Page 5 of A Bright Winter Season

“You’re going to be at Mom’s for the family dinner tomorrow night, right?” Hazel asked before popping the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.

“I will. Wouldn’t miss it.” Alexis smiled. She loved family dinner nights. It was a wonderful time to relax and have fun with her family while eating a delicious meal together. For a moment, she thought about how wonderful it might be to have family dinner nights of her own someday, with her own children.

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.” Hazel stood up and kissed Alexis on the cheek before picking up her dishes and carrying them into the kitchen.

Alexis turned back to her work on the sign, concentrating so intently that all other thoughts—even thoughts about starting a family of her own—were banished from her mind. Finally, she nodded to herself in approval, feeling confident that she’d fixed the issue. She carried the sign back to the window and plugged it in. A grin spread across her face as she saw it glow to life.

“I did it!” she called out to no one in particular, since the dining room was empty at the moment.

She smiled at the sign with satisfaction, feeling proud of her accomplishment. Just as she was stepping away from the window, she saw a group of six people walking up to the pub, talking and laughing.

She realized she’d fixed the sign just before business at the pub picked up again, and she felt another surge of satisfaction. She almost felt as though she’d summoned the customers by getting the sign working again. Chuckling to herself, she walked over to the front of the store to greet the newcomers as soon as they walked inside.

CHAPTER THREE

Hazel parked her car on the street outside Cooper Harris’s house and climbed out. Cooper was her sister Julia’s boyfriend, and she was there to pick Julia up for family dinner. Although Cooper lived within walking distance from Vivian’s house, where Julia lived, it was now bitterly cold and since his house was on her way to Vivian’s, Hazel had offered to pick up her sister.

She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat as she walked up to the front door. A bitingly cold wind blew against her face, making her cheeks feel like ice. She was glad that she would be back inside her warm car soon, and after that, inside Vivian’s cozy house.

She knocked on the front door of Cooper’s home and Julia answered the door a moment later.

“Hey!” Julia reached out and gave Hazel a hug. “I thought you were the babysitter.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” Hazel grinned. “Isn’t Cooper here?”

Julia shook her head. “No, he’s at work tonight. That’s why he’s not coming to family dinner. There’s a landscaping project that needs to be done by tomorrow, and he’s staying late at theoffice with a couple of other employees from Greener Pastures to work on it.”

“Ah, makes sense. So you’ve been taking care of Macey all by yourself, huh?”

“Yes.” Julia smiled proudly. “Just me and the little princess. She’s in her room playing with toys at the moment. You want to go say hi before the babysitter gets here?”

“I’d love to. She’s such a cutie.”

Hazel and Julia made their way through Cooper’s house to Macey’s bedroom, where the toddler was sitting on the floor stacking blocks carefully. She looked up with a chubby smile as soon as the sisters came through the door.

“Hey, Macey.” Hazel crouched down to be at the little girl’s level. “How’s your block stacking going?”

“Good.” Macey turned back to the little tower she’d made, and then with a gleeful thrust, knocked the whole thing over. Julia and Hazel burst out laughing.

“Oh, man, she reminds me of Samantha at that age,” Hazel said. “So impish.”

“She is pretty mischievous,” Julia said, chuckling. “But also a sweetie.” She scooped the little girl up into her arms. “Aren’t you, Macey?”

At that moment, the doorbell rang and they went to answer it. It was Macey’s babysitter, who was wearing a pink hoodie and a huge smile. Macey was excited to see her, and soon Julia and Hazel were leaving the house and going back out into the cold.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” Julia said as she climbed into the passenger seat beside Hazel. “It was nice out when I walked over here, but, oh man, am I glad I don’t have to walk back in this temperature.”

“Of course, I’ve got you.” Hazel smiled as she turned the engine on and then turned the heat up. She was in high spirits, feeling content with her life and looking forward to all of the joysof the Christmas season. She felt grateful for how at peace she was with her circumstances. “I’m so excited to eat dinner. Do you know what Mom’s making?”

“I don’t.” Julia shook her head. “I’m sure whatever it is, it’ll be delicious.”

For a few moments, the sisters drove together in silence, and Hazel glanced at Julia a couple of times. Her sister seemed unusually quiet, and Hazel wondered if she was just tired or if there was something else on her mind.

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked as she turned onto Vivian’s street. She was starting to think that Julia seemed a little sad.

“You’re perceptive.” Julia smiled wryly. “You can always tell when I have something on my mind.”

“Okay, so tell me,” Hazel said, laughing.

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