Chapter 2

John Harding tried to focus on the beauty of the November afternoon. It was unseasonably warm, with the temperature in the low seventies. The sky was a brilliant blue. It made a perfect backdrop for the red, gold, and orange leaves on the trees.

Thanksgiving was always a pain in the ass for him. A reminder of what he had lost. Of course, there were blessings too. He was going to spend some time with his son, his daughter-in-law, and his grandson. Otherwise, he would have been perfectly happy watching football with a pizza and a six-pack.

This year was different though.

Percy and Laura, the new managers of the only bed-and-breakfast in town, wanted to celebrate the arrival of her baby girl with a Thanksgiving gathering, with real china, silver, and a mouth-watering meal prepared by Tony, the chef of the local restaurant and Red’s business partner. The dinner was taking place at Molly Carter’s bed-and-breakfast inn where Percy and Laura were living.

John let out a long, resigned sigh. He had nothing against Molly, except for the fact that he was pretty sure his daughter-in-law was trying to hook him up with her. Kat had been dropping hints every time he went to the restaurant to have lunch.

None of them knew Molly and him had a history together.

John entered the inn dressed in his best clothes, and greeted everyone cordially, including Molly.

When it was Kat’s turn, John held her hand and said, “Come sit down with an old man, sweetie.”

She smiled at her father-in-law and sat at his side. “You’re not old, Dad.”

Kat loved to drop the ‘in-law” part. Her real father had been an abusive drunkard who had beaten her mother to death. He was rotting in jail now. John Harding had been more of a father to her than her biological one.