“It’ll be good to spend the holidays in Chance Creek.” He couldn’t wait for Christmas morning. He had a surprise for Sunshine—a big one. One that would guarantee she’d never want to leave town again. After their extended trip, he was more than ready to settle down.
“What was it you got me for Christmas again?”
Cole smiled at her none-too-subtle question. They’d been joking about presents for the past few weeks. Sunshine claimed she had a surprise that would knock his socks off, but Cole had warned her that nothing could beat what he’d gotten for her.
“Weren’t you the one who said Christmas wasn’t a competition? I’m sure whatever paltry gift you bought for me will be just fine. Even if it is overshadowed by my incredible present to you.”
“Paltry gift? You’re going to eat your words, mister.” She elbowed him companionably. He kissed her on the tip of her nose. In truth, he was worried he couldn’t carry off his Christmas surprise for Sunshine. It was going to take a lot of work, and he’d have to slip away almost every day once they were back in Chance Creek in order to accomplish it. That might be difficult when they were staying in a motel room and would need to share a rental car. It would have been easier if they’d been able to return to the rooms they’d once shared next to his rifle range and her café. Scott Preston inhabited them now, however. He’d been acting as their caretaker while they’d been gone, and since they were returning on such short notice, they didn’t want to evict him.
Besides, it was time to hunt for a real house as soon as the holidays were over. They’d long outgrown the living quarters next to the range, and when they finally married, they’d want something more permanent.
“I don’t think so. I wouldn’t mind eating some of your cooking, though,” Cole said to Sunshine and kissed her again. He found it hard to get enough of her. He’d been happy to be her traveling companion, but three years was an eternity to be away from the town where he’d grown up.
He was sure it was different for Sunshine. She’d only lived there for about eight months in all. She’d come to town because her aunt Cecily left her the building that housed Cole’s rifle range, a tiny restaurant space and the attached living quarters. Unfortunately, Cecily had left them to Cole, too. She’d pitted them against each other in a contest to see who would ultimately win sole ownership, and at first they’d regarded each other as enemies. That didn’t last once they began to share close quarters. The attraction between them was instant and electrifying, and it wasn’t long before they figured out a way to share everything. Cole continued to run the rifle range and manage the apartment buildings he owned. Sunshine ran her café from the restaurant space. They lived together in the attached rooms.
But several months later, when they became engaged, they’d received another message from their attorney. It seemed that Cecily’s will had a secret codicil to be read only if Sunshine and Cole decided to marry. The old woman had left them each a large sum of money. As soon as Cole found out about it, he knew what they needed to do. Sunshine had always talked about traveling the world. Here was their chance. He’d paid off the mortgage on the two apartment buildings, which freed up funds to pay Scott a salary to run them and the range while they were away. Scott had moved into their rooms beside the restaurant to keep an eye on things, and Cole and Sunshine had embarked on an epic journey, the likes of which Cole had never imagined taking.
“I can’t wait until I have a kitchen to call my own again,” Sunshine said. She peeled off her hat and scarf, and struggled out of her coat. Cole helped her drape them over her chair.
He’d determined at the start to let Sunshine call the shots about the itinerary and duration of the trip. This was her chance to study cooking in the field, so to speak, and learn from experts in all kinds of situations. He found it easy to be patient. For one thing, he was head over heels in love with Sunshine, for all their talk about a long engagement. For another, Sunshine had assured him that when they were done they’d return to the town he dearly loved. That was a huge concession from a city girl, and he wanted to honor the spirit in which she made it by throwing himself into the adventure wholeheartedly.
He’d never guessed she’d make the trip so long, though. He’d begun to think they’d never get home.
Still, he was proud of Sunshine and the way she’d handled the rigors of so much travel. They hadn’t stuck to tourist destinations; far from it. Sunshine was fascinated by indigenous recipes, and in every country they visited, she took them off the beaten track into villages and hamlets and somehow convinced women—and men—to teach her everything they knew about cooking. Cole had done his best to photograph the locales, people, ingredients and food preparation steps. They’d taken copious notes in order to correlate recipes, photographs and information about people and locations. When they got home, Sunshine hoped to combine them into a cookbook and get a publishing deal.
Cole had watched people all around the world take to Sunshine. He wasn’t sure if it was her smile, her laugh, or the shimmer of her blond hair that caught their attention and made them go out of their way for her, but he couldn’t count the number of kindnesses complete strangers had performed for them during the past three years.
He’d worried that such an intense journey might cause trouble between them, but the more they traveled, the more he loved Sunshine. With Christmas looming and their return home at hand, he’d decided to give her the one other thing he knew she wanted: a restaurant. He’d purchased one already, sight unseen, from a realtor he knew and trusted back in Chance Creek. It was located in the heart of town and he figured Sunshine could make it a success.
“That snow doesn’t look promising,” Sunshine said, glancing out of the airport window where a cold afternoon had long since faded into darkness. “I think it’s coming down even harder.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
She nodded. “I hope so.” Fidgeting in her seat, she added, “We’re not due to board for another half hour. Want to go for a little walk?”
“If we stand up now, we’ll lose our seats.” The waiting room was packed with travelers. Cole was thankful they’d gotten tickets at all since they’d bought them with only a couple weeks’ notice.
“You’re right,” she admitted with a sigh. “I hope I can sleep on the plane. It’s a long flight.”
He doubted he would. He was too wired thinking about all he needed to do in the next ten days. Collect the paperwork and keys for the restaurant, hire contractors, rip out anything that needed repairs. He knew it was unlikely he’d get everything done before Christmas, but he wanted to make the restaurant look its best before he presented it to Sunshine. He took her hand. “It’s going to be busy when we get home. I’ll probably have to spend a lot of time at the rentals.” Best to lay the groundwork for his disappearances now.
“You don’t think Scott’s doing a good job?”
“I’m sure he is, but he’s not the owner.”
“Of course. I have a lot of shopping to do anyway. I need to throw packages together fast for my family and get them in the mail.”