Page 44 of Sugar Plum Serenade

That would never happen.

“I don’t want those crappy old earrings.”

“Take them anyway,” she insisted. “Then I can go to the depot, tell Maude… well, tell Colt to tell Maude, if that’s what it takes… they’re in your hands. Maybe then she’ll move on to where she’s supposed to be.”

“You’ve certainly embraced this woo-woo ghostly crap.”

“What choice do I have? The ghost crap is right there under my nose. It’s in my house, in Dawn’s house, and while I don’t see or hear anything like Colt and Ava, the evidence is pretty damn incontrovertible.”

He wanted to argue with her, but nothing coherent popped into his mind. “What if I don’t want a granny ghost? What if I want to go back to a time when I had no idea ghosts even existed? Colt is crazy. Kids have vivid imaginations. Why isn’t that enough?”

“Because it’s not.”

The earrings on her palm were old and probably worthless. No one wore earrings with those clips that looked as if they’d be painful. They probably weren’t real pearls but some kind of fake shit. He didn’t want them, but Olive wasn’t going to leave until he did. “Put them on the desk.”

“You can’t even touch these earrings long enough to take them from my hand?”

I can’t.“I don’t want to break them.”

Olive returned the earrings to the bag, closed it snuggly, and placed the bag on his desk. He’d toss them in the dumpster later.

“Sorry if I upset you,” she said.

“You didn’t.”

“Maybe I haven’t known you for very long, but I know that look. I’m not sure if I should call it upset or angry, but you’re not right. You’re not the Tuck I know and… well, know.”

Know and love? He couldn’t go there.

“Will I see you later?” she asked.

It was tempting. She’d be here a few more days, and the sex was great. If he could get past the fact that they had no future he could be with her again, and again, and maybe again. “No, sorry. I’m super busy tonight, and will be all weekend. I didn’t get enough sleep last night, so when I get home I should really…”

“You don’t need to over-explain,” she said. “I get it. See you Christmas Eve? Mike said he invited you to their party.” She looked him dead in the eye. “Don’t bother to answer. Judging by the look on your face, I’m guessing you’ll be busy here.” Instead of running she stepped closer, went up on her toes, and gave him a quick kiss. As she stepped back she said, “You made this Christmas… Christmas again. I appreciate that. Thanks for making me braver than I’ve been in years.”

She left his office without looking back. He should follow her and apologize for being an ass, but he didn’t. He wasn’t nearly as brave as she was.

Anna was expecting her,since Olive had texted on her way over. It was going to be a busy day for both of them since this was the last Saturday before Christmas, so best to get this taken care of before the long day of retail began. She heard the door unlock as she approached, watched as it swung open. Anna invited her in and re-locked the door behind her.

“Coffee?” Anna asked.

“I never say no to coffee.”

They both walked toward the coffee bar, Anna heading to the coffee maker, Olive making herself comfortable on the customer side. She reached into her purse, but Anna waved her off. “On the house. You’ve helped us out so much, I say you get free coffee for life.”

“I might take you up on that.”

Anna made two cups — sweet and light for Olive, black for herself — and carried them around the bar. She handed one cup to Olive then sat on the old, long, wooden bench. Olive sat beside her.

“How did it go?” she asked.

This is why she was here, right? Best to keep it simple. “I retrieved the earrings from Betty, who is very sorry about the mixup, on Thursday, and I handed them over to Tuck last night.”

“How did he take it?”

Olive took a long sip. The coffee was almost too hot, but she wanted a moment to choose her words. The point of all this was to help Maude move on. The truth might not help at all. But… she couldn’t lie. Not about this. “Not well, I’m afraid. He’s having a hard time accepting…” Ghosts, grandmothers, her. “Well, everything.”

Anna didn’t seem surprised or upset. “You don’t seem to be having an issue with any of it.”