Page 2 of Sweet Christmas Wish
Tiffany pulled off her coat and dropped her backpack in the back office. Sarah rarely worked in there, preferring to use the bakery’s dining area, as it allowed her to mingle with guests more and offered a more personal touch. Knowing that Tiffany had things well in hand, Sarah returned to her booth with her glass of milk and settled in to sort through the mail.
Quickly sorting through the mail and setting aside the junk mail that would go straight in the trash, Sarah was pleasantly surprised to see a letter from Michelle.
The two sisters preferred snail mail communication, choosing that over texting most of the time, especially since it allowed Michelle to send Sarah postcards from the various cities she got to see with her husband on his Olympic society tours.
Sarah studied the front of the postcard—Park City, Utah. Eagerly, she flipped the card over and read the message on the back, written in tiny handwriting so that Michelle could make the best use of the small space.
Sarah,
Guess what? Kyle and I are coming back to visit for Christmas! It should be a nice long visit, and I can’t wait to see you again, even if Park City is absolutely stunning. You would love it out here, sis. Anyway, can’t wait to see you, but gotta run! Love ya!
Sarah smiled as she reread the postcard, but she had to admit she felt a small pang of… something. Not quite jealousy, but maybe something a little bit like envy. She loved Snowy Pine Ridge, loved running the family bakery, but… sometimes she felt a little bit left behind. Seeing her sister traveling all over the place only served to remind her that Michelle’s life was moving forward while her own was staying the same as it had for years.
Stop it,she scolded herself.Her life isn’t better, it’s just different than yours. The stern reminder didn’t do much, so she switched tack mentally.Besides, she’ll be back soon for a nice long visit, and that will push aside whatever this dismal feeling is.
And it likely would. Sarah was always happier when Michelle was around. Michelle was her best friend, and she missed her terribly when she was away.
It was more than missing her sister, though. Even though this was the busy season, so there wasn’t much time to think, the thoughts of something missing in her life had begun to linger in the back of her mind. It hovered there nearly constantly, making her itch to figure out what she needed to change in her life.
Sarah was a naturally bubbly person, generally content with life, at least until lately and she yearned to figure out where this itch was coming from.
She didn’t have time right now, not with the business and her sister coming into town, but maybe, just maybe, after the holiday season, Sarah would have a little more clarity about what was to come next for herself. Not just professionally, but also personally.
* * *
William Parks climbed out of his car and paused to stretch, reaching his arms toward the night sky. It was early evening, but the sky was already dark as midnight. Ah, well, that was to be expected in New England wintertime.
Giving himself one more good stretch, he shivered in the cold night air and hurried to attach the gas nozzle at the station to his car. He’d been driving for a good five hours already and it was most definitely time for a break, both to gas up and to give himself a moment to rest from the highway.
Thank goodness he didn’t have to worry about what time he got to Snowy Pine Ridge—the owner of The Snowy Pine, the inn where he would be staying, had known him since he was a child and she had agreed to leave the back door open and his key at the front desk. He smiled to himself thinking about that. That sort of thing would never fly in New Jersey, where he’d been living and working as an accountant for the past few years, not even for a close friend.
William liked living in New Jersey, although it certainlyhadbeen an adjustment after New Hampshire, but there was always something so comforting about returning to his hometown. He knew the streets and the mountain vistas like the back of his hand, and he couldn’t wait to soak it all in over his vacation time. He’d been saving up his days off for a while now, which meant he had been able to take a few weeks off from work to visit home and, of course, do plenty of skiing while he was there.
And, of course, he also hoped to reconnect with his high school sweetheart—Michelle Langston. Just the thought of her sent something that felt suspiciously close to butterflies erupting in his stomach.
Back in high school, he had thought she was the love of his life. College, and then work in New Jersey, had separated them, but he still missed her. Lately, he hadn’t been able to get her off his mind. He had no idea what she’d been up to, not being a fan of social media and not having kept up with his high school friends the way he should’ve.
Soon, that won’t matter,he told himself as he disconnected the gas nozzle from his car.
Deciding on an impulse to grab a donut from the service station—it was vacation, after all—William was soon back on the road.
As he drove, his thoughts returned to Michelle. Soon, he would be back in his hometown and he could reconnect with her. It would be fun to catch up, at the very least, but maybe they could even pick up where they left off and see where things went.
CHAPTERTWO
“And you come see us again soon, Mrs. Wright,” Sarah said, waving one last goodbye to the elderly woman.
Mrs. Wright, a long-since retired high school English teacher, gave her a vague wave and, clutching her brown paper bag containing her usual blueberry muffin and a raspberry cream cheese Danish, tottered out the door. Sarah couldn’t help but smile as she watched Mrs. Wright leave. Mrs. Wright was one of her best customers—a regular, really—and Sarah always looked forward to seeing her, although Mrs. Wright’s head was usually in the clouds.
Probably contemplating poetry or Shakespeare,Sarah thought with a little laugh.
With Mrs. Wright gone, Sweet Thing had finally fallen into a blessed lull and Sarah took a moment to catch her breath. Like most days at the bakery, it had been a whirlwind morning, so busy she’d barely had time to string two thoughts together, let alone keep up with the morning chores.
She looked around her, wincing a little as she took in the back counter that was in shambles, saw the crumbs dotting the tables in the dining area, and saw that nearly half of her baked goods had already sold out. Well, that last one was actually a good thing, but still. Michelle had always been the one to keep the bakery organized, especially when it came to finances and keeping things orderly, but now it was just Sarah, and she simply had to make do with her own resources.
Her stomach rumbled loudly reminding her that, although she had been up since four a.m. making pastries for her customers to enjoy, she hadn’t yet eaten a morsel herself. Grabbing a napkin, she served herself an apple crumb muffin and took a huge bite, leaning against the counter and sighing with relief as the sweetly balanced flavors melted on her tongue.
I may not be the best at keeping things organized,she thought, taking another bite,but I can bake like nobody’s business.
