Page 1 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

1

KITTY

“You can’t be serious!” My raised voice caught the attention of a few curious onlookers in the bread aisle, so I turned in on myself and cupped my free hand around my mouth and phone. “Dad, this is insanity!”

“You watch your mouth young lady,” Dad snapped sharply on the other end of the line. “I wasn’t calling to ask your opinion. I was calling as a courtesy to let you know that your mother and I will be returning late tonight because the meeting is taking longer than anticipated. I thought you would be excited?”

“Excited?” My stomach twisted itself into painful knots as my irritation grew. “Is the meeting taking longer because you’ve decided to cancel your plans to trash the entire town?”

“No, Kitty. And we are nottrashingthe town. I have explained this to you a thousand times already.”

“Because carving up the forest for a highway extension isn’t carving up the town,” I replied sarcastically, straightening up and away from the nearest shelf. “Whatever. Drive safe, I guess.”

“Kitty!”

I hung up because I couldn’t hear another word and slid my phone back into my pocket. The two eavesdropping onlookers inthe aisle with me had moved on, giving me a moment’s peace to process yet another daunting phone call from my father.

Being the daughter of the mayor used to be something I was proud of. I thought my father walked on air and spent all day doing everything he could to make our little town the best it could be. Now, for the past year, all he cared about was how much money he was going to make from an extension to the highway. Construction would cut straight through the beloved forest that surrounds Silver Hills, and this idyllic town would become nothing more than a gas stopover.

And there was nothing at all I could do about it, despite my constant attempts to talk some sense into him.

I groaned softly and turned back to my half-filled shopping cart. This was my favorite store to browse, but all desire to wander the aisles and check out the influx of new Christmas merchandise dried up with my father’s call. All I wanted to do now was go home and curl up into bed.

“Kitty?” A sickly-sweet voice dragged me from my thoughts. I lifted my head and came face to face with Haley Walker.

“Haley?”

“Oh, it is you!” She squealed and teetered the last few steps toward me on her heels, then threw one arm around my shoulders. “It’s so good to see you!”

It is?

I remained polite and gave Haley a quick hug in return, but I didn’t match her bubbliness. We’d gone to the same private school together in the city, but we hadn’t been friends. I’d kept my head down and graduated with a sense of guilt at how privileged my upbringing had been. Haley, to my knowledge, had leaned into therich bitchlifestyle with no regrets.

“How are you? Oh, my gosh, look at you!” Her voice pitched so high, I was sure dogs would come running. Her long, thin fingers sank suddenly into the braided hair draped down myshoulder, and she twirled some around her fingers. “I was always so jealous of your hair. You were the perfect Rapunzel in school.”

That was the first I heard of it. My intuition flared up, and an uncomfortable cramp further warmed my gut. Haley wanted something. People who came up to me like thisalwayswanted something because of my father.

“I’m good, thanks,” I replied with a well-practiced fake smile. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m fantastic!” She flashed her hand in front of my face, nearly blinding me with the giant rock on her finger. “I’m gettingmarried!”

“That’s amazing. Congratulations!” We definitely weren’t close enough for this kind of news to be told to me in person. It was the kind of announcement I would read about in the paper and spare a single thought over how we went to school together. Then I would move on with my life.

“Right? Everyone doubted me when I said I would bag a footballer, and look at me now!” Haley dazzled me with her perfect row of perfectly white teeth. “Speaking of…”

Ahh, here it comes.

“A little birdie told me that your mother is in charge of the invites to the Yuletide Ball, is that right?”

“Considering she’s the host, yes,” I replied, keeping my polite smile in place with ease. “It’s a private function.”

“Mmm. Indeed. So, what does a gal have to do to score an invite?” Haley waggled her eyebrows up and down. “Surely, because we’re friends, an invitation would be a gift, right?”

So that was what this was about. Each year, my mother hosted a Yuletide Ball on Christmas Eve and it was the talk of the town. Usually, she was raising money for a charity, but ever since my father woke up with dollar signs in his eyes, the last fewyears have been more about entertaining other elites. Clearly, Haley saw herself in the same circle.

“If you want an invitation, speak to my mother,” I replied. “It has nothing to do with me.”

I placed both hands on my shopping cart and made it a few steps away before Haley’s hand landed on my arm and tightened.

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