A lump formed in the back of my throat as I recalled when exactly that was. Mom wanted her last Christmas to be at the beach house; her dying wish. Fourteen years ago, we packed for a couple of weeks to spend Christmas and New Year’s at the family home, passed down for a couple of generations.
Sadly, we didn’t make it that long.
Mom’s health took a turn, and we were home three daysbefore the new year had even started, one person less. After that, I couldn’t handle coming back, and used every excuse under the sun to stay home and far away.
Yet, thanks to a wedding my sister was having on Christmas Day, here I was.
After Dad’s untimely passingeighteen months ago, Lily had returned under the assumption of cleaning the place up to sell, but instead she found love in the neighbour next door, Eric. She had finally found her happiness, and deep down, I was truly happy for her.
I flicked on my right turn signal at themajor intersection. There were no lights in the small town, and all directions were marked based on right- or left-hand turns. My turn was the second right off Main Street, which was also the second longest road in Cheshire Bay, and the family beach house lay at the very end of it.
Even though I wasn’t a Christmas person, the twinkle lights sparkling in every direction were beautiful, as were the lawns decorated with Santas, snowmen, and one purple dragon, a left over from Halloween by the looks of things. The homes were quite different than the condos back in the city. Which I still hadn’t told Lily about, and this trip wasn’t the right time either.
I glanced into myrear view mirror; Jesse and his truck were still following. Was he afraid another tire would blow? It was too weird.
Cautiously, I continueddriving down the lane, watching as Jesse pulled in front of a house three doors down from my childhood summer home. Grabbing my handbag and phone, I exited the vehicle and stared as he ambled over.
The streetlights overhead cast a shadow over his eyes, thanks to the ball cap, but it was still easy to see he was a handsome guy.Broad shoulders, tall, a day’s worth of stubble on his face. A gentle swarm of butterflies took flight, and try as I might, I couldn’t get them to simmer down. I hadn’t felt flurries like that since I’d met my husband, and that was too many years back.
I cleared my throat.“I think I have a stalker.” A bubble of a smile formed on my lips against my better judgement.
“Nah.” He adjusted his jean jacket and glanced toward the house. “I am as curious about you being ahead of me as you probably are about me following you.” He nodded toward the last house. “You’re staying at the Bed and Breakfast? Thought it wasn’t open yet?”
Right. Lily had mentioned since she was livingnext door at Eric’s, she was turning our old home into a B&B. But not until after the wedding.
“I know the owner.”
“Really?” Hestepped closer, tipping his head to take me in.
In a small town like this,everyone knows everyone else. And they know your business too. If the population exceeded a thousand people, I’d be shocked. Doubt crept across his features.
For good measure, Ipointed. “That used to be my summer home.”
“No shit.”Jesse stepped back and whistled. “You’re here for the wedding?”
“You know about that?”Not that it should’ve surprised me. Lily probably had the whole area on alert.
“It’s Cheshire Bay.Everyoneknows about that.”
“You going?”
He was cute, probably a little younger than me. He could be fun to dance with, maybe have a couple of drinkswith, and forget about my skyscraper sized problems.
“Nah. It’s a pretty exclusive event.”
My heart squeezed a little, figured it was too good to be true. “That sounds like Eric’s involvement.”
Eric was the calm to the hurricane that was mylittle sister. Had this been ten, even fifteen years ago, the whole town would’ve been invited. I, for one, had been intrigued by her changes on her last few visits to Vancouver.
I opened the back doorof my car and grabbed a couple of suitcases, setting them on the gravel road.
“Let me help.”
“Oh, I’m good, honestly.”
But he already had his hands firmly around the handles. “Leadthe way.” A small, impish smile impossible to ignore settled on his face.
I walked up the sidewalk and hesitated before climbing the stairs.Flashbacks of helping mom down them and into a warmed vehicle smacked me across the face like a cold bite of winter. Had we known in that moment they’d be the last time she graced the landing…