Page 35 of This Moment

I quickly looked at the time and asked her, “Do you have plans for this afternoon?”

“No, nothing at all.”

“How about a tour of Moose Village and the lake? I mean, there’s no time like the present.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure.”

Sitting up straight, she gave a nod. “Then I’m totally down for a tour.”

Cadie

It had been a long time since I had had so much fun. It didn’t hurt that the guy giving me the tour of my new town was handsome as all get out, made me laugh and, most importantly, made me feel comfortable and safe. I couldn’t say that about the last guy I was with. At first, things were like that with Michael until I learned about his family from Lauryn. Kian would be different.

You’re not with Kian, Cadie!

We walked out of the Sweet Spot ice cream parlor and started down Main Street, me eating a chocolate ice cream, and Kian eating a vanilla chocolate swirl. When he suggested ice cream, I laughed. It was forty degrees outside and he wanted ice cream, but I was glad he talked me into it.

“I have to say, this has been a really fun day.”

Kian nodded. “It has been. The furniture shopping was probably more fun for you than for me.”

I chuckled. “I could see that.”

We walked by a little store. In the window was a picture of a moose that looked to be hand-drawn, and above it was the name Perry. It wasn’t the first time I had heard someone mention Perry the Moose.

“So, who is Perry?”

Kian looked confused for a second, then laughed. “Perry the Moose?”

“Yes! I’ve seen a few paintings and a mug with a moose named Perry. And a customer came into the bakery and said something about not seeing Perry again until Christmas Eve.”

Kian motioned across the street, and we walked down to a grassy area that I had yet to explore, even though I only worked a few blocks down. It overlooked the lake and had a stage at the very bottom. This must be The Green Kian mentioned earlier.

“You remember Anna from my story earlier? The one who said the lake looked like a moose antler?”

I nodded as I licked my cone. A breeze blew off the lake, and I shivered.

“Well, the legend of Perry the Moose started with Anna. She said that on Christmas Eve she saw a moose walking down Main Street while she was looking out her bedroom window. The house she lived in is now our town hall.”

“Oh, wow!”

“Yeah. But she also said she saw Santa riding on the back of the moose. The next year, she said she saw him again, and a few other residents claimed to see him as well, but with no Santa this time. The next year…”

“The moose again.”

He laughed. “You got it. Our little Anna is responsible for naming him Perry.”

“Well, Anna sure did have a lot of influence on this little town, didn’t she?”

“She sure did. She grew up and followed in her father’s footsteps; although, it took her a while to do what he did.”

“What did she do?”

Kian looked at me, and the cutest smile spread across his face. “She was one of the first women lawyers in New York, not the first one, but the third woman.”

“Really?”

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