Page 121 of Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane

“Sure.”

“Do you like what you do? I mean, your job…do you enjoy it?”

He sighed and rubbed a hand down the side of his face, which I just noticed had more of a shadow than usual. “I thought if I became a lawyer that I would help more people, but now…I seem to have gotten lost.”

I propped my fist under my chin. “My dad’s favorite quote was ‘Not all those who wander are lost.’ ”

“Lord of the Rings.” Mr. Bailey smiled. “He sounds like a smart man.”

“He was.” I smiled back. “He also used to say that we should never waste the time that we are given. That we should never live to have regrets.”

Mr. Bailey sat forward and rested his elbows on the table. “I feel like you’re about to give me some advice, Ms. Mancini.”

I picked up a candle and twirled it in my hand. “I’d give anything to have one more moment, even if it was only for a minute, heck, half a minute, with my father. Don’t waste what little time you have left with James.” I sniffed. “You left home because you were neglected and because it wasn’t a home for you. Do you want James to do the same someday?”

Mr. Bailey blinked a few times. Then he looked toward the window where the streetlamps illuminated the flurries that now fell gracefully to the ground.

We both went back to work quietly, letting the soft sounds of piano and strings fill the air until he spoke again several minutes later. “I know you’re probably a little scared to leave home so soon, but something tells me you’ll be just fine, Gianna.”

“You think so?” I looked up from my pile of paper protectors.

He nodded. “That family of yours may be a lot at times, but they’ve raised you well.”

I stole a glance at the peaceful snowfall and laughed as Eve, Phineas, and Ann twirled in the street, their arms skyward. “Mullings Creek raised me well, Mr. Bailey,” I said.

“A good town will do that.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Let’s go get the shit kicked out of us by love.”

—Love Actually

I woke up on Wednesday morning, December twenty-third, feeling more relaxed than I’d expected to. Working with Mr. Bailey last night didn’t exactly make me more confident with the impending outcome of Operation Ho Ho Humbug, but it did leave me with a certain kind of peace. Maybe I couldn’t save The Market—maybe I was never meant to—but maybe I could save a father and son’s relationship.

I rolled over and reached for my phone, but instead, grabbed a small sticky note on its face.

Coffee on the porch? —Mom

Who knew how long she’d been sitting out there in the cold waiting for me, so I got dressed quickly and filled a mug with coffee and creamer before stepping onto the front porch.

Mom sat bundled up in the swing under a large blanket, her coffee still steaming in between her mittens as her snowman earrings dangled from under her knit hat. “Thank goodness. I could use some extra body heat.” She flipped the blanket open so I could sit next to her.

After positioning the blanket over both of us, we each took a long sip from our mugs before nearly tripping over each other’s words.

“I’m sorry—”

“Mom, I’m sorry.”

She laughed and reached a hand up, cupping my cheek. “Me first, okay?”

I nodded.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. You…you came to me for comfort and guidance, and I just…” She sighed. “I got carried away. Took my own frustrations out on you. And I’m so sorry, Gianna. You’re always thinking of others before yourself. You’re not careless with hearts, honey.”

Psh. I sniffed.

“Hey.” She turned my face toward hers. “You can’t help what other people feel or don’t feel. You can’t control everything, no matter how hard you try. That’s just not how it works.”