Jack’s fingers sifted through my hair. “You love it when I’m surly. Don’t pretend you don’t.”
Dipping his head, Jack grazed his lips over the curve of my chin, making me angle my neck so he could get closer. Then we were backing up, Jack pressing his body against mine. My boot came down on a bauble and the thin, glossy plastic cracked beneath my feet.
We both laughed as Jack scooped me up and set me on the edge of a storage cabinet. His hands glided up my thighs and settled around my waist as he claimed my mouth with a slow intoxicating kiss.
“We’re never going to finish decorating the tree,” I said, coming up for air.
“There’s always next year.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Or the one after that.” His lips found the pulse on my neck. “Or the one after that.”
His words made my heart flutter and ache at the same time. What if we only have this one Christmas? I smoothed my hands over the stubble on his chin and held his searching gaze. I knew he was waiting for assurances. Promises that after the holiday, I’d stay. But I couldn’t give them yet. Not until everything was out in the open, and I’d checked in with the agency.
“Let’s just focus on this one for now. I’ll help you tame those lights.”
Jack groaned and grudgingly helped me down from the cabinet. We sorted through the ornaments and set the ones aside that we planned to use, then brought everything down to the common room. After stringing the lights and hanging most of the baubles, we stepped back and admired our work.
All that was left was illumination. Jack reached behind the tree and plugged in the lights, setting off a colorful display that bounced like prisms off the gleaming ornaments. He stood behind me, enfolding his arms around my shoulders. I leaned against him and nuzzled my head under his chin, locating my favorite ornament front and center. The little raccoon hung delicately from a branch, swaying gently, then settling into place.
“I’m keeping the farm,” Jack said softly. “For a long time, I thought my dad loved this place more than me. But thanks to you, I don’t believe that anymore. This farm is a part of people’s lives and their traditions, and we get to be a part of that. I’d like to think he just wanted to share that with me, and even though neither of us went about it the right way, I realized maybe he was trying to give me a gift and not a burden.”
I tilted my head to look up at him. “That’s amazing Jack. I think he’d be happy to hear that.”
“Yeah. I can’t take back the things that were said or change the way things ended between us. But I can move forward by making new memories and honoring him that way. It’ll be a lot of work to get everything back to the way it was, but I’ll hire help, and we’ll get there. And I was thinking…” Jack hesitated, and I had to nudge him in the side to continue.
“What were you thinking?”
“Next year, I want to do another toy drive to make up for the one we lost. It’ll be bigger and better, and actually make it to the kids this time.”
“I think that’s a great idea, and I’d love to help you put it together.” As the words left my mouth, I bit my tongue, but Jack chuckled in my ear.
“I’ll remember you said that. But first, don’t go anywhere. We forgot the box that contains the tree star. I’ll go back and get it.” Jack planted a kiss on my forehead, then jogged from the room and back up the stairs.
I shook my head. So much for not giving any assurances. Oh well, a little one couldn’t hurt.
As I was gathering the empty boxes to bring back up to the attic, my phone chimed. I slipped the phone from my back pocket and noticed a text from Simon. We hadn’t spoken since he’d left to finish his case, but I tapped his name to open the message.
A photo appeared of Jack and me underneath the mistletoe. Pinching my fingers, I zoomed in, grinning at the cherished moment captured in time. This must have been the photo Simon snapped at the festival. I hadn’t realized he’d taken one.
Another text came through. This one was a short message followed by a link.
Simon:I’m sorry to do this. But I had to warn you when I found the correct passage. Maybe they’ll make an exception. Take care, Frost. See you in the new year.
My finger hovered over the link, unease keeping me from clicking it. I knew whatever was on the other side of that link wasn’t going to be good. With a deep breath, I gathered the courage and tapped the screen. A page from a document loaded, and I squinted at the tiny text in the corner revealing the page to be from our employee handbook.
Simon had highlighted a passage, and I skimmed through it. A horrifying numbness spread through my body as the words took hold. I blinked, desperate for the disturbing lines to disappear, but they remained in cold, steadfast pixels.
Section 375
Paragraph Four
Non-Completion of A Matchmaking Case File As Assigned by Management
Agent shall follow instructions and data provided in the case file, and shall not deviate or change data without prior authorization in writing. If the agent fails to complete the case file as directly assigned, the agent shall forfeit all future duties relating to the client. To protect client confidentiality and agency assets, the client will lose all memory of any agent or agent activity beginning at the designated deadline documented in the case file.
The client will continue their existence as if the agent had not intervened. All traces of the agent shall vanish, and all associates of the client will lose any knowledge of the agent or agent activity. This decision is final.
My phone clattered to the floor as my heart roared in my ears. Technical though it may be, the meaning was simple. Because I’d failed to complete the case file as written, at midnight tonight, Jack was going to forget I existed. He’d wake up Christmas morning still hating Christmas and at odds with the town and the memory of his father.
This was my fault. How could I be so reckless as to not read the fine print? Panic seared through my chest. I couldn’t let this happen. It wasn’t fair. Not when Jack had changed for the better and had healed. To take all that away now was unimaginably cruel. Even if we couldn’t be together, and I had to accept the punishment alone, I needed to stop Jack’s memories from being erased.
