Snowstorm of Our Past novel · Chapter 10 of 32

Chapter 10: Christmas at the Spur

Somebody at the counter set down a spoon.

"You named your son after the man you think you killed," I said. "With the woman he left behind."

"She wanted it. It meant something to her."

"I'm sure it did."

Clint held the tin out one more time.

I didn't take it.

Gabe stood up from the round table.

He didn't come over. He didn't say anything. He just stood there by Tilly's carrier with his arms at his sides.

Clint looked at him for a long second.

Then he set the tin on the counter by the register and walked out.

The bell jingled behind him.

The diner stayed quiet for about three seconds.

Then Gran picked up the tin, untied the red ribbon and popped the lid off.

"Butterscotch," she announced to the room. "Imported. Anybody under twelve, come get some."

Four kids slid out of the booths at once.

The noise came back up. I went into the kitchen and stood by the dish sink until my hands stopped shaking.

Gabe came in a minute later.

He didn't ask if I was okay.

He picked up a towel and started drying the soup bowls beside me.

We did forty bowls without a word.

It was the best thing anybody could have done.

Christmas morning, it snowed eight inches.

Gran closes the Spur on Christmas Day. It's the only day all year.

She cooked anyway.

By noon, the whole team was crammed into the apartment over the diner.

The schoolteacher brought a ham. The dog handler brought his famous potato salad, which was famous because it was terrible. The kid brought a bag of oranges and said his mom made him.

The dog lay under the crib with his chin on his paws and growled softly at anybody who got too close to it.

"He's on duty," Gabe said.

"He's on duty for my granddaughter," Gran said. "Give that dog some ham."

We ate at the kitchen table with the leaf in and two folding chairs from downstairs.

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