Annabelle looked around the auditorium and spotted Meg sitting in the front row, parked at the end of the seats. James was just coming out from behind the stage to join her and he waved at them. “I sure will. You should probably go find your teacher. Anything else need some last-minute touch-ups?”
Daisy surveyed her costume and found it to be satisfactory. “Looks good to me! Maybe it could use a few more sparkles, but it’ll be okay.” Belle laughed as she leaned down and gave Daisy a hug.
“You look beautiful. I’ll see you after!” Daisy scurried off without another word into a gaggle of kids dressed like reindeer and Belle felt a surge of affection that she couldn’t quite explain. She had only just met James’ little girl and she already felt an urge to protect and encourage her that she had never known before. It made her nervous and happy at the same time, but she didn’t have time to consider the implications of it because suddenly, James was standing beside her.
“Thank you for that. It took me a month to put that thing together. And it didn’t help that she changed her mind three times. First, she wanted to be a glittering snow bunny, then she wanted to be a Christmas star, then she wanted to be a snowflake. When she finally settled on sugarplum fairy, my only choice was to dig that costume out of the attic and cobble it together from pieces I found at Time After Time.”
I looked at him in absolute wonder. I knew that people changed when they had children, but if it were possible for a man to be absorbed by a cocoon and come out a completely different person, that was what had happened to James. “Do you have any idea how strange it is to hear that you not only sewed a fairy princess dress, but that you spent time in a thrift store full of shabby chic furniture and pink sweaters trying to make it perfect?”
James looked around at all of the children running in circles and trying to take their place on the stage. She could see the love in his eyes and it made her own heart swell.
“I always knew I’d be a father someday. I just never thought I’d be doing it alone, you know? When Marisa was here, she could handle the dresses and the field trips, and I’d do the lunches and tea parties. But now… everything is on me. And I’ll do everything I can to make Daisy’s life as wonderful as I can, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it’s really hard doing it alone sometimes.”
Belle had to swallow a lump in her throat, afraid she was going to cry and embarrass herself in front of an auditorium of strangers and people she hadn’t seen in years. So, she quickly coughed away the tears that threatened to make a fool of her and pointed over at Meg.
“I think we should go join gran. She’s looking a little lonesome.”
That was a lie; Meg had already started chatting up everyone else in the row, a few families of which she seemed to know already. When Meg saw they were looking her way, she waved Belle to come over.
“Annabelle! Get over here! Do you remember Sally Watson? Her granddaughter, Eliza, is in little Daisy’s class!”
James chuckled with a grin. “Oh, we know Eliza Watson. She and Daisy ran off together when their class went on a field trip to the berry farm in Burlington. We found them hiding in a barn with a bunch of baby goats. They’re quite the pair of troublemakers.”
Everyone started talking about the mischief their kids got into and before they knew it, the lights in the auditorium went down, and the room filled with rapturous applause. One-by-one, groups of kids came on stage to sing Christmas standards in their adorable costumes. A few of them danced, some of them wandered off to do other things or annoy the woman playing the piano, but all of them were completely precious. Finally, Daisy’s class clumped out in a big group, with Daisy standing out like a little sparkling Christmas tree topper under the bright lights. They sang “Holly Jolly Christmas” at the top of their lungs and almost all of them got the words right. When they got to the end of the song, all of the kids threw giant handfuls of glitter up in the air, and yelled, “Merry Christmas!”
The parents in the audience jumped to their feet and all of the kids swarmed the stage to dance and sing to a last song. It was the craziest thing Belle had ever seen; when she was in school, they never had fun at their Christmas assemblies. They were dour and boring affairs and if you didn’t do exactly what the teachers said, you ended up in trouble right before your holiday break and it was an inevitable bummer.
This was so much more fun.
Once the festivities had ended, the families all filtered out of the auditorium and back into the hallways, but Belle didn’t want to subject Meg to the crowd.
“I think we’ll just wait here until everyone is out and then head home.”
James shook his head. “Don’t be silly. Stay for a piece of cake. You made it after all! I’m sure everyone will want to thank you. And then maybe we could all go get some ice cream? It’s still early and I’m sure Daisy will be too wired to go home.”
Belle started to object but Meg spoke up first. “We’d love to get ice cream! I haven’t been out of the house in a while and I need some excitement. Now, let me taste a piece of that cake. I had to wheel it in here after all!”
Daisy appeared out of nowhere, her fairy wings in her hand and her hair falling loose from her braid.
“Can I push Meg’s wheelchair? I’ll be really careful, I promise!”
Meg didn’t give anyone else a chance to answer. “Heck yeah, you can! Let’s go get some cake, sugarplum!”
Daisy and Meg disappeared through the double-doors that led into the hallway, leaving James and Belle to straggle behind.
“Is she okay? I mean, other than the leg,” James asked quietly.
Belle sighed sadly. “She says she is, but I don’t believe her. I think I’m going to call the doctor to come to the house tomorrow. She’ll be angry with me, but I don’t care. She’s been getting paler and weaker with every day that goes by. It’s possible it’s just the break... she’s not used to being in this kind of pain or being this helpless. But better safe than sorry, y’know?”
James nodded. “Definitely. I’m sorry you’re both going through this.”
“It’s her going through it. Not me.”
James reached down and squeezed Belle’s hand. “You know that’s not true.”
She felt her cheeks go red and tried to think of anything else than how perfect his hand fit into hers.
“We should probably find those two before they invite everyone to come and get ice cream with us,” she said, trying to diffuse the tension she had created in her own head. James just smiled.
“Sounds good to me. I hear the candy cane at Sweet Nothings is especially good this year.”
Even though Sweet Nothings was absolutely packed with families getting their kids treats after the show, James used his sway with the shop owner to sneak them through the line. Once they all had their ice cream, they crossed to the Middle Road Inn and James unlocked the door, so they could sit in the dining room to eat and enjoy each other’s company without the accompanying chaos at the other store. Belle loved watching him tend to whatever Daisy needed and make sure Meg was comfortable, all while keeping an eye on her and somehow still refilling everyone’s water glass as though it was the Inn’s lunch rush. He was so kind and sweet and loving to his daughter, and to Meg for that matter, and she couldn’t help but feel even more affection toward him.
But suddenly it was after nine and Daisy was yawning dramatically. She stretched toward the ceiling with her eyes closed tight and collapsed against the padded booth seat with an exhausted groan.
“You must be wiped out, kiddo. Are you ready for bed?” James asked, as he brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. Daisy nodded sleepily.
“I’m sorry to be a party pooper.”
Everyone laughed, and Belle started to pick up their trash and put their water glasses in the dish tray by the kitchen door. “Are you kidding? You did a great job tonight! And you just got over being sick. You’ve been a trooper, not a pooper.”
Daisy exploded into little girl giggles. “You’re funny, Belle
. Daddy, Belle is funny.”
“I know she is,” James said with a grin. “Well, why don’t I help you into that tank of a car Belle is driving, Meg, and everyone can get home and get some rest?”
Once Daisy was in James’ car and Meg was in Belle’s, James turned to her with a serious look in his eye. “Can I call you tomorrow? I’d really like to talk to you about something.”
Belle gulped. “Sure. I mean, of course. Whenever.”
He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then jumped in his car and disappeared down Elm Street. When Belle got into the driver’s seat, she could already see Meg grinning behind her.
“What?” Belle squinted into the rearview mirror as she pulled out on the road.
“Nothing. I can just see things you can’t, is all.”
Belle rolled her eyes, refusing to give her grandmother the satisfaction of being right. But deep down, she knew Meg was on to something.
She just didn’t quite know what it was yet.
14
James
By the time they got home, Daisy had fallen asleep in the back of the car. James draped her gently over his shoulder and carried her into the house. He set her onto the couch and covered her up with her blankets. He would move her to her room later, but for right now, she could fall the rest of the way asleep in front of the tree. It was her favorite thing to do anyway. But as soon as he turned towards the kitchen, he heard her yawn. He looked over to see that she had scooted up to a sitting position and held her elephant with a sleepy smile on her face.
“What are you doing awake, little miss?” he asked, walking back over to sit on the edge of the couch.
“I’ve been awake since we got home. I just didn’t feel like opening my eyes. Thank you for the ice cream and for making my dress, and for inviting Belle to the show. I really like her. And Meg. Meg is really funny.”
James inched back so they were sitting next to each other and pulled Daisy into a hug. “What do you like about Belle?”
“She’s just really nice and sweet. And she makes really good cake. I don’t know. She seems like she really likes you, daddy. The way mommy liked you.”
That hit James in the stomach like a punch from a heavyweight boxer. “What do you think about that, Daisy?”
“I think mommy would be happy that you made a friend, especially since she can’t be here to take care of us. Maybe Belle is the person who can do that.”
James took a deep breath as he tried to process the incredibly wise advice his daughter was offering him. But then, her little hand reached out and grabbed his shirt.
“But…” she whispered.
“But?”
“I don’t want to like her if she is going to leave too, you know? I mean, I like her, daddy. I do. But if she is just going to go back to New York… and leave us…” Daisy’s eyes started to glisten a little and James felt like he was going to be sick. His daughter was too young to be worrying about whether or not the people she loved, or even just opened her heart to, were going to leave her. That wasn’t a fair way for her to live and if she allowed herself to become attached to Belle only to have her leave too, it would be what she believed would happen to everyone she cared about for the rest of her life.
Daisy yawned again and stretched out on the couch. “Do you mind if I just look at the tree for a little while?” she asked. As James watched his little girl drift off to sleep, he couldn’t bear the idea of her being hurt any more than she already had been. He couldn’t let this keep going on; he had to know if Belle was going to leave Wintervale... and if she was, he needed to know if she was coming back.
James walked quickly into the kitchen and called Patty, who was awake wrapping presents. She wasn’t thrilled about leaving the house so late but when James practically begged her, she relented and ambled over through the snow in her terrycloth robe and winter boots.
“You owe me,” she grumbled and plopped down in the armchair with a tumbler of tea. She turned on the TV as waved a thank you as he ran out the door to his truck and headed straight for Meg’s. He only hoped they were still awake and that he wouldn’t be disturbing anyone; there was just no way he could wait to talk about this until the morning.
When he arrived, Meg’s house was dark except for the candles in the windows. Belle’s bedroom was in the back of the house so there was no way to tell if she was still up without going back there, and there was a steep drop off not far away. He could manage it well enough when he was a teenager, but it would probably kill him to try and scale it now.
His only option was to knock, which he did as lightly as he could. A few moments later, the hallway light flicked on and the door opened. Belle stood in front of him in her pajama pants and a tank top, with a robe wrapped tightly around her. She didn’t look like she’d been sleeping, but she’d definitely been in bed.
“What are you doing here? What time is it?”
James looked at his watch. “Not that late. 10:30?”
Belle peeked around the corner with a squint and then looked back at him. “Meg is asleep. Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”
“No,” James said, shaking his head adamantly. “I need to talk to you now.”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed her coat off the rack, then gestured for him to follow her out onto the back porch. They crossed through the kitchen and onto the porch that looked out over the valley behind Meg’s house. It was freezing outside, but Belle turned on a little electric heater that was in the corner. It didn’t help much but it took the edge off. Once she was sure that the door was shut, and her grandmother couldn’t hear them, she turned to him, utterly confused.
“Now will you tell me what you are doing here?”
James took a deep breath to try and gather his thoughts, but nothing was coming to him. His brain was a jumble of chaos and he couldn’t make sense of anything he’d been thinking when he left the house, or even what he’d been thinking since Belle got to town. She was staring at him expectantly, growing increasingly annoyed as she got colder, and he knew he couldn’t just keep standing there staring at his boots. So, finally, he blurted out,
“Belle… what’s going on?”
She shook her head, baffled. “Going on? With what? You’re the one who showed up here in the middle of the night.”
“Again, not really the middle of the night, but that’s not the point. I mean, what’s going on between you and me? What are we doing here?”
She looked startled, as if she hadn’t ever expected him to ask the question that had been hanging between them she got back. “I don’t get it. I haven’t seen you in years and we’ve spent a few days together and you expect me to know what our dynamic is again?”
James heard it in her voice, in her words, and he knew how insane it was to expect her to answer a question like this so soon. But he didn’t have time to waste anymore. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to waste it.
“Annabelle, you have to understand. I know how easy it is to lose something great, no matter how hard you hold on to it. It’s happened to me twice now and I don’t want to do it a third time. I can’t. Not for my sake, and not for my daughter’s.”
Belle sucked in a mouthful of cold night air. “Don’t use Daisy to try and push me into a decision. That’s not fair. You can’t just show up here, whatever time of night it is, and expect... what? For me to decide to give up everything I worked for? Everything I’ve built in New York? James, we don’t even know how we would be together now. We’re both entirely different people.”
James’ head dropped as the weight of their argument fell on him like lead. “We’ve done this before, haven’t we, Belle? Argued about you giving up your dreams? About not knowing the future? But no one can know the future. I loved you, Annabelle. But you left, and it was the best decision you could have made because our lives had two very different paths. Yet, here we are, our paths converging again, and we have to make a decision. All I know is that when I look at you... I still love you. Mayb
e we weren’t meant to be then, but would it be so terrible to find out if we are now?”
Annabelle stepped away from him to the edge of porch and looked out over the valley. Neither of them said anything for a while until the ice crystals in the air were practically heavy with the silence between them. When she finally spoke, James could have sworn he heard the air crack.
“I can’t do this. Not right now. You’re essentially asking me to look back at the life I’ve made in New York and say I made the wrong decisions. I know you’re saying they were right ones for you; they obviously were. But if I give everything up and come back here, why did I even go in the first place? What did I work so hard to build there? What do I do with that life, James?”
James slumped back against the wall. “So, you don’t know if Daisy and I are worth more to you than your restaurant?”
Belle spun around, her sadness faded into anger. “That is a terrible way to put it and you know it. But would you give up everything you’ve built here, the restaurant, the farm, Daisy’s friends and school, to move to New York with me?”
When James didn’t answer, she just nodded.
“Exactly. You know you wouldn’t. You couldn’t. This is all on me and you want me to give you an answer now? We haven’t even been on a date, James. You don’t know anything about me.”
He didn’t know what to say to her; everything she had said was completely true. He’d ambushed her with an ultimatum and it had been the absolute worst thing he could have done. This had been a mistake. The worst mistake ever.
“I shouldn’t have… What I mean is… I have to get back to the babysitter.”
What is wrong with you? James yelled bitterly in his head as he turned and walked off of the porch.
“You’re just going to leave?” Belle whisper-shouted at him through the door.
“I’ll call you tomorrow. I’m sorry,” he mumbled. He heard Belle groan with exasperation when he walked out the front door and back to his truck. He drove home with his hands tight on the wheel, furious with himself. Not only had everything he’d just done gone the opposite of how he wanted, but he’d probably completely ruined any chance he ever had with Belle. He could practically hear Marisa’s voice in his head.
A Sugar Cookie Christmas: A Sweet Holiday Romance (Wintervale Promises Book 1) Page 10