The fact is that eighteen years ago, I made a promise to my best friends in the entire world. At the time, I never imagined I’d have to fulfill that promise… But here we are.

And if a relationship has the potential to in any way compromise my ability to protect Jesse, then I’d rather just avoid the notion altogether.

Twenty minutes of aggrieved simmering later, I pick myself up, dust myself off, and leave the damn cafe. But not without first buying Jesse one of the cake pops he likes. I decide to go back to work for a couple of hours and wrap some things up, since I’ll be out of the office for a few days. Christmas, and all.

In my SUV, the radio is on, but I’m too deep in my thoughts to recognize the holiday tunes mumbling in the background. The streets are covered in white after the fresh coat we got last night. According to the weather forecast, Maine will be having a very white Christmas this year. It’s supposed to keep snowing tonight, and all throughout the holiday.

My vehicle is good in the snow—pretty much a requirement when you live in the Northeast—but the occasional slips of even my all-wheel drive bring back memories…

Of the night my life changed forever.

Pushing it away, I pull up to my building, parking right by the front door. I trudge through the snow in my black boots, slinking inside and closing the door behind me, reveling in the warmth, a stark contrast to the twenty-degree temperatures outside.

Wandering through the reception area, I push open the double-doors, immediately hit with a new wave of heat, and the pungent scent of the grow. We’re in between harvests at the moment, which gives us some downtime for the holiday. But it’s always balmy as hell in here because… ya know. The plants need warmth. At all times.

I own a licensed marijuana grow facility, right here in my hometown of Winthrop. The business took off a few years ago, shortly after it was legalized, and it’s been providing me with a steady stream of income ever since. It’s still a pretty small setup, but only because I like it that way. I keep my operations to a tight-knit group of employees I trust, and truthfully, I have no desire to expand, though I’m sure I could.

I’ve known the guys who work for me since high school. I grew up in this town, for the most part, and now I own a business here, and I live here. I guess that makes me a townie, though I kind of resent that sort of label because I’m not the guy who walks into a bar like Cheers, where everyone knows my name. Maybe they do, but I’d prefer not to be greeted that way.

I keep to myself.

Puttering around the facility, I check on orders, talk with the guys who are still here, and make sure we’re all set to be closed for days. It’s entirely unnecessary for me to even be here right now, but I guess I’m trying to distract myself.