Season of Joy

by Annie Rains

  “I’d like that.” Joy watched Emma wave and walk back behind the counter. She pulled her laptop close and started working on her application, her heart sinking with every word she typed. Was she really going to do this? Sitting behind a desk eight hours a day sounded like torture.

  A bell dinged as the front door opened with incoming customers. Joy didn’t look up until she heard the familiar voices calling her name.

  “Joy!”

  Abby and Willow skipped ahead to greet her with a hug.

  Joy reflexively opened her arms, laughing as they rushed in. Then she looked up at Erin, who was also standing with them. Joy guessed that was better than having to run into Granger this morning, but not much.

  “Hi,” Erin said, almost shyly. “The girls wanted to come in for hot chocolates this morning, and I could use a coffee.”

  Joy released her tight hug on the girls. “It’s good here.”

  “I remember,” Erin said. “It had just opened when I…” She trailed off, her gaze moving to the girls. “Anyway, it’s good to see you.”

  “Yeah,” Joy lied. Maybe coming out to the coffee shop this morning wasn’t such a great idea.

  “Mommy.” Willow tugged Erin’s top. “Can we go ahead and see Miss Emma? She knows what we want. Can we go?”

  Erin looked at Abby. “Do you mind taking her?”

  Abby looked between Erin and Joy. “Sure,” she finally said.

  Joy waited for the girls to reach the counter before saying anything more. “Abby is so good about taking care of her younger sister.”

  Erin nodded and then gestured at the chair that Emma had just been sitting in. “Mind if I sit for a moment?”

  “Not at all.” Joy watched Erin take the seat.

  “I wish I hadn’t put Abby in that position all these years but you’re right. She takes great care of Willow. They’re really good girls.”

  “They are,” Joy agreed. “I’m sure they’re glad to have you home.”

  Erin swept her hair out of her face, looking down for a moment. “I want to talk to you about that kiss between me and Granger.”

  Joy’s heart stopped. “He told you that I knew?”

  Erin looked up. “I’m part of his life again. Part of the girls’ lives. I saw him upset, and he told me that you two had broken up.”

  “Well, when your boyfriend is caught kissing another woman, it’s kind of a given that you’re going to part ways,” Joy said. Her words flew out before she could rein them back in.

  “I kissed him,” Erin said. “It wasn’t the other way around. It was me.”

  “But he didn’t tell me about the kiss either.” Joy looked away, turning her gaze outside once more. “He probably wouldn’t have had I not caught him…It doesn’t matter. It’s over between us.”

  Erin reached across the table, signaling Joy’s attention. “I’m sorry I kissed him but I had to know if there was still a spark between us. Maybe that’s what he needed too—why he didn’t push me away.” She nodded. “And now we both know. It really is over between us. I’ve accepted that. And he has too—a long time ago. I think that’s why he didn’t tell you about the kiss. It didn’t matter to him. It didn’t mean anything.”

  “Well, it meant something to me,” Joy said.

  Erin fidgeted with her hands on the table in front of her. “Granger is a dream guy. Any woman would be lucky to have him. And he’s a good guy. He would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I know that for a fact. After all I’ve put him through, he’s never been anything less than a great guy to me.”

  Deep down, Joy knew Granger hadn’t meant to hurt her. She also knew he was a good guy. Maybe that’s one of the things that scared her. He was real. He wasn’t going to let her down.

  “I also know that any woman who’d walk away from him is a fool,” Erin said.

  Joy didn’t want to feel sorry for the woman sitting in front of her but she did. “You weren’t a fool. You were sick. Everyone knows that.”

  Erin smiled, this time with more confidence than she’d shown before. “I was talking about you.”

  * * *

  It was two days before Christmas, and the snow was finally starting to blanket the ground. It would be a white Christmas this year. Granger had always found those magical when he was growing up. He used to run through the tree farm, leaving snowy footprints in his wake, making snowmen and snowwomen and knocking them down with his snowball fights.

  Granger looked over at Abby and Willow now as they sat at the kitchen table with a couple of sketchbooks that Joy had given them. “Don’t you want to go outside?”

  “Not really,” Abby said. “It’s cold out there. And we’re finishing up pictures for Joy.”

  “For her Christmas present,” Willow said, looking up with a gap-toothed grin. “She says homemade presents are the best. They’re the ones from the heart.”

  Granger felt a big kick in his own heart. “That’s nice.”

  “When we’re done, can we go over and give them to her?” Abby asked, looking up from her work. She lifted a finger to push her glasses up on her nose.

  Granger shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want to break it to the girls that he and Joy had parted ways. “I’m not sure. The weather on the roads isn’t great right now.”

  The town got snow every year, and local folks knew how to drive on the roads. He hadn’t seen the salt trucks go out yet though, and he didn’t want his girls out there if they didn’t need to be.

  “I’ll take the gifts to Joy myself if you want. I’m going out to meet Jack once your mom gets here.” Granger was supposed to meet Jack at the Tipsy Tavern, which had become a Christmas tradition for them. The snow had Erin running behind though, which meant he’d be running late as well.

  Abby paused what she was doing. “We made gifts for Mom too. I hope she likes them.”

  “I’m sure she will,” Granger said, stepping over and ruffling her hair.

  She swatted at him but she giggled too. She was growing so fast. But maybe he had a little more time with her as his little girl. He could hope.

  Erin knocked on the screen door.

  “Come on in,” Granger called.

  She shook off her boots on the bottom step before stepping inside. “Hi.” She looked at him and then the girls, stepping closer to admire what they had drawn. “Oh, you two are such artists!”

  “Joy taught us,” Willow said.

  Granger searched Erin’s face for any jealousy. She just smiled and nodded, continuing to look at the pictures.

  “Done!” Abby said, putting her colored pencils down.

  “Me too!” Willow added, doing the same.

  Granger waited for Abby to growl in frustration at her little sister’s constant shadow. She didn’t this time. All the frustration she’d felt at the start of the month had dissipated, and for now, she seemed satisfied.

  Abby looked up at him. “Now you can take these pictures to Joy.”

  Granger looked at his oldest daughter. “All right.” He didn’t plan on going inside Joy’s town house though. She’d ended things with him. Unfairly, in his opinion. And one thing he’d learned from his relationship with Erin was that he never wanted to spend his life waiting in vain for someone to return. That took too much emotional energy.

  Instead, he’d leave the presents from the girls at Joy’s door and text her that they were there. Right after he met up with Jack for drinks.

  “I need to head out.” Granger kissed the girls’ foreheads, collected their artwork, and headed out into the snow. There was just an inch on the ground but by tomorrow there’d be a half foot. He cranked his truck and traveled down the driveway, turning onto the road.

  The Tipsy Tavern was only fifteen minutes away. Granger owed Jack a drink after playing Santa at the farm for the last few weeks. Jack didn’t drink alcohol so he’d buy him a soda.

  Jack was already nursing his first Dr Pepper when Granger took the seat across from him at the tavern table. “There y
ou are,” Jack said. “I thought maybe I was being stood up on our Christmas tradition of beer and Dr Pepper.”

  A waitress walked over and took Granger’s order. Once she was gone, he looked at his friend.

  “Not skipping our tradition, especially this time. I could use a couple drinks.”

  Jack pointed a finger. “Not too many. I’m cutting you off at two. When you have too many, you do stupid things.”

  Granger nodded. “Two is all I need.”

  Jack frowned. “So what’s going on with you and Joy? If you’re needing a drink, I’m guessing it’s not good.”

  The waitress put Granger’s beer in front of him. Perfect timing. He reached for it and took a sip. Then he recounted the story.

  “So Erin kissed you under the mistletoe and Joy saw it?” Jack asked, crunching his ice now.

  “That’s right.”

  Jack blew out a breath. “That is bad timing. So she’s ticked, and you’re in the doghouse?”

  Granger scrunched his brow. “For a reason that isn’t my fault. Erin kissed me. I didn’t do anything to deserve Joy’s anger.”

  Jack chuckled. “Joy saw your lips locked, right?”

  Granger nodded. “Yeah. Erin held up a piece of mistletoe and kissed me.” To make his point, Granger reached in his pocket and pulled out the sprig he’d been carrying around for Joy’s sake. “This stuff grows rampant on the tree farm. It’s everywhere.”

  “But you aren’t kissing everyone,” Jack pointed out. “Just your ex.”

  Granger didn’t like the way this conversation was going. He’d fully expected a little commiseration from his friend. “Whose side are you on anyway?”

  “Yours. Always, buddy. I want you to be happy, and Joy seemed to be doing that for you.”

  Granger nodded. “But if she’s willing to toss away everything over something so minor—”

  “A kiss isn’t minor,” Jack interrupted.

  “Are you listening, man? I didn’t kiss Erin back. I don’t want anything romantic with Erin. I want Joy.”

  Jack reached for the sprig of mistletoe that Granger was holding, rolling its stem between his fingers. Then he pushed away from the table and stood.

  “What are you doing?” Granger set his drink down and watched his friend walk over.

  In one quick motion, Jack dangled the mistletoe over Granger’s head and bent in to kiss him on the cheek.

  “Whoa!” Granger said, nearly falling out of his chair to get away. “What the hell are you doing?” he practically shouted, making a small scene in the bar.

  Jack bent over with laughter. You’d think he was drinking more than soda but Granger knew him better than that. “I’m proving a point,” he said when he could finally catch his breath. Then he slapped the sprig back on the table and sat back down in his chair, looking proud of himself. “That’s how you react when you’re kissed by someone and you don’t want it to happen. You should’ve seen your face.” Jack started howling with laughter again.

  Granger blinked across the table at his friend. He wanted to laugh too but he didn’t think this was funny.

  “I took you by surprise, and you still had time to fall on your butt,” Jack said.

  “I didn’t fall on my butt.”

  “Near about. And it would’ve served you right too.”

  “I thought you said you were on my side,” Granger muttered, reaching for his beer again.

  “I am. And sometimes being a good friend is showing you what an idiot you are. Joy has every right to be upset if she sees you kissing your ex. I would’ve told you to walk too if I were her. And I would only take you back if you came crawling in with an apology. A really big one.”

  Granger couldn’t speak for a moment. He hadn’t apologized. He hadn’t even admitted that he’d done anything wrong, not even in his own mind. He’d felt justified and put out by Joy for no fault of his own. But now…now he just felt like a jerk. “You’re right.”

  Jack cupped a hand to his ear. “Say that again.”

  Granger shook his head and stood. “Not happening.”

  “Wait, you’re walking out on our Christmas tradition?” Jack asked, no longer laughing.

  “We had our drinks. You had your fun.” Granger pulled out his wallet and put down a twenty-dollar bill.

  “It was pretty fun,” Jack agreed. “Now I can go home to Emma.” He stood as well and reached out a hand to shake Granger’s hand. “While you go home to a cold, empty bed,” he teased.

  His friend wasn’t going easy on him tonight, and Granger couldn’t be more thankful.

  Jack was right. He’d been such an idiot. He hadn’t done everything he could to avoid the kiss. He’d let it happen. It was as much his fault as it was Erin’s. “I’m not going home just yet.”

  “Going to find Joy?” Jack asked. “Just be prepared to beg, plead, and grovel.”

  Granger nodded. Now that he’d had some sense knocked into him, he was prepared to do whatever it took to win Joy back.

  * * *

  The Christmas party at Sugar Pines Community Center was maybe the liveliest in town. If the people of Sweetwater Springs only knew the festivities they were missing here, they’d be breaking down the doors.

  But instead, it was just a small group of senior citizens and several women from the LDO and their husbands. There was a huge live tree from Merry Mountain Farms in the corner of the community center’s main room, decorated with lights, tinsel, and ornaments. Donovan Tate sat at the piano in the back, playing Christmas tunes while some of the folks sang along. Others ate the food from A Taste of Heaven catering, the scents wafting in the air and making Joy’s stomach rumble.

  Joy had busied herself with serving meals for the last hour. Now Darby caught Joy’s eye and waved her over.

  “Why are you avoiding us?” Darby wanted to know once Joy was standing beside her.

  “I’m not. I just didn’t want to be a third wheel.”

  “Nonsense.” Darby gestured to Ray on the other side of her. “I see this big lug all the time but I don’t see you nearly as much as I used to. I’m just not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad one.”

  “It was busy this month with all the extra Christmas tree workshops,” Joy told her aunt.

  Darby nodded. “Yes, I know. Were they a success?”

  Joy sat in the chair on the other side of Darby. Ray didn’t seem to mind sharing his girlfriend’s attention. In fact, he looked just as interested in the conversation as Darby was.

  “From what I hear, the farm made its normal profits, plus a little extra. Between the live trees, the workshops, the hayrides, and the cider stand, Merry Mountain Farms was hopping this season.”

  “Oh, that’s so nice to hear.” Darby reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Will you do that again next year?”

  Joy hesitated. “I actually applied for the receptionist job at the hospital,” she admitted.

  “What?” Darby pulled away as if Joy had told her she was going to prison. “Why on earth would you do that?”

  Joy shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess it feels like maybe it’s time. And I can still do my art on the side.”

  “No, you can’t. Art is life. The receptionist job will suck you dry, and there’ll be nothing left. Believe me.”

  Joy offered a wobbly smile. “It’ll be okay, Aunt Darby. My dream store on Main Street was just a dream. It’s been leased now. It’s time to face reality.” And Joy was tired of having her heart broken.

  “The reality is that you’re a talented artist. More talented than I ever was. And you’re a wonderful art teacher. You have so much to give, Joy. Don’t convince yourself otherwise just to fit into a mold.”

  Joy met Darby’s gaze. “I don’t want to disappoint you. Especially on the eve of Christmas Eve.”

  “You could never disappoint me,” Darby said automatically, her voice and posture softening. “You make me just as proud as if you were my very own daughter.”

  Joy wishe
d her own parents would say how proud they were. But if she wanted to make them proud, she needed to take the receptionist job.

  Ray was quiet as he sat and listened to their conversation. Then Darby looked back at him. “Should we tell her now?”

  His mouth curved softly. “Good time as any, I guess.”

  Darby returned to looking at Joy. “We’re moving in together,” she practically squealed.

  “What?” Joy looked between the new couple. “That’s a big step,” she said, disbelieving her ears.

  “Life doesn’t wait for those who second-guess. Life is now. I’d say that’s especially true when you’re my age.” Darby looked at Ray. “Ray asked me to move in with him, and all I know is my heart was ready to paint the town red. So I said yes.”

  “Where will you live?”

  “Ray’s house is bigger,” Darby said.

  “Darby will have her own room, of course,” Ray added.

  Joy felt her brow pinch, and Darby laughed.

  “That doesn’t mean I have to use it all the time. But I’m used to my own space, and Ray doesn’t mind.”

  Joy held up a hand. “I don’t think I need all the details. All I need to know is that you’re happy.”

  Darby leaned over and kissed Joy’s cheek. “I’m happy.” She looked into Joy’s eyes, and Joy could immediately see that it was true.

  “You can live with us,” Ray offered out of nowhere. “If that would save on your expenses and allow you to lease a store for your gallery.”

  Both Joy and Darby looked at Ray.

  “Aw, that’s so sweet.” Then Darby threw her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth. “I love you, you know that?”

  A broad smile stretched across his lips. “I do know it. But you can remind me as much as you want for the rest of our lives.”

  Tears pressed behind Joy’s eyes. This thing between her aunt and Ray was real. There wasn’t any doubt in her mind. “Thank you, Ray. That’s an amazing offer but you don’t need a thirty-year-old woman moving in with you.” They might have their own rooms but Joy suspected that they’d be making good use of every room. “I appreciate the gesture though,” Joy said.