Page 35 of Sweet Christmas Wish
Lacy dropped to her knees beside her friend, wrapping her arms around Sarah. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea it would turn your hair that color.”
“It’s not your fault, neither of us did,” Sarah mumbled through her tears.
“Okay,” Lacy said, sitting back. Her voice was more determined now. “What we need to do is make a game plan. We’ve got no time to lose.”
“I’ll grab my laptop,” Sarah said, wiping her eyes and scrambling to her feet. “We can research ways to undo this.”
“Good idea,” Lacy replied, getting to her feet as well. Her eyes were determined and her chin was lifted. “And I'm going to pour us some more wine too.”
“Pour out some extra for me,” Sarah called over her shoulder, then said more softly to herself. “I’m going to need it…”
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
After taking advantage of the chance to sleep in—something he hadn’t really done much of his entire vacation—Will decided to head over to Burkman’s Grocery before he hit the slopes for the day.
He hadn’t been skiing since he’d started helping Sarah at the bakery, but he was surprised to find that he hadn’t been aching for it the way he’d thought he would. Still, the bakery was closed on Sundays, which meant he had the chance to ski and he was excited for it.
His mother had always drilled “chores before play” into him, though, so he found himself heading to Burkman’s a little after nine a.m. to pick up some toothpaste and mouthwash and, as a treat to himself, some new skiing gloves. Most general stores wouldn’t have such a thing, but that was Snowy Pine Ridge for you.
Head bent low against the icy wind as he trudged through the parking lot, he almost didn’t see the person in front of him before they collided. He veered out of the way just in time, apologizing, then grinned as he saw that he’d almost run into Clark, who was almost unrecognizable in his massive winter coat and a beanie pulled low over his hair.
“Clark?” he called over the wind, his voice a smidge too loud as they stepped through the sliding glass doors and into the relative quiet of Burkman’s.
“Yep,” Clark replied, pulling off his beanie and stuffing it into one of his pockets. “Surprised you recognized me under all this.”
“I’d always recognize my dear, dear friend,” Will joked.
“I’m touched,” Clark said with a chuckle. “Heading out to the slopes today?”
Will nodded. “If the snow lightens up a little. I want to havesomevisibility while I’m out there.”
“I figured the weather might be a problem. Here’s hoping, for your sake, that it lightens up.”
This reminded Will of Michelle and her delay and he folded his arms, frowning. “Not just for my sake, actually,” he replied, blowing out a breath. He still wasn’t sure how to feel about the whole situation. “Sarah told me that Michelle’s travel plans have been delayed because of the weather.”
Clark nodded slowly, his expression unreadable.
“What?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Clark shrugged.
“Come on, man, you can’t leave me hanging like that.”
Just then, a family came walking through the sliding glass doors and Will realized he and Clark were blocking the entrance. Nodding and smiling at the family, he and Clark moved aside, wandering over to the edge of the produce section where it was less busy so they could continue their conversation.
“Well…” Clark drew this part out, picking up where they’d left off. “From my perspective, it just seemed like maybe you weren’t interested in that direction so much anymore…”
“Oh, come on—you’re not on about this again, are you?” Will said, while at the same time his brain screamed at him,Hypocrite! You can’t give him a hard time for something you’re struggling with as well.
Clark held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t say anything specific, but I will now. It seems like you and Sarah are really hitting it off. I just wondered if it was such a bad thing that Michelle was delayed to, you know… give you and Sarah some more alone time together. And you’ve seemed less interested in Michelle’s arrival anyway lately. At least, that’s what it seems like.”
Will blew out another breath, raking a hand through his short hair. “Okay, okay, you’re not totally wrong.”
Clark waited, his eyes kind, not filling the silent gap in their conversation, and Will found himself admitting more than he’d intended to.
“I don’t know. The longer I’ve been here the more I’ve wondered what I was even thinking when it comes to Michelle. I mean, it’s been years since high school. Is it really smart to try and pick things up with an ex-girlfriend? Should I have just let the past stay in the past? I mean, it’s not like Michelle and I even keep in touch. We haven’t talked in years.”
“But you’re here now, and maybe there’s a reason for that.”
