Page 66 of Better Not Pout
“We’ll leave you to open these. It would be better if you did it privately.”
And then they’re gone, leaving Rosalie and me alone, staring at each other in confusion.
“Okaaaay. That was… cryptic,” she mutters with a laugh, shifting beside me and glancing down at the present in her lap. “I guess we just open them, then?”
I shrug. “Guess so.”
I untie the bow, slipping it off the present before pulling at the wrapping paper until I get to the box, then pull the lid off the top, peering inside.
There’s a folded piece of paper inside. As I pick it up, my confusion furthers when I read the first line…
Dear Santa.
twenty-four
. . .
Rosalie
Letter to Sellers
My hand tremblesas I clutch the paper, my eyes moving over the masculine scrawled words upon it.
Dear Potential Sellers,
My name is Wells McCoy, and I want to buy the open store in your building.
When I found out that I needed to write a letter to submit with my offer and application to purchase this space, I was surprised. My real estate agent told me that it was a request from you to help in making your decision.
I was told this space has been empty for over five years, and not because of a lack of applicants but because you were being selective. You wanted them to be a good fit, and the purpose of this letter is for me to convince you that person is me.
That added a bit more pressure to this letter thing.
But as a guy who’s spent the majority of his life in high-pressure situations, with a lot of eyes on me, I’m not easily deterred.
Your question was who am I, and why did I choose Mistletoe Falls?
And the truth is, your question made me think.
Why Mistletoe Falls?
My parents have owned cabins in the foothills of Cedar Ridge for years now, and after my mother had a health scare a few years ago, her one wish from it is to have us all together during Christmastime each year. Our family is big into traditions, always have been. And she wants us to carry on those traditions for many years to come.
It’s something we’ve always tried to make happen, but I’ve got five siblings, and we’re all spread out over the country. Me currently in Vancouver, two of my older sisters are in North Carolina. Another sister in California. My brothers are in Louisiana and Connecticut.
It’s hard for everyone’s schedules to align and get us at the same place, at the same time.
The reason I’m telling you this is because now more than ever, I realize how important family is to me. Two years ago, I was playing professional hockey in Vancouver, for a team that I love, with men I called my brothers. I was at the height of my career, my body was in the best shape it had ever been in, I had fans around the world, a strong relationship with my teammates. I lived and breathed hockey. It’s all I had ever done since I was a kid and dreamed of playing hockey professionally.
The highest of highs.
And then in the blink of an eye, it changed. I got injured in a game, had to have surgery, and just like that… my hockey career was over. My dream was gone.
There was nothing I could do to change it, and it felt like my life I’d worked so hard for was being ripped away from me.
It was the hardest thing I had ever experienced, and truthfully, I’m not sure how I pulled myself from the dark place that I sank to.
But that’s what leads me to Mistletoe Falls now.
