Her personal and professional life at a crossroads New York lawyer Melanie Holister returns home to small town Iowa for the Holidays, where she crosses paths with her high school crush, Kaeden McGrath. Can Kaeden and his bulldog Spike help Melanie find happiness in the hometown she once couldn’t wait to leave?
Home for the Holidays
Chapter One
Melanie
Holister left civilization behind as soon as she got past Des Moines,
carefully navigating her rented Dodge Charger on the road as a light
dusting of snow fell from the sky. It probably wasn’t the best
choice of car for winter in Iowa, but if Melanie had to go back to
Mill’s River, she at least wanted do it in style. She still
couldn’t believe she was returning to her hometown, twelve years
after she’d left it behind for Columbia University and what she was
sure would be greener pastures.
On
the day she left, Melanie vowed she’d never be back. For twelve
years, she’d managed to keep her promise, making sure family
holidays were spent either at her place in New York City, or her
sister’s house in Minneapolis. The latter was a compromise once
their parents complained about the long travel to the Big Apple, and
Melanie was happy to make it. She loved her family, and she even
liked the city some referred to as the Mini-Apple. It was Mill’s
River she couldn’t handle.
Yet
here she was, headed home, and worse yet, with her proverbial tail
between her legs. No boyfriend, and no job. Okay, that wasn’t
technically correct. Melanie remained an employee of the prestigious
Simmons Kline law firm, but she was just that. An employee. Not a
partner, and no longer on the partnership track. For all the future
she had at the firm, she might as well be unemployed.
As
for the other, Randy had ended their nearly four-year relationship
two days after the partnership vote, when he made it and Melanie
didn’t. He needn’t have waited so long. Melanie saw the writing
on the wall as soon as she’d learned her fate with the law firm.
Randy’s wealthy family was all about status, and it would never do
for L. Randolph Wentworth III to be in a relationship with someone
who would never be worthy of that status. And if Melanie wasn’t
good enough to make partner, she wasn’t good enough for Randy.
Truth
be told, professional rejection hurt more than the personal one.
Although she’d shared some good times with Randy, lately Melanie
had begun to think something was missing. She didn’t feel the
passion for him that she wanted to feel for the man she would choose
to spend her life with. No, she probably wouldn’t miss Randy all
that much. But not making partner at Simmons Kline? That one stung.
Melanie had wanted to be a lawyer since her earliest childhood
dreams, and being told she wasn’t a good enough one to be partner
was a bitter pill to swallow.
Melanie
slowed her speed as she exited the two-lane highway onto the county
road that would take her to her hometown, and soon it appeared in her
line of sight. Mill’s River, Population 1309, but that might have
been a generous estimate. The population had been more than twice
that when Melanie was a young child, but once the Mill’s River
schools closed, consolidating with another nearby town, the
population dwindled.
Now,
as she drove through town, Melanie observed it to be even more
downtrodden than when she’d left. There was a convenience store and
gas station on the outskirts, and the bank was still there, though
the name had changed. The old diner remained, as well as Hap’s Pub,
because every small town had to have at least one bar. And there on
the corner of Fifth and Main, at the only stoplight in town, stood
McGrath’s Dry Goods, as it had for almost seventy years.
The
light turned red, and Melanie stopped, turning her head in the
direction of the store. Did the McGraths still own it? She assumed
so, considering the name hadn’t changed. The door to the store
opened, and a dark-haired young man stepped out, carrying packages
for an older man, helping him place them in the back of his vehicle.
Oh
my gosh, was that Kaeden? It had to be. Melanie would know him by the
way he walked, always purposeful and confident. And darned if he
wasn’t just as handsome as before, if not more so. After a second
look, Melanie concluded Kaeden was, indeed, even sexier than when
they’d graduated high school a dozen years ago. And sadly, he was
still stuck in Mill’s River.
A
horn beeped behind her and Melanie realized the light had changed.
“Wow, are you in a hurry, buddy?” she muttered under her breath.
“Bite me.” Sheesh. It was Mill’s River, Iowa, not Manhattan.
Where did anyone need to be in such a rush? Couldn’t a girl even
check out the view?
She
stepped on the gas harder than intended, accelerating through the
intersection. Yikes. Hopefully the town’s one cop wasn’t lurking
nearby. The last thing Melanie needed was a ticket in her first five
minutes back in town.
She
turned on Elm, the street where she grew up, and pulled to a stop in
front of her childhood home. The siding was new, and the lawn
immaculate, which came as no surprise. Melanie’s parents had always
taken great pride in their property. As she turned off the engine,
the front door opened, and her mother came rushing out.
“Melanie!
You made it. How are you?” Her mother gave her a hug. “How was
the flight?”
“The
flight was fine. Both of them,” she said, answering that question
first. “And I’m okay, all things considered.” Her personal and
professional life might be in shambles, but whatever. Plenty of
people had it worse.
“I’m
glad you’re here. I’m sorry we couldn’t pick you up at the
airport, but you know how your father is about driving in city
traffic.” Her mother rolled her eyes, and Melanie stifled a laugh.
Yeah.
That Des Moines traffic is unbelievable. “It’s
okay, Mom. I got a rental, and the drive
was fine.” She opened the
trunk and heaved her suitcase out.
“How
long do you plan on staying? You didn’t say when you called and
told us you were coming.”
“No,
I didn’t,” Melanie said. “To be honest, I’m not sure. At
least through Christmas. Maybe New Years.” If
I can stand it here that long.
“I’m not in any rush to get back to New York. It’s not like I
really have a job anymore.”
“What?”
Her mother’s eyes widened. “I know you didn’t get the promotion
you wanted, but you didn’t tell me they fired you. Oh, Melly...”
She
held up a hand. “It’s okay. I didn’t get fired. I still have an
associate position, if I want it.” It just didn’t lead anywhere,
and Melanie had all but decided she was done at Simmons Kline.
“Anyway, I’m here for a few weeks, at least.”
“That’s
good. It’s been way too long.” Her mother lead the way up the
front step. “I’m making beef stew for dinner. Lots of potatoes,
just the way we like it.”
Melanie
smiled. “That sounds great. You and Dad can fill me on everything
that’s changed in Mill’s River.”
“That
won’t be much,” her mother said with a laugh. “Oh, but Judy
Barkley is looking for volunteers to help with town Christmas
pageant. I told her you’d call her.”
“Mom,
seriously...” Melanie sighed. “Why would you do that? I don’t
want to run the Christmas pageant.” She just wanted to rest, lick
her wounds from the past week, and figure out what to do next.
“You
wouldn’t be running it, Melly. Just helping.” Her mother smiled.
“Kaeden McGrath helps out every year, just so you know. And you
always did like him a lot.”
Yeah,
and he was never much interested in me.
“Whatever. I’ll think about it, Mom. No promises, though.”
Still, she had to admit that spending time with Kaeden didn’t sound
too bad at all.
***
Kaeden
heard the tires peel through the intersection as he helped his
customer load his purchases into his truck. “Yikes. What was that?”
He glanced up just in time to see a black sports car disappear down
the street.
“Somebody’s
in a hurry, I’d say.”
“Yeah,
no kidding.” Kaeden thought he knew every vehicle in Mill’s
River, and he didn’t recall seeing one like that before. Probably
some college kid thinking it’d be fun to race through a small town.
With a little luck, the chief of police would nab him a few blocks
down. “Thanks again, Gary.” He closed the car door after loading
the last of the bags. “Always appreciate your patronage.”
The
old man nodded. “My pleasure, Kaeden. I know things are tough right
now, but I grew up here and have shopped at McGrath’s my whole
life. That ain’t changing.” He smiled, revealing teeth yellowed
from age and tobacco. “Donna always tells me I’m too old to
change, anyway.”
Kaeden
chuckled. “Maybe so.”
It
was almost five o’clock, so Kaeden went back inside the store and
locked the register and turned out the lights. He didn’t bother to
run the receipts total. There hadn’t been much, anyway. With a
Wal-Mart twenty miles away, most people did their shopping there.
Kaeden
locked the door behind him and walked the block down to the pub. His
high school buddy, Jon Barkley, stood behind the bar, and waved as he
walked in.
“Hey,
Kaed, how’s it going?”
“It’s
going.” He pulled out a stool and sat down. “Glad the day’s
over, though.”
Jon
laughed. “And mine’s just started.” He selected a glass from
underneath the bar. “Your usual?”
Kaeden
nodded. His ‘usual’ was an IPA from one of Des Moines’ craft
breweries, which, thankfully, Hap’s always had on draft. Kaeden
knew that was the result of Jon finally taking over the pub from his
old man. “Thanks,” he said, taking a drink from the glass Jon set
in front of him. “This hits the spot.” He reached over and
grabbed a handful of peanuts from the bowl on the counter. “Anything
new around here?” If there was gossip in Mill’s River, the
patrons at the bar would’ve surely filled Jon in.
“Yeah.
You won’t believe who’s back in town.” Jon leaned forward,
resting a hand on the bar. “Melanie Holister.”
“What?”
Kaeden let out a dry laugh. “You mean hell froze over after all?
Little Miss Hoity Toity decided to bless Mill’s River with her
presence again?”
“It
seems so.” Jon shrugged. “Don’t know the deets, just heard from
one of my three o’clock regulars that works with her dad, said she
was coming into town this afternoon.” Another customer came in, and
Jon served him, before making his way back to where Kaeden sat. “You
should look her up.”
Kaeden
took a long drag of his beer, enjoying the hoppy goodness. “And why
would I want do that?”
“Because
Melanie’s hot, and she always seemed to have a thing for you,”
Jon said.
Kaeden
couldn’t deny it, but that didn’t mean he planned on going down
that road. “Hot, yes, but a little too pretentious for my taste.
Besides, doesn’t she live in New York now? Some big shot attorney?”
He shook his head. “No way. I doubt she’s here for long, anyway.”
After all, she couldn’t get away fast enough a dozen years ago.”
“Yeah,
probably not.” Jon refilled the bowl of peanuts. “Next subject.
Mom wants to know if you’ll help with the Christmas pageant again
this year. You’re in, right?”
Kaeden
let out a sigh. He didn’t particularly want to get roped into doing
the pageant again, but he didn’t know how to say no, either. Maybe
that was his problem. He was too damn nice. No wonder he was still
single. Girls seemed to like edgier guys these days. Well, that and
everyone wanted to leave Mill’s River. Everyone, that is, except
Kaeden. “I suppose. I mean, I do it every year, right?”
Jon
grinned. “Yep. That’s why Mom knows she can always count on you.”
Yeah,
that’s me. Good old reliable Kaeden. He
drained his glass and set it on the counter.
“Want
another?” Jon asked.
Kaeden
shook his head. “No, thanks. I’ve got to swing by my folks’
house, check on my dad, then get home and let Spike out.” He stood
and fished his wallet from his back pocket, and tossed a five on the
bar. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jon.”
“Yeah,
see ya, buddy. Same time, same place.”
Kaeden
laughed as he headed to the door. That was the thing about Mill’s
River. It never changed. So why the hell had someone who claimed to
hate the town come back? Well, it didn’t matter. Kaeden would be
busy with the store and the pageant. He’d never have to cross paths
with Melanie Holister, and that would suit him fine. He didn’t have
time for anyone who thought they were too good for Mill’s River.
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Michele
Shriver
is a National and International best-selling author of women’s
fiction and contemporary romance. Her books feature
flawed-but-likeable characters in real-life settings. She’s not
afraid to break the rules, but never stops believing in happily ever
after. Michele counts among her favorite things a good glass of wine,
a hockey game, and a sweet and sexy book boyfriend, not necessarily
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Nice sweet Christmas story! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat first chapter! Love the last few lines :)
ReplyDelete