The Cranberry Inn: A gorgeous and feel good Christmas romance by Barbara Josselsohn

Author:Barbara Josselsohn [Josselsohn, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800199323
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

Eleven

Saturday night arrived, and Joel wound a scarf around his neck and slung his old high-school ice skates over his shoulder. Then he left the house, the door sounding a definitive thump that echoed in the still air. He stayed still for a moment, lulled by the quiet that allowed the echo to be heard. Pulling the collar of his jacket closer around him, he walked down the front steps and over toward Birch Street, his hands deep in his pockets, his breath visible in the cold atmosphere.

Surprisingly enough, he was glad to be going ice skating.

He hadn’t expected to feel this way, back when Chuck first mentioned the party. It had been so long since he’d been out on the ice. His visits home these last several years had always been in the spring, when there was little chance of weather problems that could delay his flight there or back. And when he could help his mom get ready for summer by fertilizing the lawn and replacing the storm doors with screens; by reassembling the outdoor furniture and carrying bags of topsoil over to her garden. It had been a long time since he’d thought about how much he’d liked tearing across the ice at breakneck speeds, feeling the snap of the cold wind against his face as he raced his pals, until the officials on duty told them to slow down or be kicked off for the rest of the afternoon. Everyone used to go skating on Sunday afternoons in the winter.

Even Laurel, although she usually stayed off to the side, practicing some move or skill. He’d known before they started working on the play together how determined she was, how much she wanted to be perfect. Sometimes he’d thought about going over to her and encouraging her to ease up, maybe get a cup of hot cocoa with him. But he hadn’t been sure she’d say yes.

He started down Birch Street, taking in the vast black sky and the chilly air, the way the snow snapped and crunched under his boots. This was how he’d always remembered Christmastime, all these years when he was away on the other side of the world. These were the feelings that stayed with him. Nothing big ever changed back home—that’s what he’d always thought. Maybe a new shop came into town, maybe a house was sold. Maybe a mayor was challenged for the office and lost reelection, maybe a teacher retired. But he’d always expected this was the place he could count on to stay the same. To be a steady foundation, a bedrock, waiting in stillness for him to return.

And then his mother had died, so suddenly. And now Doug was off who knows where and Laurel was back home. He’d tried several times to call Doug on his cell phone these last couple of days, but there’d been no answer. He still didn’t understand why he’d left so suddenly without saying anything to him, let alone Laurel. Doug knew Joel was expecting to see him, hang out with him.

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