The decisions were made.
And now, Wes had one more important thing to do: speak to Kate. He dialed her cell. It went straight to voicemail. Frustration churned in his gut.
This wasn’t how he wanted to leave things between them. He couldn’t leave town without letting her know that he’d be back. So he left her a message.
He’d been so busy wrapping up things with the candle company that he hadn’t had any spare time to spend with her. He’d literally lived at the office for
the last two days. He recalled the disappointment in Kate’s eyes when he’d told her he couldn’t accompany her to hand out the Christmas baskets. And for that, he felt bad. He felt bad about a lot of things lately, but if his plan worked out, everything would be different. Better. And he hoped she’d forgive him.
Once he returned to the New York office and took care of business, he hoped he’d be able to return to Bayberry and stay until the New Year. He couldn’t think of any place he’d rather spend the holidays. And then there was the person he wanted to spend those holidays with—Kate.
Wait. He was supposed to stay in New York, awaiting the announcement of the promotion. Wasn’t that where his thoughts should be? How had he forgotten what was most important to him?
For so long now, he’d made his career the sole focus of everything he did. His drive to live and work in one spot had been all he’d thought of in college. He’d sworn that he wouldn’t move around from job to job like his father. And here he was, thinking that Bayberry was the place to be—where he wanted to live. But what would that mean for his career?
It was too late now. He had too much invested in his job in the city. He had to keep climbing that corporate ladder…didn’t he?
And if he did, what did that mean for him and Kate? He already knew how much she loved this town. There was no way she would leave it. And he couldn’t ask her to. He knew what Bayberry meant to her—that’s why he’d been doing everything he could to save her family’s business and her town.
Conflicting thoughts raced through his mind as he made his way through the empty offices of the candle company. The only thing he could do now was to pack up and make his way to the airport. He needed to be at that important meeting with his boss first thing in the morning.
Wes packed his laptop. And then he gathered his files. In his rush, he knocked a pen off the desk. He bent over to retrieve it. It was then that a piece of red paper under the desk caught his attention.
He reached out and picked it up. It was in the shape of a heart, and it glittered with sequins. He knew those sequins. He’d glued hundreds of them to the Christmas tree bookmarks. This heart-shaped bookmark was from Kate. It was why she’d visited him yesterday.
A smile pulled at his lips. He turned over the bookmark and found writing on the backside:
To the most amazing man—
You made this Christmas sparkle.
Love, Kate
In that moment, it felt as though his heart grew three sizes. He read the short message again. And again. And again.
He had to get back to Bayberry soon—to get back to Kate. He couldn’t wait to escort her to the Candlelight Dance. He had a very special Christmas present to give her there. He couldn’t wait.
Thanks to the kindness of strangers, the day was saved.
Sort of.
After the farmer used his tractor to pull the van out of the ditch, Kate and Carrie made it safely back to Bayberry. But it didn’t change the candle company’s dire fate. For the rest of the drive home, Kate kept thinking “This can’t be happening.” Wes was recommending the end of Bayberry Candles as she’d always known it. Tears stung her eyes. She blinked them away.
Of course, she’d always known that selling the company was a possibility, but she didn’t think it would actually happen. Her heart felt as though it’d been torn in half.
And to make matters worse, when they got back, she overheard MaryJane telling someone that Wes had returned to New York. Her tattered heart was dealt another blow. No date for the Candlelight Dance. Not even so much as a goodbye.
And yet she forced a smile to her lips and shared holiday greetings with her neighbors and friends as people arrived to help with the finishing touches for the dance. All the while, she felt like such a liar. Inside she knew that this was the last happy Christmas they would spend together, because come the New Year, their entire lives would change. Some huge faceless corporation would swoop in and change absolutely everything. She blamed herself. If only she’d acted sooner. Done more.
The cloudy skies had brought on the December evening even earlier than usual, but Kate didn’t care. The darkness fit her mood as she walked home. The long shadows shielded her sadness from passersby.
The only reason she’d been able to put on a show of cheerfulness that day was because she’d wanted all her friends to have one last merry Christmas together. This town, like a family, had stuck together over the decades through every imaginable event, both good and bad. Bonds had been formed that were stronger than steel. And Christmas was the most special time of the year.
“Kate!” An unfamiliar male voice called her name.
She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She was tempted to keep walking, but she hadn’t been raised to be rude. With great reluctance, she paused and turned back. There stood Santa in his red costume. This time he wasn’t ringing a bell or standing next to a red kettle. His piercing gaze connected with hers. Sympathy shone in his eyes as he approached her.
“Cheer up, Kate.”