A (kinda) Country Christmas: A Christian Holiday Romance

by Krista Phillips

  Mari looked up and met her eyes, her lips curled into a smile. “You should have let the bald hottie write you a check.”

  “I know, right? I thought the same thing with every price tag I threw in the trash. Sometimes even mothers can make stupid decisions.” Mari opened her mouth, but Sadie shook her head and winked. “No comments needed. But—hold on. Why do you think the man is bald? He never even took off his hat.”

  Her daughter shrugged. “Just a hunch. Plus, I can see you dating a bald guy. It would totally fit you.”

  “Oh good grief. I’m not dating anyone, bald or otherwise.” Although bald would be a pretty opposite choice from her first love. Mari’s father, Phin, used to have long hair, pulled perpetually back in a ponytail except for the occasional dreads. Every once in a while she wondered what ever came of him, but she tossed the thought away as quickly as it sprouted. “Now, will you go get that spare tree we keep in the back? We can go ahead and open the store and start redecorating. You’re in charge of that, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “And Mari?”

  “Yes?”

  “Go crazy with the red and green, okay? You’re in charge. Make it shine.”

  Her daughter smiled brighter than she had in ages and all but danced into the backroom.

  Watching her leave, Sadie sighed, her heart surprisingly light again. Evidently the way to her daughter’s heart was as easy as letting her decorate a Christmas tree.

  Walking to the door, she flipped the sign back to open. The door handle caught her eye.

  A splatter of blood dotted the metal.

  She frowned. He must be in a lot of pain. Her own mother would jump out of her grave and give Sadie a stern talking to for being so mean to a customer.

  And, the customer was right. He probably could sue her. Not that he’d get much out of her. The store barely kept them afloat each year, and with a loss as big as the one that had just shattered across the hardwood floor, it was yet another obstacle in her goal to help Mari pay for college next year.

  Grabbing an antibacterial wipe from behind the cash register, she cleaned the handle and looked outside at the growing number of people milling down the street.

  Had he mentioned what hotel he was at? No, she didn’t think so, so calling and checking on him was not an option.

  For that matter, she didn’t even know his name.

  Walking back to the little nativity, she arranged the figurines again, putting the shepherd back in his spot. Picking up baby Jesus, she sighed. God was probably shaking his head at her too. Lord, I know I screwed this up. I was mean to a stranger instead of showing compassion. Some Christian I am. Forgive me. And help Mr. I-have-no-clue-his-name get better quickly.

  She conveniently didn’t ask to bring him back so she could make amends.

  If life had taught her anything, it was that sometimes the past was best left where it was.

  Three

  Nate sucked in a breath as he plucked the last of the glass out of his left hand, swallowing the choice words that threatened to string off his tongue.

  Old habits died hard.

  He grabbed the antibiotic cream he’d gotten from the pharmacy on his walk back to the hotel and applied it liberally to the tiny cuts, then wrapped his hand in a bandage. Probably an overkill, but it was either that or about twelve Band-aids criss-crossing his palm.

  Thankfully his right hand had landed in a fairly clear spot, and his coat had taken the brunt of the glass when he landed. He’d have to buy a new one, though, as his was covered in more glass than he had the patience to get out. And even if he did, it would probably fall apart from all the tiny holes.

  But no, he wouldn’t sue the woman. He was the idiot who had tripped up with both his mouth and his feet.

  He wished she would have let him pay her for damages. He’d peeked at the tag on one of those glass ornaments. The price had made his eyes widen, and he doubted if even one had survived the fall.

  But he was banished from her store, and if God was the merciful creator he said he was, Nate would never have to see the woman again.

  Maybe Kendra would take one look at his hand and ditch her crazy matchmaking plans. She’d been filling his phone with text messages about various single friends she thought would be perfect for him ever since he agreed to come this weekend to see her show. His little sister had gotten a gig at a theater in Pigeon Forge last year and had been on his case about coming to see her perform ever since. Work had always been in the way, but he’d let it slip last month that he would be home from China by Thanksgiving, so she’d roped him into it.

  He’d actually been excited about the trip until the matchmaking texts began.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t like women. On the contrary, not too many years ago, he’d rarely been seen outside of work without some woman on his arm. But it had all been superficial. He rarely dated them twice, and a few times they’d ended up in his bed at the end of the night. Basically, he’d been exactly the man that Sadie the Christmas store lady had accused him of being.

  But that was the old Nate. God had brought him to his knees and used tragedy to slap a wet rag in his face and make him see what a broken man he’d become.

  Despite what his earthly father had taught him, his Heavenly Father was in the business of taking broken, even despicable men and redeeming them.

  He was living proof of that.

  No. Liking women wasn’t the problem. It was being worthy of one that was the snag. That, and the fact that most women who found out his past wanted nothing to do with his future.

  Thankfully, Kendra was proving to be too busy with her job to be able to do the whole tour guide thing, much less introduce him to her “friends.”

  He’d go see her show tonight, grab breakfast with her in the morning, then set his GPS to Hilton Head. He’d been anticipating more free time this winter so had kept his vacation house empty of renters just in case.

  Now would be the perfect time to go. He had no trips scheduled until after the first of the year, and all his work could be done remotely. He could use some stress-free relaxation, and he planned to have just that this December.

  But first, he needed to buy a new coat before he headed into Pigeon Forge for Kendra’s show. He should have just stayed there, but she rented a place with a roommate here in Gatlinburg, so he’d wanted to be closer to her.

  As he picked up his hotel keycard, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out to see Kendra’s smiling face on the screen. She looked exactly how he remembered their mother. High cheekbones, extra lipstick, brown curls bursting from around her face, and a sparkle in her eye that shouted mischief.

  He stuffed back the memory of their on-again-off-again mother and answered the phone. “Hey, sis. What’s up?”

  “Well, good and bad news. Which one you want to hear first?”

  “Good. I’ve had enough bad myself today.”

  “Oh no. What did you do this time?”

  The little imp. Always assuming the worse. “Nothing. Just—hurt my hand. So what’s going on?”

  “Well, the good news is that I get to spend more time with you.”

  He frowned. Not that he didn’t love his sister, but if that was the good news then— “What’s the bad news?”

  “There was a small electrical fire at the theater. No big deal, but they're canceling tonight's show and adding an extra one tomorrow. I already exchanged your ticket for the show tomorrow. I know you were planning on leaving after breakfast, but you just have to come, Nate. You promised, remember?”

  He’d made a bad habit of promising his little sister way too many things in his life, partially because their parents were too busy breaking promises and he felt it was his brotherly duty to fill in and make sure her dreams stayed intact. And then they were gone— and she had become his responsibility.

  Sighing, he plopped onto the king-sized bed and fell back, letting the pillow-top cushion his fall. “Of course I’ll come. I suppose this means we
can do dinner tonight? Name the place and I’ll meet you. My treat of course.”

  “Actually, I had a better idea. My roommate will be out late tonight, so I thought you could come over and I’d cook for you, just like old times.”

  His sister was a phenomenal cook. He’d tried to get her to go to culinary school, a slightly more lucrative career path than her major in dramatic arts and music. But she would hear none of it. “That sounds good. Do you have plans this afternoon, or what time do you want me there?”

  “Unfortunately I still have to be there at the theater this afternoon for a few hours, but I’ll see you at my house about six, that okay? I could arrange for you a tour guide this afternoon if you’d like. Oh, my friend—”

  “No. Thank you though. I’ll do just fine on my own.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.” An encounter with another single, non-related woman was the last thing he needed today.

  Four

  “I’m so glad you could make it for dinner on such short notice. I wasn’t sure if the shop would be too busy.”

  Sadie chopped the cucumbers for the salad and shrugged. The phone call from Kendra had come at the exact right time. Her friend’s little cabin up on a mountain was the perfect place to relax for a few hours, complete with all the rustic decor, deer head on the mantle and all. Well, she could have done without the dead animal staring at her, but it was still a far cry from the small townhouse she and Mari shared just off the Parkway.

  The short evening reprieve was needed tonight more than ever, since Mari had started in with her attitude again this afternoon, a smirk on her face after each customer compliment on the red, rustic themed tree she’d decorated.

  Sadie had to hand it to her. She’d done a great job. The tree with its homemade red ornaments, all made by a local mom who created them out of her home, looked amazing. The ornaments were selling like hotcakes. It would barely make a dent in the loss of the original tree, but something was better than nothing. “It’s been a long day. Mari had it under control, and I’d already scheduled Carla to work anyway.”

  “How is Carla working out? I was so proud of you finally hiring extra help. You can’t do it all yourself, friend.”

  “Carla is a God-send. It’s a win-win. I get a few evenings off, and she gets a part-time job that doesn’t interfere with her day job to save up money for a new car.” Sadie had even been able to start leading the kid’s program at church on Wednesday nights again. It’d crushed her to give it up, but after Mom and Dad died, she’d had no choice.

  “Well, I’m a social butterfly and keep a steady supply of friends looking for extra work, so if you ever need someone else, just say the word.”

  “Speaking of, you set the table for three. Who else is coming tonight?”

  Kendra glanced at the table, eyebrows raised a little too innocently and replied, “Oh. That’s for my brother. Did I forget to mention he’s in town?”

  Her relaxing evening took a nosedive toward a crash landing. “Kendra Meyers. Are you matchmaking again?”

  Her hand fluttered to her chest. “Who me? I’d never do such a thing.”

  “I don’t know why they hired you for an acting gig when you clearly have no skills at drama at all. We’ve talked about this before. I’m not interested. I already have everything I need and plenty to keep me busy. Mari and the shop are my life. I don’t have time for anything else. Plus, I don’t know of any man who would want to be saddled with a woman who celebrates Christmas three-hundred-sixty-five days a year.”

  Kendra crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a slim hip against the counter. “Maybe Nate isn’t the guy for you. But as your friend, it’s my responsibility to point out the fact that you can’t keep hiding behind your daughter and that shop the rest of your life. Mari is leaving, and the shop—well. Look me in the eye and tell me you want to run the boutique all by yourself for the rest of your life.”

  “I—” Sadie scooped up the cucumbers and dumped them into the waiting bowl of spinach leaves. “—don’t want to talk about this right now.” Mostly because she didn’t want to think about it. The rest of her life was a long time, while her time left with Mari was growing short. In fact, only their low bank account had kept her home an extra year.

  The disquiet that had nibbled at her the last few months now screamed louder than a bullhorn.

  “That’s fine. I’m here to talk when you’re ready. But for now, you get to meet the man who made me who I am today. My big brother in shining armor.”

  To hear Kendra talk, her brother hung the moon and stars and kept them all spinning with his pinkie. She hadn’t said exactly his profession, but it was something nerdy like computers, and since his little sister had to resort to begging women to date him, he was probably—uh—yeah. She couldn’t think of a nice way to put it. The man was probably uglier than a toad. But if he had a good heart, that was all that mattered. She wasn’t interested in dating anyone anyway, so it would be someone else’s problem. “I’m sure he’s great.”

  The doorbell rang. Kendra swooped up the salad bowl and laid it on the small kitchen table. “Can you get the lasagna out of the oven while I go get Nate?”

  “Sure.”

  Grabbing potholders out of the drawer, she slid a lasagna large enough to feed an army out of the oven and set it on top. Peeking under the foil, she inhaled. Ah yes. This is why she’d so readily accepted Kendra’s invitation. Not only was the girl good for her heart, her cooking was good for the soul.

  Voices jarred the silence of the mountain retreat, Kendra’s as well as one low and masculine, and—a little familiar?

  Where had she heard—

  The hunger pains in her stomach turned to churning. Oh no.

  No. No. No. No. No.

  She turned just in time see the handsome businessman, complete with a bandaged hand, pull off his stocking cap to reveal a perfectly shaped bald head.

  Five

  Nate clutched his hat in his fist as he stared dumbfounded at Kendra’s “friend” aka Sadie the shopkeeper. “What are you doing here?”

  Her eyebrows arched high, hiding beneath those blond bangs of hers. “I was just getting ready to ask you the same thing.”

  Kendra folded her arms across her chest and glanced between them. “Can someone tell me what’s going on here? How do you two know each other?”

  Sadie didn’t say a word, only spun back around to the pan on the stove.

  Pretending as if her presence hadn’t both irritated and intrigued him, Nate shrugged off his new coat and pretended that nothing was weird about this situation. “I was in her shop today.”

  Kendra still frowned. “You went to Bethlehem’s Boutique? Okay, that makes sense. But why are you two acting—”

  He raised his bandaged hand. “There was a little accident.”

  Her eyes widened. “You said you hurt your hand but—I didn’t realize it was bad. What’d you do, break something with your hand?”

  Sadie glanced over her shoulder and shot him a withering look. “He broke a lot of somethings.”

  Kendra jabbed her hands on her hips, looking back and forth between Nate and Sadie. “Why am I just finding out about this?”

  “Because I didn’t know she was your friend and didn’t think it mattered.”

  Sadie set the lasagna down onto the table with a thud. “And I had no idea he was your brother.”

  Kendra ran a hand through her dark brown curls and tucked them behind her ear. “Let me get this straight. Sadie, Nate went to your store this morning and broke some stuff, hurting his hand in the process. While that stinks, I’m sure it was an accident. Why do I get the feeling you both want to strangle each other?”

  Nate moved to shove his hands into his pockets but remembered too late that his left hand wouldn’t fit with its bandage so let it dangle at his side. “I wouldn’t say we want to strangle each other.”

  Sadie looked up and caught his eye, a humorous spark coming from her gaze. “Al
though someone did threaten to sue…”

  Kendra gaped at him. “Nate, you didn’t.”

  “You're right. I didn’t.” He pierced Sadie with his gaze. Clearly Kendra’s friend was a troublemaker. “I told her that I could sue her, but wouldn’t. I even offered to pay her for the damages, which she refused.”

  Kendra turned back Sadie. “Is that true?”

  “Well, technically. But—it was my tree, Kendra. The Christmas centerpiece for this year. He fell into it. All the ornaments are a loss.”

  His sister’s mouth turned to a perfect O. “Oh my goodness. No. That tree was my favorite! And those ornaments were—”

  Sadie sighed and fiddled with the foil that covered the pan. “Expensive.”

  Nate felt a bucket of remorse pour over him. He really should pay for it. “My offer still stands. I have no problem—”

  She shook her head. “No. You were right. It is the cost of doing business. We’ll figure it out.”

  He wasn’t a math genius, but he was pretty business savvy. The tree itself had to cost a pretty penny, and there had to be over a hundred of those costly glass ornaments. Even if her little store was a success, she wasn’t raking in the kind of dough that she could take a hit like that. He, on the other hand, could take the hit even with a few extra zeros at the end. “I’m a clumsy mess. Kendra will tell you. Really, I want to help.”

  His sister coughed to the side, then nodded. “He’s right. The man couldn’t walk a straight line even if there was a million dollars at the end of it. And he’s loaded. He can afford it.”

  Leave it to Kendra. But at least she’d kept up the fib for him. If there was anyone who was clumsy, it was his sister.

  Sadie eyed them both then shook her head. “Let’s not talk about this now. Supper is getting cold.”

  Dinner was eaten mostly in silence, Kendra trying her best to draw Nate and Sadie out but failing miserably.

  As the two women stood to clear the table, Nate caught sight of the swirling white outside the kitchen window. “Kendy, did you know it was supposed to snow?”