Christmas in Bayberry

He nodded. “We were here for less than a year before my father got a new job—again.”

That explained why she couldn’t recall him. “I take it your father had a lot of jobs.”

Wes nodded. “He was forever searching for the perfect job, but none of them worked out—at least not for long.”

So his stay in Bayberry had been brief. That’s why she didn’t know him. It was right around the time when her parents had died and she’d come to live with her aunt, her only living relative. But she didn’t want to dwell on that, so she asked, “Did your family move around a lot?”

He nodded. “Every time I thought we’d found a place to call home, we’d have to move.”

“I can’t imagine how tough that must have been. I moved here when I was a kid.” She didn’t want to bring up her parents’ deaths, as this was Wes’s story. “And I thought that was hard, making new friends and getting used to a new school. But to do that numerous times. Wow. I’m sorry.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it to a young family, but we made it work.”

Her heart went out to that little boy who was never able to set down roots. “How about now? Do you like to travel?”

He shook his head. “I travel for business because I have to, not because I want to. But the benefit is meeting really nice people.” His gaze met hers, causing heat to swirl in her chest. Was he flirting with her? He glanced back at the shelf. “Eventually, I plan to have a desk job and the travelling will be a thing of the past.”

“It sounds like a nice goal.” When she thought of that desk being all the way in Manhattan, disappointment assailed her. “I hope it all works out for you.”

“Thanks. Me too.”

As she continued searching for the missing report, her mind played the what-if game. What if Wes didn’t live so far away? What if he lived in a nearby town? Would this be the beginning of something? Would he ask her out? Would she ask him—

“Found it!” Wes held up a file.

The heat that had started in her chest rushed to her cheeks. He’d found that file just in time, because her thoughts had fallen down a rabbit hole—a dangerous hole. She needed to stay focused on business—and helping the faltering company by making this year’s sale the biggest and best.

Kate swallowed hard. “You did?” The file shouldn’t have been there, but after seeing the condition of the shelves, she wasn’t surprised. “You’re sure it’s the right report?”

He double-checked. “Yes, thank you. I owe you.”

Without giving her a chance to say anything, he turned and headed back to her office. She watched him walk away. He didn’t talk a lot. She wondered what made him that way. Did he work too much? Or was he used to being alone in Manhattan?

The thought of being alone in that great big city seemed impossible. But something told her that if you wanted to be alone, you could do it even in the middle of millions of people. It just wasn’t right that Wes was all alone while his mother was in Florida, especially during the holiday season.

She was so lucky to be part of a close-knit community. As she continued to place the files on the correct shelves, she realized Wes might be leaving soon, but there was enough time to show him some Bayberry holiday cheer. And she had the perfect idea.

Chapter Nine

The more time Wes spent in Bayberry, the more he liked it.

And then there was the owner’s niece.

He smiled as he recalled his earlier conversation with Kate. She blushed so easily that he couldn’t resist a little flirting, though he’d caught himself and stopped. Starting something with Kate wasn’t a good idea, as he needed to get back to New York as soon as possible.

Still, he’d enjoyed talking with her. Her questions had prompted him to recall all of the places he’d lived as a kid, and there had been many—too many. But it hadn’t been all bad. He’d met some wonderful people and visited many amazing places. However, Bayberry stuck out the most in his memory.

When his family moved to Bayberry, he’d thought the town was going to be corny and boring. As a teenager, he couldn’t think of anything worse than moving to a little town in the middle of nowhere with no mall, no skate park and no internet. Fortunately, a lot had changed since those days. Okay, maybe not a lot. There was still no shopping mall anywhere near Bayberry, and there was still no skate park—or he might be tempted to relive his youth and brush up on his skateboard skills.

But these days Bayberry did have the internet, which kept him in constant contact with Watson & Summers. Apparently, competition for the promotion was ratcheting up. Chad had just brought in a huge client. Another candidate, June Mason, retained one hundred percent of her clients. And what was Wes doing? Sitting here in this small town with a small client. It wasn’t going to mean anything when it came time for Mr. Summers to choose his next assistant VP.

Sure, Mr. Summers had assigned Wes this account. At first, Wes had thought it was some sort of test. Now, he wondered if Mr. Summers was just getting him out of the way so he could concentrate on the other candidates. Wes’s jaw tightened.

He tried to tell himself to relax, that Mr. Summers wouldn’t do that—he was a fair man. But this was Bayberry. It was a one-light town, and all of the shopping was done on Main Street. It still had a tree-lighting night—this Friday in Bayberry Square, as a matter of fact.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help Bayberry. He knew that without the candle company the town would lose its main source of income and would most likely die off. The young people would all move away for work. As for the older people, some would stay and some would follow their kids, wanting to be near their grandchildren.

But the more numbers he pulled, the more dismal the outlook appeared. And he knew that Kate wanted to help the company with the upcoming sale, but he didn’t think there was anything she could do at this late stage.