AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How far-reaching is this rumor?” she asked.
“My sister heard about it in L.A.” He shrugged. “So at least that far.”
She’d had enough. Enough of these weddings that weren’t hers. Enough of these embarrassing singles tables. Enough of her time and talents being used to make the meals at her exes’ weddings that much more delicious.
Jessica set her glass down and pushed her chair back as she stood. “Great meeting you, Niall. It’s been…enlightening.” Without overthinking it or letting common sense seep in, she strode across the room toward the head table, ignoring the pleasant greetings or compliments on the cake as she passed. She barely heard them, laser-focused on a mission.
She stopped in front of Emily and John, where her beautiful creation sat on a cake display rack for all to admire. Their silver knife engraved with their names and the date sat next to it. They both glanced at her in surprise.
“I wish you both a lifetime of happiness,” she said. Turning to Emily, she added, “You’re welcome.” Then, taking a deep breath, she picked up the fifty-two-pound masterpiece she’d spent days working on and carried it straight out of the country club.
Only the audible gasps of surprise and disbelief from the crowd and the flash of the tables’ disposable cameras followed her out.
Chapter Two
As the wheels of the plane hit the runway, Mitch Jameson’s eyes snapped open. Sweat covered his entire body and his breathing came in short bursts. His hands clutched the armrests on either side of him, and registering his surroundings took a moment.
Damn, another nightmare.
Propping himself higher in his seat, he looked around to see if any of his fellow first-class passengers had noticed, but no one was looking at him. Everyone was preoccupied with gathering their things as the plane taxied toward the gate. The long-haul flight from Cambodia to California had everyone desperate to get their feet on solid ground.
Outside his window, the sun was starting to rise. Bright red and purple streams of light were cast across the early morning sky.
Mitch blinked the exhaustion from his eyes and reached for his carry-on under the seat in front of him. He switched off airplane mode on his cell as the plane pulled up to the gate, his knee bouncing while he waited for the cell service to connect him to the airport’s wifi.
Three new email messages. His heart raced.
But they were all spam.
He let out a longwhooshof air. Was he relieved or disappointed that he hadn’t received his new placement assignment yet?
After the last six months at camp in Cambodia he wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready for the next one, yet he knew he’d be back on a plane and headed to another part of the world to help provide medical attention to children as soon as the holidays were over.
He wouldn’t even be taking this break now if it hadn’t been “recommended.”
He stood as the plane doors opened and smiled politely at the flight attendant, then collected his larger duffel bag from the overhead bin. Short, thin, with pretty, big brown eyes, she’d flirted with him several times during the flight. Her extra attention hadn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated, but decompressing after a mission didn’t provide much headspace for casual conversation with a lovely woman.
She stopped next to him and gently touched his shoulder. “Nothing in that medical bag of yours that can help?”
Great, so his night terrors hadn’t gone completely unnoticed. His old sleep-talking habits better not have returned or he’d have to book another airline in the future.
He shook his head, avoiding her sympathetic look. “Unfortunately not.”
Over the years he’d learned there was nothing that could block the images of man at his utmost worst from a person’s mind. The memories of the haunting things he saw overseas just started to fade to gray over time. Then they blurred, one into the other, until they had become one long montage of pain and suffering.
But they never completely went away.
“You home for the holidays?” she asked, the slightest hint of flirtation back in her voice.
“Yeah. I guess so,” he said as the line moved and people de-boarded. The timing of this break just happened to be the seasonal time of year. He’d never purposely take the holidays off. He hadn’t celebrated them in years. December 25th was just another day.
“Well, happy holidays,” she said, sliding a card into his jacket pocket as he exited the plane. He’d be lying if he said she was the first flight attendant to hit on him, or that he’d never taken anyone up on their offer tohang outwhile he was laid over somewhere. But right now he knew he wouldn’t be the best company.
“Merry Christmas,” he said with a final wave.
In the airport, he grabbed a double shot of espresso and managed to convince the young woman at the car rental desk that he was okay to drive, despite his bloodshot eyes and dark circles. Then, somehow, he made the two-hour drive along the coast to his hometown of Blue Moon Bay without crashing into the ocean. The bright sun rising above the water and the waves lapping gently onto the sand below the windy stretch of highway were breathtakingly beautiful. He rolled the windows down and cranked the radio, relying on the cool breeze and loud music to keep him awake.
But pulling into the parking lot of Dove’s Nest B&B, he thought maybe hewasasleep at the wheel. The old inn looked amazing. Completely transformed. The last time he’d seen it, it had been closed and nearly condemned. He’d known from his sister, Lia, that Dove had passed away earlier that year and she’d left the place to her granddaughter, Sarah. She’d renovated it in time for the family reunion Mitch had missed months before, but he hadn’t expected such a dramatic change.
