Page 19 of One Chance to Stay (Bears of Firefly Valley #4)

“Let me get your bags.” I stood in the doorway, confused by the unfamiliar faces. Evelyn gestured for me to come inside. “Come or go, but shut the door. Stop heating the whole town.”

I shimmied my way past the luggage, shutting the door. I didn’t recognize visitors, but if they were staying at Valhalla, I had to assume they were from out of town.

“Nice to meet you.” The woman’s pink sweater would make it impossible to lose her in a snowstorm. The matching hat completed the outfit. But it was the smile that stood out. Based on the laugh lines, this might be her default state. She quickly took my hand, shaking it.

“I’m Paula, and this is Ben.”

He provided a firm grip, almost tight enough that he might be overcompensating. Like his wife, his smile remained a permanent fixture. It became infectious, and I found myself smiling as Evelyn hoisted a suitcase over her back.

“They’re here for the wedding.”

“Wedding?”

Evelyn’s eyes rolled back. “You know, for the bachelor party you worked at?”

“We decided to make a vacation of it.” Paula sounded as if she had been built around a bundle of excitement. “It’s the first time we’re all together since Jackson went off to college. And Walter, he’s a peach.”

Peach? It wasn’t the first word that came to mind. Goof, maybe. A chaotic force of laughter? I had flashes of doing shots with him as he told stories of the war. Thinking about it made my head ache.

“Will we see you at the wedding?”

Evelyn answered for me. “Of course. Everybody in Firefly will be there.”

“But my stay?—”

Evelyn jabbed me, a perfectly executed attack between ribs. Jon had my sympathies. “We’ll talk about extending your stay later.” She leaned close to my ear. “When you agree to do me a favor.”

I’m sure work would give me a few more days.

Missing tips and paying for extra days in Valhalla?

I’d have to look at my bank account before I decided.

When I caught her mouthing, “Please,” I felt we’d be able to strike a deal.

If anything, it gave me more time to charm the pants off a certain man. Figuratively speaking… mostly.

“Let me show you to your suite on the third floor.” She climbed halfway up the stairs. “Patrick, would you mind entertaining Jackson? I’m almost done prepping his room.”

Had I become an employee? I demanded a bellhop uniform. If I had learned anything in Firefly, it’s that the community is what made this town work. “For you?” I made a heart over my chest. “Anything.”

As she dragged suitcases upstairs, I turned my attention to the young gentleman sitting in the living room. He had his nose buried in his phone, his eyes glued to a video.

“Jackson?” He glanced up, tucking away his phone. He had manners. Bravo to his parents. “Welcome to Firefly? First time here?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m told we visited when I was real young.”

“How do your parents know Walter?” It was the nicest way to ask why they weren’t like every other person at the bachelor party.

“My grandfather served with him.” A-ha. That made sense. “They kept in touch. I think he’s my mom’s godfather or something.”

I sat down on the couch facing the young man. UMASS covered the chest of his gray hoodie. In New England, everybody had a piece of clothing with the University of Massachusetts logo. It at least gave me something to launch into the usual bar small talk.

“UMass, huh? How are you liking it?”

“It’s good.”

“What are you studying?”

“Biology. But it’s my first year, so I have to take all the gen-ed courses.”

“I hated that. My psychology class was in one of those huge lecture halls. I don’t think I talked to the professor once.”

“Same. The introduction to biology course only had about fifty people in it. I hear they get a lot smaller in the second semester.”

“Wait till senior year.” I laughed. “You’ll be lucky if you have more than a dozen people. We used to have study group sessions at the professor’s house.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s weird.”

“Now that I said it out loud, yes, it is. I went to school in Bangor. The professor lived down the street from me. I grew up with his daughter. Very different world going to school in Maine.”

“Yeah, that’s why I left. We live in Naples and…” He shrugged.

“You needed to get out. I get it. Someday you’ll think about coming back.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Just wait.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “Once a Mainer?—”

“Always a Mainer,” he finished. “So, Mom keeps telling me.”

“What’s the goal after school?”

The teen shrugged. It could mean anything from “I don’t know” to “Are we really talking about this?” Of course, I refused to let it go. It might have had something to do with my inner dialogue about the future.

“Doctor? Research? Teaching?”

“I think research… maybe. I love biology and chemistry, so maybe something with those? My parents are getting annoyed that I haven’t figured it out.”

I knew that voice. The weight of it. It sounded a lot like mine, just twenty years younger. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Jackson’s eyebrow crept up his forehead. I waved my hands, so he knew I wasn’t laughing at him. “I’m approaching forty and I don’t have it figured out.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a bartender.”

“That’s cool.”

“It was.”

“What’s next?”

I mirrored his earlier shrug. “That’s a great question. I’m still figuring out the answer.”

“I have the rest of my life to figure it out, you know?” Not only did I know, I had reached the point where I needed to answer the question. He had time to experiment and make mistakes. He’d figure it out, and if he didn’t, it wasn’t the end of the?—

“Whoa.” My advice had lifted a boulder that had been holding me in place.

“Whoa?”

“Do what makes you happy. If it’s not right for you, there’s always the next thing.

” I sat taller as the weight lifted from my shoulders.

I had been drowning as I thought the next decision had to be the right one.

Without the absolutism of it, I could experiment.

If I got it wrong, there’d be the next time.

“Jackson,” Evelyn shouted from the top floor. “Your room is ready!”

He got up and gave a little wave. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

“It’s Firefly. Of course we will.”

He paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Thanks.”

“Same,” I said. The valve had turned, relieving the pressure, pressure I had been putting on myself. Like Jackson, I didn’t have to make the right choice. I just had to choose. An adventure awaited me, and there were dozens of things I could move toward that would give me a sense of fulfillment.

“Too many things,” I mumbled. But that was a problem for another time. Right now, I needed to text Seamus and put our plans in writing. Eventually, I’d drag him out of his house, but right now, I wanted him to feel comfortable with me… with us.