AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cole: (9:53 a.m.): *middle finger emoji*
Austin: (9:55 a.m.) *laughing crying emoji*
Chapter 13
December 1
Blaire
December was finally here. In normal years, the festival would have opened last weekend, immediately following Thanksgiving. But, as I was only too aware, this was not a normal year. I was reeling from what happened at the Winterberry Glen library—both historical and present day. Sometime during my middle of the night musings, I realized there needed to be a Holly Ridge going forward for the town to try to make amends for its downright grinchy actions a century ago, so I was moving forward to rock the festival and save the town. I’d figure out the rest as we went along.
We still had another two weeks to go until the festival started, but I was officially dreaming in Christmas movie format—everyone wearing ugly sweaters, occasionally talking in rhyme and more Uncle Eddie’s had driven their RVs to the town square to empty their shitters than I could count over the past several nights. That was when I was sleeping. Many nights, I was up until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. going over checklists and making plans for the next day, so Cole had them in his inbox first thing when he woke up. Then it was up at 7:00 a.m. to workout—my patience while I waited for his response.
This morning dawned with a special kind of hell, though. Cole and I had to head to the state capital for a meeting with the state audit office. Why this had to happen two weeks before the festival started and not a month ago when the budget was finalized, I wasn’t totally sure, but as I looked at my watch, I realized Cole would pull up at my parents’ front door in five minutes, so it was time to stop with the visions of sugar plums and get moving.
Grabbing my business backpack—yes, they’re a thing—I took one last look in the mirror to double check my appearance. I was wearing black boots that came to just below my knee and burgundy tights under a black dress that wouldn’t wrinkle too terribly in the long car ride. I grabbed my hunter green blazer from the back of my door and made my way down the stairs. It was December, and I was planning a holiday festival after all. I thought my outfit should hold a subtle nod to the season.
My boots were heavy on the hardwood stairs as I headed down them and I knew it would announce my presence to anyone who happened to be on the lower-level of the house. Turning into the kitchen to fill up a travel mug with one more cup of coffee for the road, I found my dad and Gretchen sitting at the island, the twins and Mom nowhere to be found.
“Where are Grandma and H&H off to this morning?” I asked, reaching for my favorite festive tumbler and the coffee pot someone had kindly left half-full on the warmer. As I opened the fridge to grab my chocolate mocha almond milk creamer, it was Gretchen who answered.
“They’re off at Jitters for some before school hot chocolate and coming up with ideas for presents Holland and Hollis can buy for everyone with the money they’ve saved from their allowances all year.” Gretchen sat on a kitchen stool, looking perfect, as always. “I’m not sure how you can put that stuff into your coffee every day,” she continued. “It just tastes so artificial and overly sweet to me.”
Dad moved to grab the tumbler lid out of the drying rack and handed it to me with a small smile, knowing I got my sweet tooth from him.
“Are you all set for your meeting?” Dad asked in an attempt to change the subject and not let Gretchen’s comment get to me, which he knew it would, no matter how innocent her intentions.
“I’m as ready as I can be, I think,” I huffed out, uttering a big sigh as I paused to enjoy the aroma and warmth of my holiday coffee treat. “I just wish we could have had this meeting a month ago when Cole and I finished the budget.”
Dad grimaced, as he always did when he needed to deliver news we didn’t want to hear.
“I found out from one of my sources that the state office has been trying to go through the City Council to schedule this meeting with you for a while. They told the state office this date would work best for you.”
“If they hate being city councillors so much, why don’t they all just resign?!” I responded. Exasperated once again that the council had bungled something so terribly. “Arthur and Agatha were born in this town. Even if they went away to boarding school as young children, don’t they have a little bit of pride in their hometown and where they’re from?”
“I wonder if they want the town to be taken over, so they can be rid of the responsibilities without having to quit,” Gretchen mused.
Dad nodded. “I’m starting to think that might be the case myself.”
“Well, they can have as little pride or care for this town as they want. The best thing they ever did for this town was hiring Blaire to come home and run the festival. She’s our best chance to keep the town charter and move things forward for Holly Ridge.”
I stared at Gretchen, a little stunned that she would have this opinion of me but feeling a warming in my heart that had nothing to do with the coffee in my hand. Dad just smiled knowingly at me. He had always tried to tell me that Gretchen was proud of the work I was doing, even if it wasn’t something she could see herself ever wanting to do.
“Thanks, sis,” I said quietly. I was saved from having to come up with anything else to say by a honk from out front.
“Well, that must be my ride, right out of an early 2000s rom-com, honking from the street instead of coming to the door to meet my father,” my voice full of irony at Cole’s approach to letting me know he was here.
“We’re heading back right after the meeting is over this afternoon. We won’t be back in time for dinner, but I’ll see you tonight,” I said, resigned to spend a full December day in the presence of Cole Thomas.
“Keep an eye on the weather,” Dad said as I walked toward the front door. “The weather folks say that the storm is going to hit overnight tonight, but my knee says it might start much earlier. Be safe on your trip back.”
As used to Dad’s knee’s weather predictions as I was to Hallmark Christmas movies always ending in happy ever afters, I nodded and smiled, leaving the room with a wave to both him and Gretchen.
I stopped just inside the front door to double-check my bag for my phone, the documents and spreadsheets we’d need for the meeting, and my emergency peppermint chocolate stash. As my head was bent looking into my open bag, I heard Gretchen come up beside me.
“Are you going to be okay with all this time with Cole in the car?”
I looked up, totally startled by this question. I had spent so much time trying not to think about how we would be trapped in a car together for almost eight hours today. Had I said something out loud?
