Welcome to Snippet Saturday! Each Saturday, I’ll pick a theme and then pick a part from one of my books or one of my works-in-progress that I think fits. I hope that once I get back into the swing of this (I’d forgotten how long it takes to find just the right snippet) that I’ll be able to find some authors to participate on their blogs, too.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself thinking of years gone by when the holidays come around sometimes more than any other time of year. Maybe because there’s so much emphasis put on family and friends and time together and making memories that will last forever. I have some of those around the holidays, but not as many.

Today’s snippet is from The Billionaire of Gumdrop Valley. (And yes, I know billionaires are kinda on the naughty list, so forgive me for using this one)…

The way she looked at him, an adult version of the adoring teenage girl she used to be… “Are you okay?”

“I am.” He wasn’t sure that was the truth. He wasn’t sure he was okay or anything resembling it.

“It must be strange being back here after so long.”

He looked around. They’d made it to the town square, the twin of the one located in Gingerbread Hollow. His family had helped build them long before he was born when the towns were founded. He felt like a stranger and a familiar all at the same time.

“My parents would spend Saturday evenings sitting on the bench at the edge of the square.” He started walking toward it, crossing the deserted street, his heart heavy, his gaze taking in the Christmas tree set just to the side of the gazebo, both of which were light brightly. “They’d have dinner at the diner. My father would order cherry pie the entire month of December. He said it was Christmas and the red sweetness was appropriate. My mother would take hot chocolate around town for everyone, at work or at home, and double batches to the relief centers here and in Gingerbread Hollow.”

“I know. She would ask my grandmother to make it for her.”

“Your grandmother? I didn’t know that. I thought it was Pearl’s recipe.” He sat on the bench his parents used to sit on. Snow still fell in steady flakes and while his mind knew how cold it was, his body no longer registered it. He was lost in the memories he hadn’t let himself remember. “Do you remember my parents? It used to be hard for me to think about them or to remember.”

“I do. Your mom always bought every cookie or chocolate bar or tube of wrapping paper from all the fundraisers we had in school. She was the biggest reason we met our goals every year. And your dad… I remember the cherry pie fixation he had. I worked part-time at the diner during the festival.”

“Were you sculpting snow then, too?”

“No. I wasn’t interested until just a few years ago. Another ex.”

He didn’t like that she had ex’s. That wasn’t a fair thought, and he knew it. She’d gone on with her life, the same as he’d gone about rebuilding his, but he still didn’t like it.

And he didn’t want to be an ex.

She hadn’t sat beside him on the bench, and he hadn’t invited her to. He had a feeling she knew it was a sacred moment for him, a sort of private one. “I wasn’t sure how I would feel sitting in the place they sat. It was a Saturday night the last time I saw them. They were right here. I was off to a Christmas party with friends, and they were laughing and talking to people that walked by.”

“They loved each other very much, didn’t they?”

“Yes. They loved me just as much.”

“I can’t imagine what that was like, what it must’ve felt like to have your whole world fall apart. At Christmas. I remember that party you’re talking about. You were with a girl. I can’t remember her name.”

“What did you think of me?”

“I didn’t really know you except through my brother and through gossip at school.”

“But you had an opinion of your own, didn’t you? I was at your house a lot.” He didn’t know why he was pressing her for an answer, but he wanted it. He wanted to know what this woman, the one who ran an inn and served his father cherry pie, the one who liked to build things in the snow thought about him.

And he wanted to know it, right then and there, in the middle of downtown Gumdrop Valley, their hometown, with snow blowing all around them, and being the only two crazy people out in it.

“The truth?” She fidgeted and shifted her weight and looked everywhere except at him, but then she got still and stared at him. “I had the biggest crush. I was always secretly excited when you’d spend time at our house with Frankie or would come over for dinner. I tried not to get in the way, but just like every other girl in school, I liked you.”

“But…?”

“Then you changed.” Her words hit him right in the gut. He’d already known but hearing the words didn’t make it easier.

“And what did you see then?”

“What everyone saw, I guess. Sadness.”

“Is that all?” Still, he pushed, and her uncertainty and discomfort could be felt across the few feet separating them.

“I’m sorry. I wish I knew how to answer, to tell you what you want to hear.” After a few seconds… “Would you like to walk back?”

“No. I think I’m going to stay here for a while longer.”

“Would you like me to stay with you?”

“No.”

“We didn’t bring the hot cocoa. Would you like me to go get you some so you can stay warm?”

“Thank you, Ginger, but no. You should head back to the inn so you can get warm.”

“Are you sure? Cane, I…”

“I’m sure.”

He’d closed her out and he didn’t know why he’d done that any more than he knew why he’d been seeking answers that she didn’t have. He watched her walk away until the snow swallowed her behind its white veil, leaving him alone the way he had been for years and the way he didn’t want to be any longer.

See you next week!