Holiday in Your Heart by Susan Fox

Kahlúa.”
    â€œOoh, yum!” Cassidy said promptly. “Grand Marnier for me, please.”
    Sally said, “Better not, since I’m driving.”
    â€œMe, too,” Jess said regretfully. “Though I do love Baileys.”
    â€œGo ahead,” Brooke, who’d also come with Jess, said. “I’ll drive us home.” She and her husband and little girl lived down the road from Jess’s family.
    â€œBest mother-in-law in the world,” Jess said. “Yes please to a Baileys, MB.”
    â€œLark?” Maribeth asked, beginning to gather the empty plates.
    â€œThanks, but I can’t. I’m on call tonight.” Although the fire chief worked regular weekday hours, she and the other firefighters were on call most evenings and weekends.
    Brooke had risen and was collecting the mugs. The two women went into the kitchen where Maribeth put the kettle on to boil and set the coffeemaker to brew another pot.
    After glancing around to make sure the others were still in the front room, Maribeth said, “Brooke, there’s something I need to ask you.”
    The blonde leaned a hip against the kitchen table. “Yes, I told Evan and Jess.” She sounded weary. “Evan said he didn’t want to see Mo. Ever.”
    â€œOh God. I’d hoped—”
    Brooke held up a hand, stopping her. “When Evan first came back to Caribou Crossing, he refused to see me. Jess tried to talk him into it, but he was adamant. Eventually he changed his mind, thank God.”
    Maribeth, standing by the coffeemaker, nodded.
    â€œMo says he’s a changed man,” Brooke went on, “and I find myself believing him. If I could change so drastically, why couldn’t he? Maribeth, I want to believe him, but how can I know for sure? How can I know he’s trustworthy? For me personally, it’s not such a big deal. I have a whole wonderful life now, with the best family in the world. Mo has no power over me.”
    Her face tightened and her blue-green eyes, normally so gentle and warm, glittered. “But I don’t think the same is true for Evan. Mo is still his father. Even though Evan is close to Wade Bly, a father-in-law isn’t the same thing. Mo is the dad who hurt him and abandoned him. So when Evan says he doesn’t want to see Mo, I’m not so sure he’s wrong.”
    Maribeth’s heart ached for all of them, yet to her the path seemed so obvious. “Evan had similar issues with you, but I know he’s so happy that the two of you reconciled.”
    A tired smile warmed Brooke’s face. “Yes, he really is. But this thing with his father needs to be Evan’s decision. Or at least I want it to be. I hope Mo will respect that. If he forces a meeting, it could go badly.”
    Maribeth chewed her bottom lip. “They might run into each other by chance. I mean, if Mo stays.” If Evan remained adamant, would Mo leave town?
    â€œI know.”
    Their gazes held for a long moment. Then Maribeth said slowly, “There was actually something else I wanted to talk to you about.” It was a difficult subject to raise. Was she absolutely sure she wanted to see more of Mo, given all the complications surrounding him?
    Yes, because of that click, the feeling of a true connection with him. She’d never felt that before, so how could she not explore it? At least if it wouldn’t upset Brooke. “Do you still have feelings for Mo?”
    Brooke’s fair eyebrows arched. “You’re kidding, right? I love Jake. Totally, exclusively, madly.”
    â€œI know.” And how Maribeth longed to love and be loved exactly that way. Could Mo be the one? “It’s just . . . Well, how would you feel if someone went out with Mo?” She swallowed. What a coward she was. “If I went out with Mo?”
    Brooke’s brows went even higher. “You? You and Mo?”
    â€œIs it so unbelievable?”
    â€œI