A Sutter's Bay Christmas

Chapter 1Christmas carols played on the radio as Jim Reynolds made his way up the coast of California to his ultimate destination, Sutter’s Bay. Everything was changing in his life now. Well, scratch that. It had been changing for a while, thus the unexpected move to Sutter’s Bay. Picking up everything—not that Jim had much, at this point—and leaving Los Angeles to move to a much smaller town off the coast, well, it wasn’t easy. Jim loved the coast. That wasn’t it. And in fact, really liked what he knew about Sutter’s Bay. But it made everything so final. The divorce. The custody battle. So here he was, early December and starting all over again at thirty. In the back seat, tucked behind the passenger side, was a cat carrier that, of course, contained a cat. His cat. At least he’d maintained custody of Butters. He’d adopted the orange tabby the year before he married Mavis. Butters was five now, which reminded Jim that his marriage to Mavis had lasted only four years. He hadn’t fought her on custody of their baby daughter, Hope, though. Jim was of the opinion that little girls needed their mothers, and at this point, with Hope being only three months old, she didn’t even really know Jim. Not much. They’d begun the divorce proceedings while Mavis had been pregnant. And everything was amicable. Of course, it hurt that he wouldn’t get to see Hope’s first Christmas, but there would likely be lots of Christmases ahead, and maybe he’d even get to participate in some. His cell rang, connected to his car, and he pressed the little symbol on it. “Hi, Mavis.” “Have you made it there yet?” He snorted a laugh. “I’m not flying, I’m driving.” “How much longer have you got?” “Two hours, I think.” And it was good that they still got along since Jim didn’t want any hard feelings between them. It hadn’t worked out between them romantically, but they could stay friends. “You must have left later than I thought.” “A little, yeah. Getting things done. Butters ready. Lots to pack.” He smiled at Hope’s gurgling in the background. “You could have stayed through Christmas, you know,” Mavis said. “Abby and I wouldn’t have minded.” Abby. Yes. Mavis had met Abby at work and they’d become fast friends…then something more. He had to hand it to Mavis, though; she’d come clean to him right away. The thing was, he and Mavis had one major trait in common—they were both bisexual. He was happy for them. “Yeah, I know. But with the job starting in January, right after the holidays, I wanted to get settled in.” “But you’ll be alone for Christmas.” “Not really. I have friends in Sutter’s Bay. That’s why I decided to move there in the first place, remember?” In fact, his friend, Jason Sweet, a former LAPD officer, was now police chief in Sutter’s Bay. He lived there with his husband, Danny. It was talking with Jason, actually, that got Jim thinking about moving to Sutter’s Bay. Jim was an attorney, and Jason had mentioned how a law firm had a position opening up the first week of January. Jim had interviewed for it and fortunately received the job offer. “Well, friends are not family,” Mavis said doubtfully. And neither are you now, Jim thought, but he didn’t say it out loud. “It’s fine. I’m fine, Mavis.” Jim had grown up in a fairly large family, but over the years, they’d all gone their separate ways, and they never did family things anymore. He’d thought his family would be Mavis and any children they had. But no. “Are those Christmas songs I hear in the background?” “Sure are. Radio station plays them non-stop. I think they start even before Thanksgiving.” “Enjoy, then. You’ll call me when you get there?” “Yes, Mavis.” He hit DISCONNECT and shook his head. He had divorced friends where everything between them became a screaming match. He was grateful it wasn’t like that with Mavis. Feeling hungry, Jim got off at the next exit when he saw restaurants and gas stations. He’d left Southern California at ten that morning. Originally he had hoped to be on the road at eight, but he didn’t have to be anywhere at any specific time. He would be renting Jason’s mother’s old house as his friend now lived with his husband in Danny’s home. Their home now. Jason had even mailed Jim the keys to the place since, this particular weekend, he and Danny would be out of town. Jim had the place and the moving-in all to himself. Jim didn’t have any furniture—nothing worth taking anyway—and was glad the place came furnished. He and Mavis had lived in an apartment, which ended up being for the best as they hadn’t had to decide what to do with property. He hoped to buy his own place someday, or maybe Jason would sell the place to him. Whatever. Renting wouldn’t be a “forever” thing. After getting a burger at one of the fast food restaurants, and gassing up his car, he headed back to the highway. Jim found himself unexpectedly cheerful, all things considered, and he even sang along to a few familiar Christmas songs. Even with his late start and stopping for lunch, he still saw the signs for Sutter’s Bay by four that afternoon. Not too bad. Following the directions Jason had provided, he took the second of three off-ramps for Sutter’s Bay, the one appropriately called “Main Street.” God, he loved small towns. He really did. His GPS told him to turn right at the end of the ramp, then right again at the stop sign, heading toward the bay. At the end of another street facing the ocean, he went left, then down a narrow residential street. He soon found the house’s address and pulled into the driveway. Just a little bungalow, typical of houses built in the sixties, but it would totally suit him. Jason had said he could pretty much do whatever he wanted with the place, which was damn nice of him. It needed painting on the outside, but that seemed way too ambitious for a renter. But maybe, if he purchased the home, he’d get around to that. In the spring. As Jim got out of his car, he noticed the chill December air. And the wind, which seemed to come off the ocean, cut right through him. He hadn’t bothered donning a coat as it had been warm when he’d left Southern California. He opened the trunk of the car to survey his few boxes and clothes on hangers. A few trips back and forth and he’d be set. Jim had noticed a grocery store on his way into Sutter’s Bay, so once he got the stuff inside, he’d go to the market for supplies. He went up to the front door and tried the key, pleased when it worked like a charm. Success. This was going to be all right, Jim decided. Being away from his baby daughter for Christmas wasn’t ideal. Not having anyone to spend the holidays with wasn’t either. But Jim had been through worse. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and started moving in his boxes.