Christmas In Silver Bell Falls by Samantha Chase Page B

going to have to tell him exactly how she felt.
    And one day soon, she was going to have to figure out how it was she was supposed to say goodbye.
    ****
    This was the time of year Josiah loved most of all.  He loved the festivals, the parades and the overall excitement that seemed to be everywhere.  But this was the first year he was feeling some of that excitement for himself.  John Harper had been extremely helpful in giving him ideas to possibly warm Melanie up towards Christmas and he was having a hard time patiently waiting to find out for himself. 
    He had a lot of responsibilities right now, more so than usual.  His days were longer and as much as he was enjoying it all, there was a sense of annoyance because it was keeping him away from Melanie more and more. 
    Silver Bell’s official Christmas parade was this upcoming weekend and Josiah had been casually dropping hints that he wanted Melanie to go.  So far she had yet to offer and he wasn’t sure what he could do other than handcuff her and put her in the back of his cruiser.
    The image brought a smile to his face and he made a mental note to see how she felt about handcuffs in other scenarios.
    Pushing that sexy thought aside, Josiah did his best to go over his checklist for his staff regarding their parade responsibilities.  The weather forecast showed it was going to be cold—but that was the norm—and a chance of flurries.  The snow always made people a little more excitable than usual and he almost hoped the weather would hold off until the end of the parade.
    Next he drove the parade route and saw that all of the businesses along it had already decorated and that the sidewalks were cleared and ready for spectators.  Afterwards, he went to the high school and gave his annual speech to the students and faculty who would be participating in the parade to go over their schedule and rules of conduct. 
    By the time he was back at his office, he was mentally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to be at home with Melanie in front of a fire.  Hmmm…he thought.  Maybe he’d pick up the ingredients for s’mores and they could make them in front of the living room fire.  And that’s when yet another image of Melanie popped into his mind.  In this one he was licking chocolate from her lips and sweet marshmallow from her fingers.
    He groaned.  If he didn’t stop fantasizing about her like this while at work, people were going to notice.  When his phone rang, he was grateful for the distraction.  “Sheriff’s office,” he said as he answered the phone.
    “You’d think with such a lofty position you’d have a secretary answering the phone for you,” came his brother Mark’s taunt.
    Josiah laughed.  “Not all of us are prima donnas,” he said.  “What’s going on?  Aren’t you supposed to be doing something tech-related to make the world a better place right about now?”
    “Ha, ha, very funny,” Mark said.  “I wanted to call and see if you were still set on staying put in Silver Bell for Christmas.  Lisa wanted me to ask because she’s trying to finalize her menu.  She and Kelly are splitting cooking responsibilities this year.”
    “Yeah, I’m staying put this year.”
    “You got roped into working?  You know you’re the boss, right?  You can demand someone else cover the time,” Mark said with his authoritive big-brother tone.
    “No it’s not that,” he began awkwardly.  “It’s…well…I…”
    “Oh for the love of it, Josiah, just spit it out!  If you don’t want to come, you can just say it.  I’m not going to hold it against you or anything.  I know it’s a bit chaotic with all the kids and whatnot.  I completely understand.”
    “I met someone,” he blurted out.
    Mark was silent for a minute.
    “Mark?  You still there?”
    “I am,” he said, his voice a little thoughtful.  “So…who is she?  A local girl?”
    Josiah told him all about Melanie and her connection to Silver Bell.