A Thousand Wishes: A Romance Christmas Story (Madison Creek Town Series Novella Book 4)

by Jackie Castle

  Kenna started to shake her head. “I can’t impose on you like that.”

  “Impose? It’s my fault that you’re here. Please let me help. I feel terrible.”

  She started to open her mouth to protest when he added, “Listen, you’ll be in here for a little while. I’ll call my uncle early to come to get me. He lives outside of town and drives past here anyway on his way to the restaurant where I work. He gets there early to set up. I’ll take care of your lot until they are ready to release you. Please? Let me help.”

  His silvery gaze held so much sincerity, Kenna was left speechless. She nodded dumbly. Her only other option was to call her parents. They’d come right out and take the trees back to the farm. Or give them to Murry to sell. Mr. Salesman. She’d so wanted to beat him this year and use that bonus money to get her a new car. Which she needed even more now that Old George was busted up.

  She couldn’t imagine the old Beetle was worth saving.

  Wonderful.

  Well, she’d not turn her nose up to help. Mr. Jovino felt he owed her, which he didn’t. If the windows hadn’t been so fogged up, she might have seen him sooner. “Okay, Mr. Jovino. Tell you what, you can have any tree you like. My way of saying thank you for being willing to help me through this.”

  “Please call me Leon. And…though I appreciate the offer, I’m not much of a decorator. So, since we have nothing to do but sit here, tell me more about yourself. What brought you to Madison Creek?”

  Leon pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat. He had a pleasant smile and smelled like cedar and oranges. Why didn’t he decorate for the holidays? Did he have a family? He mentioned an uncle…so many questions swam through her muddled mind. Well, he’d asked her first so she told him about her family’s tree farm.

  “Daddy always makes it fun. He offers a bonus every year as an incentive. And he pays us for our time. Most of my money has gone into my college fund. But I was hoping for that bonus this year. I was going to replace George anyway if I won.”

  “George?” Leon asked. He removed his beanie. His dark hair was cut short around his ears and the back of his neck. Longer, thin braids covered the top of his head and fell down over his forehead. He looked like he should be a model for one of those fashion magazines.

  “The VW. I use it to pull my little camper.” She rubbed her free hand across her forehead, feeling the bandage covering the sore spot over her right eye. “I had so many plans. I was going to beat Murry this year. He’s my oldest brother.”

  For the next hour, Leon coaxed her family history, her dreams, and future plans from her. She’d managed to get a few of her own questions answered. He was a cook at that fancy lakeside restaurant. That explained his fine demeanor. He lived alone but had a girlfriend who was a model working in New York. Figured. Of course, someone like him would have a gorgeous girlfriend.

  Still, he seemed like a nice guy and she needed a friend at the moment. So she talked and talked until her eyes grew heavy while he was talking about his jobs in various restaurants. The Bed and Breakfast one sounded fun. The owners always held some big holiday celebration out on the property. If only Old George wasn’t wrecked, maybe she’d drive out there and see if they needed trees….

  * * * *

  Leon’s words trailed off as he noticed Kenna’s pretty blue eyes close. When her breathing grew deeper, he quietly stood, removed her glasses, then set them carefully on the nightstand. Her phone was resting on her lap. He took that as well, noticing it was on its last bar.

  He turned it off in case she needed to make calls in the morning.

  Remorse coursed through him. Poor girl. Working that tree lot all on her own. Trying to earn extra money. Now she’d have to buy a new car. Because of his carelessness.

  Kenna said she’d hired a couple of kids to come help after school. But someone would need to be there during the day. From what the nurse said, her leg needed time to heal.

  Of course, she could call her parents to come rescue her. Her pretty lips had turned into a deep frown at that suggestion. What a champion. He liked her grit and determination already.

  In a way, she reminded him of Haley Madison who had taught him to chase after his dreams and not give them up easily. Leon was living his passion, but couldn’t help but think there was more that he hadn’t realized yet.

  Marcy said that more waited for him in New York. If that was the case, then why did his gut always cringe at the thought of going there?

  He checked his phone to find it was a quarter after midnight. There was nobody he wished to bother at this late hour to ask for a ride home. Besides, he didn’t really want to leave Kenna all alone. He knew what it felt like being new in a town and having no close connections.

  The Winters had welcomed him in, made him part of their extended family. Ethan would come to get him in a heartbeat, but Leon wouldn’t ask. No, he’d sit tight and catch a little catnap while Kenna slept.

  He set his phone to vibrate at five-thirty in the morning. He’d shoot Uncle a text to pick him up on the way into town, though he really did hate leaving Kenna here alone.

  Why hadn’t he been paying better attention? What if a semi had been driving along that road? But Leon knew that wasn’t likely to happen. Not many people came out once all the stores were closed, that’s why.

  Lesson learned.

  After removing his jacket, he draped it over the back of his chair. It wouldn’t make a very comfortable bed, but he’d make do. Kenna intrigued him with her simple charms and happy-go-lucky manner. He admired how her whole face lit up as she talked about her family.

  She seemed genuinely kind. She was concerned about him staying, and about troubling him, yet also seemed honestly grateful that he’d wanted to stay. Her shy smile said it all.

  He found her refreshing. Miss Haley might actually be proud that he’d offered to stay with her. His former boss had never let him live down that day he’d driven past Sage when her tire blew. He’d been late to class. How was he supposed to know?

  Leon chuckled at himself. He’d been such an…well, not very kind. Not at all. But he was working on his attitude and found that he sincerely wanted to help this girl. This pleased him because before his time working at Haley’s B&B, he would have let the ambulance take her and the tow truck haul away her car, and then dusted his hands of the whole affair.

  Living in a town that prided itself in caring for each other, in stopping when someone needed a ride, or banding together to make the town a better place had changed him. Had slowed him down a little. Had helped him learn to appreciate his life and friendships.

  Which was another reason that he didn’t want to move to New York. If he followed Marcy, he might lose what little ground he’d gained over the past couple of years.

  There’d be no more texts from Mr. Ethan reminding them that church started at 10:30 and he was looking forward to seeing him. Someone actually cared enough to let him know that he really mattered.

  There would also be no Mrs. Haley stopping in to see how her Sugar-Boy was doing. She always made him feel loved.

  He’d had such an enjoyable evening with Sage and Nikolai and the others sitting beneath the stars and swapping funny stories. This was his home. As long as he had a place to live and a job he loved, he didn’t see any reason to leave. And that’s what he needed to tell Marcy.

  Soon as he was able.

  Chapter Four

  “I can’t possibly ask you to take a week off to tend to my tree lot! That’s…I…” Kenna’s leg, now in a brace, was propped on the footrest of the wheelchair. Behind her, one of the nurses wheeled her out to where Leon’s car was parked.

  “You didn’t ask, silly,” he jiggled his keys in his hand as he walked beside her. “I’m owed a vacation. I’ll still get paid, so I’m out nothing. While your leg gets better, I’ll take care of your trees. I already sold five this morning before a truck showed up with fifty more. He didn’t seem pleased when I told him what happened to you. You might want to c
all your parents soon as—”

  “My phone!” Kenna gasped, searching the pockets of her coat. They’d had to cut the leg of her favorite jeans, which upset her, but not as much as the fact that her parents might hear about the accident from Roy before she had a chance to explain. She silently sent up prayers that she’d get to them first.

  “It’s in your bag. I’m afraid it’s dead, but I have a charger in my car that I think will work.”

  Kenna dug into the plastic bag that held her socks and bloodied cap and scarf. She’d need to soak them to get the stains out. What she wanted more than anything was a long soak in a hot tub, but she didn’t have a tub in the camper. Only a very narrow, coffin-like shower in the tiny bathroom.

  Doctor Daniels told her that if she was up and moving around, then she needed to wear the brace. But she wasn’t supposed to be up and moving around. She was supposed to be sitting somewhere comfortable with her leg up and ice on the bruised knee throughout the day.

  What a mess. Kenna pushed her bent glasses up onto her nose. At least they’d not broken during the impact. She could fix the bent nosepads later.

  Leon pushed open the swinging glass door then stepped aside to allow the nurse to push her out to the carport. He headed toward a sporty yellow mini-cooper. Kenna gasped. “That’s your car?”

  He hit the fob to unlock the doors with a small smile, then went around to the passenger’s side. Opening the door, he gave a slight bow, “My lady, your lemon carriage awaits.”

  Of course, it would be his car. So fitting.

  Between the nurse and Leon, Kenna managed to get into the little bucket seat and buckled in. He set her crutches in the seat beside her. They barely fit in the tiny space.

  The nurse told her to get some rest and be sure to come right back if she had any dizziness or nausea. Leon happened to return to the hospital while the doctor was discussing her release and had promised to take care of her. Kenna didn’t need to be taken care of. She was used to getting along fine on her own.

  By the time Leon was in his seat and starting the car, Kenna had her phone out, hoping he did have a plug she could use. He hooked it up for her. “You’ll probably need to let it charge for a bit. Here,” he pulled out his own phone. “Use mine to call your family. You don’t want them worrying about you.”

  She tapped the screen to find a picture of a beautiful woman wearing a fur coat. Her eye makeup sparkled along with her pouting lips. It didn’t look like she was wearing anything except a very short coat. “Wow. Is this your—?”

  “Merci Lace is her stage name. Yes,” he drew the word out with a slight shake of his head. “She’s my girlfriend.”

  Kenna tried to smooth down her bland brown hair that hung in limp tangles around her plain face. His girlfriend was gorgeous.

  Well, they made a nice-looking couple.

  Dialing her parent’s house, she hoped they weren’t already on their way here to Madison Creek. Maybe Roy hadn’t called them yet.

  Mom answered on the second ring. “Allender residence. This is Mary.”

  “Mom, it’s Kenna. My phone is dead so I’m using a friend’s phone.”

  “McKenna Ann! I just hung up from speaking to Roy. What happened, young lady? I was about to go get your father and tell him we needed to hurry over to Madison—”

  “No you don’t, I’m fine. I mean, I did have a little accident. I’m afraid George is done for, but I’m okay. Just a few bruises. But I swear, I’m fine. You don’t need to do anything.” This was their busy season and certainly not a good time to leave the farm. No, she was fine and could handle this situation. If worse came to worse, she’d pack up and take the trees back home.

  Except she wasn’t going to do that. She’d not let Murry beat her again. That money was essential now. She needed a new car.

  “I’m fine. I have help. This is a great town, Mom. People here are super nice.”

  Mom was quiet for a long moment. “I should see what Father says. He may not want—”

  “No, Mom. Please, I can handle this. Trust me for a change.” Another problem was she really did want to prove herself to them. Her brothers were given all the freedoms they wanted. Mom and Dad were eager to teach them the family business, but they babied Kenna and she was old enough to help, too. Someday, she’d have a share of the land and the trees. She wanted to know how to help keep the family tree farm going.

  “McKenna Ann Allender, you better be spot on honest with me. Were you hurt in the accident? How bad is your car?”

  “I’m not sure about the car. I haven’t seen it yet. Leon promised to take me by the shop it was towed to. I did stay the night in the hospital, but only for observation. I’ve bruised my knee and have to wear a brace for a few days. Other than that, I’m fine.”

  Leon narrowed his silvery eyes at her and said, “Tell them about your head.”

  “Oh, and I have a little bump on my head, but it’s back to normal today.” She glared back at him silently warning him to stay quiet.

  “Who’s that?”

  Kenna’s shoulders sagged. Oh, brother, this was going to take some explaining.

  * * * *

  Leon had nearly bitten through this bottom lip to keep from chuckling at Kenna as she tried to explain but not give out too many details concerning her predicament. He didn’t blame her for wanting to have a chance to prove herself. From her end of the discussion, it seemed that she came from a loving and caring family.

  Lucky duck.

  As he promised, Leon drove past the Beaty Brother’s auto shop. Parking on the side of the street, he told Kenna to stay put. “No getting out and jogging to the end of the block.”

  “Oh, ha-ha, Mr. Funny-man,” she popped off before he closed the door on her. He liked her spunk and admired her determination. It made him want to help her even more.

  Bill Beaty came out to meet Leon who refused to shake his extended hand covered in black grease. Bill thought his little joke was funny. “Bet you’re wanting to know about the little Bug, right?” He peered around Leon’s shoulder. “Is that the owner? She’s a cutie.”

  “Too young for you, Bill.”

  “Not looking for myself.” He sniffed, furrowing his brow. “Haven’t seen her before. She from around here?” He started for the car.

  Kenna’s eyes widened from behind her crooked glasses. She looked down as if trying to figure out how to roll down the window. Leon pushed a button on his fob and rolled it down for her.

  “Oh, wow,” she gasped, then laughed.

  Bill bent down, hands propped on knees so he was level with her. “Hello there, you must be Miss Allender? That’s the name on the receipt the tower left me. You okay, hon? Looks like you slammed into that pole pretty hard from the looks of your front end.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Is my car fixable? I know it’s old, but George is all I’ve got.”

  “Not sure yet. My brother, Bobby Beaty, won't have time to make a thorough look at it until later this afternoon. Why don’t I get some more information and we’ll call you with our report this evening?”

  She gave a sad nod, looking extremely worried.

  Leon followed him inside. “I’m sure you already know if it’s fixable or not, don’t you?”

  Bill turned the bill of his cap toward the back of his head. “It’s old. Engine needs some work. But I’m not sure it’s worth whatever costs will be involved. The insurance, if she had full coverage, will call it totaled because the airbags should have come out. Except they weren’t working properly. Her tires are balder than Sheriff Boyd’s head. However, Bobby is interested in it. He says it’s a classic and he has part of a body that might match up. So don’t say anything yet. Let us have a look-see and crunch some numbers. Maybe we can at least make her an offer, or some kind of trade if she’s in desperate need for a car.”

  Leon knew what kind of trade Bill would probably make and she’d end up with something just as bad as what she was driving. “Fair enough. Keep me in the loop, will you?
I’m going to help her until she’s back on her feet.”

  “Oh, yeah? Is she family or a friend of yours?”

  “No. Not really. But it’s my fault she went off the road. I want to help.”

  “Oh, boy, wait till Haley Belle hears this.” Bill’s grin reeked of smirking. “She’s going to be bragging all over town that she finally managed to raise you right, after all.”

  Leon shook his head with a roll of his eyes. The gossip mill was churning full speed and Bill was willing and ready to crank the handle.

  Chapter Five

  “Come on,” Leon insisted, dragging Kenna’s small case full of clean clothes and her personal items along the walkway toward the corner apartment. “This is the best place for you. There’s more room to get around. I have food and you will only be across the street from your tree lot.”

  “But…” Kenna stammered, hobbling behind him, her crutches knocking over the frosted concrete walkway. She understood that he felt guilty and wanted to help. But giving her his apartment…was…over the top.

  Yet while packing a few items, she’d banged her sore leg twice just trying to get around the cramped camper and had nearly tripped on her shoes she had left beside the bed. Not to mention, getting in and out on the steep, narrow metal steps was a feat equal to climbing Mount Everest with her braced leg and crutches.

  The temperatures wouldn’t allow her to stay outside all day. After watching her struggling around her small home, Leon had insisted that she recuperate at his apartment. “I’ll stay in your camper where I can keep an eye on the trees.”

  “But, I’d planned so many things. The wreath building class, for one.”