Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber Page B

excuse?” he asked.
    Emily didn’t know how to answer or even if she should. “Do you have to go back to New York?”
    â€œAt the moment I can’t think of a single compelling reason.”
    â€œWould you be interested in staying in Boston for Christmas? With me?” Normally she wasn’t this direct, but she had little to lose and so much to gain.
    â€œI can’t imagine anyone I’d rather spend Christmas with.”

F OURTEEN
    O n a mission now, Faith walked down Main Street in Leavenworth and headed for her favorite grocery. Even after a number of years away, she was astonished by the number of people who remembered her. Five years earlier, she’d done her student teaching in Leavenworth and worked in Emily’s classroom.
    Newly divorced, emotionally fragile and struggling to pick up the pieces of her life, she’d come to this out-of-the-way community. The town had welcomed her, and with Emily as her friend, she’d learned that life does continue.
    The three months she’d spent with Emily had been like a reprieve for Faith, providing a much-needed escape from her badly bungled life. Once her student teaching was completed, she’d moved back to Seattle and soon afterward graduated with her master’s degree in education. Diploma in hand, she’d gone to California to be closer to family.
    Although she’d moved away from Leavenworth, Faith had stayed in contact with Emily. Their friendship had continuedto grow, despite the physical distance between them and the difference in their ages. In fact, Faith felt she could talk to Emily in ways she couldn’t talk to her mother. They were colleagues, but not only that, they’d both experienced the loss of a marriage, albeit for very different reasons and in very different ways.
    They made a point of getting together every summer. Usually they met in Seattle or California. The long-distance aspect of the relationship hadn’t been a hindrance.
    Faith’s family and friends were important to her; romance, though, was another matter. She was rather frightened of it. Her marriage had burned her and while she’d like to be settled and married with children, that didn’t seem likely now.
    As she walked through town, Faith waved at people she recognized. Some immediately waved back; one woman stopped and stared as if she had yet to place her. The living Nativity wasn’t scheduled until the afternoon, so she was safe from the goat Charles had mentioned. She’d figured out that the infamous Clara Belle—she remembered Emily’s hilarious story about a farm visit with her kindergarten class—had to be the goat in question.
    Thinking of Charles made her smile. He was an interesting character. If he hadn’t already told her, she would’ve guessed he was an academic. He fit the stereotype of the absentminded professor perfectly—a researcher who became so absorbed in his work, he needed someone to tell him when and where he needed to be.
    He did have a heart, though. Otherwise she’d probably be hitchhiking back to California by now. As long as she made herself invisible, they would manage.
    Once inside the store, she got a grocery cart and wandered aimlessly down the aisle, seeking inspiration for dinner. She decided on baked green peppers stuffed with a rice, tomatosoup and ground beef mixture. The recipe was her mother’s but Faith rarely made it. Cooking for one was a chore and it was often easier to pick up something on the way home from school. Fresh cranberries were on sale, so she grabbed a pack age of those, although she hadn’t decided what to do with them. It seemed a Christmassy thing to buy. She’d find a use for them later.
    She’d come up with menus for the rest of the week this afternoon, and write a more complete grocery list then.
    On the walk home, Faith discovered the Kennedy kids and about half the town’s children sledding down the