Page 52 of Holiday Hook Up

Chapter 12

Bethany strolled down Main Street, taking in the beautiful scenery all around. Last night’s snow fall had blanketed the town, giving Buttermilk Falls residents a much-anticipated white Christmas.

It was early afternoon, but you wouldn’t know it from the deserted street. A perfect time to take a walk and collect her thoughts.

She’d woken up this morning with an enormous hangover, but her memory of how it all went down still intact.

When Abby had opened the mystery box and pulled out the infamous blonde wig, Bethany had almost lost it. Where had it come from? She hadn’t seen it since the night of the Holiday Hook Up where she distinctly remembered tossing it underneath the picnic table outside the Inn, hiding the evidence when Josh joined her outside.

Who had found it and sent it to her?

Whoever it was knew what she’d done. It couldn’t possibly be Mary, could it?

That question led her to ask Abby if she had a Ouija board and if she could borrow it.

Abby didn’t have one, but her Aunt Sheila did. She couldn’t drop everything and leave the store the day before Christmas, so she met Abby at Sheila’s house much later to borrow the board.

She’d also stopped off at the liquor store because there was no way she was going to try to contact a dead woman—relative to Adam or not—without some alcohol in her system.

Sheila had told her that it would be difficult to summon Mary—that the Ouija Board was more for fun and entertainment, but Bethany still wanted to try.

When she returned to her cottage, she’d immediately set up the Ouija Board, lit candles around her living room, and got to work.

She’d called out to Mary over and over, trying to summon her, but the darn planchette never moved. The initial fear running through her turned into frustration, which led to her drinking straight from the wine bottle.

She was grateful that Adam came over when he did because she realized getting drunk alone on Christmas Eve was just sad. His warming up dinner for her was so thoughtful. Although, tossing it back up practically in front of him wasn’t her finest moment.

Had he tried to kiss her again before she’d fled to the bathroom? That part was still fuzzy. Maybe she’d imagined his lips closing in on hers.

She remembered blurting out “Mary,” ready to confess everything. He had mistakenly interpreted it as her wishing him a Merry Christmas and stepped back.

It was probably for the better that she couldn’t fully remember.

She’d thought about accepting his invitation to have Christmas dinner at his mom’s but wasn’t sure she was ready to face him. She left her cottage from the side door as not to be seen and took a long walk that brought her to the Christmas Corner, where she’d spent the morning discounting merchandise for tomorrow’s After Christmas sale.

And the holiday alone wasn’t so bad. She’d turned on some festive music and had pulled out a tray of cookies she’d purchased earlier in the week, making some peppermint hot chocolate to go with them. It was the second-best thing to being with her parents.

Now, she was enjoying a stroll outside, rather enjoying being out in the crisp air.

She pulled her iPhone out and checked the time. It was almost 2:00 p.m. She needed to journey home so she could log in for their Skype call.

She came upon a family in the park building a snowman, a boy and girl all bundled up while the mother and father attempted to pack the snow. With a quick wave, she passed by wishing them a “Merry Christmas” and crossed the street.

It really was okay that she was alone today. Of course she missed her mom and dad, but she accomplished so much, and at the end of the day, she’d done the one thing she’d never thought she’d be able to do. She’d successfully ran the shop all by herself. They would celebrate another profitable holiday season when her parents returned either at the Lakeside Inn or the little farm-to-table bistro a couple towns over that her parents really loved.

She stopped short of the empty space next to the firehouse, peering in. It wasn’t quite as big as the Christmas Corner but slightly larger than Rachel’s flower shop.

Adam was right. It would make an awesome photography studio. She could easily set up a photo shoot room and still have a back office twice the size of what she had now. She dug in her purse for a pen and something to write the number on, pulling out an old receipt. If Adam was serious about his proposed New Year’s goals for both of them, maybe she could give the realtor a call. It wouldn’t hurt to ask some questions. She jotted down the number and placed the receipt and pen back in her purse.

Zipping her purse, she kept walking down the street, noticing she wasn’t the only resident enjoying the winter scenery. “Emma.” She greeted her friend who was sitting on a bench outside the Star Lite.

Emma looked up and smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas. What are you doing here?”

“Just waiting for the bus.”

Bethany looked over her shoulder at the bus stop across the street. “I didn’t know Jason went out of town.”

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