Page 56 of Take Me Home for Christmas

Simone shook her head. “Because it’s not like you to start a relationship you know isn’t going to work out. Especially with someone you’ll likely run into for therest. Of. Your. Life.”

“Is it possible we can simply be friends with benefits? I mean, Elle is good with that,” he lied. She’d agreed not to talk about their future. To enjoy the here and now. But everything else had been left unsaid. “Why can’t you be good with it, too?”

She took her time in answering. “Because you’re not good with it,” she announced before standing up and marching from the room.

Everett rubbedthe top of the old Smith Corona typewriter. “I learned to type on one of these relics in high school.” Learned was perhaps an exaggeration, though, since he still had to look at the keys on his laptop.

“I don’t think Garth used it much in the later years,” Tim Lovell said. “He kept it more as a talisman. According to Garth, this wasn’t a real newspaper office without the clackity-clack of typewriter keys and the ring of the carriage return. He still comes in here and plays with the old thing every now and then.”

“This place seems rather small to have housed a newspaper,” he said.

“The size of the operation kept shrinking as the paper did,” Tim explained. “In the end, it was just Garth. He was literally a one-man show. He still owns the building. I’ve expanded into some of the old newsroom’s space to add another hygienist, but I don’t need any more room. As you can see, this month, we are using the newspaper office to store the toys Hayden’s veteran’s group has already collected for the Angel Tree the youth center is sponsoring.”

Everett added the few items he and Kitty bought to the growing pile of gifts. “I didn’t mean to pull you away from your patients,” he said. “I have someplace to be later. When Kitty mentioned this was the drop-off spot for donations, I figured I’d deliver them since I was already passing by.”

Tim kicked something invisible with his shoe. “You and Kitty seem to be spending a lot of time together.”

Not as much as I would like to be.

Knotical was busy this time of year with the influx of tourists. Not to mention Kitty led multiple groups that met after hours at the store to work on their projects for the Christmas Sidewalk Bazaar. The bazaar kicked off this weekend and would run through Christmas Eve.

“She’s a very busy lady,” he replied. “I’m grateful for whatever time I get to spend with her.”

“Mm.” If Kitty’s brother-in-law suspected she’d been spending her nights with Everett in his bed at the inn, he didn’t bring it up.

“Claire mentioned that Kitty seems much . . . lighter lately,” Tim remarked. “I hope she stays that way.”

The dentist may have spoken the words casually, but Everett didn’t mistake the implied warning.

He nodded. “Message received. I have no plans for anything after the holiday season.” Although one was beginning to hatch. “Nothing that will immediately take me away from your idyllic little town, anyway.”

Tim’s shoulders relaxed. “Good to know. Things are easier at the store when Claire doesn’t have to worry about saying or doing something that will send her sister back into the doldrums.”

“Kitty is lucky to have you both looking out for her.” Everett pressed one of the typewriter’s keys. “Your wife is very protective of the people in her orbit.”

The other man hung his head with a sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see that the other night. Claire is a bit irrational when it comes to Elle McAlister. She’s angry that our son didn’t get the life he wanted.”

“Who says he didn’t get the life he wanted?”

Tim’s eyes snapped up to meet Everett’s. “You get a pass since you are new in town, but you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Everett held his hands up in front of his chest. “Pardon me. I didn’t mean to offend. I only wanted to point out that life doesn’t always work out the way we want. It’s what we do with the curveballs that get thrown at us that shapes us. Your son seems like a solid guy. One who is happy with the path he’s on. It may not be the one he envisioned at seventeen. Still, he’s making the best of it.” He looked out the window toward the Ship’s Iron Gym. “He came out of the other side not just a survivor, but also as a man who has thrived. I envy him.”

“You make it sound easy. Hayden had a lot of people helping him.”

“Manning up and accepting that help is half the battle,” Everett murmured. “And if you’ll excuse me, I think it’s long past time I man up.”

He walked across Water Street and into the gym. The place was busy for a weeknight. Upbeat holiday music blared from the sound system. The Christmas tree in the corner was white with flocking. Ornaments shaped like exercise equipment dangled from its branches.

“Welcome,” the teenager behind the desk said. “Are you looking to work out? We offer complimentary onetime guest passes.” He held out a candy cane to Everett. “And these are free for stopping in.”

“Candy? At a gym?” Everett shook his head. “Actually, I was told the veteran’s group meets here.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. They meet downstairs.” He stood and pointed toward the back of the gym. “Through that door behind the ellipticals.”

“I’ll show him, Kyle,” the sheriff offered as he entered the gym. If he was surprised to see Everett asking about the meeting, he didn’t let it show.

Everett reached into the bowl of candy canes and grabbed a handful. “I think I’m going to need these. I have some bridges to mend,” he explained to a wide-eyed Kyle.

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