Free Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs

player, mediocre at pool and big on practical jokes.
    He was also Eddie’s parole officer.
    They’d met as boys at summer camp. They’d met again as adults, the night of the accident. Ray, a rookie back then, had been in charge of taking a statement from Eddie.
    In his hospital bed, his injuries relatively minor after the fiery wreck, Eddie had not been able to offer much in the way of explanation. Ray hadn’t wanted to hear about Eddie’s romantic troubles that night or about Eddie’s issues with the Christmas holiday. Looking back on that time, it was surprising that they’d become friends at all, let alone bandmates.
    Eddie introduced the Veltry boys to Noah Shepherd, a friend of his who played in the band. Noah was also a veterinarian who had access to large amounts of hay. Noah was with his stepson, Max Bellamy. The kid was growing like a weed, pushing his way awkwardly into adolescence. “These guys will help you with the truck-load of hay bales,” Eddie said, introducing Omar, Randy and Moby.
    “Great,” Noah replied. “Grab some work gloves out of the cab.”
    A dark, polished Maybach glided to a stop in theparking lot, and out stepped the pudgy kid Eddie had encountered the other night. The moment the elegant ride slipped away, some of the other teenagers present circled him like a school of sharks, taunting him, one of them tugging at his hoodie.
    “That’s Cecil Byrne,” said Omar, who’d noticed Eddie’s interest. “He just moved here and he’s, like, the richest kid in town. Everybody hates him.”
    “Because he’s new? Or rich?”
    Omar shrugged. “He’s pretty much of a geek. People can’t stand that.”
    “Do me a favor,” Eddie said to Randy, the eldest of the Veltrys. “Go see if he can help with some transformers.”
    Randy nodded, clearly grasping his task. He waded through the shark tank. The other kids gave way without hesitation, some of them greeting him and confirming Eddie’s instinct that the Veltry boys were considered cool. Randy, with his Jay-Z-style good looks and attitude, simply said, “Yo, Cecil, we could use some help with some electrical transformers over here.”
    Cecil nodded and followed Randy with unconcealed relief. He still had that outcast look, the look of a kid who wasn’t comfortable in his own skin. High school was a bumpy ride for kids like that.
    Guys were setting up power tools, plugging them into long orange extension cords. One of the volunteers, a local business owner who’d never liked Eddie for reasons Eddie didn’t quite understand, leaned over to his friend and said, “Look who’s back in town. Mr. Runaway Reindeer.”
    Eddie made a kissing sound with his mouth. “Always a pleasure to see you again, Lyall.”
    The guy jerked a thumb at the Veltry boys. “Checkout the baby outlaws,” he told his buddies. “Better keep track of your tools.”
    “Come on, Lyall,” Eddie said, grinning through his temper. “Don’t be an ass.” The two of them went back way too far, all the way back to their summer camp days, when Eddie had stolen a girl from Lyall.
    “Then quit bringing your trashy kids around and we won’t have a problem,” Lyall said.
    Eddie stared down at the ground. Counted to ten. Silently recited the serenity prayer. Forced his fists to unfurl. “Let’s not do this, Lyall.”
    “Fine. We won’t do this. Just keep an eye on those kids.”
    Damn, thought Eddie, counting again. Why do I do this to myself? I could be back in the city, playing my guitar, or—
    A car door slammed. “Hello,” sang a female voice. “We brought hot chocolate.”
    He looked over to see Maureen Davenport with a hugely pregnant woman. They started pouring drinks from a thermos and handing them out. The blond, pregnant woman was pretty enough, but it was Maureen who held his attention. Dour little Maureen, wrapped up like a cannoli in a muffler, peering out at the world from behind her thick glasses.
    He sidled over to her. “Didn’t know