The Southern Comfort Christmas: A Heartwarming Christmas Romance (Windy CIty Romance Book 6)

by Barbara Lohr

He sucked in a breath. Hadn’t they been over this? Cameron remembered way too much about his father, more than he’d ever tell Harper.

  Hands fluttering, she continued. “An important part of the funeral was the food. Why not involve your mother? Then she’d have to come. All the family would come with her and we’d have...everyone...here.” Harper worried him when she got all worked up like this and ended up gasping.

  “Hold it. Hold it, darlin’ or we will have to call the EMTs. I want to be the only one to give you mouth to mouth.” He waited until her breathing settled. This wedding had her so riled. Cameron just wanted it over and done.

  “Does Connie know that you want her to work with my mother? You know, we can’t afford to lose Connie and Jack.”

  “Oh, Cameron.” She socked him playfully in the arm. “Your mother’s not that bad. Is she?”

  “She’s not exactly Miss Congeniality. So you called her and…?”

  Hands on his chest, Harper fisted his shirt. “I think she turned me down.” The surprise in Harper's voice made him roar. Pushing back, she fixed him with a look that could double as an ice pick.

  “Go ahead. Laugh at me. Laugh at the fact that your mother might not want to bring her special recipes to her own son’s wedding.”

  “Recipes?” His mind flipped through the past. “Harper, I don't think I ever saw a cookbook or a recipe card in our house. My mother threw stuff together, and it came out right. I mean, if you like okra and black-eyed peas. That's all I can recall.”

  “Shoofly pie.” Her eyes glimmered.

  “Right. There was that.” He licked his lips, remembering the texture and the taste so sweet it made his teeth ache.

  “Okra. Black-eyed peas.” Harper repeated the words as if they were sacred. “Oh, Cameron, how perfect.”

  Perfectly awful. But his lips were closed with super glue once he saw her rapt expression.

  Her delicate brows pulled together. “She must have written something down, right? Even my mother had a binder where she stowed clippings. She never used them, but she cut things out of magazines and threw them in there.”

  “So your heart’s set on this?” The more he dug in his heels, the more he reminded himself of his mother. And he hated that.

  Rolling her eyes his way, she gave him a doleful look.

  That settled it. “Let me give Lily a call.”

  “Your sister?” She blinked.

  “Of course. Who would you call to influence your mother?”

  He could see the wheels turning. “McKenna. Right,” Harper said slowly. “Lily might be able to fix this.”

  Why hadn’t he thought of this earlier? “Don’t get your hopes up, but she might be able to help. However, this will be a private call. That all right with you?”

  With a little hop as if she were Bella, Harper jumped down from the desk and snatched the paper with the phone number from the floor. It made him nervous to imagine what she might do with it. “All right. You’ll let me know?”

  “Of course. Could you close the door behind you?”

  “Sure. No problem.” The library doors were almost shut when that lime green scarf floated back in. “And Cameron?”

  He lowered himself carefully into the desk chair and turned. “Yes, darlin’?”

  “I love you.”

  The intensity of her gaze lasered those words onto his heart. “I love you too, sweet thing. Now scram okay?” He shooed her away with his hands.

  The door slid shut and silence settled. With a sigh, he sat back. Cameron didn't understand where Harper was going with this but he better get used to it. When she wanted something, she got it. He was marsh mud in her hands. He hit speed dial for Lily, and she answered on the second ring.

  “So how are the wedding plans coming?” his older sister asked.

  “You think I can't hear the laugh in your voice?”

  “I just had a short conversation with our mother.” Amusement danced in her words.

  “And?” He just couldn't wait to hear this one.

  “She thinks your intended bride is crazy.”

  He grinned. “She is. Crazy about me.”

  “Oh, Cameron I like to hear that. Harper's been so good for you, a lot better than Tammy.”

  That sobered him up quickly. He didn't even like hearing the name of his first wife. After all, she died in a car accident trying to leave him when Bella was just a baby. And she was setting out to meet one of his college buddies when she hit that tree.

  But enough of that. “Lily, we’re changing the wedding to Savannah. There's a lot of reasoning behind the decision.” He hoped Lily didn’t ask what.

  “And like any man you're just going along with it, right?”

  “Exactly. And I also can't tell you exactly why Harper would like to have Mama involved in this food thing. God knows, we could get someone to do that.”

  For a second Lily was quiet. She was a woman who thought things through before she spoke. He’d always appreciated that in her. “I think I understand Harper’s strategy, and I totally support it.”

  Strategy? This was definitely a female thing. He knew when to butt out. “So you’ll talk to Mama? You'll see that she cooperates?”

  “Won't be easy but yes. Tell Harper she can count on me.”

  Relief poured through him. “Thanks, Lily. You just don't know.” Forget surprised. He was downright amazed. His sister was going to make him look like a hero.

  “I think I do. Talk to you soon.”

  As he tucked the phone in his pocket, he heard a ruckus in the hallway. Grabbing his crutches, he swung across the floor. Pushing the doors open, he hardly recognized the foyer. Green tubs were stacked everywhere. The tops were off some of them and Pipsqueak was cavorting down the hallway, a bright lime green ribbon trailing from her teeth. Harper came hurrying from the kitchen.

  Waving a hand at the chaos, he asked, “What is all this?”

  “This?” She grinned. “This is our Christmas.”

  Chapter 15

  A string of starfish garland in her hand, Harper asked, “What did Lily say?” Her heart was in her throat.

  “She said she'd help.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful.” She nearly dropped the starfish. That’s all she needed, shattered starfish on the floor. Her mind whirled. “I wonder if I should ask for a list? Should we have her meet with Connie?”

  But Cameron was too busy checking out all the decorations to answer. She’d have to weasel it out of him later. “You mean all this stuff is going up?”

  “Of course. Julep doesn’t need it because they’re going to Vidalia for the holiday.” She was generous enough to let me borrow her Christmas, remember?”

  Glancing around, Cameron looked worried. “I'd ask Rick and some of the guys to help but they’re already working overtime.”

  “No, they’re too busy. And those men work for you, not me.”

  Cameron had the funniest way of rolling his eyes at her. “Trust me. Those boys would rather spend a few hours with you than with me. But they’re busy right now, meeting our deadlines.”

  She recognized that tight set of his chin. The last thing Harper wanted was to cause more stress. “You all have to keep moving ahead with those three projects. I understand.” She looked around. “Since I'm finished with the Darlingtons’ home and the Bedfords, I can take this on. I always like to decorate the house at Christmas time.” But not a big-ass mansion. Of course, she didn’t say that out loud.

  But Cameron might've been thinking it. “Right,” he said. “But you have so much to do.”

  She worked her bottom lip with her teeth. Cameron was right. How would she get this done? With the help of the antibiotics, the virus had faded. She was feeling a lot better, but she was only one person. Of course, Bella would help and Connie would pitch in. Adam and Julep were other possibilities. But it was Christmas season. Everyone had their own parties and other responsibilities.

  Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was time to pick Bella
up. Off she went. On the way to the school, she blasted the Christmas music, even tried to sing along. When Bella climbed into the SUV, she was waving a white envelope. “Christie is having a birthday party next weekend, and all of the girls are invited.”

  “That's wonderful, honey.” And it really was. But it was just one more thing. She had to pick up a gift. Mentally, she added that to her list. By the time they reached the house, Bella's attention had turned back to Christmas. She was all about it. And she couldn't wait to decorate the Christmas tree. The tree they didn’t have yet. From the time Harper closed the garage door to when she took her jacket off in the kitchen, Bella babbled about what Christie, Joelle and Marceline had said about their own trees. Harper felt as if the stop watch had clicked, and she was seriously behind in the race.

  But when Bella caught a glimpse of the tubs stacked in the hallway, she came to a halt. “What’s all that?”

  “Well, why don’t you go and see?” The wonder in Bella’s eyes made everything worthwhile. “All this beautiful stuff is for us?”

  “Sure is. For Christmas and for the wedding.” The little girl’s excitement was infectious. For a moment Harper forgot all about the trouble she was having with Esther. This was all about Christmas and celebrating her marriage to the most wonderful man in the world.

  The library door slid open. “What’s all the commotion?” Cameron said with mock gruffness.

  “Daddy, look!” Bella swung a hand over the green tubs, shining with glittery aqua and lime.

  “Has Santa come?”

  “Oh, Daddy.” The disgust in her voice brought a smile.

  Seeing the two of them together like this made Harper feel all mushy. She loved them so much. Cameron brought his attention back to Harper. “What can I do?”

  Well, why not get started right now? Connie had dinner well in hand. “You can sit right there. And give us your advice.” And she pointed to the same bench where she’d waited for her interview.

  “You got it.” So while Harper and Bella clambered up and down the staircase, twisted the garland here, working with glittery ribbon, Cameron made suggestions. But by the time Connie had dinner ready, they'd only finished half the banister. Oh, it looked glorious, glittery and wonderful. “What do you think?” She turned to Cameron.

  “It's beautiful, just like my girls. But it is dinnertime and one of us is hungry.” He patted his stomach. His eyes traveled up the partially decorated staircase. “And from what I see, we’re going to need a lot of energy.”

  As Harper set the table with Bella, she couldn’t help but be filled with the wonder of Christmas. Bella’s exuberance had awakened so many Christmas memories. Today they’d felt like a family, decorating the house. And that felt wonderful.

  All through dinner, Bella chattered happily. The problems at school seemed to be resolved, and all she could talk about was Christie’s birthday party. What a relief, one she shared with Cameron.

  Connie had cooked ham with scalloped potatoes. In her excitement, Bella hardly knew what she was eating. With gratefulness in her heart, Harper watched that fork scoop up the potatoes and go back for a bit of ham. She sure didn’t care if some fell off the fork. Bella was eating. They were back on track.

  At Bella's bidding, they went back to work after dinner. But by the time bedtime came around, they had only finished the banister. Skipping up the stairs to her bedroom, Bella’s hands flitted across the garland while she hummed a weird combination of “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Silent Night.”

  As Harper tucked her in that night, Bella smiled up at her. “I think we will have the most beautiful Christmas wedding ever.”

  “Aw, sweetheart.” Who could argue with that? Harper gave her another hug.

  After Bella had been dropped off at school the next day, and Cameron had left for work, Harper took on the fireplaces. Starting with the living room that was really a formal parlor with Victorian love seats, she cleared the mantle of the bronze clock, candlesticks and figurines that Cameron had no doubt picked up on Bull Street. Her mother’s rule was to put everything you took down into the box you were pulling decorations from. Harper followed that custom.

  She just wished she could work faster. The weekend came and the three of them kept steadily working. Harper found a station on the radio that was playing the Christmas songs and that helped set the mood.

  Since this house had a fireplace in almost every room, more than Julep’s lowcountry beach house, Harper soon realized she’d run out of angels, elves and snowmen. Since they’d told the Bedfords that she was still nursing a virus, they did not go to the Christmas party. Oh, how Harper had wanted to see people’s expressions, but no way.

  After taking Cameron to work on Monday and dropping Bella off at school, she threw herself back into the decorating. She would have worked through lunch if Connie hadn’t come into the parlor with a plate.

  “You’d better stop now,” Connie said with a warning shake of her head. “You look plumb tuckered out.”

  “Aw thanks, Connie.” She tucked her red bandanna tighter around her forehead and slumped onto a loveseat to eat. The ham sandwich was the best she’d ever tasted and so was the cold pop. Everywhere she looked there was more to do, mainly because her ideas would not stop. After lunch, back to work she went. Connie left to pick up Bella and when they returned, Connie and Bella took on the dining room. McKenna called around four o'clock, and Harper was glad to take a break.

  “How are people taking the switch in Chicago?” she asked. McKenna was a much better judge of all that.

  “Everyone understands. They love you, Harper, but they realize your life has taken a different turn. The family will be there in full force for the party. But for Mark and Malcolm...”

  “I know. All the children and plans with the in-laws.” For a second, guilt threatened to make a comeback but McKenna made short work of it, as if she knew how Harper was feeling.

  “Not to worry. They are looking forward to having a party next spring. We think the snow should be gone by then.” McKenna’s hearty chuckle loosened the muscles knotting in Harper’s neck.

  “But I do have some bad news.”

  Her sister’s sober tone put a cold hold on Harper's heart. “What’s that?”

  “Mom got her dress from the storage place to send to you. Something happened with their process. Maybe their air conditioning went out or something. Whatever. The fabric has rotted in spots. You won’t be able to wear it.”

  “At all?” Harper struggled to get her mind around this.

  “I'm afraid the dress is ruined, Harper.” McKenna, the stinker, could hardly get the words out. What Harper had interpreted as distress in McKenna’s voice was really pent-up laughter.

  And then it hit her “Oh, McKenna. This opens up all kinds of possibilities.”

  “I figured you wouldn't be too broken up about it. But when you talk to Mom?”

  “I'll be just crushed.” But what was she going to do about a dress? There was always the SCAD costume department. She’d tapped that once for a gala with Cameron. But somehow, she didn't think that the college collection would hold a wedding gown. Then it hit her. She’d call Julep. “I have a resource that should be able to help me find one.”

  For the next few minutes, McKenna and Harper went through the list, checking things off. Florists, the caterers, the photographer—their Chicago resources had all been notified about the cancellation. Most were relieved because they had more work than they could handle due to the holiday and wanted their own family time. “Are you able to line up people down there?”

  “Working on it.” She wasn’t about to go into the trouble she was having with Cameron’s family. The situation would be so difficult for any Kirkpatrick to wrap their heads around, and she didn’t want it to reflect poorly on Cameron. “My friend Adam has talented friends he can call on. He’ll be doing everyone's hair, by the way.”

  “Okay, and Selena and I have our dresses.”

  “I ordere
d Bella’s online and it’s beautiful.”

  “But yours? What are you thinking?”

  “You caught me off guard. Nothing comes to mind.” The excitement revving in Harper’s chest surprised her. “I have a friend who will probably help me.”

  By the time the call ended, Harper had a whole new list. But Bella was tugging at her hand, “Come on, Harper. You said we could decorate.”

  In the dining room, Connie and Bella had done a good job with the credenza. “It looks beautiful.” She’d bought three different crèche sets at various sales. Bella had a great time arranging one on the credenza while Connie tucked garland and pine cones around the family. The lambs, of course, were especially fun to play with. But it was almost dinnertime, and Harper called a halt. Connie left to heat up the ham leftovers.

  Bella’s chin jutted out. “Why do we have to stop? I’m not hungry.”

  “Because we need more stuff. I don’t know how many of the decorations in the tub will be used on the tree.”

  Bella’s lips fell open. “The Christmas tree.” The year before they had an artificial Christmas tree. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. But it only took visiting a couple of homes to realize that their southern friends preferred real live trees that provided a head-reeling pine smell.

  As she stood there deciding, she heard Cameron thumping down the hallway. “Can I help in any way, crippled as I am?”

  “Oh, Cameron.” But he didn’t look as tired as he had one week earlier. “I'll be so glad when you're off those crutches.”

  “You? What about me?” She cuddled in his arms, while his eyes circled the room.

  A perplexed frown appeared. “Don't you like it?” Harper asked. He looked so uncertain, and they’d worked for hours.

  Bella stamped one little foot. “Daddy. You have to like it or Harper will cry.” She loved how Bella looked out for her.

  Ruffling his daughter's dark curls, Cameron said, “Now don’t go jumping to conclusions. The decorations look wonderful. It's just that the place looks so different.” He turned to Harper. “Doesn't it? I mean the decorations all look so sparkling new. Great color combination, by the way. But the carved side chairs? The heavy tables? Something feels so wrong here.”