Chapter 1

1

“So, been on any good dates lately?” Matt Furnell didn’t miss a beat as he shoveled potatoes onto his Thanksgiving dinner plate.

Sophie shot a pointed look at her brother.

Twenty-three on the outside and still thirteen on the inside.

She took a cleansing breath, smiled, and answered pleasantly. “Why, no, Matt, I haven’t. Unlike you, I’m holding out for a date with opposable thumbs.”

Unfazed, their parents exchanged glances and continued to eat.

Matt’s eyes crinkled. “Okay, but seriously…”

“A girl’s got to have standards.”

Matt’s eyebrows drew together. “Standards or roadblocks?”

Sophie decided to cut to the chase. “I’ve been busy.”

With a nod, Matt said, “That’s right. You’re focusing on your career.”

Sophie slowly blinked and said under her breath, “I would if I still had one.”

Their mother gave Matt an admonishing look. “It’s Thanksgiving. Let’s have a nice dinner.” She turned to her husband. “This deep-fried turkey is delicious!”

Now confused, Matt stared at Sophie. “What?”

Softly, she said, “I lost my job.”

His jaw fell open. “Oh, crap. I’m sorry. What happened?”

With that, her brother showed signs of maturing, which only made sense since he was two years older than Sophie. It was bound to happen sometime. He looked sincerely remorseful, so she said, “Forget it.”

“How? I thought you were doing so well.”

“I thought I was too. But the mayor defunded the police, and the 911 call center went with it. I mean, it’s still there, but I’m not. I guess I should’ve seen it coming the night I had to tell a woman help was not on the way. There was no one available. She’d just gotten home from the hospital, and her ex-boyfriend was pounding on her front door threatening to finish the job.” Sophie swallowed. “All I could think of to tell her was to call a friend or a neighbor.” Emotions threatened to overwhelm her, but she took a deep breath and pulled it together. “Anyway, last hired, first fired. I didn’t make the cut.”

“I’m sorry, Soph. Really.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.” And what it was sucked. But she tried to appear philosophical. She didn’t feel that way. She felt gutted and angry. But philosophical was a better look for her, especially now. She didn’t want to be a holiday buzzkill. But in truth, she resented the move. People had called because they needed help, and she’d given it to them. Her work had changed lives, sometimes saved them, and that gave her life purpose. Used to give her life purpose.

Now what?

Sophie’s father cleared his throat. “Yeah, that deep fryer is something else. Turkey comes out nice and moist.”

Her mother’s eyes widened. “And I love how it freed up the oven!”

Sophie ignored her brother while he wallowed in well-deserved guilt. A lifetime of competitive banter should have taught him how these things usually ended—with Matt one step over the line and Sophie with the thrill of victory and no one to share it with.

By the time the meal ended, they’d found their way back to normal, “normal” being a relative term. Then they moved on to the football portion of the day, where life was as it should be, at least for the time being. Tomorrow, Sophie would begin taking action to reassemble the pieces of her life. However, before the rebuilding could begin, she needed to finish tearing it down. No job meant no rent money, so she was due out of her apartment by the end of the month. At least she didn’t have a car payment. Instead, she had Old Faithful, which had been proving itself to be not quite so faithful of late. The poor old all-wheel-drive hatchback had one hundred twenty thousand miles on it. She only hoped it would get her to her next job before it wheezed and sputtered its last carbon monoxide fumes into the ozone.

She was packing up books when the phone rang. “Grandma Kate! Hi! How are you?”

“I’m fine. I’m enjoying the lanai while I catch up on some reading. How are you?”

Sophie looked around at the stacks of boxes filling her apartment. “I’m great.”

“No, you’re not.”

Sophie’s bright mood vanished. “Mom told you.”

“No, Matt did.”

Sophie wasn’t sure whether to gasp or say, “Aw.” It wasn’t Matt’s place to tell Grandma Kate, but he wouldn’t have done so if he didn’t care. He did love her. But that meant he was worried about her, which meant there was reason to worry.

“Matt said you were moving.”

“That’s right. In fact, I’m surrounded by boxes at the moment.”

“Where to?”

Good question.

“I’ve hired a local company.”

“Good start.”

“And I’ve rented a storage unit.”

“Very smart.” That was so Grandma Kate, so full of confidence to make up for what Sophie lacked. “That buys you some time to find your best options and make good decisions.”

I guess. I just needed a place for my stuff.

“Well, I wasn’t thinking about that exactly. It was more an act of desperation.”

She could almost see her grandmother smiling. “That works too.”

“Yeah, so I’m storing everything but my clothes, and I’m moving back home.”

“Oh. Can you fit a bed in your old bedroom?”

“Well, no. I mean, Mom offered to make room, but I couldn’t kick her out after she worked so hard to fix it up just how she wanted it. So I guess I’ll move into the basement.”

“Oh. Did they finish out their basement?”

“No, but all it needs is a throw rug, a lamp, and a brightly colored bedspread.”

“Won’t the noise of the sump pump keep you up nights?”

Sophie grimaced but said cheerily, “I’m a sound sleeper.”

“Sophie.” She could almost hear Grandma Kate shaking her head. “I just got off the phone with the Realtor. She’s sending a cleaning crew over to spruce up my rental cabin.”

“That’s nice.”

And also a quick change of subject. I guess my problems are kind of boring.

Grandma Kate continued. “So it’ll be all ready for you by the end of the week if you need someplace to stay. It sits empty for most of the off-season. You’d be doing me a favor if you’d house-sit. And if you’re still there in the summer, we could work something out for the rent.”

“Grandma.” Sophie swallowed back her emotions. “Thank you. That would be…”

“Good. Then it’s settled.”

“Thank you!”

“Shh. Just relax. Take some time to regroup.”

“I will. Thank you, Grandma.”

“Don’t be silly. Oh! Look at the time! I’ve got a tee time in a half hour. I’ll send you the real estate agent’s info, and you can always ask the neighbors next door if you need anything.”

“I love you, Grandma!”

“Love you too. Bye, honey.”

Grandma.

Sophie shook her head.

And Matt!

Her life might be crumbling around her, but her family was looking out for her.

A week later, Sophie packed up her car and headed up to the mountains. She had made it through Thanksgiving and hadn’t cried once.

I may have lost my job, but I’ve still got my dignity.

As a tear trailed down her cheek, she took a deep breath, dabbed her eyes with her sleeve, and drove on. “That’s okay. Everything’s fine. Who needs a job when I can live on unemployment at Grandma Kate’s cabin?”

She was one of the lucky ones. While her budget was tight, she wasn’t desperate for cash. She had a rent-free place to stay and enough unemployment compensation for food, gas, and utilities. She hoped her family wouldn’t mind homemade Christmas presents this year, because that was what they would be getting. Now all she had to do was find a way to set aside the overwhelming sense of abject failure at finding herself unemployed. Forget setting goals, mapping out a career, or managing her money. None of that was happening now. But thanks to Grandma Kate, she would get by. But she worried about the people she used to serve. Who would answer their calls? How long would it take for someone to get there?

Sophie stopped herself.

That’s beyond my control.

She drew in a deep breath and turned on the car stereo.

What I need is some Christmas!