Mistletoe Matchmaker

“Are you sure you’re fine?” Grant asked, wishing he lived closer to his dad in Portland. He might have cut romantic relationships from his life in favor of work, but he was still really close to Dad.

“Ah, well, I’m just…a little lonely, that’s all.”

The softly spoken words shredded Grant’s heart. His dad wasn’t recovering well from his wife’s death, and Grant wondered if he ever would. The once vibrant man had shriveled inside, and it seemed only a shell was left.

“You said you were going to look into volunteering somewhere,” Grant said, trying to sound as upbeat as he could. “How’s that going?”

“Oh, nothing really appeals to me,” his dad said, his voice subdued. Hollow. “I’d rather stay home.”

Grant sighed. “Have you gone to church lately?” At one time, his dad had found solace in the church.

“Nah, not yet.” A long silence. “It just wouldn’t be the same without your mother.”

Grant’s eyes burned. His dad was right. How could Grant ask him to look to God for comfort when Grant himself couldn’t do it? “I know, Dad.” Nothing had been the same since his mom had died. She’d been the heart of the Roderick family.

A wave of fresh grief washed over Grant. He slammed it down.

“Maybe I’ll go next week,” his dad mumbled.

“That sounds like a plan.”

Grant decided to drop the subject and avoid the pain for both himself and his dad for now. Anything more was beyond him. “Listen, as soon as I’m done with this project, I’ll come down for the weekend. Maybe we can go fishing.”

“Okay, that’d be great,” his dad said, but Grant could tell his heart wasn’t in his words.

They talked about a few other mundane subjects, then said goodbye and hung up. Grant sat for a few moments, concern for his dad oozing through him. They shared their grief, but Grant didn’t know how to deal with his own, much less his dad’s. He was at a total loss as to how to help. And with Christmas coming up, things would only get worse.

His mom had loved Christmas. Which was why he hadn’t accepted Molly’s invitation to go to church. He just couldn’t face a Christmas Eve service without his mom.

Jade barked at the window—the squirrels in the yard driving her bonkers again—jerking Grant’s thoughts back to the problem at hand. Aside from putting a muzzle on the dog, how was he going to get the uninterrupted quiet he needed?

He glanced outside, noting that it was cloudy and windy, but not raining. Maybe Jade needed a long walk to take the edge off her canine crazies. They could stop by Molly’s store and buy a new toy or two to distract Jade for the rest of the day. Sounded like a plan.

He hoped for Jade’s sake his strategy worked.

If it didn’t, it might mean a reservation at the local kennel. For the dog, of course.

Saying a fervent prayer under her breath, Molly let out a long-suffering sigh, her hands stiff on the computer keyboard. Why in the world hadn’t she taken more computer classes in college?

She’d spent the last two hours holed up in the back room of the store, trying to retrieve some tax files from her hard drive for the IRS audit scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

Two tear-her-hair-out hours with nothing to show but a fizzled brain, a throbbing headache and a sudden, burning desire to heave her computer through the window. Not to mention typing was tricky—and slow—with a bandaged finger.

She looked through the list of virtual folders again, including the one named TAX FILES. Nothing. The files were gone.

She shot to her feet and began to pace, rubbing her temple. What in the world was she going to do? The audit was in less than two days’ time. She was a total computer idiot. She’d looked in every nook and cranny of her computer to no avail. And, unfortunately, she hadn’t backed up her data.

This problem could spell disaster for her business.

Worse, a town the size of Moonlight Cove wasn’t exactly a hotbed of computer repair options. Far from it. There was one guy who was good, and it was common knowledge he was scheduled weeks out. No help there.

She chewed on her lip. Maybe she could ask Computer Man Grant to help…no, no, he was busy with his own work and wouldn’t be able to spare the time. Drat.

Just when she was about to spontaneously combust from anxiety she heard the buzzer on the front door go off, signaling the arrival of a customer. Glad for the distraction, she headed out front to relieve Gena. She closed the door to the back room, leaving Peter and Parker napping there.

Molly’s eyebrows shot up—and so did her heart rate—when she saw the unexpected pair who’d just walked in.

She turned to Gena. “I’ll handle this one. Why don’t you go take a break.”

Gena shrugged, grabbed her purse and went out the front door, her brunette ponytail swinging.

Molly headed to where Grant stood by the front counter. He was trying, in vain, to contain a wild Jade, who was acting pretty rambunctious, jumping up and down, woofing.

“Jade, sit!” Molly commanded, her dog training instincts kicking in.

Jade sat.

Molly grabbed a treat from her jeans pocket. “Good girl,” she said, giving Jade the treat. She cocked an eyebrow, then looked at Grant. “Is it my imagination, or is she particularly wild today?”

Grant rubbed his jaw, shaking his head. “Wild isn’t even the word. It hasn’t been a good morning.”

“I’m with you there,” Molly replied. “It’s been a rough morning here, as well.” Normally she was a good business problem solver, but today…well, not so much. She was a people person, not a computer whiz.

Grant studied her, his eyes alight with concern. “What’s wrong?” His gaze dropped to her bandaged finger. “Is your cut bothering you?”

His worry about her injury touched her. “Oh, no. Nothing like that.”

“Oh, good.” He drew his eyebrows together. “Then what’s up?”

“The thing is…I’m having a major computer problem,” she said sheepishly.

His ears perked up at the word computer. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, I’m being audited the day after tomorrow, and I can’t find the files I need for the IRS agent on my computer.” As she talked, she bent down and unhooked Jade from her leash. “They’re just…gone.”

He instantly went into techie mode. “Where are your backup files?”

“Um…I didn’t exactly back up my stuff.”

Classic rookie mistake. “Why not?”

“I forgot?”

Sighing, he said, “Bet you’ll back up from now on, won’t you?”

She made an X with her fingers over her heart. “I promise.”

He looked at his watch. Where had the day gone? “You want me to take a look?” He didn’t really have time, but the thought of leaving her floundering with the IRS breathing down her neck didn’t sit well with him.