Forever This Time Read Free Page B

with Ole Ben. It’ll help break up the quiet around here.”
    Josie laughed softly as the cacophony of park noise filtered down the hill. Snowflake Village was never quiet.
    â€œHey! Do you want a grape Popsicle?” He popped up from his stool, heading for the ancient fridge in the corner of the garage. “I got a brand-new box!”
    Josie’s mouth opened in surprise. “You still keep grape Popsicles down here?”
    â€œYep.” He opened the freezer door. “But the boxes last too long now. Nobody to help me eat ’em. Want one?”
    â€œYou bet I do!” Josie laughed. “I haven’t had one since … forever.”
    He strode back across the floor and handed her the Popsicle. “So I don’t s’pose you’ve seen Ethan yet?”
    â€œNot yet.” Again the softball threatened her throat.
    â€œAnd you’re not avoiding him by sitting on my stool and eating up my Popsicles?” His eyebrows curved high on his forehead.
    â€œDefinitely not.”
    â€œThen I guess you can stay for a bit.” He grinned at her, then reached out to tweak her nose like he’d always done. “It’s good to see you, Twinkle-toes. I think Ethan might even agree with me, once he gets over the shock of having you here.”
    Josie crossed her arms carefully. “That’s probably a bit of a stretch, Ben.”
    â€œYou’ll be fine. Don’t you worry. You’re both all grown up now. Things change.”
    She pushed out a nervous breath, kicking at a pebble on the floor. “Did you—did you ever tell him what happened before I left, Ben?”
    Ben was quiet as he fiddled with a wrench. “That been bothering you all these years?”
    She nodded slowly, cringing as she shrugged.
    â€œNo, Twink. I never told him about that night.”
    He looked at her, studying her eyes for a long moment. “But he might know more than you think, honey. I think you’d best be prepared for that.”

 
    Chapter 3
    Later that afternoon, Ethan rubbed his eyes as he pushed back from the computer screen on his desk. He’d tried to prioritize all of the items in his and Andy’s to-do piles, but fourteen of them were still vying for first place, and it was already closing time.
    When Josie’s mom had called earlier with the news about Andy, he’d assured her that he could hold down the fort until they knew more. Now, after only one day, he wasn’t so sure. Between the two of them, the Snowflake Village business office ran like a well-oiled machine, but that was because both he and Andy dedicated far more than the standard forty hours a week to the job.
    Could Molly fill in for a few days? No. He discarded the thought almost as quickly as it came into his head. Between working at her parents’ restaurant and holding down the director’s desk at Avery’s House, she already struggled to find a spare moment. The fact that she’d squeezed in a blind date on a Friday morning was testament to that.
    Diana’s parting words this morning had hung over his head all day. Josie’s coming home, and you and I both know how she feels about hospitals. Maybe she could help out? Just get us through the weekend, at least?
    Ethan sighed. The only place Josie hated more than hospitals was the park, so odds were slim that she’d ever agree to it even if he’d said yes.
    Which he hadn’t.
    He glanced out the window and watched as employees ushered lingering guests toward the exit, then shook his head as he realized his eyes were searching for Josie’s long, curly hair. But there was no way she was here. No matter what the circumstances, he couldn’t imagine her ever stepping through Snowflake Village’s igloo entrance by choice.
    She’d made a clean cut ten years ago—of the park, of her parents, of Molly … of him.
    He pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk, sliding out the