Directly in front of him lay a memory. The red cardigan was in pristine shape, and still as god-awful as he remembered. “Madison, you are one hundred percent mischief,” he muttered under his breath as he reached past the sweater for a towel.
He stared at the monstrosity as he rubbed rapidly at his hair and body then grabbed it out and made his way into the bedroom.
Spreading the sweater on the bed just made it clearer exactly how hideous the thing was. Still, Ryan found himself grinning from ear to ear and unable to stop.
Once upon a time, the sweater had been a simple red plaid. Black vertical lines and systematic chevrons divided it into a grid pattern, and he supposed it would’ve been rather sharp paired with black jeans. Only, at some point, the Christmas elves—aka Madison—had got their fingers on the cardigan, and now extra pockets were plastered everywhere. Christmas-themed decals were artistically strewn over its surface. Not to mention the gold and silver buttons, tiny lights, green beads, and the occasional tuft of silver thread as if someone had tossed tinsel into the knitting machine in a frenzy.
While he admired—ha—the sweater, he pulled on the rest of his clothes. Black jeans and a black T-shirt, because of course he was going to wear the thing.
It was tradition, and no way was he breaking that rule.
He took a quick hop back into the bathroom so he could comb his hair. A single glance in the mirror was enough to set him shaking his head. It wasn’t that the sweater looked bad, per se, but he was definitely making a statement. His friends were going to get an absolute kick out of it.
Ryan wondered how long he could keep a straight face and pretend he wasn’t wearing anything out of the ordinary.
Stepping into the living room, Talia’s nonstop prattling about dance moves turned into a shriek. “Daddy.”
Madison somehow managed to look guilty and very amused at the same time. “I didn’t know we were supposed to dress up,” she said innocently.
Ryan shook a finger at her. “You fired the first shot. Just saying.” He turned to his daughter and pivoted as he showed off his outfit. “So? What do you think?”
Her girlish giggle was sweet to his ears. “You look happy,” Talia said. She moved forward and lowered her voice. “I helped hide it. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” he reassured her. “Dressing in an ugly sweater is something fun. My friends Brooke and Mack did it last year. And I’ll have you know this sweater is not just ugly, it’s lucky.”
Talia’s eyes grew big. “Really?”
He nodded. “I was wearing this sweater when I met your mother,” he informed her.
Talia glanced back at Madison. “That’s wild.”
Laughter burst free from Madison as she nodded her agreement. “That’s very wild. Now we should probably go,” she said, tapping her watch.
* * *
They weren’t the first to arrive at the fire hall, which meant voices and laughter and the sound of music greeted them as they walked in the front door on the main floor.
Talia vanished almost immediately, joining a group of children gathered in the open space beside the fire engine, playing with skipping ropes and balls and other toys in haphazard piles. Madison recognized Crissy in the group.
Ryan motioned toward the young people. “Charity is with them. If you want to say hi.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” Madison had been pondering the entire time she’d put together the salad for the potluck. Inspiration was just waiting to be triggered. Hopefully talking to Talia’s dance teacher would be what she needed.
They’d just arrived beside the young woman when Talia noticed, dropping her skipping rope and hauling Crissy with her. “See? Madison came.” Talia tugged on Charity’s hand. “This is my daddy’s friend, Madison Joy.”
Charity turned, a smile on her face as she glanced at Ryan and then Madison. In her early twenties, the woman had burnished brown skin and natural black curls that bounced around her face. “Hi, Madison. Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Madison leaned past her slightly and whispered to the girls. “I’ve never met a ballerina before.”
Her cheeks glowing, Charity was about to respond when a gasp escaped instead. “Oh, my.”
Madison glanced beside her. Ryan had taken off his winter coat and now wore a very innocent expression as Charity gaped at the monstrosity covering his torso.
He twisted to Madison. “Give me your coat, and I’ll hang them up. I should go make sure things are all set up, so pop upstairs when you’re done.”
“No problem,” Madison said smoothly, turning back to Charity, who was opening and closing her mouth without any sound coming out. “I have a question for you about the dance thing you mentioned to Hanna.”
Charity coughed into her elbow for a second, straightening with an enormous grin. “Sure, but first? Tell me you’re responsible for that.”
She jerked a thumb toward Ryan’s retreating back.
Madison shrugged. “Highly unlikely. I mean, we’re friends, but Ryan is pretty much responsible for himself.”
The ballerina/firefighter snickered. “Okay. I’ll be sure to give him all the grief when appropriate. Now, what do you want to know?”
It took a couple of minutes, then a couple of more because the children kept interrupting, wanting Charity and Madison to demonstrate that they knew how to skip and throw balls just as well as the preteens.
In the end, though, Madison had the beginnings of an idea for mischief that would not only make Talia and her friends happy but might help with Ryan’s fundraiser issue as well.
Charity rubbed her hands together. “Let me write up a basic outline for you.”
“We can talk later,” Madison assured her.
“This won’t take me too long. I’ll touch base before you leave. I know we need to work pretty quick to make it happen.”
As Madison stepped onto the second floor of the fire hall, the scent of sweet ham and something pumpkin-spiced filled her head.
She put the ambrosia salad she’d been carrying onto the long table with the rest of the food then glanced around in search of familiar faces.
She spotted Brooke first. The tall woman stood at the counter in the kitchen area talking to another dark-haired woman who was pulling a roasting pan from the oven.
Madison made her way over to join them.
Brooke smiled a greeting. “Hey. Good to see you.” She gestured to the second woman who was transferring slices of ham to two different platters. “This is Yvette. I’d offer to take over for her, but with my luck, I’d manage to burn something.”
“At least the fire trucks would be close by,” Yvette teased. She glanced over her shoulder at Madison. “Just a minute. I want to drizzle honey over them while they’re hot.”
“Yum.” Madison glanced at Brooke. “That’s quite a skill you’ve got if you can burn food while drizzling honey.”
“Sweetheart, you have no idea.” Brooke pressed the back of her hand against her forehead as if she were a damsel in distress. “Alas, I shall just have to perfect my cleanup skills and leave the cooking to others.”
Yvette finished her task then wiped her hands on a towel, turning to greet Madison. “Welcome to Heart Falls.”
“Thanks. Are you a firefighter?”
The other woman shook her head, ponytail bouncing. “Veterinarian. Brooke invited me.”
“Bringing a friend along is the only way I survive these evenings,” Brooke said softly. “Don’t get me wrong. Firefighters are wonderful, but when they get talking shop? I mean, I know I can get pretty heated up about a new set of wrenches, but I don’t tend to talk about my work nonstop.”
“I guess this means I should stick with you two,” Madison returned in the same quiet tone. “The only thing I know about fire is to douse it—”
Yvette’s hand was over Madison’s mouth a second later, Brooke tucking in front of her with a finger pressed sharply against her lips as she shook her head slightly from side to
side. “Shhh.”
Madison snickered but nodded her agreement.
Yvette’s hand vanished. “Sorry about that, but I really didn’t want you to have to listen to Firefighting 101 for the next hour.”
Madison thought back to what she’d said. “What was the trigger word?”
“Douse,” Brooke whispered. “Which implies you use water on everything, which is not true.”
Fortunately, Madison realized what she was talking about. Water on an oil fire was not a good idea. “Smother?”
“Better. Extinguish is probably the safest.” Yvette raised her voice to a normal level. “Well, I think we’re ready for dinner. Ryan?”
It took a moment for Ryan to appear from the corner where he’d been talking to a couple of other guys. The instant he stepped forward, laughter bounced through the crowd as everyone who hadn’t seen it yet spotted his sweater.
Brooke leaned against Madison’s side. “Tell me you’re responsible for that.”
Too funny. “Why does everybody think I could get Ryan to do anything he didn’t want?”
“Oh, you totally couldn’t,” Brooke agreed, but she was smiling widely. “That said, last year Ryan tricked Mack and I into wearing ugly sweaters on a night when nobody else was.”
Madison pressed a hand against her chest. “No. I am shocked.” Then she leaned forward. “Don’t tell anyone, but that’s kind of how the tradition with this sweater started. Plus, good things have come from it. Ryan met his wife while garbed like a drunken elf. I’ve had good things happen, too.”
One of which she still needed to inform Ryan about, but considering she’d been around for less than forty-eight hours, they still had plenty of time to finish getting caught up.
Brooke guided her to the table, and Madison sat with the two women, looking around with curiosity. There was a wide mix of people at the event, from some young enough to be teenagers to a group of silver-haired gentlemen at the far end of the room.
Hanna joined them, little Drew carried off by Brad as he settled beside Ryan and Mack. They were joined by a man with light olive-brown skin who took off his cowboy hat before staring at Ryan.
“You’d think Alex had never seen an ugly sweater before,” Brooke said dryly.
“It’s such a very fine specimen,” Hanna said, leaning back to take another look before shivering. “Wow. Anybody who wants to beat that has got to have some pretty awesome talent.”
Yvette caught Madison glancing up and down the table as they ate. The next thing Madison knew, she was getting a quick rundown on the volunteer firefighting teams.
“Brad’s full-time for the whole district. Mack’s full-time here in Heart Falls, and we’ve got a couple of paid EMTs who just came on board this year.” Yvette pointed across the table without actually pointing. “Ryan, Alex, and Ashton all head different volunteer crews.”
“Alex and Ashton both work full time at Silver Stone ranch, but they each do about ten hours extra at the fire hall as well.” Hanna added that tidbit.
Alex was the cowboy, and Ashton was one of the older gentlemen at the end of the table. And while ten hours of time was significant, it was less than the thirty Madison had calculated Ryan was doing. Still—
When he’d shared his schedule with her, his sense of pride that he’d managed to fit in all the things that were important to him had been clear.
That itchy feeling she got when something was just not quite right was back, though. She wasn’t about to discuss her thoughts with the women. Until she knew what was off and how to fix it, she wasn’t about to share with anybody, and even then—
She had already interfered in Ryan’s life by showing up out of the blue. Plus, she’d threatened to make him buy a bed, and she was totally going to run with the dance and fundraiser idea. She was maybe sort of joking about the girlfriend list.
She wasn’t about to butt in anymore unless it was crystal-clear it was the right thing to do.
Conversation drifted, relaxed and easy. Laughter rang from down the table as someone else complimented Ryan on his sweater.
Ryan rose to his feet then took a slight bow. “I am so disappointed in the rest of you. Such a missed opportunity.”
Charity laughed. “Right. Because we were all supposed to wear something gaudy?”
“Why not?” Brad rose to his feet next to Ryan. “You just wanted to get a jump on it so you could win this year, but I’m telling you now. Next year? You’re going to have some serious competition.”
“Game on,” Ryan said, brow raised.
“The Heart Falls Firefighters Annual Ugly Sweater Potluck.” Alex considered. “I like it.”
And just like that, Madison was present at the creation of a new annual event. She leaned back and caught Ryan’s eye.
He winked, straightened his shoulders, and pretended to brush lint from his sleeves, although that just made the sparkling buttons flash even more.
The meal ended, and people split into different groups. Some tidied up, some got the kids set up with their movie.
Charity motioned her over. “Okay, here’s what I’ve got.”
The other woman held out a piece of paper that included a list of characters. Madison vaguely remembered the ballet, but in a way, that was good.
She glanced down the list. Names for “star” performers and what appeared to be five or six additional small groups. “And your dancers can perform in here? Because that’s a key point.”
“Definitely. They’re not ready for the big time, but they’ve been practicing hard enough, it would be fun to get them up on stage,” Charity assured her. “Right here.”
She tapped one of the small groups. Madison nodded.
One part of the equation figured out, she thanked Charity then headed over to Ryan.
He was sitting with Alex, chatting easily. Ryan glanced up as she approached. “Having fun? I saw you were with Brooke and figured you’d be okay.”
“Your friends are great, and I’m having a blast.” Madison dropped into the chair beside him. She half listened to his easy conversation with the wiry cowboy while ideas for the potential fundraiser whirled in her brain.
The inspiration to create the monstrosity Ryan wore right now had come in the blink of an eye. She’d known from the start it would be something special and so much fun.
That same feeling of trembling on the edge of something magical teased her now.
She couldn’t wait to see where inspiration finally landed.
Amusement rose. She couldn’t wait to see Ryan jump through the hoops she created again, like usual, good-natured and energetic.
He glanced at her, paused his conversation, and sat bolt upright before announcing, “You’re grinning.”
“Am I?”
“You’re sitting there, quietly, grinning from ear to ear.” Ryan gave an exaggerated shudder, leaning closer to Alex and speaking in a mock whisper. “That expression she’s wearing? That means we’re in trouble.”
“Well, that’s promising.” Alex rubbed his hands together. “A pretty lady wants to get me in trouble? I’m all for it.” He winked then let out a sharp ouch as the elbow Ryan swung at him connected with his ribs.
Visions of sugar plums danced in her head.
6
Her second morning in Heart Falls, Madison offered to stay home while Ryan took Talia to school.
Talia was having none of it. She slid her fingers into Madison’s, staring at her with a bit of a frown. “Don’t you want to take me to school?”
Madison let her jaw drop. “Of course, I want to take you to school, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to let me.” She said the last part in a lower tone as if sharing a secret. “I’m going to be here for a while, and I don’t want you to get bored of me.”
“You’re not boring,” Talia informed her briskly. “Mr. Marche, our singing teacher, is boring. He makes us do scales before we get to sing, and he goes so low that the whole class sounds like cows. Doe, doe, doe, doeeee…”
She dropped the tone during the last part of that sentence. Madison laughed as she imagined an entire grade four class doing the same thing.
Once Talia was off to school, Madison looked at Ryan eagerly. “If I remember your schedule correctly, you head to Rough Cut this afternoon.”
He nodded. “I’ve got a bunch of deliveries coming in. And Grace will be there before we leave to grab Talia again, so I can introduce you.”
“Okay. I want to get some work done this morning, but this afternoon, I’m all yours,” Madison told him happily.
Ryan had work of his own, which suited her fine.
It took about an hour, but she figured out exactly what she needed to complete her first task right before lunch. When Ryan knocked on the door of her guest room, she had just finished stapling three packages together for him.
“I thought we could grab Subway on the way to the pub,” Ryan offered.
“Sounds great.”
Which meant when they slid in the back door of Ryan’s pub, Madison was fully focused on enjoying herself.
“I should have taken you in the front way,” he teased. “Let you feel the proper ambience.”
“We’ll do that next time,” Madison suggested. “I like your receiving room. Nice access with the double doors.”
“Keeps the cold and snow out of the pub,” Ryan admitted. “Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the place quickly, then we can eat and relax until the deliveries show up.”
Madison had a blast wandering at Ryan’s side and listening to him as he described what had been where, before his upgrades. The place wasn’t fancy, but it had a nice calming decor, with sturdy enough stools and flooring to make maintenance a breeze.
He gestured toward the sixteen-foot-long bar counter, and she laughed softly as she settled on one of the comfortably padded, old-fashioned barstools that were firmly screwed to the floor. “You’ve done a fine job making the place redneck-proof.”
A Hero’s Christmas Hope: Holidays in Heart Falls: Book 3 Page 6