It had to work, he thought fiercely. He was done performing. He was nearly forty and more than ready to let the kids have all the fun on stage. But writing, composing, that was different. That fed his soul, and his inability to create left him feeling frustrated and worthless.

“In the meantime, I need a favor,” Steve said.

Micah looked at him. “Sure. Name it.”

“Monday is career day in Noah’s class, and I’m supposed to be there. There’s no way I can get the tree lots up and running and show up for that. I talked to Noah and he’s fine with having you instead.”

Noah was Steve’s eight-year-old son. While Micah would gladly rush into a burning building to save the kid, he was less sure about speaking at career day.

“What am I supposed to say to them?” Micah asked, sounding doubtful. “Nothing about being a rock star is wholesome.”

“Talk about songwriting. How you came up with ‘Moonlight for Christmas.’ Play a couple of your greatest hits. The presentation is maybe fifteen minutes. You can wing it.”

Micah wanted to say no. He hadn’t been in front of a crowd for nearly four years, not since he’d married Adriana. The closest he’d come to sharing was at the grief group he’d joined after he’d lost her last year. But Steve and the rest of the band had been there for him in the almost six months it had taken him to recover physically from the accident. Since leaving the physical rehab facility, he’d been hanging out with one or the other of them, avoiding his home back in Malibu, restlessly searching for a way to return to songwriting and figure out how to be happy again—assuming that was possible.

His heart told him to say no, that it would be too hard, but his head said he had to keep moving forward. Whatever he was looking for wasn’t behind him. Besides, he’d always been willing to fight for what he wanted, whether it was a better deal with his record company or winning over Adriana.

“I’ll be there,” he said, before he could talk himself out of it.

“Thanks,” Steve said. “I’m grateful. I’ll text you the when and where. The elementary school is pretty close to the B and B.”

Micah laughed. “It’s Wishing Tree, bro. It’s not like anything is far.”

“Makes it easier not to get lost.”

Micah hoped that was true. He could use a little not getting lost in his life. Not to mention some musical inspiration. And maybe a little Christmas spirit to fill up the empty places inside. A big ask for the small town, but hey, wasn’t this the time of year to expect a miracle?

Four