Page 8 of Mistletoe and Holly

The question was, was I willing to risk losing it all for a chance at a real future with her?

CHAPTER5

HOLLY

“Grandpa!”Harper exclaimed, throwing her arms around my dad’s waist as he walked into the house for our regular Tuesday night dinner.

Yes, we had our weekly dinner on a random weeknight during the holiday season, because Saturday and Sunday were my busiest nights for carriage rides.

“Oof!” he laughed as he returned the hug and kissed her head. “How’s my favorite granddaughter today?”

“Good,” she giggled. “Do you see anything different?”

She raised her chin and turned her head from side to side, showing off her new piercings. It took my dad a few seconds to notice, but then his eyes grew wide as he let out an exaggerated gasp.

“Did you get your ears pierced?”

Her head moved up and down comically fast. “It was my Christmas present!”

“Was it?” he asked as he came to sit next to me on the couch.

“Yep,” I chuckled. “That’s what she told me she wanted as a gift, so we went and got it done on Saturday so she’ll be all healed up on Christmas.”

He turned back to Harper. “Did it hurt?”

“Just for a couple minutes,” she said with a shrug. “And it hurts a little sometimes when I have to clean it, but it’s not that bad.”

“She did great,” I told him. “I was really proud of her. And she’s been so good about turning the earrings every few hours and cleaning her ears with peroxide.”

“You need to stop growing, peanut,” he teased. “I can’t believe you’re old enough to get your ears pierced.”

She giggled. “Nope. I’m gonna be driving in eight years!”

Oh, my God. She was right. Where had the time gone, and what had happened to the tiny baby girl I’d held in my arms at the hospital?

In a lot of ways, it felt like time had stood still since Owen’s accident. This house was still exactly the same. I still wore my wedding and engagement rings, and I hadn’t even been able to bring myself to get rid of any of his clothes. I still felt his presence every day, and half the time, I almost expected him to walk back through the door and ask what was for dinner.

But then something small would happen – something like my daughter reminding me that she was growing up – and I remembered all over again. Time hadn’t stood still. Things were changing all around me, but I was stuck. Unable to let go. Unable to move on. Still clinging onto the remnants of a time long past.

“Remind me to stay off the roads when that happens,” my dad said with a laugh, bringing me back to the conversation.

“Right?” I agreed. “She’ll give a whole new meaning to ‘hell on wheels.’”

“Hey!” she pouted.

I snorted. “I’m kidding, munchkin. I know you’ll be a safe driver. Now, you need to go finish your homework before dinner.”

Harper huffed out an annoyed sigh, but disappeared back down the hall to her bedroom, where she’d been working on her math homework. After she left, my dad turned to me.

“Did you see on the news about that storm that’s supposed to hit the day after tomorrow?”

I groaned quietly and buried my head in my hands at the reminder. I guessed it had been naïve to hope that Snowmageddon wouldn’t hit until after the holidays, but I’d hoped for it nonetheless. But no such luck. They were predicting thunder ice, followed by six to eight inches of snow. And with an ice storm being in the forecast, they’d already said they were letting school out early on Thursday and canceling it for at least Friday and possibly Monday too. I’d also had to cancel all of my carriage bookings for this week. I wouldn’t be able to safely get to Pine Cove with the horse trailer, and even if that hadn’t been the case, I wasn’t about to risk Mistletoe hurting herself on the icy pathways in the day or two after the storm until they could get it cleared enough.

“Yep,” I muttered. “I already canceled all of my bookings for this week.”

“Good,” he murmured, squeezing my shoulder. “I hate to think of you and Mistletoe trying to do your jobs with the kind of ice they’re predicting. You all set otherwise?”

I nodded. “Shep said he’s going to come by and make sure the generators are working before then. And if worse comes to worst, we’ll just camp out in the stable with the wood-burning stove. But Ireallyhope it doesn’t come to that.”

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