Free In the Running by Mari Carr Page A

answered.
    “Were you asleep?” Noelle asked.
    “Not quite. What’s up?”
    Noelle smiled. In addition to being her
sister-in-law, Julia was a dear friend, never too busy to talk to
her, a fact that Noelle had relied on heavily during the first few
months after Troy’s death. Julia had married Noelle’s older
brother, Ross, and the two of them had never failed to provide
comfort and a shoulder to lean on when Noelle needed them, helping
her through some of the darkest days of her life.
    “Tom wants to spend Christmas with me.”
    “Get out!” Julia said excitedly. “That’s
terrific.”
    “Really? You don’t think I’m making a
mistake?” Noelle was relieved to be able to voice her fears.
    “Dear God, no,” Julia answered. “I’ve been
telling you for months to set up a meeting with the man. It’s time
to move on, Noelle. Stop running away from the future. Give
yourself a chance at happiness.”
    “I had happiness. Maybe I’ve already had my
lifetime allowance of that emotion.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. Tom seems like a really
great guy and he’s been a devoted friend to you this past year even
if he does seem a bit conservative and stuffy.”
    “He’s not stuffy,” Noelle replied, all too
aware of where this conversation would lead.
    “Oh please,” Julia teased. “I guarantee you
he voted for Evan Rhodes in the presidential election. It’s
probably Tom’s fault we’re about to be saddled with that Republican
in the Oval Office for the next four years.”
    Noelle struggled not to roll her eyes. Her
sister-in-law was a diehard Democrat and she’d taken her party’s
loss in the latest presidential election hard. “You know, Julia,
you’re really going to have to let the election go. I’ve been
reading some of the interviews Rhodes has done since winning and
maybe he won’t be as bad as you think.”
    “Yeah, well, that remains to be seen. So
where are you going to meet Tom?”
    “I don’t know yet. He said he’d plan the
whole thing, find us a hotel and all I have to worry about is
packing.”
    “Hmmm, sounds romantic. You know, I’ve been
thinking Ross and I should take a little trip over the holidays as
well.
    Noelle grinned. “Is that right?”
    “Well, actually, you and I both know hell
would freeze over before Ross would let you run off to meet this
guy alone.”
    “Yeah. Damn overprotective brother.” Noelle
laughed as she spoke.
    “You aren’t arguing,” Julia said. “I thought
you’d argue.”
    “Would there be a point? This is Ross we’re
talking about.”
    “You won’t even know we’re there,” Julia
assured her. “We’ll just check into the same hotel and be close by
if you need us. Even though I have no doubt Tom is a great guy, you
can’t be completely sure.”
    Admittedly, Noelle felt relieved by Julia’s
suggestion. One of her biggest concerns about accepting Tom’s
invitation had been the ingrained fear associated with meeting
someone online. With her family nearby, that problem would be
solved.
    “This is a good idea,” Julia continued. “If
he’s as great as he seems, you’ll have an amazing holiday. If
things don’t work out, you’ll still have an amazing holiday—only
difference is, you’ll be with us.”
    “Okay. You’re right. This could be a lot of
fun. God knows it would be better than the three of us hanging
around that Charlie Brown Christmas tree Ross dragged over here for
me.”
    Julia laughed. “Is it still shedding?”
    “I swear there are more pine needles on the
floor than on the tree and it’s only the first week of December.”
Chuckling, Noelle sat down on her bed and relaxed for the first
time since Tom’s proposal. “I’ll let you know the details as soon
as Tom contacts me. Julia, I don’t know how I can thank you
for—”
    “Hush,” Julia interrupted her again. “You’re
my sister and I love you. You’d do the same for me. Can I go back
to sleep now?”
    “I knew you were asleep!”
    Julia giggled.