Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Rhett dropped Jay off at school early Tuesday morning, hoping he’d made the right call. There was still some time before the kids would start their holiday break, and he’d considered keeping Jay out until school started up again after the new year. But he thought it would be good for him to go ahead and meet the other kids, to start getting acclimated and settled in. If there were any issues or an adjustment period, they could get it all ironed out before the school year started back up post-holidays.

Besides, he thought as he parked and helped Jay out of the truck with his new backpack, he had to start work soon. It would be tough to have Jay home, out of school, while working as a single father. Even as safe as the town was, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to leave his nine-year-old unsupervised for that long.

It helped that Jay had been so excited about starting at the new school. It did Rhett’s heart good, to see his son hurrying up the sidewalk, eager to meet the other kids and his teachers. He hoped Jay would make friends quickly.

“Careful there, bud,” he called out, not wanting Jay to slip on the icy sidewalk. His son skidded to a halt a few yards later, looking up in awe at the huge Christmas tree in front of the school.

“Can we decorate for Christmas this year?” Jay asked excitedly, and Rhett chuckled.

“We can look into it,” he promised. Privately, he wasn’t really sure where to start. He didn’t know a thing about decorating, but he had a hard time denying his son anything. It made him too happy to see Jay smile or to see him bubble over with excitement. He seemed to be a never-ending well of it, and it was infectious, making Rhett want to keep finding ways to make him happy.

They walked past the Christmas tree, into the main office. “I’m dropping off Josiah Dawkins for his first day,” Rhett told the woman sitting at the counter, a middle-aged brunette with a soft face and tortoiseshell glasses. “I’m his dad.”

“Josiah Dawkins…” The woman scrolled through something on her computer, looking down at a sheet of paper in front of her. “Oh, yes. I see. Recently enrolled, transcripts from out of town—got it.” She smiled at Rhett, and then down at Jay, and back at him. “We can get him to his homeroom if you want to head on out. We’ll make sure he’s all taken care of. And here’s a copy of his class schedule for you. If you need to pick him up one day early for any reason and can call ahead, that’s easier. But either way, just come up here to the office. All right?”

Rhett nodded. “All right. You good?” he asked, looking at Jay, and the little boy nodded.

“I’m good.”

“Okay, then. Have fun, kiddo.”

It was harder than he expected, leaving him. It wasn’t like it was Jay’s first day of kindergarten or anything. But it was his first day in a new school, and Rhett felt a pang as he watched Jay head down the hall with the brunette woman, nerves and excitement competing in his expression.

He glanced down at the class schedule as he walked back to his truck, his heart swelling in his chest as he thought of how blessed he was to have such a great kid. A son who was so capable of staying optimistic and excited, even in difficult and new circumstances. And exceedingly smart too.

He’d been put in the advanced math classes here, just like he’d been back in his Cleveland school, where he’d always excelled. He’d always been especially good at math, over anything else. He struggled in the other subjects, sometimes, but numbers had always been his best subject, and Rhett was proud of him—both for his aptitude with math, and how hard he worked at everything he wasn’t good at too.

As he walked past the Christmas tree, he felt a small pang, alongside the happiness. He thought of Jay’s request to decorate and let out a breath, thinking of their last Christmas. It made him sad, knowing Jay wasn’t getting the experience of having a ‘complete’ family.

He could really use the help of someone who knew how to make things homey for the holidays, Rhett thought ruefully as he got back into his truck. Despite her busy lifestyle, Natalie had always been better at that than he was. Decorating and homemaking had never been his strong suit.

But now he needed to be the one to take care of those things in their life if he wanted Jay to have them.

Rhett pulled away from the school, taking the long way through town back to the house, to try and get his bearings. He navigated through the main part of Evergreen Hollow’s town center, noticing some of the businesses he passed—a general store called Sugar Mill, a pet store, and a coffee shop called The Mellow Mug.

They all had a rustic, charming look—wooden buildings, gabled roofs covered in snow, Christmas decorations out already. The snow was shoveled back from the roads in neat drifts, still mostly pristine, not filthy slush the way the Cleveland roads would be by now. It sparkled like a Christmas card, and he enjoyed the view as he made note of the landmarks, so it would be easier to navigate later.

On his way out of town, back to the house, he saw a quaint-looking old inn and slowed down to take a closer look. It was straight out of a picture, three stories tall with a big wooden porch and maple trees all around it, and fully decked out for the holidays. He couldn’t help but grin at the sight. The whole town was quaint, but this spot was extra charming. He didn’t have much excuse to go to an inn, since he lived there now, but he wondered if there were some sort of events held there, some reason to go and check it out. The place really drew him.

There was a tall woman out front, he noticed, perched on a ladder and hanging a string of Christmas lights from the upper part of the porch, spaced out with intermittent holly. He couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was, even bundled up against the cold. And good at decorating, apparently—which made him think once again about Jay’s request, and how bad he himself was at it.

Clearly, from the look of things, she had an eye for it.

He watched as she scurried down the ladder after securing the lights, disappearing back inside the front door of the inn. A moment later, the lights flickered on, twinkling brightly above the glittering snow, against the rustic wood of the porch.

A smile spread across his face, taking it in before he sped up and continued on his way back home. He felt good about his choice to move to Evergreen Hollow, every day giving him a new reason to be glad he’d picked it.

He liked it there, and it seemed that Jay did too.