by Taylor Hart
He grinned at her. “And you can sing everywhere.”
Her head bobbed in a nod. She hadn’t slept well; she’d been too excited that she might actually get to that tryout. Would she get picked? “I’m hoping.”
He shut the radio off. “Sing for me.”
“What?” She didn’t like being put on the spot. “No.”
“Why? You need to practice.”
It was true, but now, she felt nervous. “Another time.”
He flipped the radio back on. “Okay.” He glanced at her. “So you want to travel around. Where is home? Billings?”
She shrugged. “After my parents passed, nothing has felt like home.”
“How old were you?”
Dang, this was worse than a first date. Not that she’d dated at all since Josh. She hadn’t. But there was nowhere to run, and she was getting paid for this. “They got killed in a plane crash when I was eighteen. They had taken a hopper plane from a small town in Montana back here so my dad could check on one of the rural schools he used to be an administrator at.” She shrugged again. “I’d just graduated.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She looked out the passenger side window. “That’s how it goes.”
Silence reigned between them.
“You lived in Billings with your husband?”
Might as well spill the whole enchilada. “Yeah, we met the first year I started at MSU. He was catering a freshman dance. The event bombed, and he ended up asking me to dance the rest of the evening. We met and were married within three months. Then he enlisted. I found out a year ago right before our one-year anniversary that he’d been killed.” Her shoulders drooped. “So we weren’t even married a year.” She changed the subject. “What else do I need to know about being Ann?” She said the name in an English accent.
Mike laughed, then sighed. “I told you we were only together about three months. Let’s see, she was from Boston. Her dad was a professor at Harvard.”
This made her think she was in over her head. “Oh man, I can’t do that.”
“It’s not like you have to say much about it. His name was Professor Smith.”
“How MIB of him.”
Mike laughed. “You know, I said that same kind of joke, and they didn’t even know what I was taking about.”
Zoey smiled at him, feeling a connection. “That’s just wrong. Classic movies.”
“Right.”
She waved him along. “Keep going.”
“She was an English major.”
“That fits, since she wrote poetry.”
“Right.”
Zoey was getting a feel of this. “So you were together three months and met judging a debate tournament. What did you like about her?”
Mike shrugged. “She was pretty, like you.”
His compliment was nice, but it made her bristle all the same. “What do you mean, like me?”
“She was a redhead.”
“What else did you like about her besides your weird red-hair fetish?”
He laughed. “It’s not a fetish.”
“What’s your type?”
“I don’t have a type. Ann was the first girl I’ve dated since I left Montana.”
Interesting. She didn’t want to get too invested in this guy. After all, it was a paid thing. “Who did you date before that?”
He hesitated.
“I should know if we’ve dated for three months.”
Tilting his head to the side, he said, “I was on-again, off-again with a girl in high school. We went to different colleges. I didn’t date anyone steady in college. I focused on MMA fighting and schoolwork.”
“Really?” This was intriguing.
“But I don’t fight now.” He cracked a grin. “Even though I know my almost brother-in-law is going to want me in the ring in the next couple of days. He’s Air Force, but special ops, so he knows his stuff.”
Zoey struggled not to be overwhelmed with everything she had to keep straight. She opted for an easy question. “What kind of food does Ann like?”
“Caviar.”
“Fish eggs?” She’d only heard the term, never eaten it. “You’ve gotten to be kidding.”
Mike nodded. “That’s probably what broke us up too. I’m just an American food guy, and she always wanted to eat squid and crap like that.”
“Ew.”
He pointed at her. “Right?”
She punched the seat. “So I’m Ann. I write poetry, and I like to eat fish eggs.”
“Not even just fish—like, expensive food. Snails.”
“Snails?”
“Sorry.” Just then, Mike’s phone rang, and he answered it on Bluetooth. “Hey, Mom.”
“Sweetie, hey, are you alright?”
“Right as rain, on my way. Uh, Mom, I need to tell you and Dad something. I hope it’s okay Ann decided to come with me. She flew in last night.”
“Oh. Oh, that was the complication you told your dad about yesterday?”
His eyes flashed to her, and then he grinned. “Yep, that was the complication.”
“That’s great. Maybe she likes to arrange flowers, because that’s what the rest of the day will be, along with you and your father getting all the Christmas trees up in the tents. Your father is almost done clearing out the snow. The Moon brothers, the Porters, and a couple of other guys were here helping put up tables and chairs and the wood floor for the dancing.”
Zoey shifted in her seat, intimidated. Mike wasn’t kidding about Snow Valley weddings.
“Perfect.”
“Okay, see you in a bit. Stop by the shop downtown so I can meet Ann first.”
“Great.”
“Bye, love you.”
“Love you, Mom.” He pressed end.
Her heart rate kicked up, and she suddenly felt self-conscious. She’d worn skinny jeans with some holes, a tight shirt with a sweatshirt over it, and her black army boots for the snow. “I am not ready to meet your mother.”
Mike reached out and took her hand. “Don’t worry. My parents are cool, and you look great.” He shrugged. “You can be an urban kind of poet girl.”
She frowned. “Because I have on combat boots?”
Chapter 7
As Mike pulled into Snow Valley, he was a lot more excited to be here than he had been yesterday.
“Holy moly,” Zoey said, pointing to a sign that marked all the activities this week. “A tree lighting tonight, a Polar Express at the town center all the time? What is this?”
Mike laughed. “I know. Snow Valley is like that Hallmark movie where Christmas is way, way, way over the top.” He grunted and thought of how he wasn’t really in the mood for all of it. It would be enough to get through his sister’s wedding. “It’s kind of annoying.”
She gave him an incredulous look. “What are you talking about?” she laughed, gesturing to the sign. “Hamilton Toy Drive. That’s you guys. You’re on the sign.”
“Yep.” He pointed out the diner as they walked past. “There’s Big C’s. Oh man, the best fries and fry sauce. We might have to stop and get some before we head out to the ranch.”
She nodded, and he could tell she was a bit overwhelmed. “Wow.”
He pointed. “The hospital is there. We can go to the tree lighting if you want.”
“For sure.”
The middle of the road was closed off. He had to detour his truck onto the back roads. “That’s right. They had the 5K and the pancake feed this morning.” He grunted. “I wonder who won this year. Usually, the Moon brothers try to take each other down.” Someone caught his eye, and he waved out his window and called out, “Hey, Porter, I heard you’re coming out to the place to help.”
The men yelled back and waved.
Mike laughed, loving Snow Valley. The center of his heart warmed. He’d missed it being in Boston. He realized now, more than ever, he didn’t like the big city.
“It seems you fit in well here.”
For a second, he’d forg
otten the situation. “Sorry, yeah, I was just thinking about how much I love this place. Boston is just so big and feels so impersonal.”
“How so?” she asked.
“Nobody knows each other. I mean, they do if you go to a party or something. But walking down the street, everyone is busy. There’s no chitchat. There’s no going grocery shopping and getting the town gossip from Tracy.” He pointed to the grocery store. “That’s Dove’s, and Tracy is the best cashier. There’re barn dances every month, and there’s …”
“Community.” She looked around as they wove through the streets.
“Exactly.”
“So are your sister and Dom staying here after they get married?”
Mike shook his head. “He has another couple of years in the Air Force, so she’s planning to go with him. Then they’ll come home. I know Dom and my dad have already been talking about their house. There’s some property down the road that is Lacey’s.”
“Do you have some property?”
The question unsettled him, and he didn’t know why. “Yeah, my dad told both of us if we wanted to come home, the property was ours. He bought it from my mother’s father. It was part of the Snow property that my family originally owned.”
She let out a low whistle. “Your family does have roots here.”
With a grin, he realized he’d missed it a lot. “Yes, we do.” He pulled into his mother’s flower shop and smiled at the Flower Girl sign. “Here we are.” He quickly turned off the engine and hopped out, then opened the passenger door and helped her down.
Walking into the flower shop, he kept her hand inside of his. When he turned, he asked, “It’s cool, right?”
She nodded. “We didn’t talk about this part, but that’s the deal, right?”
Nervous butterflies thrummed in his gut. Maybe they should have talked about what else was included in this deal to have a girlfriend.
“Mike!” The door slammed open and his sister sprinted toward him, leaping into his arms gracefully.
He laughed and held her. “You always have to fly through the air, don’t ya, Lacey?”
“That’s because I know you big strong oafs eat it up.” She got down and pushed him in the shoulder. They both laughed.
He gestured to Zoey. “Ann, meet my sister, Lacey.”
Lacey’s relaxed face suddenly changed, and Zoey could tell she was sizing her up. “Hmm, you don’t look at all like how I thought you would.”
Zoey knew she was blushing, but she shook her hand. She tried to think of what Ann would say. “I wore the boots because of the snow.”
Lacey frowned. “Oh, right.”
“Nice to meet you.” Dang, she didn’t know a Boston accent. Was she supposed to have that?
Lacey hugged her, and Zoey smelled an even more intense scent of flowers. “Welcome. I’m glad you could make it.”
“Mike!” A blonde woman, thin and tall—probably Zoey’s height, five-nine—came rushing for them. Zoey knew immediately that it was his mother.
They embraced, and his mother closed her eyes and held him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re home.” Pulling back from him, she surveyed him up and down. “You look good.” She grinned and turned to Zoey.
Another voice shouted out, “Mike!” An older version of Mike rushed out. Mike and his father threw their arms around each other, both laughing. Their happiness was contagious, and Zoey found herself smiling. Dang, she missed her mother. She imagined what it would be like to be reunited with her mother and father.
After the men pounded each other on the backs a bit more, his father turned to her. “This must be Ann,” he said, wrapping her in a hug.
Zoey warmed. It made her a bit emotional to be hugged like that, with such care.
His father grinned at her and winked. “You are a redhead. And gorgeous,” he said, turning back to his wife. “Isn’t she just gorgeous?”
Mike’s mother nodded. “Mike said you didn’t like your picture being taken, so it’s good to finally put a face with the name.”
This was the only reason all of this could work, because of Ann’s desire not to be photographed. “It’s so good to meet you both,” Zoey said.
“Gorgeous,” his father said, and he smiled at Mike.
“We loved your poetry,” his mother said. “It was so touching that night you read it to us.”
“Yeah.” She glanced at Mike. He hadn’t told her about that.
His mother threw a hand up. “You should read some poetry at the wedding!”
“No,” Zoey said immediately.
His mother turned to Lacey. “She is so good. We should have her do a poem.”
His sister looked less certain, but flashed a smile. “Sure, why not?” The tone sounded like something was going on beneath the surface.
“Ann’s not really into performing,” Mike said, taking Zoey’s hand.
She shook her head. “No, not poetry.”
His mother shrugged. “Think about it.”
“Where’s Dom?” Mike asked his sister.
Lacey waved a hand in the air. “Still clearing snow.” She punched him in the shoulder playfully. “The job you were supposed to do.”
“Ah, he can just tell me how all civilians are lazy.”
The Hamiltons all laughed. Zoey tried to relax and laugh, but she didn’t get it, so she just smiled.
His mother’s eyes swept across the group. “Why don’t you guys go back to the house and eat something. We’ll be out shortly with all of these flowers.” She looked right at Zoey. “If you’d like to help decorate, you are welcome to, but you don’t have to.”
Lacey cocked an eyebrow at her. “You have to. Let me tell you: once you’re in this family, flowers become part of your life.”
The words “in this family” sounded a bit presumptuous.
Her mother wagged a finger at Lacey. “Maybe be grateful because we’re all doing this for your wedding.”
Lacey put her hands on her hips. “I am grateful, but I’m not the one who thought we needed to order flowers to decorate twenty-one Christmas trees.”
Zoey was a bit amused at the scene in front of her.
His mother mimicked Lacey’s stance. “Who wanted to invite the whole town?”
Lacey, Michael, and Mike all burst out laughing. Zoey saw his mother smile too.
Lacey and her mother pointed to each other, laughing. “You did!”
Mike put an arm causally around Zoey, turning to her. “I told you. Snow Valley weddings are an experience.”
Lacey shook her head. “It’s like a theme park where you go and can’t get off the ride until you’ve met everyone in town.”
Lacey seemed friendly, and Zoey was relaxing. Yes, she could do this. “I would love to help decorate.”
His mother winked at her. “I love your attitude.”
Mike tugged her away from all of them. “We’ll see you at the house in a bit. We’re going to get some fries from Big C’s.”
They all waved, and Zoey found Mike had the best manners, walking her to the passenger side door and opening it for her. “Thank you.” She thought about how Josh hadn’t really made it a point to open doors for her. Then she hated that she was comparing them at all.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, she blew out a shaky breath. “That was intense.”
Mike laughed and shook his head. “Lacey’s right. Snow Valley is a ride.”
Zoey nodded. Yes, she could have fun, couldn’t she? It’d been so long since she’d thought of fun.
A couple of minutes later, they pulled up to Big C’s, and it wasn’t too busy. After he got out and helped her out, they walked in together. There was a jukebox playing, and it felt like a sixties diner.
Mike seemed to know everyone. He ordered and paid for fries before they sat down. “So, you’re cool with the whole holding hands thing.”
“Obviously,” she said, dipping a fry in fry sauce. This town was a nice distraction from her life. “We probably don’t need to
kiss or anything, though.”
“We don’t?” he asked, and she noticed he was blushing.
“Do you think we need to?”
“We’ve been together three months.” He lifted a hand. “It’s kind of what we’d be doing.”
“Right. Okay, small pecks on the cheek.”
He let out a laugh. “O-kay, sounds great.”
She could tell it didn’t sound great. “Look, I really don’t know how you want me to act. Just tell me.” Her mind rushed back to when she and Josh had first been together.
“I don’t know.” He searched her face. “What are you thinking about? You’re turning red.”
“Nothing.”
He pointed at her. “Were too.”
“No.”
“Tell me.”
It felt like a challenge, and she found herself caving. “I was just thinking about how I used to paw all over Josh when we were first together.”
Mike wagged his eyebrows at her. “And you can’t do that with me?”
She glared at him. “You’re not paying me enough.”
He laughed. “Ouch.” The door dinged, and Mike’s face went pale. “Brace yourself. My ex-girlfriend just walked in.”
“Ex-girlfriend?” She turned, and in strode an amazingly tall blonde with ringlets around her face.
“Yep, and her name’s Nellie, so just shut it.”
Zoey watched the Amazon-sized girl scan the place, then settle on Mike. A huge smile warmed her face, and she ran toward them. “Mikey!”
Chapter 8
Mike couldn’t believe that Nellie Bells had shown up right now. He barely stood before she was throwing herself at him. He hardly had a chance to open his arms, and he had to brace himself so he wouldn’t fall. “Nellie.”
She did a little dance in his arms. “My fry guy! I just had this feeling you would be here. I can’t believe it’s you! I just had this feeling this would be a magical Christmas for us.” She laughed and then crushed her lips to his.
The girl was strong. Made sense, since she’d been captain of the Volleyball team for four years and all-state. He pushed her back with a laugh. “Stop, Nellie.”
