Hitting the off button on the oven, Mindy grabbed two pot holders and opened the oven door, pulling the cookie sheet out and setting it on top of the stove. The cookies were shaped perfectly, the frosting already made and divided into three colors. The boys would’ve been beside themselves if they saw them. This was one of their favorite activities to do during the holidays.
And now she was going to frost cookies alone. All alone during Christmas just like poor Josh…
Pushing thoughts of Josh firmly from her mind, Mindy went to her hall closet and grabbed her winter coat, pulling it on. She wrapped a scarf around her neck and shoved a hat over her head before slipping on her snow boots. Just past three in the afternoon and already the sky was growing dark. She needed to find that dumb cat before it got too dark and too cold.
As she headed outside, she squinted against the waning sunlight, the dreary gray settling its moody hands on her shoulders, weighing her down. The snow swirled, the cold air nipped at what little skin that was exposed, and she tugged the scarf away from her mouth so she could call her cat. But the little booger was nowhere to be found.
Could her Christmas get any worse? Her kids were gone, her ex-husband was about to remarry in freaking Hawaii, and the snowstorm of the season was descending.
Life sucked big-time.
…
Joshua Powers followed the curvy road around the lake, keeping his speed low since the asphalt was slushy with snow. The wind knocked against his normally sturdy truck and he gripped the steering wheel tight, regretting yet again that he’d gone to check on his parent’s house.
His mom and dad were on a cruise in the Caribbean. Right about now he envied the hell out of them, sitting in the warm sun, surrounded by a bright blue sea.
And here he was, driving in hellish weather, being the dutiful son and checking on their house, making sure everything was ready for the storm. He should be at home, sitting by his woodstove and drinking a beer. His older sister had been harassing him to come to her place for Christmas day but forget that noise. He’d have to leave that night to make it back for his 8:00 a.m. shift the next morning.
He’d sit out Christmas alone and had no problem with it. Growing up, he’d been a bit of a loner. Not that he was ostracized in school or anything, but he had no problem doing his own thing and not worrying what others thought.
Unlike some people he’d known, who always worried about what others thought about her, always fearful of her image. Such as a particular girl who was still around, whose house he was about to drive past, though he’d never ever admit she still haunted his thoughts on random occasions.
Especially now that he knew she was single…
Tightening his hold even more on the steering wheel, he forced all thoughts of Mindy McKenzie Fenton out of his head and focused his attention on the road. They’d been friends once upon a time, he and Mindy. Since grade school, when their families had lived in the same neighborhood and they were in the same class. He’d hung out with her older brother Patrick somewhat but more often than not, he was with Mindy.
Junior high decimated their friendship, being that it was junior high and full of early teen angst. By high school they’d struck a tentative relationship once more, one built on asking each other for advice or information on the dating scene and studying for chemistry. Josh had started to believe there was some real chemistry between them, so he’d taken a chance and asked Mindy out. When she’d hesitated, he’d blurted out how much he liked her. How he’d always liked her and wanted to take it further. Hell, he’d even gone in to hug her and possibly kiss her, too.
And had been immediately shot down. She’d dodged him, nervous laughter escaping her as she told him she was already seeing Marty Fenton and that Marty didn’t like the two of them hanging out together. So she had to stop spending so much time with him.
Ouch.
After everything they’d had, the deep friendship they’d shared, she’d pushed him away because of some punk dude who told her she couldn’t be friends with Josh any longer. Josh had been devastated. He’d been so angry at the time, he’d quit talking to her, which she’d never understood. He knew that because she’d asked Cameron about it, who in turn told him. Clueless woman.
It was ridiculous. That had been years ago, but they’d never really reconciled. They rarely spoke to each other beyond polite pleasantries at the very occasional social function where they ran into each other. He hated how tattered their friendship was.
But he didn’t know how to fix it.
T
hey’d gone on with their lives, but he’d always secretly cared about her. Had kept tabs on her through her family, though he’d always been casual about his inquiries in regards to her. Mindy was divorced with two kids. And Josh had had his fair share of relationships, though none of them had lasted for too long. He was married to his career.
Being an arson investigator for the state of California was a heavy-duty job that involved him in undercover investigations he couldn’t tell anyone about. His mother called it secret squirrel investigations.
His mother was a big dork, but he loved her, so he could forgive her for the dorkiness.
He slowed down as the truck approached Mindy’s house. She’d kept it after the divorce, what with Marty moving into the tiny cottage his now fiancé lived in. The two-story structure sat high above the road and the driveway was steep, the front yard virtually nonexistent save for the giant deck that served also as the porch. The view of the lake was amazing.
Despite the contention between him and Mindy, he’d been to the Fenton household for a few social functions over the years. He was an old family friend. And usually he’d gone with a woman in tow. Something about being there alone while watching Mindy with Marty had always set Josh on edge.
Maybe because he’d always suspected what a jackass Marty really was. That leopard had certainly never changed his spots. The last few years of their marriage hadn’t been very good, yet that hadn’t seemed obvious to anyone Mindy was close to. She always put on a brave face.
But Josh had sensed things weren’t right in the Fenton marriage. There had been the one time he’d seen Marty with his little sidepiece, Bobbi, at some restaurant in another town over. He’d tried to brush it off as nothing but…
It had definitely been something. And Josh had been full of guilt for never telling Mindy about it. Not that they really talked.
A cat darted out in front of his truck, a bright spot of orange among the slushy snow, and Josh swerved left to avoid it, going right into the embankment with a solid thud.