Liam’s smile widened. “Oscar threw the stick a lot farther than I thought he would.”
“He practices a lot,” Chloe replied, watching her son fondly. “He wants to be prepared in case we adopt a dog from the animal shelter.”
“He’s a clever little guy.”
Chloe grinned. “Sometimes too clever.”
They strolled along the path, keeping an eye on Oscar and Trixie. The conversation flowed easily between them. They discussed everything from their favorite books to the places they’d enjoyed visiting. Chloe’s heart sunk when Liam told her he hadn’t stayed more than six months in any location since he’d started working as a journalist.
“You’ve been to so many places. Will you go back to Buffalo after you’ve finished your book or stay somewhere else?”
“At the moment, I’m not sure where I’ll go,” Liam admitted. “Some friends are getting together in Argentina for Christmas. I could go there but, if I did, Mom would disown me. This’ll be the first Christmas my brother isn’t working, and she wants to have a big family dinner. But before I go anywhere, I need to finish my book. Unfortunately, I’ve always had trouble editing my work. It’ll take me ten times longer than it should.”
“When does your agent want your manuscript?”
Liam frowned. “In four weeks. I’ll be working fifteen-hour days to get it finished in time.”
Chloe thought about the reports she’d written and edited as part of her job at the Smithsonian. She’d loved looking at the structure of the reports, finding grammatical errors, and fixing the spelling mistakes.
“Editing is one thing I enjoyed about my job,” Chloe told Liam. “Even when I was at college, I enjoyed editing my assignments. Focussing on what was in front of me was my way of de-stressing.”
Liam looked down at her. “If I could bottle some of your enthusiasm, it’d make my job a lot easier.”
Chloe thought about her work and the Christmas events she was helping with. “I’m not sure how much time I’ll save you, but I could start editing your book. That way, you’ll have less to do yourself.”
Liam looked surprised by her offer. “That would be incredible. Are you sure you can do it? Most people are run off their feet at this time of the year.”
She smiled warmly. “I can make the time. Besides, I’d love to read about the interesting things you’ve discovered.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “You have no idea how much that helps. Thank you.”
As Oscar and Trixie played fetch, Chloe glanced at Liam. “Of all the things you could have done, why did you want to write a book?”
Liam’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm. “I’ve always been intrigued by the stories that don’t make the headlines—the ones that capture the spirit of a place and its people. When I was a reporter in Buffalo, I spent a lot of time digging through old newspapers. I came across some stories that were too special to be forgotten.”
Chloe nodded. “I love that. It’s like uncovering hidden treasures.”
“Exactly,” he agreed. “I started collecting the stories, and before I knew it, I had a whole trove of them from towns I’d never visited. I picked out the stories that were different from the others and asked my boss if I could have twelve months off work. He said yes, and here I am.”
“What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned?”
Liam smiled. “That’s easy. The most important thing I’ve learned is that each story has added a unique perspective on our country’s history. The people who read these stories will be surprised that they’ve never heard of them.”
She smiled thoughtfully. “It was the same at the Smithsonian. I never knew from one day to the next what would come across my desk. But by the end of each year we had a deeper appreciation for what had come before us.”
Liam nodded. “In a way, we’ve both preserved incredible stories before they faded away.”
Chloe thought about her previous job in Washington, D.C. “Working at the Smithsonian made me realize that history isn’t just about the big events. It’s about people’s everyday lives, and moments that shape who we are.”
Liam tilted his head slightly. “You have a way of seeing things that reminds me of why I started this project.”
She laughed. “While I was working at the Smithsonian, I got very protective of funny, quirky stories, especially the ones no one else knew.”
He grinned. “Maybe that’s why we get along so well.”
“Maybe it is.”
They continued strolling along the path. Oscar and Trixie sometimes raced ahead, but most of the time they were happy to walk beside them. Other children laughed in the distance, and the scent of pine trees filled the air.
