The Meaning in Mistletoe - Rachael Bloome Page 0,2
in his father’s footsteps, right down to their expensive Italian leather loafers. Unfortunately, the tension between Jack and his parents had strained the whole family. And although Jack didn’t hold anything against his siblings, he barely spoke to them anymore.
Except for Lucy. Fresh out of college, and the only girl, she still saw the world with rose-colored glasses. In fact, she optimistically tried to reunite Jack with their parents at every available opportunity. He often wondered if she’d give up if he told her the reason for the division. But out of love and concern for her, he kept the ugly truth to himself.
Absentmindedly, Jack dug his hand inside his coat pocket, grazing his cell phone. He expected a call from her any day now announcing her annual holiday visit.
Although their parents lived in the neighboring town of Primrose Valley, Lucy never missed spending a few days in Poppy Creek with Jack to kick off the Christmas season. Their itinerary usually consisted of gorging themselves on too many sugar cookies while binge-watching Christmas movies. One year, she’d even talked him into wearing an eggnog face mask while they sang along with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in their favorite film, Holiday Inn. But he drew the line at painting his toenails with candy cane stripes.
Smiling at the memory, Jack felt the tension lift from his shoulders. No matter what went wrong in his world—even an overzealous sous-chef wreaking havoc on his diner—a visit from his sister set everything right again.
In truth, he didn’t think he could survive the holidays without it.
Chapter 2
As Jack pushed through the front door of The Calendar Café, a barrage of warm air greeted him.
Half the town of Poppy Creek appeared to be crammed in between the overflowing pastry cases and enormous open-hearth fireplace. After removing his wool coat, Jack pushed the sleeves of his flannel shirt up to his elbows as he scanned the crowd.
His gaze rested on Frank Barrie and his fiancée, Beverly, canoodling at a table in the center of the room. Jack’s lips twitched at the uncommon sight. He still couldn’t get used to seeing the town curmudgeon with his arm around the sweet, soft-spoken librarian. As someone stubbornly set in his ways, Jack had a hard time processing the drastic transformation.
Seated next to them at the table, Luke and Colt’s mother, Maggie, clutched a plaid scrapbook Jack instantly recognized as the Christmas Calendar. While the original version had been destroyed last year, the reproduction looked identical, right down to the gold foil lettering across the front. The pages inside were filled with all twenty-five festive tasks laid out by Cassie’s late grandparents before they passed away—a precious family heirloom that evoked a tiny pang of envy in Jack’s heart.
Growing up, Jack’s family hadn’t owned many possessions. And the ones they had owned were promptly upgraded when his father’s real estate business took off. Jack had managed to save only one keepsake—the cast-iron skillet that had kickstarted his love of cooking comfort food.
“Hey, you two! You made it.” The bright, cheerful voice interrupted Jack’s thoughts.
Penny Heart rushed to welcome them, throwing her arms around Colt’s neck before kissing him as though they’d been separated for several months.
Jack averted his gaze. Nearly everyone he knew seemed to be dating, engaged, or married. And nothing amplified his single status quite like being surrounded by couples in love, especially during the holidays. After all, he couldn’t exactly kiss himself under the mistletoe, now could he?
“There they are!” Eliza Carter, Cassie’s best friend and business partner, gestured toward them, snaking her way through the throng. Her fiancé, Grant, followed on her heels, their son, Ben, lagging behind them.
“Luke and Cassie are in the kitchen,” Eliza told them breathlessly, her huge chocolate-brown eyes dancing with delight. “He’s distracting her under the guise of hanging a new spice rack he made for us. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees everyone!”
“And the Calendar,” Penny added, sounding equally excited.
“I wanna see Aunt Cassie, too.” Ben tugged on his father’s arm.
As Grant glanced down at his son, a crease appeared in his forehead. Although on the smaller side for an eight-year-old, Ben wasn’t exactly a little kid anymore, either.
Grant scanned the room, presumably looking for a chair Ben could stand on, but they were all occupied.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.” With minimal effort, Jack hoisted Ben onto his broad shoulders. “How’s that?”
“Whoa! I can see everything from up here,” Ben gushed, clearly impressed