Page 52 of The Mistletoe Switch

"And it makes you happy?" I ask, though the answer is clear by the happiness in every line of her face.

"It does. Unfortunately, I might have to give it up and rejoin the workforce."

That surprises me. "Why?"

"My parents are only getting older and they don't have much savings. They're going to need full-time care. I'm planning to move them closer to me, but covering their stay in assisted living will eat up too much of my own savings without a real income. What I'm making now just covers the feed and care of the reindeer."

"Why'd you bring me on, then?" I ask.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done to get my house and farm ready for sale, as well as getting my parents a place in the assisted living home and getting them moved. Plus, I need to figure out what to do with the reindeer. I need you to take over as much as possible, so I have time to work on those things."

The sad look on her face brings tears to my eyes. "Is there no way to increase your revenue?"

She shrugs. "There are only so many school groups a day who want to come here to visit the reindeer."

I look at the reindeer, who have settled down to nap after a morning of pellets and little hands petting them. What will happen to them now? "That's too bad."

"It is." She slaps my back. "You've got thirty minutes for lunch before I re-open to the tourists."

I swallow hard, thinking of the plan Xavier and I came up with last night, our bellies full of Thai food. In the light of day, it seems like a terrible plan, but I came here to win RJ back and I can't back down now.

***

I've texted RJ three times, hoping to convince him to meet me for lunch, but he hasn't responded. He's almost definitely going to be pissed about me showing up at his work unexpectedly, but Xavier assured me last night that no man is going to be angry about a free lunch.

Finch has been keeping me updated on RJ, but he hasn't seen him at the coffee shop in days. An accidental run in there won't work. According to Finch, local gossip says RJ has taken on more work at the law firm and he's been super stressed and running on no sleep.

Which is making me extra nervous.

So, I stop at the local deli and get RJ's favorite sub sandwich, ham and cheese, no veggies. I get a sub for myself as well and a few bags of chips and five cookies, so I'll have something for dinner and won't have to stop at the grocery store tonight.

RJ's law office is dead quiet and clean, but it's nowhere near as fancy as where he'd hoped to work. The waiting room is filled with typical waiting room chairs, no leather armchairs or hardwood tables here.

The receptionist looks old enough to be my grandmother, and she smiles warmly as I step inside.

"Hello," she says. "How may I help you?"

"Hi." I give her my biggest smile, widening my eyes to look extra innocent. "Is RJ, I mean, James in? I've brought him lunch."

She frowns and bows her head to flip through a planner. When she looks up, her expression has gone stormy. "Mr. Stillwater is unavailable at the moment, but he asked me to give you this."

She hands over a sealed envelope with my name scrawled on the outside. Clearly, he got my texts and warned his receptionist a woman would be showing up to see him with lunch.

I'd thought RJ was past the point of being able to hurt me, but the fact he won't even see me for a lunch date, won't even tell me in person whatever this letter says, hurts. What must he think of me to decide I'm not even worth thirty minutes of his time?

I take the letter without a word and leave the law office.

Feeling like a total loser, I hold my head high and march back to the Reindeer visiting area.

I pull the stool close to the reindeer enclosure, but not close enough they can reach through the bars and steal my lunch.

My stomach twists at the sight of the sandwiches in the bag. I close it as disgusted with myself as I am with the food. "The whole point was that he wasn't supposed to be able to hurt me anymore."

Frankincense looks over, expression inscrutable, before closing his eyes.

"I get it. It's a boring, pathetic story, but I thought I could make it work for me. I really thought he was the answer."

Laughter erupts and I look up to see Josephine walk out of the deli with two women around her age. They chat together as she makes her way back to us. Josephine's got a bag like mine in one hand and she's all smiles for the women with her.

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