Page 49 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

“Let me take those from you.” Mrs. Morgan stood and took the sunflowers from me, then she hurried away toward a table at the back. Kitty stood and turned back to me.

“Can you come with us tomorrow?”

I eyed her as we walked back through the ballroom. “To the dress fitting?”

“Yes. Please. I know you’re not hired here anymore, and if you have to go do something else to make money, then I understand. But I’d really like it if you came.”

“Samuel won’t be happy.”

“I don’t care. You’re my friend and I want you there.”

“Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll be there.” Hearing that she wanted me anywhere always gave me a rush of dizziness.

“Thank you!” Kitty lurched as if she were seconds away from throwing her arms around me in a hug, and excitement flooded my gut, but the lurch died immediately when we stepped out into the hallway and came face to face with Samuel.

“Dad.”

“Kitty.”

“Samuel.”

“Rook. What are you doing here?”

Kitty stepped between us immediately. “He brought me back from the hospital.”

“That isn’t your job anymore,” Samuel replied stiffly. “Didn’t I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” I snapped. “But she asked me and I said yes.”

“I would have sent a car,” Samuel said, looking at Kitty. “If you’d asked.”

“I shouldn’t have to ask,” she replied. “How else would I get home from the hospital? Walk? On this ankle? I asked Rook, and he said yes because he’s reliable.”

“And I’m not?” For a split second, Samuel almost looked hurt. Almost.

“Whatever. He’s just leaving, anyway.”

“Good.” Samuel moved past us, then paused and turned to face me. “Your termination papers should be with you tomorrow. And you might think you can pretend to be friends with my daughter, but don’t youdareforget your place.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I replied stiffly. “Because you’ve clearly forgotten enough for the both of us.”

21

KITTY

“Oh, that was amazing, thank you so much!” I slid my card over to the waitress with a smile. “Everything was beautiful.”

“Yes, delicious.” Mom smiled as she dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “What an adorably quaint little place!”

We’d spent the past hour or so having lunch in a local café while waiting for the seamstress to finish up with her previous client. While my mom used to be rather well ingrained with life in town, there were a few gems that had crept up over the years in her absence like this cafe. The food was top-notch and all homemade, which continued to impress me with just how busy this place was.

I couldn’t imagine the stress on the chef in the kitchen, but the food was always delicious. Rook sat with us at the next table, draining his coffee cup. He was here as a friend, meaning he no longer wore that black and white suit. Part of me missed it because he looked so damn good in that thing, and I had fond memories of taking it off during our first night together. Now, he dressed more casually in a Polo and jeans, and in my mind, it was easy to trick myself that he was with us as mydate.

Like we were all one happy family.

I yearned for that, quietly, under everything that had happened. This person my dad had turned into didn’t feel like my father anymore, and I was running out of ideas on how to get through to him. I didn’t want to accept that this was who he truly was and how my future was going to play out.

As the server returned with my card, I checked my phone to see a message from the seamstress that she was ready for us.

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