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Chapter One

Hailey Morgan’s doorbell chimed, and she hurried to answer, eager for her best friend to arrive. This was the last day of school before the holiday break, and Hailey was more than ready to celebrate. As teachers at George Washington High School, Hailey and Katherine Stockton were set for a girls’ night. They’d debated about going out, but in the end decided simply relaxing at home sounded like a far better idea. Hailey had offered to host. She had heavily spiked eggnog at the ready and would follow up with popcorn later for the Christmas movie. Katherine was ordering the pizza.

Throwing open her apartment door, Hailey greeted her friend with a hug. “Free at last,” she squealed. “Has any school day ever seemed so long?”

“It lasted forever,” Katherine said and groaned as she removed her hat and coat and tossed them over the arm of the chair.

The two had worked at the high school for three years. They’d been hired at the same time and quickly become fast friends.

“You got the eggnog?” Katherine asked.

“All accounted for,” Hailey assured her.

“The pizza is ordered for delivery.” She paused and glanced at the time. “At any minute.”

Just then the doorbell chimed. Katherine opened it, took the pizza box from the teenage driver, and passed along a generous tip. “Thank you,” she said and promptly closed the door.

Hailey got out the paper plates and red pepper flakes. Among so many other similarities, they both shared a love of spicy food.

Slouching down on the sofa side by side, they indulged in the Hawaiian pizza, too busy enjoying their dinner to talk.

After a few moments, Katherine paused between bites. “I take it your day was as hectic as mine.”

“As bad or worse,” Hailey said with a heavy sigh.

The music students had their minds on anything but schoolwork. Even her band class had been chaotic, with everyone anxious for the school day to end. The teens had been watching the clock, counting down the minutes, which was exactly what Hailey had done.

Katherine taught American history, and Hailey could well imagine her friend’s day. In the best of times, it was hard to control the classroom full of hormone-enhanced teenagers glued to their cell phones and posting on social media. With vacation looming and Christmas in the air, it had become nearly impossible for a teacher to hold their attention. It’d become especially hard for Hailey after the band’s holiday performance earlier in the week.

“We survived,” Hailey reminded Katherine.

“Barely,” Katherine added.

When they finished, Hailey took their dirty plates into the kitchen.

Katherine followed her, opened the refrigerator, and brought out the rum and eggnog mix. “What those little hellions didn’t realize was that I was as anxious to get out of school as they were.”

“Amen, sister.”

The two returned to the sofa and Hailey relaxed, bringing up her knees and bracing her feet against the edge of the coffee table. She brushed a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear.

“Which movie do you want to watch first?” she asked.

“You pick,” Katherine said with a wave of her hand. “I’m too exhausted to think.”

“How about Love Actually?” That was one of Hailey’s all-time favorites.

“Sure.” Katherine settled into the sofa as she sampled the eggnog.

Reaching for the remote, Hailey cued up the movie. Mentally exhausted as she was, her thoughts went every which direction. Her day had been nothing but drama with her students. The only thing that had kept her sane was this silly melody that had been bouncing around in her head. The tune hadn’t left her alone for several days now, to the point that it was all she could hear. This was the way it’d been from the time she’d been in grade school. Music was the language of her heart, and composing it gave her a sense of joy unlike anything else.

Even as a child Hailey had gone to sleep only to dream up melodies and then the lyrics. Writing songs was as much a part of her as breathing. She’d started piano lessons in first grade after her mother had been unable to tear her away from the keyboard at church. In all, she played six instruments, some better than others. Each one filled a need in her, a desire to create. She’d loved her piano teacher and hated it when the family had moved a year later. Her father’s job as a pharmaceutical salesman had required several moves during Hailey and her sister Daisy’s childhood.

As the assistant band director, Hailey enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm with her students. They inspired her. Her dream, however, was to one day support herself as a songwriter.

Halfway through the movie, Katherine reached for the remote and paused it. “Did I mention my parents arranged a ski vacation for the entire family at Whistler?” she asked, her eyes dancing with delight.

Hailey grinned. “Only about twenty times.”

“It’s going to be incredible. And the best part is that Shawn will be joining us on the twenty-sixth.”

Shawn was Katherine’s current love interest. Over the three years Hailey had known her, she’d watched her friend drift in and out of relationships. This time, though, was different. Shawn had lasted longer than any of Katherine’s previous relationships. Hailey was pleased for her friend and wished her every happiness.

“He’s spending Christmas with his family and then driving up to Whistler.”

“I didn’t know he skied,” Hailey commented.

“He hasn’t since high school. It says a lot that he’s willing to take it up again so he can spend time with me and my family.”

“That it does,” Hailey agreed.

“Is Zach still bugging you?” Katherine asked.

Hailey wanted to grind her teeth in frustration. She’d dated Zach all through college, and Hailey, and her parents, too, had assumed Zach would propose following graduation. Instead of a wedding proposal, he’d dumped her. Three years later, out of the blue, he’d reached out, wanting to reconnect. Hailey wasn’t interested. Zach, however, didn’t seem to be getting the message. “Can you believe this? He sent a text suggesting he join my family for Christmas.”

“What?” Katherine was as shocked as Hailey had been. “After what he did to you, he has the audacity to invite himself to your family Christmas.”

To be fair, Zach hadn’t technically dumped her, although he might as well have. Following graduation, when she was expecting a marriage proposal, they’d had the talk.

Before he was willing to make a commitment, the ever-practical Zach wanted to be sure they both were on the same page regarding the future and wanted the same things. That made sense, and Hailey had been pleased he’d taken the idea of marriage seriously.

Instead, their discussion turned out to be a kick in the gut. Zach wanted Hailey to be realistic about her career choice. It was all fine and good that she liked to write music, according to Zach, but there wasn’t a glimmer of hope that she had what it took to make it big. He pointed out that while she had a pleasant singing voice, it wasn’t good enough to garner her the attention she would need. Too many others were far more talented than she could ever hope to be.

Hailey accepted the fact that she wasn’t another Adele or Taylor Swift, and that was fine. It was the songs she wrote and intended to sell. Songwriting was her gift. Not performing.

She didn’t argue, which only fed the flames of Zach’s speech. He’d gone on to say, because she was an introvert, she simply didn’t have the personality to face the highly competitive professional world of music. Zach reminded her that she’d never been one to stand out in a crowd or to make sure she was noticed. Another truth that had eaten away at her hopes of ever succeeding. He insisted that if they were to consider marrying, she would need to put aside her imaginative dreams, be practical, and find employment that would help build their financial future. He needed a wife who would support and encourage him and his career and didn’t want one who would be distracted with fanciful, impractical dreams of her own. The bottom line was that she had to choose; it was either him or her music.

The decision had been easy. She’d loved Zach, but she couldn’t change who she was or deny the gift she had been given. With tears in her eyes and her heart breaking, she told Zach that no matter what the future held, she felt she had to write her songs. Without the smallest hesitation, Zach had accepted her decision and walked out of her life.