Page 114 of The Hockey Grump Saves Christmas

My hands slip a little on the bag and my heart is pounding in time with the furious throbbing that’s kicked off inside my head. Obviously this dreadful woman is just using the whole thingas a way to show off what she can do. She doesn’t give a shit about the kids.

“Unusual choice,” is the only polite thing I can manage.

“She asked about bringing a piano onto the ice and?—”

“She didwhat?” Okay, that shot out before I had a chance to control it.

A piano. On a frozen pond. That a bunch of kids are standing on. What kind of total idiot would think that might be a good idea?

“Sorry, I mean, has someone told her a piano might be a bit heavy for the ice?”

“Yes, Katie’s mom. When she came by to drop off Miss Divina’s ice queen costume.”

“She had Katie’s mom makehera costume?” For fuck’s sake. The nerve of this woman.

The rage bubbling up inside me would give Vesuvius a run for its money. I am so utterly furious that I can barely breathe. How dare that woman waltz into this town, blackmail the council into letting her take the play from me, then turn the kids into a chorus line so she can showcase her own talents.

And clearly it’s written all over my face because Abigail now looks a bit stressed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you?”

“No, no. You’ve done exactly the right thing. Exactly right.” I pat her on the shoulder. “Are you okay to go get the parsley?”

“Yes. Dad says cod isn’t the same without it.”

“He’s right. You have a great dad. And he’s very lucky to have you. So you go get the parsley. And I’ll go…” I don’t really know exactly what I’m going to do. “I’ll just go.”

“Okay.” And she turns and skips off toward Polly’s Produce.

If anything good is going to come from this whole heartbreaking Gabe fiasco, I need to learn something from it, from him—from his competitive nature. That you have to fight for what you want, particularly when you know you’re the best person for the job. You have to believe in yourself and stand up to those who are wrong.

“Mozart, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter to myself.

“Dad says that too,” Abigail calls out, just before she disappears inside the store.

Thank the Lord for that girl.

Channeling my inner Gabe, I charge toward my Jeep like a bull with steam coming from its nostrils.

I love those kids. And meddling locals or not, I love this fucking town and I’m going to stand up for it.

CHAPTER 36

NATALIE

“You can’t. He’s in there with?—”

Victor’s assistant can tell me I can’t all she likes. The fury that’s brought me here drives me to charge right past her and toward the carved-wood door to his office.

Heart pounding in my chest, blood pumping in my veins, I haul it open.

Four surprised faces turn to stare at me.

“Natalie, we’re just in the middle of?—”

I silence Victor with my hand. I mean, it’s not like he can fire me. Although he’s done a good impression of that by sidelining me to let the Monster of Broadway take over early.

“So glad I’ve caught the whole arts committee together,” I tell them.

Judging by the burning sensation in my face, I must look like I ran here from Senior Central, rather than the parking lot out back. And judging from the sweat on the back of my neck, my body thinks I might have too.

---