Christmas in Angel Harbor - Jeannie Moon Page 0,33

a hint of hero worship. “Do you think he’d, I don’t know, talk to me about writing? I just want to pick his brain.”

Yeah, definitely hero worship.

“I’m sure he would. He was asking about you, by the way, about your aspirations. I’m sure he’d love to talk shop.”

Tara nodded, doing her best to stay cool when she was obviously having an internal freak-out. “That would be really great. Really.”

“I’ll mention it to him. You can chat after the play wraps.”

“Okay. Um, thanks.” There was nothing quite so wonderful as seeing the joy dancing in her daughter’s eyes. Talking to someone with Danny’s stature and success was like a fledgling guitar player talking to Jimi Hendrix. “I’m going to bed,” she said.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” Jane leaned into her daughter’s kiss goodnight. As Tara left the room, Jane remembered something she wanted to say and called her back. “Hey, Tee?”

“Yeah?” When she walked back in the kitchen, her phone was in hand.

“Make sure you call your Aunt Tracy to fill her in.”

Tara raised an eyebrow to go along with her wry grin. “Not necessary.”

Just then, as if in response to some cosmic stage direction, Jane’s phone rang, and the caller ID told her it was none other than Tracy. Her timing was impeccable.

“Night, Mom.”

“Night.” Jane looked at the ringing phone and resigned herself to the fact that she was in for a very long conversation about a boy. Some things didn’t change. “Hey.”

Tracy took a deep breath and began. “Tell me everything.”

Chapter Seven

Danny stood outside the bookstore thinking about what his sister had said last night regarding his relationship with Jane. He’d enjoyed dinner; it was the best time he’d had in ages, probably because whatever was simmering between them had deep roots that had the potential to go way deeper. But Mel was right—he had to make some amends before this went any further.

When he came back to Long Island, he had one goal, and one goal only: to write his next book. Reconnecting with people, especially his sweet friend, wasn’t something he’d considered. Or had he? The time he’d spent at the bookstore over the past week had been the stimulus he’d needed to trigger his creative brain. Getting back to his origins, as well as a pure process, was helping the words flow.

Was she part of that? Was Jane his inspiration? Her presence calmed and settled him; there was no denying the special magic she possessed. It forced him to think about everything he’d missed because he’d walked away from her.

The town was acting like a character with a full and complete life. It had feelings and moods, and Danny should’ve remembered how those moods could mess with him. Even the weather could play games. His time living in Hawaii had made his body less tolerant of extremes, so the cold snap had kept him from running. He’d missed the time outside, using his sister’s treadmill instead. But it wasn’t the same. Nothing was the same since he’d come home.

Cold be damned, he thought. In defiance he sat in one of the rocking chairs on the bookstore porch. The bite from the wind, the draw of the icy air into his lungs was a shock, a fantastic natural jolt. From where he sat, he had a bird’s eye view of Main Street with all its emerging Christmas finery. The town started off by wrapping the antique-style lampposts with pine garlands and topping each with a deep red bow. Every tree, no matter what type, was being decked out with lights. As Jane had noted, it wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet. This was going to be some party.

His mind drifted to the night before, when Jane confided in him. Whatever her dreams had been, the bookstore was her life now and it was easy to see that she put her whole heart and soul into making it a success. Logically, he knew she probably had nothing to worry about regarding her lease. The landlord could easily see that the building was in great hands. Jane and all the Fallons who came before her pumped a lot of money to keep the timbers in the old place strong. Danny wondered if he should offer to have his people check things out with her landlord. Maybe that would take a little pressure off. That way Jane could focus on her daughter and her business. It was a small thing he could do to help. The time he’d spent here recently