Page 40 of The Christmas Blueprint

“When I’m in my shop, buying inventory, or changing the window display or cleaning, I feel him with me, so it’s a little like I’m living for him too, carrying him with me.”

She caught her breath in the face of Harlow’s unblinking regard. She’d finally found a way to express what had been rolling around in her soul for this past year as she’d emerged from her cloud of grief, determined to prove Enrique’s belief in her was correct. She could be an entrepreneur. She could inspire other women and teens to start and successfully run their small businesses. She could be a force for good in the town like he had been so determined to be.

“Does everyone else think it’s the opposite?” Harlow asked softly.

“What do you mean?”

“That if you don’t curl up in a ball and cry that you don’t care?”

“Dang, you are smart,” Sophia said. But she didn’t want to seem callous of Enrique’s family and so many others who cared about her and were only trying to show their concern. “People grieve in different ways. And on different timelines. Some people want to talk about their loved one they lost, and others bottle it up.”

“Gran says it’s good to talk about feelings, but she never did. She didn’t like to talk about my mom.”

“Yeah. I’ve said something but done the opposite a few times myself,” Sophia admitted.

Harlow seemed to absorb this, while Sophia marveled at the young girl’s thoughtful, openness. She didn’t know much about Harlow at all—nothing about her mom or grandmother or why Hunter hadn’t been let into the picture until now. The changes for Hunter and Harlow had to be mind-blowing. And yet they seemed to roll with it.

Like I’ve tried to.

And she’d received pushback from people who thought she should be responding differently to the tragic and difficult events in her life.

“Adults don’t like to admit when they’re wrong,” Harlow noted.

“True.” Sophia smiled. “But I’m often wrong and definitely admit it. That way I can get advice and help.”

“Adults like to give advice,” Harlow said. “Except my dad. He asks me what I think all the time. He listens to me. He told me he had no idea what he was doing, so we’d learn together. I get to be like my new teacher, Ms. Price.”

Harlow sipped her hot chocolate, which was good, because Sophia had to wipe away a few tears.

“I bet Killian will need lots of help.” She looked up at Sophia, her thoughtful expression turning overly innocent. “I bet you can help him.”

Sophia almost snorted cocoa out her nose. “Nice try. No matchmaking.”

Harlow rolled her eyes and looked back at the stage. “That man is still talking.”

Sophia swallowed her laugh and nearly scorched the back of her throat.

“When’s Killian coming back? I don’t want him to miss the tree and the singing. You’re right. He has a pretty voice.”

Sophia smiled, wondering what Killian would make of that description, and then he was there beside them, and she felt like the chilly temperature was nearly temperate and the air surrounding them crackled with energy.

“Sorry.” He retrieved his hot chocolate. “Riley wanted to do a dark test run,” he said, looking unusually subdued. His usual flashing green eyes, and beautiful smile absent. “Did I miss any great announcement? Resignation? Raise for the part-time city planner who has yet to start and has no office?”

“No.” Harlow crossed her arms. “He’s just going on and on about nothing. I want the tree lighting and the light show.”

She spoke loudly enough that more than a few people near them turned to look. Some of the reactions were judgy. Killian flat-stared back. But others nodded in agreement.

“Everything okay with Riley?” Sophia asked.

“Yeah,” he said, not looking at her. “Riley’s program’s ready.”

“Bring on the light. Light. Light. Light,” Harlow chanted.

“Shsshshsh,” a few people hissed at her. “Don’t be rude,” an older lady said. “That is our mayor.”

Harlow cringed closer to Sophia, who instinctively put her arm around her.

“Let there be light,” Killian shouted out. “Ten, nine,” and then the crowd joined in, and Jeffrey Bane, mayor of Bear Creek, had to jump in or look like he’d lost control of his trapped holiday audience while he continued to talk about the success of his property management and investment company that somehow, in his opinion, reflected the economic health and success of the rest of Bear Creek. Sophia felt it was just the opposite. Bane Enterprises snatched up land and businesses in distress and then jacked up the rents. His family’s success did not trickle down to Bear Creek’s citizens.

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