Page 17 of Christmas By The Book

“She really was,” Iris agreed, giving me a smile. Though I had always mostly kept to myself, my grandma had never been the same way, reaching out into the community and making friends. It made me a little emotional to see that so many of them still held her in such high regard, even though it had been years since she had passed on.

“Okay, let’s take a vote,” Wharton announced, clearly sensing that he was starting to lose the crowd. The council voted, and I held my breath as it was all counted up. But then, Olivia grinned as she announced the results.

“Four-three in favor of granting the permit,” she told me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness! I had done it. I had actually done it!

I caught Seth’s eye as he flashed me a thumbs-up, and I couldn’t help but giggle, a big bubble of joy rising up in my chest before I could stop it.

“Thank you,” I told the room, and I hurried down the steps, feeling Wharton’s glare blazing into the back of my head as I made my way back over to Seth, grabbing my bag, and making a break for it.

“You did it!” Seth exclaimed as soon as the door was shut behind us. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, I think it was more my grandmother’s memory that did it than anything else,” I replied, but he shook his head.

“You shouldn’t put yourself down like that,” he told me firmly. “You did really well up there.”

That caught me off-guard. I was so used to playing myself down, it felt strange to have someone call me out on it, let alone someone like him. It was kind, in a way I hadn’t expected. After how self-centered I had been over the course of our date, I wasn’t sure I really deserved such sweetness, but I wasn’t going to go arguing with it.

“Thank you,” I replied. “And thank you for fixing my shoes before I went up there. I don’t think they would have agreed to it if I had been tripping over my feet the whole time.”

“Hey, maybe they would have felt sorry for you,” he joked. “It’s worked for some people, I’m sure.”

I giggled. Now that the hard part was done, I felt like I could relax, some tension within me unwinding.

“Thanks for coming here tonight,” I murmured as I glanced up at him again. “Being back in high school again, it’s... it’s not exactly my favorite place in the world.”

“I don’t think high school’s anyone’s finest hour,” he reminded me. “Certainly wasn’t mine. You should have seen the hair I had back then.”

“Now you have to show me,” I joked..

He lifted a hand, shaking his head “Trust me, it’s way worse than anything you might be thinking.” He laughed. “You would never be able to look at me the same way again if you saw it. Better to leave that in the past, trust me.”

“I’m with you there,” I replied. “Come on, let’s go. We can start planning the fair properly now that we have permission.”

“You sound like you’re full of ideas,” he remarked, as he followed me through the corridors. I could hear the meeting continuing, Wharton droning on about something. I was glad to be done with it.

“I have a few,” I replied. And I meant it. For the first time in a long time, I could feel the opportunity opening out in front of me, the possibility of the book fair filling my head with ideas. But, more than that, the chance that I might actually being able to save the store, and keep the house.

Hey, a girl could dream, right?

Chapter Eleven

Seth

“I’LL SEE YOU TOMORROW!” I called to Mrs. Kennedy, as I stepped out of the hardware store and into the chilly afternoon air.

“Make sure you’re on time!” she yelled back. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Jorja had been dead right when she had warned me that the people who owned this place were a stickler for time, and I had learned the hard way that stepping through the door anything other than five minutes early for my shift would earn me a chewing-out.

But hey, it was a job, something to earn a little cash as I set up my new life here in Mastin Falls. When I had pointed at this place on the map, I never in a million years could have imagined that it would feel this good to be stepping out into the quiet streets, inhaling a big lungful of the frigid air. I thought I would spend a few weeks here and move on once the Christmas season was over, pick somewhere new and take off once more to find out what else was out there for me.

But instead, I found myself starting to grow comfortable in this place. Starting to feel like, maybe, I belonged here. I knew Jorja had a lot to do with that. As dangerous as it was for me to admit that I was starting to develop real feelings for her, I knew there was no denying it. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to get her out of my head—and I didn’t want to, either.

Setting up the book fair with her had been the highlight of my day. We had fallen into a routine, where I would finish up my shift at the hardware store and then head the few streets over to the Mastin Bookshelf to help plan a few more details of the event. It felt good to flex those muscles once more, and I was glad I could do something to help keep the place open. If I could have dipped into my own savings to do it, I would have, though I got the feeling that Jorja would have been quick to turn me down if I had offered. She didn’t seem like the type who took well to people trying to step in and fix things for her. She wanted to do it on her own terms, and I couldn’t blame her for that.

I noticed a couple of people looking at me on the street, probably wondering who this new arrival was. In a place as small as this, I knew I was bound to stand out, but I didn’t mind. It was strange, to go from the West Coast, where you could fade easily into a crowd like it was nothing, to somewhere like this, where it seemed as though everyone knew everyone’s business. I supposed I was going to have to get used to it, if I intended to stay.

There was a dusting of snow on the ground from the fall overnight, and it made the whole town look as though it had been lightly coated with confectioner’s sugar. I couldn’t get over how idyllic this place was, like something out of a postcard. It really did look like the little Christmas village Jorja had set up in the window of the shop, another thing she had adapted from her grandmother, she’d told me. I wish I’d had a chance to meet Maria, but I figured that helping keep her store afloat was about the best thing I could to do honor her memory.

But, when I pushed open the door to the shop, my heart dropped when I saw Jorja leaning on the counter, her head in her hands, staring at a pile of papers in front of her. I thought for a moment they were bills or something, but as I got closer, I could see they were all printed with the same thing.