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  “I try,” Riley said with a shrug .

  “So, we’re almost in Mayo. If we get these deliveries done quick and drive back to Misty Point real fast, we might be able to make it to the Hollow before the snow flies .”

  “And if we get stuck there ?”

  “We get stuck .”

  “Who am I to stand in the way of a bear and his passion ?”

  “Thanks, dude. I owe you one,” Brock said with a grin .

  A ll the ladies who received their deliveries wanted to invite Brock and Riley in and give them Christmas food and drink. They were used to it – humans tended to be very taken with their looks, and seeing women’s eyes widen as they opened their doors to them was commonplace. They usually accepted food as, being bears, they were hungry more often than not, but this time, they politely declined and sped off on their way .

  They got back to the store half an hour before the parade was due to start .

  “I didn’t expect you fellas back so quick,” Grayson called, coming out to meet them. “Were you driving fast again, Riley ?”

  “Kinda, but we’ve got an important mission,” Riley replied .

  “Oh yeah? What’s that ?”

  “Brock has his eye on a woman. He wants to see if he can find her at the Misty Hollow Christmas parade .”

  “Right, then we better lock up and go !”

  “You’re coming too, uncle Grayson?” Brock said .

  “I sure am,” he replied. “I haven’t been to that parade in years. I used to love going though; it always got me in the Christmas spirit .”

  “But what about the store?” Grayson looked at it over his shoulder .

  “Folks’ll come back tomorrow if they want a tree bad enough. And no-one’s been in for a half hour anyway. I think they’ve all headed to the parade already.” He locked the door to the office, then opened the passenger side door and climbed in, shunting Riley into the middle. “Let’s go!” he said, tapping the dashboard. “Don’t want to be missing all the fun !”

  3

  A bbey’s makeup was finally done, and she looked suitably pale and ghostlike. She was wearing an old white satin robe of Karen’s which had been tattered and singed at the edges. On her head was an old straw hat covered in foil, with gold fairy lights wrapped around it .

  “How do I look?” she demanded, doing a twirl .

  “You look great, Abbey. But aren’t you going to freeze?” Karen said. She shrugged .

  “Being around the other kids will keep me warm,” she said .

  “I don’t ever remember being cold during the procession,” Madison said. “Which is kind of crazy considering how low the thermometer is right now. But I think it’s partly the excitement and partly the insane number of people packed into the town that keeps the heat in .”

  “That’s probably it, but give us your coat, Abbey, and we’ll pass it to you if you start to feel the cold later on .”

  M adison and Karen took Abbey to Misty Hollow elementary school where all the kids were meeting, and then they went to find a good spot to watch the show .

  By 4.30pm it was dark already, but the streetlights kept the town prettily illuminated, with a pale orange glow reflecting from the snow. Madison looked around at all the people gathered together, chatting excitedly. There were lots of faces she recognized from way back, and people kept coming up to her to welcome her back to the town and ask her a million questions about where she’d been and why she’d left Chicago. It wasn’t easy explaining that she’d had a divorce, but everyone was good natured, and she appreciated being among a community of people who genuinely cared about each other .

  “Here,” Karen said, pushing her way through the crowds and handing her a steaming cup of mulled wine. “I thought you could do with this to get you through all the questions .”

  “Thank you,” Madison said, grateful for her sister’s perceptiveness .

  “Merry Christmas, sis !”

  “Merry Christmas.” Madison sighed. “I wish mom could see this .”

  “Me too. Her knee injury was real bad timing, wasn’t it? Still, I’ll take lots of photos for her .”

  A kids’ brass band started up, signaling that the procession was about to begin. Anticipation tingled in Madison’s stomach .

  “I used to get so excited and nervous when I was waiting for my turn to walk out into the crowd,” she said .

  “Me too! I was always scared that people wouldn’t cheer my costume. But they always did. I don’t think it mattered what anyone was wearing, as long as they’d made even a token effort .”

  “Remember how Maisie Clark used to get so nervous that she’d puke right before we went out ?”

  “Yup!” Karen said, and they both collapsed into giggles .

  “Remember that year that Tommy Jenkins forgot his costume or something, and went around with a pair of scissors trying to sabotage everyone else’s, until Jessica Henson took him out with a karate manoeuver ?”

  “Remember that year some kids from another town started snowballing the procession and we retaliated, and it turned into a huge snowball fight ?”

  “Yup, and I got grounded for a month after Christmas because I was one of the main perpetrators. Even though I was just acting in self-defense!” They laughed and laughed .

  “And isn’t it great that you get to be a mom now, watching your own daughter going through the same thing ?”

  “It is, sis.” Karen squeezed Madison’s shoulder. “And I’m sure you’ll get your turn as well. Don’t you worry .”

  “Thanks for saying that, Karen,” Madison said, turning her head to meet her sister’s eye. “I hope you’re right.” She and Digby had suffered ‘unexplained infertility’. They were both healthy, and there was no medical reason why they couldn’t conceive. But it just hadn’t happened. And that had led to arguments and recriminations, until they’d fallen out of love. With an effort, she pushed those depressing thoughts out of her head, and concentrated on enjoying herself .

  “Are they here?” Karen said, craning her neck to get a better look .

  “I think so!” At last, a tiny boy dressed as a donkey emerged, with a girl in a blue headdress skipping after him. She looked like she had a balloon under her long dress. Karen and Madison burst out laughing again .

  “Oh my God! I forgot how ridiculously cute they are!” Madison exclaimed .

  Mary and her donkey were quickly followed by three kids with dish towels on their heads, one of them holding a foil star aloft .

  “But where’s Joseph?” Karen said .

  “Oops, he’s not having a good day.” Madison pointed to a boy in a headdress who’d wandered off to the side, wailing and tugging at his costume .

  The nativity scene was followed by a Santa with lots of elves. A dozen girls of around Abbey’s age formed a dancing troupe of reindeer. They looked very cute in brown leotards, with black noses and whiskers painted on their faces and big felt antlers on their heads. One of them had a flashing red nose and she was dancing a little ahead of the others .

  “That’s so adorable!” Madison exclaimed, her eyes tearing up .

  The Santa troupe was followed by snowmen, walking Christmas trees, and several kids wearing cardboard boxes decorated as Christmas gifts .

  Madison and Karen clapped and laughed as one ingenious costume after another appeared. Madison felt wistful, wishing she hadn’t missed the parade so many times in the past years. She always wanted to come back to Misty Hollow for the week before Christmas, but she was usually either stuck in court or at tedious client parties. She promised herself that she’d never miss it again .

  They waited for a long time for Abbey to appear, and at last, there she was. Karen took her phone out and recorded her. She was a very cool and poised ghost. Her two best friends were wearing similar costumes, and they were all carrying lit candles. Karen made a sound of disapproval .

  “Hey, it’s ok, Mrs Thomson is nearby,” Madison said, pointing to their old elementary scho
ol teacher. She had white hair now, and she’d become much more frail since Madison had last seen her .

  “How is she still teaching? She must be, like, eighty now?” Karen laughed .

  “Yeah, about that. Apparently she refused to retire, and she’s still a really good teacher and the kids love her, so she got to stay on.” The two of them yelled and whooped as Abbey went past. She nodded acknowledgement to them, but didn’t wave like most of the kids when they saw their parents. Then she fixed her gaze straight ahead again, and continued to stride along regally .

  “Bless her, I think she’s staying in character,” Karen said, wiping tears of joy from her eyes .

  “She’s a good actress, I can tell,” Madison said. “Oh, is that Mr Barnes?” She pointed to a portly guy, jumping up and down and yelling words of encouragement to the kids .

  “Yup. He’s married now, with two kids .”

  “Wow. It’s so great to see all these familiar faces!” Madison said with a smile. “Have you heard from Sophia yet ?”

  “No, I was just thinking that she ought to be making her way over here by now. Let me call her.” Karen took her phone out and dialed her daughter’s number .

  “Hmm, no signal. That always happens on parade days. I think the network gets overwhelmed by everyone gathering together .”

  “Maybe she got jammed in by the crowds someplace and she’s watching from a bit further down ?”

  “Yeah, I expect so. I’ll just write her a message to call me as soon as she can.” Karen typed it out and put her phone back in her pocket. “Have you seen any cute guys yet?” she said, elbowing her sister .

  Madison laughed .

  “Trust you to be on the hunt right now !”

  “Hey, the parade is prime scoping ground! It’s the one time you get to see everyone at once. The problem is that all the guys my age are now married .”

  “And my age too, little sister,” Madison said. Karen had broken up with Abbey’s father before she was born, and since then, she’d been so busy raising the two girls that she’d had very little time to meet anyone. There had been a couple of fleeting relationships here and there, but she hadn’t found anyone to settle down with. This was something that frequently saddened Madison. Karen was so warm and funny; she deserved to find someone who’d appreciate her many good qualities. Madison had often wondered if her sister was wasting her life in Misty Hollow with such a small dating pool. But now she was in the same situation too .

  “He’s pretty cute – over there in the red down coat.” Karen gave a snort of laughter .

  “Been there, done that! We dated for like five minutes three years ago. He’s really uptight and anal. It used to freak him out that our house was always so untidy, so he had to go.” Madison gaped .

  “But your house isn’t untidy ?”

  “Exactly. I like to think of it as cozy, and, to be fair, there were always a few toys on the floor. But to him, it was a pigsty. There you go, though. I’d rather be single than with a neat freak .”

  “How about him – that tall, stocky guy, straight ahead, three rows back ?”

  “Ah, he’s married I think – uh, there’s his wife on his left hand side. But how about him – dark hair, on the front row, in a navy blue coat?” Madison craned her neck .

  “I don’t see him .”

  “Ok, I’ll point with my elbow.” Giggling, Madison tried to follow the direction of Karen’s elbow .

  “Oh, I think I see him –” she started to say, but she never finished her sentence, as someone else had just caught her eye. Her heart thudded. It was him. And he looked even better than she remembered, his dark hair sexily tousled. She tugged Karen’s arm .

  “Look, it’s the bear-shifter. Three rows back from him .”

  “Yes, it is! And look who he’s with. I don’t think I’ve ever seen three such fine specimens together in my entire life !”

  “His uncle and cousin, right ?”

  “Yup. And I think I prefer the cousin to him. There’s just something about the way his hair flops over one eye .”

  “Noo. He can’t hold a candle to Brock .”

  “Each to their own. The older guy is hot too. He’s like the ultimate silver fox. If I was twenty years older I’d be all over him!” Madison cackled with laughter, loving her sister’s comic uncouthness .

  The three guys had been watching the parade, smiling and laughing as the kids went past. But, perhaps drawn by the intensity of the women’s attention, Brock suddenly turned his head and looked right at them. Madison watched as he broke into a grin and waved. She waved back, her heart pounding and adrenaline fizzing in her stomach. She felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car, hypnotized by the sight of him and unable to tear her eyes away .

  The other guys also gave friendly waves .

  “Look at you,” Karen said, looking at Madison sideways. “I think you lurrrve him! I think you want to be with him !”

  “Stop it, Karen!” Madison hissed, but she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. She was maybe 50 feet away from him, but she felt like his hazel eyes were boring into hers and his smile was dazzling .

  “You want that bear, just admit it!” Karen continued .

  “I think I do,” Madison said, and as she spoke the words, she felt another jolt of excitement, running all the way through her body, from her brain to her clit. What would it be like to be kissed by him? To be held in those strong arms ?

  “I bet he’s a real good kisser,” Karen said, picking up on her thoughts .

  “You’re talking about his friend, right ?”

  “Uh huh.” Karen was gazing at the other young guy, her mouth hanging open .

  “You could be a little more subtle, sis .”

  “Oops.” Karen shook herself. “I was getting a bit carried away. Those three are the first actually hot guys I’ve seen in a long, long time. I mean, the guys we’ve just been pointing out are kinda hot, but these are on a different level. Like you expect to see them on the cover of a muscle magazine or something.” Madison giggled .

  “Do you think they’re buff ?”

  “Hell yeah. They lug Christmas trees around all day. Did you see how easily your guy carried that tree on his shoulder? And they’re bears, so they must spend a lot of time running around in the woods .”

  “So crazy to think they turn into bears .”

  “Isn’t it,” Karen said with a shiver .

  “Does it happen suddenly, or is it a gradual process ?”

  “I think it’s fast. But do you remember that kid at high school – Benny Dawson – I was going to the bike sheds to smoke, and I saw him in there, trying to shift. It was weird – all claws and fur. I think it’s hard when it first starts to happen, but it gets smoother after that .”

  The procession was coming to an end, and the final kids trotted along, dressed as Disney characters, with two tambourine players bringing up the back. Everyone clapped and cheered again, and people stepped out from the sides of the road and began to gather in the middle. Karen looked at her phone .

  “Still nothing from Sophia, and there’s still no signal.” She called anyway, but it didn’t connect. “Should we be worried?” Madison said .

  “In most towns, yes, but in Misty Hollow, no. No kid has ever gone missing here. She’ll be somewhere in the parade, hanging with her BFFs .”

  “Okay, good. Shall we go wander in the throng ?”

  “You’re hoping to bump into those bears, aren’t you ?”

  “Maybe,” Madison replied with a smirk .

  As they stepped into the road, some of Karen’s friends joined them, and they were soon caught up in a lively conversation .

  While they were speaking, a small arm wrapped itself around Madison’s waist and she looked down to see Abbey, still dressed in only her ghost costume .

  “Hey, sweetheart! You were amazing!” she said, grabbing Abbey’s coat from Karen at the same time and wrapping it around Abbey’s small frame .

 
; “I was?” Abbey demanded, her cheeks rosy with exertion and excitement. “Some people didn’t get what I was .”

  “I guess it’s because it’s an old story. But, trust me, you looked very, very cool .”

  “Hey, honey,” Karen said, giving her a hug. “You looked so good out there. I was so proud of my baby !”

  “Thanks, mom,” Abbey said, with a trace of pre-teen self-consciousness .

  “You haven’t seen your sister, have you ?”

  “Nope,” Abbey said, and Madison saw a ghost of an emotion pass across her young features, too fast for her to identify it .

  “I guess she’s further down the road .”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Abbey shrugged .

  “Let me get you a hot drink, honey.” Karen disappeared, returning minutes later with a cup of tea and pretzels for each of them. “There you go. Let me know if you feel cold. I don’t want you catching a chill right before Christmas .”

  “Yes, mom” Abbey rolled her eyes, and started eating her pretzel with enthusiasm .

  “What shall we do this evening?” Madison said .

  “I’ve got a wild boar casserole in the slow cooker right now, so I was thinking we could have a nice, relaxed dinner together .”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Madison said. “You only make the best wild boar casserole in the entire world !”

  “I’m not sure there are that many contenders, but thanks anyway. So, I’ll happily stay here another half an hour or so, but I’d like to catch up with Sophia sooner rather than later .”

  “She hasn’t messaged you ?”

  “Nope. There’s one bar of signal though.” Karen called Sophia’s number again. “Damn, it won’t stay connected – the signal’s still weak .”

  Abbey tugged on Madison’s coat .

  “Hey, there are the guys from the Christmas tree store,” she exclaimed. By following the movement of Abbey’s eyes, Madison could tell that they were right behind her. She took a deep breath, counted to ten, and, with her heart hammering in her chest, she turned around .

  Brock was less than ten feet away from her. And he looked so handsome that she could hardly breathe. He smiled as their eyes met, in a warm, friendly grin. Is he excited to see me? she wondered for a millisecond, before dismissing the thought .