Christmas at Fireside Cabins - Jenny Hale Page 0,24

in line right after the woman, and then two more people came in and waited at the side for their to-go orders. Surprisingly, business wasn’t too bad for the coffee shop with no name.

Once there was a lull in customers, she addressed Theo again, her initial surge of adrenaline having completely subsided as she’d waited. “Look, I won’t stick around and bother you, but I just want to know, what have I done to make you so angry with me?”

There was a crack in his cool demeanor, and a flash of something she couldn’t identify flickered in his eyes for a second, but he wouldn’t answer.

“What was that during the horse ride yesterday?” she continued, exasperated by his silence. “You knew we were going to the farm. If you wanted to avoid me, why did you come and then offer to lead the ride?”

He grabbed a rag and moved down the counter, wiping coffee rings from the surface. She followed him.

“I’m glad you did,” she said gently. “I just don’t understand what changed between then and last night.” She leaned over the counter, demanding his attention. “Why did you go through all the trouble to get your saddle, find me, and take that ride? I want to know, Theo.”

His lips parted as if he was going to say something, but then he snapped them closed.

“Tell me,” she pressed.

Finally, he said, “Sorry. I had a momentary lapse in judgment at the farm. I won’t let it happen again.”

Another customer came in and Theo went over to take the order.

Her heart sank. So the only time Theo had shown her anything other than hostility had been a “lapse in judgment.” She couldn’t deny the unexpected hurt it caused her, but she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her vacation worried about some random guy who very clearly didn’t want to be around her, who she would never even see again after this trip.

“Okay,” she said, nodding in complete understanding now. She turned around and walked out, deciding right then and there that she wouldn’t be coming back to his shop. This was about spending time with her friends on probably their last Christmas trip together. There was no way she would allow Theo to distract her from that anymore.

“I think we should try the bakery first,” Piper suggested, pointing to the tiny storefront with the red-and-white striped awning as they walked down Main Street. After her confrontation with Theo, Lila had suggested they all get ready and take a walk in town, hoping the icy winter air and poinsettia-filled sidewalks would put her back into the festive mood. Then they could figure out their big outing for the day.

The town’s little Main Street was perfectly preserved from its original construction at the turn of the century—one tree-lined avenue with a string of independent businesses and shops running along its edges.

They peered past the Christmas trees in the main window of Gingerbread Mama’s Bakery at a line of caramel apples sitting on the counter to cool.

“Oh my…” Charlotte said, as she squinted at the menu through the glass from outside. “They have pear brûlée-filled donuts with a sugar glaze. If I go through those doors, I swear, I think I’m going to gain ten pounds.”

“Well, I’m absolutely game,” Piper said, tugging on the long vintage door-pull and dragging Lila inside, the others following.

“Of course Piper doesn’t mind,” Charlotte teased under her breath. “She’s like a hundred pounds dripping wet.”

Lila laughed but was distracted, immediately overcome with the sweet scents of caramel and chocolate. She browsed the display tables of treats—containers of peppermint bark, bourbon almond chocolate truffles, and salted caramel buttercream buttons—all adorned with mistletoe and holly, every table draped in swags of fresh pine. A Christmas tree, filled with sugar cookie dough ornaments, glistened in the corner.

“I already know what I’m getting,” Edie said, pointing to a tray behind the rounded glass display case piled with raspberry lavender dark chocolate bites.

“Have we walked into heaven?” Piper teased. “I’m getting one of those too.”

“Me too,” Charlotte said, peering down at her phone and typing.

“Let’s make it an even four.”

An older woman with a bright smile and a flour-covered apron greeted them. “Hey there,” she said as she rang them up. “I’m Carol. Y’all grab yourselves a table and I’ll bring them out to you.”

Lila paid for them all and they crossed the small space, taking the only table with four chairs.

“Work,” Charlotte said as she sat down, when Piper looked questioningly at