Sweet Days by the Bay

by Kay Correll

  He set the tree against the side of the doorway, reached out, and took her hand in his. “I know you don’t. But maybe it’s time to try one again.”

  “I can’t.”

  “I’ll take it away if that’s really what you want.” His warm eyes filled with compassion. “I talked to Caroline. I understand why you don’t really do Christmas. But she thought maybe you were ready to try a bit of the holidays again. I thought if I brought you a tree, we could decorate it together. Just a tree. But it’s up to you.”

  Meredith sucked in a deep breath filled with the heady scent of pine. Oh, she’d missed that smell filling the house during the holidays.

  Maybe just the tree.

  Maybe one lone tree would be okay.

  “I… sure, it’s okay. I think.” She stood silently for a moment then nodded her head. “Yes, come inside.”

  Austin grinned and wrestled the tree through the doorway. “Where do you want it?”

  “I guess in front of the window? We could move that chair?” Meredith pointed. “But, I don’t even have a tree stand.”

  “What, you think I do anything halfway?” Austin winked and set the tree against the wall. He disappeared out the door and came back balancing a big box and a few shopping bags. “A tree in a bag. Well, almost. Lights, decorations, and…” He pulled out a stand. “Ta-da, a tree stand, of course.”

  They slid the chairs away from the window and battled the tree into the stand. She laughed when it leaned to one side, but he quickly uprighted it. “I’m no novice when it comes to Christmas trees,” he assured her.

  He strung lights in bright, cheerful colors around the tree. She crawled under the tree to plug in the strand. A magical glow illuminated her front room. She stood and took a step back, a wave of emotions flooding through her. “It’s… lovely.”

  “So, you’re pleased with your surprise?” Austin tilted his head and admired the tree.

  “I am. Thank you. I never would have actually gone out and gotten one for myself. But this… this is nice.”

  “Just wait. I brought my box of ornaments and you can choose the ones you want to use. I’ll take the leftovers back to decorate my tree.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

  “I’m a thoughtful kind of guy.” Austin flashed his boyish grin at her.

  She smiled in spite of herself. His enthusiasm was infectious.

  He carefully placed the large box on the floor and opened it. She knelt beside it, filled with unexpected anticipation and excitement. She was enjoying herself in spite of her reservations.

  “I’m pretty sure I have every ornament I was ever given. They all have some kind of special meaning.” He held up a broken ski ornament. “This one my sister gave me the year I broke my leg skiing.”

  Meredith laughed.

  “This one—” Austin dug out an ornament in the shape of a rolling pin. “Mom gave this to me the year she thought I finally mastered the perfect piecrust.”

  Meredith fought back an unexpected swelling of tears in her eyes. She blinked twice and swallowed.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

  Austin was busy pulling out the tissue paper surrounding a red ornament. “This one is my favorite. The first ornament I was ever given. I was just a kid and I was trying to buy my mom an ornament for our tree. I didn’t have enough money and this lady came up and saw me counting my change. I told her I really wanted to get Mom an ornament. We had this incredibly scrawny, sad tree. The Christmas tree lot had actually tossed it aside. I thought if I could just get the perfect ornament, the tree would look grand.” Austin had a faraway look in his eyes. “This lady opened the door to her car and pulled out a box. She handed it to me. It had a delicate red angel wrapped in sparkly tissue paper. She said I should take it and she’d go find another.”

  He carefully unwrapped the ornament and Meredith blinked. The ornament had a large tag attached to it. As the lights caught the scrap of paper, they illuminated what she would swear was her mother’s handwriting.

  But, of course, that was crazy. Memories from the past spun with the present and punched her in the gut, sucking the air from her lungs. Flickers of long ago Christmases flitted through her mind like faded photographs. So many memories she’d kept neatly tucked away to avoid the pain. But one memory came rushing back to her, crashing over her like an unrelenting wave. A warmth spread through her as she remembered how her mother would pick out a special ornament each year, write the year on it, then attach a quote to it. It was one of her mother’s favorite holiday traditions. Each year Meredith would open the box on Christmas Eve to see what ornament her mother had chosen and read the quote.

  But that tradition had ended all those years ago. Meredith choked back tears.

  “The lady—she was really nice—said it was a special ornament. See, she marked the year on it.”

  The tears flooded her eyes now, spilling onto her cheeks and burning trails down her face. She slowly turned the tag over.

  It was her mother’s handwriting.

  From the year she’d died.

  Meredith slowly read the words.

  Close your eyes. Hear the whisper of angel wings. Your angel will always be there watching over you.

  Austin looked up from the box of ornaments, his eyes widened with concern. “Merry, you okay? I’m sorry. I thought this would be a good idea…” He reached out to touch her hand.

  “Oh, Austin. See this?” Merry choked on the words. “The writing.” Merry swallowed a sob. “It’s my mother’s handwriting. My mother gave you the ornament.” She clutched the ornament to her chest, feeling her mother’s love and presence. She slowly traced her finger along the words.

  “Mom.” Merry whispered the one word.

  Austin quickly moved over beside her, put his arm around her shoulder, and held her tightly against him. “I don’t even know what to say.”

  Merry leaned against him, drawing strength. “This year written here? It was the year she died. I looked all over the house after she was… gone. I looked for this last ornament.”

  “Now you’ve found it.” Austin pulled her closer.

  Meredith looked into Austin’s eyes. “I feel my mother so close right now.” She took a shaky breath, her mind whirling with thoughts. Preposterous thoughts.

  She held the ornament out in front of her, the Christmas lights glistening on the angel’s wings. She looked at Austin, afraid to say what she was thinking. Her thoughts were ludicrous, weren’t they?

  “What? I see that look in your eyes. What are you thinking?” Austin’s low voice prompted her.

  She took a deep breath, willing herself to take a risk and say what she was thinking, crazy or not. “I wonder… I feel like Mom somehow knew. That she gave this to you, that she picked you out all those years ago. I feel like she found you for me…”

  Meredith swiped at her tears. “You probably think I’m crazy. We’ve only known each other for a few days.”

  Austin tilted her chin up so she was looking right into his glistening eyes. “I don’t think you’re crazy at all. I feel like I’ve known you forever, too.”

  Then his lips closed on hers and she lost all thought of anything except being in Austin’s arms and his tender kiss.

  Chapter 7

  Meredith stood by Austin’s side at the tree lighting ceremony. She’d avoided going to it for years, but now the time was right. She wanted to share all things holiday with Austin. He looked down at her, tossed her his disarming smile, and pulled her closer.

  Whitney threaded her way through the crowd towards them. “Merry.” Whitney gave her a quick hug. “This night is full of surprises. First, I drove past your house on the way here… did you know you have a Christmas tree all lit up in your front window?”

  Meredith grinned. “I did know that.”

  “Well, it’s about time.” Whitney nodded her head in approval. “And you’re here for the tree lighting.”

  “I am.”

 
Whitney turned to Austin. “You seem to be a good influence on my friend. I’ve tried for… well, for forever to get her to put up a tree or come to the town tree lighting. She knows you for days and look what all you’ve managed to accomplish.”

  “I feel like I’ve known Merry my whole life.” Austin looked down at Merry and pressed a quick kiss on her lips. Her heart pounded as he wrapped his arms around her. She had to keep herself from reaching up to touch her lips. She was positive she had that now familiar goofy grin on her face.

  “Well, I’ll be.” Whitney’s eyes widened. “Even more surprises. For the record, that kiss was about time, too.”

  “He’s rather persuasive,” Meredith agreed with a quick grin.

  Whitney elbowed her. “So, now that you’re no longer boycotting Christmas, will you two come over after the tree lighting?”

  Meredith looked up at Austin, and he nodded. She turned to her friend. “We’d love to.”

  “Well, I better go find my dad and brother before the lights come on. I’ll see you later at my house.” Whitney disappeared into the growing crowd.

  Meredith basked in the warm glow of the holiday season, Whitney’s friendly teasing, and being in Austin’s arms. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her as they waited in anticipation. She looked up at the sky and could feel her mother looking down at her, smiling. A peace settled over her.

  Meredith leaned against Austin and they stood without talking. There was no need. He felt like the long-lost final piece in the jigsaw puzzle that had been her life since her mother had died. She could finally make peace with the past.

  The crowd hushed, and the mayor reached out to turn on the lights. The square lit up with a magical glow. The townspeople broke into cheers.

  Austin leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. “Merry Christmas.”

  For the first time in a long, long time, she truly believed it was going to be a very Merry Christmas.

  Copyright © 2018 Kay Correll

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any matter without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental

  * * *

  Published by Rose Quartz Press

  050618

  This book is dedicated to the wonderful writer friends I’ve come to know and admire on my journey to becoming an author.

  Chapter 1

  Richard Nicholson swiped the sunglasses from the top of his head and settled them on his face. He grabbed a baseball cap from the dash of the rental car and pulled it over his short brown hair. With a quick look in the rearview mirror, he figured this was as good as it was going to get.

  He swung open the door and eased his way out of the flashy red sports car. He should have rented something less conspicuous but hadn’t been able to help himself. A weakness of his—flashy sports cars. He clicked the button on the key fob to lock the car. The fresh, salty sea breeze was a welcome change from the hazy, smoggy air in California. It had taken him hours and hours, plus a plane change, to fly all the way across the country to reach Charleston where he’d rented the car to drive out to Indigo Bay.

  He looked up and down the street, taking in the view of quaint shops and a handful of tourists browsing the storefronts. He scowled at his task, but determination swept through him to conquer the job. Why his sister had given him the job of finding a gift for their grandmother’s birthday was a mystery to him, but he wasn’t going to fail.

  He was going to find his grandmother the perfect gift. Even if he hated to shop. Even if he freely admitted he was a horrible gift-giver and usually just called his assistant to pick out something for him. But it didn’t seem right to have someone else pick out a present this special.

  He scanned the names of shops lining Main Street, hoping for inspiration. The bright sign for Happy Paws Pet Shop caught his eye, but that wouldn’t help him much. His grandmother didn’t own a single pet, nor did anyone in his family. They were all too busy with their various careers.

  An older lady hurried out of the shop with a white, fluffy dog in her arms. She swooped down and set the dog on the sidewalk. “Come on, Princess.” He smothered a smile when he saw the dog’s collar perfectly matched the blue shade of the lady’s heels, which, come to think of it, were a strange choice in shoes for a casual beach town.

  The lady looked up and stared at him for a minute, but he quickly ducked his head and turned away. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw her hurrying down the sidewalk, the little dog scurrying at her side.

  He looked at his reflection in the store window in front of him. He could barely recognize himself, so he should be okay, right? He looked down the street, and another sign caught his eye—Coastal Creations. That’s right. He remembered Shawna Jacobson raving about the shop when he’d mentioned he was headed to Indigo Bay. She’d bought some kind of necklace there and posted on social media about it. Evidently, the post had gone viral, and these necklaces were the hot thing after that. Not that his grandmother was trendy. She was traditional. But maybe the shop would have something.

  With determined strides, he headed off to see if the shop could solve his dilemma.

  Whitney Layton looked up from where she sat behind the counter, wrapping a piece of sea glass carefully in thin, silver wire. Sunshine spilled in through the open door. A man stood outside perusing her displays in the shop windows. He looked through the window and caught her staring at him and lifted a hand in a brief wave. She smiled at him, hoping he’d come on inside. She’d had few customers in the shop today, though the online orders had been coming in steadily, like the custom piece she was working on now.

  The man entered the store, and she put down her work. “Welcome. May I help you?”

  He crossed over to the display case she was sitting behind, slipped off his sunglasses, and hooked them on the neckline of the t-shirt he was wearing. “I hope so. I’m looking for something special. Something different. It’s for my grandmother’s eightieth birthday.” He flashed a disarming grin. “Though, to be honest, we’re not really sure how old she is. She’s been stretching the truth for years, and we just go with it.”

  “Did you have anything particular in mind?”

  “I’m… well, I’m hopeless at this. I have no idea. I just know she loves this town. She started coming here to Indigo Bay to vacation when she was younger… much younger. So we decided to throw her birthday party here. I thought a jewelry piece from the town might hold special meaning for her.”

  “I have some necklace and bracelet sets over here.” Whitney slid from behind the counter and led the way to a display on the wall. “Or I could make a custom piece for you. When is her birthday?”

  “About two weeks.” His eyes held a bit of panic in the corners of their sky-blue depths.

  “How about something like this?” She held up a silver necklace with a piece of emerald green sea glass embedded into a hammered silver drop. “I have the matching bracelet to it, also.”

  “I… I just don’t know.” The man frowned and walked along the wall. “How about something like this one? But do you have more green sea glass? Her favorite color is emerald green like that other set you showed me.”

  “I could make up one similar to this with green sea glass.”

  “Could it be ready in two weeks?”

  “I do have a surcharge for a rush custom order, but I can squeeze it in. It’s not every day a person turns eighty.”

  He smiled at her again with that utterly charming smile. “Or, whatever age she’s actually turning.”

  “If you come over here, I’ll write up the order. I require a deposit, then the balance is due when you pick it up.”

  “Sounds fair to me.” He followed her over to the computer.

 
She entered the details of the order and an estimate of the cost. He didn’t blink an eye at the price. “And your name?”

  He paused, then nodded. “Richard Nicholson.”

  “Okay, Mr. Nicholson. Can you tell me where you’re staying here in town and give me your cell phone number?”

  “I’m not sure of the address. It’s two houses on the bay. Two huge pink houses.”

  “Ah, The Pink Ladies. Both of them? They’re beautiful homes. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.”

  “Yes, we rented both of them. The whole family is coming in. I came early to make sure everything is ready for the big event. They’ll all be trailing in over the next week or so. Then the party is the weekend after next.”

  “Your phone number so I can call when it’s ready?”

  “I… uh… I’ll just check back in with you.”

  Whitney frowned at his answer, but he was holding out his credit card, so she took it from him and ran it. It went through flawlessly, so she figured everything was okay, even if he didn’t want to give her his number.

  She handed him a receipt for his down payment. “Here you go. If you give me a week, I’ll know better when I’ll be finished. I promise to have it done before the party, though.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

  “Thanks for coming in. I hope your grandmother will be pleased with her gift.”

  “Me, too.” Mr. Nicholson stepped back. “I’ll be back in about a week.”

  “I’ll see you then.”

  Whitney watched as he paused in the doorway, slipped on his sunglasses, and adjusted his cap down lower over his eyes. He disappeared out into the sunshine.

  Chapter 2

  Whitney walked along the shoreline early the next morning. She loved catching the sun rising over the sea. This morning did not disappoint. She plopped down on the sand and watched while the sky lightened and the sun tossed colors of pink and orange into the clouds scattered over the horizon.