How much was there to care about, exactly? The thought had her putting distance between them before he left. A safety measure she defaulted to when she was worried about getting hurt.
Billy, her boyfriend at the time of the accident, dealt with her grief by finding happiness in other women’s arms. Several of them if the tabloid pictures were accurate. Of course, she knew they were tabloids, but he didn’t deny the accusations they threw at him, and he’d told her that she wasn’t any fun anymore.
Talk about stomping on the ashes of her broken heart.
Billy was her past, and she wouldn’t live in the pain anymore. This holiday season was the start of something new. Maybe she was crazy making a new life at the end of the year, but when she thought about all that started new when Jesus was born, it felt right.
Almost every time the heat kicked on last night, gratitude went through her for this chance to explore Moose Hollow.
Of course, thinking about the loss of power made her think about Ethan. Thinking about Ethan made her kick herself several times over for singing in front of him. What possessed her to open her mouth like that?
Because the floodgates from the music world had opened, she’d spent a more significant part of the night in memories of singing with her parents on stage or in their home.
Home.
Like Graceland for Elvis, Harmony Ranch was where her parents sought refuge from their public lives and careers. Oh, the Christmases they’d have there! Mom loved decorating with nature, pine boughs, juniper boughs, and aspen logs by the fire for decoration only. She giggled at the memory of Dad throwing one on the fire and Mom calling him a barbarian for it.
She hadn’t been back to Harmony since…
A woman carrying a baby and a diaper bag large enough to identify her as a first-time mother bumped into Valerie, making her stumble into the row of folding chairs. The bang of metal crashing against metal rang out through the gym. Her face heated, and Valerie trained her eyes on the floor–an old habit to avoid being recognized in public.
“I’m so sorry.” The woman touched her arm and helped her straighten up.
Valerie smiled easily. Small-town manners were so great. No one in the city apologized for bumping into her. She’d almost been run over by a car and been told toget out of the way instead of standing there like a lunatic.“It’s no big deal.” She realigned the chairs. “I’m Val–” she cut off as the woman drifted into the crowds, intent on meeting someone on the other side of the gym.
Valerie sighed. “Why did I decide to come to this?” she asked herself as she brushed her hair off her face. The gym was warm with all these people inside, and it smelled like wet wood floors and Elmers' glue. Not to mention, there was glitter on everything.
“Ready for some Christmas cheer?” asked a familiar, warm voice.
Valerie spun to find Ethan smiling down at her, his hands tucked into his pockets. He wore a long-sleeved tee shirt in cream and a chocolate-colored puffy vest that made his eyes look incredible.
“Let me give you some advice,” he leaned closer, and Valerie felt drawn in despite her pep talk to keep him away from her heart.
He smelled so good. Like soap and … frosting? He must have made cookies or something. She suddenly hankered to buy cookie cutters that weren’t used for doggie treats.
“Don’t sit on the front row–the first graders yell their lines, and you’ll get a headache.” He turned, pointing to the back of the room. “If you sit back there, you won’t be able to see the Baby Jesus. Which is really a football wrapped in a baby blanket.” He shrugged in a friendly but not overly flirty way. He was approaching her on an in-public level and she’d take it.
She threw up a hand. “Way to give away the ending.”
He grinned. “Total spoiler alert, but you’ll thank me later.” He looked up and down the aisle and then took two steps back. “This row is the one you want. And it happens to be the one we will be using as well.”
“We?” she asked.
“Myself, my parents, and possibly my sister and brother-in-law.” He craned his neck to see over people. “Unless they’re sitting with his parents.”
He’d invited her to sit with his family. That was good. Right?
“Well.” She tapped her chin and considered the quickly thinning empty seats in the general vicinity. “If I want to hear the lines….” She stepped forward and tipped her head, “and I am partial to leaving without a headache….” She lifted her hand and squinted through her fingers as if judging the distance. “Yeah, I think this row is probably my best bet.”
Ethan’s smile widened. “In that case.” He motioned for her to proceed with him into the row.
She stepped forward and was cut off by a leggy blonde with a bright red sweater and cream leather pants. “Thanks for saving me a seat, Ethan.” She plopped down in the second chair over and looked up at Ethan while patting the chair on the end. “Come on. They’re about to start.”
Valerie shrank back. Who was this? Gulp.
Her eyes went back and forth between Ethan, who looked like he’d rather sit in a pile of snakes than take the chair next to the woman.
Valerie checked the woman’s hand and didn’t see a ring. That didn’t mean anything these days. Lots of married people didn’t sport the bling. Perhaps they weren’t married and lived together to raise Collin. Or, she could be a girlfriend.
