The Rock Star's Christmas Reunion: contemporary holiday romance (A Charisma series novel, The Connollys Book 1) by Heather Hiestand

second cup of coffee. He closed the lid of his laptop and left it on the table. The weather forecast didn’t make anything of the snow. Around here, any white stuff made everyone hysterical, so he had to assume driving around town would be snow-free.
    He glanced at his stack of invites. So retro. But he couldn’t use Evite because he didn’t have most of the locals’ email addresses. So, he picked them up and sorted through, picking out his immediate neighbors, then shrugged into a flannel jacket and a cowboy hat. The area was just rural enough to tolerate the look.
    The soil wasn’t rich enough for farming right around here, but it had been flat, so until the population had encroached, turning it into a suburb of a suburb of Portland, cows had dotted the land instead of hybrid SUVs. But there were still plenty of small farms and ranching operations around the edges.
    A few neighbors were out, taking advantage of the watery sun to walk animals. Dog lovers were abundant around here and most of the dog walkers had two or more dogs. He exchanged greetings with half a dozen people as he placed invitation envelopes in the dozen upscale houses at his end of the street. It was always wise to meet your immediate neighbors.
    Then, he went back to his garage and drove over to his father’s house and distributed invitations to his neighbors. He stopped at his cousin Rah Rah’s primary school, where she was the special education teacher, and left a stack of invitations so she could invite everyone she wanted to on staff.
    Then, he made his way into the cluster of businesses in old town Battlefield. Some of the area had been settled in the 1840s. Battlefield had been tiny as recently as the 1950s, but had become the surrounding area’s shopping district since then. Because he was that rare beast, an actual native, his family knew most of the small business owners.
    At least three-quarters of the people manning the counters at the small salons, pet groomers, chiropractors, restaurants, bars, boutiques, and specialty businesses recognized him. Half of those, he knew, because they hadn’t moved on in the twelve years he’d been gone. Some of the others identified themselves as people he or his family had been to school with.
    He recognized one person despite the twelve years since he’d seen him. Quin Wannassay. He’d be thirty-four now, Yakima’s oldest brother. They’d never known each other well as Quin had been out of his family’s home by the time Bax lived next door. He’d hung out some with Jay, the middle sibling.
    “Hey,” Bax said, when his turn came at the counter. “This your store, Quin?”
    The man’s dark eyes narrowed as he swept Bax up and down, then his shoulders relaxed. “Just opened it last year.”
    Bax’s gaze captured the displays of specialty marijuana underneath the glass counter. “How’s business?”
    “Can’t complain.”
    Bax’s attention settled on the large diamond studs in Quin’s ears. “Doesn’t look like it. And you’re the only person on the street who had clients at the counter when I walked in.”
    “We have the biggest sign,” Yakima’s brother said laconically. Successful businessman or not, he didn’t have that slightly hyper, super-positive persona many born salespeople did. Instead, he rocked a more country look, with jeans and a flannel shirt. His hair was long and tied back with a queue, his ancestry apparent in the color of his skin and hair, and a distinctive hawk-like nose.
    Bax decided he and Quin didn’t need to spend time catching up. This guy wasn’t going to settle his nerves before he braved the car lot. He pulled an invitation out of his jacket and slapped it on the counter. “For my party, Saturday night. Hope you can come. Plus one.”
    “Why are you giving my sister so much work?” Quin asked, his brow furrowing. The skin around his eyes was lined. He must have done outdoor work before opening this business.
    “She’s the only caterer in town