Sleigh Bells and Second Chances (Love in Mission City #3)

1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Simeon

I ’d nearly finished attaching the ceiling fan to the socket when the front door of the prefab I was working on burst open.

Naturally, I dropped the fan.

It narrowly missed my head…but then crashed down to the floor.

Damn thing shattered.

“Oh shit.” Rainbow’s truly contrite voice carried across the small space.

With a knot in my chest, I descended the ladder. Mindful of the remains of the fan—along with the shattered lightbulb, I made it to the kitchen floor. The crunching under my work boots had me wincing.

“Damn, Simeon, I’m so sorry.”

Out my peripheral vision, I spotted her advancing.

I held up a hand. “S-stop. Don’t c-come closer.”

To my relief, she halted. “What can I do?”

“There’s a b-broom and dustpan in the bedroom. C-can you get them?”

“Of course. Let me just shut the door. Tiffany and I were out for a stroll, and—”

“Go t-take care of Tiff.” I winced that, in my moment of current distress, I couldn’t say the therapy dog’s full name without risking another stutter. Having one this severe was bad enough—but stuttering on a name, even a dog’s, made my stress worse.

Rainbow left the house.

Grimacing as I went, I headed to the bedroom in search of the broom and dustpan. Locating them was easy—I was always diligent with all of my tools. Sweeping up the mess was something else entirely.

At least I had a reason for being clumsy. Cousin Suzette was always bumping into walls. Until —

Nope. Wasn’t going to go there. Thinking of her never led to a good place.

As I swept, I realized I didn’t even know what Rainbow had wanted. As the manager at Healing Horses Ranch, she was my boss. Well, her sister Kennedy owned the ranch and was technically my real boss. But the psychologist was busy most of the time, so Rainbow had the day-to-day management of the therapy center. Add in the four retired show horses as well as two therapy dogs—one official and one not—this place was busy.

Rainbow was supervising me as I put the finishing touches on this prefab house she and Kennedy were building for their parents so the couple could stay whenever they wanted to visit.

I finished sweeping up the last of the glass, but made a mental note to bring my shop vac tomorrow just in case any little bits remained. I snagged the destroyed ceiling fan and dumped it into the large garbage can I’d brought for this job. Prefabs were supposed to be mostly finished, but this one required more work than I anticipated. That didn’t bother me. Rainbow and Kennedy were two of the nicest people in Mission City, so I didn’t mind spending time here.

A knock at the door drew my attention and I headed that way.

Rainbow stood on the outside and waved.

I opened the door, checking to ensure she was alone. When I confirmed she was, I beckoned her in.

She entered with a wince. “Okay, Tiffany is with Kennedy and Justin for their next appointment. We’ve got a new patient coming early this morning. He’s meeting with both Kennedy and Justin.”

I cocked my head. I couldn’t remember ever hearing of a client meeting with two therapists. Did that mean they needed extra help, or was something else going on?

Rainbow flicked her hand back and forth in front of her face. “I’ve probably said too much. Just…he’s a special guy and we want to make certain he’s getting the proper level of care. Personally, I think Justin’s amazing, but he still holds himself back because he doesn’t officially have his PhD.” She said the word in air quotes.

I didn’t have any degree and so was in awe of everyone around here.

“I’ve c-cleaned up. I should v-vacuum, though.”

She snapped her fingers. “Be right back.”

And she was gone again.

I shrugged. Then I eyed the pile of laminate flooring as well as my kneepads resting innocuously next to them. I sighed. You’re just thirty-eight. Get on with it .

Still, when Rainbow returned with a vacuum, I offered a wide smile.

She pointed to the kitchen. “Least I can do.”

“I’ll m-move some of the laminate to the b-bedroom. Thank you.”

She rolled her stunningly pale blue eyes. With her blue/black long hair and memorable eyes, she was an attractive woman. And single.

I snagged a pile of flooring. And I’m not the least bit interested. I was gay. I knew I was gay. That was that.

As I returned to the main room, she shut off the vacuum and pulled her phone from her back pocket. “Oh, it’s Adam.” She tapped her screen. “Hey, Adam.” She tapped her finger on the kitchen counter. “Not busy. Just here with Simeon.” She held my gaze. “Sure, I can put you on speaker.” She tapped the screen as I moved closer.

“Great. This is perfect.”

I cocked my head, silently asking Rainbow if she had any clue why my friend was calling.

She shrugged.

“So Dean proposed last night.” He paused. “Well, I sort of proposed. I mean…” He sighed. “We’re getting married.”

Rainbow squealed. Actually squealed. “You know I’m taking all the credit.”

Adam chuckled. “We didn’t even meet at the ranch.”

She eyed me. “Some of your most important moments have been here.”

I nodded. I knew Adam had been in therapy here, so she wasn’t sharing anything new.

“Oh, so have you talked venues?”

Adam cleared his throat. “It’s barely been twelve hours. Dean left me with a long list of people to call while he’s out tromping in the woods.”

Dean was a forester who’d come all the way to southern British Columbia from Australia to learn about vegetation management. He just happened to meet a wonderful Canadian guy, and apparently, they were getting married.

“Venues, Adam.”

He laughed. “Right. No.”

“Well, I think you should have it here. When were you thinking?”

A long silence ensued. Finally, Adam spoke. “We’re thinking a short engagement. He’s got his work permit and permanent residence papers, so he can stay in Canada. But…”

“You don’t want him changing his mind?” Rainbow grinned.

“Or me chickening out.”

Even as Adam said the words, though, they didn’t ring true. He loved Dean. I’d never seen two men more suited. Then I flashed to several other gay couples I’d met recently who would also fit the perfect category.

“How about a Christmas wedding?” Rainbow beamed.

I eyed the sunny weather outside. The unseasonably nice weather wouldn’t last. We were already into the second week of November, and the rains had already come. They’d only be more intense by Christmas. Of course, we might have a white Christmas. Odds were against it, but anything was possible.

“Uh…you really don’t mind? Don’t you need to, I don’t know, consult with Kennedy?”

Rainbow laughed. “She might own this place, but it’s also my home. She’ll be thrilled, Adam.”

I had no doubt she was right.

“Well, great. Oh, and Simeon, you’re invited, okay?”

My jaw dropped.

“He’ll be there with bells on,” Rainbow assured Adam.

My ears roared as she said her goodbyes.

“N-no.” I winced. Crowds. People. Noise. Me…stuttering. No thanks.

“Well, we singletons will be sticking together. Oh, do you think they’ll invite other single people? I hear hooking up at a wedding is a thing.” The woman had seven sisters, and yet only one had been married. Twice. I still couldn’t fathom the lot of them were all single—except maybe their sister’s two disastrous marriages had turned them off the institution.

“I b-bet they’ll invite Everett.” The handsome man was a friend. And I was pretty sure my friends had tried to set me up with him. I had little in common with the smart lawyer, but somehow we’d become friends. Two single gay guys as all our friends hooked up.

“Oh, I bet they will. Everett will be coming solo as well, don’t you think? Unless he’s seeing someone? Do you know?”

“D-don’t think so.”

“Okay.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I need to confirm Kennedy doesn’t have a problem with this—which I’m sure she won’t.” She gazed around. “Anything else I can do to help?” She tapped the vacuum cleaner. “I think maybe I’ve done enough damage for the day…”

I managed a grin, still obsessing about how many people would be coming to the wedding. “I’m g-good. Thank you.”

She snagged the vacuum cleaner and headed out.

I headed into the bedroom where I secured my kneepads over my jeans, took another sip of coffee from my thermal mug, and tackled the task of installing the flooring.

A wedding. Crap. I was okay one-on-one with folks, or even in a small group when I knew people. But a wedding meant everyone. I could use up all the fingers on both hands and still not count just the folks Adam and I knew in common. And then there’d be Dean’s friends, total strangers. Sweat ran down my back. Maybe I can pretend to be sick.

Except Adam was a good friend. What kind of wuss would I be to do that? And I wanted to see him and Dean declare their love. It made me a little jealous after all these years alone, but mostly I was happy for them. I needed to share that moment. So I’d soldier on. Maybe I could ask to be Tiffany’s handler for the event. I wasn’t a guy who needed therapy, but anyone would find a furry dog at their side a comfort...

An hour later, I surveyed my accomplishment. The first bit of the bedroom was looking good.

My knees ached, sweat dripped down my brow, and thirst overwhelmed me. My coffee was a long-distant memory, and lunch was still several hours off. Even when I started early, I ate my lunch at precisely noon. Routine worked best for me, and sticking to a schedule, whenever possible, calmed my mind.

After dusting off my hands, I started up again.