Page 64 of Take Me Home for Christmas

“Bullshit.” Kate glared at her from behind her glasses. “This”—she gestured at Elle and presumably toward Hayden somewhere behind them— “has been building for a very long time. It’s not some casual fling. You are each other’s destiny. And don’t you dare insult me—or yourself—by pretending it’s anything else.” Her sister’s voice cracked. “If that woman is the reason you two aren’t going to make a go of this, I swear, I’ll?—”

Elle stopped her sister’s tirade with a hug. Her throat was so clogged with emotion, it hurt to speak. “If only it were that simple,” she managed to say.

“Love is supposed to be simple,” Kate murmured against Elle’s hair. “I wish it could be that way for you. I want you to have everything you’ve always dreamed of.”

Her sister’s words hit Elle square in the chest. How could she explain that she wasn’t like Kate? That she’d never really “dreamed” of a specific future? That her only goal was to live up to the family name, except she had no idea how to accomplish that? Kate would think she was being ridiculous.

“Elle?” Hayden came up beside them.

Kate brushed back a piece of Elle’s hair as she stepped out of their embrace. She offered up a wane smile. “At the risk of repeating myself, I’m here whenever you need to talk.” With a nod to Hayden, she wandered off in the direction Emily had taken.

“I’m so sorry, Elle. I don’t understand why my mom continues to behave the way she does.”

She waved his apology away. “It’s okay.” The lies just kept on coming.

He opened his mouth to say more, but a call came over his radio. Something about someone burning trash without a permit.

Hayden groaned. “Guess my lunch break is over early.”

Elle patted him on the chest. “Go protect and serve.”

“See you tonight?”

“Of course.” She was like a moth to a flame.

He made a move as if he were going to kiss her, but Elle stepped back and shook her head.

Hayden let out another one of those weary sighs of his. “Yeah. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Save it for tonight, Deputy.” She hoped the words came out more playful than she felt right now. Her head swam with so many conflicting emotions that maintaining her composure proved difficult. Without waiting on his response, she turned on her heel and headed for the Bed and Biscuit.

You are each other’s destiny.

Why did Kate have to be so dramatic? She was a woman of science, for crying out loud. Besides, hadn’t everyone once thought Jeremy was her destiny? Look how that turned out.

Except losing Jeremy hadn’t hurt the way she knew losing Hayden would. The misery she’d gone through this past year wasn’t brought on by her boyfriend cheating on her. It was because she thought she’d messed up her relationship with her best friend.

It’s not some casual fling.

Her sister’s words made her dizzy. Mainly because Kate was right. Nothing about her relationship with Hayden was casual. And now they’d gone and complicated it with sex. Losing him was not an option. Elle just needed to find another way for them to make this work. And soon. The end of the year—and her stay in Chances Inlet—was two and a half weeks away.

Everett tooka sip of his coffee while covertly watching Elle march toward the photo booth constructed for the little white dog everyone seemed to be fixated on.

“Claire must have said something to rain on her parade,” Kitty remarked beside him.

Kitty was handling the knit shop while her sister worked the tables on the sidewalk. Everett snuck in the back door, bringing with him coffee and a passionate kiss for her. Unfortunately, the store was overrun with customers, and both had to wait. The situation would have normally made him testy with impatience. Yet, after a couple of weeks in this town—and with Kitty in his bed—more and more things that used to irritate him seemed to roll off his back now.

He wasn’t naïve enough to think he still didn’t have a long way to go to shed the anger shadowing him. Thankfully, his session with the veteran’s group earlier in the week went better than expected. After a few tense minutes, the men and women accepted him without the malice he likely deserved. Since the meeting, he’d enjoyed several lunches with the sheriff and a former Navy SEAL who founded the group. He was right in thinking he and Lamar Hollister could become friends if Everett could just get rid of the devil on his shoulder.

One step at a time.

Now, though, he had a roadmap for how to get on with the rest of his life. And if all his plans fell into place, it began right here in Chances Inlet.

“Your sister will have to learn to deal with it because those two are mad about each other.” He took another sip of his coffee.

Kitty’s sigh sounded desolate. When he glanced over, her expression matched.

“What?” he demanded.

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