Jingle all the Way to Snowside by Kathy Coatney

Author:Kathy Coatney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Windtree Press

The entire ride home, all Sadie could think about was Hank’s invitation to spend Thanksgiving with his family. As much as the idea terrified her, she desperately wanted to accept, to be part of a gathering and not be alone on Thanksgiving. To never be alone again.

Isn’t that why she’d married Luke? To fill all the loneliness within her.

Yes.

And her neediness was the reason her marriage had failed. No matter how much love Luke gave her, it never filled the black hole within her.

She looked over at Hank, his face visible in the glow of the dash lights. “I’m sorry about turning down your invitation. You’re right, I am scared. I-I have feelings for you, and they terrify me.”

He merged into the downtown traffic. “Why?”

She paused to consider how much to tell him. Opening up to him, baring her soul, left her open to all the feelings she’d kept bottled up inside, and worse, to more heartbreak.

Was he worth the risk?

Yes.

He pulled up to her house and left the truck running as he waited for her response.

“You terrify me.”

His eyebrows arched. “How do I do that?”

“I mean, my feelings for you terrify me,” she clarified. “After my parents died, I had no other family. I was completely alone. My foster parents were kind and tried to include me, but it wasn’t the same. They weren’t my family. When I went to college, I met Luke and fell in love, or so I thought. I think it was more about not being alone than being in love. When he asked me to marry him, I immediately accepted, but deep down I knew it was a mistake. That I wasn’t in love with him.” She faced Hank. “I don’t want to be with you because I don’t want to be alone.”

The tenderness in his eyes was nearly her undoing. “I’m not asking for forever. I’m asking that you meet my family. Nothing more.” He held up a hand as she started to object. “Yes, I know some of my family will read more into it than there is, but we will know the truth—we care about each other and want to see if we have a future together.”

When he put it that way, it sounded so logical, and maybe it was. Maybe she was making more out of it than there really was.

“I’m scared,” she finally admitted. “I love spending time with you, but I’m afraid I’m not certain I’m accepting your invitation because I want to be with you or I don’t want to be alone on Thanksgiving.”

Hank’s finger brushed over her lower lip. “There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to be alone. I don’t want you to be alone, but answer me this? Do you enjoy my company?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Then come with me because you want to spend time with me, and a pleasant side benefit is you won’t be alone.” He tilted her chin so that their eyes met. “I don’t want you to spend the holiday by yourself. Say yes.

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