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“Let me check the tickets, sweetie,” the male voice said.
Nic somehow knew before the guy came into view that it was the helicopter owner from their Christmas caroling last night. Holden Pryce.
Holden was busy looking down at his tickets and then comparing them to the numbers on the back of the chairs. Only once he’d pulled out the little girl’s chair and squeezed around her did he glance at the two people staring up at him.
“I know you two,” the man said.
“We were the Christmas carolers,” Nic said.
His voice came out a little more brusque than he would have wanted. What was that all about?
“Right.” The big, friendly smile stayed on the guy’s face as he took the seat across from Nic. It made him feel guilty for immediately disliking the guy. “I’m a first-timer here. You?”
As though making up for his initial rudeness, Nic jumped into “help” mode. He went through his history in Misty Mountain and what he knew about this particular building. He would’ve expected Charity to jump in, but she was busy talking to Holden’s daughter, who he referred to as J.J.
“So, what is it you do for a living?” Holden asked.
“Agriculture,” Nic said. “I manage a big farm up in Lexington.”
“Lexington.”
Nic could see the unspoken question in the guy’s eyes. What was Nic doing all the way in Misty Mountain if he worked in Lexington? But it was just after Thanksgiving, so he probably understood that people would be in town temporarily.
“I manage crops for a big farm,” Nic added. “My degree’s in agriculture.”
He winced at his own words. What was with the information dump? For some reason, he felt the need to state his credentials with guys like this. Maybe he’d spent too much time in boardrooms recently.
“Sounds like an interesting job,” Holden said. “I may need to talk to you a little more. Do you have a business card?”
Nic glanced over at Charity as if to gauge her reaction to this, but she was giggling over something J.J. said. Nic didn’t have a business card on him, but he sent over his contact information using something called a V-card. He and his grocery distributor colleagues were constantly tossing V-cards back and forth.
Nic couldn’t help but wonder what this guy was up to. He surely had something in mind if he was interested in getting Nic’s information, and he doubted it had something to do with his helicopter tour business. Whatever it was, Nic was open to it. He was definitely in the market for a job change.
As long as that job didn’t tie him to one place for the rest of his life.
21
Charity couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun. In fact, this was the perfect evening.
It wasn’t just that she was seated next to her first love and former best friend. It was the eight-year-old seated across from her who loved the color pink and amusement parks.
Out of the corner of her eye, she’d seen Holden get Nic’s contact information and wondered what that was all about. She didn’t know much about Holden Pryce, but now that she thought about it, someone had mentioned he didn’t make all his money off his helicopter tours. He was a real estate investor, like Lucky and Matt. But unlike those two, he had properties all over the country.
Maybe he had a business proposition for Nic. Even if he did, though, it was doubtful it would bring him back to Misty Mountain. She had to drop any hope of that happening, once and for all.
As they sat facing the stage, watching her town’s take on “A Christmas Carol,” Charity felt Nic’s presence behind her. It was so strong it was almost overwhelming. She wanted him to be in her life, even though it was an impossibility. The whole thing just made her sad.
But she put on a big smile as she said goodbye to Holden and J.J., promising to follow the little girl on her favorite social media app. Apparently, her videos had amassed quite a following.
“You and J.J. seemed to hit it off,” Nic commented as they exited.
Charity couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “She’s adorable. I could have talked to her for hours. You and Holden hit it off too.”
He shrugged. “We were mostly talking business. Apparently, he’s thinking about opening a ski resort of some sort here.”
“Ski resort.”
She nearly tripped in her surprise. He’d repeatedly insisted on going to get the truck to pull around and get her, but she out-insisted him. The walk in the brisk night air was good for her. She just had to manage to keep her footing.
