Page 9 of Party Crasher
We’re here to get bikes under trees tomorrow morning, and that’s what I’m going to do. But even if we weren’t, Katie wouldn't understand. My sister is the kind of woman who gets chosen. Not just once in a while. Katie has been picked first by everyone all her life. She deserves it, too, but we live in completely different worlds.
That’s how I know she can't possibly be expected to wrap her mind around my heartbreak over Cade. She can’t understand what it's like to have someone like him storm into your carefully constructed world and paint everything gold and then leave just as quickly.
I pull up my spreadsheet and methodically organize the bikes by size and family. In this economy, every single cent matters. It warms my heart to see the generosity. Our community has come through in a big way this year; that’s something I love about Deadwood. But right now the need is huge.
There are undoubtedly going to be children who wake up tomorrow with no new bike. But I’ve got a few hours left and I’m ready to call every person in my contacts to close that gap as best I can. I’ve got to stay focused.
A half hour later, I’m hard at work. But even as my hands stay busy grouping bikes and color-coding ribbons, my mind wanders straight back to him.
Did Cade make it out to Creed's place yesterday? Is he already planning his escape back to his real life? How long will it take for him to forget me? What could have happened with just one more night spent in his arms?I keep telling myself I made the right choice, but the lie is starting to feel flimsy.
Then Katie is back by my side, and she forces me to return to the present. I look behind her to find Emma happily distracted by a volunteer with a pair of dangling jingle bell earrings. I forcea smile, but Katie furrows her eyebrow, and I already know what’s coming.
"Okay, little ears are occupied elsewhere." Katie settles beside me on a folding chair. "I'm ready to listen. What the hell happened out at that cabin, and why are you walking around like someone stole your white elephant gift?"
Luckily, I’ve prepared an answer because this isn’t my first rodeo. But I don't look up from my clipboard when I deliver it because…Katie. "Nothing happened, it was just the cabin. Very merry and bright. I am disappointed we're going to come up short on bikes again. It’s getting to me. I hate the thought of even one kid waking up empty-handed tomorrow. I can cover a few from the money in my savings account. I’m hoping you might be able to as well. Plus I’m going to put in a call to?—"
"Wait, Josie, didn't you hear the news? You got here so early, I thought you knew.”
My head snaps up. "No, I’ve been in my own world this morning. What news?"
Katie holds up her fingers in a jazz-hands kind of gesture. "The whole list has been covered. Every single bike."
For a moment, I can't process what she's saying. My heart rate ticks up. "What? Last count I saw, we were still nearly two hundred bikes short."
"Not anymore. An anonymous donor made a massive drop off last night. They were delivered right to the firehouse bay. Someone said they saw Ricky out there with his truck, but we know he isn’t the one behind it.”
“That is fantastic news. I can’t believe it.” I lean forward as the impossible conclusion swirls in the back of my mind. “I wish we knew who did it. That’s a lot of money and effort. I’d like to thank them.”
And I’d like to know for sure whether Cade is the man I hope he is or if I’m giving him too much credit. If he left Creed’s after dinner, would he have had time to make this happen?
“Yeah, you and everyone else. It’s ironic, right? The one time this town can keep a secret. But all we have to go on is a random note. So who knows?”
“There’s a note? Maybe start with that next time. What does the note say?”
Katie waves a too-casual hand in my direction. “It didn’t give anything away. It said something like they were choosing nice, and the name being the least interesting thing about the donation, they just wanted to show they cared about their hometown. Sounds like a real Ebenezer Scrooge come-to-Jesus moment if you ask me…”
She keeps talking, but all I hear is Cade’s heart choosing this town. Could he be choosing me, too? My eyes fill with tears I've been holding back all morning, and I turn away from Katie.
“I’ll be back.”
Katie protests, but I’m already pulling my phone from my pocket to send a text as quickly as my fingers can type.
Me: I know it was you, thank you, Cade
Cade: Meet me outside
My jaw drops.This can’t be real.
I push through the doors and scan the parking lot for Cade’s sleek sports car. But… nothing. Maybe it’s still stuck in the ditch where he left it. My gaze sweeps over every shadow untilthe cold air bites and doubt creeps in. Maybe the Hallmark movies have gotten to me. Maybe I imagined it like some kind of sugarplum-fueled Christmas daydream.
I stand there dumbfounded. The only movement comes from a pickup idling under the streetlight. Ricky’s truck. He honks twice and flashes his headlights in my direction. I’m not in the mood. But eventually, I give in and walk over, still glancing past him just in case Cade materializes.
I rap my knuckles against the cold glass, eyes glued to the lot. Then the window hums down, and my heart nearly stops.
Cade is behind the wheel. He’s wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, and there’s a ball cap pulled low over his eyes. But nothing hides the grin stretching across his face. I press a hand to my chest.
I blink, caught in the same stunned haze as the night he appeared on my doorstep. “What are you doing?”
