Page 217 of A Merry Mountain Christmas

I run a hand over my head. “I left it in the truck.”

“What happened, Jace?” she asks, her voice soft.

A lump fills my throat. “No offense, Mrs. Rosa, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

I continue down the hall to my apartment, and I somehow manage to get the key into the slot and unlock the door.

Bingo is on the back of the sofa when I walk in, and he issues a soft meow instead of his usual hiss.

Mrs. Rosa follows me through the door, and it comes as no surprise that Roger is right behind her. The small Christmas tree on my end table—the one Mary brought me, which she and Aidan helped decorate—mocks my delusions.You actually thought you had a future with Mary? An ex-con who doesn’t make shit for money?

“What are you doin’ home so early?” Roger asks. Then he cocks his head. “And what in the heck are you wearing?”

I turn back to look at them. “It’s a long story.”

Roger takes a seat at my kitchen table. “Good thing I’ve got all night.”

Mrs. Rosa plops onto the sofa. “So do I, at least for another fifteen minutes, until my angel food cake has to come out of the oven.”

Roger does a double take. “You’re making an angel food cake in December? You usually only make those in the summer to serve with fruit.”

She gives him a warm smile. “I’m trying something new. A holiday cake with peppermint and chocolate.”

“Wouldn’t that be better in a pound cake?” he asks incredulously.

“That’s what you’d expect, right?” she asks with a smug look on her face. “That’s why I’m doing something different.” She pulls her shoulders back, beaming. “I’m thinking outside the box.” Then, as though she realizes they’ve gotten off course with this discussion, her smile droops. “But enough about my cakes. We want to know what happened.”

“I’d much rather continue the cake conversation,” I say. “I like peppermint and chocolate.” Then an image of Aidan sipping hot chocolate pops into my head. Mary showed him his hot chocolate mustache in a pocket mirror from her purse, and he laughed so hard he nearly fell off his chair. I’m going to miss the hell out of that kid.

I go into my bedroom to change, shutting the door behind me. When I re-emerge, I’m not the least bit shocked to find my neighbors still there, having a conversation about the best place to get donuts in town.

“I’m telling you, it’s Duck Donuts,” Roger says, leaning forward to make his point.

“They’re achain,” Mrs. Rosa scoffs, makingchainsound synonymous with Satan.

“Exactly,” Roger says. “It’s all about consistency.”

I stare at them in disbelief, but they choose that moment to stop talking and turn to face me.

“You’re not running from this, Jace,” Mrs. Rosa says in a stern voice when she sees my T-shirt and athletic shorts.

“I’m not going for a run,” I say. “It’s flurrying outside. I’m going to the gym.”

“You know what I mean.” She bats her hand through the air, looking annoyed. “I’ve known you for a little over three years, and notoncehave you shown this much interest in a woman.”

“Mary saved my Cleo.” Roger raps his knuckles lightly on the table. “She’s special.”

“Iknowshe’s special.” My frustration mushrooms as I walk over to the kitchen and open an upper cabinet door. “That’s exactly why we can’t be together.” Because as pissed as I am that she had me more deeply investigated than her previous cursory search, I get it. Iaman ex-con. Idohave a prison record. She’s a mother trying to make sure that both she and her son are safe.

“So what’s the problem?” Mrs. Rosa asks, growing impatient.

I pull out my reusable water bottle. “The problem is she had me investigated.”

“Well, that’s water under the bridge,” Roger says, as though I’m an idiot. “We’re asking about what happenedtonight.”

“Thatiswhat happened tonight,” I say as I fill the bottle with ice cubes. “After the wedding, she got a call from someone I presume was a private investigator. He did a deep dive search on me and my arrest. She claims she knows about Lester.”

Roger squints his eyes in confusion. “Plenty of people know about Lester. I’ve looked that man up myself, and there’s not a camera he doesn’t like.”

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