AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Jim, is that you?” his mom called from the back of the house.
“Yeah, Mom.” He continued through the house and into the kitchen to see her pulling a tray of scones out of the oven. “Wow, those smell good.”
She smiled. “Help yourself, I made extras.” His mom loved to bake treats to sell in the shop in the morning. “Did you see Roni?”
“I did. Briefly.” His mom, of course, knew how heartbroken he’d been ten years earlier after seeing Roni with another man, but she’d never pressed him on it.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, she was busy. Working. So, I didn’t stick around.”
“I get that. We are so lucky we have Tanya to help us.” She lifted the scones off the cookie sheets and placed them on racks to cool.
He picked one up and took a bite. “Oh, these are really good.”
She beamed at him. “Thanks. I’ve been experimenting.”
“It’s working. So, hey, Mom, is there any way we can change the date of our tree trimming party?” He tried to sound as casual as he could. If he could go back and tell Roni all her worries about this event were solved, he’d feel so much better.
His mom whipped around to face him. “What?” Her eyebrows crunched the way they did when she was about to launch into an interrogation as her gaze drilled into his. “No. I’ve already distributed all the flyers. Why would you ask? What’s going on?”
He had no choice but to tell her what he’d heard. “Apparently, our event is the same night at the Caroling Kickoff downtown. It’s a huge fundraiser and some people are upset that our event is competing against theirs.”
“I’ve heard of the Caroling Kickoff. Didn’t they used to do that years ago? I thought it stopped.”
“Apparently it’s back and a big fundraiser for a local animal rescue organization. “
Her lips twisted as she shrugged. “I didn’t know. I’ll make a donation. That should help.” She pointed toward the stove. “Your grandmother’s hot chocolate recipe is in the slow cooker. Help yourself.”
“Smells great, but I think I’m going to head up. It’s been a long day.”
She smiled, walked toward him, and gave him a hug. “Okay. Thanks for all your help at the shop today. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. How’s Dad doing?”
She shook her head and scowled. “Grumbling that he has to stay in bed.”
“I get that. Night, Mom.” Jimmy took the stairs off the kitchen to the second floor. He had the whole floor to himself which was nice, since he was going to be there for at least a month. He turned the upstairs bonus room into his art studio and took the bedroom closest to it.
He was anxious to get started on some new work. He had a beautiful view of the mountains outside through the large upstairs windows and considered painting it, but apparently, no one wanted snowy landscapes. Unless he added some farm animals. Horses and cows were all the rage.
Jimmy groaned. There was no way he was going to paint horses and cows.
Or Christmas.
He closed his eyes as fatigue fell over him. He should go to bed. He had to get up early to help his mother in the coffee shop first thing in the morning. But the half-finished painting on his canvas was calling to him. He had an idea in his mind about the way the sun glinted off the snow along the river. Maybe if he exaggerated the sparkling of the lights on the snow, the water, and the dew on the leaves of the trees, it would make his landscapes a little different, a little more interesting.
A little more Christmas?
Who was he kidding. It wouldn’t be enough to convince Gerald to keep his work in his gallery.
Instead of going to bed, he went over to the counter of the built-in bar and started to mix colors. He carried his palette over to the canvas and started to dab paint, swirling, flicking, and brushing one color over another, getting lost in the strokes, in the pigments and textures. For hours.
Until finally, he was ready to drop.
As he washed his brushes, Roni came to his mind once more. She looked as beautiful as she had when they were young. Perhaps even more so. He’d thought about her often, about her smile, the twinkle in her eyes, about her enthusiasm and energy. He’d never met anyone like her.
But she’d shattered his heart.
