Olivia wanted to be the one to tell Noah what had happened. He was working at the Christmas tree lot today, so there was a good chance he’d run into Charlie when Charlie got off work. And if he heard it first from Charlie, she couldn’t control the story. So as soon as she’d finished […]

Olivia didn’t have service on her cell phone in the parking lot or for most of the drive home. So if Bret was furiously trying to call her, it didn’t matter. But she didn’t care. Olivia could hardly believe she’d just done that. She’d just quit Keegan’s. Was she insane? Not that it mattered, because […]

A few hours later, Olivia walked in the front door of Keegan’s Pub. It was freezing outside, and the dining room didn’t feel much warmer as she walked in. Hugh and Charlie were sitting in a booth in the empty room and as they turned to her, her stomach sank at their expressions. “What now?” […]

Noah had planned to go straight up to his own apartment when he got home a little while later. But as he was walking in, Olivia’s front door opened and Andrew walked out. Noah stopped short, but apparently still caught Andrew off guard as he turned around and jumped. “Sorry,” Noah said, stepping back toward […]

“Noah? Hey, Noah.” Someone was calling him from somewhere over the ocean winds. Noah groaned and put a hand to his face to shield his eyes from the sudden light that was flooding into them. As he lifted his head, things weren’t quite right and it took a moment for his sluggish, waking brain to […]

Cleo was home for the first time in three nights, so she’d figured that she and Edie would maybe go on a nice date or have some quiet time at home. However, Edie had sheepishly mentioned that they were having that band meeting when Cleo got home. The guys had shown up about ten minutes […]

Roman woke up the next morning sure that the House of Pizza had burned down in the night. Celine had gone into work earlier than he had, letting him sleep in a little after last night’s late shift. He got up and glanced at the clock. Seven-thirty. Time to start the day. Celine’s nightmares about […]

Andrew wasn’t sure that they should have so many candles burning while the store was open. Sure, the ornate glass barriers Iris had set up protected them enough. But it still seems unsafe to have fire all over the store with the number of Christmas shoppers they had today. He’d decided to stay at his […]

Cleo wasn’t sure what she’d expected to happen once her mother was back home. Sure, Tara Stevenson was a godsend, staying with her mother for some overnights and when Cleo was working. And Tara’s sister, who her mother apparently also knew, had been able to help for a couple of days while she’d been in […]

By the time Roman closed up New Winslow House of Pizza for the night, there hadn’t been any customers for at least an hour. Not that he was surprised by this. The temperature had dipped well under zero over the past few hours. The picture windows in the front of the shop were frosted over, […]