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After a few minutes, he said quietly. “I have friends here, Camille. You don’t need to worry about me.”
I turned to face him. His smile was sincere. Genuine. “I’m glad.” I stood to leave. “I guess I should get back to work. Merry Christmas, Cody.”
“Merry Christmas, Camille.”
That night after work, I helped Mia make sugar cookies. She ate half of them before they were even frosted.
“I just love them so much,” she said through a mouthful of cookies, crumbs escaping her mouth. She swiped them off of her lips as she laughed.
I frosted the holiday-shaped cookies with red and green icing, sprinkling them with white sugar crystals.
“My dad and Pamela are going to Bermuda for Christmas,” I said.
She placed another baking sheet of cookies in the oven. “Oh, really? Are you going with them?”
“I don’t think so. I would rather spend it with you. I like it when you’re here for Christmas. It feels…homey.”
She tilted her head. “Aww. I like that.”
Mia talked about Christmas events in town while she washed the cookie bowls. She no longer participated in the annual snowmobile race in town, but she did show up to sign autographs and take pictures with the little kids.
She mentioned that John had volunteered to play Santa and ride on the fire truck.
“Wow! He’s really immersed himself in the town, hasn’t he?” I asked.
She turned off the faucet, grabbed a kitchen towel, and dried a bowl. A silly grin spread across her face. She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess he has.”
I poured her another glass of wine. “What else do you and John have planned? Can I help?”
She took a sip of wine and sat down next to me at their kitchen bar. “John’s brother and parents are coming to stay for the holidays. They’ve rented a house near the village.”
Panic flooded through me. “Brett?” My shoulders tensed.
She rolled her eyes. “No, his other brother, Rand. You can relax. Brett can’t get away. Hockey season, you know.”
I exhaled and relaxed. “And your parents?”
“Yes. Jacob and my folks should be getting in sometime soon.”
“So, nine of us?”
“Cody might be joining us but he hasn’t committed yet. He’s pretty quiet about his personal life. I gave him an open invitation.”
“I saw him today.”
“Oh, yeah? Did he say he was coming?”
“He said I shouldn’t worry about him, that he has friends.”
“Hmmm. Okay.”
“Is there anything I can bring?”
The timer went off on the oven, and she pulled out the second batch of star-shaped cookies. Vanilla and almond scents wafted through the modern kitchen.
Using a spatula, she transferred the cookies onto a cooling rack. “Give me just one second, and we can go over the list.”
Outside, the sky turned dark, and the clouds released heavy snow.
