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#Homesweethome

It had been six months to the day since Kian Van Adler had last been in Snowcap Ridge, Wisconsin. That day, he’d flown into town at twice the normal speed limit and barely had the car in Park before he was out and running toward the hospital doors. He was certain they had to be wrong. There was no way his mother, Lorelei Van Adler, was dead. She couldn’t be. At barely sixty, she had years of life left.

But they weren’t wrong.

His mother, the CEO of Van Adler Holdings, was gone. Stolen from him in the dead of night while he slept, completely oblivious to the pain she was suffering from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. She had been his mother, his business partner, and his world. Then she was gone. Just gone. He still hadn’t wrapped his head around it. He picked up the phone to call her at least twice a day, only to remember the awful truth.

At the funeral, Kian’s grief-stricken mind hadn’t noticed the newly planted trees on the center medians, the new family restaurant near Snowcap Ridge Outlet Mall, or the newly built condominiums atop the hill. The moment his mother was in the ground, he’d returned to the office, knowing he now had to do the work of two people if he wanted to keep the seven outlet malls in the Van Adler Holdings portfolio afloat. He told himself it was how he’d carry on her legacy, but it was also how he’d try to avoid the grief that swamped him every hour of the day. He supposed that was to be expected when, everywhere he turned, he saw her name.

By month four, Kian had managed to get through a full day without breaking down in tears or flying off the handle over the tiniest thing, but it had been a journey for him and his employees, all of whom were grieving. In the end, he was proud to have kept all the balls in the air for Van Adler Holdings during such a volatile time for the company. It helped that his best friend and personal assistant, August Reyes, had stepped up to take over Kian’s usual workload while Kian focused on the work his mother used to do.

Today, as Kian drove through the streets of Snowcap Ridge, he noticed everything. The trees wore garlands and twinkling lights. The lampposts swirled with red ribbons in preparation for the holidays, and the town square was ready for the giant evergreen that would soon fill its center. The idyllic scene should have been comforting.

Instead, his chest tightened as he realized Snowcap Ridge had always been idyllic because his mother had taken it upon herself to foster that way of life. Now she was gone, leaving him to carry on her legacy here. Those twinkling lights and holiday wrappings were his responsibility. Snowcap Ridge hadn’t changed. He had. In his opinion, that was a good thing. Despite the pain and grief he’d endured over the last six months to get here, he knew his mom would be proud of him.

Kian put his black Mercedes SUV into Park and climbed out, his boots crunching through the icy snow that had fallen the night before. Stepping back, he gazed at the sign above the entrance to the only place in Snowcap Ridge that filled him with nostalgia. Snowcap Ridge Outlet Mall. Someone had added a spray of pine branches and a red bow. His mother would’ve loved it.

His throat tightened.

Lorelei Van Adler had loved Christmas more than anyone he’d ever known. She had also loved Snowcap Ridge and the outlet mall. She’d built it from nothing, and though her portfolio could make any CEO jealous, this mall was her pride and joy. It was her first mall and the one that shot Van Adler Holdings into the stratosphere, allowing his mother to amass a fortune across the Midwest. It was her empire. She had been so proud of what she had accomplished.

Likely prouder of the business than of her son.

He shoved that to the back of his mind. Since her death, he’d refused to think about his childhood. She’d made up for all the hurt and anger she’d caused by bringing him into the company and making him the man he is today, right? The question mark at the end of the sentence was why he always had to shove it to the back of his mind.

Glancing away from the sign, Kian took in the rest of the parking lot. He wasn’t here to wax poetic about yesteryear. He wasn’t here for memories. He was here to settle his mother’s estate, but before that, he had wrongs to right. His biggest one was inside the mall. His mother knew that, so he wasn’t surprised by the conditions of her will.

One of those conditions was that he spend time at all the other malls in the portfolio. She wanted him to see how they were run from the ground up, and he had, but none of those malls had the revenue or following of Snowcap Ridge.

Part of him wanted to know how Snowcap Ridge had become the flagship of the seven malls. It far outearned the other malls in bigger cities. He’d assumed it was due to his mother’s guiding hand over the years, but even after her death, the mall had continued to flourish. Kian knew why, even if he tried to pretend he didn’t.

Joy Brady.

His high school nemesis.

They’d been equally paired in all things but one: heart.

Kian knew he’d been in the wrong, but part of him wished Joy had understood why.

“That’s no excuse, man,” he muttered to himself, his gaze drifting back to the sign. “You were cruel to her for no reason other than to make yourself look bigger and feel more important than you were. That’s the very definition of a bully.”

The hour would come when he’d have to face Joy Brady, but he wasn’t ready yet. He had a few other things to do before he walked into that ring of fire. Things like preparing Mom’s house for the market and finalizing the paperwork he’d been putting off. He couldn’t put it off any longer. He’d pushed the estate lawyer as far as he could, and now it was time to finish his business here. He had until December 24th to carry out his mother’s instructions. Some would say he saved the best for last. He said he saved the hardest for last.

Then again, maybe it was both.

With that final thought, he walked toward the outlet mall. There were four entrances, one for each parking area and each ‘lane’ of stores. As a child, it had been a place of wonder and adventure. Now, it was his job. Not that he was complaining. Because of his mother’s determination and dedication, he was left with a legacy that would carry him and the next generation of Van Adlers through life.

That was, if he ever found the courage to put his heart out there again and find someone to start the next generation of Van Adlers. A relationship wasn’t in the cards right now, though. Kian was up to his ears in business, but maybe once the holiday season was over and retail slowed to its natural pace, he’d join a swipe-right app or find a speed-dating event. He snorted. Now he sounded like his new personal assistant, Tara. She was always on the swipe-right apps.

Maybe he was finally over the relationship he’d ended right before his mom died. It had been a long relationship, but it had also been a co-dependency that wasn’t healthy. On paper, they were meant to be, but in real life, there was no spark. Kian refused to settle. He was looking for a partner in life and, by default, in business.

Pulling a key from his pocket, he opened the maintenance door that would let him into the mall. Since Snowcap Ridge was an open-air mall, the four openings to the store lanes had no doors. Large metal grates were lowered each night and weren’t lifted again until opening the next day. Until then, the only way in was through the maintenance entrance. It was early, so only the janitors were there. If someone noticed him, a quick flash of his Van Adler Holdings ID badge would give him free rein.

Once inside the mall, Kian sat on a wooden bench and gazed down the lane. Each side of the lane held ten stores and a restroom, with carts displaying goods in the center. The lanes converged in a large open atrium where people could rest, mingle, or plan their shopping adventure. The back of the mall housed a food court with carefully curated restaurants filling the eight spots. None of them were corporate chains, as Lorelei prided herself on filling her mall with as many locally owned businesses as possible. Joy had carried on his mother’s legacy well.

This was all his now. Well, half of it was. The heaviness returned to Kian’s chest. He’d give it all away for a few more minutes with his mom. A few minutes to say he was sorry for being a pain in the ass in high school. A few minutes to say he loved her more than anything, even if she didn’t feel the same. Though he knew she did. The problem was, she didn’t know how to show it, so she gave him the world instead. He didn’t want the world. He wanted one more hug.