A Family's Christmas - Carolyne Aarsen Page 0,1
of the scribbles in her notebook, the long, slow looks across the gymnasium, and kisses that still haunted her.
Logan of the Across the River Carletons of whom her father couldn’t speak without risking a coronary. Which, in turn, had given the broodingly handsome Logan an additional forbidden appeal.
An appeal that only grew when they secretly started dating.
He still had it, she thought as she met eyes Sarah thought held no sway over her anymore. But old emotions flickered deep within her and the eight years she’d been gone slipped away as easily as a young girl’s tears.
Eight years ago all he’d had to do was send her that crooked smile across the cab of his truck and her heart would do the same slow turn it just had.
Sarah put the brakes on those silly, schoolgirl thoughts. She was older now. Wiser. Harder. She had left Millars Crossing with tears in her eyes and an unbearable ache in her heart because of this man. Despite dates, a few boyfriends here and there, just seeing him brought up feelings she thought she had reconciled into her past.
And then his mouth lifted in a faintly cynical smile negating the connection.
“Sarah Westerveld. So you’ve come back home.” The tone in his voice was cooler than the freezing air.
“Hello, Logan,” she said quietly. In a town as small as Millars Crossing, this first meeting was inevitable. She just hadn’t counted on it being five minutes after her arrival.
“You remembered who I am.” He lifted one eyebrow. “I’m surprised.”
His tone cut. But life and time away from Millars Crossing had changed her. She wasn’t the girl who longed for his approval. Needed his smile.
“I was sorry to hear about your father’s death.” She had stayed in touch with her friends and family here, so she knew.
Logan’s eyes narrowed and for a moment she thought she had crossed an unseen line.
“Me too,” he said, his voice growing soft as if remembering the man Sarah knew he cared for so much. “He had a hard life.”
“That he did.” And Sarah knew part of the blame for that difficulty could be laid at her father’s door.
Nine years ago, Jack Carleton had been falsely accused of cheating his business partner. The information had scandalized the community and, even though Jack had been exonerated, the verdict hadn’t stopped Frank, Sarah’s father, from canceling his businesses’ gravel-crushing contract with Jack. This in turn created the animosity between Frank and Jack that Sarah couldn’t completely understand.
“I heard you took over your father’s gravel business,” Sarah continued, determined to act as if meeting Logan was no different than meeting any other high school acquaintance. She had a hard time looking at him, so she focused on the top button of his jacket. “How is that going for you?”
“It’s going good and hopefully things turn around this year.”
Sarah couldn’t stop her gaze from slipping up to his, then regretted the impulse.
“So how long are you around for this time?” he continued.
“I’m here to visit my father. Catch up with my relatives before I start my job out east.”
He nodded. “Teaching, I imagine?”
“And coaching basketball.”
“Right. That makes sense.” He held her gaze a heartbeat longer, and to her dismay the old attraction niggled in the back of her mind. “Well, hope you enjoy your time here.”
His casual tone shouldn’t hurt. But as he walked away, she caught herself wondering if he ever missed her as much as she had missed him.
As Sarah watched him, his hands tucked in the pocket of his canvas coat, his whole demeanor one of a man in charge of his world, she felt her heart twist with pain. Logan had always had a strong self-confidence, which had served him well amid the whispers and innuendos during his father’s trial.
It was that self-assurance to which Sarah had been drawn. Unfortunately, Sarah had not possessed the same confidence while they were dating; she had insisted they keep their relationship secret. And they had. For the entire year. And then her father, who had never disguised his active dislike for the Carleton family, found out.
Sarah pushed open the door to the shop, shivering in the warmth and letting the welcoming scent of ground coffee beans draw her back to the present. She wasn’t here to reminisce over old flames. She had a job to do, plain and simple.
As the door sighed closed behind her, she drew in a slow breath, willing her heart to stop its erratic beating.
“Sarah. You’re here!” A high-pitched squeal pierced