang in his chest.He dismissed the feeling.It was for the best.Sunny deserved a family that would love her.
In between customers, Felicity glanced over at him.“Sunny is back in Connie’s office.”
He nodded.“Thanks.”
