He chuckled at last. “In that case, maybe I’d better keep it. A watch that amazing certainly shouldn’t go to waste.”
“Only if you can forget what it cost and focus on the fact that I was trying to do something nice for you.” She held his gaze. “I do get why you’re sensitive about this. I imagine it’s the kind of impulsive, over-the-top thing Laura might have done.”
He nodded. “It’s exactly the sort of thing she would have done. I hate to even think about what her January credit card bills must be like.”
“Here’s the difference,” Abby said. “I pay off my bills every single month, Seth. There are no mounting interest fees, no late fees. I don’t buy what I can’t afford to pay for.”
“I know that should reassure me, but it just reminds me that you’re loaded and I’m not.”
She regarded him wearily. “And I can’t change that,” she said. “I can only tell you that it doesn’t matter to me. I wish it didn’t seem to matter way too much to you.”
She turned to go back to the house. She’d made it halfway across the sand when he called out to her. She faced him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, walking toward her. “This is my problem. It’s not yours.”
“It is mine,” she corrected. “Because I care about you and I can see this is going to be a problem between us unless you can find a way to accept the situation.”
“Will it be enough for you if I promise that I’ll try?” He held her gaze, his expression filled with remorse. “I promise, Abby. I’ve had the occasional freak-out, but I actually thought I’d made pretty good progress till I opened that present just now.”
She smiled and linked her arm through his. “Then let’s leave it at that, at least for today. Now let’s go join the others before they eat all the food. I’ve been looking forward to a huge Christmas breakfast for days now.”
“Not until I give you this,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small package awkwardly wrapped in bright red paper with a silver bow.
Abby’s hand shook as she accepted the gift.
“It’s not extravagant,” he apologized.
“Seth, I don’t need extravagant. Honestly. You chose this for me and I’ll treasure it, even if it’s a pencil holder for my desk.”
He smiled at that. “Given the size of the box, I think it’s a safe bet that it’s not a pencil holder. Go ahead. Open it.”
Eager now, she ripped off the paper with as much enthusiasm as Isabella. The jeweler’s box in her hand had her blinking with surprise.
When she flipped the lid, she found a silver charm bracelet to which a single charm had been added, a blue heron. Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, Seth, it’s perfect,” she whispered. “You couldn’t have found anything that would mean more to me.”
“I thought it was something I could add to,” he said. “You really like it?”
“I love it. Help me put it on.”
When the clasp had been fastened, she held the bracelet up to let the sunlight bounce off the silver. Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed him thoroughly.
“Merry Christmas,” she said softly.
“Merry Christmas, Abby. I hope it’s the first of many we share.”
“I hope so, too.” And now, in this moment of hard-won rapport, a little of the magic had returned.
* * *
Once the holidays were behind them, Abby turned her full attention to the fish fry and to the council vote on Blue Heron Cove. She was counting on both being successful.
Thanks to the efforts of Jenny and Ella Mae, the sold-out fish fry was a rousing success. Everyone who attended actually bought tickets for the follow-up event in February, anxious to be part of the fund-raising effort for the rescue boat and for a chance to bid on the exciting gifts Abby had assembled for the silent auction.
“We’re sold out again,” Ella Mae announced happily as the organizers relaxed at the end of the event.
“And you sold the most tickets,” Jenny reported. “I don’t know how you did it.”
“Fear and awe,” Ella Mae said contentedly.
“Well, all I know is that you’ll be on every committee for every event on this island from here on out,” Jenny told her. “There will be no more hiding out in seclusion at home, is that understood?”
Ella Mae turned an accusing look on Seth. “I warned you about this. Now look what you’ve done.”
He laughed. “Oh, don’t even try to pretend you haven’t had fun. You’ve enjoyed every minute of reconnecting with some of your old students and making new friends. I know because you haven’t been pestering me every few days.”
“Don’t be smug, young man,” she grumbled. “Or that can change. In fact, I’m feeling a little under the weather right now.”
Seth merely rolled his eyes. “Your cheeks are glowing. Your eyes are bright. You look just fine to me.”
“You don’t know everything. Where’s Luke? I want a real doctor to confirm that diagnosis.”
Abby caught an odd expression pass over Seth’s face. She pulled him aside. “Are you okay? She was just teasing. You do know that, right?”
“Sure,” he said. “Take a walk with me, okay? Or are you too exhausted?”
“I’m fine.”
After they’d walked for a few minutes, she turned to him. “Okay, tell me why Ella Mae’s comment seemed to bother you so much.”
“It didn’t bother me exactly. It’s just that she said something that I’ve been thinking about lately.”
“About not being a real doctor?”
He nodded, then glanced over at her. “Maybe I should think about going to medical school.”
Abby felt a twinge of excitement. “Are you serious? Is that something you really want to do?”
“Maybe,” he said. “I never really gave it much thought before. I was so anxious to get away from home, I just took the training for being a paramedic, then joined the military. With the
