Page 19 of A Ferry Merry Christmas
“I’m Reed Bond. Does that name ring a bell?”
She repeated it inside her head. “No. I’m Kellie Stetler.”
After a moment he shook his head.
Because she spent a great deal of her time at work, she wondered if that was the connection. “I work for Microsoft.”
Reed snapped his fingers. “I do, too. I attended a workshop you ran a year or so back on product development. It blew me away.”
“Yes, yes,” she said, now remembering him as well. In a room full of employees, she recalled his intelligent questions and the insight he offered after her presentation. In fact, she’d taken one of his ideas back to the development department and it had since been implemented. She’d tried to thank him personally, only to discover he was away from the office, traveling for the company. She’d made sure he was given the credit but had hoped to contact him directly. Eventually reaching out to him had slipped her mind. Their meeting had taken place shortly after her breakup with Jude, at a time when she was struggling emotionally.
“It’s good to see you again,” Reed said. “I take it you’re waiting for someone on the Bremerton ferry?”
“My brother.”
“I’m waiting for my sister; she lives and works in Bremerton as a CPA.”
“Harrison’s a submariner. I haven’t seen him in a couple years. I hope whatever the problem is, it can be easily handled. This will be our first Christmas together in a long time.”
“My sister is coming to spend Christmas with me, too. I’ve never known anything like this to happen with the ferries before, have you?”
“Never,” she agreed.
“I was thinking,” Reed said, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other as though uneasy. “I made a lunch reservation for me and Avery at her favorite seafood restaurant. Clearly, she isn’t going to be able to make it. Would you care to have lunch with me?”
Kellie had made it a hard-and-fast rule not to get involved with anyone at work, so she hesitated. Then she abruptly decided why not, it was the holiday season, and it was just lunch. Besides, reservations this time of year were hard to get. It seemed a shame to waste it.
“Sure,” she said. “That certainly beats standing around here, waiting for information.”
“Anthony’s is within walking distance, so if we see the ferry is docking, we can hightail it back in time to meet your brother and my sister.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Kellie agreed.
Reed grinned. “The reservation was for an hour ago, but fortunately I was able to adjust the time, as there’d been a cancellation at the last minute.”
They left the terminal and Kellie looked up at the silver clouds that darkened the sky. “It feels like it’s cold enough to snow,” she commented.
“I didn’t hear that snow was predicted. Weather, like holiday plans, has a way of changing without notice.”
“True,” Kellie agreed.
As they walked side by side, Kellie’s foot slipped on a patch of ice. She would have taken a tumble if Reed hadn’t caught her arm and held her upright. “Oh my,” she said, her heart pumping. This was her fault. She should have been watching where she stepped. Instead, she’d been distracted with the thoughts of Jude. He certainly wasn’t thinking about her. Within a week of their parting, Jude was in another relationship, which left her to speculate how long the two had been seeing each other behind her back.
After Jude, Kellie had gotten gun-shy and had buried herself in work, unwilling to trust her own judgment when it came to men and relationships. She’d been so sure, confident she and Jude would spend their lives together.
“Thank you,” she whispered, clinging to his arm.
“My pleasure. I can’t have my lunch date getting hurt on our way to the restaurant.”
As they neared Anthony’s, the sidewalks came alive with people dashing in and out of the popular stores along the tourist-rich waterfront. The scents of Christmas were everywhere. A vendor sold spiced hot apple cider on the street. Evergreens decorated the open seating areas that dotted the small fish-and-chips stands along the way. Their aroma wafted toward them as Kellie and Reed walked past.
“I do so love Christmas,” Kellie commented. “There’s such an air of happy anticipation.” A little girl walked past, holding the hand of her father and licking a candy cane.
“I love Christmas, too,” Reed said.
“And I’m so happy that I’m able to spend it with my brother. He’s been a real trooper over the last year, texting and emailing me uplifting messages. He made it a point to find something to make me smile.” Kellie didn’t realize what she’d said until the words escaped her mouth.
“It’s been a rough year?” Reed asked.
