The scent of cardboard was overpowering, and Memory was ready to get out of the stock room. She felt like she’d spent the last two days in there—opening boxes and repackaging ornaments to ship out. When the order had come in Saturday afternoon, she’d been thrilled. The handmade ornaments she’d purchased from a local crafter almost two years ago had been taking up space in the storage room for far too long, and now, they’d be decorating a tree in Buffalo that had lost a lot of ornaments in a recent snow storm. Still, she’d be happy when she was done boxing everything up so she could get the ornaments in the mail and get back to enjoying the season.The sound of the bell on the front door let her know her first customer of the morning had arrived—at least, that’s what she was assuming from her view of cardboard and bubble wrap. While part of her was glad to be leaving the cramped work space for a few minutes,

She knew she wouldn’t have too much time to get ready, so she’d laid out her outfit the night before. Layers were the key to keeping warm, and she’d be wearing plenty of them. She wore thick leggings under her jeans, two pairs of socks and snow boots, and layered her shirts. Deciding she’d get too hot inside if she went ahead and put her thick red sweater on, she touched up her makeup, switched her earrings, and sprayed a little of the vanilla scented perfume she’d gotten for Christmas last year behind her ears. Satisfied that she looked presentable, Memory headed to the kitchen.Her dad was still singing as he stirred a pot on the stove. The aroma of chicken soup made Memory feel all warm inside. “Hey, Dad. How was your day?”“Any time my boss says go home it’s snowing, it’s been a good day.” Bryce chuckled. “How was yours?”“Good.&rdq

“Can we please not talk about the donation?” Dak asked.“Oh, yeah.” She shrugged and took a step back, like it wasn’t a big deal, like she wasn’t about to ask if that number was accurate. The fact that he hadn’t corrected Kirsten or denied it made her realize it had to be. While it was easy to imagine what Kim could do with that much money, Memory let herself think for a few moments about what it would be like to have it herself. She could fix the roof on her grandma’s house and do all of the other repairs, hire someone to work in the shop with her so she could concentrate on the website, and even afford to send her dad and the rest of the family on a nice trip. Not to mention new tires for her car....“Are you okay, Mem?”She realized she was staring at nothing and blinked a few times. “Great—yeah, I’m fine.” She found a reassuring smi

Finding a parking spot in one of the public lots at 5:45 on the night of the parade was impossible, so Dak had parked along a side street several blocks from the square. He was in such a rush to get there before the parade started, he almost locked his keys in his car. With them safely tucked in his pocket, he hurried down the sidewalk, along with a crowd of other people who were running late and had to park far away. He hoped to find Memory and her family before the grand marshal reached the square. Off in the distance, he could hear a marching band and knew he was almost out of time.All four sides of the square were lined with people pressed together to get a good view, as was the route approaching the square for several blocks, where the parade would pass first. He imagined the side where they would exit was also busy. Dak took a deep breath, glad he’d made it this far before the event started. He could see a red convertible in the distance slo

Kirsten and Maison’s house was nice, though she apologized several times for the mess of toys strung throughout. It was understandable, since she had two small kids, and part of Dak was a little jealous. Having a messy home because one had children was a blessing.Bryce, Sheila, and Ellie made their way in, Ellie delivering Memory her missing items from work, and they all sat down to a meal of beef stew and buttered bread with sweet tea and cookies for dessert. The stew was delicious, which was surprising considering how everyone in Memory’s family said they couldn’t cook, and he appreciated Memory’s thoughtfulness when she brought him water to replace his tea since all Kirsten had on hand was sweetened already. The conversation was light, peppered by Lorelei’s laughter and Anson throwing carrot bits and green beans on the floor and smashing them in his hair.Dak helped clear the table. “I don’t