“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Dad asks, his voice soft and far more understanding than I expected.
It seems, yet again, Killian was right.
“You went to so much trouble setting up the interview. I didn’t want to disappoint you. It was easier for me to be a little bit miserable in a good-paying job than it was to let you down.”
“Aimee, sweetheart,” my mom says barely above a whisper with her hand over her heart.
“All I and your mother want is for you to be happy.”
“But I was happy. I told you I was happy where I was. You didn’t believe me.” Heat gathers on the back of my neck. I don’t want to fight. What can I do if he won’t listen? How can I make him understand?
“Floating from paycheck to paycheck? Living, shoulder to shoulder, with two other people in a one-bedroom apartment? Barely able to pay your bills on three part-time salaries? How could anyone be happy living like that?” my dad asks like my lifestyle was a nightmare.
“Yeah, we struggled but we had something far more valuable than a big paycheck. Time. I had time to do what I wanted without being too exhausted or stressed out after working ten or more hours a day. Even on the weekends. Sure, the corporate money was good but I wasn’t.”
“You said you had time to do what you wanted to do,” Mom says when Dad remains stoic, still taking everything in. “What do you want to do?”
“To be honest, I’m still not sure.” The inside of my cheek stings as I chew too hard on it.
I stop and almost crack a smile when Killian wraps his arm around my shoulder.
“You’re almost thirty,” my dad grumbles.
“I know.”
“If you don’t know what you want to do, what are you going to do until you figure it out?” Mom asks.
“I don’t know. I can tell you, whatever I do, I know I want to live in a small town. I miss the warmth and the community. The city was so cold. Everyone distant and in their own heads. I hated it there.” I’m on the edge of breaking down. Tears are coming, it’s just a question of when they’ll finally spill over.
Before the first tear falls, Killian clears his throat. We all turn to him. “You could always work at the lodge. The hours can be as flexible as you need them to be. Plus, I can put in a good word for you with the boss.” Killian’s smile threatens to melt me on the spot. “I hear he’s a pretty nice guy.”
“Not a bad ice skater either,” I tease.
“An expert kisser,” he says against my cheek before pecking a kiss on it.
“This is really what you want?” Dad asks, his words stern but with a hint of a smile.
“I can’t tell you exactly what I want but I can tell you what I don’t want. A corporate job in the city is not for me.”
“That’s enough of this serious talk. Besides, if this means we get our little girl back in town, I’m all for it,” Mom says when Dad doesn’t protest further.
“That I can agree with,” Dad says.
“Here, here,” Killian adds raising his mug of eggnog.
CHAPTER5
Killian
After the heavy discussion at dinner, and a few mugs of eggnog all around, the rest of the night goes off without a hitch. We reminisce and catch up properly. By the end of the night, as Aimee and I prepare to say goodbye and head back up the mountain, it’s as though we’ve never missed spending a Christmas together.
“We’ll see you tomorrow. Both of you,” Judy insists hugging her daughter, then me before sending us on our way.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Not this Christmas or any Christmas from now on as far as I’m concerned.
“Thank you, Killian,” Aimee says with a sigh of relief when we’re safe in the silence of the Jeep. “For everything. Don’t worry, I won’t burden you too long at the lodge. I can pay for a room until a job in town pops up.”
“Aimz. I was serious about you working at the lodge. There’s an opening for an events coordinator if you’re interested. Or we can find you something else.”
