Page 65 of Valentine's in Bayberry

This was the part that made him a bit nervous. Making changes in his life both big and small wasn’t easy. But if he could pick up and move to another country, he could do what it took to make their relationship work.

And so, he told Mark his plans. He’d always assumed Carrie would be the first person he told his plans to, but it didn’t appear she was ready to hear them. Saying the plans aloud gave them life. It gave his plan some finality.

The more he talked about the future, the more certain he became that these changes were the right thing for him—even if the worst happened, and Carrie never gave their relationship a real chance. He needed these changes.

After speaking with Mark, Jackson went to visit his mother. He needed her blessing to put his plan into action. He just hoped she would be agreeable because he didn’t have a plan B.

Had she made a mistake?

The biggest mistake of her life?

The questions and doubts kept Carrie awake most of the night. She kept replaying her conversation with Jackson. She kepttrying to figure out how to make things work for both of them. In the wee hours of the morning, the answers had eluded her.

She was miserable. Even when her mother had called that morning, her mother detected that something was wrong. Carrie dismissed it as her being exhausted after such a busy week at the chocolate shop. Thankfully, her mother accepted her answer and let the subject drop.

“You’ll never believe what I heard from Ester Holmes, who heard it from Mary Thompson. Well, apparently Jackson and Brittany are seeing each other.”

“What?” It took Carrie a second to realize her mother must have been talking about the kiss. “No, they’re not.”

“I don’t know, sweetie. That’s not what I heard.”

“If you mean the kiss...”

“They kissed?”

Oops!She shouldn’t have said anything. “No. They didn’t kiss. Brittany kissed him and caught him by surprise.”

“Oh. I see.” Her mother was quiet for a moment. “But it wasn’t exactly by surprise. From what I’ve heard, they’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

Really?Carrie didn’t want this bit of gossip to be true, but how was she to know what he was doing while she was working. Her mind said it didn’t matter what he did, but her heart said it mattered very much.

Her gaze strayed over to the clock in her parents’ kitchen. She realized it was time to go to work. She was never so happy to have to go work.

“Sorry, Mom. I have to get going. I have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow is Valentine’s. I’m hoping today will be our busiest day of the year.”

“Of course, sweetie. I still feel awful that we weren’t there for your grand opening.”

“It’s okay, Mom. We can have a celebratory dinner when you get back in April.”

“It’ll be a big dinner with all of the trimmings. Maybe we’ll invite some people, including Jackson, if he’s in town, and his mother. Make it more of a party...”

“Mom, I have to go.”

“Oh, yes. I hope you have a good day. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Carrie put on her snow boots and then shrugged on her winter coat. With her purse in one hand and her insulated coffee mug in the other, she headed out the door into the several inches of newly fallen snow.

James Hall was there, plowing her driveway. When he spotted her, he pulled up and hopped out. “Good morning.” He sent her a friendly smile. “I’ll have your driveway plowed in just a moment.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“I would have been here earlier, but I made the mistake of stopping at Edna Conners’ house. She brought out some coffee and a muffin, which was very sweet, but then she talked and talked and talked.”

Carrie forced a smile to her lips. “Edna loves to talk. It was kind of you to stay and visit with her. I know she’s lonely now that her husband passed on.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind most days. It’s just with all the new snow overnight and more in the forecast, I have a lot to do. Speaking of which, I shouldn’t keep you.” He paused and looked at her. “You look real pretty this morning.”

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