Love Inspired December 2013 - Bundle 2 of 2: Cozy ChristmasHer Holiday HeroJingle Bell Romance

by Valerie Hansen

  In the end, Dad was the one who blinked first. “Fine, but only because your mother needs to be warm. I’d have been just as happy staying right here.”

  Away from me, Nick added silently. Out loud, he forced himself to be more positive. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. I’ll shovel a path from the front door out to the driveway for you.”

  To his complete shock, the man who’d always had a smile for everyone else finally spared one for him. “Thank you, son.”

  Nick recalled the last time his father had addressed him that way—the night they rushed him to the hospital. Long pent-up emotions suddenly clogged his throat, and he swallowed hard to push them back down as the pastor went inside.

  Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Nick turned to find Todd’s eyes—the only thing visible—crinkled in a smile. “Nice job.”

  All this approval was hard for a guy like him to take, but he laughed. “Thanks.”

  “You do realize they’re gonna have to take over your room, right?”

  That hadn’t occurred to him, but in the long run it didn’t matter much. If the storm kept up, eventually the whole town would be in the dark, and he’d be happier in a sleeping bag next to the fireplace anyway.

  When he said as much, Todd replied, “I didn’t take you for the camping type.”

  “We camped a lot when we were kids,” Nick told him as they continued shoveling. “It won’t kill me to do it for a couple nights.”

  “Our last power failure lasted eight days.”

  “Huh. Guess you played a lot of Candyland.”

  They were both laughing when his parents joined them, each with a suitcase in hand.

  “You seem to be enjoying yourselves,” Mom commented with a hug for both of them. “Thank you so much for taking us in.”

  “Not a problem at all,” Todd assured them as he shouldered his shovel. “Lainie and the kids will be thrilled to have you for company.”

  “I’ll need a quiet place to work on this week’s sermon,” the pastor announced while they made their way to the car. “It’s the last one before Christmas, and it’s very important.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad,” Nick said as he peeled off his ski mask. “The guest room is yours and Mom’s. I’ll crash on the couch.”

  Mom opened her mouth to protest, but Nick quieted her with a look. When he opened the passenger door for her, she gave him a proud mother’s smile. “That’s very generous of you.”

  “Well, y’know, ’tis the season.”

  Grasping his chin, she shook his head back and forth the way she used to when he was younger. “Oh, that grin. I can’t resist it.”

  Nick glanced over at his father, surprised to find he wasn’t scowling. Not smiling, but not looking like he’d just eaten something nasty, either. Just as they were all settled in the SUV, the entire town went dark.

  Nick’s eyes wandered down the block to Toyland, which had been lit up like a hotel just moments before. “You think Julia’s okay?” he asked Todd while they pulled onto snowy Main Street. “I mean, that bird of hers isn’t exactly the cold-weather type.”

  “We should stop and check.”

  The car skidded into a spot, and Nick struggled to open Toyland’s heavy door against the wind. “Julia?”

  “Nick?” A circle of light bobbed toward him, and he saw her threading her way through the aisles, carrying a flashlight. “What are you doing here?”

  “Do you have a generator?”

  “No,” she said in a dejected tone. “I will after this, though.”

  “You get some things together, and we’ll head to Lainie’s. I’ll take care of Shakespeare.”

  While they headed upstairs, she said, “His carrier’s in the closet in my office. Are you sure Lainie won’t mind having such a chatty guest?”

  “The kids’ll love him,” Nick answered confidently. “That’s good enough for her.”

  Pausing in the dimly lit living room, Julia flashed him a grateful smile. “Thank you for thinking of us, Nick. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  While she headed to her bedroom, Nick realized Shakespeare hadn’t made a peep, which struck him as odd. A small amount of weak sunlight was still coming through the bay window, and he saw the huge bird cowering in the corner, his head buried beneath his wing.

  “Hey, there, buddy.” Nothing, not even a rustle of feathers. Reaching back into his college literature classes, he came up with a line from As You Like It. “Now we go in content.”

  From under the feathers came a muffled, “To liberty and not to banishment.”

  “Okay, then.” Chuckling, Nick headed for Julia’s office. “You wait here, and I’ll be right back.”

  Five minutes later, Nick led the way back downstairs with a quilt-covered cage in one hand and a bag full of Shakespeare’s food, treats and toys in the other. He belted the cage into the third row of the car, then helped Julia muscle the door of Toyland shut and lock it.

  Totally spent, he collapsed into the seat next to her, and she laughed. “You really know how to show a girl a good time.”

  Fully aware that his parents were listening, he rolled his head to grin over at her. “Yeah, well, even us bad boys have our talents.”

  “Nicholas Brendan McHenry,” his mother scolded. “Mind your manners.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He added a wink for Julia, just to hear her laugh again. All in all, despite his aching muscles and half-frozen feet, it had been a very good day.

  *

  Even with the SUV in four-wheel drive, Todd took his time on the slick roads. The whole way out, Julia hadn’t seen anything in the windows of the houses but the faintest of lights as people made do with light from fireplaces, camping lanterns and candles. Smoke trailed from every chimney, and she saw a few neighbors tramping across lawns to their friends’ homes. They were greeted with open arms and laughter, and she couldn’t help smiling at the thought of the friends who were welcoming her into their home. If she was going to be stranded anywhere without electricity, she couldn’t ask for better hosts than the Martins.

  Shakespeare hadn’t made a peep since leaving her apartment, and Julia was concerned about him. At Lainie’s suggestion, once they arrived at the house she set his large cage down in the warm kitchen and unzipped the heavy cover. To her dismay, one black eye glared at her accusingly from under a blue-and-yellow wing.

  When she unlatched the cage door and reached inside, Nick stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You sure that’s a good idea? He looks pretty mad.”

  “Sulking,” she corrected, gently stroking the indignantly ruffled feathers on his back. “Shakespeare likes his routine, and he’s not thrilled about being jerked out of his window in the dark. But you’ll be warmer here,” she cooed, hoping to make him feel better about the whole thing.

  Untucking a little, he made a halfhearted attempt at responding. It came out like an unhappy squawk, and with a sigh she latched the door. “I guess he’ll come around when he’s ready.”

  “Julia,” Lainie said, “Do you really only have one bag when Shakespeare has two plus a carrier?”

  “Funny, isn’t it?” she agreed with a laugh. “I wasn’t sure how long we’d be here, and I wanted to make sure he has whatever he needs. Thanks so much for having us.”

  “No biggie,” her friend assured her while she stirred a large pot of stew. “The more, the merrier.”

  “Smells great,” Nick chimed in, dunking a piece of bread into the broth. After chewing for a few seconds, he added, “Just like Mom’s.”

  Shoving him away from the stove, Lainie said, “It should be. She made us a triple batch last month, and I froze half of it for later. Now I’m glad I did.”

  Since this was her first Maine winter, the concept of laying in provisions was still as foreign to Julia as the Vienna Opera House would be for her neighbors. Sturdy and self-reliant, they apparently took their long winter in stride, preparing for the worst while they waited for spri
ng. It had a pioneering feel to it, and she admired their upbeat pragmatism.

  “That freezer downstairs is the size of my whole fridge,” Nick commented as he filled a mug with fresh coffee and took a seat at the table. “You could fit a whole cow in there and then some.”

  “I stock up when things are on sale,” Lainie explained, pulling two fresh loaves of bread from the gas oven. “If I do well enough on the budget, I can stay home ’til Noah starts school. Then I’m hoping to work as a sub so Todd and I will be off when the kids are.”

  “I really admire that, Lainie,” Julia told her while she filled Shakespeare’s water dish from a jug on the counter. “Lots of people plan their careers around how much money they can make. They forget that children just want someone to spend time with them. Kids don’t care if that happens on the Riviera or in the backyard.”

  “Less money, more time with the kids. That’s our plan.”

  “What about when they get older?” Nick asked. “When they want a car or to go to Harvard?”

  A couple of weeks ago, the question would have irked her, thinking it was a criticism of Lainie’s choices. But now, Julia noticed the twinkle in his eyes that clearly said he was just messing with his sister.

  “Then we’ll call Uncle Nick,” she replied airily, smacking the back of his head with an oven mitt shaped like a Christmas tree. “By then, you’ll be an expert at spoiling them, and we’ll put it to good use.”

  Groaning, Nick appealed to his feathered friend. “Shakespeare, help me out here. It’s two against one.”

  After a few seconds, the macaw lifted his head and cocked it with a wise expression. “All things in moderation.”

  Clearly confused, Nick looked over at Julia. “That’s not Shakespeare. It’s Aristotle.”

  His concern over her eccentric guest was touching, and she smiled. Who’d have guessed the blustery editor had such a soft heart? “Don’t worry—sometimes he reverts to the Greeks when he’s upset. He’ll get back to the Bard when he’s feeling more himself.”

  In the doorway, she noticed Hannah, staring at the large bird with obvious fascination. “Did he just talk?”

  “He mimics people,” she explained, going over to the cage. “Would you like to pet him?”

  Hannah checked with her mother, who nodded her permission. Julia slid the door open and positioned her wrist for him to step onto. The macaw gave the girl a curious once-over, then apparently decided she was worth impressing and gracefully stepped onto Julia’s forearm. When she drew him out, he stood up tall and shook out all his feathers in a colorful display.

  Eyeing Hannah in a friendly way, he bobbed his head. “Good eve to you, milady.”

  Chuckling, Nick said, “How ’bout that? He likes you, munchkin.”

  “What did he mean?”

  “That’s an old-fashioned way of saying ‘hello,’” Julia replied. “You should say, ‘And to you, sir.’”

  Hannah copied her, and the bird dipped into his characteristic bow. When she laughed, he echoed her, and the rest of them joined in.

  A few seconds later, Todd appeared in the doorway with a squirming Noah. “He was dying to get out of his jumper. I think he’s afraid he’s missing all the fun.”

  Hannah traded comments with Shakespeare, who was more than happy to oblige by repeating everything back to her. Every time he spoke, Noah squealed and let out a string of delighted giggles. It was adorable, and Julia drank in the sounds of happy children and Christmas music playing on an emergency radio in the background. She couldn’t imagine a more perfect sound.

  She didn’t often feel lonely, but sitting here in the Martins’ cozy house, it suddenly became clear what was missing from her life.

  A family.

  Someday, she promised herself, she’d have a kitchen like this. A place where the people she loved would gather to share news, drink cocoa and snatch treats from the counter.

  Of course, there were some things she needed to do to make that dream a reality, but that didn’t bother her.

  God had led her to Holiday Harbor to show her the home He had in mind for her. She trusted Him to guide her down the path to where she was meant to be.

  When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked back to find Nick standing behind her. “Maybe Hannah can watch Shakespeare while we finish up this week’s interview. It’s the last piece I need before posting this week’s issue.”

  “But there’s no power for the wireless router. Can you still upload to the site?”

  Motioning her into the living room, he answered, “I have a gadget that taps into the cell tower and beams stuff off the satellite. At least, that’s what the guy claimed when he sold it to me,” he added with a wry grin.

  Todd had a roaring fire going on the hearth, and Nick pulled up a couple of chairs to the warmest spot. As she sat, Julia was surprised to see him open his laptop as if a lack of power was the least of his worries. “Would you rather take notes by hand so we don’t drain the battery?”

  “Nah. I’ve got two spares and a charger that works in the car,” he explained while he tapped the mouse. “We’re good.”

  Julia considered her own response to the power failure, which had been a step short of panicking. If it hadn’t been for her flashlight, she’d have been hard-pressed to navigate through her own store. “Are you always so well prepared?”

  “I try to be. Being Irish, I’m well acquainted with Murphy’s Law.”

  There was that twinkle in his eyes again. She’d been catching it more often lately, and she wondered if there was something in particular that had improved his attitude so dramatically from the first time they’d met. Since she had no idea how to ask him something that personal without appearing to pry, she opted to keep her observation to herself. “So, where were we?”

  Nick tapped up a few times to reread what they’d already covered. “The summer you spent volunteering at the reserve in Kenya.”

  “That’s where I met Liam, Shakespeare’s owner,” she commented absently in an attempt to orient herself. It was harder than it sounded, reminiscing through your own life. This segment was even harder because soon she’d have to decide how to present the humiliating set of circumstances that had driven her from the glittering lifestyle she’d adored.

  Or had she? Thinking back now, she couldn’t recall ever being as happy as she’d been since moving to Holiday Harbor. There were problems, of course, mostly with people making unfair assumptions about her. But she was gradually winning over the residents of her adopted home, and some of them had come to feel like family to her.

  “Are you still with me?” Glancing over, she saw Nick watching her intently. “Did I hit a nerve?”

  “Oh, no. Just thinking.”

  As if sensing that this was more personal, he closed the computer and gave her his full attention. “About what?”

  She hesitated, then replied, “How to frame what happened with Bernard.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been debating that myself.” Meeting her eyes, he offered a sympathetic smile. “It’s up to you, but I vote we leave it out.”

  It was a good thing she was sitting down, or she might have collapsed from shock. Was this the same demanding, hard-edged ogre who single-handedly struck fear into the hearts of freelance reporters all over the country? “I don’t understand. Don’t you want to give your readers the truth?”

  “No matter how much it hurts?” he added, shaking his head. “Anyone close to you knows what happened, and for strangers, it’s none of their business. Trotting out the sordid details doesn’t help anyone, and it would embarrass you. I think you’ve been through enough this past year.”

  “Then what will you say to explain why I came to Holiday Harbor?”

  Leaning back, Nick eyed her with a thoughtful expression. She could almost hear the gears spinning in his quick mind. “You were looking for a challenge, so you chose to pull up stakes and make a new life for yourself here. Building on your love of toys, you chose to use your education and
experience to take a vacant old storefront and grow it into a thriving business.”

  “I love it,” she approved. “It leaves out the ugly part but still sticks to the truth and focuses on what’s really important to me.” Curious, she leaned on the arm of her chair so she could speak quietly. “What’s important to you, Nick?”

  She’d expected him to answer “success” or “money.” To her astonishment, he slowly shook his head. “These days, I’m not sure. The past few years, starting my own magazine and making it profitable was what drove me. But now—”

  He shrugged, and she filled in the blank. “You’ve done that, so what’s next?”

  “Exactly.” Giving her a sheepish grin, he said, “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m thinking about closing down the week between Christmas and New Year’s so I can enjoy the holidays.”

  Reaching over, she felt his forehead. “No fever. What brought on this sudden fit of holiday cheer?”

  “I don’t know.” Shrugging, he gave her a long, pensive look. “Maybe it’s you.”

  For a moment, she thought he was serious. Then the glimmer in his eyes gave him away, and she laughed in relief. Much as she liked him, the last thing she needed was for him to think he was falling in love with her. She wasn’t ready for a relationship, and she didn’t want anything to interfere with the friendship they were developing. “Taking off for the holidays is a wonderful idea.”

  “You really think so?”

  “Absolutely. You can use the time to work on your snowboarding.”

  Chuckling, he rubbed a hand over the telltale raspberry on his cheek. “Yeah, I pretty much stink.”

  She’d never heard him criticize his skill at anything, and she was well and truly amazed. Since Thanksgiving, some mysterious change had come over him, and the grumbly businessman she’d met that first chilly morning had morphed into someone much more relaxed. That he’d even consider closing up shop for the holiday he once claimed to hate gave her great hope for him.

  “There’s other things I could do, too,” he suggested in a playful tone that snared her attention.

  Deciding to play along, she arched an eyebrow. “Really? Like what?”