Season of Joy

by Annie Rains

  There wasn’t even a ton of money to be made running Granger’s Christmas tree workshop. So why was she so upset?

  Because the idea had excited her. It’d felt magical and like something she and Aunt Darby would’ve done once upon a time. And because Joy loved to teach art. She loved helping others find that satisfied whimsy that she herself found when she created.

  Joy shoveled a spoonful of cereal into her mouth and stared at the wall ahead as she crunched loudly. And yeah, some part of her had been excited about having one more reason to see Granger during the week. What was wrong with her?

  Her cell phone vibrated on the couch beside her. She glanced over and actually started laughing until milk dribbled off her chin. The caller ID said it was her mom. Of course it was, because Joy wasn’t down in the dumps enough.

  “I’m not answering, Mom,” she told the phone as it continued to ring and vibrate. “You couldn’t pay me to answer right now.”

  Then Chelsea leaped onto the couch and swiped her paw across the phone’s screen perfectly.

  Joy shot up, spilling milk down the front of her top.

  “Joy?” her mom’s voice called from the speaker. “Joy, are you there?”

  Joy eyed Chelsea and set her bowl of cereal down. That’s what Joy got for downloading the cat app on her iPad the other day. Now Chelsea was able to chase virtual fish on the screen. Evidently, she’d also mastered a good swipe and could now answer Joy’s cell phone.

  Joy reluctantly brought the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  Yes. “No, just eating dinner,” Joy said.

  “Oh, that’s nice. What’s for dinner?”

  Joy didn’t really want to answer that question so she ignored it and changed the subject. “What are you calling about, Mom?”

  “Well, I’m on my way home from the hospital and wanted to touch base with you. There’s a receptionist job opening at the hospital lobby area. It doesn’t pay a lot but it offers benefits and it’s steady. I told the chief of staff to hold off on advertising the position until I spoke to you first. He owes me a favor.”

  “Hiring me would be a favor?” Joy asked dryly.

  “Joy, I’ve been worried. Your car has broken down, and several of my patients have mentioned seeing you walking around town. You can’t even afford to drive now?”

  “No need to be concerned. I have my car back,” Joy told her.

  “But what happens next time? Living paycheck to paycheck is all well and good until you have another emergency. It only takes one to put someone on the streets, you know. Not that your father and I would ever let that happen but we do worry about you.”

  “Unnecessarily,” Joy said, forcing herself to take a breath. This conversation was already making her chest feel tight. “And as I told you before, I’m hoping to lease a place for my art gallery soon. I can’t run my own business and be a hospital receptionist.”

  “How will you afford to lease a store on the money you draw in?”

  Joy got up from the couch and grabbed a towel to dry herself off. “I’ll afford it the same way I afforded to go to art school,” Joy said, resentment rising. She knew her parents had only refused to pay for her college because they’d wanted her to choose a safer degree. One that would guarantee financial stability. That didn’t ease the sting of feeling that they didn’t support her though. Especially when her mom was arguing for her to take a job at the hospital.

  The doorbell rang, and Joy whirled, looking at the opportunity as an escape. “Someone’s at the door, Mom. I have to go.”

  “Just think about the position,” her mom said before Joy said goodbye and disconnected the call.

  Joy wasn’t thinking about anything. Least of all who might be on the other side of her door as she opened it.

  Granger stood on her porch, his hands tucked into his jeans pockets. He smiled, his gaze lowering. Joy looked down at her attire as well. She was wearing flannel pants with hearts and half a bowl of milk down the front of her tank top.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  Granger looked taken aback. “I was hoping to talk to you. Can I come in?”

  “Sure.” She gestured him inside and then closed the front door behind her. “I’d offer you a seat on my couch,” she said, “but I just spilled my cereal milk.”

  He gave her an amused look.

  “Chelsea, my cat, spilled the milk, actually. She’s very mischievous, especially when she’s mad that I’ve been gone all afternoon.”

  Granger shook his head. “I don’t need to sit down. I just came by to make sure I didn’t totally mess up what we have going. If you don’t come back to watch the girls tomorrow, they’ll be devastated.”

  Joy furrowed her brow. “Why wouldn’t I come back?”

  “Because I offered you a job that you were excited about, and then I took it away.”

  Joy folded her arms in front of her. “So you think I would just not return to my commitment because you disappointed me?”

  Granger looked vulnerable somehow as he watched her.

  “That is what you think. Granger, I promised you that I’d stay through the holidays. I’m not backing out. Not even for a hospital receptionist position.”

  His brows scrunched.

  Joy waved a dismissive hand. “I was just on the phone with my mother, and she was trying to convince me to apply. The hospital’s chief of staff apparently owes her a favor, and I get first dibs on a ‘real job.’ Lucky me.” Joy rolled her eyes. “I’m coming back to Merry Mountain tomorrow and taking care of Abby and Willow. Don’t worry.”

  Granger seemed to exhale a breath that he had been holding.

  Joy wasn’t sure why but she reached for his hand. “I made you a promise. I’m not going to break it, okay? No matter how many times you put your foot in your mouth or disappoint me.”

  He met her gaze. “Thank you. It’s just, if I screw up, those girls will be lying on some couch talking to a counselor one day about all my inadequacies.”

  Joy laughed. “My parents have a lot of faults, and I’ve never done that. I just create abstract art that secretly relays how messed up I am because of them.” She winked.

  The magnetic pull of Granger’s gaze seemed to intensify. She had a sudden urge to kiss him. A strong urge. When was the last time she had been alone in her living room with an attractive man at night? It was too far back to remember.

  But she wasn’t going to kiss him. Things were too complicated between them already. She let go of his hand.

  “Thank you for helping with the girls. And for understanding. I’m not sure what I’d do without you right now.”

  “You’d be fine, I’m sure.”

  Chelsea strutted into the room to glare at Granger, her tail twitching.

  Granger glanced down at Joy’s cat. “I’m not a cat person. What does it mean when she’s looking at me like that?”

  Joy laughed. “Chelsea is very jealous. I’m hers, and you are encroaching on her territory.”

  Granger looked from Chelsea back to Joy, his eyes suddenly dark. “I wonder what she’d do if I came closer.”

  Joy held her breath as Granger stepped toward her, her heart beating erratically.

  Granger’s eyes slid to look at Chelsea, who continued to twitch her tail, her green eyes round. Then he looked at Joy again. “Should I be worried?” he asked in a low voice.

  Joy swallowed. Her mouth was suddenly dry. Without thinking, she ran a tongue over her lips. “Sadly, Chelsea was already declawed when I rescued her from the shelter. But she still has teeth.”

  Granger grinned, his gaze still dark. There was an unmistakable heat there. “I’m taking my chances standing this close.”

  “You are,” Joy agreed. Then Granger leaned toward her, drawing closer until he was one breath away from making contact with her lips. Every thought left her mind as she closed her eyes, let out a sigh, and melted into his kiss.

  * * *
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br />   Granger had been wanting to kiss Joy since the moment they met but he’d been resisting for good reason. But all reason had escaped him now as he gently tugged her closer. She tasted sweet, and her body was warm. The temptation was too great, and after the day he’d had, he just needed to feel her in his arms.

  Joy sighed against his lips. Then her body shifted beneath his hands, inviting them to explore. Slowly, one of his hands traveled up her side, taking the curves like that sports car he’d had when he was twenty years old.

  Then in one quick second, Joy’s cat launched herself at his lower leg. He drew back from the kiss as Chelsea landed at his feet, her wide green eyes locked on his in warning.

  “Chelsea!” Joy bent and collected the large ball of fur into her arms. “That is not nice.”

  Granger looked at Joy and realized what he’d done. He’d kissed the one person in the whole world that he probably shouldn’t have. Coming here, he’d worried that Joy wouldn’t come back to Abby and Willow because of his stupidity. Now he’d done another stupid thing. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

  Joy’s smile faded. “You didn’t mean to kiss me?”

  He shook his head. “No, I definitely didn’t mean to do that. That was a mistake.” And his mistakes kept coming, it seemed, because now Joy was frowning. “I mean, it was nice,” he said. “But we shouldn’t have.”

  “Nice,” she repeated. “No, you’re right, we shouldn’t have done that. And now you should probably go…before you make another big mistake.”

  Granger swallowed.

  “And before you ask,” Joy said, “yes, I’m picking the girls up tomorrow afternoon and going back to the farm. Nothing has changed. Nothing at all.”

  * * *

  Granger was in the middle of a great dream when he was startled awake the next morning by Willow bouncing onto the mattress beside him. He cracked an eye open and noted that she was already dressed and her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail.

  “Daddy, Abby says we’re going to miss the bus if you don’t wake up now.”

  Granger shot upright and turned to his nightstand clock. “What? Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

  “Abby said you must not have slept good.”

  And Abby would be right about that. Granger stood and started grabbing clothes from his dresser. “I’ll be ready in a minute. Did you brush your teeth?”

  Willow nodded.

  “Eat breakfast?”

  She nodded again. “PB and J. And I took my vitamins too. Hurry up, Daddy. Let’s go.”

  Granger disappeared into the bathroom and got ready in record speed. “I’m sorry,” he told Abby as he darted into the kitchen. “You ready?”

  She stood. “We tried to let you sleep as long as we could. You must have needed it.”

  So wise.

  Granger grabbed his keys and headed to the door. Tin trotted over. “I’ll get you a treat when I get back, girl,” he promised his dog. Then he looked at his girls. They’d gotten ready all by themselves. He gestured them outside and pointed to the truck. “We’ll drive to the bus stop today.” There was no time for the five-minute walk.

  The girls climbed in, buckled up, and Granger pressed the gas up the dirt path that led from his house to the road, reaching the end just in time to see the bus pull away.

  Granger groaned and continued driving toward the school. He dropped the girls off and then headed back to Merry Mountain Farms, all the while trying not to think about that kiss with Joy last night. It’d been amazing and inappropriate. And then he’d made things worse by saying something that had obviously insulted her. Now he owed her yet another apology.

  He drove past his house toward his parents’ cabin farther down the dirt path. He also owed his dad an apology. They’d argued about Granger’s idea for the Christmas tree workshop. Granger was still disappointed that his father wouldn’t even hear him out but he never wanted to be at odds with his dad. His parents had gone above and beyond after Erin left. Merry Mountain Farms was a family business but his dad was ultimately the one in charge. If he didn’t think the farm needed new income sources to survive, then Granger would respect that.

  He parked and got out of his truck, heading toward the front door, stopping short when he heard his dad’s voice calling out from the old abandoned cabin behind the house. It was where all the lighted hayride props were kept. What was his father doing there?

  “Granger?” his dad called again. Something about the tone in his dad’s voice had Granger picking up speed and running in that direction.

  “Granger!”

  Granger found his father sitting on a chair in the barn, his hand covering the left side of his chest. His dad’s face was twisted in a deep grimace, and his eyes were slits of pain. “What’s wrong?”

  “Chest pain…Ow!”

  Without hesitation, Granger pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

  * * *

  Joy wasn’t sure why she felt guilty about last night’s call with her mom. Her mom was the one who was out of line. Even so, Joy had texted her this morning to see if her mother was available for lunch at the hospital today.

  The invitation was a peace offering of sorts. Joy was actually surprised her mom accepted the invitation, but she was pretty sure that their visit would become an opportunity for her mom to hound her about taking the receptionist position in the hospital lobby.

  Joy slowed as she drove down Main Street, offering a longing look at the storefront for lease. It had only been a week since she’d viewed it but her excitement had continued to mount. This was the perfect location, and she could practically see herself on the other side of the windowpanes, staring out at the streets of Sweetwater Springs.

  Movement caught Joy’s eye, and she tapped the brakes. Is that Janelle? Was she showing the store again?

  Joy’s heart sank a notch. She didn’t see anyone else in the store though. Maybe Janelle was just handling some upkeep for the owner. Joy hoped that was the case.

  She wanted to stop but she couldn’t keep her mom waiting. Instead, she continued driving, turning off Main and onto Red Oak, which led to a part of town with Sweetwater Springs’ most popular pizza parlor and the hospital. If Joy worked at the same place as her parents, they’d be under each other’s feet all day—another reason not to apply.

  Joy pulled into the parking lot and got out. Her stomach growled as she headed inside, past the current receptionist who was apparently leaving the job to be a stay-at-home mom. That was the exact opposite choice her own mother had made. Joy’s mom had taken being a mother as a reason to work longer hours.

  Joy rounded the corner and took the familiar route to the cafeteria, where she headed toward the line to get her usual. She was already prepared to wait for her typically late mother. That was fine because Joy could use her cell phone to scroll through her Pinterest app and pin new art and craft ideas to do at the library, community center, and with Abby and Willow.

  “Joy?”

  Joy froze at the sound of her name behind her. She knew that deep voice and wondered if she was imagining it. She’d thought a lot about that magic kiss that she had shared with Granger last night. The one that had traveled from her lips down to her toes, melting her heart into one big puddle. Then Granger had gone and ruined it by calling it a mistake.

  “Joy?” Granger said again behind her.

  The voice was definitely real.

  She turned, and her heart did a belly flop when she came face-to-face with him. “Granger. What are you doing here? Are the girls okay?”

  He held up a hand. “Yeah. They’re at school. I’m here for my dad.”

  Joy stiffened. “Is he okay? What happened?”

  Granger shrugged. “I called an ambulance this morning. He was having chest pain after I got home from dropping the girls off at school.”

  “I thought they took the bus,” Joy said.

  Granger sighed. “This day just started off all wrong and hasn’t gotten much better from t
here.”

  Joy narrowed her eyes. “What did the doctor say about your dad?”

  Granger’s eyes looked worried. “She’s still running tests…It’s Dr. Benson—your mom.”

  “My mom is treating your dad?” Joy’s mouth dropped along with her stomach. She used to hate it when her mom treated her friends’ family when she was growing up. Her mom was the best person for the job in most cases though. She was skilled, and any patient was lucky to have her.

  “What a coincidence, huh?” Granger said.

  “Yeah.” Joy stepped up in line and ordered a salad and tray of fruit. She listened as Granger ordered behind her. Then they paid and headed toward the tables. “So I guess my mom isn’t meeting me for lunch today after all.”

  Granger grimaced, his eyes apologetic. “She looked pretty busy on the cardiac unit when I was up there.”

  “That sounds about right.” Joy picked a table against the wall and sat down.

  Granger followed her to the table, but continued to stand.

  She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. “Would sitting with me be a big mistake too?” she asked, referring to last night’s kiss.

  He cleared his throat, looking around the cafeteria momentarily. “I just wasn’t sure where we stood…after last night.”

  Joy held up a hand. “Let’s just forget about last night, okay? We’re still friends—just friends. How’s that sound?”

  “I like the sound of that.” Granger pulled out the chair next to hers and sat down. “I think that’s better than before. I’m not sure I was even in your friend category until now. After my stupidity last night, I was worried that I had gone straight to your list of enemies.”

  Joy opened her fruit tray and unwrapped her plastic spork. “It’s very difficult to get on my enemies list. You have to really tick me off.”

  Granger peeled the wrapper off his hot dog. “Who’s on that list?”

  Joy used her spork to stab a slice of strawberry. “There’s only one. An ex.”