by Rachel Hanna
“We haven’t even gotten started yet,” Dixie said.
“Well, when I get back from my doctor’s appointment, I sure hope you’ll have it ready for a taste testing.”
“We’ll try, Dad,” Carrie said, rolling her eyes.
Harry quickly hurried out the door as Dixie re-focused on making the fruitcakes.
“Now, I’ve already soaked some dried fruit in the rum overnight, so let me get the dish from the refrigerator.”
“You soaked it?”
“It helps break some of the sweetness and gives it a really rich flavor.”
“Huh. Never thought of doing that.”
Dixie smiled. “Decades of cooking experience in this crazy brain of mine.”
“So we put the soaked dried fruit into the batter?”
“Right. And we’ll add some orange zest and orange juice to give it some extra flavor.”
“And these cut up apples?”
“Yep. And some slivered almonds and chocolate chips.”
Carrie laughed. “Sounds like everything you had in the pantry.”
“Pretty much!”
“Want to turn on some Christmas music?”
Dixie smiled. “That would make it perfect!”
Carrie fiddled with her fancy phone and turned on some Christmas music as they worked side by side in the kitchen. Dixie couldn’t remember a time when she’d had so much fun with someone she barely knew.
Just as they were putting the first two fruitcakes into the oven, someone rang the doorbell. Dixie wiped her hands on her red apron and walked to the door.
“Hey, Mom,” William said.
“Hey, sweetie. What’re you doing here?”
“Well, I was hoping you might have some decorations up in the attic that I could use on the boat?”
“I’m sure I do. Come on in!”
William walked into the foyer and immediately stuck his nose in the air. “I smell rum. You’re making fruitcake?”
“Of course!”
“Got any ready?” He asked, hopefully.
She put her hands on his chest. “No, darlin’. Just went in the oven. But, I want you to come meet your new stepsister.”
William followed her into the kitchen. Carrie was busy mixing the rum-soaked fruit with batter, her hair falling out of the messy bun atop her head. One raisin was precariously stuck to her apron.
“Carrie? This is your step-brother, William.”
She smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Carrie.”
He shook her hand and then looked at his. “I can see you’ve been helping Mom.”
She laughed. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Don’t let her push you around in the kitchen, though.”
“She’s teaching me a lot,” Carrie said, wiping her hands on a cloth.
“Well, I won’t keep y’all. I’m entering my boat in the Christmas boat parade through the marsh. Hoping Mom has some extra decorations in the attic.”
“As you can see, I’ve done plenty of decorating around here, so you are welcome to whatever’s up there, son.”
He leaned down and kissed her head. “Thanks. Let me know when one of those cakes is ready for a taste tester.”
As William walked off, Carrie looked at Dixie. “Hmmm…. Where have we heard that today?”
Chapter Six
Julie sat at the kitchen table, a mound of garland, flowers and other decorations covering the entire tabletop. She was exhausted. Between working full time at the bookstore and helping with the town’s Christmas festival, she felt like she was in over her head. This time of the year was supposed to be about joy and fun, but she was stressed today trying to get it all done.
Dawson had helped where he could, but he was busy helping William, running the inn and building her super secret Christmas present out in the barn. She was having a heck of a time keeping her eyes open, even though it wasn’t nearly bedtime yet. All she wanted to do was curl up under her fluffy blanket, drink some chamomile tea and drift off into a nice, long slumber.
“Wow! That is a lot of greenery. What are you doing?” Tina asked. She walked over and sat down, setting her a cup of coffee on the table.
“Well, I somehow got myself roped in to making Christmas wreaths to sell at the festival. The town wants to use the money we raise to go toward the toy drive.”
“That’s a wonderful thing to do. I’m so amazed at this little town and how everybody seems to help each other. It feels like I landed at the north pole, without all the snow.”
Julie laughed. “Make no mistake, there’s a lot of hard-working people behind the scenes. But it’s a wonderful place. Before I moved here, I didn’t have any idea that a place like this existed outside of those sappy TV movies, anyway.”
“Where did you move here from?”
“The Atlanta suburbs. I had been married for twenty-one years, and then my husband made a series of poor decisions. Next thing I knew, I was starting my life over here. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“That’s amazing. You’re a very strong woman to be able to start over like that. I wish I could.”
It surprised Julie that she had said something about her history. Both she and Dawson had been careful not to ask too many questions, assuming that if Tina wanted to open up, she would.
“It’s never too late to start over, Tina.”
She sat there for a moment, her eyes looking lost in thought. “I wish I could believe that, but I’ve made some terrible choices in my life. I’ve hurt some people I dearly loved. It just feels like there’s no coming back from some of those choices. Maybe I’m meant to be punished, you know?”
“Listen, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I know that a new life starts with a new choice. Sometimes, we put ourselves in these self-imposed prisons. If you made bad choices, you have to learn how to forgive yourself. Once you know better, you do better, right?”
Teary-eyed, Tina nodded. “Thank you. I will give that some thought when I say my prayers tonight before bed.”
“Can you say a little prayer for me? Because I don’t know how in the world I’m going to make twenty-five Christmas wreaths by myself.”
Tina laughed. She reached over and pulled some greenery toward her. “You will not do it alone.”
“You don’t have to help me. You’re a guest here!”
“It’s the least I can do. And, I have worked at a flower shop before. Do you know how many wreaths I’ve made in my lifetime?”
Julie stared at her, wide-eyed. “Oh, God has sent me an angel straight from heaven then!”
* * *
“You want me to sing? Christian, come on. You’ve heard me sing in the car. I swear cats were following us the last time I belted out a Broadway tune.”
Christian laughed. “Darling, it’s Christmas caroling. Nobody’s asking you to stand on a stage and sing an aria. But the Christmas festival requires all of us to contribute something, and certainly we can both stand in a group of people and sing a few Christmas songs.”
Meg sighed. She cut up the rest of the banana she had on her plate and slid it over to Vivi, who was sitting in the highchair, waiting for yet another snack. She was a bottomless pit lately. “Fine, but if I get made fun of by my family for the rest of my life, I’m blaming you!”
Christian laughed and then kissed the top of her head. “Your voice is beautiful to me, my love.”
She rolled her eyes. “You shouldn’t lie. I might be good at a lot of things, but singing is certainly not one of them. Hopefully, everybody else will just drown me out.”
“One more thing,” Christian said, smiling like he was worried she might fling a dinner plate across the room at him.
“What?”
“We have practice in an hour.”
She stared at him. “Tonight? But I just got home from school and Vivi needs a bath…”
“No worries. Your mother said we could drop her by the bookstore for an hour whil
e we do a little practicing on the square.”
Meg stood up and poked her finger in the center of his chest, looking up at him. “You’re going to get coal in your stocking.”
Christian pulled her into a tight embrace, her cheek pressed against his chest, the thumping of his heart loud in her ear. There was no place she would rather be on earth. They had had a rough road at the beginning, first falling madly in love in France and then finding out she was pregnant. There were so many times when Meg thought they would end up apart, but they were stronger than ever now.
“I think Santa will forgive me.”
She looked up at him. “I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been.”
He smiled. “I know it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. I can’t wait to spend this Christmas with you, Meg. It’s going to be our best one yet.”
As she hugged him tightly, she wondered if they would ever make things official. Or would he be one of those guys who never thought he needed to marry her now that they had already started a family? Maybe she had to ask him. Maybe she needed to be honest about her feelings.
For now, she was just going to enjoy Christmas with her new little family and worry about the future another day.
* * *
Colleen stood in the middle of the office, looking from one side of the room to the other. While their offices weren’t that big, she never expected so many toys to be delivered.
“And you say there’s more coming?” Tucker asked.
“From what I understand. I mean, this is great for the toy drive, but how are we supposed to work here now?”
Tucker laughed. “Why don’t we put all of this in the conference room? All future deliveries can go directly there.”
“Good idea.”
They spent the next half hour moving stacks and stacks of toys into the small conference room. When they were finished, toys were stacked on the table all the way up to the ceiling.
Colleen loved that Tucker was so invested in making sure the less fortunate children in their community had plenty of toys to play with. A big kid at heart, she enjoyed seeing him look at every single donation. Sometimes it appeared as if he was toying with the idea of pulling each item out and playing with it himself, but he refrained.
“So, did Christian tell you he wants all of us to sing at the festival?”
“Yeah, he told me. I tried to explain that I can’t carry a tune in a bucket, but that French accent can convince you to do anything,” Tucker said, shaking his head.
“Well, then I guess I should hope that no French women get near you,” Colleen said, putting her hands on his cheeks. He leaned down quickly and kissed her.
“No woman, French or not, could hold a candle to you.”
“Are you just gunning for a really great Christmas present?” she asked, scrunching her nose.
“I already have the best present I could ever have,” he said, squeezing her tightly.
“I think you’ve been around Christian too much. That was super sappy!” she groaned.
As they stood there laughing, Colleen was so thankful. There was nothing else she would’ve wanted in her life other than what she already had. Some people didn’t get to live the life of their dreams, but somehow she was getting to live hers.
Sometimes she thought back to her life in California as an attorney and wondered how she had ended up in a small town in South Carolina working for a toy inventor. Things had really changed in such a short time, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“Excuse me? Is this where I’m supposed to drop off a toy donation?”
Colleen looked up and saw Tina standing there holding a small plastic bag.
“Oh, hi, Tina! I’m Colleen. I was at the mall when we went shopping.”
“I remember you. Julie’s daughter, right?”
“Right. We didn’t have time to talk much, but I’m glad you could join us.”
“Me too. It was a lot of fun. Julie told me about the toy drive, so I went to buy something I could donate. It’s not much, but hopefully it will help,” she said, holding out the bag.
“Any donation is welcome,” Tucker said, offering up his most genuine smile.
“I wish I could do more. I know these kids need toys for the holidays. It’s just a little toy car, but I hope one of them will enjoy it.”
Colleen was struck by how quiet and almost sad she seemed. Christmas time in Seagrove was magical, with all the lights and sounds and decorations. All of that was right behind where Tina was standing, but she seemed like a lost soul. Colleen could see why her mother had taken her in for the holidays.
“Some little kid is going to really love this car. I can promise you that,” Tucker said.
“Well, I better get back. I’ve been helping your mom make Christmas wreaths for the festival.”
“I’m sure she really appreciates that! She’s not the most crafty person I know,” Colleen said, laughing.
Tina waved goodbye and walked out the door, pretty much as quietly as she had walked in.
“She seems really sad,” Tucker said.
“I know. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think she must’ve had a really difficult past. I mean, she was staying at the worst motel in the area. I just hope she has a good Christmas.”
“Me too. Hopefully she finds that the magic of Seagrove will change her life like it has for so many other people.”
* * *
Janine stood on the platform of the boat. She knew that Dawson was a great woodworker, but she sure hoped that his handiwork withstood the entire boat parade or she was going to fall in front of everybody.
Dressed as an elf, she was standing next to William, who was all made up as the perfect Santa Claus. It had taken some negotiation to get him to agree to dress up, but he finally relented for the good of the children in the community.
With everybody’s help, they had gotten the boat to look as festive as possible, and she was sure that he had a great chance of winning the competition. Even though he got nothing special, other than a Christmas stocking with “first place” embroidered on it, it was the principle of the matter. Any time William did something, he wanted to be the best at it.
They covered the boat in garland and tinsel and all things Christmas. Of course, they had made it a beach theme as well by painting some plastic crabs red and green and peppering them throughout the decor.
It was much like a moving department store window that one would see in a big city. Except this one was floating on water. As they came around the bend, she could see that the crowds that had formed on all the little docks that were dotting the shoreline.
“Do you have the candy ready?” she asked William. He was having a hard time maneuvering himself much, what with the big pillow belted around his midsection. Always in good shape, she found it funny to see him look so portly.
“I’ve got it. You’ve asked me that three times,” he said, shaking his head.
“Well, I’m sorry. There’re dozens of little kids up there who would be very sad if you didn’t throw some candy at them.”
William laughed. “This is supposed to be fun, Janine. Put a smile on your face and stop worrying so much.”
She knew he was right. All the yoga in the world didn’t help her when she was under a stressful situation. She could meditate until the cows came home, but anytime she did something outside of her normal box, she got anxiety. It was just a part of the fabric of who she was.
“Look at them. All those grinning faces and people waving.”
William raised up his white gloved hand and started waving back at the crowd. Every so often he would yell out “ho ho ho” in his deepest voice. It made Janine giggle, but she turned her head.
“Merry Christmas!” she yelled as they passed the first part of the crowd. She tossed a handful of red and white curved candy canes into the crowd, hoping most of them didn’t fall to the ground and shatter at the feet of the children.
She could see Julie and Dawson
waving and grinning. Of course Dylan was right up at the water’s edge trying to catch all the candy he could. He had his old Halloween container in his hand and was steadily grabbing pieces as the boat went by and tossing them into the bucket.
She could see her mother waving as well as Dixie and Harry. There were just so many faces she recognized in the crowd, and it made her happy. The people of Seagrove had become her extended family.
All of those years of traveling around the world teaching yoga, Janine had been searching for something. Part of it was searching for herself and who she really was. But the other part had been searching for an anchor. Roots. A place where she felt like she was at home. Seagrove was that place, and the people in it meant more to her than anything in the world.
As she watched William continue to yell ho ho ho and Merry Christmas over and over, she marveled at how much he had changed since she’d met him. When he had first come back to town, he was at odds with his mother and really conflicted within himself. There were so many things that he was holding in and not dealing with, but now he was more open and honest than ever. He seemed happy. Running his own business and being outdoors had changed him in ways she had not expected.
They spent more time together, often out on the boat, winding their way through the marshes full of seagrass and local wildlife. They studied the flora and the fauna and kept their eyes open for alligators, of course. Some of her happiest moments had been out on those marshes with William, the sun setting in the distance and providing a spectacle of orange and pink in the sky.
For the next thirty minutes, they wound their way through the marshes, waving at people and throwing candy before finally coming to the end. When they pulled up to the dock and stopped the boat, William sighed with relief.
“So, do you think we did enough to win this thing?”
She took off her elf hat and kicked off the curly shoes, moving her toes around since they had been way too small. “I think we have a great chance. That was a lot of fun!”
He unbuttoned his Santa suit and pulled the pillow out, waving his hand in front of his stomach to get a breeze. “Never let me get that chubby. I didn’t know how hard that would be.”