Page 32 of The Forever Christmas Tree

“It means that nothing happens to us in this world except what God plans for us. Doesn’t mean we have no choice, but the Great Master Planner has the last word. I know, that sounded really preachy.”

She laughed because that’s just the word she thought of earlier. “Yeah, it did.”

He shrugged. “You can take the boy out of the choir, but you can’t take the choir out of the boy.”

“Are you really the guy who supposedly spent three days of your last liberty in a Tijuana motel with Salina Gonzalez, the Spanish soap star?”

“What’s your point?”

She shook her head, as if he were hopeless, and laughed. “Honestly, are you saying everything that happened with me and Ethan was meant to be?”

“I have no idea. And who am I to stick my nose into your private affairs?”

“Yeah, right. Like your nose isn’t already dripping wet!” She elbowed him to show she hadn’t been offended. “Give it to me straight.”

“You asked for it. ‘In for a penny, in for a peso,’ as my Nonna used to say. I haven’t done any counseling for years, but if I were foolish enough to tell you what to do, there are things I would want to know first.”

“Like?”

He proceeded to shoot out one question after another:

“Did he ever try to make some other arrangement with this woman regarding the baby?”

“Are you sure the girl was pregnant at that time?”

“Did he try to find you after you left?”

“How soon did he marry?”

“Was he married in the church?”

“Did he ever get a divorce?”

To each of his questions, she replied, “I don’t know.”

In conclusion, he said, “Someone needs a little closure.”

“Jeesh! That’s what I told you to begin with. Some priestly advisor you are!”

“I’m better at giving advice as a SEAL.”

“And what advice would that be?”

“Fuck the guy’s brains out for a day or two and see what happens.”

At least she was laughing by the time they got home.

Chapter 8

Where’s there a cave when a grinch needs one? . . .

Ethan didn’t talk much on the short trip to Bell Forge. At first.

Luckily, Laura and Tony didn’t question him about his black mood.

Unluckily, all they wanted to talk about was that stupid grinch contest.

“Did you guys see the NBX Morning Show?” Laura asked from the passenger seat in his Lexus. “Our grinch contest was the highlight segment.”