Page 41 of The Christmas Cottage
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Vanessa took off her cashmere beanie and her gloves as she walked into Maplewood Tavern, dusting the snow off of her boots. She was meeting Imogen for dinner, and she couldn’t wait to fill her in on the date. She also couldn’t get her mind off of Jackson.
She wondered if it was too soon to talk to him again. It had been three days, and she’d been avoiding texting him, or even going to the diner for her morning eggnog latte. She didn’t want him to think that she was avoiding him, but something had shifted after the date. Now she worried that if she popped in once or twice a day for her coffee, he’d think she was being too forward, and chasing him. She’d had a wonderful time, but she didn’t want to be overwhelming.
That meant she’d been drinking only the coffee from the bed and breakfast, and while it was good, it definitely wasn’t Snowdrift Diner coffee. It wasn’tJackson’scoffee.
She missed it. She missed him, already. And it was that feeling, as well as worrying that it was too much that shewasmissing him, that had made her avoid any contact with him at all since their date.
I don’t know what I’m doing with this at all,she thought, as she followed the waitress to a booth, asking for a water with lemon and a Christmas ale on draft. Normally she only drank wine, but she’d heard so much about how good the local brewery’s Christmas ale was, and she decided she wanted to try it. She wouldn’t be in town for too much longer.
The thought made her oddly sad. More so than she had been before. She wanted another opportunity to spend time alone with Jackson, not just playing Santa and Mrs. Claus at the event, but she didn’t know where they would fit that in.
The shop was insanely busy, she knew Jackson was busy too, and she’d fallen behind on the work Russell still wanted her to do while she was out of town. It had been impossible to focus the last few days, when all she could think about was whether she should text Jackson or not, or if it would spook him if she stopped by the diner for her latte like she usually did… or if he would think she was ignoring him.
She took out her phone, frowning as she looked at her texts. She wanted to send him a message. She couldn’t figure out if she should. She was eager for Imogen to get there so that there would be someone else to ask… but before she could make up her mind whether to wait or go ahead and send the text, her phone lit up with a call.
Her heart leapt for a brief second, thinking maybe Jackson had felt her thinking about him—an absolutely ridiculous thought—and then it dropped to her toes as she saw Russell’s name on the screen.
Clearing her throat, she answered. “Hello?”
Russell’s voice was nearly frantic as he started to talk, that rapid-fire, anxious rambling that she was so used to, and had started to realize drove her absolutely insane. “Vanessa. What are you still doing out there? I really need to know when you’re going to be back. I’m drowning here without you. I know you’vegot some family stuff going on and all of that, but I need you to focus on what we need too. You said you weren’t going to take vacation, and I know it was an emergency, but I’ve got these things piling up. Do you have a return date you can give me? Have you even booked another flight back?”
Vanessa felt herself about to reassure him, the words on the tip of her tongue that it would be fine, that she’d handle it, that she’d get a flight booked that evening and the work caught up just as soon as she got back to Hearthside. But they died on her tongue as she paused.
She didn’t want to rush through dinner with Imogen. She wanted to sit and gossip and drink a few beers and enjoy this time with her newfound friend. She’d worked all day at the shop, and she wanted to enjoy her evening. If Imogen talked her into texting Jackson, she wanted to think about that, and enjoy the feeling of having a crush, the excitement of dating someone, even if it wasn’t going anywhere. And she didn’t want to book a flight until she knew she was ready to do so.
She took a deep breath. “I’m spending time with my grandmother, Russell. I’ve already explained that she was injured, and she needs me. But that aside, it’s the holidays. Everyone else takes time for family and friends, and I’m doing exactly that. I know it’s not my usual habit, and I know that it’s a bit of a change, but I’m doing my best to keep up with office work on the side… on myvacation. I’m going to need you to let me have this time, and I’ll let you know soon when I’ll be coming back.”
“Vanessa, I really need…”
She cut him off. “I’ve worked for you since I graduated, Russell. And ever since then, I’ve worked through every holiday. Giving me a little bit of time this year is the least you can do.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, and Vanessa could hear her heart beating in her ears. She’dnever stood up to him like this before, and she wasn’t sure what he would say.I’d be fine without this job,she reminded herself, but she still felt like her heart was racing a million miles a minute.
“I’m a little shocked,” Russell said finally, clearly taken aback. “But this place needs you, Vanessa. I’m running on fumes trying to get everything done without you here. So fine. Take the time to recharge if you need it. Let me know when you’re coming back.”
“I will.” Vanessa saw the door of the pub open, and Imogen walk in. “I have to go. I’ll keep you updated with my plans.”
“Vanessa, also?—”
“Have a good night,” she said firmly, and hung up the phone.
It felt like such a rush. A wave of shock and nerves and adrenaline all collided in her chest, and she’d just barely managed to collect herself by the time Imogen made it over to the booth where Vanessa was sitting.
Imogen cocked her head as soon as she sat down, looking at Vanessa with a mixture of concern and curiosity. “You look like you just saw a ghost,” she said with a laugh. “Was it the past, present, or future Christmas ghost?”
“Present, I think,” Vanessa croaked out, shaking her head. “I just told my boss thatI’dlethimknow when I’d be making it back to the office. I’ve never done that before. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever stood up to him about anything before. I’ve worked pretty much all day, every day, seven days a week for him since I graduated college. I’ve put out all his fires and cleaned up all his messes. And now I need some time for myself and my grandmother, and he’s not thrilled about it. But I stuck to it. And he gave in. I can’t believe I did that,” she admitted in a rush.
“Good for you!” Imogen cheered. “I’ve been my own boss for a long time, but I can imagine how frustrating that mustbe—giving someone all of your time only for them to never appreciate it. Working for a boss like that would be awful. Even when I did work for someone, they were never that unreasonable.” She shook her head. “I’m glad you stood up to him. No one deserves to be treated like that.”
“I honestly never thought anything of it until I came back here,” Vanessa admitted. “I spent a lot of time burying myself in my work and not thinking about what I was missing. But coming back to Fir Tree Grove and helping Mabel made me slow down, made me think about how I really felt. And I don’t want to go back to working twenty-four/seven. I want to enjoy the rest of my time here… and my time in general.”
“And what about your time with Jackson?” Imogen asked teasingly. “Is that factoring in somewhere here too.”
Vanessa felt her cheeks heat up. “Maybe,” she admitted. “I keep thinking about calling or texting him. But I don’t want to overwhelm him or seem too forward. We just went out on our date, so I don’t want him to feel like I’m chasing him.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Imogen assured her. “He’s really into you. He was so shy and nervous when he asked me about asking you out! He’ll be thrilled to hear from you, I promise.”
