LITMIR.BIZ

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year.”

      “It’s going to be wonderful,” Olivia predicted.

      “As long as we don’t get any more Braxtons,” Eric said. “I hope you didn’t give him a refund.”

      “Did he ask you for one?”

      Eric nodded. “Ran into me in the upstairs hall. Please tell me you didn’t give in to that jerk.”

      Olivia shrugged. “Fifty percent off.”

      Eric shook his head. “You’re too soft, Mom.”

      “Well, it’s Christmas.”

      “That doesn’t mean you have to humor jerks like Braxton.”

      “I couldn’t bring myself to be as small as him, not at Christmas. Anyway, he’ll get what’s coming to him. We all do at some point.” And sometimes people got what they didn’t deserve, like losing a spouse. Olivia shooed that thought away. “Heat me up a little of that potpie, will you? Then I’m going to get those rooms cleaned and finish my shopping before the day gets away from me,” she said, forcing cheer into her voice. “Can I pick you up anything?”

      “Nah, I’m fine. And I’ll clean the rooms. I’ve done all my outside work for the day and I need something to do.”

      He was always working, but she decided to let him have his way.

      “All right, then, you’re in charge,” she said when lunch was done and she was ready to leave for the store. Actually, he was pretty much in charge even when she was at the lodge, which left Olivia free to enjoy cooking for their guests. What would she do without him?

      It was a question she asked herself a lot lately. She wanted her son to find a nice woman and settle down, but so far no one in Icicle Falls had fit the bill. What if Ms. Right lived somewhere far away and didn’t want to move to Icicle Falls? Olivia wasn’t sure she could run the lodge alone, wasn’t sure she wanted to. But she hated the idea of closing it. It had meant so much to George. And to her.

      What will be, will be, she told herself. Meanwhile, she had a lot to be thankful for. Eric was here, helping her. And Brandon, her baby, would be coming home for Christmas. Both her boys at the lodge. It was going to be a perfect holiday. Well...almost perfect. As perfect as it could be without George.

      Once at the Safeway, she got busy picking up the items on her grocery list. Her friends Pat Wilder and Ed York had come in to get some lunch at the deli and she stopped to visit with them for a few minutes. Honestly, those two acted more like infatuated teenagers every day, she thought as she made her way to the produce department.

      She realized she was suddenly feeling slightly Scroogey herself. She could have blamed it on the grumpy Mr. Braxton but she knew the real reason. Still, it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

      Probably better to quit hanging mistletoe around the lodge, too.

      No, no. People needed to celebrate. Someone would make good use of that mistletoe, even if it wasn’t her. She made a quick detour to the baking aisle, grabbing some chocolate chips and more flour. When she got home she was going to bake cookies.

      * * *

      Eric had dinner with his mom, then left her finishing up a knitting project and enjoying some old Christmas movie on TV to go meet up with his pals for a pre-Christmas beer fest at Zelda’s, a favorite hangout for locals and tourists alike.

      He found the place brim full of holiday cheer and people. A tree dressed up in pink ribbons and lights greeted visitors when they came in and the bar was decorated with silver tinsel and bells. The cocktail waitresses all wore Santa hats. So did half the customers.

      Eric went over to the table where Bubba Swank and Rob Bohn were waiting for him. They hadn’t waited to order, however, and had both already made a dent in their beers. Bubba raised his in salute. “Merry Christmas. Got your shopping done?”

      “Of course,” Eric replied. “Unlike you slobs, I don’t leave it till the last minute.”

      “You also don’t have anybody but your mom to shop for,” Rob said.

      His mom and his brother, but it didn’t take long to buy iTunes and Bavarian Brews gift cards. “Yeah? And who’ve you got to shop for besides Ivy?” Eric retorted. Rob and Ivy had a couple of kids, but Eric knew who bought the presents for them, as well as all the other people on their Christmas list.

      “My parents,” Rob insisted. “And my brothers.”

      “And you buy their presents? Not your wife?”

      Rob was silent, and Bubba gave a snort.

      “So, you going to Seattle to see Gina?” Eric asked Bubba.

      “First Christmas with the girlfriend,” Rob put in. “I’m betting that’s a yes.”

      Bubba frowned at his beer. “Actually, that’s a no.”

      “Uh-oh,” said Eric.

      “Uh, you still have the girlfriend, right?” asked Rob.

      Bubba shook his head. “She broke up with me day before yesterday. By text.”

      “Seriously?” Of course, breakups happened all the time, but Eric was surprised to hear about this one. Bubba was a nice guy, good-looking with a six-pack and the kind of strong jawline that seemed to draw women like a magnet. He owned a big place on Mountain View Drive and had a successful business. Plus he was a great guy. If Bubba couldn’t hang on to a woman, what hope was there for someone like Eric, who wasn’t exactly calendar-boy material and who worked running his mom’s lodge?

      “That’s harsh, man,” Rob said. “How come?”

      “She said she didn’t see it going anywhere.”

      “Which meant she didn’t want to move,” Rob deduced.

      Bubba nodded. “I think that’s about it.”

      “I guess she doesn’t know what a gold mine Big Brats is. Did you tell her you’re a millionaire?”

      Bubba shook his head again and took a long swig of beer. “Only a half millionaire. She can probably do better in Seattle.”

      “I doubt it,” Rob said. “But that’s the problem when you get involved with tourists. They come up for some laughs and then they return to their real life. You were good enough to flirt with, hang out with this summer, but when it came right down to it...”

      “I guess I should’ve known,” Bubba said with a shrug.

      “Yeah, you should have,” Rob said. “Drink local and date local.”

      “First you gotta find someone local,” Bubba said. “We can’t all meet a cute little cheerleader in high school and live happily ever after.”

      Now Rob wasn’t looking quite so happy.

      “Uh, you guys are okay, aren’t you?” Bubba asked.

      Rob smiled but it seemed forced. “Sure. We’re okay.”

      “Yeah?” Eric wasn’t buying it.

      “Okay, we’ve got some shit going on. Well, I’ve got some shit going on.”

      Rita Reyes was at their table now, ready to take Eric’s order. “Merry Christmas, Eric,” she said. “How are things at the lodge? Are you guys full up?”

      “Not quite,” he said. “There’s still time to make a reservation for Christmas dinner.”

      “Someday I’m gonna treat myself and do that. Your mom’s Christmas dinners are legendary. So, what can I get you?”

      “Hale’s Mongoose.”

      “I’ll have another,” Rob told her, and she nodded and hurried off. “There’s a fine-looking sugarplum,”

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