Courage (Heroes of Big Sky 1)

And, just because I know she likes it, I’m going to bring home something sweet, too.

I walk down to La Fleur and push through the door.

Beth glances up with a smile. “Sam! Hey there. What are you up to today?”

“Just running some errands. I thought I’d pick up some dessert for later, if you have anything left.”

“I have a chocolate cream pie, huckleberry cobbler, and some lemon huckleberry bread that is to die for. But no pressure.”

“I’ll take the bread for French toast tomorrow, and the chocolate cream pie for tonight.”

“Oh, that’s a really good idea,” she says with a smile. “You could make a huckleberry compote to go on it.”

“Right. I could. If I was Emeril.” I laugh and open my wallet. “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing at all. This is payment for rescuing me off that mountain on Thanksgiving.”

“What were you doing up there, anyway?”

“My parents came to town, and I met them up there for dinner.” She shrugs. “It was kind of awful, and I was in a bad mood and not paying close enough attention to the road. Lesson learned.”

“I’m sorry it was a bad trip for them.”

“Oh, they had a great time.” She bags up the goodies. “I just didn’t see much of them, which is pretty typical. Anyway, have a good evening. Enjoy these.”

“I can guarantee that we will.” I nod and leave the bakery, feeling damn good about my progress this afternoon.

I have to stop at the store but then it’s home for food, cookies, and Christmas decorations.

I would have scoffed at the idea once upon a time. Monica always used to invite me to come over for evenings exactly like this.

And I always came up with a reason not to go.

I should have gone.

If I had it to do over again, I would.

But I can’t do it again. And it’s a waste of time to regret the past.

I’ve just pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store when my phone rings.

“Waters.”

“Hey, Sam, this is Bruce Meyer in Spokane.”

The fire chief. I cut the engine and narrow my eyes. “Hi, Bruce, what can I do for you?”

“Well, I know that I told you to get back to me after the first of the year, but I’m going over the budget for next year and working on some scheduling. The thing is, I need to know in the next few days if we can expect you here in January.”

“I understand.” I sigh and drag my hand down my face. “You’ve been more than fair, Bruce. Can I give you a call in a day or two?”

“That works. I need an answer by Friday, though.”

“Copy that. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I hang up and try to convince myself that the knot in my stomach is just nerves. The job I’ve worked my damn ass off for is waiting for me.

I love my team here in Cunningham Falls, and I’ve grown and learned so much here, but I’ve hit a wall.

If I want to progress and climb the ladder, I need to go to a bigger community.

And Spokane has a good rep, with an excellent chief, and room for advancement.

It’s the right thing to do for my career.

“Then why do I feel like I’m going to toss my cookies?” I mutter and scratch my head in frustration.

Nerves. That’s all it is.

* * *

“It’s time to decorate the tree!” Kelsey dances in the middle of the living room in excitement. “The lights are pretty.”

“I want to put the star on the top,” Kevin announces.

“No, I want to,” Kelsey demands.

“Well, neither of you is tall enough, so I’ll take care of that part,” I interrupt, shutting down an argument before it breaks out.

“Okay, we’re going to have a system here,” Tash says. “We’re not going to just be all willy-nilly about this.”

“Willy-nilly,” Kelsey says with a smirk. “That’s funny.”

“Some of the ornaments are fragile, so we have to be careful,” Tash continues as she opens a box. We have all of the Christmas décor from Monica’s house here. Tash already went through most of it, but I know this won’t be an easy evening for her.

For either of us.

“Aw, look at this.” She holds up two ornaments, one pink and one blue. “Your mom bought these for your first Christmas. She was so excited that year. The holidays were her favorite anyway, but she really wanted to make that first one special for you guys.”

Tash passes the ornaments to the kids.

“Go ahead and put these on the tree.”

We both show the twins how to hang the ornaments from a limb of the fake tree, and then she brings out more.

“This one is Uncle Sam’s.” She passes me the GI Joe ornament with a grin.

“I’ve had this one since I was about your age,” I tell the kids and then fasten it to a limb.