took the tree topper from Cora, and Phil hoisted her up, until the angel was standing tall and proud on the top of the tree.
“It’s right where it belongs,” Cora said aloud. Immediately, she felt her cheeks flush. “Sorry,” she said, slanting a glance at Phil. “It just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without that angel on top of a tree.”
“It wouldn’t feel like Christmas without a lot of things, this night included,” Phil said quietly.
His gaze roamed her face, and for a moment, the entire room seemed to fall silent.
Until a well-known children’s carol came on the radio and Georgie began to sing along, at high volume.
“Well,” he said, clearing his throat. “I should probably get Georgie home to bed.”
Georgie let out a groan of protest. “But I don’t want the fun to end!”
Me either, kid, Cora wanted to say. Instead she fell back on her old habit to find something look forward to. This time it was easy.
“But did you know that the Winter Carnival is just a few days away? It all kicks off Friday night. There are games and music and food.”
“And snow?”
Cora laughed. “I hope!” Though she knew that even if by some strange chance the snow were to melt between now and then, Bart would bring in his snow machine and put it to good use. “This far north, the chance of the snow melting before March is pretty slim. The important part is that it started before Christmas, so it will be here to stay. What’s Christmas without snow?”
“Try living in California,” Georgie grumbled.
Cora gave Phil a wry grin as they put back on their coats. “Thank you. For the pizza. And…for tonight.”
“Consider it an early Christmas gift,” he said with a wink.
10
Phil had taken Georgie to dinner at most of the inns that lined Main Street, along with the pizza parlor, but tonight Georgie wanted to try the Firefly Café next to the bakery. Phil wavered, knowing that Cora’s sister owned the place, but then told himself that maybe this was a good thing. Maybe he could learn a little more about the proprietor of the holiday shop, see if there was any chance of making this entire situation better than it was turning out to be.
Though looking at his daughter’s face as she stared at the lights of Main Street, he wasn’t sure how he could top this.
“Can we come back here again this summer so you can teach me how to fish?” Georgie asked as they made their way down the side street toward the small building that housed the bakery and café.
Phil didn’t want to crush his daughter’s spirit, even though the answer should be a simple one. This summer he’d be overseas, something he’d been planning for a long time, something he’d been excited about…until now. Usually he lived for the rush that came with each new business deal, long after he’d had enough money in his bank account to make it worth his while. But now he felt that same rush every time Georgie laughed, or took his hand, or gave him a hug goodnight.
He was bonding with his daughter. Basking in her love. And he was falling for a kind, beautiful woman.
Wasn’t this all that most people needed out of life?
Not his father, he reminded himself. He’d scorned that way of life in his parents and he would do so in Phil, too. Growing up it had all been about the accomplishment, not the effort. Didn’t matter if Phil played a good game on the soccer field. What mattered was that they’d won. Didn’t matter that Phil sat alone on Christmas, or in a stuffy restaurant, bored and lonely. He’d gotten that expensive new video game system, hadn’t he?
Eventually, the desire to please his father, to connect with him, had morphed into his own way of life.
But here was his daughter, his child, just trying to connect with him.
In the most simplest of ways.
“It’s too cold to think about summer just yet,” he said, hoping to change the topic. He motioned to the building as they approached, each window framed in lights, the front glass-paned door bearing a wreath made of sleigh bells. “Besides, all I can think about now is food!”
“Me too,” Georgie said happily. “Especially since it’s not frozen pizza!”
The Firefly Café was, like most places in town, completely decorated for the holidays. Garland, tinsel, lights, wreaths, even a small red and green floral arrangement on each table.
Georgie lapped it up, especially the children’s menu,