Christmas Cocoa

by ID Johnson

  “And this wouldn’t have anything to do with that tree farmer who came into the bakery, would it?”

  Swallowing hard, Delaney went about getting the garland out of the box, pretending like she wasn’t exactly sure what Nana was talking about. “Uh… well, I saw him there, I guess.”

  “Um hmmm,” Nana said again. “And how was Josh?”

  She was only slightly surprised that Nana remembered his name. Even though her everyday memory was beginning to slip, she never forgot a name or face. “He was good,” Delaney replied. “Busy. But good, I think.”

  “Well, this morning in Sunday school, Brother Mitchell talked about Christmas being a time for magic. He reminded us that the Lord gives gifts in many ways, but one of those ways is in the form of rekindled relationships and new friends. Maybe this Josh feller of yours is meant to be a new friend.”

  Delaney knew her grandmother well enough to know precisely what she was getting at. With a sigh, she dropped the garland and found a spot on the couch. “Okay, Nana. I did see Josh, and we spent a lot of time together. He’s a very nice man, and I really enjoy his company.” Nana’s face beamed. “But,” Delaney continued, “he lives and works in Washington, DC, most of the year. He’s only at the farm now because he’s helping his folks out around the holidays.”

  “So?” Nana asked, giving one of her famous shrugs.

  “So,” Delaney replied, “I’m not sure I’m ready for another long distance relationship. You know how things worked out with Bradley.”

  “Bradley?” Nana repeated. “That Bradley was never good enough for you, Delaney. Why, never once in the whole time that the two of you went out did he ever come to the house to pick you up. He never even brought you flowers. The day that Bradley said goodbye was the best day of your life.”

  Delaney shook her head. Her former relationship was so much more complicated than her grandma could possibly realize. “I’m not sure that flowers and door opening are the most important things in a relationship.”

  “Sure they are,” Nana insisted. “They are the hallmarks that show whether or not a man is a gentleman or just a common good-for-nothing, take-it-or-leave-it, dime-a-dozen hooligan.”

  Delaney couldn’t help but giggle at her grandmother’s list. “I know what you mean, Nana. But don’t you think it will be hard if Josh decides to stay in DC?”

  “It might be hard,” Nana agreed, “but most things in life that are worth having are a little hard, especially in the beginning. But if it’s meant to be, you’ll figure it out. Does he like you the same way you like him?”

  She felt her cheeks warm and knew she was likely as red as the Christmas bulbs waiting to be hung on the outstretched boughs of the tree. “I think so,” she said quietly.

  Nana’s face broke into a wide grin. “Of course he does. Pretty, sweet girl like you. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. You pray on it, honey.”

  Delaney nodded, pursing her lips together to keep her emotions in check. Despite her grandmother’s apparent nosiness, she always felt better when she had a heart-to-heart discussion with the wise woman. “I will, Nana,” she promised.

  “Good girl. Now, let’s see about that garland. Can you make it drape down and wrap around the outer portions of the branches? I really like it when it’s all fluffy and soft.”

  Giggling at her oddly worded request, Delany said, “I think I can do that,” and stood to address the tree. “Bill” certainly looked pretty already with his twinkling lights, and as much as Delaney wanted to tell him that, she decided she’d wait until Nana had gone to bed. There was no sense trying to explain to her grandmother why she was talking to the Christmas tree.

  Josh had managed to evade his mother’s game of twenty questions by telling her that he’d had a nice time with Delaney and he’d call her later that week. Then, he pretended he didn’t feel well and needed to rest. He didn’t like being dishonest with his mother, but by the time he’d returned to the house, his stomach definitely didn’t feel normal. Of course, it was likely nerves brought on by being in the presence of a beautiful woman most of the day, but it allowed him to retire to the basement where he’d been living the last few weeks without having to answer any questions he honestly didn’t know the answer to. She’d also brought him some soup later, which was much appreciated, though he’d paid with a renewed line of questioning regarding Miss Young.

  Sunday afternoon, he was out in the field again, bringing in trees customers had selected for their homes. Many of them were still wearing church clothes, and some of the little girls looked like ice princesses twirling around in the snow in their long dresses and coats. Chloe and Bridgette had even stopped by, and he was glad his mother had something else to focus on for a bit. Her questioning had let up, but he knew she wouldn’t stop asking until he’d either told her that he and Delaney were not planning on seeing each other again—or they were married.

  Once he was certain the trees were all brought in and there wasn’t an immediate need for him to stick around, he’d grabbed one of the four-wheelers and taken off for the high ground, eventually coming to a stop where he could still see the tracks he and Delaney had left in the snow the day before. He realized, though he had visited this precise point hundreds, if not thousands, of times, he would never look at it the same way again. Now, that overgrown pine would forever be the place where Delaney had tried to evade his snowballs. That ridge would be where he and Delaney had attempted to make snow angels, where he’d helped her up and first contemplated kissing her. This had always been a special place for Josh, but from now on, no matter where life took him, this place would always be where he first realized he was falling in love with Delaney.

  Standing with his boots planted in an inch of snow looking out at the fields of Christmas trees below, many of them still blanketed in white, he knew the way he was feeling didn’t make logical sense. How could he be falling in love with her already when they’d only just met? He hadn’t even known her last name until she plugged it into his phone. But, there was no doubt in his mind that was what was happening. Unlike all of the other girls he’d dated in the past, with Delaney, he could see a future; he could picture spending his days with her—waking up in the morning next to her, kissing her goodnight every evening. He could envision coming home from work at the end of the day to the smell of her baking, hearing the sound of their children’s laughter ringing in the air. That was exactly the future he wanted for himself: a loving wife and children, a house that felt like a home, someone to share his dreams with. Regardless of how many days it had been since they met or how long they’d spent together, he knew already that Delaney could be that woman, the one he’d been dreaming of.

  Of course, when he pictured himself coming through the door at the end of the day, he had no idea where that door was or what job he was returning from. Would Delaney be interested in dating him if he decided not to move to the farm? Could they handle a long distance relationship? Eventually, she’d have to move to Washington if he decided that’s where he needed to be. Would she be willing to sell the bakery? He could help her find another location, but he knew it wouldn’t be the same. What about her family? There were so many things to think about, and he knew eventually they would all need to be considered. For now, however, as he stood staring out at the peaceful valley below him, he took Delaney’s advice and said a little prayer that God would guide him in the right direction, that if he was meant to stay in Shepherdstown, he would know that’s where he was meant to be, and if he was supposed to be be in Washington, DC, that choice would also become clear.

  As he turned to climb back aboard the four-wheeler and head back to the village, he let go a long sigh. He had pretended to listen to trees yesterday when they were joking about her Christmas tree being named Bill, but Josh knew sometimes it seemed equally as difficult to hear God as it was to hear imaginary talking trees. Hopefully, when the answer was sent, Josh would be listening with his whole heart.

  Chapter 14

&nb
sp; Delaney arrived at the bakery earlier than usual Monday morning. She hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep since she’d spent the day with Josh, and while it was just the day before yesterday, it seemed like ages ago since she’d talked to him. She’d hoped he’d call or text, but Sunday went by without her phone ringing at all, and though she’d considered giving him a call herself, she decided not to. It was best to let the guy call first, or at least that’s what both Nana and her mother would say.

  She was pleased to see all the dishes washed and put away in the kitchen, the tables cleaned, and the chairs stacked neatly. Sometimes when the teenagers closed the shop on a Saturday afternoon, she’d come in to a bit of a disaster Monday morning. It was nice to see that these kids were responsible enough to make sure everything was ready to go bright and early Monday morning, especially since she’d seen through the app she used to monitor sales just how busy they had been on Saturday.

  Once she’d finished walking through the bakery, she checked the cocoa reserves and saw that they would definitely be needing more today. She also needed to make sure she had enough ingredients on-hand to take with her to Shepherdstown for the shop in the village. Most of the ingredients she used were common kitchen reserves that were used in lots of her recipes, but the one secret ingredient she needed for her cocoa was hidden in a place where no one else knew where or what it was. Behind the giant sugar bags in the back closet, there was a little cutout in the floor her father had designed just for this purpose. As she moved the bags out of the way and popped the wood plank, she immediately realized something was different. The tin that she kept her secret ingredient in was situated differently than it always was. She was consistently very careful to make sure she put it back exactly the same way so that she would know if it had been moved. Something wasn’t right.

  Delaney pulled the container out of its hiding spot and took the lid off. There didn’t appear to be any missing; she was always very careful to observe how much was left so that if something fishy happened, she could tell. There was quite a bit of the secret ingredient left in the container, and it didn’t look as if anyone had actually opened it, although it might be hard to tell if someone had judging by the contents alone. Was it possible somebody had seen where she hid it, opened it, and sampled it trying to determine exactly what it was?

  Shaking her head, Delaney returned the wood to the floor and replaced the sugar. As soon as she was done making the cocoa, she’d put the container back, but for now, there was no reason to let Cameron or anyone else who might wander in know about her secret hiding spot. Clearly, someone else did know, or else, how could the container have moved? Surely she didn’t put it back in the wrong position without noticing?

  Deciding there wasn’t much she could do about it—and since the recipe was only kept in her own head anyway—Delaney went about making a big batch of cocoa for the shop, hoping it would last a couple of days. She’d need to order some more of just about everything to make sure she had enough to get her through the week and help Lydia as well. While most of the ingredients were ordered through the shop like everything else, the secret one would require a special trip to a specialty grocery store in an adjoining town, a journey she only made by herself. She’d plan on doing that another evening this week.

  She had just slid the container back into its hiding place and replaced the wood flooring and bags of sugar when she heard steps outside the back door, followed by Cameron’s key in the lock. She’d decided he needed his own key, just in case she didn’t make it in on time one morning, and he was responsible enough to trust with it.

  “Good morning,” he called, as bright and cheery as ever. He took his coat and backpack off and hung them up in their usual place.

  “Hi,” Delaney said, smiling. “How are you today?”

  “Great,” Cameron said. He was almost always this chipper in the morning, which made Delaney happy since most teenagers she knew were not. “We were so busy Saturday, it was insane!”

  “I know,” Delaney replied as she went about prepping to bake a batch of muffins. “I saw on the sales report.”

  “Francine and Bonnie ended up staying until close just to help us out.” He tied his apron on and went about his usual morning duties.

  “Really?” Delaney asked, a bit surprised to hear that. “You, Joanna, and Courtney couldn’t handle it by yourselves?”

  “Well, Courtney ended up leaving early. She said she wasn’t feeling very good,” Cameron explained.

  Delaney hadn’t noticed that on the spreadsheet she kept for time cards, but she’d have to check again. “That’s too bad,” she muttered, wondering if Courtney was really ill or just wanted to go.

  “Yeah, she was acting kinda weird all day,” he said, shaking his head and getting a cloth out of the drawer to go wash down everything up front again.

  Delaney thought back to when she’d stopped by Saturday morning. Courtney had seemed a bit odd, and Joanna and Cameron were also acting a bit… teenager-y. Whatever was up with Courtney, she hoped she would get over it by Saturday so that she could still attend the formal she’d been talking about. Thinking of the dance made her remember how Cameron had been looking at Joanna, and a small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. He was in the shop now, and she could hear him getting the chairs down so he could wipe everything off and prepare for customers.

  Walking into the shop area a few feet, she said, “Cameron, are you going to the Winter Formal?”

  He turned and looked at her, and a bit of a shadow passed across his eyes. “I’d like to,” he said. “I mean… I’m not much of a dancer, but… well… there’s this girl.”

  Delaney’s face lit up. “Anyone I know?”

  Even in the dim glow coming from the strands of twinkling Christmas lights that illuminated the room in lieu of the bright fluorescents they’d switch on at opening, she could see he was blushing a bit. “Yeah, you know her.”

  Delaney couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, you like Joanna, don’t you?” she gushed, clasping her hands together in front of her. “She’s such a sweet girl. Quiet—but so smart. And she really is pretty.”

  “I know,” Cameron said, brushing his long bangs back over his forehead. “But… I asked her if she was going, and she said no. She said she hates dances.”

  Feeling her joy being pulled away from her, Delaney protested. “Asking someone if they are going to go and asking them to go with you are two different things,” she reminded him.

  Cameron turned back to the table he’d been wiping down and swiped at it a few more times. “I guess. I just… I mean, what if she says no?”

  “She won’t.” Delaney was quite sure of herself.

  He seemed to consider her words. “How do you know?”

  “Because I saw the way she was looking at you, too,” Delaney replied. “Ask her.”

  Cameron turned back to face her now. “What about the ‘no dating’ policy the bakery has? You know, where employees can’t date each other?”

  Delaney had to fight back a guffaw. “What’s that now?” she asked.

  “Courtney said that you have a rule that employees can’t date each other.”

  Her eyes wide, Delaney tried to process what he’d just said. Why would Courtney say such a thing? “Uh, Cam, you’re the first guy I’ve ever employed. I’ve never said anything about any of my employees dating since most of them are married women, and then there are the two teenage girls. I didn’t think that would be an issue.”

  His face puckered up. “Well, then, why would she say that? I mean, I hadn’t even said anything to her about wanting to ask Joanna. She just volunteered the information.”

  “I honestly have no idea,” Delaney said, shaking her head and crossing her arms. “She has a boyfriend anyway. It’s not like….” She stopped herself. Was Courtney actually jealous of Joanna? That would be a first. It didn’t matter. “That’s definitely not a policy. If you want to ask Joanna to the dance, you should.”

  He absorbed the
information for a second before nodding and turning his attention to the next table. Though she wasn’t sure what that reaction meant—or didn’t mean—Delaney decided she’d been enough of a matchmaker for one day, and she went back to the kitchen to get the muffins in the oven.

  A few minutes later, Cameron came into the kitchen. “Everything’s wiped down and straightened up. I’ll turn the lights on and flip the sign in a minute.”

  Delaney glanced up at the clock and saw that they had about two more minutes to spare before opening time. “Awesome,” she said. She was working on a pan of croissants that would go in the oven next.

  Cameron leaned on the counter next to where she was working. “Delaney, can I ask you something?”

  His face was just about as serious as Delaney could ever remember seeing it. She stopped working on the croissants and looked at him expectantly. “Absolutely.”

  He let out a loud sigh. “I was hoping Joanna would be at the dance so that I could ask her to dance, but I don’t want to ask her to go to the dance with me.”

  Her eyebrows arched, Delaney asked, “Why is that?”

  With another deep sigh, Cameron said, “Because I don’t have a car. I’ll have to ride my bike to the dance, and I guess I could ask her to meet me there, or something, but I feel like the guy should pick the girl up at her house, you know? And I can’t do that.”

  Delaney felt her heart melt just a bit. “And you can’t borrow your parents’ car?”

  “No,” he replied quickly. “My dad has the night off, so he can watch the kids, but my mom has to work, and she’ll need the car to drive to the supercenter.”

  Without another thought, Delaney said, “You can borrow my car.”

  Cameron’s eyes widened. “What? Your car? Oh, no, Delaney, I wasn’t trying to get you to lend me your car. I just wanted to see if you thought she’d still want to go if she had to meet me there.”