Page 20 of Christmas in Bridger Falls

I close my eyes and sigh. I miss them. Those are the people I would call if I needed someone. Those are the ones I’m going home to, too. An entire town of people who have known me my whole life. People who would show up when I needed them. And for the longest time I just couldn’t even see it.

I get to the counter, and there’s an advertisement for a peppermint mocha in a Christmas-looking cup. I order that and wait for my coffee. Before I realize it, I’m humming along to the Christmas music, drifting through the terminal. What the actual heck? Who even am I?

I nab my coffee when it’s ready and head to my gate just as the boarding announcement pulls me from my thoughts. This might be the first time in years that I’m actually excited for Christmas. And it may be because I just had the time of my life with a hot guy. Or it may be because I’m lonelier than I realized, and I need to go home for Christmas.

A few hours later, I land in Idaho Falls, the bigger airport closer to home. Normally, I’d head straight for Bridger Falls. But today I decided that I’m giving Christmas a chance. For Rick and Becky. And for me. I look up a local mall and shopping center to shop for Christmas gifts for everyone. I realize after an hour how much fun I’m having. Actually enjoying the music, decorations, and the shopping. Not sending an assistant out last minute to grab my list for me or ordering online and having it delivered to Bridger Falls with the paid gift-wrapping service. Nope, this year I’m going old school.

By the time I finish and get back to my rental car, I have several bags and a whole lot of wrapping to do when I get to the lodge. The lodge is our family’s home, where we grew up. But we never called it that. It never really felt like a home. It was a big lodge that my father built and ostentatiously decorated with obnoxious animal heads and expensive furniture, but it never felt like home. It was more of a flex for my dad.

After he went to prison for white-collar crimes and we saved the family’s ranch, then known as the Jessop Ranch, my brothers and I got rid of all the ostentatious crap and made it homier. We dragged a lot of my mom’s old stuff out of storage that, luckily, our favorite ranch employee, who is more like family, Tessa, saved for us. Now the lodge is a place we can all come back to. But even though we’ve changed it up, the memories still haunt me there.

My phone rings, and I look at it to see that it’s Rick. I smile and answer through the car speakers.

“Hey, Rick.”

“Checking in, J. How was the flight?” he asks, and I hear sounds of laughter and music in the background.

“I’m alive. Landed in Idaho, did some shopping, now I’m headed to Bridger Falls.”

“Good,” he says, sounding relieved. “How was Tucker’s competition? I was glad to hear you got to stop and see him.”

“It was really good,” I tell him.

Very good.

I hear Becky laughing in the background, and a pang of missing them hits me. This will be the first Christmas that I’m not with their family.

The road stretches ahead of me with snow-covered fields and capped mountains in the distance. Home. As different as you can get from Los Angeles.

Then his voice softens as he says, “I just want you to relax, Jenna. Enjoy your family.”

My chest tightens. “You were right.”

“Becky and I are worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” I say as I watch the road.

And surprisingly...I am fine. My thoughts drift back to Vegas. To a cowboy smile. I’m just not telling Rick that part. Stopping in Vegas to see Tucker compete was the best way I could make myself feel alive. Maybe Cami was right. I just needed a cocktail and a one-night stand.