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“Is it a date?”
She laughed. “No! I told you. After Aiden, I have no interest in dating anyone for a while. I’m going because one of my students is helping to turn the lights on. Little Ava, I’ve told you about her before.”
“You have. She’s the one who’s new at school because she came to live with her uncle?”
“That’s right.”
“And are you going to see her or to see the uncle?”
“Dad! I’ve told you before. Ava’s a little sweetheart, and her uncle – Grady – is a really nice guy, but there’s nothing going on with him and me. Ava and I hit it off because we were both new when school started in the fall. And Grady’s new to being a parent. He’s doing the best he can – he’s doing a great job, but he’s a single guy who just had his eight-year-old niece come to live with him. So, he’s got a lot to learn about the whole parenting thing. Some of the moms at school can be bitchy and judgy, so I’ve tried to help him out as much as I can – just because he’s a good guy trying to do a good thing for his niece, not because I like him.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you did like him. He sounds like a better bet than Aiden ever was. Aiden never thought about anyone but himself. At least this guy’s looking after his niece.”
Becca rolled her eyes. Her dad would rather she come home, and she knew it. But since she’d made it clear that she planned to stay here in Napa and try to make a go of it by herself, he wanted her to find a man to take care of her.
“I don’t like him, Dad. Not in that way. And besides, he met someone recently. She’s lovely. Her name’s Hannah. In fact, it’s her family who owns the winery where Ava’s turning on the Christmas lights.” She checked the time on her laptop. “And I’m going to have to go and get ready soon.”
“Okay, love. You be careful out there, won’t you? Are you going with your friends?”
“Yep.” She hated to lie to him, but it was better than having him worry about her the whole time. She tried to justify the lie to herself as she always did. She took her phone and her Triple-A card with her everywhere. She considered them her trusty friends. And of course, there was her car, Fred. Fred was her oldest and – sad as it was to admit – closest friend. So, she wasn’t really lying.
“Okay. I’ll let you go, then. But if you don’t call me with your flight details tomorrow, I’ll have to book you a ticket myself.”
“I’ll do it, Dad. Talk to you tomorrow. Love you. Tell Mom I love her, too, and give her a kiss from me.”
“Okay. Love you, too. Talk to you tomorrow.”
Becca ended the call and pressed both fists into her forehead. She was going to have to figure out a way to book a ticket tomorrow. Her dad told a good story, but he was probably just as strapped for cash as she was.
She’d face it tomorrow. For now, she ran upstairs to get changed. She needed to wear something warm to go stand around at the Jacobs Estate and watch the tree lighting ceremony. It was so tempting not to go back out in the cold. She wasn’t comfortable going places like that by herself, but she wasn’t going to allow herself to back out.
After Aiden left, she’d spent a couple of months staying in, not going anywhere other than to work and the grocery store. But that was no way to live. She was all alone in a new place, she didn’t have any friends here, and her coworkers were all older and married. She knew that if she wasn’t careful, she’d spend the rest of the school year doing nothing but working and hiding at the townhouse – she didn’t think of the place as home. Then she’d probably go back to Kansas, having wasted a year of her life. She was better than that. So, she’d promised herself that she would accept any and every invitation she received to go anywhere and do anything – as long as it didn’t cost much.
So far, she’d been to a couple of dinners and get-togethers at the other teachers’ houses. Tonight was the first time that she was going to a public event all by herself. It felt intimidating, but when Ava had told her that she was going to stand up on the stage and flick the switch to light up the Christmas tree, Becca had been thrilled for her. When Ava had asked her to come and watch, there was no way she would have turned her down. She smiled as she shrugged her coat back on, ready to head out. Little Ava was integrating into life here in Napa, and for tonight, she was giving Becca the opportunity to try to do the same.
~ ~ ~
Jacob looked around at the crowd as he led Ava toward the stage where they were going to give their little speech and turn the Christmas tree lights on. He didn’t understand why people liked to gather at events like this. Surely, they all had their own Christmas trees at home?
He forced himself to smile and nod at the people who caught his eye. And then forced himself to take a deep breath and relax. These people were enjoying themselves. That was what mattered. Of course, it would be good publicity for the estate. But that was secondary. It was the holidays. He needed to try and rediscover the magic of the season. He used to love the holidays when he was a kid.
He looked down at Ava when she held his hand tighter as they approached the stage. That poor little girl had never had a real Christmas before – not one that she would remember, anyway. That was why he was doing this. He wanted her to enjoy every minute of it; he needed to forget all his cynicism and be right here in the moment with her. He gave her hand a squeeze and smiled down at her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, but her eyes were huge with fear.
“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, but I’d like to do this with you. Remember what we said about this being our first Christmas for a lot of things?”
She smiled. “Yes. But you can’t tell anyone my Christmas wish.”
“I won’t. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Her smile was more confident now.
“I am because I know that you’re going to be right there with me. If I forget my words, I can scratch my ear and you’ll take over.”
“That’s right.”
