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As much as she longed to see Kanon, she didn’t want to keep associating with him, knew it would only make things harder for her when he left. “No. I think it’ll be better if we don’t.”

* * *

For the most part, Kanon had enjoyed his return to Hard Luck, but without Patience, some of the shine was gone. Kelsey and he were still getting along—so there was that—but since they were no longer brainstorming and planning, trying to think of new ways to improve the motel and promote it, some of the shine was gone there, too. His decision to return to North Dakota had brought a screeching halt to everything he’d been enjoying here. Now he was just marking time, waiting for Christmas to come and go so he could leave. The house the oil company was going to provide for him wouldn’t be available until January 1, or he probably would’ve packed up and left.

While he waited for the month to end, he taught Kelsey how to run Facebook and Google ads, and he set up a Facebook and Instagram account that would chronicle the happenings at Lucky Day Motor Inn. For his first post, he put up a funny video he’d filmed in the parking lot when a family’s dog jumped out of their vehicle and stealthily removed the knitted cap from their toddler’s head so he could play with the ball on top.

It was such a cute, spontaneous thing that he hoped it’d go viral, but the new account didn’t have any followers yet, so they had a lot of work to do. Kelsey had her own Instagram account, but she hadn’t thought to start one for the inn. She said she didn’t know what to post that people would find interesting.

He showed her several examples, told her to simply look for unique and engaging things that happened here. A day in the life of a small-town, retro motor inn had possibilities; some people liked following others as they built a business. Although he wouldn’t be around to create the content, he promised he’d guide her when he could and help with the ads.

He was just walking to his room after fixing a small leak under Kelsey’s sink when a truck pulled in with a driver he recognized. Although he’d known Jack when he lived here before—a little—he probably wouldn’t have recognized him as a grown man if he hadn’t recently seen Patience’s wedding photos.

He couldn’t imagine Patience’s ex was interested in renting a room—and that proved to be true. As soon as Jack got out, he didn’t start toward the office, he came toward Kanon.

Kanon hadn’t zipped up his coat. It was cold, but he ignored the biting wind as he waited to see what Patience’s ex had to say. Although the parking lot was well lit, shadows on Jack’s face made it hard to tell what the other man was feeling.

“Do you have a second?” he asked as soon as he got close enough.

Now that they were face to face, Kanon could see him better and eyed him speculatively. “For what?”

“I’d like to talk to you, if you don’t mind.”

That seemed respectful enough. Kanon wasn’t feeling as if Jack had any ill will toward him, so he motioned to his room. “Come on in.”

Once they got out of the cold, Kanon removed the clothes piled on the only chair—laundry he had yet to do—and told Jack to have a seat.

“I won’t be here that long,” he said and remained standing. “To be honest, I feel strange even coming. I probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t spotted the motel as I was passing by and figured…what the hell.”

“You’ve certainly piqued my curiosity,” Kanon said.

“The bottom line is this… I feel largely responsible for the path that Patience’s life has taken—and some of her bigger hurts—and that makes me want to get involved, at least enough to say…” He sighed and shoved a hand through his hair before starting over. “I guess I just wanted to tell you that you’ll never find another woman like her. You’re crazy for walking away.”

“I have a job offer I can’t refuse.” Kanon gave him the excuse he’d given everyone, including himself, but Jack didn’t seem to buy it.

He wore a skeptical expression as he said, “In the oil field? Out in the middle of nowhere? Is that what you really want? That might pay well, but it’s not what you have, it’s who you have that matters, right? After everything I’ve been through, if I were you, I’d make a different choice—that’s all. And now I’ve said enough.” Pivoting, he took hold of the door handle, but Kanon stopped him before he could leave.

“Why would you, of all people, come here to tell me that?”

He hesitated before looking back over his shoulder. “Because I think you two could be happy, and happiness isn’t easy to find.”

“You’re Patience’s ex. This is hardly something I’d expect from you.”

“As much as I wish it could be otherwise, she and I never really had the chance you two have.”

Kanon respected Jack for caring enough about Patience to try to intervene. Not many ex-husbands would do something like that. “She deserves better than me,” he said. Thanks to his reputation, he thought almost anyone in Hard Luck would agree with him on that, but once again, Jack wasn’t buying it.

“You can tell yourself that if you want, but the truth is you can be anything you want, and I think we both know that.”

Stunned by his response, Kanon sat right where he was while a blast of cold wind whipped into the room as Jack left. You can be anything you want… That was true. He didn’t have to let the past define him. So who, exactly, did he want to be? And what did he want most out of life?

Did he really want to shove away the people who were trying to love him? Soldier on alone, living in a rugged, desolate place with mostly only men who typically drifted off to start a family and settle elsewhere as they aged?

Or did he want to gather the courage to stop running away from any kind of commitment and reach for something better?

* * *

The following Friday, Patience sat alone at her tiny dinner table eating a bowl of canned soup. Since Ari was with her father, she didn’t feel the need to cook. Nearly a week had passed since the end of the festival, but Patience had yet to invite her father to dinner. She’d been putting it off, focusing on other things so she wouldn’t have to think about Carl, but she couldn’t procrastinate any longer. She was running out of time. Christmas was on Monday.