by Susan Sands
“Hello, there Rachel. I’m Leo. Nobody calls me Leonard except my mother, God rest her soul, and my banker. It’s wonderful to meet you.” He didn’t hug her, instead he kissed her cheek, and smiled warmly. She noticed he had Nick’s same dimple.
“It’s wonderful to meet you both,” Rachel said.
“I’m Chuck. I’d tell you my nickname, but my mom is standing right here,” he said, and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, the same as his dad had done. This was a mischievous young man.
“It’s great to meet you, Chuck. My imagination is running wild now.” She could only guess at the many rhyming phrases for Chuck.
“You have no idea,” Chuck said. “It’s a popular drinking game among my friends.”
She’d almost forgotten about her father standing there until he’d spoken. “Well, hello. I’m Jean-Claude Prudhomme, Rachel’s father. She’s somewhat ashamed of me. Ex-con, you know.”
Bev’s eyes widened at her father’s comment, and she placed her hand over her chest as if there was a risk of a cardiac episode at her father’s announcement.
“Don’t worry, it was all white-collar stuff. I’m totally non-violent.” He winked at Bev, whose eyes widened even further.
Leo seemed nonplussed and stuck his hand out to shake Dad’s. “Nice to meet you, Jean-Claude.”
“Pleasure to meet you both,” Dad replied.
“Dad, this is Nick Sullivan. Dad, Nick.”
Rachel tried to determine from her father’s expression if he was going to cause trouble. “So, this is Nick? It’s a pleasure, son.”
“It’s great to finally meet you, sir.”
Whew. Crisis averted for now. So glad that was over. At least Dad hadn’t tried to out-squeeze his hand or do a chest bump, stare-down, or some alpha nonsense. She wouldn’t have put it past him. It was bad enough he’d made the ex-con joke and freaked out Bev.
“Hear there’s a big storm headed our way,” Dad said to the group.
The men all grunted and nodded. Nothing brought a bunch of males together like the weather report.
“We’ve been preparing for the worst all day at the hospital,” Nick said. “Hoping we won’t need half of it.”
“Well, I, for one, am glad to be here with all my boys. This place looks like it’s stood the test of time. I don’t think a little ice and snow is going to take it down. Just look at that gigantic fireplace. I hope they’ve got plenty of wood in case the power goes out.”
“This town is one of the most prepared places for pretty much everything I’ve seen so far,” Nick said.
Rachel glanced over at him, wondering if he realized how proud he sounded of Ministry as he spoke of it. Like it was his town. Not the place he was leaving in a week or two. She still didn’t know exactly when he was scheduled to go back to Atlanta. They’d avoided that discussion lately, instead focusing on spending and enjoying as much time together as possible.
She figured they would take things as they came.
A tiny shriek sounded, and soft little bands closed around her legs. “Wachel!” Janie giggled when Rachel picked her up high and covered her tiny cheeks with kisses.
“Sorry about that. She got away from me when she saw you. Wild little hooligan,” Sabine said, slightly out of breath from chasing her daughter.
“Hi, honey.” Dad turned to Sabine and hugged her tight. “Is this my granddaughter?” His eyes had turned so soft and tender that it was all Rachel could do not to tear up.
Sabine saw it too and her reaction showed in her expression as well. “Yes, Dad, this is Janie. Janie this is your grandpa.”
“Gampa?” Janie repeated, a tiny frown between her perfect baby brows.
Daddy dropped down on one knee, so Rachel did the same. “I’m your grandpa. Can you give a high-five?”
Janie stood in the circle of Rachel’s arms still, uncertain. Rachel nodded and smiled, showing Janie it was okay. “It’s okay. Look, Auntie Rachel will give Grandpa a high-five first.”
After that, Janie decided that gampas were big fun.
“Sabine, she’s the most wonderful thing ever. And you’re about to have another. When?” Daddy asked.
“January fifteenth is my due date. I hope this little football player waits that long.”
“Well this is all very exciting. She’s just adorable, Sabine,” Bev said. “I look forward to having grandchildren one day. I’m Bev, and this is Leo and our son, Chuck. We’re Nick’s family.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. There’s so much going on right now. I should have already introduced you,” Rachel apologized.
“I should have,” Nick said, clearly trying to take the responsibility off Rachel’s shoulders.
Sabine shook their hands. “Welcome to Ministry. It’s so great to meet you all, and wonderful that you’ve come for Christmas. We love having family all around during the holidays.”
“Your town is beautiful and all dressed up for Christmas. Of course, I’ve been here many times in the past, I’ve never seen it quite so festive. I have some family here.”
“That’s right, Rachel says you’re kin to Judith and Jamie. I know they’ll be thrilled to see you all,” Sabine said.
Bev made a doubtful face then. “Well, we’ll see about that. I haven’t always been their favorite person in the family.”
“But it’s Christmas, so we’re going to roll with the holiday spirit and assume things will go well. Right dear?” Leo said.
“We’ll all do our best, won’t we?” she answered.
Rachel tried not to smile. There was a story here, she was certain.
Sabine cleared her throat. “I hope it’s okay that I’ve taken the liberty to make dinner arrangements. As soon as I found out everyone was arriving today, I figured we’d all want to gather and eat together to get to know one another.”
The group all looked at each other and nodded their assent. “Thanks, Sabine. What did you have in mind?” Rachel asked.
“Is everyone okay with Evangeline House?” Sabine asked.
Rachel explained, “It’s Sabine’s husband’s family home. They cater events and parties.”
“My husband is the mayor, and I know he will want to meet everyone tonight at dinner. Right now, he’s in a meeting with city officials doing storm preparations for the roads and such.”
“That sounds nice. Thanks for including us. Is this the Laroux family you had Thanksgiving dinner with, Son?” Bev asked Nick.
He nodded. “Yes, it is, Mom. I can’t wait for you to meet Mrs. Laroux. The two of you will like one another.”
“Okay. Great. Everyone can get settled in their rooms, and Rachel and Nick will meet you in front of the hotel at six-forty-five since they both live just across the street.”
“Sounds good, sweetie,” her father said.
“I’ll go and make sure everything is set for our dinner later. My mother-in-law is an amazing cook, so we are in for a treat, I’m certain.”
“Please thank her for doing this,” Bev said.
“Yes. I know it couldn’t have been easy to pull this together on such short notice,” Rachel said. Of course, if anyone could do it with relative ease and grace, it would be Miss Maureen. Hopefully, everyone would mesh well around a dinner table.
“Well, I, for one could use this time to freshen up and unpack, so I think I’ll head upstairs.” Bev hooked her arm with Leo’s and gave him a meaningful look that clearly meant he was to accompany her.
“See you all later,” he said.
“We’ll meet you both down here in a little while,” Nick said, then turned to Chuck. “You can come with us and I’ll show you where I’ve been staying.”
Chuck grabbed his bag, and said, “Lead the way, Brother.”
Everyone else went their separate ways, agreeing to meet up at the specified place and time.
“So, Chuck, how’s school?” Nick asked his brother as they made their way across the street toward Mrs. Wiggins’s big old house.
“Ah, it’s sc
hool, you know.” Chuck looked around. “Dude, this place is awesome. I’ve never seen so much Christmas in my life.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty awesome,” Nick said.
Dinner reminded Nick of a stage play. The meeting of different families from different cultures trying to learn about one another, but also trying not to offend, while offending.
“So, Bev, how long have you lived in Atlanta?” Maureen Laroux asked politely.
“Oh, gosh, we’ve been there for ages. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” she said. Then, she realized her mistake and tried to back-pedal. “But I’m sure it’s nice here too. I mean, just look at your lovely town.”
Maureen smiled serenely. “Yes, we do love it here.”
Nick cringed inwardly. He guessed this was bound to happen eventually.
Rachel’s mom had agreed at the last minute to attend the dinner party, but not without Norman, which put a considerable strain on things. Her father sat stiffly, an angry tight expression on his face.
“Elizabeth, it’s good to see you looking well,” Jean-Claude remarked.
“Why, thank you, Jean-Claude. I hope your trip was pleasant,” Elizabeth said.
They were icy cold to one another, and it made Rachel and Sabine shift in their chairs and dart eye-rolls back and forth.
“I know Rachel and Sabine are glad you could make it for Christmas, Mr. Prudhomme, and I hope you are finding the Ministry Inn comfortable,” Ben said, obviously trying to smooth the tension in the room.
And Nick was worried about his parents causing a scene. Not that they were out of the woods yet in that particular area, but having other distractions made Bev and Leo appear less conspicuous in their starchiness.
“The food is delicious, Miss Maureen. Thanks for hosting us all on such short notice,” Nick said.
“Nonsense, son. This is the kind of thing we do. Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Howard, Maureen’s husband spoke up, as he covered his wife’s hand with his and beamed. “Maureen’s the best hostess and cook in three counties. I think she might have a magic wand someplace, but so far I haven’t found it.”
Everyone laughed at that. Nick had met Howard at the diner his first evening here, and from what Nick understood, nobody knew much about his clandestine past, so he was a mysterious character, to be sure, but he was certainly engaging.
“You are very welcome, Nick. It’s been lovely meeting your parents and brother. I do hope you’ll all join us for Christmas dinner.”
“Oh, no, we wouldn’t think of barging in on your family Christmas dinner.” Bev was horrified at the very idea.
Maureen laughed and waived away her protests. “Nonsense. We find family wherever we can. If we need more tables, we add more. There’s always plenty of food here, and we’ll not hear any more about it. Plus, we might get snowed in. Here is the best place to be in a snowstorm. My Howard is always prepared for any emergency.” She winked then.
The rest of the evening went along, with several edgy comments flung back and forth between Rachel and Sabine’s parents. The bottom line between them was that Jean-Claude saw red that Elizabeth brought her new boyfriend to dinner.
Elizabeth made it clear that was tough shit due to Jean-Claude’s past insults to her and their family.
“So, you see why I wasn’t sure about inviting my father here for Christmas?” Rachel asked Nick when they finally got back to her apartment once all the parents had been returned to their lodgings. Chuck was next door at Nick’s place on the phone with a girl.
Nick nodded. “I get it. Truth is, I was relieved that my parents weren’t the ones making the scene tonight,” he said. “Because, on a different day at another dinner table, I can guarantee you they will.”
She laughed. “Thanks for making me feel better about it. Daddy is so frustrating. He refuses to see this is all his making. And Mom should not have brought Norman to fling in his face. Especially when we were all just meeting your parents. It wasn’t the time to air our dirty laundry.”
“No harm done. My mother will be fine. I think my dad was entertained by it all, truth be told.”
“Did you know that tomorrow is cookie baking day?”
“Huh?”
“The cookie bake-off and swap. I’m helping Mrs. Wiggins with it. She’s been heading it up. I haven’t done much, but tomorrow, we’re going to get up really early and bake. Then, we’ll go to the square and set up the judging and swapping area.”
“Sounds like somebody might get their feelings hurt,” he said with a snicker.
“Oh, you mean if their recipe doesn’t win?” she asked.
“Yup. Sounds like a contest of pride to me.”
“Pride and prize. The winner gets to hold the trophy until next year and lord the bragging rights over her competitors for the next three-hundred and sixty-four days.”
“Oh, good heavens. I think I might skip this one. Sounds like an opportunity for trouble.”
Rachel nodded. “Might be. But the cookie bake-off is almost as anticipated around here as the pecan pie contest, though not as official and regulated. You don’t have to bake your cookies in front of anyone or prove rights to your recipe for this one like the pecan pie contest.”
“Wow, that sounds a little over the top.”
“Maybe. But folks around here take their baking seriously, especially when it comes to being crowned number one.”
“I guess we’ve all got to have goals, huh?” Nick said.
They were sitting together on the sofa, and Rachel was leaning against Nick’s shoulder. Only a few more days until Christmas. She was missing him already. “So, we haven’t had much chance to talk about what happens next.”
“No, we haven’t,” Nick said. “But please understand how much I want to be with you.”
She snuggled against his hard, warm chest. “And I’m going to do my best to make this work.” He kissed her on top of her head. “I can’t believe it’s all coming to an end so quickly.”
“Nothing is ending, Rachel. It’s all just beginning for us.”
Rachel hoped he was right. She wanted so badly to believe his words. Why would he say them if they weren’t true?
Chapter Seventeen
Rachel met Mrs. Wiggins, her feline companion, Spags, and her stuffed cats downstairs at seven a.m. sharp. The woman amazed Rachel with her energy. She’d already baked two batches of shortbread cookies, and was working on another variety of raspberry-filled ones.
The two women were baking to provide treats for spectators. Yes, there was a competition, but afterwards, there would be a cookie and candy swap between participants, then the public would be invited to partake in refreshments as well. So, Mrs. Wiggins wanted to make certain there were plenty of extras to go around.
“What can I do to help?” Rachel asked.
“You can tell me what’s going on between you and your hot doctor while you put those cookies in the tins over there.”
Rachel understood Mrs. Wiggins would require an update on Nick and her relationship, but it was difficult to describe at this point. “Well, he’s leaving soon. And we’re going to try dating long-distance for a while to see how it works out. I’m not sure beyond that.”
“You’re sad about this, aren’t you?” she asked, nailing Rachel with a bespectacled stare.
Rachel nodded.
“Well, I don’t blame you. This thing the two of you have had going on—” Mrs. W motioned her hands covered with potholders—“it’s been a pretty wonderful and dreamy whirlwind romance.”
Rachel smiled. “Yes, I guess it has. I’ll be sorry to see it change or end. I really do care about Nick.” Rachel used the spatula to transfer the shortbread cookies into the tins, creating layers separated by pre-cut rounds of wax paper.
“Sounds like an understatement to me. You’re sorry in love with that man is what you are. But it’s okay, because I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and he’s got it just as bad.”
“I can’t ask him to give up hi
s career and stay here with me. It’s too early in our relationship. What if it didn’t work out?”
“What if it didn’t? Do you think he couldn’t get a job just because the two of you broke up?” Mrs. Wiggins asked.
“No. I just don’t want him to get off track from where he planned.”
“Then, you’re just too nice. Love is giving up everything and expecting everything in return. If you are both willing to do those things, then it will work out.”
“That just doesn’t seem practical,” Rachel said.
“Love rarely is.”
Rachel remembered the story of Cammie Laroux Harrison and Grey Harrison as she’d been told. Cammie was offered her own cooking show in New York but she’d turned it down, unbeknownst to Grey. Grey was willing to pull up roots and move to New York, leaving everything behind to start a new life with her and Samantha. The network had called and offered to film here in Ministry as a counter-offer, so Cammie would agree to do the show. Both had been willing to give everything up for the other—or at least try to adapt to a new life.
Rachel could see the parallels between Nick and her situation. Of course they didn’t share the same kind of history Cammie and Grey had, but Rachel understood the idea of taking that leap of faith for something as important as the chance for a life with someone that might be so worth it. Before she’d met Nick, that concept of blindly trusting in an uncertain future with a man would have been laughable considering her anger and distrust. But lately, Rachel had opened her eyes to those around her who hadn’t given up, and their stories made it all seem worth the risk.
Nick made it worth the risk. Oh, she hoped he was.
She and Mrs. Wiggins worked for a couple more hours, and accumulated what seemed like several hundred cookies, though it was closer to several dozen.
Moving all those baked goods downstairs and out to where the tables were being set up took almost as much time as the actual baking. Maybe not, but Rachel got a workout making the many trips back and forth. A large banner was displayed announcing the event in the square. And there was no shortage of people, mostly women, beginning to arrive. Tins and containers of every kind were carried to the tables. There were several categories for entry, so cards with names had to be filled out, declaring whether the item was a savory, candy, or cookie entry.