Page 59 of The Forever Christmas Tree

Ethan felt better.

A lot better.

He made her an offer she couldn’t refuse . . .

Wendy couldn’t keep her eyes off Ethan as he worked the crowd. This was the eighteen-year-old Ethan she had known—a boy—but all grown up and comfortable in his skin . . . a man.

There was a mixture of attire at this newspaper party, everything from slacks and sweaters to suits and ties, especially since some of the people came directly from work. Ethan was among the dozen or so men in the latter category. He wore a navy blue suit, the jacket open over a white dress shirt and red-and-blue striped tie.

She could see him now as the successful businessman he was, addressing people by name as he shook their hands, sometimes putting a hand on the shoulder at the same time. Those people he didn’t know, he introduced himself to with a self-confidence she didn’t recall seeing in him as a boy.

He threw his head back and laughed out loud at something being said in one group, then listened intently when someone was saying something to him, like Harry Carder, the retired financial advisor in a wheelchair who was residing temporarily in her house.

In her defense, Ethan was watching her, too. When his searching gaze would locate her across the room, he would either nod, or if he caught her watching him, wink at her. There was something hot and hungry in his scrutiny that made her feel hot and hungry, too. Once when he couldn’t see her—she was just coming from the library—panic appeared in his eyes for a moment. Did he think she was going slip away from the party without saying her goodbyes? Why would she do that? Or even worse, skip town, again, without letting him know?

Wendy wasn’t the only one following Ethan’s progress, either. Women noticed him, and a few sidled up to him to get his attention.

Laura, who was passing with a tray of hors d’oeuvres for the buffet table, must have been thinking the same thing. “Still hot stuff, isn’t he?”

“Does he date? Have someone special?”

“I have no idea. Whatever he does, he does off-island.”

“I see you and Gabe are getting along well,” Wendy remarked.

“I love his house,” Laura said, gazing about the huge drawing room that easily accommodated the fifty or so people standing around sipping at stemmed glasses of wine, or munching on finger foods. The wallpaper and drapes and upholstery were faded and worn, but shabby chic in the soft lighting beside the beautifully decorated trees, probably the result of Laura’s tasteful help.

“Yeah, but a house is still just a house, albeit a big one like this. What about the man?”

Laura’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “I like him just fine.”

“Poor Tony!” Wendy said.

“Hah! Have you noticed ‘poor Tony’ putting the moves on your friend?”

Wendy smiled, following Laura’s gaze over to the window seat alcove where Tony was sitting next to Diane. They were conversing enthusiastically on some subject, probably the bear Grizz had once killed and how one would serve bear meat in an Italian restaurant. Or maybe they weren’t talking about that at all, Wendy mused, noting Tony’s hand on Diane’s knee, which was exposed by the short black sheath she’d bought that day in Monique’s Boutique, a dress that would serve double duty at her cousin’s upcoming wedding.

Laura took her goodies to the buffet table, then went over to join Gabe who was being hustled by Ethan and her SEAL friends regarding the treasure-hunting venture. Apparently, they’d come up with some crazy idea of saving Bell Forge by combining it with the Jinx company, whose name would be changed to Bell Forge Ventures. How the two would share one building was beyond Wendy, and she really had nothing to do with it; so, she circulated among the partygoers, many of whom she’d known all her life.

Ina Rogers, the longtime secretary at Our Lady by the Sea, was sitting in a wing back chair near the fireplace, a walker propped next to her. “Hello, sweetheart. It’s good to see you back in Bell Cove.”

Wendy hunkered down so that they were face to face. “You look just the same, Mrs. Rogers, except for that.” She didn’t mean her orangish skin color, although that was different, but, instead, pointed at the walker. “Anything serious?”

“Well, as serious as a double knee replacement can be. I’ll be good as new in a few weeks.”

“Are you still working at the rectory?”

“Absolutely. I keep telling Father Brad that I’ll be there till the day I die. Which will save my family on funeral expenses. They can just bring the casket to the church, say a mass over my body, and cart me to the cemetery.” She laughed at her own morbid joke.

“Father Brad? A new priest?”

“Honey, there have been eight priests assigned here since I was first hired as church secretary forty years ago. I like your friend, by the way.”

“Which friend?”

“The Mendozo fella. He’s come in to talk to Father Brad a few times. Seems they both went to the same seminary at one time.”

“Really?” This was news to Wendy. She knew that the guys and Diane had been exploring the town a lot, usually on their twice-daily jogging runs, but this was the first she’d heard that JAM was visiting the church, other than the day the guys had arrived in town.