PROLOGUE
The Day After Thanksgiving
Ethan Hall struggled with the seven bags hooked over his arms as he dug for his ringing cell phone. With two rings down, he only had three more to go before he lost the call.
Holiday shopping on Main Street Moose Hollow was in full swing tonight. Diamonte Fine Jewelry had a Black Friday Sale on diamond earrings that had the store crowded out to the street. Their stones were the clearest in the market–or so their advertising claimed. He’d contemplated buying a pair but didn’t have a special someone to spoil.
Darn it. Maybe he should have put a beautiful girlfriend on his Christmas list this year.
If only it worked like that.
He continued to twist uncomfortably while trying not to bump into one of the other shoppers as the phone rang. Did it get louder with each ring?
Charlotte Morris’s Christmas Shop smelled like cinnamon and pine from all the way across the street. He’d have to take his son, Collin, to visit her when it wasn’t so crowded. Collin wasn’t officially related to the Morris family. However, Ethan had grown up next door to them, and his sister married Jacob Morris last Christmas. The ties that bind people together weren’t always made of genes, and Collin saw Lois and Michelle Morris as second grandparents.
Too bad he and Charlotte never hit it off. She was too young for him, and he was too much of a brother for her to consider dating material.
He finally set down a handful of bags on a bench outside the dog groomer’s to make taking the phone call easier. The person on the other end hadn’t given up on him yet, and he was determined to answer.
He’d probably bought too many gifts for his six-year-old at Granny’s Candy and Toys, but the kid was pretty much the best thing in his life, so there wasn’t such a thing as too many presents under the tree, was there?
Also, there might be a present or two for himself in these bags. Collin was tender-hearted and would notice if his dad had nothing to unwrap. Not only would he notice the lack of gifts, but he’d feel bad enough to try to give up his own presents. Besides, he needed aftershave, and the shoulder massager would be handy after a long workday. The nerf gun? Well, a man had to be able to defend himself, didn’t he? Their battles would be epic.
Ethan shook his head in amazement at his son. How did he get such a great kid when he’d chosen such a horrible mother for him? He scolded himself for thinking that way about Pearl. Not that she didn’t deserve it, but because it didn’t do him any good to dwell on the past.
He finally managed to get his phone out of his back pocket and cringed at the name on the screen.
“Speak of the devil….” He swiped the screen. “Merry Christmas, Pearl,” he boomed, drawing attention from a family with teenagers. He grinned at them, and the youngest girl smiled back and waved.
Starting the conversation on a positive note was a good idea, as he never knew what Pearl’s phone calls would bring into his day.
“Your Christmas just got a little merrier,” she quipped.
“Oh?” Ethan studied the snow packed under his feet. They’d had a storm blow through yesterday, making for a cozy Thanksgiving. However, the snow removal crew had the day off, so they were behind. Shop owners were too busy with Black Friday to salt out front. No one seemed to mind the snow because it added to the Christmas spirit. “How so?”
“I booked a flight home!” She squealed like this was the best news.
His legs went numb. He managed to catch himself before falling into the street and leaned against a light pole. “You’re what now?”
“I’m coming home for Christmas. Doesn’t that sound so dreamy? Like something out of a movie or a song.”
“I’ll be Home for Christmas,” he said the song's name woodenly, because his brain struggled to wrap around the idea of Pearl in the same town. That hadn’t happened since the day she left him with a one-year-old and a mortgage.
She laughed. “I assumed you’d be home.”
She’d totally missed the reference to the song’s title. Whatever.
“Pearl, are you sure?” She didn’t get along with her parents, sisters, or pretty much anyone in town. He liked his in-laws. They spent time with Collin every week and spoiled him on his birthday. On the other hand, Pearl missed everything from birthdays to school plays and soccer games. An urgent need to put protective lines around his son roared to life. “You can’t stay with us.”
“I’ve rented a place. Brad was generous in the settlement. I have money.”
He could picture how she flipped her hair over her shoulder when she said such things. Pearl loved to throw her ex-husband’s money in his face. Probably because he was the only ex who didn’t give her any, he had full custody of their son and took over all their debt–including the joint credit card she’d maxed out.
But that was in the past.
“I thought your husband was Gerry?” he asked. She insisted on sending him an invitation to each wedding–specifying that if Collin came, he would not be in the ceremony. She didn’t want any of her new in-laws to know she’d had a child because she was–according to her words–never doingthatagain.
“Gerry was lame,” she pouted. “I’m exploring myself as a single woman and want to spend time with Collin this Christmas.”
