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Chapter 17
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2021-03-11 12:49:13The downtown area was similar to a lot of the towns Dak had visited recently, looking for the perfect place to start his new endeavor, but there was something slightly different about Christmas Falls, something special he couldn’t quite put his finger on. The Christmas decorations hanging from the lamp posts and strung around the trees were the same white lights, red bows, garland, and cartoony characters as everywhere else, seasonal flowers blooming from the flower beds while banners announced where he was and that he was welcome there, but an excitement seemed to hang in the air that he could only describe as a certain kind of Christmas magic he couldn’t ever remember encountering before.
Growing up in Carmel, he’d visited Christmas Falls a few times as a child, but never for longer than a few hours, and even then he didn’t feel as if he’d gotten a true sense of what it was like to celebrate Christmas in this town. Now, as
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Christmas Memory Chapter 18
“Boy, is it chilly out!” she exclaimed, stomping her feet on the mat inside of the door. A small amount of snow pooled next to her black boots. She held a cup of coffee in one hand, and her other held the top of her coat closed, her large purse looped over her arm. “Brrr!”Dak turned to smile at her, waiting for her to look up before he said anything. She did—and a large grin spread across her face. “Hi, Ellie.”“Dak! Well, I’ll be done snickered! How are you?” she rushed over and enveloped him in a tight hug, as if he was her long lost son she hadn’t seen in ages instead of a stranger she’d met at an inn the day before. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived. How long have you been here?”“Just a few minutes,” he assured her as she let him go. “Memory and I were just chatting.”
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The walk to the coffee shop was slightly awkward. Memory wasn’t sure what to do with her hands or what she should say to Dak, who tried a few times to engage her in conversation, but the butterflies in her stomach seemed more like dancing reindeer, and it took her a long time to settle down enough to truly engage in any topic he brought up. She didn’t want him to think she was boring or stupid, so she took some deep breaths as he pulled the door to the shop open for her, the familiar scent of all things brewed wafting through her lungs making her feel like she was at home. She could do this—it wasn’t like she’d never been on a date with an attractive man before. And this wasn’t even a date! She could do this....“Thank you,” she said, letting the warmth of the establishment thaw her face as she approached the counter, Dak just behind her. The scent of his cologne, a light blend of woodsy musk with a hint of
Last Updated : 2021-03-11Christmas Memory Chapter 20
Instead of pouring her heart out to Dak, Memory kept her mouth closed on the matter of her grandmother. He seemed to understand that she didn't want to talk about it, so he said, “That Ellie sure is something else.”“Yes, she is.” Now that, she had no trouble voicing. “She is amazing, though. Really, it’s like she just happened to wander into my shop right when I needed her most.” Memory caught his eyes then, the thought that maybe Ellie wasn’t the only one who had done that flickering through her mind, but she didn’t let it stay.“She definitely has a gift for timing,” he remarked. Memory wasn’t exactly sure what he meant, but she had an idea. “It’s too bad she has no family.”“I know. But maybe that’s why she makes everyone else feel like they are her family.”He nodded. “That’s a
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Ellie was busy with customers when Memory got back. She hurried to put her coat away and get her apron on so she could help, wishing she could say what she’d been thinking of saying to her new friend all the way from the coffeeshop before she lost her nerve. Not that she intended to say anything rude to Ellie, but really, she had some questions that needed answers.By the time the store was free of customers again, over an hour had passed, and Memory had had some time to think about the conversation she’d had with Dak. She realized she probably sounded very opinionated when she was talking to him about what he did for a living, and she wished she hadn’t come across that way, but she felt duped—if she’d known who he was before she started talking to him, she never would’ve let him charm her so.“Before I forget!” Ellie exclaimed, grabbing Memory by the arm and waiting until she was looking
Last Updated : 2021-03-11Christmas Memory Chapter 22
Memory pulled into the driveway, wishing it wasn’t so dark out. It wasn’t even 6:00 yet, but out here, away from the streetlights of town, with only half a moon and a few stars strong enough to shine through the cloud cover, the place looked bleak and dark. She didn’t like it that way.She turned her car off and took a deep breath. The last few days, she’d found herself thinking of this place more and more, worrying over what to do with it. Meeting Dak had stirred up all sorts of emotions in her, ones she had been trying not to face. But with her sister’s little speech about selling the house, and then meeting someone who bought them for a living, it had been weighing on her mind. Ellie had encouraged her to come by and look the house over, make herself feel more at ease, but as Memory found the key on her ring, she felt anything but.Snow crunched beneath her boots as she hurried to the door, keeping her a
Last Updated : 2021-03-11Christmas Memory Chapter 23
It wasn’t Grandma Helen’s voice she heard, but it was something. Out the window next to her, she heard a few soft peeping sounds. Memory swiped at her eyes and leaned forward, squinting into the darkness. Cardinals? This time of evening? Why would a pair of cardinals be out when it was dark? And perhaps more importantly, why did she feel as if they were speaking to her?A male and a female perched on the outer windowsill, looking in at her, their eyes gleaming in the faint light. Memory moved a little closer, dropping down on her knees. She assumed they’d fly away, but they didn’t. “Hey, are you guys talking to me?” She laughed, thinking how miserable she must look, even to a couple of birds, sitting in a dark, practically empty room crying. “Did I worry you?”The male fluttered around slightly, the female chirping, and Memory remembered the last time she’d seen them, there had been
Last Updated : 2021-03-11Christmas Memory Chapter 24
Memory’s family was already at the lighting ceremony when she made her way over after locking up the shop. She’d taken a few extra minutes to change into a bright red sweater and her favorite dark blue jeans. The ones she’d worn all day weren’t dirty, but she thought she may as well look her best if she was going to go to the trouble of standing near Dak at the ceremony. She’d fixed her makeup, put on some red lipstick that matched her hat, scarf, and gloves, and brushed out her hair. And maybe sprayed on a little bit of her favorite vanilla-scented perfume.... She wasn’t necessarily trying to impress him, but why not look her best if she could?Ellie had been talking about the ceremony all day, even staying past 2:00 when she’d normally been leaving the shop so that she could continue to chatter about it. Memory did her best to calm her new friend because it really wasn’t a big deal, but Ellie seemed to th
Last Updated : 2021-03-11Christmas Memory Chapter 25
“Hi, Memory,” Jen said first, her face lit up as she pulled at her long brunette braid. “How are you?”“Good. Hi, Jen. Hi, Chet.”“Hi there, Memory.” Chet’s voice was a little too sing-song for Memory’s taste as well. “You look nice.”“Oh, thanks.” She looked down at what she was wearing. “It’s just... my coat. My regular old white coat. That I always wear. All the time.”“Okay....” Chet caught Jen’s eye, and said, “Weren’t we going to meet your parents?”“Yep, and I bet they’re probably... over there. By the hot cocoa stand. It was nice to see you, Memory. Dak, nice to see you again.”“You, too,” Dak said to Jen, giving her a little wave as Chet clapped his arm. Memory followed them with her eyes, st
Last Updated : 2021-03-11
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Helen perched on the windowsill right outside of the ballroom, Ann on one side and Joe on the other. Coming to earth to visit her family disguised as a bird had taken a little bit of getting used to, but she was glad Michael had agreed to let her drop in from time to time since she’d done such a good job of fixing the meet-cute gone wrong. Of course, he didn’t know Helen had actually been on her way back to heaven when Memory and Dak worked out the final conflict themselves, but none of that would’ve happened if Helen hadn’t taken on the assignment to begin with. As long as nothing else went awry, Helen’s great-great-great-granddaughter would discover a way to virtually eliminate cancer. Of course, that wasn’t Helen’s primary focus for now. She chirped happily as she peered in the window, glad to see the house in even better shape now than it had been when she and Joe had bought it right after they got married.I
Christmas Memory Chapter 72
Opening the book to the page where the feathers were placed, she squinted to see if there was anything particularly important about that entry. Reading by the light of the Christmas decorations behind her, she felt as if she could hear her grandma’s voice echoing in her ear with each word.I do worry about Memory. We are so close. When I pass away, which hopefully won’t be for many years, I am afraid she will be lonely without me. She is an old soul for someone so young, and she has given up so many opportunities in her life because she is so attached to me and this town. I do hope, one day, she will meet someone who is as generous and caring as she is, who gives so freely of themselves, and who appreciates history and tradition the way my sweet Memory does. I fear she may never give anyone a fair chance to prove himself to her, though. If I am still alive when he comes along, I’ll have to do my best to conv
Christmas Memory Chapter 71
She didn’t—the number was disconnected. Memory held her phone away from her face and stared at it, listening to the obnoxious tone on the other end and the message telling her she’d dialed incorrectly on repeat. Pressing the button to disconnect the call, she rested the phone against her chin. Part of her thought perhaps Ellie had been a figment of her imagination—but other people had seen her, spoken to her, interacted with her. None of it made any sense....Memory put her phone down and grabbed her purse, remembering what Ellie had said right before she left. The journal. She’d mentioned she should read it. Maybe Ellie wrote her a message in the journal to explain what was going on. She opened her bag and dug through it, feeling around in all of the mess, but the journal wasn’t jumping out. “What in the world?”She turned on the overhead light and opened her bag wide, pulling out the lar
Christmas Memory Chapter 70
No longer thinking linearly, Memory took off for the back of the store, grabbing her coat and shoving her arms into it, dragging the insurance policy through the sleeve with her fist. She snatched up her purse and dug for her keys, running to the back door and flying through it, barely getting it shut before she jammed the key in to lock it.Her car sputtered when she turned it over. “Not now! Come on Bertha, let’s go.” The second time, it cranked, so she said another quick thank you to heaven before throwing on her seatbelt and backing down the alley a ways before she flung the shifter into drive and took off headed for the Candy Cane Lane Inn.The sun was beginning to set, and Christmas lights glowed from every yard and rooftop, but she didn’t pay any attention as she concentrated on getting to her destination as quickly as possible without breaking too many driving laws. She found a parking spot on the street
Christmas Memory Chapter 69
Eventually, Memory managed to get control of herself again, though her throat continued to spasm as she choked stuttered breaths through her constricted airway. She felt around for her phone and found it between two boxes, figuring she must’ve dropped it when Dak had hung up. She didn’t even want to hear his voice at the moment, but she was curious about that second message he said he’d left. Her hands were shaking as she dialed into her voicemail.“Hey, Mem. Are you okay? I’m at the store, but the door’s locked. It’s not 3:00 yet. I hope you’re not upset about Ellie. I know how much you’re going to miss her. Me, too. Listen, I wanted to tell you in person, but since I don’t know where you are, and you might need some good news about now, you should know, I found something you’ve been looking for at your grandma’s house. I think you’re going to want this piece of paper I have i
Christmas Memory Chapter 68
As soon as he was gone, the tears sprang free. Memory swiped at them with both hands before she slammed her fists into the counter. It all suddenly made sense—Dak had to have known about the house all along! He was never interested in her. He just wanted the house with the perfect ballroom. Beardly was probably an associate of his.It wasn’t 3:00 yet, but Memory was done. She flew across the room to the door and locked it, flipping the sign as she went, and then switched off the lights, shooting to the back of the building where she could be alone. She went into the stock room and dropped to the floor, her arms tossed over a box, her head buried on top of them. Her shoulders shook as wave after wave of tears rippled through her.After a few minutes of thinking through the situation, she realized she wasn’t just sad—she was angry. How dare he come in here, to her town, and try to take advantage of her? To pretend
Christmas Memory Chapter 67
Thankful for a moment to herself, Memory went behind the counter and pulled out a tissue, wiping at her eyes. She waved her hands in front of her face, willing the tears to stay away. After a couple of minutes, she thought she had control over herself, repeating that she hadn’t just lost her grandmother again—Ellie was just a friend.Remembering that her phone had been ringing, she pulled it out and saw she had a missed call from Dak. “Dang it,” she mumbled, wishing she’d had a chance to talk to him. She missed him already, even though she’d seen him earlier when he stopped by to pick up her key. Hopefully, he had good news about the roof. She clicked into her voicemail and listened to his message. Though she had no idea what he was talking about, he sure sounded excited, which made her laugh.She raised her thumb to click the button to call him back when the bell chimed. Trying to hide her disappoint
Christmas Memory Chapter 66
The ticking of the clock registered in Memory’s head even over the Christmas music as it drew closer to 2:00. That’s when Ellie would be leaving, and even though she’d made Memory promise not to try to talk her into staying again, she wasn’t sure she could keep that promise.They’d been busy most of the morning into the afternoon, which hadn’t given them much time to talk. Memory was dreading the moment her new friend had to say goodbye. Despite Ellie’s inability to commit to ever coming back or willingness to tell her exactly where she was going, Memory was hopeful they’d meet again soon.The last customer from the latest rush walked out the door, bags in hand, and Memory turned her attention to the clock. She didn’t like what she saw.“I’m sorry, dear.” Ellie came around the counter, already untying her apron. “But I have to go.”
Christmas Memory Chapter 65
Dak pulled his SUV into the drive of Memory’s Victorian home, glad to see Ralph’s work truck parked to the side, a ladder propped over the west wing. He imagined the roofer was already assessing the situation. Dak checked the time. It was already almost 1:30. He’d told Ralph his meetings might run long, but he had no idea he’d be almost an hour late. Frustrated, he pulled the keys out of the ignition and dropped them in his pocket, heading up the snow covered drive.At least he’d gotten the offer on the factory put together and sent off. His agent said she thought they wouldn’t hear anything until after the first of the year, but that was understandable. It was a solid offer, and he was confident even Corbin Beardly couldn’t compete with. When he’d run into him the night before at the diner, Corbin had mentioned having something up his sleeve, said he was onto something pretty special, something Dak would b
