Memory pulled into the driveway, wishing it wasn’t so dark out. It wasn’t even 6:00 yet, but out here, away from the streetlights of town, with only half a moon and a few stars strong enough to shine through the cloud cover, the place looked bleak and dark. She didn’t like it that way.She turned her car off and took a deep breath. The last few days, she’d found herself thinking of this place more and more, worrying over what to do with it. Meeting Dak had stirred up all sorts of emotions in her, ones she had been trying not to face. But with her sister’s little speech about selling the house, and then meeting someone who bought them for a living, it had been weighing on her mind. Ellie had encouraged her to come by and look the house over, make herself feel more at ease, but as Memory found the key on her ring, she felt anything but.Snow crunched beneath her boots as she hurried to the door, keeping her a

Memory’s family was already at the lighting ceremony when she made her way over after locking up the shop. She’d taken a few extra minutes to change into a bright red sweater and her favorite dark blue jeans. The ones she’d worn all day weren’t dirty, but she thought she may as well look her best if she was going to go to the trouble of standing near Dak at the ceremony. She’d fixed her makeup, put on some red lipstick that matched her hat, scarf, and gloves, and brushed out her hair. And maybe sprayed on a little bit of her favorite vanilla-scented perfume.... She wasn’t necessarily trying to impress him, but why not look her best if she could?Ellie had been talking about the ceremony all day, even staying past 2:00 when she’d normally been leaving the shop so that she could continue to chatter about it. Memory did her best to calm her new friend because it really wasn’t a big deal, but Ellie seemed to th

“Good evening, friends, families, and visitors,” Mayor Charles announced into the microphone, his voice ringing out in a joyous tone. He was a short man with thick glasses and hair around the edges of his head but not in the middle, though that was currently hidden under his hat. He held firmly to his fedora with one hand for fear it might blow off and leave his shiny head glistening in the lights, she had no doubt. “Welcome to the Christmas Falls Tree Lighting Ceremony!”The crowd clapped and cheered, and Memory and Dak joined in. Lorelei jumped up and down with glee.“Won’t you all join me in welcoming the worship leader of our own Cornerstone Baptist Church, Cindy Sheen?” Again, the crowd clapped as Cindy took the stage. Memory smiled at the familiar face of the woman who led them in singing praise songs each Sunday. She was a tiny blonde woman with a big soprano voice, and Memory felt confid

“I’m sure there are more servers around here somewhere, but yes, it will be crowded. Lots of people come in for dessert after the lighting.” She tore the wrapper off of her straw, rolling the paper between her fingers and fidgeting with it, as she dropped the straw into her drink, not sure what else to say. She took a sip of her drink, glad that she’d chosen the sugar, and set her glass back down, trying to think of something interesting, but every topic that popped into her head sounded silly.“Ellie and I had dinner here the other night,” he said, also seeming at a loss for words.“You did?” Memory was surprised. “She didn’t mention that.”“Yeah, she spent most of the time talking about you, so....”“Me?” She didn’t know what to say to that. “Well, I was under the impression she’d relayed ever

A blast of cold air set her cheeks aflame, and she was glad she’d chosen not to walk. It felt like the temperature had dropped twenty degrees while they were inside, and it was beginning to snow. Soft flakes cascaded from the heavens, a fine, delicate layer of down fluttering from the sky.“Fresh material for the snowman makers,” Dak noted, pulling gently on her arm and leading her down the sidewalk, through the diner parking lot to a public lot next door.She could tell which SUV was his because it was running, and she found herself gaping as he went around to open the passenger side door for her. “Wait—is this a rental?” she asked, staring at the gray Mercedes.“Uh, no,” Dak said, holding the door open for her. “It was a graduation present. From my parents.”Memory caught his eyes for a minute, hers wide, but managed to move past him and sl