Scott grinned and looked up at the deck. He kept one arm around Alissa and drew her close to his side.
“Yes, ma’am. Without a doubtly.”
“Then congratulations! I love that you found love at Christmas Inn.”
“Love found us at Christmas Inn.” Lissy spoke up—a little shyly, but joy rang from every word. “We found love a long time ago, as kids on a beach in Oregon.”
“Well, that’s a story I’d sure like to—”
She was interrupted by the bells. They tolled long and loud, filling the crisp air with a clang and jangle that somehow managed to be harmonic. Beautiful.
Hearing them outside like this, Scott suddenly understood how the sound could reach for miles, calling folks in for worship, or funerals…even weddings.
He looked at Lissy. She smiled, but her lips trembled and her eyes shone with unshed tears.
“What is it, sweetheart? What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Oh, Scott, everything in my world is more right than it’s ever been. I can’t quite contain my happiness, and the bells—the bells! They rang for us, Scott…twice!”
Then all that joy overflowed and ran right down her cheeks.
Scott bent his head to nuzzle the silky softness of her hair.
“What do you think, my love? Should we honor that double tribute by saying ‘the words that must not be said’ in that little chapel yonder?”
He turned her to face toward the little church on the hill. White Christmas lights lit the steeple, where the bells were housed.
As they watched, beautiful white fireworks shot across the sky and bloomed into an incredible display of dazzling beauty. Another one followed the first…and then another.
With the chapel below, it was a stunning light show—one never to be forgotten. Scott wanted to say something, to pay some sort of verbal tribute to the glorious exhibition, but found himself speechless.
“Yes,” Lissy whispered.
He gave himself a mental shake, cleared his throat and hoped he could speak. “Y—yes?”
“The chapel. Yes. Then can we honeymoon in Oregon?”
“Sweetheart, if you marry me in the Christmas Inn chapel—or anywhere else on earth—we can honeymoon on the moon, if that’s what you want. All that matters to me is that you say—”
She shushed him with a finger to his lips. “No, not yet. Those words must not be said until the time is right. Right?”
He took her hand and led her a little distance from the crowd of guests. They sat at one of the several benches that lined the garden path. “I won’t say them. But will you do something for me too?”
“Anything, love.”
“Anything?”
“Well…within generous reason.”
“Then…” He pulled her close and brushed his lips across hers. Not a kiss, just a promise of one. “Think we could make the bells ring one more time?”
She leaned in so close he felt her warm breath against his mouth.
She slid a hand to the back of his head and drew him ever closer. “They’re ringing already in my heart, but…” Her beautiful smile rivaled the distant fireworks in brilliance. “I say we give it a try.”
Enjoy this Sneak Peek into…
Do You See What I See?
(A Smoky Mountain Christmas, Book 1)
Chapter 1
“I DO NOT. WANT. TO go.”
Laramie Buchanan forced the words through clenched teeth. They emerged closer to a growl than her normal, pleasant voice.
Her friend Sydney Traynor studied a soap display, clearly bent on making it better than perfect. Business partners and roommates, the young women were also lifelong friends and shared a relationship as close as sisters.
Sydney spoke over her shoulder, her critical gaze still fixed on the gorgeous grouping of scented bath products. “Why are you so upset about this trip, Lari? It’s your Granddaddy’s eightieth birthday—that’s a big deal. And you haven’t been home in three years. What’s the problem?”
As if you don’t know. Laramie drew in a lungful of air and tried to calm her screaming nerves. If I react like this just thinking about Evan, what would I do if I ran into him back home?
“I’m not upset.” She placed a fisted hand in the small of her back and stretched backward. “I just don’t want to go.”
Slamming the lid down on a case of Christmas Coconut candles, she took half a minute to appreciate the whiff of sweet coconut with a crisp hint of peppermint that wafted upward with the displaced air. She dragged strapping tape across the top, snapped it off on the serrated edge of the dispenser and turned to look at her friend.
Syd turned from admiring her handiwork—stunning, as always—to raise one disbelieving eyebrow. “Who do you think you’re foolin’, girlfriend?” She treated Laramie to a saucy little Syd-style head jive, and shook a long brown finger under her nose. “I know you! You can’t tell me you don’t miss your Mama.” She swung back to the display, which Laramie doubted could be improved upon, and kept talking. “And your Daddy. And those sweet grandparents of yours too. You ask me, it’s time you get your little white hiney back home for a visit.”
Laramie laughed out loud. Her skin did tend toward the porcelain side of white, while Syd’s resembled smooth caramel silk. Her own blue eyes were in complete contrast to her friend’s chocolate brown ones, her curves not quite as full as the other girl’s. But Syd was right—they knew each other well, and couldn’t have been closer if they’d been born to the same parents.
“Fine, then go with me.”
“Did I say I wouldn’t?”
At last satisfied with her display, Sydney picked up the purchase order Laramie was working on. She grabbed another packing crate and started checking off items as she tucked them inside. “My folks are off to Hawaii for Christmas this year, and if you’re going somewhere, then I’m coming too. So just tell them we’ll be there for Granddaddy’s birthday. And Christmas, of course!” She grinned, and perfect white teeth shone like pearls against naturally rosy lips.
Laramie laughed. “Well, yeah, since Granddaddy’s birthday is Christmas Eve.”
“And isn’t it nice that he won’t be the only one opening presents?”
They giggled like schoolgirls, and a comfortable silence fell as the two women worked hard and fast.
Christmas orders had begun to arrive by the boxful. This meant good things for their soap-and-candle company, but it kept the two of them hopping.
They had opened WaxScents three years earlier when Laramie, heartbroken and crushed by betrayal, ran away from painful memories, leaving behind her home and family near Gatlinburg.
The Traynors had moved from there to the Dyersburg area—on the opposite end of the state—eight months before Laramie joined them. After her arrival, the girls got themselves a cute little apartment and a couple of unfulfilling nine-to-five jobs. One evening, tired and disillusioned with their boring lives, they cooked up a plan to make good use of the skills they’d learned back in Gatlinburg. The concept for WaxScents was born, and Syd’s parents believed in it enough to provide financing.
Evan Lassiter still lived in Gatlinburg, which meant Laramie did not. She couldn’t bring herself to face the man who had turned her life upside down on the day they were supposed to say, “I do.”
Her hands continued to wrap and pack candles and soap, but her mind wandered back to that awful moment of truth. Thank God Syd had been with her!
As her maid of honor, Syd would have been one of only two guests at the ceremony. Laramie had never met Evan’s brother and best man, who was slated as the sole remaining witness to their nuptials. Having just finished a second term in the Navy, Ethan had been scheduled to arrive the morning of the wedding.
“Oops!” Emerging from her bitter reverie to realize the order was for holly and hyacinth, Laramie snagged the bayberry scented soap she’d wrapped and tucked into the box. She had to get her mind on what she was doing, but having started down Memory Lane, it was difficult t
o turn off the flood of reminiscence that threatened to drown her.
“OK. That’s it.” Sydney stood up straight, grabbed Laramie by the arm, and headed for the door. “Talk time, girlfriend.”
“We cannot leave!” Laramie tried without much success to pull loose from her friend’s grasp. “We still have two more orders to fill, and UPS will be here soon.”
Sydney didn’t even slow down. “We have all day to pack these orders, Laramie Buchanan. We’ll get ’em done. If they don’t go out today, they’ll go tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure the world won’t end if it comes to that.”
She gave Laramie a firm shove out the door ahead of her, then turned to lock up. “Ice cream, that’s what we need. And a nice little chat about things you don’t like to talk about.”
Laramie climbed into the passenger side of her friend’s pride and joy. Syd had awarded herself with the little sports car when WaxScents brought them a hefty profit their second year in business, and she treated the vehicle like a pampered child.
“Whoa! No need to slam that door, girl. It shuts just fine and dandy without all that brutality.” Sydney started the engine and glowered at Laramie, who bit back a grin. “Watch yourself with my baby.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Laramie quipped, and then rested her head on the bright purple headrest. “Oh, Syd, I don’t know. I do miss my family—so much! But I’m not ready to see Evan.”
“Well, then don’t see him.”
“You know better than that. He moves in the same circles the Buchanans do, and there’s no way on earth I’ll get by without running into him somewhere.”
“Well, maybe you need to run into him. You ask me, it’s about time you give that man a hefty piece of your mind, after what he did to you.”
A smile tugged at one corner of Laramie’s lips. “I’d rather hear you give him what-for. You’re so good at it!” She tapped on her temple and raised a brow. “And I need to keep what little of my mind I have left.”
Sydney’s hair, straightened and lengthened with extensions, swung around her face when she nodded her head. Hard. “Well, then let me at him! Mr. Evan Lassiter won’t know what hit him after this sistah gets finished with his white hide.” She screeched around a corner, and Laramie bit her lip and took a firm hold on the armrest. The other girl’s voice grew ever more strident, and as it increased in volume, so did her “baby” in speed. “I cannot believe that man! Takin’ some little playthang into your bridal boudoir—on your weddin’ day? Somebody oughta tell that no-good philanderer a thing or two.”
She whipped into a parking space at the local ice cream parlor and jerked her keys out of the ignition before turning to pin Laramie under a heated glare. “And if you won’t do it, I’ll be more than happy to handle it myself.”
They walked inside and ordered, then found a table in a quiet corner. Laramie glanced around the mostly empty room, glad they’d come during a lull. Certain times of day, this place buzzed with activity. She knew Sydney. Having worked herself into a fit of righteous indignation, she wouldn’t back off the conversation they’d begun just because they had an audience. Laramie could only be grateful they didn’t.
Reaching across the table, the other girl gave Laramie’s hand a squeeze. Her dark brown gaze held a whole heart full of love. “You can’t let Evan keep you away from your family forever. He’s not worth it, and it’s making you miserable.”
“I know you’re right. I just don’t know if I can—” She broke off as a teenaged boy placed their orders on the table.
When he walked away, Syd took her hand again and said a quick prayer of thanks. That little ritual was nothing new to Laramie…her family had always prayed before meals. But today the quiet mumble of her friend’s voice seemed specifically geared to rake her nerves. Why should she give thanks to a God who would allow such pain into her life?
“Dig in, girlfriend.” Her brief grace said and done, Sydney dipped her spoon into a scoop of chocolate mint ice cream.
Laramie slid a bite of white chocolate cherry into her mouth. “Mmmm, this is too good to not be a sin!”
Sydney moaned. “Mmm-mmm-mmm. You got that right!” She opened her eyes and gazed straight into Laramie’s. “You haven’t talked to Evan once since…that day, have you?”
“And I don’t plan to start now.” She used her napkin to dab at the corner of her mouth. “What could he possibly say to explain what we saw?”
“Well, I’d sure like to hear him try.” Her friend shook her head. “Oh, honey…you were so excited on the drive up to the resort. And that cabin you all rented was just adorable!” She heaved a sigh. “I don’t know, maybe things worked out for the best. Your folks would’ve been mighty upset if you’d cheated them out of being at your wedding.”
Laramie shrugged. “We’ll never know, will we? Evan and I wanted to avoid all the hoopla that goes along with most weddings. We wanted to enjoy it and have it be about us, not about making the society page of the Smoky Mountain Sentinel.” She made a wry face. “At least, that’s what I wanted. Apparently Evan didn’t want a wedding at all.”
“Well, it’s his loss.” Sydney laid her spoon down and stopped eating for a moment. She did that often, and swore it was how she managed to stay slim and still eat anything she wanted. “We were giggling like a couple of silly kids when we got there and climbed that little hill to your cabin. What was it called? Angel’s Cloud, or something like that. Those cabins had the sweetest names.”
“Angel’s Rest,” Laramie supplied, then clamped her mouth shut, having no desire to take part in Syd’s trip into that part of their past.
“Well, they didn’t look like angels, Evan and his little sidepiece.” Sydney shuddered. “If not for that braying laughter of hers, we might have walked right in on them.”
Why was her friend dragging out these painful memories? “Look, Syd, I don’t—”
“You had the key in your hand, all set to open that door, when we heard them in there.”
Laramie swallowed hard. “Yeah, we both ducked down under the window like a couple of thieves.”
Sydney laughed a little, but the sound lacked any real amusement. “Weird, how that happened, isn’t it? And convenient that they’d left the blinds up a couple inches.”
Laramie’s throat felt as dry and prickly as a high-desert cactus. “Just enough for us to see them all tangled up in each other.” She pushed her ice cream away. When she spoke again, she heard something in her voice she didn’t like—something hard and bitter. “Did he plan on marrying me, right there in that room, that night? And then taking me to that same bed?” She shuddered.
Sydney pushed her own half-eaten treat aside and took both of Laramie’s hands. “Judging from what we saw that day, God kept you from making a bad mistake. I wouldn’t have believed Evan capable of such deception—but we saw it with our own eyes. You’re better off alone than married to a man like that.”
“I know.” She pulled in a lungful of air and huffed it back out, her eyes closed as she shook her head. “Oh, Syd, I’ve never been so crushed. If you hadn’t been there….”
“Well, I was there. Like I said, God had your back that day, girlfriend.”
“Thank you for bringing me home with you and taking care of me while I didn’t want to live.” Laramie swiped at her damp eyes.
“What’choo talkin’ ’bout, girlfriend?” Her friend’s exaggerated speech pattern made Laramie smile through the tears that burned her eyes. “We take care of each other.”
Syd stood, talking while she piled dirty bowls and silverware onto a tray. “We’re a team, you and me. Look at us, makin’ pretty little soaps and candles that sell like nobody’s business. We’re family, and family sticks together.”
Laramie laughed, shoving aside the sadness their conversation had awakened in her. Syd was right. Marrying a man who couldn’t even be faithful on his wedding day would have ruined her life. He certainly wouldn’t have been true to her after the wedding.
Her friend had
something else right, too. Laramie missed her family. She longed to feel Mama’s soft arms around her, and Daddy’s gentle tugs on her hair when she snuggled onto his lap—a habit she’d never outgrow. She yearned to hug her Granddaddy, with that gruff exterior that fooled nobody; and to watch Granny bustle around her kitchen, laying out a spread that could feed every hungry man in three counties.
And McKenna. Her little sister—a late, unexpected gift in her parents’ lives—had been eleven when Laramie left Gatlinburg. She’d be fourteen now, a young lady. No doubt she was looking at boys, might even have her eyes on one special guy she dreamed of knowing better. Laramie had missed watching that happen. Missed giving Keni advice and teaching her things big sisters are supposed to teach.
And for what? A man who wasn’t worth it.
Having shared her heart, Sydney drove at a more sedate pace on the way back to WaxScents. She maneuvered the busy streets in silence, knowing without being told that enough had been said.
When Laramie pulled out her cell phone and started punching numbers, Sydney’s satisfied smile spoke volumes.
“Mama? It’s Laramie.”
“Lari! I didn’t expect you to call back so soon.”
She swallowed an unexpected lump and cleared her throat. “I know. I—I wanted to hear your voice.”
Her mother made an odd little sound and Laramie could almost see her dabbing at her eyes with a corner of some brightly colored apron. “It’s good to hear yours too, dear.”
“I’ve been thinking. You can tell Granddaddy I’ll be there for his birthday.” She reached across the seat and took Syd’s hand as her friend parked in front of WaxScents. “Syd’s coming with me.”
About Delia
DELIA LATHAM lives in East Texas with her husband and a spoiled Pomeranian named Kona. She writes inspirational romance and devotions. You’ll always find a touch of the divine in this author’s tales of sweet romance.
A former newspaper Staff Writer, Delia is now blessed to have twenty-three published novels/novellas. She designs cover art and marketing materials; is a former acquiring editor; a current editor with Vinspire Publishing; and offers freelance editing/proofreading services. Contact her about speaking at your upcoming event. Connect with Delia: Website, Amazon Author page, Facebook Author Page, or Twitter.
Love at Christmas Inn Collection 2 Page 32