sailboats cruised along, too.
The light display was elaborate, with animated snowmen, fish wearing beanies, even a couple of surfing reindeer. It wasn’t long, perhaps only twenty boats, which was probably a good thing, given the cold Idaho winter night.
On the last boat, Santa stood on the deck waving to the cheering crowd as he sailed off out of sight.
“Oh,” Maddie said. “That must be the last one. I can’t see any other lights.”
“That was wonderful, wasn’t it?”
Maddie nodded vigorously. “That was the best parade I ever saw,” she declared. “I didn’t want it to end. Can we come back next year and see the boats again?”
Aidan seemed to tense beside her. She didn’t know how to answer her daughter without casting a pall on the delightful evening.
She hated all over again that she hadn’t figured out a way to give her daughter the stability and roots she wanted for her.
“I don’t know where we will be next year, honey,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “If we’re close enough to this area, we certainly will try.”
A muscle seemed to flex in Aidan’s jaw. “Wherever you might end up after you leave Haven Point, I want you to know, you’re more than welcome to come back for Christmas next year and stay at Snow Angel Cove. I hope you do. Even if I’m in California, the house is open to you. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Yay! I want to see that parade again. I loved, loved, loved it.”
“You know, I did, too,” Aidan said, smiling down at her. “Thanks for keeping me warm, you two.”
He looked around. “Looks like everybody is leaving. I guess the show really is over. Should we head over to the booths and grab some of that chili your friend was talking about?”
“Great idea. We should try to find Sue and Jim, too.”
If they found the other couple, perhaps she would be able to remember Aidan was her boss and that this wasn’t a memory-making family outing.
IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE, Aidan had never been the recipient of so many charged glances.
It seemed as if every time he looked up from the cleared path ahead of them, he would meet the gaze of someone who would quickly look away again. Sometimes they appeared simply curious and a few were even friendly but others wore expressions of anxiousness and even outright anger.
When he made the deal to assume ownership of the land and property from Ben, he hadn’t even considered how that decision would ripple through the small town as if a meteorite had plummeted into Lake Haven.
This was their town. He was an outsider. No wonder they were concerned about what his plans might be. Eliza was right. He needed to do something with the property he owned. The town meeting should probably take place sooner, rather than later.
He wasn’t used to being accountable to anyone except his board of directors and stockholders. Even then, he owned the outright majority of stock in his own company and could usually make his own decisions about most things.
This was different. These people were invested in Haven Point and its surrounding communities. They had a stake in whatever he decided to do.
A tired-looking young woman with a bundled-up baby in her arms gave him a tentative smile as the man walking beside her picked up a boy who looked to be about three and hefted him onto his shoulders before he took the hand of a girl about Maddie’s age.
The father wore a John Deere cap and his ranch coat had a grease stain on the arm. The little boy’s coat was too big and his boots were bright yellow, probably passed down from his older sister.
As the fourth boy in a family of seven, Aidan had known his share of hand-me-downs. He hadn’t had a brand-new, never-been-worn coat until he bought his own as a teenager, with money from working at Pop’s café. His family hadn’t been poor but they hadn’t been wealthy, either, not with all those mouths to feed—and a father known for his openhanded generosity.
Aidan wasn’t Dermot’s son for nothing. His father had taught all of his children that each had an obligation to leave the world a little better than he—or she, in Charlotte’s case—had found it.
He had the ability to make a huge difference in Haven Point, for good or for ill. It was a humbling realization.
Ben Kilpatrick was a good friend and someone Aidan respected and liked, but his inaction here had hurt the community’s economy and morale.
If Aidan could help this little family somehow, along with all the others who were watching him so carefully, he had to try. It wasn’t right for him to do nothing with the resources he now owned. Aidan had taken over Ben’s properties and therefore also his responsibility. Like it or not.
“Oh, look.” Eliza burst into his mental discussion. “There’s the Serrano’s chili booth.”
This, at least, was something he could make a decision about. “Let’s eat first and then we can spend a little time shopping, if you want.”
“Sounds good.”
He settled her and Maddie near one of the propane heaters then headed over to grab some food for them. He stood in line for only a few moments before he reached the counter, just as Barbara arrived to help take orders.
“Well? What did you think of our little celebration?” she asked.
“Very festive. Maddie and Eliza had a great time.”
“She’s a cute one, that girl.”
“She is.” With more courage than most adults, he thought.
“Too bad the two of them can’t stick around town a little longer. Eliza seems like a woman who could use a friend or two.”
Whenever he thought about Eliza and Maddie moving on and out of his life, he felt a weird little tug in his chest.
Before he could answer, he was jostled from behind. He turned around to find one of the men who had given him a less-than-welcoming look earlier.
“Sorry,” the man said, with no trace of apology in his eyes. A strong whiff of alcohol wafted from him. “Didn’t notice you there.”
Tension rippled through Aidan. Thanks to his brothers, he had plenty of experience with barroom brawlers. Though they weren’t anywhere close to a barroom, he sensed the man was half drunk and just stupid enough to think he could piss Aidan off enough to take a swing at him.
“No worries,” he answered. He could certainly take care of himself—again, thanks to his brothers—but he didn’t want to cause trouble with Eliza and Maddie a few yards away.
“What do you want, Jimmy?” Barbara asked, with enough wary impatience in her voice to make Aidan quite sure this was the town rabble-rouser
“What
