The stay, a gift from Alek after Tasha expressed interest in going there, was going to be shorter. But Kristen didn’t need to know that. “When I found out the rink was closing, I extended my stay.”
“Is your…um…family going with you?”
“Nope. Mom and Dad will be in Seattle.”With Alekremained unspoken.
Kristen smirked. “Your mom must hate that.”
“She’s furious.” Tasha laughed again. The unexpected sound loosened the knots, tied tighter than skate laces, in her stomach. “I gave her presents to take with them to Seattle, but she’s still trying to convince me not to go.”
“It’s not like you haven’t spent holidays away from them before. Don’t let your mom change your mind.
Tasha drew back. “You sound like you mean that.”
“I do.” Uncomfortable silence stretched between them—a reminder that they were no longer part of each other’s lives and futures. “Well, drive safe. And have fun with your Hallmark Christmas.”
Fun wasn’t on the agenda, but no one needed to know that. “Enjoy yours.”
Tasha planned to skip the holiday this year. That would be easy to do in Berry Lake where no one knew her. She would forget about Christmas, her family, and the rink. Her only task would be to figure out what to do next, even though none of her plans had ever worked out.
But there was always a first time, right?
Somewhere out there was a place she belonged. All she had to do was find it.
CHAPTER TWO
Elias Carpenter slumped behind his desk at his family’s law office in Berry Lake, Washington. Twenty-nine was too young to hate his job this much. He enjoyed being a lawyer. What he didn’t like was still being treated like a first-year intern after working there for more than five years. The future he’d once dreamed about looked…not bleak—he owned a nice house near the lake and a top-of-the-line SUV—but…exhausting.
Something had to give. He didn’t want it to be him.
The sun had set three hours ago, leaving nothing but darkness outside his window. His hands itched to grab his suit jacket and overcoat, and his feet wanted him to stop being so responsible and bolt out of there.
Forget about bringing his laptop with him. He would leave it behind and pretend he wasn’t his firm’s lowly lawyer for a night.
A nice fantasy, except…
If he didn’t work late, he would end up there tomorrow night and likely the entire weekend…again.
Be careful what you wish for.
A cliché, yes. But one hundred percent the truth when Gramps and Dad controlled Elias’s livelihood—controlled him.
Ignoring the four walls closing in on him, Elias pushed aside the file and reached for the Advent calendar his grandmother had given to him. He opened the door—not even paying attention to the number on it—removed the piece of chocolate shaped like a present, complete with a bow, and popped the candy into his mouth.
The smooth flavors melted on his tongue.
Delicious.
Leave it to Grammy to splurge on a more expensive box of candy. For as long as he remembered, she gave him a calendar on Black Friday to open throughout December. He enjoyed doing that as an adult as much as he had at age ten. But he would forgo the other twenty-four chocolates if it would make time speed up or warp, so tomorrow when he woke, it would be January first.
Elias didn’t hate Christmas. He enjoyed singing carols, drinking Grammy’s hangover-guaranteed eggnog, and opening presents on Christmas morning. But given the way Dad and Gramps kept piling work on him, by the time the twenty-fifth rolled around, Elias would be a modern-day Bob Cratchit, begging his two familial Scrooges for the day off.
Of course, none of the extra cases were interesting, only ones they deemed unworthy of their legal expertise, experience, and time. It always came down to time. Theirs being more valuable than his.
A groan—unnatural, raw, unrefined—ripped from his throat. Not the way a representative from a respected law firm should sound. At least that was what Dad would say—more like lecture. For once, Elias didn’t care. Maybe he should embrace this secret side of himself that no one else knew and go public by entering the Sasquatch-calling contest at next summer’s Bigfoot Seekers Gathering.
If he lasted that long.
Grammy claimed Christmas wishes were real, but Elias didn’t know what to wish for—a new job, a new attitude, a new life. Honestly, anything other than another new tie would be an improvement over the status quo.
