by Vicki Hinze
“Rory’s a recluse no one sees much. He’s related to Tom and Sylvia Miller—the Hardware Store. Rory is Tom’s grumpy old uncle.”
“He looks like Santa,” Jason said. “Long white beard.”
“Except for the scowl,” Jessica said. “He’s been like a bear with a thorn in his paw since he got here,” she said. “I guess it’s not really his fault. He’s used to peace and quiet. All the people and noise are making him more grumpy than usual. Thank goodness Caroline rescued us for a while.”
“There’s the smile,” Becky said, then walked on and joined two other nurses at a nearby table.
“The only person Rory Hardin has ever liked is Caroline Holt. Those two spend hours and hours together and never say a word.”
“Odd,” Jason said. “Two recluses hanging out together like that.”
“Caroline was really close to her dad. So was Rory. I think they spend time together to remember him—but that’s just a guess, since neither ever says enough for you know what’s on their minds.”
“Other than grumping about the people and noise in here.”
“He does do that.” Jessica nodded. “But Caroline was here yesterday and some this morning, which gave us a welcome respite.”
“Not surprising she was here.” Jason sipped from his coffee cup. “Lauren was doing her mom’s planning and Vanessa is awfully sick. They have to be worried.”
“I expect they’re terrified of losing her,” Jessica agreed. “But Caroline spent most of the time sitting with Rory. Don’t get me wrong. We were glad to see it. He didn’t push his call button once the entire time she was here.”
“Maybe he didn’t need attention because he had attention,” Jason said. “Maybe Caroline knew the staff needed a break.”
Jessica thought that over. “Could be. Or it could be she is terrified of losing her mom like she did her dad. Rory gives Caroline strength. Always has. That much I do know.”
“Her father-figure?”
“I think so.” Jessica covered Jason’s hand on the table with her own. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
8
December 20th
6:00 PM
Lauren walked into her mother’s She Shack, and immediately felt her mother’s presence. She looked to the little reading nook where she’d watched her mother sit and dream through the front window for years.
No one disturbed her when she was in here. Dad had laid down that rule early on, not that it wasn’t just known. Both Lauren and Caroline had sensed that when her mother came here, it was for solitude or to think. They just didn’t intrude.
All the little touches were feminine like the woman, and on the little fireplace mantel she had photos of the family going back to the War Between the States. Dad’s ancestors and her own. Photos of Lauren and Jessica at play, and one of Caroline sitting in the woods, her back to the base of a tree, her nose in a book. Lauren smiled. Her mother knew her daughters well. And this daughter squeezed her eyes shut and prayed hard her mother was improving and she recovered. Lauren couldn’t imagine life without her at the helm.
And she would never forgive herself for isolating herself, wasting three years of living without seeing her.
“What are you doing in here?” Caroline stood at the doorway, frowning.
Lauren jerked. “You scared me. I didn’t know you were at home.”
“I left you a note at the hospital.”
“I got it.” Lauren scanned the She Shack for the candy canes and spotted them beside the work table. The reels of ribbon were stacked on top.
Staying at the door, Caroline folded her arms. “So, what are you doing in Mom’s She Shack?”
“She told me the favors for the kids from Santa haven’t been done either. The supplies are in here.” Lauren moved to the stack. “I stopped by the church earlier and Reverend Wong has a group meeting tonight. He says they’ll put the favors together. I’ve got to take the candy canes and ribbons to them.” She checked her watch. “And I need to hurry. They’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll help you put them in the car.”
A thousand packages of canes and all the spools of ribbon would take several trips. “Thanks.”
Caroline shrugged. “If she’d told me, I could have done these for her.” She grabbed a stack of canes. “Of course, she probably figured I’d mess them up.”
Lauren grabbed a stack. “She knows you don’t like this kind of stuff. That’s more likely why she didn’t ask.” When doubt flashed across Caroline’s face, Lauren added, “You have cultivated that opinion because you don’t like mixing on social events.”
“I could have done this at home, though.” Caroline shrugged. “It’s different.”
They walked to the car, and Caroline packed the trunk while Lauren returned to the She Shack to get more canes.
When she bent to lift packages from the stack, her elbow scraped a small stack of papers. They slid off the edge of the table and fluttered to the floor.
She bent to pick them up—and saw they were pages of plans that should have been in her mother’s packet in her dad’s office file. The ticket sample, which looked amazingly similar to the one Carter created. She looked closer. Exactly the same, actually. The agreement with Binks and the flower order, the caterer order with Kenneth Pope. Everything had been planned and done. So why were she and David having to do it all again?
Her mother. Forcing them to spend time together. Matchmaking.
Betrayed all over again, Lauren stuffed the pages into her coat pocket, grabbed the final stack of canes and the last box of spools of ribbon, then rushed to the car, where Caroline stood waiting. “Hurry, Caroline. I’m going to be late.”
She wiggled her fingers. “Hand them over. I can’t put them in until I get them.”
Lauren passed the bunch to her sister. Soon she was seated in her mother’s car.
Caroline shut the trunk. “Are you coming back after you drop all this off?”
“I have to stop by the hospital first. Mom went to sleep right after I arrived, so I haven’t really talked to her today.”
“She goes to sleep to avoid being asked questions.” Caroline stepped back, away from the car. “If you want her to stay awake, don’t ask her anything she doesn’t want to answer.”
She’d done exactly that. “Jessica said it was the medicine. It makes them sleep to heal. All their energy is going to fight the infection when they’re sleeping.”
“True, from what I’ve read. But Mom’s falling asleep at the most convenient times. Every time I brought up you or David with all this planning, which has to be hard on you, she went lights out. Suddenly.” Caroline twisted her lips. “I’m just saying.”
After finding those papers, Lauren had a pretty good idea why her mother would want to avoid questions about throwing David and her together to plan events. “Thanks for the tip.”
Nodding, Caroline turned and walked back to the house. Lauren backed out of the driveway and drove to the church. She needed to think. What was she going to do about what she’d found? Should she tell David? Confront her mother? All the others on the Ridge had to know, too. No wonder the meetings with Carter and Binks were going so smoothly. Events always had kinks, no matter how well planned. Except these.
Lauren could be done and not have to see David again except at the events…
Temptation appealed but fell to uncertainty and flooded her. “Is that what she wanted? To get through all this and return to Atlanta still not knowing why he’d broken their engagement?
9
December 20th
8:00 PM
At the door to her mother’s room, Lauren heard voices inside, and paused.
“Better than I expected, but…” A man’s voice penetrated the door.
David’s voice.
“But not as well as you hoped?” her mother asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “She seems fine. Actually, at times it feels like it used to, but when I look i
nto her eyes, I see the hurt and her questions. So far, I’ve avoided them.”
“Her having questions shouldn’t surprise you, David. She doesn’t know why you left her. Lauren intended to marry you. She loved you. Of course, those questions prey on her mind.”
“You think I should tell her. I know that. But then I’ll never know if…”
“Eavesdropping? At your age?” Jessica whispered from behind Lauren.
Lauren turned abruptly. “Jessica. What is David doing here, talking to my mother?” She sure wasn’t drifting off to sleep while talking to him.
“He comes twice a day. Has since she’s been here.” Jessica steered Lauren further away from the door. “Since he came home, they’ve gotten very close.”
“Home? Close?” Lauren didn’t know how to feel about that.
“She thinks of him as a son, Lauren. That’s why everyone accepts him as one of our own.” Jessica put a hand on Lauren’s arm. “Surely that doesn’t surprise you. He was almost her son.”
“Almost. Until he ditched me…in a text message.”
“Until then, yes.” Jessica said without heat.
All the pain and devastation Lauren had felt on receiving and reading that message returned with force. “Does he have any idea how much that hurt? How hard it was to accept that he wasn’t coming back and there’d be no wedding, no life together?” Lauren’s voice cracked. “He broke my heart, Jess. Shattered it. And three years later, I still don’t know why.”
“Oh, wow.” Jessica stilled. “You still love him.”
Lauren avoided answering that directly. “I still care. I wish I could stop. I’ve tried, believe me. But I still wish for that—”
“David?”
“For the marriage I thought I’d have with the man I wanted.”
“You haven’t moved on.”
“I can’t.” Lauren felt her eyes burn, tears well. “I thought I was gaining ground, dating James in Atlanta, but…”
“He’s not David.”
Lauren nodded he wasn’t. “None of them are.”
“And seeing David again brought all those old feelings back.”
Lauren sniffed. “To be honest, I can’t say they ever left.” She sighed and stiffened. “I suspected it would always be that way, but when I saw him, I knew it would, and it’s even worse.” She looked away, waited for a woman in a walker to pass them in the hallway and step beyond earshot. “The thing is, even if I called the questions and he answered them, no matter what he said, I’d still be terrified that it wouldn’t change anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“He shut the book,” she said. “But I’m stuck.” She let Jessica see her upset. “I don’t think this chapter of my life will ever close.”
Jessica’s mouth parted. “You’ll love him forever.”
A swell of fear had Lauren swallowing hard. “I will,” she whispered. “I’ll never forgive him, but I will always love him.” She let out a grunt. “And doesn’t that make me the biggest fool ever?”
Jessica hugged Lauren, spoke softly. “I think it makes you a lucky woman.”
Lauren reared back. “Lucky? It’s tragic.”
“Not at all. You’re a woman who knows exactly what she wants.”
“A man who clearly never wanted me.”
“Is he?” Jessica tilted her head. “Why is he here, then? In your home town? Courting your friends and family for acceptance?”
“I’d say to humiliate me, but that wouldn’t be like him. Honestly, I don’t know why.” Lauren snapped back.
“Agreed. To humiliate is a lot of trouble for a man wanting no more than that.” Jessica patted her arm. “Has to be another reason. Maybe a good one.”
“I know you’re not suggesting I open myself up to be devastated again. Didn’t he cost me enough the first time?”
“He did.” Jessica nodded, lending weight to her words. “Opening up would take an enormous amount of courage, no doubt about it. But if you are going to love him forever, maybe it’d be worth taking the shot.”
“I can’t do that.”
“You know best,” Jessica said. “But, Lauren, do give yourself some time to think about it. Love is love. It can be as joyful and as merciless as any other emotion—and as relentless.” Jessica gave her a goofy look and a soft smile. “It landed me a cowboy who wears boots and a hat and drives a truck—everything I’ve always said I never wanted.” She laughed. “Don’t tell me Fate doesn’t have a sense of humor. I know better.”
“Jason is a wonderful man, and he’s totally crazy about you.”
“He is.” She adjusted the stethoscope hanging around her neck. “I’m going to marry him, but that’s a secret.”
“Ah, he doesn’t know it yet.” Lauren smiled.
“Not yet. But soon.”
“The Christmas dinner and dance?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure yet.” She was giving the idea time to settle in and take root.
“He’s a lucky man.”
“We both are.” Jessica sighed. “I’ve got to get back to work. But first, promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Keep an open mind and an open heart.” Jessica backed up a step. “I want to see my best friend happy. It’s been such a long time, Lauren, and you deserve that chance.”
Lauren nodded.
“Now go see your mom.”
“But David is—”
“He left a few minutes ago.”
“Jessica Weaver, you deliberately delayed me.”
“Guilty,” she admitted. “You were bent on confronting them about something, and I was bent on stopping you from making that mistake. You can be upset with me later. After you think things through. Now, go see your mom.”
“Is she any better?”
“She’s no worse, and that’s a good sign. Dr. Fleming says it appears the infection is no longer spreading.”
Stable. “That’s great news.”
“It is encouraging,” Jessica said. “Maybe now she’ll start healing. She was a little spunkier this afternoon, so something’s lifted her spirits.”
“Probably David’s visits.”
“Actually, I think she’s thrilled her daughter is home.”
“Maybe both.”
“Maybe.” Jessica’s phone tinkled, and she stepped down the hallway to answer it.
One thing was certain, and, about it, Jessica had been right. Tonight wasn’t the time to confront her mother about the plans she’d found in her She Shack. The infection was no longer spreading. Now she had the chance to actually heal.
Nothing was worth risking her progress. Not even long-missing answers to questions that haunted her daughter.
10
December 21st
8:00 AM
Lauren walked into Barbara’s Pope Floral with two minutes to spare, which was nothing short of a miracle, considering she’d tossed and turned all night, wondering what to do about this setup of her mother’s. Another embarrassment she’d have to endure.
“Good morning.” David passed her a cup of coffee. “You look like you could use this. Long night?”
“Extremely,” she said. “The favors are handled, thanks to Reverend Wong and his group. I picked them up late last night.”
“That’s great. I picked up the tickets, so when we’re done here, we can deliver them to the businesses on the Circle, if that’s okay?”
“Fine.” The sooner they got them out to the business owners, the better. “We’ll see if the marketing I’ve been doing online to nearby communities produces any results.”
“Your mom told me about it. I’ve seen it on the Holt Ridge site and social media,” he said. “That was a great idea.”
“I should have told you, but considering it hasn’t been done before, I didn’t know if it would be effective, so I thought we’d just see. I absorbed the costs to sponsor the sub-domain and the ads.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
; “I don’t want to disappoint my mother. This is important to her.” Lauren craned her neck. “Where’s Barbara?”
“In the back,” he said with a nod toward the work area of the flower shop. “Baxter got into her roses and stomped a few poinsettias. She’s checking to make sure he didn’t get a thorn in his paw.”
“He is one lucky pup.” Lauren laughed. “Most people would be fussing at the dog.”
“Not if they feared he was depressed and anxious.”
“Especially if he helped them through grieving a lost child.”
David smiled. “That, too. I think that’s why people are so forgiving of whatever he does. Well, except for Santa. He’s pretty miffed right now.”
“Santa One or Santa Two?”
“Rory,” David said. “The hole he stepped in that sprained his ankle. Turns out he has a hairline crack. He’s been discharged, but he’s going to be in one of those boots and on crutches for at least a month.”
“I can see why he’s not happy with Baxter,” Lauren said. “So, what does this do for him playing Santa?” The last thing they needed was a mad dash hunt for Santa Three. “The parade is tomorrow.”
“And the sleigh rides and the bonfire,” David said. “Santa does all three events.”
“And the dinner and dance.”
“That, too.” David dragged a hand through his hair. “After you called yesterday, I spoke to Reverend Wong. He will step in, if needed. But Rory insists he can cover the parade and the sleigh rides and bonfire, since he only has to sit and be present.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Lauren frowned. “The kids will be crawling all over him for photos.” If one stepped on his foot and he started grousing, that wouldn’t go over well.
“We don’t have a lot of choice. Santa One is still in isolation with the flu. And Reverend Wong has commitments tomorrow, but he can make the dinner and dance.”
“So, Rory it is,” Lauren said. “He’ll make a terrific Santa, if he isn’t grumpy. He sure looks the part.”