Page 1 of A South Hill Christmas Keepsake
CHAPTER ONE
“If Evergreen, Vermont, ever had a rival…South Hill, Virginia, at Christmas might just be it,” Hannah Leigh Parker said to herself, “especially with Aunt Winnie hosting the festival.” She steered south on I-85 with the car heater on full blast. The road curved through rolling stretches of harvested winter farmland.
Every mile pulled her closer to the town she’d spent the last ten years avoiding, along with the old choices and what-ifs she’d buried right beside it.
Her fingers gripped the wheel. After losing her job and walking away from a relationship built on broken promises, there wasn’t much left to hold her in D.C. During Thanksgiving, while others ate with family, she packed her belongings in a storage pod, unsure of where her next job might take her.
Before locking the apartment door for the last time, she’d sent out a handful ofrésumés. One was to Bank of America in Charlotte. A corporate events position. Her dream job. The one she’d been working toward all along.
She hadn’t breathed a word about applying for that one. Not even to Aunt Winnie. Maybe out of fear she’d jinx it after what happened with Evan and her job.
Evan had called their breakup an amicable split, the kind professionals made over lattes and quarterly reports. It was her heartbreak, not his. She could tell by the way his voice stayed calm while hers trembled. He’d already moved on, probably to someone who fit neatly into his calendar.
They’d mixed business and promises, both of which turned out hollow. He’d dangled a future at the huge real estate firm. An offer, as it turned out, that had never really been his to make. She’d planned and delivered the perfect event for them just as she’d promised. But as soon as it was done, so was he. Thepromotion vanished, the truth unraveled, and the lies came into focus.
The memory still stung as sharp as an icy draft through a cracked window, reminding her she hadn’t seen the end coming until it was already over.
Hannah Leigh did not like being played the fool.
Aunt Winnie’s phone call had come at the perfect moment. Hannah Leigh jumped at the chance to return to South Hill to help with the big holiday festival. It would be the perfect distraction while she put Evan in the rearview mirror, or better yet, in the dumpster behind it.
She knew Aunt Winnie was hoping this visit might turn into something more permanent, but Hannah Leigh planned to be careful not to feed that hope. This was only a holiday visit, nothing more. Come the new year, she’d be ready to start fresh with a new job, better luck, a clearer vision, and maybe even a little grace for herself.
Three hours and a dozen Christmas songs later, the city lights were a memory in her rearview mirror. The closer she got to South Hill, traffic thinned, the sky cleared, even her heartbeat slowed.
The first twinkling lights of South Hill came into view. This was the perfect place to take a pause before rebooting her career and self-esteem.
Aunt Winnie’s lengthy description of this year’s festival plans replayed in her mind. It seemed straight out of one of the Hallmark movies Aunt Winnie adored and sounded like it would turn the town into a living snow globe.
Aunt Winnie had taught Hannah Leigh everything she knew about event planning. So, as the Chamber of Commerce’s executive director, Winnie was sure to achieve her goal, with or without Hannah Leigh’s help.
She had a feeling Aunt Winnie’s enthusiasm was spreading faster than cocoa at Bringleton’s. By the time she got to South Hill, every strand of twinkle lights within sixty miles would be gone, and every storefront and lamppost would shine like Christmas morning.
With half the town pitching in, she’d be lucky if there was any work left for her to do. Maybe this trip would wind up cocoa, conversation, and a front-row seat to Aunt Winnie’s big holiday to-do, and she could act like a tourist for once.
Her body relaxed as she imagined kicking off her shoes and taking a breath without someone dangling deadlines over her head.
There’d been a time when Aunt Winnie’s over-the-top Christmas spirit made her cringe.
As a teenager, Hannah Leigh had sworn she’d never recover from the Christmas Aunt Winnie made her wear a red nose and reindeer antlers to the town parade. The photo still resurfaced every December like clockwork. The memory alone was enough to make her cheeks warm all over again.
But after too many late nights and a heartbreak built on broken promises in D.C., Hannah Leigh craved Aunt Winnie’s endless sparkle.
A town that still believes in happiness might be exactly what my weary heart needs. Heck, I might even volunteer to wear those antlers this time.
Her car’s Bluetooth dashboard suddenly lit up with a row of emojis. Candy canes, snowflakes, and exclamation points as if Winnie were staging a digital parade. It seemed she was plotting and planning, fussing and finessing directly from Santa’s playbook, and expected everyone in town to join the team.
Hannah Leigh turned off Route 58 with a breath of excitement.
The city skyline had long faded in her rearview. Pines gave way to fields now bare following the tobacco harvest, and dusted with white frost, as the “Welcome to South Hill” sign came into view.
She felt sort of bad now. When Aunt Winnie first called, she’d grumbled her way through the promise to help with South Hill’s Hometown Holiday Festival. But now, as she caught her first glimpse of downtown, she found herself completely drawn in.
Her heart giddy-upped, and her smile stretched wide as the town unfurled before her with a rush of excitement. Every storefront sparkled with garland and ribbons. Even the law office had a wreath, though the droop suggested it was left from last Christmas.
The taste of Christmas lingered in the air. Sweet, crisp, and with a hint of cinnamon.
It was as if the whole town had dressed up to welcome her home.
