Page 23 of A Very Barrie Christmas
“Not at all. I just started a roast, but once it’s done, I’ll walk you through the process.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
“Frank says you’re a vet?”
“Army. You?”
“Marines.”
They exchanged a nod of solidarity. While both branches of the military shared a healthy rivalry, Nate always viewed marines as his brothers in arms, albeit brothers in a big dysfunctional family. They gave each other a hard time, but also understood one another, since they frequently shared the same FOBs—forward operating bases—and were considered the military’s “door kickers.”
“How’s it going?” Vick asked. He didn’t need to clarify. Nate knew he meantHow are you adjusting to civilian life?
“Like a walk in the park. Only the park is on fire.”
“I know the feeling. It gets better.”
“Yeah. I had a wake-up call about a year ago.”To put it mildly. “I made some changes. Mind-over-matter type stuff. Focusing on the positive.” He didn’t really believe in manifesting his own destiny, but he never wanted to slip back into the hopeless abyss, which meant clinging to as much joy as possible—like Christmas.
Vick cocked his head thoughtfully. “Gratitude is good. You know what else helps?”
“Prozac?” Nate teased, then immediately regretted the quip. Prescription meds weren’t anything to joke about. He would know.
Vick smiled. “Maybe. But I was going to saypeople. Community. The kind of family you forge one friendship at a time. Otherwise, what happens when the voices inside your head stop being so positive? I don’t know about you, but my inner voice isn’t always the most reliable. Or honest.”
Nate understood the concept. He preached the same philosophy to other vets at the shelter. But while he was busy trying to betheirsupport system, he’d neglected to build one of his own.
Before he could respond, a buzzer chimed. “Hold that thought,” Vick said, trotting over to the roaster. “If I leave these beans in for a second too long, Frank’ll notice. And if you think he’s cranky now, wait’ll you mess with his coffee.” Flashing a rueful grin, Vick waved him over. “Come on, I’ll show you how the magic happens.”
For the next few hours, Vick walked Nate through several roasts, explaining the process in detail and even let him handle one on his own. While they worked, Nate almost wished he didn’t have to head back to San Francisco at the end of the week.
If he were to ever build a support system, Vick would be the perfect guy to have on his team.
CHAPTER 16
JULIET
Juliet stared at the blinking cursor as snowflakes swirled past the window beyond her laptop screen, sparkling like flecks of glitter against the night sky. Cocooned in her very own wintry snow globe, surrounded by the pleasantly musty scent of old, leather-bound books, her fingers should be flying across the keyboard.
And yet, she couldn’t conjure a single sentence, let alone ten chapters. So far, her quiet, distraction-free writing retreat hadn’t turned out the way she’d planned.
That morning, she’d gone to the middle school with Nate, as promised. While she looked over the costumes with Eliza and her mother, Sylvia—the director of Poppy Creek’s small theater company—Nate had worked on the sets with Luke and Eliza’s husband, Grant, a local artist.
Every time she stole a glance at Nate above the clothing racks, she caught him looking at her. Once, he’d even smashed his own finger with the hammer, which made her feel terrible that he’d hurt himself, but also thrilled she’d been the subject of his attention.
She couldn’t explain why, other than something had shifted between them during their outing to the tree farm yesterday.Nothing seismic or earth-shattering. Something subtle. But just enough to make her breath quicken whenever he walked into the room.
And tonight, knowing Frank and Aunt Beverly had decided to stay at their friend Dolores’s until the storm passed, leaving her and Nate alone in the house, breathing normally commanded all her concentration.
The tempting aroma of something sweet and spicy wafting from the kitchen didn’t help, either. She wouldn’t have pegged Nate as a baker. But then, there were a lot of things she didn’t know about him. A state of affairs she’d like to rectify.
She shut her laptop.
Don’t do it, Jules. Stay in the study and get back to work.
She stood and smoothed out the crease in her wool skirt.
Put your backside back in that chair, young lady.
