“What do you mean? Sign up?”
“To help out, they are looking for volunteers.”
I needed to get some volunteer hours in, anyway, so this was perfect. I nodded in her direction. “Do I need to stop over at the bookstore?”
“No, no, I'm helping out the owner, I have a sign-up sheet. I'm not a hundred percent sure what she will need, but she told me to tell people she would be in touch. All I know is she needs help.” She grabbed a form from behind the counter, handing me a pen.
I scribbled my name down on the sheet.
“Yeah, the owner, she lost her husband a few years back now, he was a firefighter. This is the first fundraising event she’s done. Sadly, there haven't been too many people interested in volunteering.”
I knew the feeling of loss all too well. “Well, I'll pass around the word to the guys at the station. Surely, some of them will want to help out.”
“Oh, are you a firefighter?”
I nodded taking my coffee from the other girl who worked behind the counter. “Yep, just transferred here.”
“Well welcome to Coldhaven. I'll pass the message to Cassandra,” she winked at me.
I near stopped dead in my tracks, my heartbeat accelerating. It had to be a coincidence. “Cassandra?” I swallowed hard.
“Yeah, the owner of the bookstore,” she smiled and went back to cleaning out the display cooler, getting ready to place fresh product inside.
I took a deep breath, then started laughing to myself. I needed to calm myself down. After all, it couldn't have been my Cass, she was an author not a bookstore owner.
“Great, thanks. Have a good night.” I walked out the front door, the cold air slamming into my face. The air felt like it could snow, and I still had a couple hours drive ahead of me. I climbed into my truck and started it up, music blaring as I pulled away from the curb, heading toward the highway, toward the girl I hadn't, wouldn't, and couldn't forget.
Chapter Two
Cass
Jingle Bells was playing overthe radio speakers while I was busy putting the finishing touches on the Christmas display, keeping an eye as people walked by the front of the store. It was close to five, and the streets of downtown Coldhaven were still bustling with shoppers. It was almost closing time. I smiled as I placed the last Christmas book I was going to display in the window under the artificial tree. Maybe this Christmas would be different. I felt I was in a pretty good place. I turned my attention to one of my favorite customers, Cathy who needed to pay for her purchase.
“What do you have today Cathy?” I asked as I went behind the counter.
“Just a couple books for the girls,” she smiled at me. Cathy was a widow of one of the men who had passed away fighting that fire last summer, leaving behind Cathy to raise their two baby girls.
“How are the girls?” I asked.
“They’re doing okay, this time of year is hard on them.”
I nodded in understanding, I knew all too well how hard this time of year was. I grabbed two Christmas bookmarks from behind the counter and threw one into each of the books. “For the girls,” I smiled.
“Thank you. Oh, and Cass, I wanted to donate a few trays of baked goods for the fundraiser.”
“Great, Cathy! I can send you details if you like.”
“Sounds perfect.”
I slid the two books into a bag. “Here you go and thank you.” I handed her the bag, and she smiled as she took it from me and walked out the door. Just as the door shut, I heard Ray's deep voice come from the back.
“Cass, sweetie, I got a box from the back door.” Ray came walking through the curtain that separated the store from the employee area, carrying a box markeddonation.
“Great! Those are probably for the book drive.” I giggled with excitement. He placed the box on the counter, and I started sifting through it. “There are some awesome titles in here. Oh look, the series May has wanted is here. I'll have to call her tomorrow. Could you put it down on the floor?” I asked, pointing to a spot behind the register.
“Sure thing! You sure are happy this afternoon,” Ray said, dropping the box of books onto the floor. Together, we slipped into the back of the store, and he leaned in for a kiss, his arms wrapping around my body as he pulled me closer to him and pressed his lips to mine. We pulled apart when the little bell above the door jingled.
“Hey, Cass!” I heard from the front of the shop. I stepped through the curtain and saw May walking toward the counter.