“Zach, are you okay?” the woman asks the child, who just gives a thumbs up. “He’s okay. He loves all animals.” The mother finally turns to me. “Ever since he was a small child, anything fur or feather covered would flock right toward him.”
I chuckle. “Well, Angus loves attention, but he’s sweet. He won’t hurt him on purpose,” I reassure her.
Zach rights himself in the snow, and Angus sits panting next to him. The sight is quite adorable actually. Then, Angus jumps with both paws right into Zach’s chest, pushing the little boy backward again. Jane’s voice echoes in my head.That little menace.
Zach’s peel of laughter would make anyone smile.
“Thank you.” The mother smiles softly. “We’ve had a tough time lately. This is the most I’ve heard Zach laugh. That dog of yours seems to have a knack for changing the mood up.”
I feel my own heart flip-flop in my chest. “Yeah, Angus is the best,” I tell her. “I’m a detective, and some days are extremely rough. One step in the front door and it all melts away. He brings the crazy right to my feet.”
“Wow, that’s a tough job,” she says. “No wife or girlfriend?”
“Nope,” I tell her as I inhale deeply. “Just Angus and me. I had a close call recently. I thought it could be something, but…I guess I was wrong.”
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit soured of late on love myself, but dogs—well, I might finally give in to Zach’s pleas for one of his own when we get home.”
“I think he would be great with one,” I tell her as we stand and watch their antics unfolding in front of us.
“He would, wouldn’t he?” She looks at me and then back to the boys. “You know, sometimes people don’t realize what they have until it’s gone. Maybe she’ll come back.”
“Maybe,” I say, but even as I do, I know it’s a long shot.
We watch Angus and Zach play for a few more minutes before we all head home. The cabin is quiet without Jane’s laughter or her witty remarks. It feels hollow somehow.
Angus jumps on the couch and whines. He turns around in a circle before lying down, his sad eyes looking at me. It’s the same spot Jane sat in all weekend.
“I miss her too, buddy,” I say to Angus as he nuzzles his head against my leg. “I thought…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.”
Tomorrow, we’ll be back to our usual routine, and all will be well. I have Angus, and together, we’ll get through this loss of Jane. Well, it isn’t really a loss since she was never really mine. But, for the first time, my heart is longing for more. Something that’s been dormant for a long time. Jane opened my heart to the possibility of love. She gave me a glimpse of what that would look like, and for that, I’ll be eternally grateful. Maybe one day, we’ll meet again, but ifnot, I’ll at least have some entertaining memories of the reservation mix-up in Silver Valley.
8
Jane
“I’m surprised with how fast the paperwork was done for the bookstore,” I tell my mom as I sit on her porch sipping on a cup of hot cocoa. “I thought it would take quite a bit longer to finalize.”
“Oh, you know Regina. When she puts her mind to something, there’s no one and nothing that can stop her,” my mother begins. “Plus, she wanted Timeless Tales to stay here. If she sold to that big name company, they would have torn down everything she built. I’m grateful you were able to purchase it and come home.”
“Me too, Mom.”
“How did your boss take the news?” she asks, with a hint of concern.
“Well, he wasn’t thrilled about losing me, but he was understanding and excited for me. I’ve been the most flexible writer for years. I don’t have my own family orlittles at home to worry about so I took on stories that others couldn’t.”
I shake my head as Andrew appears again, not for the first time since I’ve been home. He’s like an infection spreading through my heart and mind. Three days. It had been three days out of my entire lifetime of thirty years, and somehow, the man mesmerized me completely. I’m so smitten over someone I most likely will never see again.
I haven’t told anyone about what happened over the weekend. I’m not lying, just not revealing certain information, and it needs to stay that way. People would think I am crazy for falling for a man so quickly especially after I called off my wedding. I think I’m certifiably insane.
“Well, I, for one, am grateful to have you here with us. I can’t even begin to tell you how much this means to me. We’ll be able to spend the holidays together—from preparation to Christmas morning to the new year,” she gushes as she reaches across the table to squeeze my hand in her own.
Tomorrow is the grand rebranding celebration. While I want to keep the rustic charm of Timeless Tales, there are a few things I want to spruce up prior to opening undermy ownership. We’ve been working tirelessly the past few days to get everything in order. Mom and Dad have been helping, Nonna has, of course, offered her opinion on everything, and various townspeople have stopped by to offer their congratulations and their help.
That’s one of the many blessings about living here in Oakridge Hollow, the people are sweet, generous of their time, and all around good people. As we sit and soak up the beautiful day, I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I’m a small business owner here in my hometown. It’s a dream come true. And if I could meet the man of my dreams and get swept off my feet, literally or figuratively, I’d be an even more happy Jane.
A noise overhead pulls me out of my thoughts. “What are you doing?” I ask as I see my father moving on the roof.
“I wanted to get a head start on the lights,” he mutters. “We’re going to win the neighborhood contest this year. I’m not letting Davison across the way get his teeth into the voting committee before me.”
