Charlie laughed lightly, the sound dancing in the crisp air.
“So will I see you tomorrow night?” she asked, a hopeful note to her voice. “I get the feeling we’re both kind of like the new people in town. Welcome to join in, but still a little on the outside. Sometimes I think everyone in Jewell Cove has known each other forever.”
“I’ll probably make it,” he answered. “Not much else to do but sit out at the cabin and stare at the fire.”
She laughed again. “That sounds pretty nice to me.”
And just like that he imagined her sitting there with him, perhaps a glass of wine in her hand, and that silken black hair loosened from its braid while the fire snapped and crackled behind them …
Get ahold of yourself, man. Dave swallowed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Aw, it won’t kill us to show up, will it?”
“So I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Guess so.” He pulled a hand out of his coat. “Nice to meet you, Charlie.”
She took his hand again, but there was more holding than shaking happening and he felt the pull to her through the innocent contact.
“You too.” She pulled her hand away. “See you around.”
He watched her walk away. She didn’t look back at him, just made a straight line through the snow to the church doors. He let out a breath. He’d come to Jewell Cove to start over, to be closer to his daughter, Nora.
Meeting the pretty doctor hadn’t been on his agenda, but he wasn’t about to complain. After all, he’d learned long ago that sometimes the best things happened when you least expected them.
Chapter Two
Charlie tugged her hat down over her ears a little farther and inwardly agreed that her prediction had been bang on. The whole town did come out to the tree lighting—at least it looked that way. Memorial Square was full of people, the scent of fresh snow, evergreen, and chocolate heavy in the air. There was laughter and conversation and happy greetings, but Charlie hung back. She found it awkward, being overly friendly with the townspeople and then having them in her exam room the next week. She tended to isolate herself, maintain that little bit of personal distance. She wasn’t sure how her boss, Josh Collins, managed to separate personal from professional, but he did. Brilliantly. Just like he did everything.
She snagged herself a cup of hot chocolate, both for the comforting heat and to give her something to do with her hands. There was an unoccupied corner by the gazebo, and she made her way there, smiling at people as she went along. There were lots of “Hi, Dr. Yang,” and “Merry Christmas, Dr. Yang,” greetings but none to Charlene or Charlie.
This was how she’d wanted it when she first moved here, but now she wasn’t so sure. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a part of something? To belong and fit in? She leaned back against the gazebo wall and watched the gathering with a bit of longing. Sure, it would be nice, but she had no idea how to go about it. She should call Lizzie, she realized. Her best friend and college roommate did much better with interpersonal relationships. Heck, if it hadn’t been for her, Charlie wouldn’t have had any social life in college at all.
She sipped at her chocolate. Lizzie had come into their dorm room that first year of med school and had made life bearable. Lizzie had gone to med school because it was all she’d ever wanted to do. Charlie had gone because it was expected. Study. Succeed. For her parents, it had been about prestige and money and being able to say their only child was a hotshot doctor. One did not merely get by. One strived to be the best. Otherwise, what was the point?
It really choked them now that she was a simple GP in a small town. She felt the disapproval every time she saw them, which was always at the family home on Beacon Hill. Not once had they driven up to Jewell Cove to see where she was living.
“Hey, is there room for one more to hide over here?”
A delicious shiver ran up her spine. She looked over her shoulder and saw Dave, cradling his own cup of chocolate, a thick knitted hat on his head and a heavy winter jacket making him look even bigger than he had yesterday. She vowed that she would not be as awkward as she’d felt in front of the church.
She smiled. “You realize you’re ginormous, right? Good luck hiding anywhere.”
He chuckled. “It’s in my genes. My dad’s six three and my mom’s five eleven. I was bound to be big.”
“Brothers and sisters?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Two of each. I’m smack in the middle of the birth order.”