Page 3 of A Bright Winter Season

“We appreciate you,” Janet said warmly. She handed Jacob a bag of homemade cinnamon rolls. “Take these home. I know you like cinnamon.”

“Cinnamon rolls? Fantastic.” Jacob grinned at her. “Thank you both.”

The three of them exchanged a few more friendly words, and then Jacob excused himself and made his way out into the falling snow.

He didn’t live far from the Turners, and he would have walked to their house from his if it weren’t for the fact that he stored his tools in his truck. Because of the snow, he had a cover over the bed of it, but he was able to access all his tools easily because he stored them near the back.

He got into his truck, rubbing his hands together while he waited for the engine to heat up.

I should really get some gloves, he thought.If I had a wife, she’d remind me about those kinds of things.

He sighed, but in the next moment he smiled quietly to himself. He was still young, and he had hopes that he would find someone to settle down with soon enough. He had to admit to himself, though, that sometimes he yearned for the kind of companionship that he knew marriage would bring.

He drove home through the lightly falling snowflakes and parked his truck inside his garage. His stomach grumbled as he walked from the garage to his back door, and he wondered what he was going to make himself for dinner.

His house was quiet and empty when he stepped inside, and after stomping snow off his boots, he turned the heat up and turned on the lights in the kitchen. He thought about when he’d first bought his house. He’d been so proud of it, and he’d spent a great deal of his free time fixing it up, feeling as though it was his own personal castle.

Now, he felt as though there was something missing. He hadn’t minded living alone for the first few years, but now he felt a kind of ache for something more.

I guess it was being in that relationship for a while, he thought with a sigh.It made me start thinking about what it might be like to have a partner long-term.

His ex-girlfriend was a sweet person, and he didn’t bear any hard feelings toward her, but it had soon become clear to both of them that their lives could never mesh well. She had been career-focused and a little too much of a neat freak—something that Jacob, who was often dirty after work, didn’t fit well with. She’d felt that she was too busy for a relationship, and he’d felt that he needed someone a little more down to earth. He also felt that he wanted someone who was ready to have a fun time, sincehis ex-girlfriend had tended to be serious-minded and hadn’t often felt that she had the time to do fun, spontaneous things.

He made himself a pot of macaroni and cheese, adding slices of Italian sausage to it. It was a bachelor’s dinner, he thought to himself with a chuckle, but one that was quick to make and he enjoyed it. He made it often, since he usually came home hungry and unwilling to cook something that took a while to prepare—not that he was much of a cook anyway.

He sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat his meal. He thought about the staircase that he’d finished for the Turners, and he found himself wanting to tell someone about how well it had turned out. He’d taken pictures of it with his phone, and he wished that there was someone sitting across from him at the kitchen table so that he could show them the pictures of the excellent work he’d done.

He sighed, thinking how bittersweet it was that he was surrounded by so many great folks in Rosewood Beach, but he didn’t have anyone special to talk to about his work, or the funny conversations he had with his customers. He loved the work that he did, and it often gave him stories to tell. He wished that he had someone he could talk to about work right away, instead of having to wait until the next guys’ night at the bowling alley where he was sure to see all his friends in one place.

I have such a great life,he thought.And I’m surrounded by wonderful people. I just wish I had someone special who I could talk to about everything.

He smiled quietly to himself, reflecting that he was still a very lucky man, even without a partner. And besides, he didn’t know what was going to happen. Maybe someone special would come into his life sooner than he expected.

CHAPTER TWO

Alexis Bennett pressed her lips together in concentration as she worked on fixing one of The Lighthouse Grill’s neon signs. Her father had taught her a little bit about electrical work, and she knew enough to try to fix the sign, which hadn’t been working the night before.

A yawn overtook her, and she shook her head, chuckling. It was the middle of the afternoon, but she still felt sleepy.

I’ll wake up again once this lull is over,she thought.When I have hungry customers clamoring for food, that’ll give me the adrenaline I need.

She turned her attention back to the sign, carefully arranging some wires together. The sign she was working on read “YUM,” and although The Lighthouse Grill would still be a fully functional establishment without it, Alexis loved that sign. There were a few fun neon signs in the windows of the pub, but that one had always been her favorite when she was a kid, and she wanted to get it up and running again. Since the pub was so quiet at the moment, she figured it was as good a time as any to try to get it working.

She listened to the sound of the cooks talking and laughing in the kitchen, and she smiled. She loved working at the pub. It hadalways felt like a second home to her, and even when things got crazy and she felt tired and a little overwhelmed, she wouldn’t trade her time there for anything. She loved working with her family, keeping alive the restaurant that her parents had started together.

She would never have expected herself to be happy waitressing, but she was. When she’d left Rosewood Beach after high school, she’d had grand plans of becoming a model and living in the big city of Los Angeles for the rest of her life. And while she had loved her modeling career, and there had been many things about L.A. that she’d enjoyed, she’d always felt as though the people there didn’t know how to value what was really important. In the city, everyone was rushing around chasing success, but in Rosewood Beach, people seemed to know that they’d already found success. They had enough to eat and roofs over their heads, and they were surrounded by a community of people that was genuinely caring and kind. When Alexis had returned to her hometown for her father’s funeral, she’d found that not only her family but the entire community there made her feel supported in a way that she’d never felt in L.A.

She’d decided to stay in Rosewood Beach, even when her husband Grayson was still living in L.A. Grayson had become consumed by his company, and Alexis had worried that her marriage was doomed. When she’d remained in Rosewood Beach after the funeral, however, he’d realized that he was in danger of losing her and he’d sold his company and moved to the sleepy little town to rekindle their relationship. His grand gesture had worked wonders, and they were now more in love than ever, living in a beautiful red brick colonial house and spending a great deal of time together. He’d proven his devotion and his determination to her, and she couldn’t have been more grateful. Their new life together was so much better than theirold life in L.A. had been. Grayson was happy working his new finance job even though it didn’t pay nearly as much as his former job had. He seemed to have realized what everyone in Rosewood Beach knew, that success wasn’t about money, it was about being able to spend time with family and friends.

As she worked carefully on the neon sign, she was reminded of making jewelry.

I guess I work with tiny wires a lot, she thought, chuckling to herself.

Her jewelry making had been the most exciting aspect of her life recently. She’d started making jewelry again as a means of scratching her creative itch, but Grayson had seen her work and insisted that she could make a business out of selling her pieces. At first, she’d been skeptical, but after he’d created a gorgeous website for her and crafted a careful business plan, she’d begun to realize that her dream could become a reality. Now, she was already making sales in her jewelry business, and it felt incredible. Grayson had been especially supportive of her the whole way, and the endeavor had brought them closer together.

She felt another yawn coming on, and she paused in her work for a moment as her body insisted on gulping down more oxygen.

What is going on with me?she thought.I’m so sleepy today. I should get myself more coffee.

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