Page 17 of A Perfect Christmas Dance (Kringle, Texas #7)

The barn pulsed with life, transformed from its usual rustic state into a festive wonderland. Garlands of fresh pine and holly adorned the weathered beams, their scent mingling with the aroma of cinnamon and spiced cider. Twinkling lights cascaded from the rafters, illuminating the gathered crowd.

His parents would have loved this!

Pride stoked his already happy mood. His knee, stabilized in a brace, was healing, and he’d traded in the crutches for a cane. He hadn’t required a pain pill all day. He was running on adrenaline and excitement.

Ryan greeted guests as they arrived, shaking hands, accepting hugs, and fielding compliments about the festivities. He pointed people to the coat check and open bar. On the makeshift stage Scott had erected at the back of the barn, a local band was setting up.

Between the arriving invitees, he searched for Nina and found her arranging a tower of cupcakes at the dessert table. She wore a jade-green sweater that complemented her dark, glossy hair, which fell in soft waves around her shoulders.

She glanced up, met his gaze, and gave a soft smile.

For a second, it was just the two of them, and no one else in the barn existed. Nina wriggled her fingers, and his heart jumped.

He started toward her, compelled to be near Nina, but a group of new arrivals commanded his attention. When he looked up again, she was gone.

The band tuned up. Grown-ups chattered. Children darted between the adults, giggling as they played an impromptu game of tag.

In one corner, Garrett Ellis sat with Jean Deerling and a group of elders, sharing stories of Christmases past. Near the punch bowl, a cluster of teens giggled and shot shy glances at each other.

Mistletoe hung above the doorframes and dangled from the ceiling fans. Poinsettias brought a bright flourish of red to the proceedings, tugging at Ryan’s memories. His mother had loved the Christmas flowers.

He ambled to the refreshment table where a couple of his high school buddies and their wives filled their plates. He talked with them for a few minutes, playing the dutiful host as his eyes scanned the room for Nina.

She’d been so busy they’d barely spoken over the last few days. He wanted to find her and tell her just how much he appreciated her. He poured himself a cup of hot apple cider and surveyed the crowd, his gaze landing on familiar faces—friends, neighbors, people who had known him his entire life.

This is how he remembered Christmas. Even the way his parents created and curated it over the years, bringing the community together to share in the joy of the season. It meant so much—not only to the townsfolk but to him as well.

Ryan was so glad Nina hadn’t let him cancel. She was the real inspiration for this year’s event. Because of her, it had happened.

“Quite a turnout, huh?” Scott’s voice came from behind him.

Ryan turned to see his grinning brother-in-law. “Hey, man, thanks for your help.”

“Always.” Scott clamped him on the shoulder. “I was just FaceTiming with Jenny, showing off the party. She hates that she couldn’t be here, but she’s thrilled you’re keeping up the tradition. It means a lot to her.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Going stir-crazy on bed rest. Jenny’s already knitted three baby blankets. We’re gonna have the warmest kid in town.” Scott raised a hand in greeting to someone across the barn. “There’s a customer I need to speak with. Talk to you later.”

“Thanks again.”

Ryan caught another glimpse of Nina. She was talking to a cluster of local women, her head thrown back, laughing at something one of them had said.

His heart gave a tug. She’d come to mean so much to him in such a short amount of time, and he was so looking forward to taking their relationship deeper once the hustle and bustle of the holidays passed.

“Ryan! There you are!” Mrs. Claiborne’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Evening, Mrs. Claiborne. Thank you for coming. The party’s turning out pretty well, huh?” He smiled at her.

“Oh, it’s simply wonderful! Everyone’s having such a grand time. You’ve really outdone yourself this year,” she said.

He gestured toward his bum knee. “I couldn’t have pulled this off without Nina and help from the town.”

“That Nina is a peach, isn’t she?” Mrs. Claiborne’s smile faded. “It’ll be a lot quieter around here without her.”

“Wait. What?” Ryan shook his head. Had he misheard? Highly possible since the band was playing “Jingle Bells” just a wee bit too loud.

Mrs. Claiborne leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?” A surge of panic went through him. Was Nina okay?

Mrs. Claiborne gave him a sympathetic look. “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to blindside you. I just assumed you knew since you and Nina are so close these days.”

“Know what?” Suddenly, all the fantasies he’d been having of building a future with Nina vanished.

Mrs. Claiborne raised a hand. “I’m speaking out of turn. Freddie says I never know when to keep my mouth shut, and he’s right. Never mind me. I’m sure Nina will tell you about it after this hubbub dies down.”

“Tell me about what?”

The older woman looked distressed. “Please don’t say anything to Nina. I don’t want her to be cross with me.”

“Please, Mrs. Claiborne, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

The older woman looked downright miserable at having unintentionally caused him distress.

“Jean Deerling and I are good friends, and she was at the bakery last night helping Nina and Garrett get ready for the party when this city woman showed up and told Nina that she has one day to make up her mind about selling the bakery or her once-in-a-lifetime offer was going away.”

Nina was considering selling the bakery and she hadn’t said a word to him?

The ground seemed to shift beneath him. Sell the bakery?

The idea felt so foreign, so impossible.

How had she not mentioned this to him? It wasn’t just a business—Ellis Early Eats was her grandmother’s legacy.

The bakery was everything to her, just like the ranch was everything to him.

“She’s considering selling?” he asked, hoping Mrs. Claiborne would correct herself.

“Well, it’s a lot of money, Ryan,” Mrs. Claiborne said. “Nina’s a smart girl. I’m sure she’ll make the right choice, whatever that may be, but she’s always dreamed of traveling and seeing the world. I suppose an offer like that would give her the freedom to finally do it.”

Travel. He remembered their conversation the night she slept in his bed—the night when he broke down about his parents’ death—but he hadn’t thought she was serious.

“I see.” He paused. “Thanks for telling me, Mrs. Claiborne.”

“Please don’t tell Nina I spilled the beans. I’d hate for her to be cross with me.”

“I won’t say I heard it from you.”

“Thank you. Now, I’m just going in for a kolach.” She pressed past him to the buffet table. “It is a wonderful party, Ryan. Your parents would be so proud of you.”

He wasn’t listening to Mrs. Claiborne anymore. His gaze tracked across the barn until they found Nina again, still talking to the same group of women. She laughed at something one of them said, her smile as radiant as ever.

As if nothing had changed.

But everything had changed.

She didn’t tell him. She’d been thinking about leaving, and she hadn’t said a word.

The weight of that realization pressed down on him, making the room feel smaller, the air suddenly thinner.

Around him, the party continued—the chatter, the laughter, the music—but it all felt muffled, distant, as though he were standing on the outside looking in.

He watched as a child darted past, squealing in delight, nearly knocking over a tray of cookies.

The band struck up another holiday tune, the lively notes filling the space, but none of it reached him.

His world had narrowed to the ache in his chest and the question that wouldn’t stop circling his mind.

If she sold the bakery, was she leaving Kringle for good?

His knee throbbed, a dull pulse echoing the storm brewing inside him.

People passed by. Some of them clapped him on the shoulder or offered a smile, but Ryan barely registered their faces.

All the plans he’d started to make, the quiet hopes he’d dared to nurture, suddenly felt fragile—like ornaments on the edge of shattering.

Nina’s laughter cut through the din, but instead of drawing him in, it seemed to push him further away. The sight of her, standing there so effortlessly, made him feel… untethered. Like she was already slipping away, one foot already out the door.

A cold draft swept in through the barn doors, brushing past him, and Ryan shivered, though he wasn’t sure if it was from the chill or the realization sinking into his bones.

If this was what she wanted… if leaving was what would make her happy…

He swallowed hard.He couldn’t be the one to hold her back.

The party swirled around him, the barn alive with warmth and joy, but Ryan felt none of it. The music, the laughter, the twinkling lights—all of it seemed to blur at the edges like he was watching it through a fog.

And in that moment, surrounded by the people who had known him his whole life, Ryan had never felt more alone.

* * *

Holiday cheer filled the barn, but Nina’s mind was elsewhere. By midnight, Katherine Brothers’ offer would expire, and Nina had a serious choice to make. One that would alter the trajectory of her entire life.

That morning, a courier had arrived at Nina’s door with a proposal package from Katherine—a detailed plan for the bakery that changed everything. The compendium wasn’t just about the financial agreement for selling the bakery, but it was also a heartfelt tribute to Nina’s grandmother, Ellie.

In Katherine’s itemized strategy, the bakery would be renamed Ellie’s, and new signage featured a vintage photo of Ellie in the kitchen.

The logo took Nina’s breath away. It was how she remembered her grandmother—smiling and holding a tray of cookies, resplendent in her element.

The parcel included efforts for preserving Ellie’s traditional recipes and restoration plans in keeping with the town’s aesthetics, returning the bakery to its glory days.

It was sweet, it was sentimental, and it captured everything Kringle loved about the establishment.

And it moved Nina to tears.

Katherine understood what the bakery meant to the Ellis family, and that understanding made all the difference.

Before making a final decision, Nina had called her parents that morning, hoping for reassurance. She expected her father to feel conflicted, given that he had grown up in the bakery, but instead, his response was what she needed to hear.

“Nina,” her father said, “your grandmother would be so proud of what you’ve done, but you don’t have to keep holding on to the bakery just because it’s been in the family for so long.

You’ve already honored her legacy. This decision is yours, and whatever you choose, your mother and I are behind you. ”

Her parents’ support eased some of the weight on her shoulders. She adored the bakery, and it held many fond memories, but the financial burden that came with it overwhelmed her. She worked seventy or eighty hours a week to keep Ellis Early Eats afloat.

Katherine’s generous offer gave her a way to stay connected to her family’s legacy without being swamped by the pressures of ownership.

Nina would stay on to manage the bakery, but she would no longer be solely responsible for the business side.

She would hire help to come in at three in the morning while she achieved a more balanced life.

There was just one more person she needed to speak to—Gee.

She spotted her grandfather sitting with Jean, smiling and chatting with their friends from the senior citizen center.

Gee caught her eye and gave her a wink.

Nina went over. “Enjoying the party?”

Gee’s arm was around Jean’s shoulder, and it lightened Nina’s heart to see him so happy. It had been years since he’d smiled this much.

“Could I talk to you a sec?” she asked.

“Sure, sure.” He stood up and dropped a kiss on Jean’s upturned cheek. “Be back in a flash.” Then he turned to Nina.

“Let’s step outside,” she said. “So we don’t have to shout over the music.”

They stepped outside, the December air nipping at their cheeks. Above them, stars lit up the calm night sky. Nina wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the weight of her decision lift.

“I wanted to let you know I’ve decided to sell the bakery. I’m going to call Katherine in a few minutes and let her know.” Quickly, Nina told him about the new proposal Ms. Brothers had sent to her house.

“That sounds so wonderful,” Gee said, his eyes misting with tears. “The bakery will still honor your grandmother, but you’ll be free of the heavy burdens of running a business.”

“I talked to Dad and Mom earlier. Dad said he knows firsthand how hard it is to keep a small business going, and they support it. They’ll be here for New Year’s Eve as planned, and we can all say goodbye to the bakery as a family.”

Gee looked sad, but he nodded. “It’s time to let go of the past and embrace the future.”

Nina swallowed hard, feeling shaky with so much emotion.

“No regrets, kiddo,” Gee said and hugged her. “You’ve done more than anyone could have asked, Nina. You’ve honored your grandmother’s legacy in every way, but love doesn’t mean you have to hold on to something that’s hurting you. Your grandmother would want you to be happy.”

Tears pricked Nina’s eyes as she wiped at them. “I just didn’t want to feel like I was letting her down. Or you. Or Dad.”

Gee hugged her again. “You’re not letting anyone down. You’ve made us all proud. You’re passing the bakery on to someone who will carry it forward, and that’s a beautiful way to honor Ellie. You’re doing what’s right for you, and that’s what matters most.”

For the first time in years, a sense of peace settled over Nina.

Selling the bakery wasn’t abandoning her family’s legacy—it was ensuring that Ellie’s spirit would live on while giving herself the freedom she needed.

Katherine’s plan would keep the heart of the bakery alive, and Nina would be there to see it without the constant weight of financial responsibility.

Now, there was only one more person to tell.