In a Moon Smile

by Coner, Sherri

  “Are you sure you feel comfortable to wrestle these snow-covered country roads?”

  “If I have to travel by dog and sled, I’ll be there, Chez.”

  “I love you, Bec,” Chesney said as tears filled her eyes. “I miss you so much.”

  “Merry Christmas, Chez,” Bec said. “Call me tomorrow with all the drama. The very minute Dalton and his grandfather leave Chesney Ridge, I expect a marathon phone call from my best bud in all the world.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Before six o’clock on Christmas morning, Chesney was in the shower. She happily padded through the house in her robe with her damp hair tied back in a ribbon. She was in love with the homey scent of the ham baking in the oven. She turned on some Christmas music, admired how a few lights and ornaments transformed the ugly little tree and started a fire in the fireplace.

  “I love my life here,” she whispered happily.

  By seven o’clock, Chesney bathed a very chatty Piper then dressed Piper in an adorable red velvet dress fringed with white furry trim. “This is like Santa’s beard,” Chesney said as she placed Piper’s fingers on the fuzz.

  “Ho Ho?” Piper asked.

  “Yep, it’s just like Ho Ho’s fuzzy, white beard,” Chesney carefully styled Piper’s blond hair in two curly pony tails on top of her head. Then she posed her niece in front of the tree, took several photos for family and helped Piper unwrap her new toys. “Merry Christmas, Pippa.” She kissed Piper’s forehead. “I love you, sweet. And I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Before nine o’clock, Dalton called to accept her invitation. He and his grandfather would arrive by noon. With Piper following close behind and Blossom straggling along soon after, Chesney wandered into the kitchen. She peeked at the yeast, rising under a towel for rolls. Then she covered the dining room table with a deep green tablecloth, added a couple of candles and stacked the china on the kitchen counter.

  “Later today, we’re entertaining guests, Piper,” Chesney said as she placed her niece in the high chair and offered half of a banana and some dry cereal. “I would appreciate it very much if you don’t act like a monster during their visit.”

  Piper looked up at her with wide eyes.

  “To be more specific, please do not to put anything in the toilet today, okay?”

  “No,” Piper shook her head.

  “Will you please refrain from screaming, kicking and throwing toys?”

  “No,” Piper said again.

  “Great,” Chesney said with a deep sigh. She scrounged through cabinets, looking for enough serving bowls and spoons for the meal. She wished she had purchased more potatoes and enough ingredients to make two pies instead of only one. But she didn’t, so she would just make do with what she had in the fridge. “Today you will meet Ben, the man your great Granny Grace loved,” Chesney said to Piper. As she washed and arranged fresh veggies for a relish tray, Chesney glanced at Piper who was happily crunching Cheerios with the heel of her hand. “Did you hear that, Pippa? Granny Grace loved Ben.”

  “Yep,” Piper nodded.

  “And we’re also spending time with Dalton, the man I love,” Chesney said with a giggle. “Don’t ever repeat any of this, Pippa. It’s top-secret, girls-only information. Got it?”

  “Yep,” Piper smiled and held her arms up, which was her aunt’s cue to set her free from the high chair. “Don’t get your dress messy, Pippa.” Chesney said as she watched Piper waddle over to the Christmas tree to play with her new baby doll and carriage.

  “Bye-bye,” Piper smiled as she placed the doll in the carriage.

  Expecting her guests any time now, Chesney checked the ham again and considered a glass of wine to calm her nerves. Untouched snow sparkled on the hillside and rested heavy on the bare tree branches. She sighed and stared out the window at the winter scene. Christmas Day. She was sharing a meal with Grace’s secret love on Christmas Day. Chesney promised herself that she would remember always how she felt today.

  “Baby bye-bye,” Piper was tugging at her robe which was the exact same moment Chesney realized she had not yet changed into clothes. “Oh, damn it.”

  “Oh, damn it,” Piper repeated. “Bye-bye baby.”

  “Did you lose your baby?” Chesney bent down to look into Piper’s lovely eyes. “I’ll help you find her in just a minute, Pippa. I forgot to change from pajamas to clothing. Silly Cheeky, huh?”

  To refuse her aunt’s wishes, Piper sat down on the kitchen floor with a death grip on the tail of Chesney’s robe. When Chesney moved, her niece moved too. Hanging on tight to the robe, she scooted on her bottom. “Hey, Pip,” Chesney reached down to pry her niece’s fingers. “Let go, cupcake. I have to go upstairs and change.” Piper immediately puffed her cheeks and turned into a siren. “Hey, we discussed this,” Chesney said as she picked up her squealing niece. “Stop it, Pippa. What’s so tragic?”

  “Baby bye-bye,” Piper repeated. Then she pointed toward the bathroom.

  “Damn it,” Chesney muttered under her breath. She could have sworn the bathroom door was purposefully closed to prevent Piper from flushing half of her belongings down the toilet. “Did you throw your baby in the toilet?” Chesney demanded as she neared the bathroom.

  Sure enough, the doll was stuck, headfirst, in the toilet.

  “Dang it, Pippa,” Chesney yanked the doll from the toilet water. “You need some kind of therapy. This just isn’t natural.” She then tossed the dripping doll into the bathtub and Piper wailed louder. “The baby is yucky, Pip. She was swimming in toilet water so until I give her a bath, she has to stay in the tub.”

  At that very moment, the doorbell rang. Chesney barely heard it since Piper was using all of her lung power to protest the current toilet-related problem.

  “Once again, I’m answering the door with a naked face, dressed in pajamas,” she sighed and marched through the house with Piper crying on her hip. “You’re really hard on my love life, Pip.” When Chesney opened the door, she froze for a moment. It was undeniable. The fragile man standing beside Dalton was the same man who wept beside her grandmother’s casket. The same man who wrote the beautiful love letters. The same man who cried with her at the cemetery. Of course she knew it already, but there was something so special about seeing Ben again, on the front porch of Chesney Ridge on Christmas Day. Grace would have been thrilled.

  “Hello Ben,” Chesney smiled, blinking. “I’m so glad to see you again. I’m so happy to share Christmas with you and Dalton. Please come in.”

  Piper’s wailing reduced to sniffles as her attention left the toilet bowl baby to instead study Ben and Dalton. “Please forgive my appearance,” Chesney said in a low voice. “I was on my way to change when Piper had a meltdown.”

  “Hello Piper,” Dalton grinned. “I’m so sorry that you’re upset. Did Santa stop by to visit you?”

  Piper immediately showed Dalton the fuzzy trim on her dress. “Ho Ho,” she said sweetly.

  “Hey, that’s just like Santa’s beard, isn’t it?” Dalton smiled and held out his hands. “Would you like to show us your toys while Aunt Chesney changes her clothes?”

  Piper scrambled into Dalton’s arms and waved at Chesney. “Bye-bye, Mama Cheeky.”

  “Mama Cheeky?” Dalton laughed.

  Chesney shrugged. “That’s how my sweet Piper says my name.”

  Both men chuckled at Piper, who hid her face behind the skirt of her dress. “Dalton, would you mind to get whatever your grandfather would like to drink? You will find fresh coffee and hot cider in the kitchen. I will be right back.”

  “We’ll make ourselves at home,” Ben said as he removed his coat. “Just take your time, sweetheart.”

  Chesney rushed up the stairs, closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. Her heart was pounding. She felt foggy and weak. “Pull yourself together,” she whispered as she flung open the closet door. “Get dressed. Calm down. Serve the Christmas meal and stop hyperventilating.”

  She chose a long black skirt, wiggled i
nto a deep green sweater and brushed her curls. She walked softly from her bedroom across the hall to the bathroom, swiped at her lashes with mascara and quickly went back downstairs. Both men looked up and smiled when Chesney reappeared. Their matching blue eyes intensely followed her as Chesney made her way around the toys, to get to the kitchen. She smiled over at Piper, who was very comfortably perched on Ben’s lap with one of her favorite story books. “Oh, my goodness, Pippa, did you make a new friend?”

  Ben’s weathered hand gently patted Piper’s pink, baby leg. The tenderness nearly made Chesney cry. She averted her eyes to Dalton, who took her breath away, simply by sitting there near the Christmas tree, looking gorgeous, smiling at her.

  “I’ll have everything ready in just a few minutes,” she said lightly.

  “I’ll help you,” Dalton offered sweetly.

  Chesney assured him that everything was under control.

  He can’t be alone in the kitchen with me. I won’t control myself. I am so in love with that man that I will…

  Once in the kitchen, Chesney turned to check on the rolls and immediately found her face in Dalton’s soft, red shirt.

  “Whoops,” he laughed.

  “I didn’t see you come in,” She backed away, wishing she could rip those buttons off the handyman’s shirt and bury her face in his chest hair. “You’re lucky I wasn’t carrying something hot from the oven. I nearly mowed you over.”

  “What can I do to help?” he asked.

  Kiss me.

  “Maybe you could put ice in the water glasses,” she said.

  “I brought a couple of pies,” Dalton said. “I baked them last night. I wanted to contribute something.”

  “You baked pies?” Chesney grinned. “Wow, Dalton, you’re the first guy I have ever met who enjoys baking. That’s amazing! Will you marry me?”

  Her teasing was stopped immediately by the softness on Dalton’s face. Her face flamed with humiliation. “Yeah,” he nodded. “I’d love to marry you.”

  “Okay, well, good thing I was joking, right? Otherwise you would be stuttering around, trying to escape the nuptials.” She turned away, grabbed the flatware and condiments and nervously shoved them in Dalton’s direction. “Okay, here you go. If you wouldn’t mind setting the table that would be a big help.”

  By the time dinner was on the table, Chesney’s head throbbed. She was tired and stressed. She wanted to confess to Ben that she found the letters he wrote to Grace. But she feared he would be embarrassed or offended or both. Every bite of the meal seemed to grow in her mouth. She tried to act casual, but there was something so emotionally powerful about being seated across the table from the man her grandmother secretly loved. In her mind, all kinds of questions swirled around, begging to be set free and answered so the pictures in Chesney’s mind could be more vivid.

  While Dalton told his grandfather about all the work they had done on the house, Chesney paid a lot of attention to her niece and said things like, “Piper, please don’t put the sweet potatoes in your hair.” and “Piper, we don’t stuff green beans up our nose. Put the green bean in your mouth.” Finally, she smiled at her guests and said, “Ben, more ham? Dalton, can I get anything for you?”

  With a pounding in her ears, Chesney mustered the nerve to ask Ben a leading question. “How long did you know Grace?” she tried to sound unassuming and barely interested. But she couldn’t look him in the face. Instead she asked the question and hurried to wipe off Piper’s mouth.

  “I’ve lived in Bean Blossom for sixty years,” Ben said. “And I’d say I knew your grandmother for maybe forty years.”

  “Really?” Chesney smiled and ignored the fact that Dalton was now watching her.

  “We met years ago at church,” Ben said. “So I always knew who she was. But like I told you at the cemetery, we didn’t become close friends until I came to Chesney Ridge to stock the pond.”

  “I’m so happy to meet you, Ben,” Chesney said softly. “I want you to know how happy it makes me to know that you loved Grace and that she loved you.”

  “It makes me very happy to be invited here,” Ben smiled. “I really enjoy seeing the place again. Spending time with Grace’s granddaughter and great granddaughter means a lot to me, too. You both have Grace’s eyes and that’s …” Ben’s eyes filled with tears. Dalton’s arm went around his grandfather’s shoulders. “That means a lot to me, Chesney. Just to look at both of you, I can see Gracie.”

  An awkward silence fell over the table which was now crowded with dirty dishes. “Ben, why don’t you and Dalton rest in the parlor and I’ll clear the table. Then we’ll have some dessert.”

  Chesney removed Piper from the high chair, brushed the crumbs from her velvet dress and kissed her on the nose. “Pippa, can you show Ben the train Ho Ho brought to you for Christmas?” Piper’s eyes sparkled as she clapped her pudgy hands together. Then she launched from Chesney’s arms and ran around the dining room table making train whistle noises. “Wow I wish I had that energy,” Chesney grinned at Dalton. “Will you keep an eye on her for me? I’ll go in the kitchen and load the dishwasher.”

  “I’d be happy to take care of the clean-up,” Dalton said quickly. “After all, you did all the cooking. Everything was delicious too, by the way.”

  “That’s so kind of you, Dalton, but it won’t take long at all. You can keep Ben company and hopefully you can also keep Piper the potty lover from flushing everything she can fit in the toilet.” Chesney disappeared into the kitchen with a stack of plates in her hands.

  “Hey,” Dalton’s voice was behind her.

  “Yes?” she held her breath, wondering for the millionth time how this man could make her body react with a one-syllable word.

  “It means a lot to my grandfather that you invited us here today,” he said.

  “It meant just as much to me,” Chesney smiled.

  Dalton stared at Chesney until she finally asked if something was wrong. “Your gray eyes, they are breathtaking. And I’m amazed that Piper’s eyes are the same color.”

  “They are Grace’s eyes,” Chesney said. “Just as you have Ben’s eyes.”

  “Yes,” Dalton nodded.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Chesney asked softly. “You worked here with me for all those months. You never said a word. I thought, I thought you and I were friends. I thought you would know what it would mean to me, to hear about Grace’s life with Ben.”

  “I…” Dalton seemed uncomfortable.

  “It hurts me that you never told me about Ben and Grace,” Chesney said.

  “It wasn’t my place to tell you,’ Dalton said. “I never meant to hurt you, Chez. But I didn’t think I should be the one to tell you the story. As it turns out, my grandfather told you himself. And that’s how it was supposed to be.” He shifted his weight, looking frustrated. “When I saw how often you went into the attic to look for things, I knew it was just a matter of time before you found the letters. I’m very sorry if I hurt you. I was trying to do what I thought was most respectful to both of them.”

  Chesney only nodded. She did understand the predicament Dalton faced. But she still felt hurt about it. She still felt left out of a beautiful story that only Dalton got to see. He got to see Grace and Ben love each other. He got to be the grandchild trusted with the secret. But Chesney was left out. It stung deeply. She pressed her lips together, willing the painful moment to pass.

  Dalton’s arms went around her then, pulling her close in a gentle way. He hugged her for a long moment. “Grace intended to tell you, Chez,” Dalton whispered against her ear. “Their pact included you and me. I only knew before you did because I had to occasionally drive Pa to Chesney Ridge. Grace intended to tell you. I promise she did. But she died before summer arrived.”

  Chesney held on tight to Dalton’s shoulders and the tears were immediate and uncontrollable. She buried her face in the soft fabric of his shirt. Just to hear him say that Grace actually did plan to share the secret helped Chesney feel less
upset. “Thank you,” she whispered as she took a deep breath and pulled away from his arms. “Thank you for telling me, Dalton. It makes me feel a lot better about everything.”

  Dalton smiled, cupped her chin and barely touched her lips with his. “Merry Christmas, Chesney.”

  Chapter Thirty-one

  On the eve of New Year’s Eve, the large parlor at Chesney Ridge was lit only by the fire burning in the fireplace. Becca was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. Chesney sat on the floor, dressing a baby doll for Piper.

  “Dinner was wonderful, Chez,” Becca said. “You’re becoming quite the domestic.”

  “It’s freaking me out,” Chesney laughed. “I am learning a lot of new skills. I’m considering new adventures, like maybe planting a garden in the spring. And learning how to can. Neetie promised to teach me how to make salsa.”

  “Very cool,” Becca’s smile got lost in a yawn.

  “So how was Christmas with Deke and the family?”

  “Very perfect,” Becca grinned. “At first they were freaked out by all that hair and the long beard. But they got past it pretty quickly. Deke fits in perfectly.”

  “So what are you planning for New Year’s Eve? There’s not a lot going on, you know, in Bean Blossom, Indiana.”

  “We’ve done so much traveling during the holidays. We’re both exhausted. So I’m thinking we will make dinner reservations somewhere in Nashville. Then spend a quiet night at the cabin.”

  “Sounds like a perfect evening,” Chesney smiled. “The perfect way to begin the New Year.” Then Chesney scooped a sleepy Piper into her arms. “Time for bed, sleepy head.” Surprisingly, Piper did not turn on the siren sounds. She flopped her head on Chesney’s shoulder and rubbed her eyes. “Night-night to Becca.” Chesney said.

  By the time Chesney changed the baby’s diaper and located her favorite blanket and pacifier, Piper’s beautiful eyes were closed. She kissed the sweet blonde curls, covered her with a small blanket and tiptoed out of the room and back down the stairs.