Page 79 of Mistletoe Kisses

“I forgot about those letters.” She was quiet for a moment. “He wanted to see me again, but I wasn’t interested. He left his contact information with me anyway. When I learned I was pregnant, I wrote to tell him. I didn’t feel right not telling him, but I also made it clear I wasn’t interested in a relationship. We’d decided that since he was heading overseas, he wouldn’t be involved. I always planned to be open to him coming into your life, but…”

“But he died.”

“Yes,” she said sadly. “I’m sorry, Arlo.”

“At least it’s all out there now,” I said. I could feel myself healing from this conversation. It would take a while to fully get there, but it was a start.

“How are they? Dennis’s family?”

It startled me to hear his name on her lips. “Honestly, Mom? They’re amazing.” I told her about my work with the bookstore and how welcoming they’d been. That shifted into me admitting how I’d lost my job and nearly my love for books, but that Tome Raiders and Ron helped me find that again. And I told her about the interaction with Judith last night.

“Have you talked to any of them about it?”

I sighed. “No, but I need to.”

“I wish I’d known him better so I would’ve had more to tell you about him. I’m glad you can get that from his family. Sorry, I mean, your family.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I wished I could hug her.

“When are you flying home?”

My stomach swooped. “Um, about that. I think I want to stay.”

“In Dahlia Springs?” There was some surprise in her voice, but not as much as I would’ve expected.

“Yeah. I really like it here. I want to get to know my family. And, um, I met someone.”

“Arlo! You did? Tell me all about him.” I heard the smile in her voice, which prompted my own.

I gushed all about Lucas. I couldn’t stop myself, except I left out the details of how we’d first met and other more personal things. She didn’t need to knowthatmuch. He could probably hear everything I was saying in his small apartment, but I didn’t care. I wanted him to hear how he made me feel.

“He sounds wonderful. Do you have enough money to live out there until you get settled? I can send you some.”

“Thanks, Mom, but I’ll be okay. I got some severance from my job.” I bit my lip. Even though I was pretty sure I’d made the right decision about the offer to return to my job, I wanted her thoughts. She was always pragmatic, and a part of me worried I was getting too swept up in emotions and not making a rational decision.

I took a deep breath. “My old boss emailed me yesterday and offered my job back.”

“I’m not surprised. You worked your ass off for them, and they’re probably hurting with you not there anymore.” Momnevercursed. “What did you tell them?”

“I haven’t replied yet, but I plan to turn them down.”

She hummed. “If they let you go in the first place, they don’t deserve you. Find somewhere where they recognize your value.”

Somewhere hopefully as great as Tome Raiders. “Thanks, Mom. I appreciate that. I’m going to email him back today. I won’t put up with being taken advantage of any longer.”

“I’m so proud of you.”

Her words gave me strength. “Thank you.”

“You know, I’ve always wanted to visit the Pacific Northwest. I’d considered looking for traveling nurse jobs there because it seems beautiful, but I didn’t want to be too far from you. I’ll start looking for some if that’s okay with you. Maybe you could introduce me to Dennis’s family? I’d like to meet the people who made my wonderful son feel so welcome.”

I got choked up. “I’d love that, Mom.”

“Well, I’ll let you go. I’m sure you and Lucas have a lot to celebrate. But before I go, I, I just—you are an amazing young man.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

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