by Amy M. Reade
Ridiculous. Stand still and quit being stupid, she told herself. He’s just curious. After all, his son’s mother is dead.
“What do you know about Eden’s murder?” he asked. Though it was a perfectly reasonable question, the blood rushing in Lilly’s ears lent a menacing sound to Horstman’s voice.
“Not much,” she squeaked.
“Aren’t you a suspect?” he asked, leaning a bit closer.
“No,” she managed.
“Then why would Eden die in your store?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice was a little stronger. She was beginning to feel the stirrings of anger toward this man. How dare he imply that she was responsible for Eden’s death just because the woman’s body was found in Juniper Junction Jewels?
“Were you friends with her?” Horstman asked, his tone challenging.
“We were acquaintances,” she answered. “I didn’t know her very well.”
“Are the police telling you anything?”
“No. And I don’t quite understand why you’re questioning me, Mr. Horstman,” she replied, her courage having returned and her ire up now.
“Easy does it, Mrs. Carlsen,” he said, holding up his hands defensively and taking a step backward. “I just want to know what they’re saying about Eden, that’s all.” Lilly was sure he had been seeking more information, but backed down once she regained her mental footing. Who was he to ask questions of her when he was the one who allegedly wanted to use Eden’s life insurance proceeds to send Davey to college? She decided not to give voice to her thoughts.
“I don’t know any more than anyone else in Juniper Junction,” she replied primly. “Now I have to get to work.” She turned and walked toward her car, resisting the urge to break into a run and lock herself into the vehicle. She started the engine and looked up; Horstman was staring after her. He gave her the creeps.
She drove straight to work, opting not to stop for coffee. After the experience with Jed Horstman, she figured the last thing her jangled nerves needed was caffeine. She unlocked the back door and eased herself into her office, locking the door behind her. Early morning in the shop felt almost luxurious. Lilly had plenty of time to pull out her sketchbook and work on jewelry designs while she waited for the sun to come up and for Main Street to come alive with holiday shoppers.
Chapter 35
The town tree lighting was that night, and it was a tradition Lilly looked forward to every year. The entire town gathered in the public square to sing Christmas carols and partake in hot chocolate and cookies provided by the historical society. Santa made the rounds, too, though it wasn’t ideal for picture-taking because it was dark outside. Lilly and the kids always went, and every year they invited Noley and Bill and Beverly to go with them. No one needed an invitation, but Lilly liked to make sure no one stayed home for the festivities.
Taffy got to work right on time and Lilly opened the store. Sales were slow that day, probably because people were planning on going out later in the evening for the tree lighting.
“Are you going to the tree lighting?” Lilly asked Taffy when Taffy returned from lunch.
“I don’t know. Where is it?” she asked.
“I forgot you’re relatively new in town. It’s on the public square. Everyone goes. You’ll love it. In fact, you’re welcome to join my family if you’d like.”
She felt for a second like she’d overstepped her employer-employee bounds by inviting Taffy to join her family at a social event, but Taffy didn’t seem to notice.
“That’s okay. My boyfriend can go with me. His name is BJ—at least, that’s what I call him. Thanks for the offer, though,” she said with a smile.
Late that afternoon Hassan stopped by the store. Taffy was clearly intrigued by his exotic, Middle-Eastern good looks and faint accent. Lilly introduced them and Taffy’s eyes widened when she heard he was a gem hunter.
“You actually dig gems right out of the earth?” she asked in awe. Hassan laughed.
“Yes, but the way you say it makes it sound far more appealing than it actually is,” he answered.
Taffy shook her head. “Wow. That’s all I can say.”
It was Lilly’s turn to laugh. “That’s how I felt at first, too, Taffy. It’s a pretty amazing job.”
Hassan pulled her aside. “I was hoping you don’t have a date for the tree lighting tonight,” he said, his dark eyes twinkling.
“As a matter of fact, I have lots of dates,” she said with a grin. “My kids, my best friend, my mom, and my brother. Would you like to join us?”
“Most definitely,” he said. “I’ll have most of my family in tow, but I think we can lose them if we run fast enough.” He winked and Lilly felt her stomach flutter. She laughed nervously.
“Shall I come for you here at closing time?” he asked.
“That would be great,” she said. Bill was picking up their mother and bringing her so he could park the police cruiser close to the square, and Noley was picking up the kids and bringing them. The fewer cars to park, the better. Lilly would leave hers in the alley behind the shop and walk with Hassan. She advised Taffy to do the same; the public square was just a few blocks up Main Street.
At the appointed hour Lilly closed the shop, turned off all the lights except the twinkly white ones that hung over her First Noel displays, and she and Taffy left through the front door after making sure the back door was locked.
“See you over there,” Lilly called to her assistant as Taffy walked down the street. She turned around, giving a little wave and a smile.
Hassan sauntered up a few minutes later. He offered Lilly his arm and they walked slowly toward the public square, admiring the lights, the garlands, the wreaths, and all the other decorations that made Main Street such a special place at Christmastime.
“This is a beautiful place,” Hassan said in a quiet voice, matching the calm that had settled over the town like snow.
“That’s part of the reason I love it here,” Lilly replied.
“I hate to leave after New Year’s,” he said.
Lilly cast a quick glance at him, but he was staring at the sidewalk in front of them. She didn’t even know him that well, but already she didn’t like the idea of him returning to Minnesota after the holidays.
The crowd was beginning to gather when Lilly and Hassan got to the public square. Lilly stood on her tiptoes looking for Tighe and Laurel or Noley, but she didn’t see them. They were supposed to text her when they arrived and she hadn’t gotten a text yet, so she and Hassan wandered around to look at the displays various vendors had set up under large tents. There was something for everyone looking for Christmas gift ideas—local honey, handmade wooden Christmas ornaments, birdhouses, soaps, and anything else someone could want.
They had enjoyed their first cup of hot chocolate when Laurel texted Lilly to tell her they were by the apple cider doughnut stand. Lilly was surprised to find that she was suddenly nervous about introducing Hassan to her kids. Her forays into romance since her divorce had been scattered and unsuccessful, so this was the first time in many years the kids were meeting a man their mother was dating. In fact, it had been so long since her last romance that the kids probably didn’t even remember it. Heck, even Lilly barely remembered it.
When Lilly and Hassan got to the line for apple cider doughnuts but before she spotted the kids, Lilly extricated her arm from Hassan’s. She didn’t want the kids to see any public displays of affection, even one so mild as her arm in his. She could feel her heartbeat increasing and her breath was coming in shorter spurts.
Hassan noticed.
“Are you all right?” he asked, those gorgeous eyes full of concern.
“I’m fine,” she answered, then she gave a nervous titter. “It’s just that I haven’t introduced my kids to a man in a very long time.”
“You don’t have to introduce me if you don’t want to,” Hassan answered quickly. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“No, no, it
’s okay. I want to. Really,” she insisted when he raised his eyebrows at her. Am I fifteen? Lilly asked herself. It’s not as if I’m marrying the man. I’m just introducing him to Tighe and Laurel. Lighten up, for Pete’s sake.
She saw Tighe before she saw Laurel, and was relieved to see that Nick hadn’t joined the party. She beckoned to Hassan and made her way to the kids through the throngs of people waiting for doughnuts. Noley was a few feet away them, watching them like a mother hen, and she beamed when she saw Lilly with Hassan in tow.
Lilly hugged her friend when she reached Noley and thanked her for picking up the kids. Tighe and Laurel were sprinkling cinnamon sugar on their doughnuts, so Lilly introduced Hassan to Noley first. Noley shook his hand firmly. Tighe and Laurel came over, each biting into a doughnut. They looked at Lilly with surprise when Lilly gestured toward Hassan and introduced him to them.
Tighe was the first to recover. He wiped his sticky fingers on his jeans and shook Hassan’s hand. Laurel followed suit, though she used a napkin to wipe the sugar from her hand. Once the introductions were complete, the group stood in an awkward circle until Lilly finally broke the silence.
“What time is the tree lighting?” she asked, as if she didn’t know the answer already.
“Seven thirty,” Noley answered.
“What shall we do until then?” Lilly asked.
The kids looked at each other and shrugged. “How about the snowball target game?” Tighe suggested.
They all nodded their agreement and Tighe and Laurel led the way to the area of the square where all the wintry games were set up. They divided themselves into two groups—the adults against the kids. Tighe and Laurel stood in one line and Lilly, Noley, and Hassan stood in another line. When they all got to the front of the two lines, they took turns throwing snowballs at the large blue and white snowflake targets set up thirty feet away. They had three minutes to throw as many snowballs as they could make, and the winning team was the one to hit the snowflake target the most.
The kids won.
The adults didn’t feel the shame for long, though, since there was spiked cider for the over-twenty-one crowd. By the time Lilly and Noley and Hassan had warm cider in their gloved hands and the kids were sipping hot chocolate, the group had grown much noisier and more energetic. Hassan was regaling Tighe and Lilly with stories of outwitting bandits in the mountains of Afghanistan and they were wide-eyed with rapt attention.
Chapter 36
“Mom, he is amazing,” Laurel whispered when Hassan had paused his story to answer one of Tighe’s many questions. Lilly grinned.
Just then Lilly’s phone rang. It was Bill.
“Where are you?” she asked.
“In the doughnut line with everyone else in Colorado. How about you?”
“We just got spiked cider. Want some? I can get some for you and Mom and we’ll come find you. You’ll be in line much longer than we will.”
“Sure.”
Lilly and Hassan, each holding a steaming cup of spiked cider, threaded their way through the crowd followed by Noley and the kids. Bill looked relieved when he saw Lilly. He shook his head almost imperceptibly and gave a slight nod toward their mother, which Lilly took to mean that she was having one of her bad days.
Beverly was watching the couple in front of her argue about what to give the man’s father for Christmas. Lilly introduced Bill to Hassan; Beverly didn’t even notice. Finally she spoke to the people in front of her.
“You know, all your ideas are terrible. What men want is good scotch.”
The man stared at her in surprised silence while his wife replied with, “Never thought of that.”
“You see? Ask the old ladies what men like,” Beverly responded with a wink. “Though, of course I can’t say in polite company what men really want for Christmas.”
“Mom!” Lilly exclaimed.
“Okay, thank you for the suggestion,” the husband said in a sing-song voice, taking his wife’s arm and turning her to face the other direction. The wife giggled.
“She’s right, you know.”
Beverly had diffused an argument between strangers. Maybe she wasn’t having such a bad day, after all.
Bill and Lilly had been listening to the exchange. “Mom,” Lilly began, drawing her mother’s interest away from other people, “I’d like you to meet my friend Hassan. Hassan, this is my mother, Beverly.”
Beverly looked Hassan up and down, squinting. “I don’t know you, do I?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Mom, I just introduced you,” Lilly said.
“Where are you from?” Beverly asked.
“Minnesota.”
“Didn’t expect to hear that,” Beverly mumbled.
“Mom,” Lilly warned.
“What?” Beverly asked, her voice challenging Lilly to disagree. “He looks like he’s from the Middle East.”
“My family is originally from Afghanistan, that is correct,” Hassan said, smiling over Beverly’s head at Lilly. Lilly was mortified.
“What’s that accent?” Beverly asked.
“It’s British.”
“So are you British or American or Afghani?”
“Mom!” Lilly was almost shouting, drawing the attention of the previously-arguing couple standing in front of Beverly. She lowered her voice. “Mom, enough of the questions.”
“It’s all right,” Hassan assured her. “Believe me, I would rather people just ask me than make assumptions about me.”
He spoke to Beverly. “I was born in Britain to parents of Afghan descent. I came to the United States from Britain years ago.”
“Are you a citizen?”
“Yes, ma’am, of both the United States and Britain.”
“So you’re not a terrorist.”
“Mom, time to talk about something else,” Lilly said firmly, taking her mother’s arm.
“No, really, it’s okay,” Hassan said, holding up his hand. He turned to Beverly. “I am not a terrorist, I can promise you that.”
If Lilly could have evaporated, she would have disappeared right then. “For God’s sake, someone give Gran a doughnut,” she said crossly to the kids. Laurel handed her grandmother what was left of the bag of doughnuts. Beverly munched away happily, seemingly oblivious to the stir she had created.
“I’m so sorry, Hassan,” Lilly murmured, leaning toward him. “My mother has obviously lost her filter.”
He grinned. “Like I said, people make assumptions about me because of my skin color and hair, but it’s always better to ask. That way any misunderstandings can be cleared up right away.”
If he’d asked, she would have married him on the spot.
Beverly swallowed a bite of her doughnut. She wasn’t done with the humiliating remarks yet.
“Why isn’t Beau here with you?” she asked Lilly.
“Because I divorced him fifteen years ago.”
Beverly seemed surprised by this. “He was a lovely young man,” she said wistfully.
“Mom, he was a jerk.”
“Well, this is the first I’m hearing about it,” Beverly replied. Lilly rolled her eyes and silently pleaded with Bill to do something about their mother. He grinned and walked over to Beverly.
“Mom, how’s that doughnut? Have another bite.”
Beverly gave him a withering look. “I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get me to stop talking to this man,” she said, gesturing toward Hassan.
“No, I’m trying to get you to stop talking, period. If you can’t say something nice, you really shouldn’t say anything at all.”
Beverly turned to Hassan. “Did I say anything that wasn’t nice?”
“Not at all.”
She smirked at Bill. Thankfully, before she could say anything else, the public address system crackled and came to life.
“Please begin making your way to the Christmas tree in the middle of Public Square,” a voice said. “The lighting festivities will begin in fifteen minutes.”
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“Thank God,” Lilly muttered. The kids and Noley had watched the entire exchange with smiles, but remained silent. Now Tighe and Laurel stepped forward.
“Gran,” Laurel said, “come with us. You already ate a doughnut, so you don’t need to stand in line any longer. We’ll find a good place to watch the tree lighting.” She glanced at Lilly and smiled. Lilly could have hugged her. The two people who seemed to be able to do no wrong in Beverly’s eyes were Tighe and Laurel and if they suggested something, Beverly usually complied.
She did this time, too. She gave Laurel her hand and Laurel led her away from the doughnut line. Tighe followed. Lilly shrugged and managed a tired smile. “Shall we go with them?” she asked the others.
Hassan nodded. He didn’t seem fazed by meeting Lilly’s family. He vacationed with his own extended family, so he was probably familiar with frustrating conversations.
It was as if he could read her thoughts. Taking her by the arm, Hassan whispered, “She’s nothing compared to my parents. They ended up staying in tonight, though, so you don’t need to worry about them.”
It was just the right thing to say to get Lilly laughing. She couldn’t imagine it, but she was glad she and the rest of her family weren’t alone.
Chapter 37
While she and Hassan talked on the way over to the big tree, Lilly noticed that Noley and Bill had lagged behind and were engaged in an earnest conversation. She would have invited them to catch up, but they seemed lost in their own world and she didn’t want to interrupt. Besides, it gave her a chance to talk to Hassan alone. Or as alone as they could be in a crowd of thousands.
“So this is an annual event?” Hassan asked.
“Yes,” Lilly replied. “I look forward to it every year. It’s one of the few public events I can attend without having to do something official for the Chamber of Commerce. I think that’s part of the reason I like it so much.”