An Alaskan Christmas Homecoming by Jennifer Snow

Author:Jennifer Snow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2021-10-19T14:16:03+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

WALKING INTO HIS jail cell for the first time, with its cold, stark concrete walls and the faint smell of a decaying future, a heavy sense of foreboding weighing on him, hadn’t felt as hard as walking toward his family’s diner the next day.

Maybe because going to jail had almost been a relief. It was the first step in getting back on track.

This could totally blow up in his face.

But the day before with Jade had changed something in him. Sure, he was ashamed of his past actions. He was regretful and desperate to prove that he wasn’t the sum of his mistakes, but she’d also helped him realize that he couldn’t undo the past and that the people who claimed to care about him should be open to hearing his apology and moving past it with him...not continuing to shut him out or push him away.

Everyone deserved a second chance, Jade had said. And while he was struggling to believe that, he wanted to believe it, and that was a step, at least.

Kissing her in his shop had solidified the attraction he felt for her, and there’d been no denying she felt the same way. He wouldn’t rush into things, but the day before had been one of the less heavy days he’d had in a long time and he wasn’t going to let something that special go.

He pushed through the door and scanned the room. It was midafternoon, so it wouldn’t be busy. Only a few booths were occupied, and a man sat at the counter drinking coffee and reading his cell phone.

Christmas music played and he recognized the old holiday soundtrack. The songs they played in the diner every year since he was a kid. All the popular, familiar classics brought feelings of warmth and nostalgia that nearly knocked the wind from his lungs. It might be too much to hope that he’d have the chance to spend Christmas with them. Baby steps.

Should he sit at a table? Or wait at the counter?

The kitchen was reserved for family members, and in the last conversation he’d had with his parents, they’d made it very clear that that title no longer belonged to him. The hurt and disappointment in their voices when he’d made that one phone call after his arrest had made him wish he hadn’t reached out. But it would have been cowardly and unfair for his family to find out about it through news sources like the rest of the world.

Before he could decide where to sit, the door leading from the kitchen swung open and his sister Molly appeared, carrying two plates of the daily special. It was Wednesday, so he didn’t even need to check the board to know it was spaghetti with homemade meatballs and garlic bread. The smell of the familiar family recipe had his stomach rumbling, but the sight of his sister put all thoughts of food on hold.

He hadn’t seen or spoken to her since he’d gone in.

He’d missed both his sisters but especially Molly.

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