Sleigh Bells Ring in Romance

by Shanna Hatfield

  “It’s me. Who’d you think it was?” she gave him an admonishing look as she sat down in the chair he held for her. She wondered when he’d grown six extra arms, because his hands seemed to be everywhere at once: brushing her arm, caressing her shoulder, skimming across her cheek, touching her hair.

  “Jess,” she admonished quietly. “That is enough. Sit down.”

  “Whatever you say, Doris,” he said in a tone she’d never heard him use. His voice sounded husky, intimate, as he spoke her name.

  Unsettled, and wondering what kind of trouble Brooke had talked her into, Doris snapped open the menu in front of her and hid behind it until the server came to take their orders. When she left, Doris had no choice but to face Jess. He appeared almost stupefied as he continued staring at her.

  “Are you going to say something, you old goat, or do you plan to keep ogling me like some sort of deranged sicko?” Doris gave him a coy look followed by a dazzling smile.

  Jess blinked, then blinked again. He reached for a glass of ice water the server set on the table and gulped down half of it before he blinked a third time. Finally, he cleared his throat, started to speak, then closed his mouth. The second time he tried and failed to utter anything, Doris couldn’t hold back another giggle.

  “What’s gotten into you, Jess? Are you feeling poorly again?”

  He shook his head and a grin slowly spread across his face. He reached across the table, captured one of her hands and lifted it to his lips, kissing her fingers. “You look beautiful, Doris. Not that you don’t always look nice, but I hardly recognized you. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought I was seeing a version of you from twenty years ago. You’ve obviously had a busy morning.”

  She tugged her fingers from his and settled her hands on her lap. The heat flickering in his stormy gray eyes made her a little frightened and uncertain. If she’d wanted to get Jess’s attention, she’d certainly hit the mark. He didn’t seem able to take his eyes off her and the attention was more than she knew how to handle.

  “Brooke did all this,” Doris said, waving a hand in front of her. “I mentioned wanting a change and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in a chair at the salon and no longer had white hair. I’d forgotten what I looked like when I had blond hair.”

  “You were always a looker, Doris. Always. When Glen married you, half the men in Romance mourned the fact you were off the market.”

  Doris scowled. “You make me sound like a cow at an auction.”

  Jess smirked. “Not at all. Just a beautiful woman any man would be fortunate to know.”

  She blushed at his comment, aware he wasn’t tossing out a line, but speaking from his heart.

  He leaned back and gave her clothes a studying glance. “New outfit?”

  “Yes. More of Brooke’s help. I think I tried on every outfit at the dress shop this morning.”

  “Brooke has great taste,” Jess said, then fell silent when the server brought their meals. They spoke of the shopping Jess wanted to do, the community performance of A Christmas Carol tomorrow, where Doris would sing with the choir, and the gifts Doris had hidden at Jess’s house for Brooke and Blayne.

  When they finished eating, Jess paid the bill and helped Doris with her coat, touching her far more than was necessary for the simple task.

  “What is wrong with you?” Doris whispered as he placed a hand to the small of her back and walked her outside and over to his pickup.

  He opened the front passenger door and helped her in, his hands lingering on her waist. He didn’t speak until he’d climbed behind the wheel and started it, waiting for warm air to blow through the vents.

  Jess reached over and fingered a curl that bobbed against her cheek. “You take my breath away, Doris. Don’t blame a man for being unable to keep his hands to himself when you look like a movie star.”

  Heat soaked her cheeks and she turned away, looking out the window. Part of her wanted to slide across the seat, wrap her arms around Jess’s neck, and give him a kiss.

  The other part considered jumping out of his pickup and running to Blown Away where she could hide in Brooke’s workroom or the apartment upstairs until her granddaughter could take her home.

  Jess chuckled then put the truck in gear and pulled into the street.

  While they worked on his shopping list for his hired hands, he didn’t make any more comments about her appearance or do more than occasionally touch her back or brush her arm. Much to Doris’s surprise, they went to a store that carried a large variety of children’s toys.

  “What are we doing here? Your grandkids are too old for toys like this,” she said, shooting a bewildered glance in his direction.

  “You’ll see,” Jess said, then proceeded to fill three shopping carts with gifts. He paid a group of 4-H students who had a gift-wrapping table set up for a fundraiser near the entrance to wrap them all. The kids helped carry the gifts out to his pickup where they piled the backseat full.

  After that, Jess took Doris to Sweet Hearts Pastry & Treats.

  “Aren’t you still full from lunch?” Doris asked as Jess held the door for her and escorted her inside.

  “No, I’m not. Shopping for all those toys made me hungry.” Jess walked with her to the counter where Savannah Miller helped customers.

  Doris perused the selections available then smiled at Savannah when they reached the counter.

  “Hello, Savannah. How are you today?” Doris asked as she removed her gloves and unbuttoned her coat.

  Savannah offered them a friendly smile. “I’m great, Mrs. Grundy. What brings you both to the bakery this afternoon?”

  “We’ve been busy shopping and are in dire need of sustenance,” Jess said with a teasing grin.

  Savannah laughed and pointed to a case full of pastries, doughnuts, muffins, and cookies. “You came to the right place. What can I get for you?”

  “Hmm, so many delicious-looking options,” Doris said glancing from the pastries to intricately decorated cookies. “It’s going to be hard to decide.” She studied the pretty girl a moment. “Did I see you speaking with Baxter Reid the other night at the tree lighting? I didn’t realize he was back in town. Aren’t you house-sitting for his grandparents?”

  Savannah’s shoulders stiffened. “I am and you did see me speak to him. He recently moved back to Romance.”

  “I see. Didn’t he used to antagonize you to no end when you were younger?” Doris questioned, continuing to observe Savannah.

  Rather than answer, the young woman forced a smile. “Would you like some hot chocolate? The peppermint is hard to beat.”

  “We’ll take two cups, and how about some sugar cookies?” Jess said, giving Doris a look she couldn’t quite interpret, but assumed meant she should cease grilling Savannah about the Reid boy.

  “Excellent choice.”

  While Jess helped Doris remove her coat and the two of them took a seat at a table, Savannah filled mugs with steaming hot chocolate. She carried the drinks, along with their cookies, to the table. “Enjoy the rest of your day,” she said, then hurried back to the counter.

  Jess and Doris sipped the hot chocolate, devoured the cookies, and discussed how festive the town appeared, bedecked for the holidays. When they finished their refreshments, they walked around the town square, admiring the decorations and thousands of twinkling white lights.

  As they neared the towering tree, Jess produced an ornament of a pink pig. “Help me find a place to hang this thing,” he said.

  “Give it here.” Doris held out her hand to him as she looked for a perfect spot for the ornament on the community Christmas tree. “I’m surprised you didn’t have Pigtails’ name painted on the back of this,” Doris said, hanging the ornament on a branch up as high as she could reach.”

  “What makes you think it’s my pig?” he asked with a jaunty grin.

  She shook her head and took the hand he held out to her, following as he led her around the square. When Jess insisted on taking a photo
of her in front of the gazebo, she stood stiffly as he snapped a photo.

  “Quit holding back, Doris. I know you can do better than that,” he said with a teasing gleam in his eye.

  She struck a pose similar to the one she’d made at the dress shop. Jess nearly dropped his phone, but he recovered and snapped a few photos.

  “I can take a photo of you together, if you like,” a young man named Jack Nelson volunteered as he approached them. He worked for the state tourism board, although Doris wasn’t sure what he was doing in Romance.

  Jess handed his phone to Jack and hurried to stand behind Doris.

  She held her breath when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. His woodsy, masculine scent filled her nose while the warmth of his big body enveloped her. In that moment, Doris felt lost — undeniably lost to her longing to love this man who was becoming far, far more than a dear friend. Lost to the hope there was more in her future than one lonely day stretched out after another, then another. Lost to the feeling that in Jess’s arms was exactly where she wanted and needed to be.

  “I think I got something you can use,” Jack said, returning Jess’s phone to him.

  “Thank you, Mr. Nelson,” Doris said, giving him a smile as he tipped his head to her then continued on his way.

  Jess and Doris strolled back out to the street and past Brooke’s shop, then turned and made their way toward his pickup.

  Two men stepped out of the hardware store and stopped, then whistled at Doris.

  She tossed them a scathing glare while secretly pleased by the attention.

  Jess laughed and took her hand in his. “Come on, Miss Glamorpuss, let’s deliver those toys.” He drove to the hospital where they carried in the toys and left them with a nurse who was apparently sworn to secrecy.

  Doris knew someone brought toys to the hospital every year for the children who had to spend Christmas there, but no one ever seemed to know who donated the gifts.

  “How many years have you done that?” Doris asked as Jess helped her back inside his pickup.

  He shrugged. “Oh, I suppose it’s going on close to thirty years. Julia and I started doing it one year when Janet was in the hospital. Remember when her appendix burst and she spent Christmas here?”

  Doris nodded, recalling how miserable the girl had been. Janet was convinced Santa wouldn’t leave her any presents if she was in the hospital. Doris and Glen had taken Janet a few gifts on Christmas Day to cheer her, but it appeared Santa had visited her, along with the other children who were there.

  “I had no idea, Jess. It’s so kind that you do this for the children.” Doris again found herself at odds in her feelings toward Jess Milne. One moment he was driving her nuts, and the next, she wanted to give him a big hug.

  “It’s my pleasure to do it.” He climbed into the pickup and gave her a long look. “Are you in a rush to get home? Would you have dinner with me?”

  “Brooke’s cooking dinner tonight, so I’m free as a bird.”

  “And twice as lovely as one,” he muttered as he pulled into traffic and drove them out of town. She had no idea where they were headed. An hour later, he parked in front of an Italian restaurant. “You still like a good plate of ravioli?” he asked.

  “I do. I’m surprised you remembered.” Doris recalled twice when she and Glen had gone out to dinner with Julia and Jess at this restaurant. One occasion had been Julia’s birthday and the second time they were celebrating a loan she and Glen had paid off six months early. They’d hated to borrow money, but they’d had to replace a failed septic system and the cost of it was more than they could pay out-of-pocket at the time. It had been a wonderful evening when they’d gleefully made that final payment and asked Jess and Julia to join them for dinner.

  “Let’s get inside out of this cold air,” Jess said, helping her down from the pickup. He held her hand as they crossed the parking lot and as the hostess showed them to a cozy corner table with a window that looked out on the river. Lights from surrounding businesses and homes glistened on the water.

  Doris started to shrug out of her coat, but Jess helped her then waited until she settled herself in the booth before he removed his coat. He tossed both coats on the bench seat beside him then took a seat. A candle in a glass jar and a poinsettia plant added festive flair to the romantic atmosphere.

  When she looked over at Jess, he had such an intense look in his eyes she wanted to squirm when his gaze fused to hers.

  “Doris, I…”

  “I’m Jamie. Thank you for dining with us. I’ll be your server this evening,” a cheerful young woman said as she greeted them. After taking their orders for beverages and giving them a few moments to decide on what they wanted for dinner, she returned and promised to bring a basket of bread sticks right out.

  Sensing Jess was about to say something she wasn’t ready to hear, Doris chattered like her life depended on it, even after their meals arrived. She asked if Janet received the box of gifts she’d helped Jess mail last week. She talked about which of his hired hands were going to take a few days off during the holidays. She discussed the play, the decorations in town, and resorted to asking him about Pigtails.

  “That little oinker sure liked the toy you brought over the other day,” he said, smiling as he cut another bite of lasagna. “Pigtails hasn’t escaped once since we put it in her stall.

  Doris had found an idea for a toy for pigs online and made one for Tigger. He’d been so entertained with it he’d all but abandoned his ongoing efforts to get out of his pen. Based on the success with Brooke’s little escape artists, Doris made one for Pigtails and brought it over a few days earlier. The toy was nothing more than a dowel that ran through empty juice and pop bottles as well as a milk jug. The dowel hung from two boards that had braces on the bottom to keep them upright. Doris had used old scrap wood and a staple gun to make the stands.

  Pigtails had been as happy with her toy as Tigger was with his. The little piglet spent hours spinning the bottles around and around, squealing with joy as she played.

  “I’m so glad she likes it. Maybe she just needs to keep her mind busy so she doesn’t have time to think about sneaking away.”

  “Maybe she does,” Jess said, giving her a look that made her think he was talking about something that had nothing to do with the pig.

  Once they finished their meal, which Jess insisted on paying for, they walked outside into the cold.

  Their breath made frosty curls above their heads as it lifted in the night air.

  “Want to take a walk?” Jess asked, pointing to a path that meandered along the river. Someone had draped so many white lights on the path and over the bushes that it looked like a road to an enchanted fairyland.

  “Sure,” her mouth said, while her head screamed for her to get in the pickup and demand Jess take her straight home.

  Silence surrounded them as they strolled along the path. When they came to a bench, Jess motioned for her to take a seat. He settled close beside her, slipping his arm around her and tucking her against his side. Grateful for his warmth, she tried to ignore how right it felt to be there, to be so near to him.

  “Doris, you’ve about done me in.”

  She turned and looked at him, having no idea what he meant. “Jess, I…”

  He placed his index finger on her mouth, refusing to let her speak. “I thought I’d have a full-fledged heart attack when you walked inside the restaurant at lunch today, looking like you stepped right out of one of those old movies we enjoy watching. You are a beautiful, intelligent, amazing, attractive woman. One I love with all my heart. I’ve loved you for a long time, Doris. It took years before the pain of losing Julia stopped hurting with every breath I drew in, but a few years ago, I realized the reason I wasn’t so mired in grief was because of you. You’ve been about the best friend I’ve ever had, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share what’s left of my life with. Doris, you’ve got to know how much you mean to me, how very much I love
you.” His eyes glimmered with hope and emotion as he captured her gaze. “Will you please do me the honor of…”

  “No, Jess. No.” Doris didn’t let him finish his proposal, if that was indeed what he planned to ask. As wonderful as the day had been, as much as she’d enjoyed his attention, she couldn’t let things go any farther between them. Not when she felt as though being with Jess somehow betrayed Glen. Not when she was sure Jess had suddenly turned so romantic solely because she looked younger, prettier. “I’d like to go home now.”

  She turned and marched back up the path toward the parking lot. The fast pace she kept made Jess struggle to keep up with her. He finally gave up and let her race ahead of him. She kept her back to him as he unlocked the pickup, not saying a word as she scrambled inside, pushing his hands away when he attempted to help her.

  The entire trip home, she kept her face turned straight ahead, not speaking a single word. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jess cast her several worried glances, but he didn’t force the issue. Didn’t call her a coward, like she knew she deserved.

  When he stopped in front of the Rockin’ G, Doris opened the door and hustled out before he could unbuckle his seatbelt. “Goodbye, Jess.”

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she fumbled with the door and made her way inside. She ignored the questions Brooke and Blayne asked as she rushed to her room and slammed the door, as well as their pleas for her to talk to them.

  With a sob, she collapsed on her bed and cried until she thought she’d never stop.

  Chapter Ten

  “Happy Christmas Eve, Pigtails,” Jess said, opening the stall door and leaning over to give the rapidly growing piglet a good back scratch. The piglet grunted and rolled onto her back, enjoying rubs on her tummy.

  “Looks like you’re the only female interested in any loving from me,” he said, petting her for several moments then standing her on her feet before he fed her and refilled her water bowl.