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MAYA: It’s like they’ve never even heard of Manhattan and all the angry people who live there.
BRAD: Hollygrove folks will be the first to tell you that they’re nothing like city folks.
BRAD: Glad to hear it’s going well! I figured it would come into place easily.
BRAD: I’m sure your aunt knew it would, too.
BRAD: Maybe she just wanted to show off how amazing Hollygrove is. :)
By five that evening, Maya was back at the Hollygrove Bed and Breakfast. Her feet were slightly swollen and aching after scouting up and around downtown, ducking in and out of businesses, and she had them up on a couch cushion as she made notes to herself on her computer. Her new friend, the solo female traveler named Winnie, entered the living room, followed closely by Tom. After only two days together, Maya had begun to think of them as an extension of her family. She supposed that came from being an orphan— and hoping to find a connection wherever she was.
“How did it go today?” Tom asked breezily.
“Really well,” Maya said, setting her computer to the side. “I can’t believe how friendly people are here.”
Winnie nodded and collapsed on the couch on the other side of Maya’s feet. “I got lost in the woods on a hike,” she said, wincing. “Three men discovered me on a rock, crying my heart out. They gave me some snacks and led me back to the road. You won’t believe how close we were. It was about ten minutes away.” Winnie cackled to herself. “I always think I’m so independent until I really need someone. And then, all my confidence falls away.”
“I think you’re doing really well for yourself,” Maya said. “You couldn’t force me into the woods alone.”
Tom sat on the couch opposite them and gazed into the fire longingly.
“Tom and I ran into each other at the coffee shop,” Winnie explained. “He saw me just after my breakdown.”
“And you saw me in the midst of mine,” Tom said with a laugh.
“Still no Sarah?” Maya asked.
Tom shook his head, and his dark hair dropped over his ears. “I’m starting to think I imagined our entire romance.”
Maya understood what he meant. Just that day, as she’d scoured the streets of Hollygrove and jumped from one nourishing conversation to the next, she’d begun to think that Nick and New York City were two monstrosities she’d simply made up in her mind. Perhaps she was masochistic. Perhaps, somewhere in her mind, she didn’t want to allow herself any happiness.
Was that why she’d refused to celebrate Christmas for all these years?
There was a knock at the door. Felicity breezed from the kitchen, bringing with her a wave of nourishing smells— roasting chicken and carrots. She smiled at her guests and opened the door to produce Brad Turner, who stomped his boots of snow and grinned. Maya had to force herself not to leap from the couch with excitement. She didn’t want to seem so keen.
“Evening, everyone!” Brad greeted Felicity with a hug and waved into the living room before he removed his boots.
“Two visits in one week,” Felicity chirped. “I don’t know what we did to deserve that, Bradley.”
Brad laughed and entered the living room to shake first Tom’s, then Winnie’s hands. Maya introduced Brad. “He’s helping me with the Christmas Festival, thank goodness. I don’t know how I could have managed it without him.”
Of course, she now knew that wasn’t fully true. The entire town had jumped at the chance to help her, making phone calls, decorating Christmas floats, and donating funds. But she still didn’t want Brad to step aside and let her work alone. Perhaps a more manipulative woman would have made up a problem to force Brad to stick around. But Maya wasn’t the sort to do that.
“Winnie was just telling us about her epic hiking adventure today,” Maya explained to Brad.
“Epic isn’t the word for it,” Winnie said. “Pathetic is. I got lost.”
“I’ve gotten lost in those woods more times than I can count,” Brad assured her. “And I was born and raised here. If you want, I can recommend a few hiking trails that are clearly marked.”
Winnie brightened. “That would be fantastic. I don’t want to give up just yet.”
“And Tom is here to track down his missed love connection,” Maya said.
“When I was in India, I met and fell in love with a girl from Hollygrove,” Tom admitted wistfully. “I came here to find her. But I don’t know her last name.”
Brad’s forehead crinkled from his concentration. “I see. Lost love is a difficult thing. How old are you, Tom?”
“I’m thirty-four.” Tom winced as he said it, as though thirty-four was monstrously old in his world.
