by
Blacksmith Butch has secretly loved his best friend, science nerd Jimmy, since grade school. Now their shops in Old Town Seven Winds, California, are only doors from each other.
They’re about to turn thirty, and Butch refuses to wait another day to make a decision: propose to Jimmy and start the family he’s always wanted or forget his dream to avoid risking their friendship. Why can’t the choice be as easy as creating decorative ironwork in his forge?
- 3 To Be Read lists
- 2 Read lists
Publisher: JMS Books, LLC
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 1
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 26-35
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Tropes: Biological Urge to Mate, Class Differences, Friends to Lovers, Opposites Attract
Word Count: 15298
Setting: Forge, Old Town, Seven Winds, California, Sierra Nevadas
Languages Available: English
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- The server, a kid named Tom who’d told us a couple weeks ago that he’d dropped out of college for a year, was at our table before I’d even got settled. We ordered, with only Jax having to look at the menu. Then Tom stood around a minute as if waiting for something else and then finally left.
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- “Jax was asking about my cuff and studs and ... well, all the stuff you’ve made me over the years.” Jimmy put his hand over the ratty old braided leather cuff and rubbed like he was caressing it. He did that when he was excited or upset sometimes. It was almost like a habit or something.
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- “Oh? Yeah? How come?”
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- Jax leaned in toward us. Was he leaning closer to Jimmy? I wouldn’t be surprised.
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- “I really like them. The cuff in particular. How hard is it to make?”
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- “Not hard at all. I made this first one, when? A long time ago.”
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- “When we were in sixth grade,” Jimmy murmured, still rubbing the band.
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- His cuff was looking pretty sad, what with all the extender pieces I’d added to it over the years. Maybe I should make him a brand-new one. His old one had started as a single piece of leather cut into three strips in the middle and those braided with a series of “secret” movements almost every kid knew. The first band also had a couple of plain gold-colored snaps to keep it closed.
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- Now it looked like a stupid kid had made it a long time ago, all dull and worn. One of seven or nine strands with flashy new hardware would be better.
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- “So any kid around what age could probably make one?” Jax’s question brought me back to the discussion.
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- “What were we back then? Uh, ten? Eleven?” I looked at Jimmy.
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- “Yeah. About that.” His hair curled down, hiding his eyes and his secret smile.
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- “So why couldn’t that be the forge’s signature craft? If you don’t want to teach them, I could if you show me how to do it. I like kids.” Jax seemed awfully eager to please.
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- I shrugged. Sure. Whatever. Fine by me. I liked kids too. Everybody knew that.
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- Before we could talk about it, Tom was back with burgers and fries for me and Jax. Mine was a double with onion, pickles, cheese, and Joe’s great mustard-mayo relish. Jax’s was a junior version of mine. This time Jimmy had a salad. I turned my plate so he could grab some fries like he always did.
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- “Um, uh, Mr. Collier?” Tom was nervous, dancing from foot to foot next to the table.
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- “Yeah?” I answered around my mouthful of burger.
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- “I was wondering if you maybe give a discount to people who work in Old Town for those, like, chain-link bracelet things? The ones for guys?”
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- I eyed him. Nice kid. Probably getting minimum wage and shit tips.
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- “Uh, yeah, sure. Big links, ten bucks. Medium size, seven fifty. But I don’t got any for sale right now. Maybe next week.” I shrugged and took another bite of my sandwich.
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- “Oh, okay.” He slumped and almost turned away.
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- “Why, kid?” Again, I talked with my mouth full. My ma and Hazel would’ve rapped my hand with a wood spoon.
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- “My big brother wants one, and me too. His birthday is Saturday.”
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- This time I swallowed before I talked. See? I had some manners.
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- “Which ones do you want?”
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- “Big one for my brother cuz he’s built like you. The medium size for me cuz I’m not.”
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- “Okay. Come on in Friday afternoon. I’ll have ’em for you.”
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- He’d been curled into himself like he was afraid of me or something, but when I told him I’d make him the bracelets, he puffed up again.
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- “All right. Thank you. I mean, thank you, sir.” He turned and started to walk away from our table with a grin. Then he turned back. “Uh, one more thing.”
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- I looked up after taking a bite of the burger. “Yeah?”
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- “Uh, you looking for help in your shop?”
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- “Why? You looking to quit here?”
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- He nodded.
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- “Yeah, okay, kid. Let’s talk when you pick up the chains.”
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- I went back to eating, and he walked away. Jimmy took a couple of fries.
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- “That was really nice of you.” Jax sounded surprised. I don’t know why since I’d hired him without putting him through the rigamarole of saying I had to think about it and making him wait a day or two.
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- “You’ll get to know this as you work for him.” Jimmy chewed on the fries he’d stolen. “That’s just Butch. He’s a really nice guy.”
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- I looked at him. He looked at me. We nodded. And smiled.
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- When Jimmy looked at me like he was now, I felt great. I was eight feet tall and could do anything in the world. I wanted to hug him.
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- Wait. Here? In the pub? I’d always wanted to hug and touch him, but never in the pub before. In front of other people.
- Uh-oh. Something was definitely wrong with me. I needed time off to get a life, bad.
COLLAPSE
Jessie on Jessie G Books wrote:Butch has known he’s loved his best friend, Jimmy, since he was twelve years old. As the years have passed and now with them both on the cusp of thirty, Butch may still be in love, but he also knows he will never be good enough for his pal. First off, Jimmy is brilliant—college educated whereas Butch never even graduated high school. Secondly, Jimmy is gorgeous and deserves someone just as beautiful as he is and Butch thinks he’s not much to look at since he’s often covered in dirt and sweat as a byproduct of the forge he runs in his shop. Still, Butch dreams of telling Jimmy that he loves him, but is so afraid that the news may end their friendship, particularly since Butch can’t be sure Jimmy feels the same. So with Christmas approaching Butch must decide—stay silent and try to find someone who is more like him to make a life with or tell Jimmy everything and pray it doesn’t ruin the one good thing in his life.
Pat Henshaw delivers up a sweet love from afar holiday story in Making the Holidays Happy Again. With some definite lack of communication preventing our two main characters from realizing they both feel exactly the same, the story focuses on more of the business aspect of their relationship. Butch is so torn about whether to confess to Jimmy he loves him. And since Butch is just about the sweetest guy one could ever meet, that meant my heart really went out to him as he grapples with the idea of never having Jimmy for his own or, even worse, watching him fall in love with someone else. From the tender way Butch treats a young shy boy who comes into his shop, to the declaration that he will always be there to protect Jimmy no matter what, it is so easy to fall in love with this guy.
Making the Holidays Happy Again is a simple story and one that made me smile. The end is surprising, but lovely, and I definitely could stand to read more about these two and the people they interact with in their small town. It’s a great little holiday story sure to make the romantic in us all give a happy sigh.
Dan on Love Bytes wrote:As Butch and Jimmy stare down the dreaded 3-0 they are both thinking the same thing: time to settle down, pitch that picket fence, and build a family. Both are successful businessmen, have a good group of friends, and only want each other to be happy. Between Butch’s belief that he’s not good enough for the more cerebral Jimmy and a possible romance between Jimmy and Butch’s new employee, it just doesn’t seem that they’ll find it together.
I do love a good friends-to-lovers romance, especially long-time friends who are oblivious to each other’s unrequited feelings. As a novella, I needed a little more focus on Butch and Jimmy together and less on the hectic holiday sales season which had taken over both their lives and this book. Also, the set up of the little boy who visits the forge had me thinking in one direction and while his outcome was adorable, I was kind of disappointed that he wasn’t rounding out that family picture.
Overall, another cute story from an author who never fails to bring the sweet feels.
I’m a huge fan of anything ‘Henshaw’, and this short story continued that fandom.
My only complaint, as with all the stories I read every December in these Advent Calendars, is the length. I wanted more! Fitting the story into this short of a format seemed to rush the events just a little. I would have loved more filler in the middle!
The story had some interesting side characters going on that I would love to see in a future story. There is a young gay boy and his first boyfriend, there is the boy’s gay uncle and mean old homophobic grandmother for example. And don’t forget the new hot blacksmith that Butch hired. Story lines pop into my head with all of them. Let’s hope Ms. Henshaw gives them to us!
I recommend the story. If you’re a fan of Ms. Henshaw, or even if you don’t know her writing, give it a shot. Then immediately head on over to her Foothills Pride books. I’ll be waiting for more stories Henshaw.
