by Lois Richer
“I came home wanting to do something while I wait, something that will make a difference.” Sam’s big, generous smile was back. “Running a festival should certainly do that.”
“No kidding,” she said, admiring his courage.
“It’ll be a challenge.” His grin widened. “Good thing I love challenges.”
“I hope it works out.” Because I don’t want you to face another mistake. “Thanks for the ride. Good night, Sam.”
After Joy paid Kira and checked on the kids, she stood alone in the center of the log house while a thousand questions fought each other in her brain. Primarily, she wondered how it could be that everything in her world had started coming together with Sam’s arrival?
Equally as curious, Sam had said that fake story bothered him. Yet he’d also said that given the chance he’d release it again. And that he was waiting. What did it all mean?
A chiming clock alerted Joy to the time. She quickly changed clothes before she began assembling ingredients for tomorrow’s order of cinnamon rolls. But her brain had even more questions.
Like why had Sam backed that loan? Was he so wealthy that it didn’t matter? And how on earth was it possible to bring in enough cash to cover it in such a short time?
Joy did not want him to fail.
And therein lay the most important question. Why was Sam’s success so important to her when he was almost a stranger?
Chapter Five
“Sam, you shouldn’t have promised to cover that loan.” Drew shook his head at his brother over his steaming coffee cup later that evening as they lounged in their parents’ living room. “What if you can’t repay it?”
“Then I’ll donate the money.” Sam shrugged. “Thanks to you managing my investments, I have enough in reserve.”
“Yes, but it would make a big dent.” Drew frowned. “You don’t owe anyone anything, Sam. The problem with the hall was not of your making.”
“Maybe not, but since I’m here, I can help fix it. I intend to go ahead with the festival, and if it doesn’t go well, I won’t allow people to say the town’s on the hook because of me.” Sam took a deep breath and tried again to make his family understand. “The community hall is the lifeblood of Sunshine. Remember, that place saw us through Boy Scouts, our teen years, all the special times. It’s an icon.”
“It’s just a hall, bro.” Drew sighed when Sam turned to Zac.
“Your wedding shower was there.” Sam listed more reminders. “Our graduation parties were there. Everything noteworthy in our lives since we came to the Double H is tied up in that place. Mom and Dad had their wedding reception there.” He shrugged. “That hall has history. No way I’m going to stand back and just let it go.”
“Yes, but—” Zac groaned when Sam shook his head to stop his objection. He turned to their father who lay sprawled in his easy chair, having arrived home from the hospital earlier than the brothers had expected. “You try to talk reason to him, Dad.”
“It’s done. No reason to discuss it any further. Let the folks rest.” Sam could tell from the tiredness on Ben’s face that the long trip home from the hospital couldn’t have been easy for him. His mom looked beat, too. “Just be available when I ask for help,” he told his brothers. “Especially Friday, because that’s when we’re going to move Joy’s stuff into the bakery building.”
“We’re always available for you. You know we’ve got your back.” Drew motioned to Zac. “Come on. Might as well go home. You know we never could talk our kid brother out of any of the crazy ideas he always gets about Sunshine. The prosperity of our town has been like his own personal mission for years.”
“That’s for sure. Once an idea to help Sunshine lodges in Sam’s noggin, nothing can change his mind. Wasted effort trying to talk him out of it. Night, Dad. Rest easy. You, too, Ma.” Zac followed Drew in hugging the pair. Then they left.
Sam glanced around. Here was a place he could help, too. Good thing he’d already hired two local cleaning ladies to assist his mom. She couldn’t argue about it until she found out when they arrived tomorrow, and then it would be too late.
“I’m really glad you two are home, Ma.”
“So are we. But what’s going on, Sammy?” Bonnie asked. “So much money and you’ve worked so hard to earn it. Why did you really do this?” Concern was written all over his mom’s face.
“Because I have to do something while I’m here. Because I can’t just sit around waiting for—” Sam closed his fingers around the burner phone in his pocket, barely able to stop himself from blurting out what he’d promised to keep secret.
“Waiting for...?” Bonnie studied him curiously.
“I can’t keep waiting for God to explain what I’m supposed to do next,” he quickly revised. “I can’t stand the idea that Sunshine will go the way of other towns around here either, slowly dying because nobody will do anything to save it. It’s only a community hall that needs some fixing, but everyone in town is too scared to take a risk. So I will. I can always earn more money if I have to.”
Oh yeah? the voice in his head mocked. Doing what?
“I know the town’s success has always been very important to you, son. Supporting your community is a legacy your birth dad impressed on you, and it’s truly admirable. But, Sam, it’s so much money.” Ma’s expression made him smile. He doubted Bonnie’s motherly concern for her boys would ever abate.
“It’s thanks to me you’re into that bakery for a goodly sum for repairs, painting and rewiring, too.” Ben frowned. “I should have waited until you okayed it before I told your lawyer to get things started. Did I mess things up there?”
“Are you kidding? Your timing in rehabbing the place is impeccable. Joy will be the perfect tenant and the place will reopen, just as I wanted when I bought the building. Having our own bakery in town is exactly what we need.” Sam grimaced at the way Ben’s shoulders seemed to sag with relief. His loved ones had been doing his job for him. Ben already had too much on his plate with the ranch. About time Sam came back and handled his own affairs. Was that what God wanted? “Thanks for taking care of things for me, Dad.”
“Sorry about the house, son. I tried to tell you in the emails, but—”
“Forget about it. You did great. Insurance will handle it now.” Sam shrugged. “Joy and her kids are better off here at the ranch in the log house anyway. She’s got help close by if she needs it while she opens her new business.”
“You like her,” Bonnie murmured.
“I do. She’s smart, capable, determined, and she’s got a big heart.” He shook his head when his mother’s eyes began to glow. “Forget it, Ma. Friendship is all we’ll share. Losing Celia, well, that was a game changer for me. I’m not going there again. Anyway, my work sometimes gets risky. I don’t want to endanger anyone ever again. That’s why I can’t get involved.”
“Ha! Seems to me you’re really involved, thanks to this latest scheme of yours.” Ben snorted as he studied Sam with an intensity that wouldn’t allow prevarication. “Wanna tell us what really happened over there, son?” he asked quietly. “The truth.”
Sam rose. How he wished he could pour out the whole story to these loving people and let them share his pain. But it wasn’t finished yet. Until he got a text or a call on his burner phone, he couldn’t talk about any of it. Not without risking dire consequences for someone else, someone who’d helped Sam and might pay for that with their life.
“I did what I had to do, Dad. That’s all there is to it.” His kissed his mom’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re both home safe and sound, though I wish you’d called one of us to come get you.” He shook his head at their proud smiles. “You’re too stubborn. But I love you anyway. You’re tired. You should go to bed. I am.”
He had his foot on the bottom stair when his dad’s voice stopped him.
“What about you and God, Sam? You got that wo
rked out yet?”
“Not yet, Dad.” Sam kept climbing. In his room he pulled the burner phone out of his pocket.
Nothing. No message to tell him all was well, that he could restart his life. Nothing to say that the most horrible time in his entire career had finally ended.
He got into bed, trying to force himself to sleep and failing.
Thing was, it all came down to God. Where was He when Sam had been alone in that dank hole in the Middle East? Why hadn’t God answered his prayers? Would God let someone die because of him, because he’d pushed too hard, gone too far?
The sense of abandonment saddened Sam now as it had before. It was the same feeling he’d had when he’d lain in that hospital bed as a kid all those years ago, cowering in pain, misery and fright after learning his parents had been killed in the accident that had injured him and his brothers. The same emptiness that had held him captive after Celia’s death.
Sam felt utterly alone.
Then Joy’s lovely face swam into his mind. He could hear her voice in his head as she faced Evan.
Is it so impossible for us to just listen to Sam?
Sam appreciated her staunch defense of him, though he wouldn’t tell her that. Best not to get too close. Joy couldn’t know that he’d set himself a challenge to prove he could make a difference here without a camera or a network to back him, that he’d vowed to show he wasn’t utterly useless without his former career. Maybe Sam had lost all credibility with everyone else, but not with himself.
Maybe not with Joy either?
He didn’t know why that was so important; he only knew it mattered to him what she thought. It mattered a lot.
* * *
“You’re absolutely sure this is what you want for your new business?” Sam asked late Thursday afternoon. He traced one finger across a wall as if expecting to find a dust trail, except the entire bakery had been cleaned and repainted.
“Of course.” Joy twisted from studying the big display cases to stare at him with surprise. “It’s just as perfect as I remembered.”
“It doesn’t look perfect. The walls are, uh, crooked,” he said, wrinkling his nose.
“They go with the floor.” Joy looked at him and wondered what was going on. Didn’t he want her to have her business here?
“No second thoughts?” He sounded compelled to ensure she truly was satisfied.
“None. This place will suit me perfectly.” What was wrong with him? “You seem, er, concerned about something, Sam. Want to tell me what’s bugging you?”
Why did she keep getting these feelings that he was hiding something from her?
“I know your business is none of my business,” he said sheepishly, apologetically. The way he avoided looking directly at her disconcerted Joy. “But this place isn’t fancy. I just want to be certain you don’t get in here and then wish you’d waited for something better.”
“I won’t because there isn’t anything that’s better in the town of Sunshine. This building is perfect for me, Sam.” She ran her hand over the bruised but still very functional butcher-block counter. “I’ve always thought so.”
“Always?” He frowned.
“When I heard this place was closing the first time, I came here and asked the owners if I could look around.” She smiled at his surprise.
“When was that?”
“Hmm. Before the last owner, I guess. Two years ago? Maybe a little longer.” Wasn’t it sweet of Sam to be so concerned about her? “That day is when my dream to start my bakery in this building began. So you see, I’m not rushing into anything. I doubt there’s anything about this place that I haven’t thought and rethought from every angle.” She twirled around, feeling childish but not caring. “This is my heart’s desire finally coming true.”
“Then I’m very happy for you, Joy.” Sam waited while she walked through the bakery one last time. She caught him surreptitiously glancing at his watch.
“Am I making you late for something?”
“Not late,” he corrected. “But if you’re finished here for now, I should get going.”
“What’s on your agenda this late in the day?” She’d hardly seen him since that town hall meeting the other evening, other than to notice he was constantly coming or going from the ranch in someone else’s vehicle since he’d insisted she use his for deliveries.
“I have an idea for a promotional video for Experience Christmas, and I need to talk to Miss Partridge about it before the meeting tonight.” He seemed relieved when she shook off her preoccupation with the bakery to focus on his words.
“Experience Christmas. That’s the name you’ve given the festival?” He nodded. “And you need to speak to Miss Partridge about a video?” Joy couldn’t mask her curiosity. “Can I ask why?”
“I want her to star in it.” Sam said it so matter-of-factly that she didn’t immediately grasp what he’d said. When she did, she stopped dead in the middle of what would soon be her coffee-shop area.
“Sorry? You want Grace Partridge to be in your promotional video?” Joy repeated, trying to form a mental picture of that.
“Yes, I do. She’s perfect.” Sam grabbed her arm, led her to the door and held it open for her. He waited while she locked it, then walked with her to his car and opened that door for her, as well. “Your new van was delivered to the Double H this afternoon,” he said.
“Great.” Joy tried to figure out what he meant about the video, but her mind remained blank. She waited for him to get in the driver’s seat. “Why her?”
“Why not?” Sam said.
“Well, she’s lovely, of course. A wonderful woman and an asset to the community.” Joy paused. “But, well—she doesn’t exactly scream Hollywood star power...” She frowned, then, so she wouldn’t offend, quickly added, “Does she?”
“Grace Partridge is extremely photogenic.” Sam grinned. “Besides, she did so much public speaking in her years at the library that she’s a natural at communicating. People see that big smile of hers and they feel comfortable. She’s exactly what I want.”
“Oh.” Dumbfounded by this new concept of the town’s former librarian, Joy couldn’t think of another thing to say. When they arrived at Grace’s home, she followed him inside, her curiosity raging.
“You want me to do what?” Miss Partridge appeared as flabbergasted as Joy had felt before Sam explained.
“Make a commercial,” he repeated now, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. “You’re perfect. If you like, I could show you now what I have in mind. We’d use the town square as the backdrop. Our team has already been doing some work there.”
Sam already had a team? Joy swallowed her surprise. His commitment to this project was amazing and inspiring.
“I saw all the lovely decorations going up in the square when I was out walking earlier.” Miss Partridge frowned. “But my dear, I’m not an actress.”
“We don’t want an actress to speak for Sunshine. We want someone genuinely interested in this town. Someone who will promote all it has to offer from their heart. Someone who really cares. That’s you,” Sam assured her. “In all the years I’ve lived at the ranch, you’ve been the best spokeswoman this town has ever had.”
“Me?” Grace glanced from him to Joy, who felt compelled to nod her agreement.
“Please, give it a try,” Sam begged. “Come with us to the square and we’ll do a little run-through. I’ll record you on my phone so you can see what I have in mind.”
Speechless for probably the first time in her entire life, Miss Partridge stood staring at them until Sam reminded her that Joy needed to get home to feed her children.
“Yes, I do, because my sitter today is Sam’s sister-in-law and she has her own family to care for,” Joy agreed. “But I have a bit of time yet. Try it, Grace. Give Sam a chance.”
After a moment of shocked silence, Miss
Partridge fetched her purple beret and coordinating scarf and gloves without uttering another word. Sam held her beautiful black suede coat as she slipped into it, praising her wardrobe choice.
“You look fabulous,” he said as he opened the front door.
“Thank you, dear. I’ll drive myself over and meet you there. That way you won’t have to drive me back, and Joy can get home more quickly. Oh, my. A commercial. Who would have...?” Miss Partridge closed the door behind them.
“Isn’t she coming?” Sam said, looking confused.
“She goes out the back way to the garage.” Joy was amused to see that the two most confident people she knew appear so utterly discombobulated. “You’re sure about this?” she asked as Sam drove to the square. “I don’t want Grace to be hurt if she’s no good.”
“Just wait,” Sam told her confidently.
Grace Partridge scanned the script he showed her, pursed her lips and nodded.
“I can’t do verbatim tonight, but I get the drift of what you want. I’m ready to try it,” she said, taking the position Sam indicated.
Joy blinked in surprise when a big white metal sleigh with gigantic red bows on either slid to a stop next to the sidewalk, as if waiting for its next passengers. The sleigh was harnessed to six matched stallions that Joy knew came from Hanging Hearts Ranch. Drew and Mandy sat in the front of the sleigh, wearing white Stetsons and red scarves. Their kids sat behind them, snuggled under a red furry robe with white trim, their wide grins proof they were having the time of their lives. Somewhere in the background the faint chimes of a Christmas carol played.
“Okay, go,” Sam called.
“Hello there. I’m Grace Partridge.”
Sam was right. The woman was a natural. Joy couldn’t help admiring her poise and confidence while reciting a script she’d barely studied, all the while being recorded.
“Welcome to my hometown of Sunshine. We’re getting ready to Experience Christmas. That’s our local Advent Festival. It offers something fun and exciting is happening here in Sunshine every day, until the celebrations culminate in our Christmas Eve potluck. If you’re not experiencing Christmas the way you’d like, why not join us?” She paused, blinked.