Page 27 of We Wish You a Happily Ever After

“I may be old, but I’m not stupid, child. Go ahead.”

She looked back to her phone as it chirped again.

See you tonight? I’ll come over.

That was perfect. If Jeremy came over, they’d have the chance to talk about what things would look like when she went back to the city. Long distance wasn’t impossible and if they both worked at it, it would work out.

Sounds good.

She’d barely hit Send on her message when the screen lit up with an incoming call. Kyle. Finally.

“Sorry, Papa, I need to take this. Kyle is going to give me the details about the gig and—”

He waved her away, and Bella rushed into the kitchen to take the call.

* * *

Jeremy pushed the last chair into place and stepped back to admire his work as he felt a pat on his shoulder.

“It looks great, Jeremy.”

He turned to see Ed Walker next to him. “Thanks, Chief. It’s your vision—I just execute.”

Ed laughed. “This is so much more than my vision, son. When I started this dinner all those years ago, there were maybe five people who came. Me and the guys—there were only guys back then—”

Jeremy nodded.

“We roasted a turkey and mashed up some potatoes. That was it. We ate right over there.” He pointed to the corner of the station. “Huddled around a card table with a few folding chairs. It was nothing like this, but special nonetheless.”

“I bet it was,” Jeremy answered honestly. “I’m told Roy Burton was one of those who came that first year.” He felt a twinge of sadness that Bella’s grandfather had been alone for Christmas after his wife passed.

“It’s true.” Ed nodded. “It was the first year he’d moved here after his wife died. He’d insisted on staying in town instead of going to visit his family. That was the year we decided Roy would make a good Santa.”

“And all these years later, he still puts on that suit.” Jeremy smiled.

The two men stood in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts before Ed cleared his throat, startling Jeremy. “You’ll make a fine chief one day, son.”

The comment was unexpected and it took Jeremy off guard. Of course, he hoped to be chief one day; it was his dream and his goal since he was a child. But at twenty-seven, he was too young for the job, wasn’t he? There’d been rumors that Ed Walker was getting ready to retire, that he was spending more and more time with a special lady and now that his daughter, Sarah, had married Brody and was settled down again, Ed might just be ready to move on.

But all of that was rumor and hearsay. Jeremy didn’t really expect the older man to walk away from his career. Not yet.

He looked at Ed, his face hard to read. “One day, sir. One day.”

Ed patted his back and smiled. “One day,” he repeated.

* * *

“I can’t do it.” Bella walked to the kitchen window and stared out at the snow-covered mountain in an effort to make sense of what Kyle was saying to her.

“You can’t—”

“No.” She cut him off. “I can do it. It’s just…”

Shit.

She took a breath and let it out slowly.

“It’s just that I didn’t realize the gig was tomorrow.” Bella dropped her head in her free hand and massaged her temples. If the gig was tomorrow, that meant…

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