“I wish I could wave my magic wand and wish it all away for you. These last few weeks have been the worst in my life. I don’t want that kind of anguish for you boys.”
“I know, Mom. There’s nothing you can do so please stop worrying. What will be will be and we’ll get through it, I promise.”
“This is not the way I wanted you to retire, Adam. Your dad and I wanted you to go out on top though, not because of a career ending injury or illness.” She reached for his hand, squeezed it in hers. “It will be nice to have you at the house more often though.”
“Don’t get too excited yet, Mom. I don’t know if I’m going to retire if I don’t have to. And I love living in Seattle.”
She looked at the ornament hanging in the kitchen window, its copper wires flickering with shots of gold under the lights. “Have you stopped to think of what might happen if you were here long enough to meet the right person?”
Adam watched the lights trace rainbows over the kitchen ceiling, the image of Dakota in his arms dancing to the music in their heads, wavering through his mind. He smiled, unable to ignore the tug of yearning in his chest.
Adam heard from the team doctor the following day. “Adam, I’m so sorry. When can you get here? We can test you straight away.”
“I have a few things to deal with. Can I call you back?”
“Of course. Don’t leave it too long. I don’t think we have anything to worry about as the health checks you guys get are pretty intensive but it won’t hurt to double-check everything. Give us both peace of mind.”
Chapter Six
Every day he thought about calling the doctor back and making the appointment, Adam found an excuse not to pick up the phone. Showing houses and businesses for sale, wondering if it would be better to convince his father to sell the real estate office seemed to take more of his time than it should have. The idea of losing his father was too much to deal with. So was the thought of having the same disease. It would change everything. He didn’t want to face it.
There were days where he wanted to open his heart to Dakota but was scared to in case she gave him the sympathy he couldn’t stand. His life was on hold and he hated every single minute but felt paralyzed to deal with it. Easier to spend time with her pretending there was nothing lurking in the background than finding out the horrible truth.
To keep himself occupied, Adam decided to throw himself into the preparations for the upcoming gala and Christmas tree auction. Chances were he’d be home and able to attend, not that he would have chosen to miss it anyway. And every chance he got, he managed to see her. Casually running through town instead of sticking to the paths near his house because he knew she strolled every day by the lake and ended up in town. He even managed to take her out for a ‘casual dinner’ that week. Seeing the blush on her cheeks when he picked her up that night, he realized how much he was enjoying himself with her for company.
“This is getting to be a habit, Adam. Being friends with you is going to come back and bite me when you leave. I won’t know what to do with myself.”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. By then, if I leave, you’ll know just about everyone in town. Now, let me take you to this little restaurant overlooking the water. You’re going to get the best Flathead Lake trout you’ve ever tasted.” He tucked her arm under his and walked her out to the car, ignoring the plaintive look Tiny gave them through the window.
The following week, he attended the follow up at the Lake Hotel to see what Dakota had managed to organize. She handed out sheets of paper with her ideas written down for everyone to follow.
*
“Right, first off, let’s talk about the trees. I think we should cap it at six trees and have a ballot to see who gets them. That way I feel we’ll be able to auction them off for more money. I also propose a cost for each tree to begin with which will kick-start the fund. What do you think?”
“Great idea.” Adam stood up. “Any idea on how much we should charge?”
“I was hoping someone would have an idea. I’m open to suggestions.”
Dollar amounts were shouted out and it came down to a vote. Once that was sorted out, they talked through the planning of the tree decorations and where Mari wanted to put them, the timeframe each contestant would be allowed. They had to make a set of rules that would be fair to everyone and Dakota had researched what other organizations were doing and made a list.
“I was thinking of using the small ballroom for the trees. It’s not been renovated yet but for what you want, Dakota, that doesn’t matter. It has a high ceiling and plenty of space to section off for each tree so contestants can have privacy while they’re decorating. I want to use the great ballroom for the gala because I can open the doors in-between which will look fantastic at night. I think it will be quite spectacular when it’s all decorated and I want to make it as festive as we can. We can even put lights outside in the back courtyard if you think we need the room for dancing too. It’ll be cold out but that’s not a problem.”
“Sounds like you have it all under control, ladies.” Arabella gave them a winning smile. “When are you going to do the ballot for the trees, Dakota? I have a mind to put my name in for one myself.”
Percy groaned. “You
