Holiday Spice by Abbie Duncan Read Free Book Online

A Thank ful Reunion
     
    Jenna studied the massive list her mother had given her as she pushed her shopping cart around their local grocery store. She was happy to be home for Thanksgiving as i t was never quite the same spending such a family-oriented holiday in her apartment a thousand miles away from the town where she grew up .  Even when she was surrounded by friends, nothing was quite like a holiday celebration at home.
    Judging from this list, her mother had quite a feast planned.
    Suddenly a familiar and very masculine voice called out to her.
    “Jenna? Jenna Hudson, is that you?”
    Startled, she looked up to see who it was and found herself standing face to face with the man she had once believed was the love of her life.
    “Oh my god! Brad?” she exclaimed.
    “It IS you!” said Brad as he reached for her and the pair exchanged an enthusiastic hug.
    “Wow. This is such a surprise! Are you back in town for the holidays?” she asked him, still startled by this blast from the past.
    “Well, yes and no. My parents decided to spend this month touring Europe so I offered to come and check on the house, you know, make sure everything’s ok.”
    “That’s so awesome that they’re finally getting to do the traveling they always talked about,” Jenna replied politely.  “So you and Karen are spending Thanksgiving here then?” Jenna hoped that her faint smile masked the disdain she felt when saying that woman’s name.
    “Ah, I guess you didn’t hear,” Brad said, pausing uncomfortably as he considered how to phrase the news. “We split a couple of years ago.”
    “Oh! I’m so sorry to hear that! The last thing I heard is that there was a huge wedding planned,” Jenna replied.
    Even though she was outwardly sympathetic, inside a small part of her was doing a little jig.  Karen was a bitch.  She had begun an all-out campaign to steal Brad away from her when Jenna had gone to college. In the end, Karen had won.
    But now, it seemed that maybe Jenna needed to rethink some things.
    “Yeah, she did have a huge wedding planned. It just didn’t happen. Hey, do you have time to get a drink or coffee or something? I would love to catch up with what you’ve been doing!”
    “Well, I do have to finish getting this list of stuff for my mom, but after that, sure,” Jenna replied with a sly smile.
    In the end, Brad walked with her as she did her shopping, picking up a few things of his at the same time. Once their purchases were completed and paid for, he walked with her to the car and unloaded the bags for her. As she watched him, it was almost like going back in time. He still looked so good and she realized then just how much she had missed him over the years.
    As the final few bags were being hoisted into the trunk, Jenna ’s mind began to wander. W hat would it feel like if this was her real life ?   Living here.   With Brad.   They would shop together, he would cook, and maybe they would raise children. 
    It was a flight of fancy that came crashing to the ground as the trunk slammed closed.
    “Oh Brad! I just thought of something! A lot of this stuff has to be refrigerated! Maybe we should re-schedule our coffee for another time,” Jenna said regretfully.
    “Aw, no!” he said, sounding just as disappointed as Jenna.
    Brad squinted his eyes for a second and then suggested a solution.
    “Hey, if you don’t mind coming by the house, we can put everything in the refrigerator there. I’ve got some great French Vanilla coffee and my mom left me a pretty good looking cake.”
    Laughing, and now a little nervous for some reason, Jenna agreed and got into her car.
    She followed Brad to his house, even though she could have found the way blindfolded because of all the time she had spent there when they were teenagers. When she pulled into the driveway just behind his car, it was like taking a step back in time. Nothing had changed here at all, but then, it rarely does in small towns.
    After helping her